R.I.P Miller

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by DMan6505, Jun 1, 2013.

  1. OldMaster80


    I don't think this is going to work. For the simple reason people do not choose a faction according to the xp bonus. People decide which faction to play according to:
    - Where do their friends play.
    - 1st impression about how cool they look like.

    I'm a TR and they can give me x10 xp on NC and VS, I would still play TR. This is where my mates are, this is the faction a I like and I don't give a buck what other factions do.

    Want to balance population? Revamp resources and give underpopulated factions more resources. This would help underpopulated armies to spawn more tanks and more stuff fo counter the enemy. And it also makes sense: overpopulated factions are supposed to divide resources between a higher number of soldiers. ;)
  2. Jestunhi

    I'd prefer character transfers being available from overpopulated factions (based on the number of hours logged by each faction over the last month, or something) with a temporary xp boost as an incentive.

    Not only would this encourage people to switch but some people would actively keep switching to the underpopulated size to get the xp bonus again and again.
  3. Eugenitor

    A few months ago I suggested that population bonuses be changed to 20 times what they are now, and I still stand by that. It needs to be ludicrously high enough that all the fourth-factioneers immediately flip the moment there's any significant imbalance at all.

    There should also be regular messages if the bonus goes over about 200% or so. Maybe just display them to people who have existing characters of other empires on the same server. "Hey, <player>! Your <underpopulated faction character>, <name>, can get <insane exp bonus>% experience right now!"
  4. Nicholai

    XP incentives are pointless. Nothing compares to being on the winning side.

    Over-popped sides should have their respawn time increased. This acts as a direct equalizer in combat and incentivises the terrible zerglings not to play on the over-popped side.

    The good/organized/loyal players won't care (they tend to die less) but the 4th empire will rage at long down-times. Win win.
  5. Jestunhi

    Not when you don't need xp, no.

    But for players who are still trying to unlock things the extra certs is a bonus.

    Denying this would be like claiming that no engineer would stay at an empty base repairing all the turrets & generators for easy (and fairly high) xp instead of rushing off to the next fight.
  6. Stigma

    That would be a pointless incentive as long as resources are as they are - pretty much limitless.
    I almost cant remember the last time I actually didn't have the resources to pull whatever I wanted at the moment.
    Even if you consistently lose whatever vehicle you pull 2 minutes after pulling it you could easily still have vehicles at all times by simply rotating between air and ground.

    As I've been saying for ages - for the resources to actually matter in any meaningful way they have to be a LOT more scarce (but a larger resource bank to make up for it would be nice). It would also have the nice additional effect of reducing vehicle spam, so vehicles wouldn't have to be made so weak to compensate since they wouldn't be so ever-present.

    That's a ran for another topic though. its enough to say that this is not a viable fix for the problem as it stands.

    -Stigma
  7. Stigma

    Miller probably needs a merge to stay viable for the future at this point, but the best "auto-balancing" feature would not be any XP or resource boost - but just a smarter "recommended server" system.

    Currently I think the "recommended servers" are just chosen by devs and set for a period to fill up a server. Instead it ough to look what faction you wanted to play and then recommend servers who are the most under-pop'ed on that faction for new players so that the empire that needs new players the most will get it - instead of sending more new players into server where they already are balanced or have the upper hand.

    It should be fairly simple to tweak the system like that. Most of the mass of "regular players" choose one of the recommended servers. Its as simple as that. Use that to autobalance the populations for the benefit of all involved.

    That said - I'm not sure that would be enough to save Miller from the downward spiral it is in currently. It would have to be implemented real fast at least...

    -Stigma
  8. Nicholai


    I don't think I explained myself well enough. The bonus XP from being out-popped is countered by the extra XP you naturally earn by being on the winning side. Get 5 assists and a base-flip as you zerg a base is more XP then killing two guys as the zerg mows you down.

    At the very least, it eliminates the effect of the bonus.

    On top of that, the moral effect of winning is often far, far more important than cert earning.

    Better just not to go that route at all and instead directly hit respawn times.
  9. Eugenitor

    This is probably the worst thing the devs could do at this point. (Therefore, I expect its implementation shortly.)

    Imagine being a newbie, first day of PS2. You go onto the most populated continent, you go where the lanes tell you to go, and you get facerolled by an overpopulated faction of high BRs with skills and weapons you don't have. Spawn at Sunderer, see enemy, shoot at enemy, get splattered. Spawn in spawn room, enjoy the explosions that mark the exits. Spawn a vehicle, see the bright "LOCK" message from a dozen different sources, boom. There's no practical way to avoid them except to go to another continent (or another server, or another game).

    Exactly how long do you expect these newbies to stick around?

    At this point, nearly everyone except a handful of loyalist die-hards has characters on all three servers. Getting them to switch is the key, not getting what few new players there are to fill the void.
  10. Stigma

    Perhaps its not ideal, but trying to get well established Miller TR's to swap to the struggling factions is wishful thinking. Its just not going to happen, or it will at least be massively overpowered by people going in the opposite direction (and people just abandoning the server, especially after server tokens become available). Very very few things will overpower the "I get to win and always have the upper hand" factor - as evidenced by pretty much any competitive team based videogame to date. People team-stack even in round based games like BF3. When it is a permanent choice it just sharpens the incentive to pick the winning side to join.

    Besides, the negatives would only come from the already existing imbalance on the server and therefore hopefully be temporary. If this system had been in from the start the populations would never have become significantly imbalanced to begin with and thus the newbies would be just as well off here as on any other servers (being a newbie on any old server is going to be tough to some degree no matter what)

    I mean sure, nothing would be better than if veteran TRs came over to the other factions to balance things out but this is a pipe dream. Even if you gave ridiculous XP bonuses (and resource bonuses lol, as if they have any impact to begin with) no one is going to abandon their BR65 character to start anew even if you rank up a lot faster - and that's not factoring in all the social aspects. Established characters will have made friends, most have joined outfits ect. Breaking that bond for some XP in return for playing the underdog isn't going to persuade anyone IMO. It would take something along the lines of offering an character empire-swap with full cert-refunds on everything to make people even consider it, atop any other incentives - but that's never going to happen.

    But hey, by all means - if there are any TR out there willing to switch then speak up and let your voice be heard. Prove me wrong - I'd be delighted, but I won't hold my breath.

    -Stigma
  11. S1eB

    Another alert, another TR ****storm. Also, lol at TR people in this thread thinking we are hatting on TR. No one is hating on TR, we are hating on the imbalance.

    [IMG]
  12. IronWarrior

    TR Winning as always.

    Miller is best server, here is a totally inappropriate video to celebrate our awesome Miller TR is.

  13. S1eB


    :D

  14. IronWarrior

  15. Tamas

    Exp bonus doesn't matter.

    I know a number of people (me included) that log into the game, check the server stat and if we have ~15% of world population we jsut log off and go play smth else.


    Who cares about 30% exp boost when you are camped at warpgate with most population on Indar - you try assaulting +48 fortified position with ~30 people. No one wants that crap, so they rather go play something else.
  16. LordMondando

    When you really think about it, Miller is the only server bar Woodman not to have any intervention re-population. Its first serious population demographic issue has only crept in 5-6 months in.

    And its largely down to slightly more TR playing, on a server in which they were always the slight majority, and less Nc and TR playing as well as a relatively slow uptake of new players due to them being directed towards Woodman, Ceres, Cobalt and now Woodman again.

    What I suggest and have been pushing for a while.

    1) Fraction specific req servers- why this has not been done already is beyond me. Could use a few more VS maybe (As noted, I think they are on the Up now they are not perceived as being 'nerfed' and have the rock paper shotgun gaming community feeding them), but mostly we need NC. Don't need more TR.
    2) Xp bonuses should be non-linear. When your ridiculously outnumbered, the Xp bonuses should be likewise.
    3) transfer timers, log onto your TR on miller, you can't log onto your Nc or Vs on miller for an hour after you log out (this is not really the crux of the matter, but bandwagon jumping during alerts isun't helping).
    4) Once overpop reaches a certain point, spawn timer and vehicles cool down penalties, in the range of a 50% increase if 10% overpop(only if 1-3 don't work, think this is better handled by a logistics system, re 5).
    5) More importantly a system, like logistics, which I have gone on about at length in a number of places (my sig), that give larger forces weaknesses (which they do not currently have), so coming up against a larger force does not inherently make them the most powerful.
    • Up x 1
  17. St0mpy

    Woodman did have recommended server status for a while, thats what changed it from a dying server people were complaining about around the time of the server mergers into what it is today. It wasnt kept long and I think the current recipient is still the same one since then.
  18. LordMondando

    Correct, I even contradict myself a bit later in that post.

    Its had less than the mergers most other servers have had at this point. Was more what I'm getting at.
  19. Qel

    Recommended for NC and VS would be a good start. They should definitely change it so in character creation you choose faction before you choose server and recommend accordingly not just blanket 'lolz new players here guyz!' for all factions.

    Miller needs something to happen sooner rather than later, if it continues like this with no intervention we'll end up in a situation where we really do need a merge and that will not be good.
  20. Flukeman62

    look at miller now! 36% NC! (it will probably change but we can hope!)