Sneak peek of new hex adjacency graph for Indar and a bit more!

Test servers are a red-herring here. This isn't tweaking the position of a spawn point, or balancing weaponry. It isn't even testing a new weapon or vehicle. This is a retructure of the tactical mechanics. Are the test servers really going to get significant proper traffic on them to test it? And by proper traffic it needs to be more than zerglings using the test server as a way to play the new thing first, but also zerglings who want to be funnelled in this manner. More importantly, it needs multi-platoon outfits who are the shapers of the Auraxian battle.

That's going to take some coordination (which frankly is unlikely to happen but i am happy to be proved wrong). Maybe SOE could devote a FNO to the test server when this is released to "live proving" - that would get some Outfit interest i suspect.

They could have an event like the Bending in Planetside 1.

For one night the live server's are transformed into the test server build. All of a sudden we get the new HEX system, we play the heck out of it, and then in the morning Auraxis turns back to what it was.

Then we all goto forums and give feedback and SOE learns what we thought about it, and BAM; SUCCESS!

I doubt they would do it, but it's probably the best way.

Do you think a test server is going to be succesful in testing how real 24/7 gameplay works?

When the players will likely be there for sneakpeeks of new weapons? And without their organised outfit gameplay? From all over the servers? Testing other factions? And potentially in less numbers.

As soon as the test server becomes able to test 'real conditions' it becomes a real server.

Well the test servers are beginning to worry me. I've requested numerous times, on numerous outlets, something about the test servers, and thusfar the response has been nil. I'm beginning to question whether they are going to become a reality, or if SOE scrapped the idea.

People shouldn't worry so much, this meta type has already proven to work from PS1 and it's one of the best solutions to chaotic random battles, created by solo or lone wolf players looking for easy exp.

I think most people are worried about the flow of battle with the new connections, but this only this course of battle, not the route taken.

Though many other simple methods could be used, I believe this game should have a nice mix of Capture points (Tug of War), Lattice Logic Unit (Capture the Flag) and Hack and Hold (Objective).

I personally want this new Hex system because I'm fed up running in circles for small groups of players who play for territory and not at all for encounters, or Zerg Outfits that rush points to take bases, cutting off the warp gate as quick as possible while 1 or 2 lone wolves capture the inner bases.

At leased 30 times a day, I've turned up to a contested base and it's empty, has 1 player afk or 1 very unskilled player looking for exp.

I also believe Base Turrets, Generators and Other Damage within the base should not reward a player EXP, rather than add to the EXP pool reward at the end of the successful capture, and add a incentive to hold a base, such as Defence EXP, Defence Resources. The Current 10% Defender EXP isn't great nor noticable since all the EXP to be earned is from base equipment/objectives, or one lucky individaul could earn a small pocket of EXP from blowing up a Tank or Sundere, and a whole it isn't worth defending if your Empire is not already there, and you might as well farm as a Zerg and recapture it after.

Most of you are looking at the new map and seeing lines, the map hasn't change, just the number of connections and jumps. The point of attacks are there, you just can't attack North,East and South and then some bases behind that base at the same time.

The Zerg will still be scattered around the areas, but will have to focus on 2 points out of 3 to take a main base. Where as now they ninja capture any base and anything behind that and cut that base off with a huge zerg. With the new system the Zerg will be split up to deal with Counter attacks so no single zerg will be in 1 place at all times, or atleased no greater than is already is.

fyi, Skydock + Bridge = Awesome Bridge battles!

Agreed.
The bridge from near Scarred Mesa Skydock to Regent Rock Garrison is one of the biggest, most cool looking bridges in the game and it's almost never used...

Say, is the test server up yet?

Why did this get unstickied??? Is SOE abandoning this AS WELL?!?!

Threads can't stay stickyed forever. Of course the test server is still coming as are the changes he previewed.

We just need room at the top for new threads.

I think it would be more used if:
- There was a capture point on the middle island of the bridge, along with capture points on the two spans.
- There was a road connection from WSW Tawrich up to Regent Rock / Peris Eastern Grove that went under the NW span

My thoughts on various parts of this post

This is good. Adjusting the layout of Indar to better fit this new system will be needed, but I'm glad you'll let us play around with it first

YES! This will be a fun new feature. Those outposts will be even more important than they are now, and holding them will be almost as crucial as holding the actual facilities. Hopefully you adjust the terrain around facilities as well, to account for the fact that these are now full fledged bases.
Also, maybe you could make it such that you don't get the full benefit from a facility if you don't hold all the surrounding outposts?

This is a terrible idea, if anything there needs to be more variance between capture time based on influence and point control, as well as perhaps adding bonuses for territory population. This just makes ghost-capping more of an issue, and gives large forces that have already beaten back the enemy more unnecessary downtime. If you want to give the defenders a chance to rally, give defending larger incentives, don't force attackers to sit through more downtime.

This could be cool, but only if done right. The last thing we need is a handful of people slowing the advance of a force much larger than them by moving on and off the point of a base while the large force is trying to move out.

YES! Biolab benefits were nice (not as useful as Tech Plants, but w/e), but Amp Stations were pretty useless.

Improvements to the map are always nice. Let's just make sure that the interface doesn't get too cluttered.

This will be good. SOE has been notoriously bad at testing updates up to this point, so hopefully giving the playerbase access to a testing tool other than the main game will help with this.

Overall a great update, hope to see it soon!

daily rant that we want this implemented A S A P, MORE LOADOUT SLOTS / CHARACTER SLOTS? NOOOOOOOOOOPEE!

Lattice THANKS

I still fail to see how forcing the flow of battle by turning this into CoD map battles is a good thing for the game. You wanted a giant open world, full on war sized FPS and instead you're forcing people into predefined, predictable routes and you think this is a good thing? I mean, wow guys, just wow. Yes, I want to fight the same battles every day, because well, now I have to...that's loads of fun. *sarcasm*

In short, 1/10 on this system guys. You've created a system that will "Force" the flow of combat into the exact same attack and defend routes all day every day, and you seem to think this is fun. Not sure why..

Perhaps, but its not like the grey parts of the map can't be travelled through - there's nothing stopping an armoured column from cutting across the plains from Xenotech Labs to Regent Rock. All this is forcing is where you can capture, not where you can go. You can still get forces flanking from other areas, air drops behind enemy lines. All it's stopping is people racing ahead of a force so they can be in position to begin a cap as soon as the previous territory flips.

Besides - I think these routes were how attacks were going already. Only one I've noticed that doesn't fit that is forces from Crossroads Watchtower assaulting the Crown which they can still do as long as their faction has adjacency from somewhere else, like the Palisade, Zurvan Pump Station or TI Alloys. You're still going to get MBTs and such setting up on the hill north of Crossroads to bombard the Crown and it's southern approach, you just can't get adjacency from Crossroads on its own anymore.

Lookin good, can't wait to experience it!
I love this game and I'm glad to know that it keeps getting better and better!

Appreciate it!

*coughs* however...

>.> I want them NS revolvers! I want em now!

-whipcrack- Work faster, cheaper, faster, cheaper!

Yes, but where you can capture is where you go. Also, this is not going to stop people racing ahead to the next area. I can already see platoons organized enough to leapfrog each other to base cap the next area as soon as the one you're in falls. All this is really going to do is cut down on back capping (which btw, I am not against this new system if it cuts that crap out altogether).

Ok, but lets take the opposite into consideration. Yes, you can move to Crossroads from the Crown, but you cannot cap Crossroads from the Crown. You've got to take a minimum of 5 bases (5 via Zurvan, 6 via Ti Alloys) before you've got any shot to even convert a control point (if you're using the above picture as a guide). That's a long hard slog for a modicum of resources and one more spot to spawn aircraft.

Really interresting system offering a lot of new strategy.
BUT also killes the sneak attacks (Taking another outpost instead of this one the enemy is capturing (gonig around them))
I'm looking forward to this with only one half smile, BUT I think this system has got great potentional.

AND you have to make something about the "MAO tech plant" the north empire only needs 1 connection to it but the other east and west empires need 3 connections THATS UNFAIR.

Maybe with this new system..capturing the crown will actually be useful for once. Holding a small force at the crown for defense..while going on the offense on the other routes. I'm sure bases like these will be the established choke point of the game. Can't wait till they implement this new system, I'm sick of having the capture and recapture the same territory every 15 minutes..with no sense of faction progression.