SOE and their refusal to do anything about

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by SikVvVidiT, Aug 25, 2013.

  1. SikVvVidiT

    this population imbalance we have on several servers, especially during Alerts.

    I don't get it guys, there is a simple fix to this. Planetside 1 dev team even gave this dev team the blueprint. Yet they for whatever reason will not implement it...

    I just don't understand why they ignore this issue or try to put out these bandaid fixes. This is probably the single most frustrating then about the game right now. Those of us that want to fight and try our best just can not do it because of the 4th faction...

    It is extremely frustrating.. What do you believe is SOE's reason for not wanting to do anything meaningful about this issue?
  2. LowTechKiller

    I don't agree with you that SOE doesn't want to do anything meaningful to fix population swings.
    • Up x 1
  3. DJPenguin

    Compelling counterargument.

    [IMG]
    • Up x 2
  4. whitupiggu

    In order to balance the pop players have to stick around. Right now performance is so bad most new people quit so there is no way to improve the balance of pops.
  5. SikVvVidiT



    There is a way to balance the pops during alerts. Planetside 1 dev team proved that. This dev team could careless, probably because just like they never really played Planetside 1, they probably don't play this.
  6. jake taylor

    im assuming that atm their attention is focused purely on optimization in order to hit their ps4 launch date.

    im hoping that when transfer tokens become available that the problems fixes itself and isn't compounded by people join already overpoped server factions.

    jake
    • Up x 2
  7. FateJH

    For the benefit of those who did not play PS1, and for the quality of your argment and this thread in general, you could do well to elaborate about how PS1 accomplished this.
  8. SikVvVidiT


    I think leaving that choice into the hands of the players is the worst thing they could ever do. They already take that "problem will fix itself" approach with the alerts. And what we come away with is during regular play most of the times pops are even, but during the alert the 4th faction jumps to the side that is more tactical, which on most servers is usual one Empire.

    I'm sorry but just like in most MMO's you have to hand hold people, you can't expect your community to be the brightess bunch on the block. Some might be very intelligent, but the majority, just like in real life are not.
    • Up x 1
  9. Taemien


    He provided just as much info on the subject as the OP. I'd like to hear the OP's proof of his claim, otherwise we're just throwing around opinions here.


    Sometimes it takes time to get a fix done. Coding isn't something you can just poof out of the air in a day sometimes. And thats assuming you have a workable solution in mind that works with the mechanics, marketing, and direction of the product.

    If I gave you a shovel and told you to put 1 ton of sand into the back of a truck and meet me at a location. If you weren't there in about 10 minutes, would it be right for me to assume you took my shovel and ran rather then actually completed the job? No, it takes longer than that. That's just an analogy. But it proves that perceived inaction or in this case, lack of content patches to remedy the situation doesn't mean SOE doesn't care or isn't working on the issue.


    Personally I don't see an issue with people switching to alts for an alert. Because look at it this way, they wouldn't have helped you anyway if they stayed. Lets get some facts straight.

    First lets figure out why they are switching. Just to be on the winning side? Ok, are you all seriously telling me these people just want to see victory pop on their screen? That is the only reason? I don't buy it. There has to be an incentive to win. Right now that is EXP and Certs.

    So why are they switching to that character specifically for EXP and Certs? I'm going to use past experiences in WoW and other MMOs to explain this. There you had an open world events that would happen periodically. In WoW it was Wintergrasp, in EQ it was holiday events. For both it might have been player events (aka raiding). Normally I'd log over to my main to play in any of those events. When important events are not going, I'm soloing and PUGing on an Alt.

    So this makes me think that the population you see before an alert is an alt population. They are logging over to their mains to be with friends, outfit, ect to do an important event. Aka, the alert.

    That's assuming its a social player. Lets now assume the anti-social one. You know the types, they have voice chat muted, don't follow platoon waypoints. Just generally do their own thing. A good portion of the Zerg comprises of these players.

    Yes, these players will switch characters to the side that has the advantage on that server in question. These are your real 4th factioners.

    Now.. do you honestly think a random unorganized, antisocial group of players is seriously making that much of a difference in alerts? I've done many many alerts. I've never been pushed out by a general zerg. There's always been an organized push by a large outfit platoon(s) that manages to make a difference against the group I typically run with (my outfit runs 2 squads normally, no outsiders). I don't believe these people make a difference in an alert.

    So herein lies the question. How do we fix this? I'm not sure how PS1 did it. But I know a few things that have been suggested.

    Lockout switching characters during alerts:

    Unacceptable. The social type player I described that wishes to log over to help their friends or outfit will be prevented from playing with them. Thats not right. This is a MMO which means social players should not be punished for being social. A BR100 has no reason to play their character all the time. Sometimes one wishes to just take a break inbetween events and so on. Again I see no reason this should be punished.

    Lockout factions logging in that are overpopped:

    Again Unacceptable. As in the above example, the social gamer wants to play with their outfit and not be punished.

    Continent lockout based on population:

    Tolerable at best. This already is in. This is annoying as hell. Especially when you really wish to play with your outfit. This has been alleviated by alerts that occur over all three continents.


    Punishments aren't the way to go. Especially over something you have no control over. For example. I've played NC since closed beta. I started on Genudine. It became Helios, and now Connery. I've been on the overpop side as well as the underdog. I just want to play my character. My friends also play NC and have played with me since Closed Beta. Why should we ever be punished for playing NC on Connery (assuming it becomes Overpopped again)? The answer is, we shouldn't. We should have fun playing, as thats why anyone would play this game.

    Incentives are the way to go. EXP and Cert incentives aren't working. Because maxed out players still want to play with their friends and outfits. Look at this way. They got maxed out for a reason. Those events are why they maxed out. Those alerts are where they can go to enjoy the fruits of that labor.

    Here's my suggestion. Underpopped factions take less time to cap a base. This allows them to avoid the massive zergs and seriously take some territory rather quickly. This has the benefit for for any underdog faction(s). If one faction is having issues because it is smaller than the other two. It can merely lay low and hit parts not focused on by the other two. If two factions are underpopulated then they can quickly eat up territory that the bigger faction will constantly have to maneuver to retake.

    This could be expanded to losing a base too. They could take longer to lose a base. Meaning the larger faction will be bogged down retaking bases. This could be a boon to underpopped factions.

    While this suggestion doesn't help a faction get more players, it can make doing well in alerts easier, maybe even winnable. And this doesn't punish overpopped factions since it just gives them longer fights. Even if its harder to take or keep a base, at least they can still play. Other suggestions made don't do that.
    • Up x 1
  10. Niller

    So they implemented the recommend server system for the lulz?
  11. PutteFnask

    Ahh, just get together with EA and implement PS2's engine with ToR's gameplay. That would be an awesome game Star Wars married with PS2! Objectives and PvP as it should be and even the PvE crowd around here would be happy lil puppies!
  12. Loegi

    So, what is this simple fix? Remember that this is a F2P game, and not a subscription game, so anybody with different empire characters on one account might as well make other accounts.
  13. Vanus Aran

    Excuses, excuses.
    Just admit -> that LATTICE is not working.
    The opposite! Since lattice rolled in, I noticed populations going unbalanced as hell.

    Lattice destroyed all the fun. Now people avenge themself by overpopulating factions.
  14. HadesR

    I would personally prefer it if they changed alerts to only one continent at a time .. It would artificially alleviate over population by allowing the under pop'd faction (s) to concentrate on one continent
  15. mikus72

    The problem will not fix itself. the problem created itself. Players with no gaming Etiquette, or loyalty to faction or friends. Win at all costs mentality. these are the same people that have a new football team each week depending on who is in the lead. Leaving it in the hands of those who chose to create the problem wont fix it. People already quit and start new toon's on other servers that have more stacked pops all the time thus exasperating the issue. The ONLY answer to this is to make Stacking not pay at all. Much like the WOW system where as pops increase or decline your entire factions health and damage pools increase or decrease accordingly. But SOE is far to busy with Ps4 plans which will invariably bring in more of the lowest class possible gamers from the kiddie console pool. What SOE doesn't realize or seem to care is that this problem has completely changed the game. You cannot work as a team towards goals under that load. it has turned the game into just another fps with everyone just running around solo just trying to get kills and nothing else, because anything else is simply too frustrating.
  16. CaligoIllioneus

    What mental athletics do you have to do in order to blame population problems on lattice?
    • Up x 1
  17. Flame Deluge

    For those that didn't play planetside 1, my memory is a little hazy, but I recall that underpopulated factions received bonuses to heath, and perhaps something else. In general planetside 1 placed far more importance on base possession and cave crystals to provide bonuses. In this game, there's no real strategy because the bonuses provided by the stations are so trivial.
  18. SikVvVidiT


    Health and XP bonuses

    Not only that, and perhaps more importantly, they had empire switch timers. So if you where the non-loyal type you were stuck with the empire you switch to for 12 hours (I think that is how long it was). This was implemented to stop people from spying on what the other Empire was doing. In Planetside 2 it could be implemented to stop those flakes from being a bunch of ******* and jumping onto the winning side just because they don't have spine needed to fight for their empire during bad times.
  19. patricio_z

    soe does not give a ****
    • Up x 1
  20. Giggily

    This is adorable.

    Alternatively, they could just go back to the old alert system where everyone just switched in the last 5 minutes instead of the last 50.