How about rotate in some new rules for the the MA

[Ray77]

IE Every 5th map players who die will not be able to sorte out of the base the previously used.   

[Lusche]

IE Every 5th map players who die will not be able to sorte out of the base the previously used.   

And that would improve gameplay... how?

[Karnak]

And that would improve gameplay... how?

Why, by making it easier for attacking groups to take bases of course!

 

[Hazard69]

Disagree to both -1 + -1 = -2 !

Extremism is not productive, either way. Promoting either more fights or more captures alone can only be detrimental to the game. I say just keep doing what you've been doing and add a few new maps with more interesting options of gameplay : i.e Canyon fights / More hi alt bases / More meaningful, better defended supply & distribution targets (a proper dockyard / railway terminus / truck depot etc.)  Inland rivers where PT boats can run patrols and wreck general havock....etc etc.

[waystin2]

[Zoney]

Nein!

[bustr]

Guys, be gentle. Put some duct tape on the bats and don't use rusty nails.

Ray doesn't seem to have hit upon why the MA is constucted the way it is. So he's projecting his previous experiences with war games on the MA and finding it lacking by those standards. I'll bet he looks at the arena from a 2 sided winner takes all perspective and thinks somehow HiTech is a bit daft as a game strategy designer. So this is his, "I can't take the insanity anymore moment".

The MA is about promoting combat. Not about promoting a war to be won by any means possible. Winning the war is one of the possible outcomes if players so choose that day. All of the bases or capturable objects are equal in that each represents an opportunity for a mini war(combat) as the price of capturing or destroying it's ability to aid a near by feild. If the players so choose, bases are used to promote a simple fight for no reason other then to fight.

If you want to conquer the map, you actualy have to get off your kester and prove to others you are the man, so they will follow you into combat. That takes time and a reputation for leading successful missions, creating relationships with others, such that they see your name as the man with the plan. More often it's one or two squads in each country who everyone trusts and joins their missions and initiatives.

This is the secret to the MA's three country side success. Nothing is imposed upon the countries towards an outcome other than ENY and side change limitations. It's up to the synergy of the players each day after that what the outcomes will be.

So Ray, if you want to conqure the map, get out there and become the man. Instead of begging HiTech to impose disabilities on your enemies so you can steal their territories without having to risk your kester. Heck, we get trophies now for just showing up with the acheivemnt system. You need them delivered personaly to your door by HiTech?

What else could you beg HiTech for.....

An easy mode button to make you fly like a tie fighter
invisibilaty cloak
aimbots
fire and forget smart bullets
player point and click game eject mouse cursor to get rid of defenders
map with all CV's
map showing everyone, everywhere land, sea and air
master comm channel to read and hear ALL communications including private
Lazer guided taters in the K4 that will hit anything up to a mile away

Ray, you might be in the wrong game. WoP is down the street one block and turn left into the day care center.

[muzik]

The MA is about promoting combat. Not about promoting a war to be won by any means possible.

That may be the stated motive. I've heard it before, but it don't jive. If the MA is all about promoting combat, then why is there a "win" at all? They could just as easily reset the map every two days.

If everything stayed the same except there were no "win" People would still take bases, but now they would have no real reason to. Wouldnt that be more conducive to "promoting combat" than giving the option to "win"?

Either you took his thread all wrong or I did.

It sounded to me like he was suggesting they try something different, and keep throwing new things out there to find better game play, maybe even to better promote combat.

Complaining about the way the game is played without making any changes is insanity.

[RngFndr]

IE Every 5th map players who die will not be able to sorte out of the base the previously used.    

Did someone deny your planned base capture??? Repeatedly?

[Lusche]

And this OP sounds like he's offering a way for them to find a better way, without making a massive change to the game all at one time.

The "better" part hasn't been explained yet. But more importantly, the proposal would in fact be a massive change to the game. (That's why I asked for an explanation in the first place.)

[muzik]

The "better" part hasn't been explained yet. But more importantly, the proposal would in fact be a massive change to the game. (That's why I asked for an explanation in the first place.)

I get that. I didn't really care for the whole idea either. When I heard the idea, it reminded me of an idea posted before, that we have periodic "beta" setups to see how new ideas would play out. I'm not talking about massive changes to the game engine, just rules and set ups that affect game play.

"Periodic? could be once a month, or two weeks. Infrequent enough not to be too disruptive to the criers who cant abide a little effort to improve the game, but frequent enough to make some real progress.

But I do Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????ï3~ï3~       276706287MltCpy2.10 FILL FILLed Sector; ST500DM002-9YN14 (CC4H) S1D5GMZYData Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs??????????????Data Recovery Labs?????????????? has a better balance of pros and cons.

[muzik]

And that would improve gameplay... how?

Just off the top of my head, (and without knowing exactly how the base snatching, fight avoiding, hordes work these days) base snatchers cannot send wave after wave of NOE goons or M3s to sneak the base before the enemy pops up in force.

They are forced to come up with missions that work in a single assault lest their support starts falling off one by one with even a modicum of defense by the enemy.

It seems many in the game are in agreement that this fixation on taking bases is Killing game play. So any idea that hampers that fixation would only help. The problem is, it takes away the little strategic aspects the game has to offer. So the question is, what is more important to the majority, stategic game play or the fight?

I think it's both, and I think a way exists to satisfy both desires. But most only want to complain and cry when you tell them they have to step into the unkown or endure some experimentation.

Perhaps you need to take a poll and put up one of those charts you're famous for that rates the players priorities top to bottom. Then you could know how to build a game that best suited.

[Lusche]

Just off the top of my head, (and without knowing exactly how the base snatching, fight avoiding, hordes work these days) base snatchers cannot send wave after wave of NOE goons or M3s to sneak the base before the enemy pops up in force.

They are forced to come up with missions that work in a single assault lest their support starts falling off one by one with even a modicum of defense by the enemy.

But it works even better in the other way: A blob falling onto a base for a capture will very quickly and effectively kill of ANY resistance without even having to kill the hangars. Remember, that in such a situation it's usually the defender that's having the highest losses by far.

The even bigger problem is something not directly related to "basegrabbing" or the war, it's taking place on a higher level: It's changing all combat dynamics. Regardless if it's being seen as a prolonged base capture attempt or just being called a 'furball' - such a fight between two bases would be much more difficult to sustain, as soon the participants would have to come back from bases far away, sometimes even several sectors away.
So it's killing the action. It's hampering  longer lasting ('epic') battles in favor of suprise 'horde' attacks. I'm not convinced that this is a good thing for the game, no matter what our individual gameplay style may be.

[Mongoose]

That may be the stated motive. I've heard it before, but it don't jive. If the MA is all about promoting combat, then why is there a "win" at all? They could just as easily reset the map every two days.
[/quote]

  To promote combat.  To give us a goal to aim for.   

[bustr]

This describes the personality difference between kids who make their own toys and spend the day having fun in a an empty lot. And kids who demand their parents constantly buy them new toys because they have short attention spans.

The MA is not the Special Events Arena with imposed rules of engagement and defined objectives to win a war between two sides. It's a sandbox with no rules for using the sandbox. Some children are not capable of entertaining themselves even if the toybox is full, and they are free to do anything they want in the sandbox with them. They always want more toys and pathalogicly interfere with the other childrens fun who don't need structure or rules when none are needed. You see this in adults played out between the proponents of paternal stateism versus individualism. They are the ones always crying "there has to be a law" after something tragic happens that any sane person knows will happen regardless of how many laws exist. It's your personal responsibility to account for such things happening in the face of the fantasy that the existance of a law will suspend reality.

The MA is a blank sheet of paper. The hanger is a box of crayons. Why do you need HiTech to place dots on the paper to force everyone to draw the same picture to see who can follow the dots the best? In effect, that's what the Special Events Arena wars are for.