Okay, I never though I'd be one to make an arena caps thread. Caps have never really been an issue for the times that I fly, however, I know it's a big issue for many people in the game. So this idea came to me, here is a disclaimer first:
*This is not thought out very much, just kind of a brainstorm of ideas. I welcome criticism and ideas but discourage the same ole' drag on the current system.
Here we go:
- Try to bring the two late war arenas to more equal numbers. I know that currently the cap of one arena is set by the other, but we still develop huge number differences. My idea is to cap of each area something like 10-20 players over the other arena's numbers. For example; if LWO has 190 people in it, LWB caps would be 210. If 180 people are in LWB, caps for LWO are 200. Let me write that out in a different way because it can get confusing:
Late War Orange: 190/200
Late War Blue: 180/210
See the inverse relationship:
Late War Orange: 190/200
Late War Blue: 180/210
*On a bit of a side note, I propose we change then colors of the arena names. It seems like a minute insignificant change, but the power of LWO is very strong.
The main goal of this is just to even out the numbers. We wouldn't see the huge crowds in a single arena but rather a much more equal split between the two. For many, this is not ideal, but if caps are going to stay, I think we would rather have two decent arena rather than one large and one small. - Caps are removed by numbers rather than times. When the average number of players in both Late War arenas drops below a number threshold for 10-15 minutes, caps are removed and both arenas are open. I don't know what this average would have to be, I don't follow the numbers enough to determine what a good player base is. The existing problem of caps coming back on would still exist where one arena would have large numbers and others would face a tiny arena. I don't know if there is a way around this or not but my idea does not have a solution for it. At least the caps would come on when there are enough people and the numbers are probably growing.
- The waiting queue: Something that makes this idea work is a continuous flow of players in and out of the game and arenas. With smaller numbers and caps in each arena, it might be harder to group up with your squad. Assuming that both arenas are now equally appealing, there would be players wanting into each arena. So you enter LWO and go to the "Queue" and select you want to be in LWB. The system will then swap your place with a player in LWB who wants to be in LWO. If there isn't a player wanting into the arena, you enter when caps make an available spot. I'm not addressing the specifics of this (would you have to be in the tower? would you be counted towards the caps while in queue?) because I'm talking very general and those aren't my decisions to make.
Whew, I tried to write it out as simple as possible because something too complex is probably not going to work.
Feedback? I'm particularly curious on Lusche's opinion on this, because I know he has thought about it a lot and this issue effects him and other Euro players a lot.
EDIT
- I pictured all of this with a 'live' flow of numbers on the arena selection. Rather than logging in and out to try and get somewhere, you can enter a queue.
