The Metagame is coming

Juggernaut

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Hi folks,

just seen a screenshot of the lattice system aka minihex. looks really good, no more wack a mole gameplay

hv7nMe0.jpg


What do you think folks?
 
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YamiNoTenshi

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Nov 24, 2012
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Looks very interesting, it will hopefully change the game up a bit and make it new and fresh again :)
 

welph

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It will concentrate the fights, which will make the fights be with higer number of people. Which is great! Instead of 10-11 places they can take our territory in the above map with the system we have today, the places will be cut down to 6(if I can count it right)

Will make it easier for the PL's to move people where it's needed too.

Higby also mentions

Showing more info on the map including:
◦Generator status on facilities
◦SCU status on facilities
◦Friendly as well as enemy troop populations for each region
◦Capture progress and time remaining on the map (in addition to the region "tooltip")

Wonder if the population will be in raw numbers or in %
 
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fbh

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All ideas look great on paper until the general mass gets onto it.
We'll have to see wither this does work as its designed to or not.
 
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Stinkbeard

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I must be very ignorant or something but Idon't think I really get it, someone care to explain how this works and why it is better?

The only thing different I really see is that the adjacent hexes you have to cap before you can cap a main base are smaller in size (purely optical I think) and that you get 1 or 2 less possible attack routes for most main bases. E.g. Dahaka goes from what looks like 6 possible attack routes to 5, Mao from 5 to 4, etc. Saurva seems to be the exception in that it goes from 7 to 3 but honestly will that really make much of a difference?

For instance in the new system it seems like a waste of time to attack Dahaka from the North (Benson). Well do we ever in the current hex setup? I don't think I ever did. In the Dahaka fights I have been in we also first move couter clockwise to the west and south and then come in from Indar Excavation or Alkali Shipping or there abouts. It's the same when defending, they never come from the north, they at best drive a bus up from Alkali or somewhere west to the north wall. How will this chance the flow of the game and concentrate fights then?

I see the same thing happening on many other parts of the map. They seem to unlink the outposts and bases that are more remote or less significant with the goal of concentrating the fighting and make the flow more predictable, but the big and interesting fights were never at those places that now get unlinked anyway. So how is this going to help?


Remeber when we had the North WG and wanted to cap Saurva? I think we always went NW with tanks, lined up just North of the end of the canyon, shelled the f* out of the enemy at Indar Waste, capped it and moved on in the direction of Saurva. On the way we capped Benson (nobody even got out of the car there ever if they really didn't have to) and what the heck we swing by Nanite Pump station as well. Then we either hit Saurva or we went all the way around it until we had Helios. So how is that going to be different now?

Also what will happen to all the grey colored hexes in the new map? I assume they are they not hexes anymore and can't be capped.

Help me out here guys cos I really don't see it :)
 

Juggernaut

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what we are looking for mate is big fights, not wackamole situation we have in ps2 currently, where 1-4 ppl just backhack the crap out of us.

what this means you will have essentially a lattice system which allow for more strategy and tactics, picking where you defend and attack. In ps1 this led to really big fights at key bases. when we took a base from the enemy after a long hard fight you felt a big sense of achievement.

we will now have frontline instead a lot of smaller fights that mean nothing.

This is only one of the features that metagame needs to be a success.

till we get more info, this is only a best guess
 

Feradomurus

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Oct 31, 2012
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I think this will benefit mostly everyone. It'll be much easier to tell where the fight is and where it's going to be, which is something I'm sure both new and experienced players are going to appreciate. I hope this will give us all more opportunities to prepare defenses, ambushes and traps and play a more strategic game in general. I love picturing in my head how we establish a position at a key point by placing a dozen anchored prowlers, waiting for the enemy to show up in a narrow chokepoint where they will be just absolutely bombarded.
 

ChromeNewt

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Dec 17, 2012
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Is the base refuelling / fuel stealing coming back from PS1? I hope so! I used to love all the support tasks in keeping a base running. Mind you, I love all the support tasks anyway.
 

YamiNoTenshi

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Nov 24, 2012
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This should make the Sundy box tactic even more powerful :)

Atleast as long as the front rows have mineguard :p
 

Tasty

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Jan 2, 2013
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Looks interesting for sure, maybe now there is gonna be an actual use in practicing how to defend a base the best way and how to assault one the most effectively instead of "Chaaaaaarge!"?
 

McBawbagg

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Jan 27, 2013
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so it looks to me like the spawn hard points areound main bases will become their own area and you need to cap at least 1 to have adjacency to a main facility and it looks like in most cases there are 2 access routes to 1 of these new spawn hardpoint areas. Sounds like possibly a decent start but reserving judgement to see it in action. And I hope this is just the start

Edit: what I do find very odd. Look at allatum bio, there is a road+ bridge from snake ravine straight to allatum, but no adjacency. There is no road from vanu archives to allatum but it is the adjacency route ^^ This is not the road to allatum you are looking for ... SOE logic is 'interesting'
 
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fbh

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[quote="Juggernaut" post=13877]Close up image of the lattice

reWolab.jpg
[/quote]
So basically StinkBeard it's A to B following the path. If a hostile force wants to hit the Biolab, top of the image, they have 4 side routes to it that they would need if they want a faster cap.
If we held the areas to the North of the lab and to the East of the lab that leaves only 2 possible routes of attack in order to attack the Bio lab properly.

With intel on hostile movements and what not it means that we pretty much KNOW where an attack is coming from and where to setup a defensive line.
Same is said for attacking as well. With the lines smaller, not just drive over a hill and hit the base as in right now, means that any tactics will need to be focused about control of the lanes to and from our point of interest.

With correct tactics it is possible to en circle hostile forces with the new idea... least in theory.

Another way to think of this is from a military point of view. See them as Supply lines and if severed the area becomes weaker.
 
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Stinkbeard

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@FHB thanks, I get the mechanics, I think, but I still don't see how that would make us play different.

Our platoonleads most of the time know exactly where the fight is or where to avoid it. We don't need a train track laid out to the next base to find or duck the hot spots. Ghost capping is not a broken game mechanic for us but a strategy most times. That does not mean it's fun. It also does not mean the game is broken now.

However much I support a better meta game, I am doubtfull this will bring it.

I will of course gladly be proven wrong and you can all laugh at me :)
 

Audiofly

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it certainly makes the prowler anchor look more viable option, unless i missed something in the last few weeks. roadblock with AA backup. proper defensive lines and flanking if attacking. not just watching the entire nme change location and beat the crap out of you using zerg numbers all the time.
 

Tasty

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I like that with that system you could be pretty sure where the big enemy push would come, so you can actually prepare a defense of a facility in time.
 
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fbh

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[quote="Stinkbeard" post=13897]@FHB thanks, I get the mechanics, I think, but I still don't see how that would make us play different.

Our platoonleads most of the time know exactly where the fight is or where to avoid it. We don't need a train track laid out to the next base to find or duck the hot spots. Ghost capping is not a broken game mechanic for us but a strategy most times. That does not mean it's fun. It also does not mean the game is broken now.

However much I support a better meta game, I am doubtfull this will bring it.

I will of course gladly be proven wrong and you can all laugh at me :)[/quote]

Thing is though you won't really see it like that on the map screen. The ghost capping game play that is currently going on does nothing for the overall game if a solo Infiltrator can work on stuff pretty far down the battleline.
In PS1 could only really look at an area to control if you had something near (correct me if I don't recall that right) But here the hex lines you see won't be where the troops will be going directly down but rather the area that needs to be taken/defended for a outpost/base.

This will, hopefully, keep the fight focused as a fight rather than a leg it to an area behind us cause of a lone soldier. It is meant to stop the fights been spread out by eliminating that game play.

It becomes easier to know where hostile forces are, where they are likely to be going, and much easier to replan tactics and ideas.

No-one likes sending a squad, or half a squad, to check on a strangely ticking down outpost in middle of no-where. The chase me tactics are the reason why players like to stay in large action areas for a farm.
Knowing where forces HAVE to be will increase the action level.

Yea, will still have forces behind the lines but they won't be able to do much unless the tactic is to harass.

We'll have to see if it works as intended or not. But the signs are there that it should work :)
 

YamiNoTenshi

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Having fights more focused in one direction will also make flanking and backstabbing even more effective tactics.