Lead Squall
Planetary Response Organization
Test Friends Please Ignore
56
   |
Posted - 2013.08.04 18:05:00 -
[1] - Quote
Problem - it is difficult to spawn in areas containing a high density of spawn uplinks.
context - even when separated by the z axis (height) having uplinks near by via x and y coordinates can result in spawning at the wrong location. In addition if an area is important (nearby only null cannon in domination for instance), there will be an ocean of blue uplinks. This ocean needs to be traversed even if you want to get to an uplink on the opposite side of the map.
It is conceivable that a few players can actively troll their own team by laying down their full supply of spawn uplinks in a small area. Imagine 3 players with 20 uplinks a peice at a supply depot. it's possible to have 60 drop uplinks in a small area effectively making selecting a spawn in that area impossible and flooding the map with blue icons.
personal context - as someone who has recent reached uplinks 5, I can lay down 20 spawn uplinks at any given time. while a small sea of uplinks provides great tactical advantage I have heard an upswing in complaints about being unable to pick the right uplink and having to spend increasing amounts of time trying to select uplinks on the other side of the map.
possible solutions/means of alleviating problem -
allowing increased zoom near blue spawn uplinks (in previous builds zooming in allowed much greater control over uplink selection and spawning)
smaller icons for drop uplinks (possibly shrinking in size as number/density increases)
display number for z axis (height) of uplink (very useful for maps with multiple levels)
ability to spawn at same uplink as last time (eg, press "o" button to spawn at previous uplink)
Thank you for reading. Please ask questions and add feedback as you deem fit. |
Lead Squall
Planetary Response Organization
Test Friends Please Ignore
56
|
Posted - 2013.08.05 01:51:00 -
[2] - Quote
Ren Ratner wrote:20 Uplinks? I assume you're using multiple fittings with every drop uplink variant in the game, including the AUR uplinks, and switching between each of those fittings in order to lay down the maximum number of each variant
In order to obtain the 20 uplinks I only use 1 aur uplink, the militia uplink blue print.
I have 4 level 1 logistics suits with 3 uplinks per suit. 4 of the uplinks allow only 1 uplink active at a time. 8 allow 2 uplinks active at a time. This is a total of 20.
Ren Ratner wrote:At 0 skill, we can use Militia Drop Uplinks, so each skill level should increase the maximum number of deployed uplinks by 1. This would mean that at level one a player would be capable of deploying a maximum of 2 drop uplinks (requiring a Logi to dedicate 2 equipment slots to drop uplinks).At level 5 a player would be capable of deploying a maximum of 6 drop uplinks (requiring something like 2 proto variants and 2 others).
even with this, if there are 3 players with level 5 or if all 16 players have level 1 and deploy the uplinks in a small area the problem I describe will still persist, though, granted will be less prevalent.
I agree that we should have some input from CCP on how they envision drop uplink usage. However, considering the current state of things where drop uplinks are beacons that draw enemy attention and fire in quick order there is a need for multiple uplinks in order to have enough survive enemy contact to actually provide the service that they are designed for: namely, providing a tactical place to spawn, not a bull's eye. |