6 replies to this topic

[Falanin]

It's boring.

Make it take longer, somehow, so that we have a chance to respond to a cap attempt. As it is now, you can take your force out to meet the enemy, not even trying to rush a cap yourself... and the entire enemy double-lance ends up capping your base under ECM before you can get back. In my mind, capping should be something you do because you can't kill the other team for some reason, not the primary tactic.

Screw capping, screw all of you who waste my time with the constant ECM cap rushing, and screw the particular devs whose JOB IT WAS to see this coming and fix it... and didn't.

Possibilities:

Make the base have LOS and radar sensors so we can see cap attempts on their way in.

Give the base some sort of auto-turrets (SRM2/MG/SL), that target nearby enemy battlemechs.

Reduce the amount of cap per second, or increase the "health" of the cap points.

[Falanin]

To be honest, I don't really see the whole symmetrical cap zone idea. In this small of a map, there's only really enough logical space for one important objective. It makes sense for one team to have a cap zone to defend, and be credited the win if it's not capped in 8-15 minutes. For two factions to have strategically important real estate in one small area? No.

Likewise, cap zones don't really make sense from a team size perspective. If we were running battalion level ops it would make sense to keep some battlemechs in reserve to guard, but for a lance or two? The addition of another battlemech to the front line is far to significant a force multiplier to leave them to guard the base.

[Artifex 28]

The idea is that you have LIGHT mechs that react fast. Or anything that is just built to RUN. Dont advance too much without eyes around!

[Falanin]

Yeah... about that. I have, several times, stayed in response range of my own cap point. Bluntly put, it never ends well.

If I'm fast enough to get back to the point from the point the rest of my team is at, then I'm light enough that the max I can delay the enemy is about .85s, while they react to me in the cap zone and kill me.

If I'm a heavier 'mech that's staying back from the group... then I'm staying back from the bloody group. Half the time, it's only 1-2 'mechs capping, and because I'm missing from the main fight, we lose the fight. The other half of the time, it's the whole enemy team capping, and I delay them 1.68s before I die, and we lose because it's an 8-man cap rush vs. a 7-man cap rush.

Edited by Falanin, 14 December 2012 - 11:00 AM.

[Falanin]

I suppose that the point I'm trying to make is this: Defending against an ECM cap rush forces one of three options. In order of easiest to hardest, you can:

Do a cap rush of your own, and get into a good, entertaining fight maybe 1 drop in 3.

Accept bad defensive positioning (around the cap...none of them are remotely defensible) in order to provoke a straight fight, which the enemy can enter on their own terms.

Attempt to coordinate scouts in multiple places and call out enemy positions by text while probably under fire, so your team can meet the enemy in a better position.

Oh, you could also try to get the rest of your PUG on the same VoIP while you're waiting for the loading screen to finish. Really, I invite you to try.


HOWEVER, the thread is supposed to be about proposed solutions to the capping problem. I don't really care about whether ECM is overpowered or not, I consider the cap problem separate. ECM just points out it's flaws more starkly.

How would you fix capping?

Edited by Falanin, 14 December 2012 - 11:16 AM.

[Bhael Fire]

Falanin, on 13 December 2012 - 09:10 PM, said:

To be honest, I don't really see the whole symmetrical cap zone idea. In this small of a map, there's only really enough logical space for one important objective. It makes sense for one team to have a cap zone to defend, and be credited the win if it's not capped in 8-15 minutes. For two factions to have strategically important real estate in one small area? No.

Likewise, cap zones don't really make sense from a team size perspective. If we were running battalion level ops it would make sense to keep some battlemechs in reserve to guard, but for a lance or two? The addition of another battlemech to the front line is far to significant a force multiplier to leave them to guard the base.

Exactly. They need to get rid of the "two base" dynamic. It should only be Defense and Offense.

Defense should have 4 areas that need protection.
Offense should be required to destroy 1 or more of those areas (depending on the match difficulty).

[lessergod]