AO Rule Changes With Tuesday Server Maintenance
(51 votes, average 3.10 out of 5)
Written by MOTORMOUTH   
Thursday, 11 March 2010 16:41

We had a production meeting today where we set ourselves the task of identifying game play issues pertaining to times when the game population is unbalanced. This meant identifying the critical point when a population dip needs to be locked down to 1 AO per side. Currently you always have a minimum of 2. We think this needs to change.

This also meant identifying what immediate tools are available (no dev, no patch, no wait) to assist in lower numbers of High Command managing the above AO change to better manage defending during the imbalance. One other change we identified was the need to reduce total AO's available at all population levels, be they low or high, as there are too many AO's available currently at ANY population level.

What this means is, beginning with the next server maintenance of the host, we will:

1. Reduce minimum AO's available at bottom critical side imbalance (currently 2) to 1 AO.

2. Reduce total AO's available from it's current level to something lower. This will be based on an analysis of population per AO as it has played over the last 12-18 months.

3. We will be helping current HC to better understand how the host manages AO's.

While the issues surrounding population changes are obviously more extensive than this list, these are the immediate changes that can go towards better gameplay now. Longer term changes that require dev and coding are still being worked on. CRS is, and always has been, committed to improving your gameplay experience.
 

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Comments (21)
1 Thursday, 11 March 2010 16:50
Giggy
It's a start. I hope you consider FURTHER steps.
2 Thursday, 11 March 2010 17:27
Sethorion
Awesome! I hope this'll stop the one side that's massively overpop from softcapping the entire underpop sides towns.

And I hope it'll also breath some more life into the low pop Euro TZ.
3 Thursday, 11 March 2010 17:28
DOC
NOTE QUOTE: Longer term changes that require dev and coding are still being worked on.
4 Thursday, 11 March 2010 17:54
badger77
Very good news. I remember talking about this with rats so long ago. So glad it's at last in. A small change but simply put if there isn't a population to support 2 AO's we shouldn't have two. If there is then we have more - Simple - logical
5 Thursday, 11 March 2010 19:32
marius
Good idea!
6 Thursday, 11 March 2010 23:38
trevor8
THANK YOU!!!!!
7 Friday, 12 March 2010 02:03
Hog
Truly excellent idea. Thanks.

(ps making 3+ AB towns consume more than one AO would also be great ;)
8 Friday, 12 March 2010 04:47
blupete
a good start, Rats. TY
9 Friday, 12 March 2010 08:48
imkharn
More Excitement per square inch i say.
10 Friday, 12 March 2010 09:31
Chromer
Does this fix anything? making tactics even less important..
maybe I just cant see the light here.
11 Friday, 12 March 2010 10:38
rdmenace
What? where is all the virulent resistance from those who don't want to be told where to spawn?
12 Friday, 12 March 2010 13:49
thefsg
It is difficult to make forward progress with only 1 AO. Will this be restricted to an "ultra" low pop enviroment?
13 Friday, 12 March 2010 17:31
JGray
Someone posted about 3 AB towns costing multiple (maybe 3) AOs... what about tying the AOs to the BDEs being either used in an attack, or being attacked?

ex. Population allows for 2 AOs... 2 BDEs may be used in an attack?

4 AOs 4 BDEs... etc.
14 Saturday, 13 March 2010 01:14
zeb
MMOs' immersion always have and will always be incompatible with lowpop. "free to play" options during lowpop would raise issues due to the interactive and evolutionary nature of our environment.
15 Sunday, 14 March 2010 22:26
Firefly7
Bad news for me, I get horrible FPS on big attacks :D

new computer, here I come!
16 Tuesday, 16 March 2010 01:56
Smy
Brill news. Stop the map moving whilst im at work (as quickly!).
17 Tuesday, 16 March 2010 09:57
schweize
nice! and i agree.. towns with 3+ AB more then 1AO would be interesting!!
18 Tuesday, 16 March 2010 14:19
jimato
This should help the under populated side (usually Allieds) from being overwhelmed
during their low population time.

I wish this had been done three maps ago!
19 Friday, 19 March 2010 10:33
Revrin
This is a start. How About adding a time delay for brigade movement of over-pop side, much like the spawn delay.
20 Friday, 19 March 2010 14:43
DOC
In Hindsight jimato, that would have been better ... but we have to be very cautious of making changes to gameplay and often this means watching something happen a few times before the best course of action is revealed.
21 Saturday, 20 March 2010 03:53
Chasf
I think that will be a great help and will be a good change to improve the game. The 10 towns the axis took in low pop, all the way to Maubage killed us on this map.
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