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Well, here it is. When I first started writing this, I only wanted to record my problems with Spacebux and give an intelligent argument defending my position. I didn't expect it to be a 2700 word essay. I'm sure that's very tl;dr for most people. I only hope, then, that at least a few people will take the time to read it and understand what's the point is. I didn't sit and write this whole thing for nothing. Also, I apologize for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.
If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me, and I'll explain it.
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Spacebux: Why Spacebux is Broken, and Why It's Killing the Zone
I've been lazy and unmotivated to write something about Spacebux for a while. I've been enduring it in silence, basically, save for a few posts I made in an earlier thread. That thread didn't really expose all the problems with the Spacebux system, and recently I decided to finally come here and give a more detailed explanation of the problems with Spacebux.
To that end, this post will have 2 sections: Why Spacebux is broken (which addresses the things about it that cause problems in the game) and why it is killing the zone (which addresses the more overarching problems with the system and its principles.)
SECTION 1: Why Spacebux is Broken
The shortest answer here is the “Uberitems,” the items that afford a wildly unfair advantage to the buyer, and genrally make gameplay terrible for people that are their victims. Things like nukebase and megawarp, and to some extent shields, fall under this category.
The main problem with these Uberitems is that they make standard basing, of the kind that Trench Wars was originally founded upon – where the goal of the game is to take control of the flag for a set amount of time – not an end in itself, but a means to an end. I'll go into more detail about this in the second section, but this means that people are playing more to get Uberitems than to actually play the game.
Another major problem with Spacebux is Superlev, and the massive advantages that both it and the rest of the items afford to LTs. “But hang on a second!,” some would say, “the superlev item only gives the levi as much bombing power as the old levi used to have, and there weren't any problems with it before!” Actually, there are two main problems with “new” levi.
First, the Superlev bomb, on top of having the same blast radius and damage as the old levi, has an EMP effect to anyone within range that isn't killed by the bomb explosion itself. Yes, the standard levi also has EMP, but its blast radius isn't large enough to really matter, so the Superlev item adds more power to the new levi than the old levi used to have.
Second, the Spacebux system, as opposed to the old ?buy system, means that LTs can buy any items they need to escape from LT hunters anytime they want. Need a full charge to pop off another bomb? You got it, with Spacebux. Need another portal, since you don't have anyone greening? Buy a full charge, or better yet, buy a prize pack, which can ALSO be used to green up your Levi even faster than before. And, all this can be done anytime you like, no matter what the situation is.
Clearly, the new Levi has incredible power, far more power than it used to have, which is probably not what people were expecting with new Levi. Unfortunately for most people, the problems don't end there. Again, I'll go into more detail in the second section, but the basic problem is that only veterans can afford to be a LT anymore, meaning that they are effectively impossible to kill.
To compound the problem, Pub is not what it used to be when the old LT and ?buy systems were in place. Today, an LT private freq can simply fly around the base and lob bombs at the walls, scoring kills without any real effort. This disrupts the people in the public freqs attempting to actually play a good basing game in Pub. This is a far cry from what it used to be, where LTs would be used by the pub freqs themselves in an attempt to turn the tide of battle in their favor – the role the Levi was originally designed to play when the ship settings were first made. “But wait!,” one could interject, “Pub freqs can still use the LT in their favor! What's the problem here?” The problem here is that I personally have never seen any public freq use any Levis. I'm sure that it has happened sometime, but it certainly doesn't happen enough to justify the Levi's huge power. The only thing that the Levi is being used for now, then, is for picking off people in base by private freqs with no interest in basing, and in a Pub designed specifically for that purpose, it is a major problem.
“Hang on a second!,” one may exclaim, “The LT is only as powerful as the Terr driving. Can't people just hunt the LT and kill it? That isn't much of a problem.” In reality, it IS a problem, a major one at that. The first problem is that antiwarp, one of the mainstay weapons against LTs, can now only be carried by Spiders. Spiders, obviously, don't have the speed or maneuverability to keep up with even a mediocre LT, and the massive energy penalty with which the anti punishes the Spider means it simply is worthless against LTs. “But can't the Spider just attach to a friendly Terrier to hunt the LT?,” one may inquire. Unfortunately, although this may actually be feasible in theory, there seems to be no concerted effort to take down an LT in either public freq, or any freq for that matter, at any time. Yes, there may be a few Warbirds and Lancasters flying around the roof in an attempt to drive off the LT, but no one ever seems to get that Spider + Anti + Terrier = a much better chance at killing an LT.
Even worse, dedicating so many team resources to killing the LT puts a very noticeable dent in that freq's basing capabilities. A good anti-LT freq needs a Terrier, for fast transport of a Spider, and a few Lancasters for wide area denial and eventual killing of the target LT. Committing so many resources to killing an LT splits the team's effectiveness and effectively guarantees that the freq will be too under-manned within the base to be able to fight the enemy public frequency. All that together means that a public freq has a choice: hunt the LT but lose the basing game, or continue to fight in the base while repeatedly being killed by the LT. Most of the time, people choose the latter.
To put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, as mentioned before, LTs, using Spacebux, can simply buy whatever they need to throw off potential attackers and continue their unstoppable bombing. As an LT only needs to buy things in open space rather than in safe, LTs can simply evade attackers and immediately start bombing once again, without any cooldown time to return to safe and stock up for another run, making any effort to kill an LT basically meaningless.
In the end, that means that Spacebux makes the LT an effectively invincible method of scoring kills, and consequentially destroying basing, the foundation of the zone – and that's only the advantages that an LT has, without considering the other Uberitems available for purchase.
“Hey, hold on!,” one may object, “All the Uberitems are available for anyone to purchase. Can't people just use their Spacebux to counter the Uberitem attacks?” Well, that question ends up leading into the second section...
SECTION 2: Why Spacebux is Killing the Zone
I'm certain that killing basing was not the intent of the people that created and instituted the Spacebux system. Unfortunately, that's exactly what it does. In a more physical sense, it prevents good games from being played, due to interruptions from LTs and Uberitems. The point of this second section, though, is the problem with the PRINCIPLE of the Spacebux system itself. That principle is the real problem behind Spacebux, and I believe, is one of the things that are contributing to the death of this zone and Continuum as a whole.
What's the principle behind Spacebux? In short, rewards. “But aren't rewards a good thing?,” one may assume. I believe that rewards – at least, of the kind currently given by the Spacebux system – are a very bad thing, as it takes the focus away from the original intent of the zone.
Trench Wars was originally designed to be a basing zone. A single base with a single flag and a single objective for both teams to struggle for. Each ship was unique and designed for a specific purpose to help their team achieve their goal: the Warbird, a sniper to quickly eliminate enemies from a distance; the Javelin, a grenadier to clear out tight spaces of enemies; the Spider, a machine gunner with the ability to kill multiple enemies in quick succession; the Leviathan, an immensely powerful tank that could turn the tide of battle if used effectively; the Terrier, a mobile command post that deployed units in the front lines; the Weasel, a stealthy assassin designed to sneak up on and kill high value targets; the Lancaster, a shotgunner with the ability of wider area denial; and the Shark, a miner to slow down the enemy. All these ships, all these roles, were the main tools each team had to take and hold the Holy Flag. Effective training with and use of each role were the keystones of a good basing team, which created an environment that fostered teamwork, tactics and strategy, and friendship. The task of taking the Holy Flag was not easy, but a challenge to overcome, a challenge which brought enjoyment to all, as the fight was fair, and teamwork, along with personal skill, were the only ways to win the game.
Today, the main tools of taking the flag are a bit less balanced. How can one take the flag today? Why not buy a Shield and rush into the base, smashing through any defense? Buying Super is a good idea, as you can quickly take out multiple enemies with minimal effort. How about a Thor, to easily clear out a flagroom of some pesky skilled fighters to clear the way for a rush? Hell, if you really want some power, try a megawarp and completely clear the base for your team to take the base with zero resistance.
Now, consider the two scenarios above. Which do you think is more enjoyable for everyone? Which do you think rewards teamwork? Which do you think demands more skill? Which do you think requires more knowledge of the game? Which do you think creates an environment for training potential Leage players? Which do you think, in the end, is better for the zone?
I'm sure the answers to those questions are obvious – and one of those situations is brought to you courtesy of the “rewards” of Spacebux. One system “rewards” teamwork and good sportsmanship, and the other “rewards” individual, solo work and, in two words, selfishness and greed.
That is the problem with the principle behind Spacebux. The “reward” system means that there is no longer a reason to actually play a basing game past gaining kills for your next Megawarp or Superlev. There is no longer any way to play a good game of basing without playing ?go base, which is dead, or playing in the leagues, which is populated by too many powerful, experienced players for someone outside of the league to win against – meaning that Spacebux inhibits new players from playing basing leagues.
“Wait, wait, wait,” one can interrupt, “doesn't everyone in Pub have the chance to get powerful items? And doesn't the Spacebux system help new players by giving them more power, allowing them to learn the game better while fighting against more experienced opponents?” The answer to both of those questions is a resounding “No.”
Again, as I said earlier, Spacebux is, at its core, a reward system. The problem is what, exactly, it rewards. Spacebux is a time- and experience-based reward system, using kills and flag game wins as the determining factor for how much to reward. What are two things that veteran players have and can put to use in a Pub game? Time and experience – time, as they know the flow of a game and how to change fighting styles as time progresses, and the ability to invest large amounts of time into a game as they know it well, and experience, obviously, more experience in ship-to-ship fighting, basing, and knowledge of the system. New players have neither of these advantages – a person trying out the game for the first time is generally unwilling to commit too much time to the game if it is to hard at first, and the inherently lack experience in fighting and do not know how the system functions.
This means, in the end, that veteran players accumulate large amounts of Spacebux, and its overpowered rewards, while new players, the original intended beneficiary of the Spacebux system, are unable to gain enough Spacebux to make a real difference – and even worse, they don't have enough knowledge of the system to know how to use Spacebux effectively. In other words, ONLY VETERANS ARE ABLE TO USE SPACEBUX EFFECTIVELY, NOT NEW PLAYERS.
I capitalized that last sentence as it's the absolute, final problem that Spacebux boils down to. When only veterans can use Spacebux, new players are driven away even more than they were before Spacebux was instituted: or, in clearer terms, Spacebux is killing the zone by driving away new players.
CONCLUSION: Silence and Apathy
Recently, I was playing a basing game in Pub. All was well for a while, as the teams were well balanced, and the fight was fun and exciting. All of a sudden, I see a purple blob approach the flagroom as I fight inside it. Obviously, I die. Both teams fell victim to the bomb, and both teams recovered as fast as they could to restart the fight for the flag. Then, it happened again, this time from a different place, as the bomb targeted mid. Again, I and a few of my fellow team mates died. After a few more deaths to the LT, I switched to Warbird to try to hunt down the offending LT. I was far overmatched, however – as I couldn't carry Anti, the LT would simply portal away as I approached, buy another portal with Spacebux, and lay it in a different position, all before I could retaliate. It was literally impossible for me to kill the LT, and all the while, it was scoring more kills on both my and the enemy team.
Frustrated, I called for help from my team. One other person switched to Lancaster and began chasing the LT, but unlike Captain Planet, our powers combined still couldn't stop the LT. I call through chat to see if anyone will switch to Terr to carry my as an Antiwarp Spider around. My only answer is silence.
At wit's end, I gave up on basing and switched to the other team to ask if anyone wanted to form an LT hunting party. Again, no reply.
Finally, I go into public chat to ask if anyone wanted to kill the Superlev. The scrolling text on the bottom of my screen sent to me merely the everyday chatter of the Public arena. Eventually, one lone person answered with a question: “What's Superlev?”
“Aha!,” one may shout, “there is proof that your argument doesn't work! If LTs were as much of a problem as you say, then people would band together and fight them! Spacebux really does work!” I disagree. I think that the lack of response is due to two things: lack of focus on the chat (not much of a problem) and general apathy (a much bigger problem.) I feel that people in the public arena simply don't care anymore about the constant deaths to LTs or Uberitems. What's the point in killing an LT if they simply warp away? Even if you do manage to kill an LT, they will be re-greened in a few minutes and be back again. There is no point in hunting LTs, as they always come back. Likewise, there is little to no defense against the other Uberitems.
That, in the end, is the problem. That is why Spacebux needs to be removed. There is now no way to play a good game of basing in Pub. That's why Spacebux is killing Trench Wars.
If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me, and I'll explain it.
...
Spacebux: Why Spacebux is Broken, and Why It's Killing the Zone
I've been lazy and unmotivated to write something about Spacebux for a while. I've been enduring it in silence, basically, save for a few posts I made in an earlier thread. That thread didn't really expose all the problems with the Spacebux system, and recently I decided to finally come here and give a more detailed explanation of the problems with Spacebux.
To that end, this post will have 2 sections: Why Spacebux is broken (which addresses the things about it that cause problems in the game) and why it is killing the zone (which addresses the more overarching problems with the system and its principles.)
SECTION 1: Why Spacebux is Broken
The shortest answer here is the “Uberitems,” the items that afford a wildly unfair advantage to the buyer, and genrally make gameplay terrible for people that are their victims. Things like nukebase and megawarp, and to some extent shields, fall under this category.
The main problem with these Uberitems is that they make standard basing, of the kind that Trench Wars was originally founded upon – where the goal of the game is to take control of the flag for a set amount of time – not an end in itself, but a means to an end. I'll go into more detail about this in the second section, but this means that people are playing more to get Uberitems than to actually play the game.
Another major problem with Spacebux is Superlev, and the massive advantages that both it and the rest of the items afford to LTs. “But hang on a second!,” some would say, “the superlev item only gives the levi as much bombing power as the old levi used to have, and there weren't any problems with it before!” Actually, there are two main problems with “new” levi.
First, the Superlev bomb, on top of having the same blast radius and damage as the old levi, has an EMP effect to anyone within range that isn't killed by the bomb explosion itself. Yes, the standard levi also has EMP, but its blast radius isn't large enough to really matter, so the Superlev item adds more power to the new levi than the old levi used to have.
Second, the Spacebux system, as opposed to the old ?buy system, means that LTs can buy any items they need to escape from LT hunters anytime they want. Need a full charge to pop off another bomb? You got it, with Spacebux. Need another portal, since you don't have anyone greening? Buy a full charge, or better yet, buy a prize pack, which can ALSO be used to green up your Levi even faster than before. And, all this can be done anytime you like, no matter what the situation is.
Clearly, the new Levi has incredible power, far more power than it used to have, which is probably not what people were expecting with new Levi. Unfortunately for most people, the problems don't end there. Again, I'll go into more detail in the second section, but the basic problem is that only veterans can afford to be a LT anymore, meaning that they are effectively impossible to kill.
To compound the problem, Pub is not what it used to be when the old LT and ?buy systems were in place. Today, an LT private freq can simply fly around the base and lob bombs at the walls, scoring kills without any real effort. This disrupts the people in the public freqs attempting to actually play a good basing game in Pub. This is a far cry from what it used to be, where LTs would be used by the pub freqs themselves in an attempt to turn the tide of battle in their favor – the role the Levi was originally designed to play when the ship settings were first made. “But wait!,” one could interject, “Pub freqs can still use the LT in their favor! What's the problem here?” The problem here is that I personally have never seen any public freq use any Levis. I'm sure that it has happened sometime, but it certainly doesn't happen enough to justify the Levi's huge power. The only thing that the Levi is being used for now, then, is for picking off people in base by private freqs with no interest in basing, and in a Pub designed specifically for that purpose, it is a major problem.
“Hang on a second!,” one may exclaim, “The LT is only as powerful as the Terr driving. Can't people just hunt the LT and kill it? That isn't much of a problem.” In reality, it IS a problem, a major one at that. The first problem is that antiwarp, one of the mainstay weapons against LTs, can now only be carried by Spiders. Spiders, obviously, don't have the speed or maneuverability to keep up with even a mediocre LT, and the massive energy penalty with which the anti punishes the Spider means it simply is worthless against LTs. “But can't the Spider just attach to a friendly Terrier to hunt the LT?,” one may inquire. Unfortunately, although this may actually be feasible in theory, there seems to be no concerted effort to take down an LT in either public freq, or any freq for that matter, at any time. Yes, there may be a few Warbirds and Lancasters flying around the roof in an attempt to drive off the LT, but no one ever seems to get that Spider + Anti + Terrier = a much better chance at killing an LT.
Even worse, dedicating so many team resources to killing the LT puts a very noticeable dent in that freq's basing capabilities. A good anti-LT freq needs a Terrier, for fast transport of a Spider, and a few Lancasters for wide area denial and eventual killing of the target LT. Committing so many resources to killing an LT splits the team's effectiveness and effectively guarantees that the freq will be too under-manned within the base to be able to fight the enemy public frequency. All that together means that a public freq has a choice: hunt the LT but lose the basing game, or continue to fight in the base while repeatedly being killed by the LT. Most of the time, people choose the latter.
To put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, as mentioned before, LTs, using Spacebux, can simply buy whatever they need to throw off potential attackers and continue their unstoppable bombing. As an LT only needs to buy things in open space rather than in safe, LTs can simply evade attackers and immediately start bombing once again, without any cooldown time to return to safe and stock up for another run, making any effort to kill an LT basically meaningless.
In the end, that means that Spacebux makes the LT an effectively invincible method of scoring kills, and consequentially destroying basing, the foundation of the zone – and that's only the advantages that an LT has, without considering the other Uberitems available for purchase.
“Hey, hold on!,” one may object, “All the Uberitems are available for anyone to purchase. Can't people just use their Spacebux to counter the Uberitem attacks?” Well, that question ends up leading into the second section...
SECTION 2: Why Spacebux is Killing the Zone
I'm certain that killing basing was not the intent of the people that created and instituted the Spacebux system. Unfortunately, that's exactly what it does. In a more physical sense, it prevents good games from being played, due to interruptions from LTs and Uberitems. The point of this second section, though, is the problem with the PRINCIPLE of the Spacebux system itself. That principle is the real problem behind Spacebux, and I believe, is one of the things that are contributing to the death of this zone and Continuum as a whole.
What's the principle behind Spacebux? In short, rewards. “But aren't rewards a good thing?,” one may assume. I believe that rewards – at least, of the kind currently given by the Spacebux system – are a very bad thing, as it takes the focus away from the original intent of the zone.
Trench Wars was originally designed to be a basing zone. A single base with a single flag and a single objective for both teams to struggle for. Each ship was unique and designed for a specific purpose to help their team achieve their goal: the Warbird, a sniper to quickly eliminate enemies from a distance; the Javelin, a grenadier to clear out tight spaces of enemies; the Spider, a machine gunner with the ability to kill multiple enemies in quick succession; the Leviathan, an immensely powerful tank that could turn the tide of battle if used effectively; the Terrier, a mobile command post that deployed units in the front lines; the Weasel, a stealthy assassin designed to sneak up on and kill high value targets; the Lancaster, a shotgunner with the ability of wider area denial; and the Shark, a miner to slow down the enemy. All these ships, all these roles, were the main tools each team had to take and hold the Holy Flag. Effective training with and use of each role were the keystones of a good basing team, which created an environment that fostered teamwork, tactics and strategy, and friendship. The task of taking the Holy Flag was not easy, but a challenge to overcome, a challenge which brought enjoyment to all, as the fight was fair, and teamwork, along with personal skill, were the only ways to win the game.
Today, the main tools of taking the flag are a bit less balanced. How can one take the flag today? Why not buy a Shield and rush into the base, smashing through any defense? Buying Super is a good idea, as you can quickly take out multiple enemies with minimal effort. How about a Thor, to easily clear out a flagroom of some pesky skilled fighters to clear the way for a rush? Hell, if you really want some power, try a megawarp and completely clear the base for your team to take the base with zero resistance.
Now, consider the two scenarios above. Which do you think is more enjoyable for everyone? Which do you think rewards teamwork? Which do you think demands more skill? Which do you think requires more knowledge of the game? Which do you think creates an environment for training potential Leage players? Which do you think, in the end, is better for the zone?
I'm sure the answers to those questions are obvious – and one of those situations is brought to you courtesy of the “rewards” of Spacebux. One system “rewards” teamwork and good sportsmanship, and the other “rewards” individual, solo work and, in two words, selfishness and greed.
That is the problem with the principle behind Spacebux. The “reward” system means that there is no longer a reason to actually play a basing game past gaining kills for your next Megawarp or Superlev. There is no longer any way to play a good game of basing without playing ?go base, which is dead, or playing in the leagues, which is populated by too many powerful, experienced players for someone outside of the league to win against – meaning that Spacebux inhibits new players from playing basing leagues.
“Wait, wait, wait,” one can interrupt, “doesn't everyone in Pub have the chance to get powerful items? And doesn't the Spacebux system help new players by giving them more power, allowing them to learn the game better while fighting against more experienced opponents?” The answer to both of those questions is a resounding “No.”
Again, as I said earlier, Spacebux is, at its core, a reward system. The problem is what, exactly, it rewards. Spacebux is a time- and experience-based reward system, using kills and flag game wins as the determining factor for how much to reward. What are two things that veteran players have and can put to use in a Pub game? Time and experience – time, as they know the flow of a game and how to change fighting styles as time progresses, and the ability to invest large amounts of time into a game as they know it well, and experience, obviously, more experience in ship-to-ship fighting, basing, and knowledge of the system. New players have neither of these advantages – a person trying out the game for the first time is generally unwilling to commit too much time to the game if it is to hard at first, and the inherently lack experience in fighting and do not know how the system functions.
This means, in the end, that veteran players accumulate large amounts of Spacebux, and its overpowered rewards, while new players, the original intended beneficiary of the Spacebux system, are unable to gain enough Spacebux to make a real difference – and even worse, they don't have enough knowledge of the system to know how to use Spacebux effectively. In other words, ONLY VETERANS ARE ABLE TO USE SPACEBUX EFFECTIVELY, NOT NEW PLAYERS.
I capitalized that last sentence as it's the absolute, final problem that Spacebux boils down to. When only veterans can use Spacebux, new players are driven away even more than they were before Spacebux was instituted: or, in clearer terms, Spacebux is killing the zone by driving away new players.
CONCLUSION: Silence and Apathy
Recently, I was playing a basing game in Pub. All was well for a while, as the teams were well balanced, and the fight was fun and exciting. All of a sudden, I see a purple blob approach the flagroom as I fight inside it. Obviously, I die. Both teams fell victim to the bomb, and both teams recovered as fast as they could to restart the fight for the flag. Then, it happened again, this time from a different place, as the bomb targeted mid. Again, I and a few of my fellow team mates died. After a few more deaths to the LT, I switched to Warbird to try to hunt down the offending LT. I was far overmatched, however – as I couldn't carry Anti, the LT would simply portal away as I approached, buy another portal with Spacebux, and lay it in a different position, all before I could retaliate. It was literally impossible for me to kill the LT, and all the while, it was scoring more kills on both my and the enemy team.
Frustrated, I called for help from my team. One other person switched to Lancaster and began chasing the LT, but unlike Captain Planet, our powers combined still couldn't stop the LT. I call through chat to see if anyone will switch to Terr to carry my as an Antiwarp Spider around. My only answer is silence.
At wit's end, I gave up on basing and switched to the other team to ask if anyone wanted to form an LT hunting party. Again, no reply.
Finally, I go into public chat to ask if anyone wanted to kill the Superlev. The scrolling text on the bottom of my screen sent to me merely the everyday chatter of the Public arena. Eventually, one lone person answered with a question: “What's Superlev?”
“Aha!,” one may shout, “there is proof that your argument doesn't work! If LTs were as much of a problem as you say, then people would band together and fight them! Spacebux really does work!” I disagree. I think that the lack of response is due to two things: lack of focus on the chat (not much of a problem) and general apathy (a much bigger problem.) I feel that people in the public arena simply don't care anymore about the constant deaths to LTs or Uberitems. What's the point in killing an LT if they simply warp away? Even if you do manage to kill an LT, they will be re-greened in a few minutes and be back again. There is no point in hunting LTs, as they always come back. Likewise, there is little to no defense against the other Uberitems.
That, in the end, is the problem. That is why Spacebux needs to be removed. There is now no way to play a good game of basing in Pub. That's why Spacebux is killing Trench Wars.
J/k MegamanEXE, I'm just "arguing for the sake of arguing", but my points still carry some weight
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