Techbot Alpha
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Posts
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Joined
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We're gonna run into problems whatever the heck we go with, really.
So, current picks so far, in no order;
- Night-Watch
- Judicators
- Malleus
- Nighthunters
Some help narrowing those down? -
Quote:So...basically REALLY screwing over Empathy?Originally Posted by PoptartsNinja
Empathy would keep the current Vigilance (the end discount for injured people)
Forcefields would really benefit from a global self-damage buff (10-15%) since Forcefields is unable to debuff enemies for more reliable damage. (we'll call this 'vigilance 2')
Kinetics could offer the defender a low-mag (say mag 3) immobilize / hold protection
Cold Domination could get a permanent HP increase (which is thematic, and Cold doesn't really need help as far as I can tell)
Rule of house; Inherents are Archtype based, not powerset based. -
Judicators. (Literally means 'Judges')
Why nail it too much to a canon group? The only ones that can really get away with it are the really big ones, namely Arachnos, PPD and Longbow. Making individual characters members of Ouroborous or Midnighters and suchnot is easy enough, but when you get into groups theres so much canon and so many toes to tread on.
Just my two silver pieces =P -
Quote:Archery is ludicrously good at this. Snapshot-Aimed-snapshot is so damned fast, AND its accurate and fairly painful. I need to go play my bow Corr some more..Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
Archery does get pretty close with Snap Shot, Aimed Shot, and Fistful of Arrows (Fistful is technically a cone, but it recharges fast and isn't so end heavy that it's pointless to use even on a single target). There will be a little lag after Snap-Aimed-Fistful-Snapped, but not too long of one, as Snap recharges in two seconds, and Aimed in six. That's one of the fun things about that set, it's quick and snappy.
Peacebringers can do the same thing, though I'd probably respec out of one of those first three attacks after awhile... you have plenty of more needed ones that can make for a full chain later, heh.
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Quote:Agreed. Given the Warriors also happen to be wearing said magical artifacts, in the form of their wrist bracers, them vs Freaks should pretty much be the Tech vs Magic showdown of that level range.Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That's a large part of it, though. They're painted as these hapless comic relief villains who can't steal a purse or break into a car, and who have the world's most insufferable girlfriends. They're both street gangs, yet outside of a few select instances, we almost never see them engage in actual gang violence or *GASP* murder! Their missions are OK, but out on the streets, they feel more like kids playing robbers than like actual gang thugs.
And, yeah, some closure on their stories would be nice. Something more than "Eh, I don't bother with them any more."
The magical artefact ring is actually Hellions -> Outcasts -> Warriors. The Tsoo are pretty much allies with nobody, and every time you do an arc for them, they're trying to screw everyone over.
Which actually brings up another good point - the Warriors. They're almost exclusively used for cheap laughs, with them being menaced in the streets by Freakshow and saying things like "You're scaring me!" Uhh... Considering the Warriors are actually MONUMENTALLY more dangerous than the Freakshow for the levels they spawn at, it's outright absurd they're treated with such disdain by the narrative. Two Hewers are enough to ruin anyone's day, I gotta' tell ya.
But, yeah, the connection is only mentioned, but almost never explored. It'd be nice to get more on that.
And amen for the Skulls and Hellions point. They're the equivelant of level 5 Stunted Pig, or Slightly Maimed Wolf from a fantasy MMO. I think the reason I tend to skip straight out of Atlas and Mercy for higher up stuff is because the beginning mobs don't feel threatening. You don't feel like you're doing much to save the City, or carve your name into it, respectively.
Yes, you probably shouldn't be at low levels, not to the extent of, say, LGTF or something. But it can go, and does go, too far the other way.
I love Doc's idea of a series of missions featuring that Cartel war. Given how crummy a lot of the old stuff is Blueside, it'd be awesome to get that shunted out for something better.
Well, one can dream, eh?
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Quote:^ ThisOriginally Posted by Sigium
Atlas Park.
Call me cliche, but just the idea of seeing the place looking like it's gotten a complete redo is gonna be what gets me.
Pretty much the whole game will look gorgeous.
Given I've just broken three years of running on minimum, straight up to Highest...I can't even begin to imagine how awesome Ultra Mode will look ^^ -
Quote:Well there really is no hope for you then.Originally Posted by Westley
No I really can't stand Transformers at all. In any incarnation.
I jest.
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I'm thankful for the people in life that made and still make a difference for me. One especially, although she knows that already, heh.
I'm thankful for overall good health, despite what Uni is doing to my diet (dangnabit!)
I'm thankful to my mate Nigel, who built this awesome PC that allows me to enjoy CityOf on a whole new level, and thankful to the Dev team for being generally really kickass.
I'm thankful that, for all the evil and selfishness and dark days on this Earth, there are people out there who care. That make a difference. That won't give in until there is no more fights left to win, no more obstacles or hardships left unconquered.
I'm thankful for the Heroes. And even for the Villains because, as I learned at two schools, it's what we do and don't do that defines us.
Ya'll don't eat too much turkey now!
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Uh...
Those are Origins. Not Archtypes.
Kheldians are Natural and Science origin, while VEATs are all Natural origin.
I....I'm confused. I think I just blew a cerebral coil looking at that.
But, Brawl for the first three powers? Uh, no. Just no.
This really doesn't sound like a good idea. If it is what I think it is, which Im not sure it is, then it is immensely broken. -
Quote:I fully concur, mostly because the Devs said that they only made VEATs unlock at 50 to keep in line and be fair to HEATsOriginally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
I don't disagree with that point, but considering how ridiculously easy it is to hit 50 and unlock the EATs these days, (took me 100 hours to solo my last brute to 50 using normal content and paper missions) I rather doubt that the devs would add an AT that we can already mimic with existing powersets.
Also, the EATs aren't quite what I mean, they are just close examples.
Kheldians have their shapeshifting, PB's have some team powers while WS's have mez.
VEATs have team buffs by the boatload, and branching powersets.
The idea is simply Blast/Armour. Not Blaster primary/Scrapper or Tank armour, because as Saist pointed out, that would be broken to a new level of broken. But any AT needs balancing.
Failing that, Rikti AT anyone?
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Quote:I cant stand BAYformers because of what he did to good story and good characters...Originally Posted by Westley
Dispari speaks truth. That's the same reason I can't STAND Transformers. Cause everyone else likes it.
Its a passable movie and adrenalin fest, with some pretty good moments (RotF this, not the first turdball) but its not proper Transformers. -
Dual blades can, I think. If you skip a second shield on scrappers, then yes.
Can't really think of more off the top of my head. -
Such a pity that it takes a 'special day' for people to become generous.
Sorry, I'm a cynical git, and it saddens me that a lot of 'charity', especially from celebrities and stuff, is given not out of the goodness of their hearts, but in an attempt to look good.
Still, it is good that there are people out there who do care. That there are real Heroes doing what they can. And good on all of you.
I just wish everyone was like that.
One day I hope humanity can stand, not as 'them' and 'us', but as 'mankind', a proper united whole.
White, black, men, women, short or tall, we're all human.
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make this a place worth living in. -
Quote:I did mention this.Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
I'm not seeing how the EATs don't fit this description already. My SoA uses a hunstman build without any melee attacks. By the time she's done, she'll be 100% offensively ranged and sitting at the softcap to at least ranged with mez protection.
How is that not a blast/mitigation AT?
My point is there is already presedence for a blast/armour set that can be balanced. It would simply be nice if there was an AT that could do this without needing unlocking, and being locked with fixed powers.Quote:But they are also pretty much show examples of blasts/armour and control/armour, in the form of SoAs and Fortunata's.
Soldiers and Crab Spiders are effectively ranged attacks coupled with shields, mez protection and all. -
Quote:The last part especially;Originally Posted by je_saist
IO's blur the line even more right now. Some of the common forum threads now concern softcapping various archtypes against positional defenses. There already are defenders, blasters, and corruptors achieving soft-capped positional ranged... so they can fire from ranged, and generally live from range with no real risk to themselves.
In that aspect, I think it's pretty fair to say that a Ranged attack Archtype with Scrapper / Brute / Tank level shields is going to be a tad bit... broken.
I rather suspect that future Archtypes won't be so much about blurring the lines of Archtypes that already exist by just combining two separate and distinct sets. I suspect that future development will be more about making sure each Archtype in the game now presents a different play experience, and that future Archtypes will follow the current Epic Archtype design of multiple sets with trade-offs in each set.
I never suggested ranged AND scrapper/tanker level shields. That would be oh so broken and so very wrong.Quote:So, obviously the numbers would need to be toned down for any potential blast/armour armour sets. After all, while a Crab Spider with the right slotting and a Dwarf form kheld can tank fairly well (Solo, mind.) they are still no comparison to melee armour sets, and pretty much rightly so.
But what about an AT where you want to use ranged attacks but not have many, if any melee attacks? Pretty much what Huntsmen and Crab Spiders do, which might be why I like them so much.
As for the IO arguement; Not everyone in game uses IOs. Some can't afford them, some aren't that bothered by them. As it is now, anyone with IO slotting will have some advantage over others. Not game breaking, maybe, but it will be an advantage. I always feel something twitch when people roll out IO slotting as a counter arguement for things, simply because the game is not, and should not, be balanced (solely) around highly IO'd builds.
(As an aside, this is also not really taking PvP balance into account, simply because...well, I don't even really need to go there, do I?)
Blasters currently sit best described as;
Damage: High
Health: Low
Defenders;
Damage: Low
Health: Low
(with variables for different sets, such as dark miasma and sonic, amongst others)
'Troopers' (The name is where I fail )
Damage: Medium
Health: Medium
Very, very, very basic example, and ignoring solid numbers because I'm simply no good at them. -
Quote:Either that or tone down the armour? Blaster secondaries are about mitigation as it is, so changing that to passive rather than active mitigation...Originally Posted by Lord Mayhem
I suspect if they ever added a tankmage archetype like that then the ranged damage mod would be somewhat low - like tanker melee-mod levels... or lower... defender ranged-mod levels, perhaps... and if it wasnt then defenders might have a reason to feel really cheesed off.
Besides you can pile so much defence on a blaster these days with IO set bonuses that you can pretty much have what you want, just without the def debuff protection and scaling resists - oh and you'll have to sacrifice going for other bonuses you might want like +rchg somewhat.
Plus I want my Melee / Buff/Debuff archetype first
It would need some number crunching (which Im no good at.)
Really, we already have Blast/Shield in limited form, in the EATs. It can work. It would just be nice to not be limited by powers and concepts.
Also: Dual Pistols/Super Reflexes do want
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Quote:AmenOriginally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Basically, for me it comes down to visuals. If something is intended to be instantaneous, if it's not instant, then it's not instantaneous, now is it? The reason I even bothered with this is because I got a good look at the Alchemist's teleport in Torchlight, which is about as instantaneous as it gets. When you cast it, you disappear in a big flash of light and reappear in a big flash of light somewhere else. The thing, though, is that as the light is flashing on you to disappear, simultaneously with that the light is flashing where you'll appear. There is no delay between starting the power and appearing at your destination. The disappearance and appearance aren't staggered, they are simultaneous. It's not after you're done disappearing, THEN you start to appear. You disappear and appear at the same time.
I don't really want this power for its utility. I envision it being handy, but that's not why I want it. I want it because I want an INSTANT teleport. Not quick, not almost instant. INSTANT. To the frame instant. I want a teleport that's "blink" and you're there. Not gesture, posture, flash, appear, hover a while and THEN you're there. I want it to be as fast as stepping through a CoT portal. -
Mostly mulled over while looking at GR and thinking about how well Dual Pistols would tie in with Super Reflexes.
I've always wondered wether a Blast/Armour AT would actually be Over-Powered or not, or any AT that doesnt have armours at present getting them.
I guess the case in point I looked at the most would be the VEATs and, sort of, HEATs.
Now yes they are 'Epic' archtypes. But they are also pretty much show examples of blasts/armour and control/armour, in the form of SoAs and Fortunata's.
Soldiers and Crab Spiders are effectively ranged attacks coupled with shields, mez protection and all. Banes are more similar to scrappers and stalkers, so I'll let them be for now, same as Widows. Fortunata's on the other hand add in a lot of mez attacks, coupled with the defences of a widow, again mez and all. Partly these both have team buffs as well, but even so, they are balanced.
The same goes for HEATs, perhaps even more so, as their shields are all internally focussed. The HEATs are also balanced more around their team based self-buff inherent and their shapeshifting. But there are also builds that rely solely on the Human forms.
So, obviously the numbers would need to be toned down for any potential blast/armour armour sets. After all, while a Crab Spider with the right slotting and a Dwarf form kheld can tank fairly well (Solo, mind.) they are still no comparison to melee armour sets, and pretty much rightly so.
Bearing all that in mind, would a Blast/Armour AT, or anything slightly 'out of the ordinary' be just a pipe dream or daft idea? Or might it be a possibility?
(Note no anticipation of it happening anytime soon, just thoughts and speculation.) -
Quote:It's worse when they change voices...Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Funny story: Back a few years ago, Dr. Zeus was making a fan video for the game, and recruited me as a voice actor for Captain Mako. He even said he liked the accent. I don't believe that was ever finished, or if it was, I didn't hear about it. Pity, he seemed pretty good at this.
Not only are they unheard of, decent voice actors can single-handedly MAKE a game. Take, for instance, the Soul Reaver series - a series of games with sub-standard gameplay and a story that's so outlandish it's actually difficult to follow, let alone take seriously. Yet Michael Bell's Raziel, Simon Tempelton's Kain and Tony Jay's Kain simply sell the game just on their own sheer talent. As a matter of fact, very much anything Michael Bell voices instantly becomes cool, even absurd characters like Johnny Quest's Ezekiel Rage. And despite no-one ever having played Advent Rising, I still keep bringing it back, because Michael Bell just steals the spotlight every time he speaks up as Enorym, despite how ridiculous that character looks.
On the flip side, BAD voice acting can KILL a game. I've had more than a few point-and-click adventures that I simply shut down and deleted from off my hard drive because I couldn't stand to listen to the damn protagonist. One of them was a non-English production where the lead actress REALLY tried her best to manage, but she had such a thick, grating (though natural) accent that I just couldn't imagine myself playing the whole game like that. And Resident Evil clones (as well as the original series) REALLY suffer from this a lot of the time, though luckily characters there don't spend a lot of time talking.
I really wish something more were done with them. They're anarchistic monsters and cold-blooded killers, the kind who would break into a family home and murder everybody just for laughs and a bottle of gin. Far as I'm concerned, we should HATE them, not find them adorable. Do people forget about Mike Swartzwald, and how they out and out killed him and intended to slaughter everyone in the building just to cover it up? That arc is very much their shining moment, AND it has an interesting idea for Dreck that seems to lead into a plot which never existed.
I'd like to see the Freakshow represented a little less quirky and cute and a little more like the cut-throats they actually are.
Boris the Russion is stupid, offensive and completely unrealistic. It's like watching a Cold War cartoon or some such. Dimitri Krilov, on the other hand, is actually very well done. Sure, he lapses into the occasional bout of stupid accent, but by and large his language is plagued by mistranslations which are actually quite common for Russians and Slaves in general speaking English. That's less an accent and more just poor grasp of the language, and in a very natural way. Him I like, even if occasionally he comes off as more "stupid" than "Russian."
There was a trilogy of games where the main female character had three different voices each damn time. Her first voice was french (I think) accented which was, on the whole, pretty good. The second game gave her a more American accent which was, IMO, the best of the bunch, also because the voice actress really gave the character the...well, character she deserved. The third one was some sort of latino/spanish/italian hybrid which sounded bloody horrible, and annoyed me no end. -sigh-
The thing I don't get is why they use gangs like the Hellions and Skulls as low level 'cheery' enemies...Lets take a closer look, shall we?
The Hellion are a sect of fire obsessed satanists who worship demons and general cause all sorts of unholy havoc. They steal artefacts, they kidnap people, they consort with dangerous demonic enteties...There is so much potential there that dies at level 5!
The Skulls are even better. They're a bunch of death obsessed sociopaths who wear the freaking SKULLS of the first person they killed as a trophy and gang passage. They are psychotic killers who get a paltry 3 enemy types and also die off incredibly early. We barely even see the Petrovic brothers, the big Daddies behind the whole gang. They dont even have unique models or powers or anything, just named Bone Daddies...lame much?
I really hate how shallow they leave the early mobs, especially Heroside. Redside you get the whole Marcone/Mook war as soon as you hit Oakes, you get the Scrapyarder/Cage fighting in Sharkhead, all throughout you have all the powerplays of Arachnos and kicking Longbow and Wyvern around.
Blueside's first taste is the Hollows arcs, which I still think are really good. You could still get a better feel of the Outcasts and Trolls (And GOD do they need a makeover! Blandest models in the game much!) but then it peters off with the blooming Cavern TF. And then nothing.
Wandering off-topic, but it sort of ties in with the character that voices give NPCs and stories. -
Quote:I do tend to use snipes a lot. But I wholeheartedly agree. Maybe not 'one shot kill', although one shotting minions like Assassins Strike would be closer to. Still, we shall see.Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I don't see Power Push getting a damage boost, because it's actually a pretty decent power for what it does, and because Energy Blast doesn't really lack damage in any big way.
However, I DO wish to see the Dominator snipe damage buff ported over to Blasters, because snipes on Blasters are actually not at all very useful. They have crap damage per activation, low damage per second, are interruptible and are so slow things tend to die before you snipe them. I realise that probably won't happen, but it should. Snipes really should be something we WANT to use as much as possible. -
Thoughts;
Quote:Personally, I wouldnt looks too much into Knights and such. Story book knights (in shining armour) were mostly made by the Victorians, and aren't a good representation, where as real knights could be right...uhm...well, not nice people.Originally Posted by Pious
Hunter's Guild - Hmm...maybe
Hunter's Creed - Meh
Assassin's Creed - Taken, game name =P
House of Hunter - Meh
Croatoan Knights - Meh
(The) Knights of Salamanca - Hmm, maybe
(The) Church of Saint Michael - Doesn't sound quite impressive enough
(The) Order of Saint Michael - Hmm, maybe
(The) Dark Covenant - Bit unholy sounding. Unless you're after a more Helsing feel? (Manga and Anime, not the film)
(The) Order of the Seven Saints - Thats not bad
(The) Guild of Demon Hunters - Hmm, bit meh
I'd aim for something a bit more like the Helsing organisation from the Manga and Anime. They do what it takes to get the job done, including a vampire on their side. Course, it does help that it's Alucard
who does happen to be rather the badass.
Holy bullets, really big guns, enscorceled swords and as many black trenchcoats as you can cram in. Oh, and dog collars...why do we not have that option yet?
Edit: And, having blankly stared at Mids for a while trying to think what to make, I just realised, I already have one..an Angel
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Quote:I....just...No. Just no.Originally Posted by spiritfox
All blaster secondaries. I know a ton of people love blasters, but I hate the class with a passion because its the only class besides dominators that has two purely offensive powersets. Dominators work because control is the primary aspects, blasters have no control, no survivability, etc.
And empathy. Ohh, empathy.
Empathy is a powerful team set. That said, alone it sucks horribly. Get rid of absorb pain completely (such a ****** concept) and combine both auras. For one thing, a set called "empathy" needs a confusion. Put it where the first aura goes, make it an AoE cone or a fast recharging single target persuade "showing the enemy empathy and making him question his loyalties for a short period"
Absorb pain could be turned into any number of things, personally I'd love to see one of two items
- Team Stealth toggle, effectively enemies "see" you but because of the empathetic aura you exude they aren't sure if they should attack you yet. Add in an unsupressable
- Single target +res shield, 20% resist to all, enhancable. Call it "Understanding Embrace" or something similarly empathy-ish.
And I'd love to see adrenaline boost changed. Increase the regen and recovery on the combined aura described above and add in +50% recharge, and make adrenaline boost a targeted ally toggle. You essentially make one ally unkillable as long as you've got endurance, "Bond of Empathy" or something like that. I mean, for a healing T8 wouldn't it be great to be able to buff someone into a true level of God mode. +20% defense and +40% resistance, +10% tohit, mag 10 protection and 60% resistance to all existing debuffs of any kind. Make it cost 1.2 eps and you've got a great power.
Empathy works fine as it is. Sure it's not perfect (they need to reduce the timers on a number of moves) but...
What is with people obsessing over sets HAVING to work solo? Defenders CAN solo, but they're not MEANT to find it easy. It says so in every description of the class.
Absorb pain works fine. The concept is also far from ******, whatever that is. It can bring even a tanker from near dead back up to full health, and I know I've found use for it time and time again (simply because some enemies can do silly high ammounts of damage in one go)
Stealth...on an empath...uhm, why? Thats a concept that doesn't make sense. Nor, really, does the confuse.
Blaster Secondaries, as they are, also work fine. Except Devices, which I gave a /signed for editing earlier on.
Not that I'd say no to a Blast/armour AT in future. Especially with Dual Pistols coming out...DP/SR. Want. -
Right, time to think and type.
Fully agree with the Rikti point. Pretty much the only time you really need to 'hear' them is when fighting Bosses as, after all, they would be speaking to you. Or hostages, per some of the RWZ arcs and LGTF.
Mark Hamil's Joker...hah. Yes, very true. And Heath Ledger's Joker. So much of the character came out through the voice, along with that crazy, screwed up elctro bass in the background (upright bass of the electronic variaty, played in a steadily rising scale with a piece of metal. Creepy.)
The thing that I didn't like was the voices of States, Synapse and Manticore in those early videos. They were...generic. Far, far too generic. Recluse, by comparison, had much more expression. He also had less voice editing in those early videos than he does in his GV speech, and sounds all the more evil for it. Mako was pretty good, for his one, hissed line, as was Ghost widow.
If they ever do include voice acting where the character has to speak english as their second language (i.e. Reichsman), they should get someone with a natural accent, i.e, a German voice-actor, to do the voice. That or someone who can do a believable accent.
Decent voice actors in games are not unheard of. Bethesda got Liam Neeson to do the Father in Fallout 3, for heaven sake. Good casting if ever there was.
Back to the issue of factions and voices/personalities. Agreed with the Freakshow point as well. Check the old video where Recluse pops up, egging on a mob of Freakshow who are taking on States, Sister Psyche and BaB. The Freaks feel dangerous. One of them zapps Sister P, another lets BaBs know about Hammer Time.
With, say, Tsoo talking to each other though, it makes sense for them to speak in english. Why? Because the Tsoo operate in Paragon, where a number of their recruits will be from the city itself. Some might be from other countries, some will have been born there. The common language will be english. Same as the 5th and the Council not just speaking German and Italian. The oldest surviving members might; I can easily imagine Requiem and Vandal holding a conversation in German. More recent members, however, will be from successful soap-box speeches around the city, and the recruits won't (likely) speak anything other than english. So that makes sense too. In fact, the only time I've seen german accent writing on 5th members is on Reichsman himself (makes sense, he's from a world where they won) and on some of his lieutenants.
The only other ones I can think of are Boris the Russian (from Syberia) and Dimitri Krilov. Krilov is a bit OTT maybe, but Boris is written believably well. I know people who have sounded like that, simply because that's how things are. -
Good topic this, but I'll need to get back to it when I don't have a lecture to run to
Quick notes;
-AC2 has the option for full Italian with subtitles (which I need to try)
-District 9 DID have subtitles for the aliens, at least in the UK version, or the one I went to see. Given the people who talked to the aliens were the ones who could make it out, while we couldn't, that made sense.
-Chewy and Han Solo were a great pair, much better than blooming C3PO.
-Whoever did the voice for Lord Recluse was awesome. -
Quote:Depends where you look. Population might not have broken any records, but it also hasn't broken any *bad* records either.Originally Posted by Rent_
That's all that needs to be said.
The main problem in my opinion isn't lack of subs, it's lack of people logging in. I bet there's a fair few people with active EU subs that don't log in for whatever reason. I know of at least 20 accounts that are active but are never logged in because they're on the US servers or just having a break and not wanting to lose any vet time and i'm sure there's many more like it.
I know this is hijacking this thread a little but it's about time the dev's started to look at accounts signing in, not just active accounts as their figures for EU population.
Because, lets face it. Anyone who plays EU side knows it is now pretty darn silent.
And this is from someone who can *only* get online after 5pm (thank YOU, damned Uni internet firewall...)