Making ANT runs cooler

[Veteran]

Although futile, I've designed a new vehicle that I think would lubricate the process of fueling bases... the MANTIS (Mobile ANT Insertion Shuttle). This is a slow flying craft capable of carrying one pilot and one ANT. I see it as a way to obviate the need for Galaxies as well as to generally add more fun to the sometimes tedious task of ANT running. It would also allow squads to avoid driving through obvious choke-points on the mountainous continents.

I know Galaxy and Lodestar can carry ANTs, but their reliance on Dropship centers is a pain.

As for certification cost, I'd say 2.

Seems pretty unlikely that this will see the light of play, but it would be fun.

[Queensidecastle]

I was playing my NC chars last night and the Zerg I was moving with lost 2, 5000xp hacks because no one could take the innititave to get an ANT. I cant blame them tho, because getting ANTs sucks ass.

[Happy lil Elf]

If it's a 5k cap getting an ANT is damn near impossible unless it's hot dropped from a Gal. Getting something that moves at 45kph, has absolutely no armor and a kinda crappy turn radius through a mass of enemies is a tad difficult. That and wastinng 10 minutes of your time to get it to the gate and fill it only to be on the way back and get taken out by some dick with a Cycler/Gauss/Pulsar is disheartening to say the least.

[ChewyLSB]

Why do you think ANT's require no certification points? It's not SUPPOSED to be a good vehicle. I think it's fine the way it is, you get a good amount of experience for doing it, as for dying along the way, there are these great things called ESCORTS.

[00AgentDuck]

What I do when there's some idiot shooting at me when I'm in my ant is I just run him over:D , better to get hurt alittle bit from hitting the guy but it's better then being shot by whatever weapon he has. Once I got so close to coming back but some stupid prowler decided he wanted to mess around with me, wasn't pretty and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get away. It's sad, having to drive a vechicle that ony goes 45kph, I bet you surge or even a max in running mode can go that fast. Good idea about the ant carrying shuttle, just have to watch out more though since it's easier to see things in the sky and reavers and skeeters might get you. Or if the shuttle went faster then reavers and skeeters even, but then again, if it did it would be the selected mode of transportation for those people who don't care about there air vechicle and just want to get around. Not a bad idea though.

[Happy lil Elf]

Yeah escorts are great. Problem is no one wants to do escorts either it seems. Trying to get an escort usually results with you getting wiped out by someone with an AV weapon in the courtyard while trying to get an escort. Now yes the one or two times I've had the chance to either have an escort or be a part of an escort it was a blast. Problem is peolpe usually don't ask for escorts and when they do they usually end up getting killed before they can get one.

Point being doing ANT runs isn't fun and in the end this is a game where you're supposed to have fun. Nine times out of ten it's frustraing as hell and when they really count ANT runs tend to be suicide.

[Queensidecastle]

In both cases the Ants were dropped from a Galaxy. They were just dropped too late and the reason they were late is because going on ANT runs sucks ass and people hate doing it. I am glad that the Devs realize how much ANTs suck ass and detract from gameplay and are planning on doing something about it

[Cauldron Borne]

The only part about escorts is me and a buddy just took out an ANT with two harrassars and a lightning as escorts. 2 pheonix's will kill an ANT with no sweat.

P.S. oh yeah and we took out the escorts, too:D

[NCG JMan]

I posted this in another thread, but this topic belongs in this thread. I found this one post by Hadair (sp) in the SOE forum (and thought I would share) that would definitely help with the ANT run. This is exactly how I felt, but he/she came up with the idea.....

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I thought of something that might make ANT runs more convenient. How many times have you been in a base waiting for a hack to go through, asking people "Is there an ANT enroute?" so that you'll know whether you should do an ANT run or not? And if nobody answers, you get an ANT, drive to the nearest warp gate, only to pass by 3 full ANT heading to the base you just came from. This is one of the reasons I hardly do ANT runs anymore, because almost everytime I do it, by the time I get to the warpgate or back to the base, the NTU's are already being filled by another (or several other) ANT's.
How about this... ALL friendly manned and moving ANT's will show up on everybody's radar/continent map. When someone spawns an ANT, a menu interface will pop up, with a map of the continent. On this map, you set which warpgate you're going to, and which base you intend to fill. Once that is done, all friendlies will see you on their continent map. Along with your position, they can see how full the ANT is, how healthy your vehicle is, your warpgate destination, and your base destination.

I think this would help tremendously. One of the problems with ANT runners is that it's nigh impossible to get any sort of escort, and due to the ANT's slow speed and low armor, you're an extremely easy target for anything with a gun. And if you're already on the move, and someone offers to escort you, you have to describe to them where you are. Another problem is the one I described in the first paragraph. When you do an ANT run, you may not know if somebody's already on it, meaning you wasted a lot of time and some potential experience.

This idea would relieve all of that. If there's a critically important ANT run that needs to be done while a base is under heavy, ALL friendlies will know where you are and can go help you get to the warpgate and back safely. This will also stop the problem of too many people doing ANT runs and will keep the defenders at the base. It will also solve the problem of nobody doing ANT runs, since we'd all be able to see if there are any ANT runs in progress, as well as how many.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's an awesome idea. I sure hope devs consider this idea. It would definitely assist/help/improve the ANT run.

*edit*

To add to the idea of identification of the ANTs, there should be some kind letter associated with that ANT. For instance. Instead of the number (as used in the squads), use a letter to identify the ANT. Moreover, say I am in ANT "A". They can look on the map and see where ANT "A" is as well as it's vehicle health. That way others can see where and which ANT is where. So if you want to escort or get another ANT ready, and if you see that ANT "A" is losing health (under attack), you can assist. Or instead of having the vehicle health visible, maybe have a message pop up saying ANT A is under attack in the chat window. Or have it pop up/flash in red like the "Missle Lock" message. I would probably be seen more readily than if it was in the chat window. Either way, I think this would help the ANT runs tremendously.

[Lonehunter]

They don't need to do anything, there's nothing wrong with it. The only thing wrong is that too many people are too lazy to get off their ass and do it themselves. When trying to hack or defend a base that has %30-%20 power, I always go for an ANT. Half the time the base is all ready being powered up on my way back. So what? Better safe than sorry. Just think about that OTHER half. When you get an ANT there it's also easy xp. So many noobs use the roads to get to a warp gate, DUMB ASS! You NEVER use the roads! Always go away from the action even if it invoves going around an entire base. Becouse if somebody engages you or your escorts, your in deep shit. Bottom line is people are just too lazy.

[NCG JMan]

Originally posted by Lonehunter187
They don't need to do anything, there's nothing wrong with it. The only thing wrong is that too many people are too lazy to get off their ass and do it themselves. When trying to hack or defend a base that has %30-%20 power, I always go for an ANT. Half the time the base is all ready being powered up on my way back. So what? Better safe than sorry. Just think about that OTHER half. When you get an ANT there it's also easy xp. So many noobs use the roads to get to a warp gate, DUMB ASS! You NEVER use the roads! Always go away from the action even if it invoves going around an entire base. Becouse if somebody engages you or your escorts, your in deep shit. Bottom line is people are just too lazy.

This is not true (being lazy) at least for me and some others. I have a macro specifically for asking if anyone is doing an ANT run. The reason for not getting one is that you don't know if one is coming or not. And if you do go and get one and you see that there is several on their way back to the base, you feel like you just wasted your time. It's frustrating, and I feel it does need to be addressed..so do the devs. They have mentioned they are going to give the ANT run more attention.:)

[Eliaas_Demens]

C&P'd from my response in the other ANT thread:

Pneumatics. Everyone would want to drive an ANT if you got to cruise into the base with your front end bouncing.

[Lonehunter]

If you plan on attacking a base, get an ANT first! Duh! You don't wait until the base is at 10%. Sometimes I get one at 50%. If people didn't spend 5-10 minutes saying, "Anybody got an ANT?" then when they got one they woouldn't meet 3 others on the way there. Go ahead and get one. Like I said, better safe than sorry.

[Entra]

Well, I always thought about having ANTs receive a form of turbo boost running off of collected NTUs. So the next time you're racing head to head with a fellow ANT, ignite those boosters but wisely keep an eye on your NTU tab. ;)

[Aegis]

Just out of interest has anybody added up all the multiple 3xps you get for an Ant? How much do you get in total?

[NCG JMan]

No, I have not. But I have some friends that did nothing but ANT runs one night and brought in several thousand of exp.