Planetside Idea Lab

[Hayoo]

Sup guys,

Just wanted to share this project of mine that I have been putting together recently called Planetside Idea Lab, which you can find here (http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/planetside). It's a site not just about posting ideas but illustrating (even animating) every last one of them.

It is still very fresh out of the box but is slowly growing. This week, January's poll results are in and February's survey put up. More concept art for the "Wishful Patch Notes" section is being developed and the first cutaway image is progressing through the design phase. Also, each Empire's headline page has been updated with some of today's ammo revelations.

You'll probably recognize some of the ideas as ones that we have been begging for from the start of the game. This is more of a community-ideas site than just about my own concepts, so I hope you enjoy browsing through all the possibilities of what the game could be.

p.s. A thanks to Hamma for linking to my site. :)

[TheN00b]

Wow, you sure are a highly competent page designer. I like most of the ideas on your site. Do you intend this thread to be sort of a public wish list for what they wish to appear in the Idea Lab?

[Hayoo]

Thanks :)

A lot of the ideas are common-sense ones (like the deployables hud) or basic improvements that we have been begging for since the dawn of Auraxis. Some concepts are my own (as far as I know) and others are conglomerates of several I see on the forums but that I put a twist to (such as my support vehicles being both ams-buffers and small-team transports). However the ideas come, the illustrations are my own interpretations of the concept. And then the rest are collaborations with other players with really cool ideas that I want to help develop such as ZeusPrime and his Command Squads.

My goal is to have every single idea I put on the site have an illustration or animation attached to it.

[illusionz]

Nice website.. I love the Deployable Emplacement Concept idea.. I hope they consider it

[Strygun]

:thumbsup:

[Veteran]

Nice work

[GreyFox]

PorkFryer, you are so ontopic all the time. That's probably what I like about you.

Indeed.

[TheRagingGerbil]

Hayoo, nice work.

*Edit: Yay, Pork is gone!

[DaniFilth]

http://www.chaoticworks.com/dani/fear9.jpg Yeh good site :o) What service do you use? k

[Hayoo]

Glad you guys like it.

What service do you use?

Hosting is provided by Netfirms. I created the site using Fireworks, Flash, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver.

[Rbstr]

Very nice site, good ideas too.

and pork WTF with the JFK pic and randomness?!

[DaniFilth]

Thanx dreamweaver is nice! :o) Cost's alot tho


I love the site! lol i wanted to make one with that bkground music, but now i can't. I'll just have the cavern module music! that's the best
btw u can't click on potw, If i had the money i would make a website.

[Jagd]

Hey, porkfryer's posts have been expunged! W00T!

[Hayoo]

Thanks! The pic of the week feature hasn't been initiated yet, but it will be up and running eventually. So much to do. :)

A friend of mine who runs MacOs Journal (http://www.macosjournal.com/), had me do a review of some Macromedia products and I got to keep the programs they sent to him. Not a bad trade, eh?

[Rbstr]

No not at all.

Hey your right porks posts are Gone!

[Jagd]

There is a God. There is a God. Aww shit, I can't believe I'm saying that. Oh well, at least there is a benevolent moderator here.

[GreyFox]

Yey! :D

[Dharkbayne]

What did he post?

[Jagd]

A "headshot" of JFK at the coroner's office.

[GreyFox]

This is off-topic, but whatever...

Seriously, this Forum needs to develop a policy against to long Signatures.... not to mention against too big pictures in the signatures.

When reading Dharkbayne's post, almost 80% of the browser window is his god damn Signature!

[Dharkbayne]

Quit using 640x480, my sig is within the size limits.

[SporkfirePS]

Getting back to the main topic: Hayoo, drop me a private message through these forums so I can tell you how to get listed on our fansites page.

[Jagd]

Uh oh, Spork's been reading our flame wars about the decimator!

[martyr]

you should know by now that spork is everywhere and hears everything.

[Rbstr]

He's like bigbrother.

[Hayoo]

He's like bigbrother.

lol :lol:

I always had something like the "Cheshire cat" in mind.

[Hamma]

Not Bad

[Firefly]

Uh oh, Spork's been reading our flame wars about the decimator!
Says who?

[Hayoo]

Planetside Idea Lab (http://http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/planetside) has updated the Concept Art page and the Wishful Patch Notes section with some info and graphics on NTU changes, respawn improvements, and the often-asked-for grenade holster. As always, feedback is welcome so I can continue to refine the concepts. Thank you.

Sample concept image:
http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/planetside/images/ant-trunk-thumb.jpg (http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/planetside/idea_patchnotes.shtml#gameplay)

[UncleDynamite]

Wow, this is great stuff. Keep up the nice work. :)

PS: Uh, Dani, what's that pic for?

[BigFreak]

Yea, very nice site. Congrats and that :>

[Rempel]

I agree with what that guy said. PS should have a catagorie for deployable weapons such as heavy machine guns, lazer platforms, and long/medium range mortars.

[Hayoo]

Thanks, guys.

What do you say to Planetside versions of those US Army Field Manuals that have those interesting illustrations?
e.g.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/7-7/toc.htm

Hmm. And now what do you say to flash animated versions of these illustrations? :)

Well, that will be another special feature of Planetside Idea Lab. Thankfully there are hundreds of these graphics that the army created and little limit to the choices of tactical graphics I can make. I hope someone finds it useful. And even if they don't, I'll still have fun making them. :)

[TheN00b]

That'd be awesome. It'd be a great tool for n00bs who need help learning the game, and it might provide a few useful tips to experienced players as well.

[Hayoo]

I've made two new concept screens for attitude indicators for aircraft. Found in the Interfaces:Vehicle HUD section (http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/planetside/idea_patchnotes.shtml#vehhud) of the Wishful Patch Notes.

The first example clones the altitude meter on the left side. Between them is the attitude/horizon line. The crosshairs act as the aircraft orientation point.

The second example has a seperate horizon line and aircraft orientation point.

Whichever one is chosen could of course be flipped on or off with a toggle key or in options window.

Any suggestions, revisions, or ideas to improve this? Remember that it has to be very simple in design so it doesn't clutter up the screen and so that info is gained at a glance even by someone who has never seen a flight sim before.

Also of note are some new screens for a Rear-view camera pane for vehicles (ground and air). Found here. (http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/planetside/idea_patchnotes.shtml#vehicles)

[Hayoo]

I finally updated the front page for the lastest screens and Empire news sections. For most of the concepts in the Wishful Patch Notes that have graphics, there is a link back to a thread on the PS forums. If you have some suggestions or ideas for these concepts please post them there so I can refine the graphics. Much appreciated! :)

p.s. Starting with the next additions/concepts/etc to the site, I'll start a new topic for it here on PSU so you can avoid having to go to the official forums to comment. :cool:

[Hamma]

Great looking site :d

[Visor]

You should post this link on the PS forums so the devs get a look what we want.

[Rbstr]

Man keep up the good work!

on your hud things i though of something interesting that Enhanced targeting can do, it stays the same as its gona be after the next patch(test server now) but you can activate with j or whatever a targeter that drains stamina like it used to(when activated) when hold your COF over a target it lock and shows you were you need to shoot to hit that target(small circle were your cof need to go to hit the thing, person vech, max whatever it is), so it acctualy enhances targeting instead of just making target selection a bit easier. It also take into acout the Balistic arc of shells.

[TheN00b]

I love the whole Urban idea. If combined with Kaikou's lattice point idea, it could created some very interesting and complex campaigns.

[EarlyDawn]

Defenitely make some of those little training manuals for, say a squad operating out of a Sunderer.

[Hayoo]

Defenitely make some of those little training manuals for, say a squad operating out of a Sunderer.

I'll definately try to cover that as well as all the other vehicles and weapons. I'll need some screenshot help eventually though cause it's hard to take good angles/shots while in combat, as well as shots from the other Empires that I don't play.

[Hayoo]

New entries for the Wishful Patch Notes section were added today at Planetside-Idealab (http://www.planetside-idealab.com). These concepts have been constantly asked for in one form or another by the community. So check out the listing below to see the screens and read a short description about the concepts.

Avatar Armor Bars (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml#genhud)
Numbered Boomers (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml#certhud)
Vehicle Location on Continent Map (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml#globalmap)
Proximity Map contacts on Continent Map (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml#contproximity)

and last but not least

Your Deployables appearing on the Continent Map (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml#acemap)

Feedback or suggestions are welcome.

[Hayoo]

Fixed some inadvertant broken links. All better now. Enjoy.

[BIGTROJANMAN]

Nice work

[Hayoo]

Made a few minor updates on Planetside-Idealab (http://www.planetside-idealab.com) tonight, although nothing too special, such as:

a) log-out/log-in spawn restrictions (no more popping up in an enemy base at loggin)
b) more voice macros
c) quick idea on roadsigns (concept graphics pending)
d) re-arranged a few side-buttons

Preparing for MAJOR post here on PSU and on the Development Discussion forum about Command Squads, a concept long in development by ZeusPrime and myself.

Here's a small taste (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/commanderslist2.gif), showing an uber update to the Dev's Commander's List that goes with the concept. You guys are gonna love this. Stay tuned. :)

[Hamma]

VERY nice stuff man.

[Hayoo]

Forgot to add what is in-progress for the site, aside from Command Squads:

1) preparing squad-composition graphics for the Field Manual section. (Once everyone gets a chance to see them, I will be asking the community for further input).
2) I have about two dozen more patch note updates and concept graphics to finish and post for next week.
3) Will start announcing when Planetside and PSU have news updates.
4) Working on Empire News entries for the coming Capitols and Warpgates.

[Hayoo]

Just a quick reminder: Planetside-Idealab has updated with a revised concept of Command Squads, developed by ZeusPrime and myself. You can find the concept thread here, including concept art:

http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20727

A thumbnail version is up at Planetside-Idealab.com, in the Command Abilities section.

[Hayoo]

Cosmetic updates to the site:

- added news archives section and moved jan and feb over there
- adding title graphics to each section (game overview, news archives, etc.), about 65% complete.
- added little icon graphics in the wishful patch notes to mark the concepts that are confirmed as in development by the Devs.

Still need to spruce up the empire pages and update their news.

[Rbstr]

i like that command thing

[Hayoo]

i like that command thing

Thank you :) Zeus and I worked really long on the concept. I've added some more graphics to illustrate our idea. You can check it out at the address below till I can get them up on my idealab.

http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message?board.id=psdevdiscussion&message.id=27&view=by_date_ascending&page=4

[Hayoo]

By the way, Hamma and Marsman. Did you notice your names on the Command Squads concept screens. ;) Just a little "you guys rock" from me to you.

http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message?board.id=psdevdiscussion&message.id=27&page=4

[Hayoo]

Some updates to the website:

New title banners for every page
New Idealab logo (probably will re-work it later)
Upgrades to Empire Headlines graphics
Update to Empire Headline: Capitols
New April poll and results for March poll
Updates to About Me page
Announcement for PSU Community Night

[Marsman]

By the way, Hamma and Marsman. Did you notice your names on the Command Squads concept screens. ;) Just a little "you guys rock" from me to you.
Hayoo, You Rock! Excellent concepts, artwork, etc... Keep up the outstanding work! :thumbsup: :love:

[TheIronMan]

Kick A55 site! Im in love cant wait for newer stuff to come out liek the flash demos and the art i love it! i also like the gun implacmenet thing! AWSOME!

[Hayoo]

Thanks, Marsman, Ironman. :)

[MrPaul]

Wow that's pretty damn sweet! Got to say I like most of the ideas you've put forward. (Not sure about the scientists...)

Where can we put any ideas that we have that we'd like you to hear, so you can include them/ animate them for us? (I ask this because the "Idea Emporium" is still WIP)

PS. Hullo everyone, first post here. :D

[Hayoo]

Wow that's pretty damn sweet! Got to say I like most of the ideas you've put forward. (Not sure about the scientists...)

Where can we put any ideas that we have that we'd like you to hear, so you can include them/ animate them for us? (I ask this because the "Idea Emporium" is still WIP)

PS. Hullo everyone, first post here. :D

Glad you like the site. :)

It may be a while before I can set up the Idea Emporium. And it will be a place where the community can post their ideas and where their fellow players, not me, can volunteer to turn them into 3d-models or concept art. I simply won't have the time to personally accept ideas and include/create them for players. I usually work on my own concepts or include the frequently-asked-for ideas that make the most sense and fit within my focus.

So if you're looking for your idea to be included in the Idea Terminal of my site, post a good idea on the official forums or in PSU forums and get support for it. If enough people like it, and it's an idea that's reasonable, chances are I'll include it on the site.

[Hayoo]

Some small updates to the site yesterday. I plan to get into more substantial stuff next week.


New concept screenshot on Voice Macro icons (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml#needmacro) is in the Wishful Patch Notes section.
You may have noticed that Idealab has a new logo. This is undergoing some design tweaks.
Empire Headlines now have all recruitment and 'weapon showcase' banners up. The vehicle banner will become an animated gif or flash piece eventually, showing each Empire's unique weaponry.

Empire News menu (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/empirenews.shtml) is up. Whenever a particular Empire is affected, the news will be posted here for quick reference.
Various forum links have been updated to point to the new official forums.
A Planetside Icon has been added to the Wishful Patch Notes (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/idea_patchnotes.shtml). A glowing blue icon signifies an idea that happens to be in actual development (e.g. Armor bars), while a non-glowing icon signifies a wished feature that has already gone Live (after the entry was posted)..
A stand-in button has been added on the right-side menu for the Planetside Community Request and Feature Tracking List (http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message?board.id=psdiscussion&message.id=31135), located on the offical forums. This list is a running tally of frequent Planetside requests by the community. It is updated every week with the most freqeuently asked requests posted by the players.


Remember there's a new poll for April "How long have you been playing Planetside?"

By the way, Hamma, expect a donation sometime next week in appreciation of you guys hosting my site.

[EarlyDawn]

Hayoo owns my life.

Do you have any plans to fill in that mission field on the new command window?

[AltaEgo]

Looks really good, brother. :) Nice work!

[Hayoo]

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/continents.shtml

Currently working on the continents page. It won't be so much a "here's all the conts for Planeside" but a place to help troopers plot entry or defense points for each base on a cont. So far I have aerial screenshots of all the bases on Cyssor which I'll use to point out nearby landmarks, forests, direction of backdoors, chokepoints, etc. that are specific to each location.

Yesterday I was collecting snapshots of all the continents. I found that when it was nighttime on one cont, it was nighttime on all continents, so when night hit I had to wait a couple hours just to get daylight photos anywhere. I wonder why the devs did that. Easier to do? To make room for more conts on the other side of the planet? :) Why not have a nighttime bar move across the map so each cont gets darkness in turn? Hmm, could be another idea for the Patch Notes section.

Anyway, here's the menu page in progress. I still have to make a visit to all the Sancs, take more landscape screenshots, and start getting aerial shots of every other base on the other continents. *sigh* Long week ahead.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/continents.shtml

After this, updating Urban Areas, Empire Tech Levels, and Deployable Emplacements.

After that, World History, War Objectives, and New Arrivals section.

[Hayoo]

A few additions (http://www.planetside-idealab.com/index.shtml) to the Wishful Patch Notes section.

[Hayoo]

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/concepts_oshur_reveal.jpg

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/urban-radar.jpg

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/urban-radar_image.jpg

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/urban-radar_map.jpg

http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message?board.id=psdevdiscussion&message.id=15054&view=by_date_ascending&page=3

[Dharkbayne]

Very nice.

[Rbstr]

cool man

Lol you put Bio on that

[Mushnator]

Like those ideas, especially the Nap of the Earth/radar feature.

Keep bringing them. :thumbsup:

[Hayoo]

Like those ideas, especially the Nap of the Earth/radar feature.

Keep bringing them. :thumbsup:

Thanks. There are some issues with nap of the earth though, like on Searhus where much of the landmass is above your typical radar level.

The problem is that radar in Planetside is a cylinder going from ceiling to sky in a radius out from the object and not in a sphere or cone. This proves problematic on slopes.

[Ivan]

VERY cool ideas. I love all the work you've put into the pics. It makes it a lot easier to understand. I some times have a hard time trying to understand people's ideas with out visual aids.

[Hayoo]

VERY cool ideas. I love all the work you've put into the pics. It makes it a lot easier to understand. I some times have a hard time trying to understand people's ideas with out visual aids.

Thanks! :) That's actually the main reason I started the Idea Lab. Descriptions are great, but graphic examples can be better.

[EarlyDawn]

How does the "5B" next to Marsman relate to his taskforce?

[Hayoo]

How does the "5B" next to Marsman relate to his taskforce?

It means his unit is 5th Squad, B Platoon.

The squad number for each unit depends on when they joined the task force, just like the numbers representing people in a squad. For example:

Sporkfire's squad joins the task force and becomes 1st squad
SL Smokejumper joins the TF --> 2nd Squad
SL Hayoo joins the TF --> 3rd Squad
SL EarlyDawn joins the TF --> 4th Squad
SL Marsman joins the TF -->5th Squad

SL Sporkfire /pinvites EarlyDawn
Sporkfire's squad now 1A
EarlyDawn's squad now 4A

Smokejumper /pinvites Hayoo and Marsman
Smokejumper's squad now 2B
Hayoo's squad now 3B
Marsman's squad now 5B

Hayoo leaves TF
Biohazzard56's squad joins TF --> 3rd Squad
Sporkfire /pinvites Biohazzard56 --> 3A

Like that. :)

For Task Forces, each SL had the option of designating themselves for a perticular role. Marsman would look at the certs/equipment/roles his squad was using and choose, say Armor. So his unit would be 3rd Armored, B Platoon. On the map, his location would show the 3B next to the Armor symbol, and his name beneath it.

This feature allows commanders to make group calls among a unit or over global, such as a task force leader or platoon leader saying "3rd Armored please move to WP3 and hold, 4th Infantry secure WP2." It also gives a quick idea of what the unit can do and their general location.

Also, the reason non-task force unit locations show up is because they have selected the "Share Location" toggle in their squad pane. This allows units to know the relative locations of one another. Conversely, each of those independent squad leaders can see all the SL locations for the Task Force because ZeusPrime has selected "Share Location" from his menu. It's always the highest leader in a unit (squad, platoon, taskforce) who gets to choose that feature.

Pretty Handy, eh? :)

[Hamma]

Sweet :D :brow:

[EarlyDawn]

[Edit: wait wait wait. If in the example where I was /pinvited by Smokejumper, wouldn't I be 1B, being that I'm leading the second platoon in the squad? I think we need a flowchart for the system =P

BTW, any plans to explain the mission functions on the command interface?]

Edit Again: I'm super confused :lol:

[Hayoo]

[Edit: wait wait wait. If in the example where I was /pinvited by Smokejumper, wouldn't I be 1B, being that I'm leading the second platoon in the squad? I think we need a flowchart for the system =P

No, your squad would still be 4th squad for as long as you remained in that Task Force. 1st squad is already Sporkfire's unit.

I know it's not like the military where there's always a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for each platoon, but the confusion would be too great since people would be forced to say the entire name of "1st squad, A Platoon move to waypoint. 1st squad, B Platoon hold up," just for someone to know who was addressing whom. It's much easier to say "1st squad, move to the market. 4th squad stay home, 9th squad have bread and butter, 11th squad have none."

So, once you join the task force, your number is set at that and only adds an A or B or C or whatever depending on any platoons you join or create. Sure, a 26/F is possible (26th squad, F Platoon), but all I have to identify is a "26/F" rather than a 1/B, 1/C, 1/D, 3/E.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/taskforce-reveal.jpg
(note: The reason there is still a 12 is because 9th, 10th, and 11th Squads have left. Any new squads joining the TF will take those numbers.)

I'm debating whether the Command Squad members that help the TF Leader should be able to create divisions within the TF for even greater flexibility. That's something I'll have to discuss with Zeus, since he and I did the TF idea together.

BTW, any plans to explain the mission functions on the command interface?

Eventually, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms to deal with.

[Hayoo]

Here are some details on the Maglev Lines shown on the big Oshur map near the top of page 5 of this topic:

The Maglev: Design Overview

There are two lines with two trains each, running from a port base near a gate in the north west and to a port base near a gate in the south east, crisscrossing one another near the Capitol. The trains go back and forth, one starting from one end, the second starting from the other and they travel as far as the next station and then back.

Maglevs are a means to quickly get the heavy equipment from the Warpgate to the front, so commanders would be smart to capture zones with Maglev stations for their empire and deny them to the enemy.

Trains can only travel between the two friendly stations at each end of a line.
1) Below you have Stations A through D.
2) If TR takes station D, then the NC maglev can only go as far as Station C and back.
3) Once the TR capture station C, they now have a Maglev connection of their own.
4) If the TR manage to work their way around to the NC rear and capture station A, then the NC would have no connections and the Maglev would be inactive.

Figure A: Capturing zones with stations
http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/train2c.jpg

The tracks are like monorail struts spaced apart at intervals that the trains travel along. The sequence of rise to tree level above the ground. This allows for passengers and vehicles to bail safely while traveling. The struts lower as they reach a station so that the train is about level with the second story of buildings.

Figure B: Side View
http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/train2b.jpg

The train itself is made up of 4 or 5 cars: 2 pilot cars at both ends, 1 passenger car, and 1 or 2 vehicles cars. Passenger and vehicle space, like the HART, is unlimited.

Figure C: Front view
http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/train2.jpg

The Maglev Stations: Boarding

The stations are like the HART centers. There is a main lobby on the bottom floor with some lockers and stairs leading up to the second floor with the boarding door. Outside a vehicle ramp leads up the side of the station to a loading door, much like the Tech Plant vehicle ramp, but steeper and shorter. A timer shows above each door as to when the next train is due to arrive and leave.

A player runs through the door and warps to a holding area. Same with the vehicle. To leave the holding area, you simply press "G". When the train pulls in (if it's the end station in the line), it waits on a timer and then pulls away again, taking the new passengers and vehicles with it.

If it's a station midway along the line, a timer above the doors states the trains arrivial time. A player runs through the door, warps to the holding area, and as the train passes, grabs the new passengers along for the ride. A person can stay on the train indefinately, or can bail at anytime along the route by pressing "Alt-G."

The Maglev Trains: Defenses

Each Pilot Car has two turrets for defense that can be destroyed by enemy fire, an AA turret of dual 20mm, and a turret with a heavy calibur gun, like a 75mm. This is for defensive purposes only as a train cannot actually be destroyed, since idiots would sit in wait with tons of aircraft or explosives to get some easy kills. So the only legitimite targets where trains are concerned are the zones where the stations are based. So the train guns' usefulness comes at arrivial points to give covering fire to disembarking or loading troops and vehicles.

Now the risk in traveling by Maglev is if a station is captured before a train can get there or get to the next station, the train immediately slows down, kicks all passengers from the cars, and deconstructs. This forces the passengers to get to their destination as best they can and who knows if enemy aircraft were tailing the train as this was happening. A new train will appear at the next friendly station and begin the back and forth travel of the line once again.

To man a turret, you run over to the gunner's circles in the Maglev station. If there is a spot open as the train arrives or passes by, the player will automatically be put in the turret. If no spot is available the player will be put in the passenger matrix. If the player does not wish to be in the gunner's spot anymore, he simply presses "G" while the train is moving and he will remove himself from the turrets and into the passenger car matrix, although no one is able to take his place unless someone at the next station has selected the spot.

Comparisons for Maglevs and Lodestar/Galaxy:

Maglev pros: undestroyable, defendable, quick, free means of transport from one gate to another.
Maglev cons: linear, may not be going in the direction you wish to, can be lost through territory loss, predicable routes.
Lodestar pros: precision drops, direct travel, ability to repair, freedom of movement, can be stealthy.
Lodestar cons: destroyable, requires special cert, no defenses.

[EarlyDawn]

That's pretty awesome.

Is there any corolation between controlling the urban areas and the maglev system? If there isn't I think there should be.

Now, what classifies as a Maglev "zone"? One of the urban villages? A maglev station?

[Hayoo]

That's pretty awesome.

Is there any corolation between controlling the urban areas and the maglev system? If there isn't I think there should be.

Yes, each station is part of the Urban Area in a zone. Capture the zone and you aquire the supply depot with its garage, repair silo, and equipment terminals, the zone radar, and the maglev station if any are in that territory.

I have since changed zones to be adjacent-capture-only. Now enemy units must work their way behind enemy lines to capture such vital zones.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/concepts_oshur.jpg

[EarlyDawn]

Oh, that's what you were refering to when you said your urban areas had to form a link back to a warpgate or else they switch back unless being actively occupied? How does one actually capture a village? I think at one time you mentioned a "capture and hold" system a la the Battlefield series, but it would be strange to have a special forces team hiking to a base and suddenly have a village swap to their control, totally blowing their cover..

Besides the supply depot, what other kinds of buildings lie in the larger villages?

[Hayoo]

Oh, that's what you were refering to when you said your urban areas had to form a link back to a warpgate or else they're switch back unless being actively occupied?

Well, that was the original concept when you could capture any zone anywhere. The revert-timer was supposed to check the ninja-hackers. But I discovered that if you had a coordinated group of people you could cap all zones at once across the whole continent while having them connected back to a warpgate, thus bypassing the revert-timer. ...sneaky bastards. So I changed it to adjacent-capture only, force players to create real frontlines rather than take advantage of the "Market Garden" scenerios I was trying to allow.

So now, to capture a zone with a Maglev station not next in the chain, a force would have to gradually work their way around to the enemy rear one zone at a time.

[TheN00b]

Thes are just bloody brilliant. Spork should be ashamed that he hasn't hired you yet.

[EarlyDawn]

Well, that was the original concept when you could capture any zone anywhere. The revert-timer was supposed to check the ninja-hackers. But I discovered that if you had a coordinated group of people you could cap all zones at once across the whole continent while having them connected back to a warpgate, thus bypassing the revert-timer. ...sneaky bastards. So I changed it to adjacent-capture only, force players to create real frontlines rather than take advantage of the "Market Garden" scenerios I was trying to allow.

So now, to capture a zone with a Maglev station not next in the chain, a force would have to gradually work their way around to the enemy rear one zone at a time.I see. Where does ownership start with the new system? At the warpgate, or from a base you control? Does village ownership actually control continental lock, or just where you can pod in if you're able to?

[Hayoo]

Thes are just bloody brilliant. Spork should be ashamed that he hasn't hired you yet.

Well these are just ideas. I don't know how hard it is to program or how much of a memory footprint this would land on all the players, especially the dial-ups, although I try to come up with systems that seem flexible enough to be scaled up or down.

I doubt any of this stuff could be done anytime soon, but one can hope something similar to these concepts could become a reality in a MMO game someday.

[Hayoo]

I see. Where does ownership start with the new system? At the warpgate, or from a base you control? Does village ownership actually control continental lock, or just where you can pod in if you're able to?

The urban areas only control HART drops, the radar coverage, and maglev lines if any. Even if you captured all of the zones, you still have the bases to contend with. In the new zone system, players are still able to HART directly into their SOI outside the walls of a base, to give defenders a chance to reclaim their urban areas.

To simulate a supply line, zones can only be captured next to a direct-link Warp Gate, to a base with a lattice link back to the sanctuary or to a capitol you control. Zones cannot be captured next to a Broadcast Warpgate, for example, it must be a hard link.

[EarlyDawn]

Well, there aren't any lattice links back to sanct anymore. Hopefully, the battle islands will fix this, but how, with the current warpgate system, would you adress this? Any warpgate with a lattice link to a capitol?

[Hayoo]

Well, there aren't any lattice links back to sanct anymore. Hopefully, the battle islands will fix this, but how, with the current warpgate system, would you adress this? Any warpgate with a lattice link to a capitol?

LOL. Whoops, brain fart. I meant to say: "To simulate a supply line, zones can only be captured next to a direct-link Warp Gate, to a base with a lattice link back through a warpgate or to a capitol you control. Zones cannot be captured next to a Broadcast Warpgate, for example, it must be a hard link."

Basically, if you own a capitol, that can be your supply line to capture zones.
If you own a base on the other side of a warpgate that links directly to the gate you are on, that can be your supply line to capture zones.

"Any warpgate with a lattice link to a capitol?"

That works as well. It's debatable whether to just have Capitols as origins of supply lines because it may give unfair advantages to one side or the other.


Update:

Now by adding port bases (each one having a lattice link out into the ocean to sea gates) you can have Normandy-type situations if Naval vessels are included. An attacking force has captured a sea zone and notices it links to a port base on another continent. So they load up heavy vehicles, landing craft, support aircraft, and D-Day the crap out of it.

After securing the base, they can then start capturing adjacent zones, working their way inland from the beaches to deny the enemy HART landing areas and maglev stations. They'll also target resource-point rich zones to increase their Empire Tech Level back in the Sanc, since each zone's production center provides a different amount. It's the equivelant of rushing into an industrial area to capture it...that is why on the map you see the forces bypassing bases for the time being to capture zones near the capitol. Those zones are high-yield areas that they want to deny enemy access to.

[EarlyDawn]

I love this for the simple reason that it increases continental strategy without getting rid of the lattice system. (last I heard, you said that the lattice system still controlled base captures, not Zones of Control).

As for the capitol/base conflict for supplies, I'm beginning to see your point on regular bases. Attackers beginning an attack on a continent would be out of supply until they got the capitol, and by that time most of the heavy fighting is almost over.

What other kinds of buildings are you suggesting besides the supply depot for villages?

[Rbstr]

yeah this is a great idea. Maybe this is part of the big surprize for the continents

[Hayoo]

I love this for the simple reason that it increases continental strategy without getting rid of the lattice system. (last I heard, you said that the lattice system still controlled base captures, not Zones of Control).?

Correct, zones would be independent of the lattice to avoid the zerg dominating too quickly and starving out a base before it has a chance to defend itself.

What other kinds of buildings are you suggesting besides the supply depot for villages

I'll eventually start refering to these collections of buildings as "outposts" because the name urban or villages evokes images of civilians or colonization, of which the history of Planetside has said nothing and even hints that they were all military or scientists or something. Kinda sad, but oh well.

Urban Area Buildings

Admin (Control Console) Building:
Houses the Admin Terminal that governs control over the territory. If the outpost only has one building, then this terminal is located in the Supply Depot, of which each zone always has one.
This building may also house other types of terminals like a News, Zone Status, or Outfit terminals if the devs see fit to add such things.

Supply Depot:
Garage for holding stored vehicles, captured vehicles, or special vehicles provided by Empire Tech Levels. The garage is arranged like the Tech Plant vehicle area, except on ground level.
Equipment Terminals that only provide Agile and Suppressor level equipment if no connection to a friendly supply line exists. Otherwise they allow MA, HA, SA, AV, etc.
Lockers for storing weapons and equipment.
Repair Silo that only functions if a connection to a friendly supply line exists. I'm debating whether this requires connection to a benefit-linked base.
Zone Radar, as describe previously, covers zone airspace.
Admin Terminal room, if no Admin Building is present.
Landing Pads, large enough for a galaxy to land safely and take on vehicles.
NTU storage Silo, for forward area storing of nanites.

Generator Building:
Generator Terminal - if this is hacked, it temporarily diables the radar, repair silo, heavy equipment from equipment terminals, ntu silo, and garage. Comes back online after timer. Hack indicator does not show up till a few minutes later.
Generator Core - if destroyed, same effect as hacking generator but elements stay down till repaired. Power-out indicator immediately shows up on map.
An urban area (a.k.a Outpost) does not require NTUs to function, only a working genrator and, for some equipment, a link back to a base or capitol.

Production Plant:
Steadily produces resource points that get shunted back through a secure supply line to increase Empire Tech Levels.
This building can be made up to look like a mine, manufacturing plant, hydroponics plant, food processing plant, mineral processing, gas manipulation, energy research, etc.

Maglev Station:
Maglev loading ramp allows vehicles to enter train
Maglev boarding area allows players to enter train
Lockers for storing weapons and equipment
Possible location for goods terminals

Generic Building shell:
Can be more than one.
Usually two stories tall with balconies, perhaps with catwalks to buildings across the road, etc.
Locations for unique environments to fight in such as a medical station with med terminals, or a lounge, or even a bathroom setting (True Lies bathroom battle anyone?)
Possible location for goods terminals. These terminals do not run out of power, can be hacked, and provide an alternate source of basic equipment such as ammo, medkits, stimpaks, engi juice, med juice, etc. Kind of like a PX store in a box. To be used exlusively with salary system.

Originally I had a basic underground sewer system that could only be hacked from the inside (i.e. a cloaker gets into town, drops down a manhole, takes the sewage tunnel to the edge of the urban area, and opens the drainage door for the waiting troops). But with the difficulties associated with creating more of those kinds of maps, I have opted to put those ideas aside.

[Hayoo]

Floorplan for Maglev station:

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/train2d.gif

[EarlyDawn]

Now, this is a battle zone, right? You can fight here?

[Edit: Any btw, any ETA for the redesigned emplacements/firebases? That's probably my favorite idea out of all of them. I think that would be a nice progression of developed concepts after Outposts/Zones of Control because it would be great to set up a firebase and hold an outpost against an enemy platoon, all the while having your Platoon Commander call the Task Force for backup...]

[l3lizz4rd]

Hayoo, you have the best ideas I've ever seen come out of this community. Every single one I've read I think "Damn, I'd love to see that in the game." Great work, hopefully some of your ideas could become reality.

[Lartnev]

Hehe, SmokeJumper's "inspiration" :)

Yeah I agree that a lot of what is on planetside idea lab would be great to see in the game, a lot of it could be complicated from a coding point of view, but the devs have nothing but time.... and lots of ideas :D

3 cheers for Hayoo and PS Idea lab party: party: party:

[Onizuka-GTO]

hip-hip-hurrah! :lol:

[Hayoo]

Thanks for the kind comments guys and making this a rewarding experience. :)

Now, this is a battle zone, right? You can fight here?

[Edit: Any btw, any ETA for the redesigned emplacements/firebases? That's probably my favorite idea out of all of them. I think that would be a nice progression of developed concepts after Outposts/Zones of Control because it would be great to set up a firebase and hold an outpost against an enemy platoon, all the while having your Platoon Commander call the Task Force for backup...]

Yeah, the maglev stations would be part of a zone. Capture the zone and you capture the station.

Here's a little more on the deployable emplacements.

Emplacements cannot be placed inside a base, on roads, bridges, in front of doors, etc.

Any trooper can make a generic front-piece cover/sandbag thing with an entrenching tool. This basic type comes with a lock-box for putting in extra ammo. Destroy the lockbox, the cover deconstructs. So bombers, arching fire, grenades, or flank attacks are best for denying this cover to the enemy and making him withdraw or die.
Updated: Engineers, even though they are really mechanics, can create the larger cover and have the option of putting a single machinegun on there, probably 15mm.
A CE can create a fully enclosed emplacement for machine guns, aid station, command posts, supply post, etc. Again, bombers, arching fire, and grenades are best against this. Aid stations and CPs are more vulnerable as their tent-looking structues rise above the emplacement cover. These weak types are meant to be back further from the line for protection.
A Field Engineer can create the stronger emplacements that come with AA or AV weapons inside them. Direct fire weapons are able to hit these gun mounts to destroy the emplacement.


http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/emplacement_types.gif

By the way, the turf-color of the sloping sides of the emplacement reflect the ground it is created on: temperate, desert, and arctic, so that they give some kind of camoflauge in addition to cover.

Right now trying to get a handle on the scale of everything in the game so I can create a more accurate layout for the urban area outposts.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/scaled_elements_sml.gif

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/structure_sizes_sml.gif

[Rbstr]

hmm, i like, But i would say make the large/machinegun nest things, Regualr engineer stuff to hae a middle ground

[Hayoo]

hmm, i like, But i would say make the large/machinegun nest things, Regualr engineer stuff to hae a middle ground

Can't believe I forgot to put Engie's in there! How about I switch out that Combat Engineer for the 'larger cover' and let him have the option of putting a machine gun on that. I want to make sure Combat Engineers are special in doing fortifications. Engineers in the game right now are supposed to be mechanics.

[Rbstr]

Yeah thats about right

[JetRaiden]

Thanks for the kind comments guys and making this a rewarding experience. :)



Yeah, the maglev stations would be part of a zone. Capture the zone and you capture the station.

Here's a little more on the deployable emplacements.

Emplacements cannot be placed inside a base, on roads, bridges, in front of doors, etc.

Any trooper can make a generic front-piece cover/sandbag thing with an entrenching tool. This basic type comes with a lock-box for putting in extra ammo. Destroy the lockbox, the cover deconstructs. So bombers, arching fire, grenades, or flank attacks are best for denying this cover to the enemy and making him withdraw or die.
Updated: Engineers, even though they are really mechanics, can create the larger cover and have the option of putting a single machinegun on there, probably 15mm.
A CE can create a fully enclosed emplacement for machine guns, aid station, command posts, supply post, etc. Again, bombers, arching fire, and grenades are best against this. Aid stations and CPs are more vulnerable as their tent-looking structues rise above the emplacement cover. These weak types are meant to be back further from the line for protection.
A Field Engineer can create the stronger emplacements that come with AA or AV weapons inside them. Direct fire weapons are able to hit these gun mounts to destroy the emplacement.


http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/emplacement_types.gif

By the way, the turf-color of the sloping sides of the emplacement reflect the ground it is created on: temperate, desert, and arctic, so that they give some kind of camoflauge in addition to cover.

Right now trying to get a handle on the scale of everything in the game so I can create a more accurate layout for the urban area outposts.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/scaled_elements_sml.gif

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/structure_sizes_sml.gif

make a couple of those bigger I cant read the text.

[Hayoo]

make a couple of those bigger I cant read the text.

If you mean the images illustrating my attempts to scale everything, I did that on purpose since it wasn't something I was presenting. :)

Or do you mean the emplacement examples?

[SilverLord]

Those emplacements are tight bro, I really would like to see those come into the game.

[EarlyDawn]

Excelent stuff for the emplacements. I look forward to the full list of what we'd be able to deploy!

As far as mounting a machinegun on the fortifications, (The small sandbag mounds) I'd be more in support of having a new class of heavy machinegun that could be mounted on the baracade and crewed by either one or two people. The gunner could fire the machinegun and reload it manually, or you could have a second crewman reload it at a greatly increased speed.

It would also be nice to have the option to deploy the three kinds of cover currently in, the tech-sandbags, the tall metal wall cover, and the shorter wall with a gap for firing. These would not have the said lockbox, and would simply absorb damage until destroyed.

[Edit: While it's on my mind, how does one select what kind of post to build, or wether or not to use a machinegun on the entrenchment? Some terminal placed once you build it or is it decided when you use the tool?]

[Hayoo]

Excelent stuff for the emplacements. I look forward to the full list of what we'd be able to deploy!

Me too. :)

As far as mounting a machinegun on the fortifications, (The small sandbag mounds) I'd be more in support of having a new class of heavy machinegun that could be mounted on the baracade and crewed by either one or two people. The gunner could fire the machinegun and reload it manually, or you could have a second crewman reload it at a greatly increased speed.

I've wanted that too for a while and I've supported several threads on it. In the end I decided there was room enough for both. The larger cover (made by engineer and higher) can just be plain cover and no weapon. This would give two levels of regular cover over to crew-served machinegun use.

A grunt uses the entrenching tool to create his small cover, a friend runs up and deploys his machine gun behind it, rather than actually docking it to the cover (whole other coding issues). Once you're CE, you can create that two-sided emplacement with dual machine guns at both ends. Emplacements as a rule will not have large locker space for ammo, and MGs eat up lots of that, so a friend would have to keep feeding ammo into the locker for the gunner to shoot. Once you're out, you're out, you have to run back for extra.

And don't think about simply constructing another one to quickly get free ammo, as it takes longer than a spitfire to make and you are as vulnerable as a Phoenix user while creating them.

It would also be nice to have the option to deploy the three kinds of cover currently in, the tech-sandbags, the tall metal wall cover, and the shorter wall with a gap for firing. These would not have the said lockbox, and would simply absorb damage until destroyed.

I wouldn't mind the shorter wall with the gap or the tech-sandbags (and I might retool the graphics to have those on top of the foxholes instead of the brown sandbags). But the emplacemetns I have serve that function already and which would a grunt like to have more? A chest-height cover. Or a chest-height cover with a place you can store extra ammo in. :)

[Edit: While it's on my mind, how does one select what kind of post to build, or wether or not to use a machinegun on the entrenchment? Some terminal placed once you build it or is it decided when you use the tool?]

Depends on if you're a grunt, engineer, CE, or FE. I'll do examples for both ends of the spectrum:


Grunt gets his loadout that has his entrenching tool and emplacement/nano juice (still working out which one is best).
As grunt nears the battle he notices approaching enemy into valley.
Grunt unholsters his entrenching tool.
He currently has only one creation option, the basic cover.
He aims at the ground and fires.
A small map window pops up showing his location and surrounding terrain. This window lets him choose the direction the cover will face.
If the area of placement is red, he can't build it there. When it turns green, he can.
He clicks again, locking the direction in place.
The screen snaps back to 3rd person view, showing an animation of the grunt creating the cover.
Cover finished, view snaps back to 1st person.
Grunt ducks just in time to avoid a sniper round.


Field Engineer gets his loadout that has his fortification tool and emplacement/nano juice
As FE nears the battle he notices approaching enemy into valley.
FE unholsters the fortification tool.
He currently has 4 options that he can toggle through with the right mouse button: Basic cover, the larger cover, standard emplacement, heavy emplacement.
He selects heavy emplacement, runs to a spot, aims at the ground, and fires.
A small window pops up that resembles the vehicle pad selection pane. On it from top to bottom are the types of emplacements for that catagory that he can create.
He selects the artillery emplacement.
The selection window changes to the small map window showing his location and surrounding terrain. This window lets him choose the direction the cover will face.
If the area of placement is red, he can't build it there. When it turns green, he can.
He clicks again, locking the direction in place.
The screen snaps back to 3rd person view, showing an animation of the grunt creating the cover.
Emplacement finished, view snaps back to 1st person.
FE shouts to his friend, who runs up and mans the artillery post, while the FE a distance aways to create a machine gun nest for some exposed grunts.

As an alternative to the "emplacement direction window" I can just have the construction area highlighted in first/third person in front of the avatar and he can turn his mouse this way and that to rotate the emplacement site. If he hits the escape key or whatever, the selection is canceled. If the area is green and he clicks, it goes to the Type Selection screen.

At least that's how I am making the concept art. Could change here and there, depending.

[Dharkbayne]

You should come into IRC some time while Spork's in there, so you can discuss this with him personally.

[EarlyDawn]

Interesting. Could the engineer lock access to the equipment like a vehicle?

[Hayoo]

Interesting. Could the engineer lock access to the equipment like a vehicle?

That's an interesting issue. What do you think?

Initially I would say they can't be locked because I wanted these emplacements to mimic the gamplay of the Phalanx turrets. That is, I wanted players able to create multiple emplacements for other players around them to use, and not just for their personal use. This goes with the arguement of having a Group-only lock on an AMS. There are advantages and disadvantages to the idea.

[Hayoo]

You should come into IRC some time while Spork's in there, so you can discuss this with him personally.

Hmm. Haven't hopped onto that before. Thanks, I'll have to look into that. :)

[Hayoo]

By the way, if no one has looked at this yet, I redid the Requests Index I first created on these forums (last year I think).


Community Request and Feature Tracking List (updated) (http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message?board.id=psdiscussion&message.id=31135)

It contains most of the requests we've made over the year, separated into several catagories for easier browsing. It also lists which of our requests or fixes have actually made it into the game (quite a lot!):

Requests: Not Planned or not Currently Planned
Requests: In Game LIVE!
Requests: In Development, in Que, in Design, or on Backburner
Requests: Exploring Possibilities/Under Consideration
Requests: Pending Discussions or Potential Future Addition
Requests: General/Non-specific Requests asked Regardless of Changes...or Because of Them

[Hayoo]

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/emplacements_placementb.gif

[TheN00b]

Christ on a shit-crutch! Those are awesome :eek: !

[Onizuka-GTO]

ah. no self-propelled Artillery. :(

Oh well at leased there are some artillery :)

Hayoo im surprised your not in the Gaming industry, or some design company already.

you have some really beautiful and brilliant ideas.

[Hayoo]

ah. no self-propelled Artillery. :(

Oh well at leased there are some artillery :)

Hayoo im surprised your not in the Gaming industry, or some design company already.

you have some really beautiful and brilliant ideas.

Haven't designed commonpool SP artillery yet. :)

I wish I were in the industry, but to break in you have to be almost a specialist in one area like textures, 3d modeling, or animation. I'll have to, and I plan to, go back to college and get more proficient in one of those 3 areas. ...that or help make a game MOD. lol. :p

Here's another image on how the basic and larger cover can be used to protect towed weapons. By the way, the artillery is just splicing together the turret carriage of an Enforcer and plopping an enlarged 75mm on it. LOL. The CE vehicle is really a widened Sunderer with the cockpit cab and siding of the lodestar with a dozer blade dropped in. I'll make the actual designs later, I just didn't have time right now.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/emplacements_placementc.gif

[TheN00b]

It would be very interesting, to say the least, to see how effectively people could set up firebases with these. For example, say that the enemy was attacking your base with a central spawn point of a tower. You could put firebases that could cover both doors a good distance away, and essentially trap troops inside their tower. Would this be fair?

[Hayoo]

It would be very interesting, to say the least, to see how effectively people could set up firebases with these. For example, say that the enemy was attacking your base with a central spawn point of a tower. You could put firebases that could cover both doors a good distance away, and essentially trap troops inside their tower. Would this be fair?

I would say it's fair because in that situation is where the combined-arms team effort comes into play. A firebase is vulnerable to air attack, counter-battery fire from your own firebase, not to mention the infiltrators sneaking in and blowing them to kingdom come. :) With firebases in the field, we'd finally have a reason to fight out in them, using bombardments, orbital strikes, flank attacks, infiltration, etc.

But remember that emplacements aren't just for firebases, the cover can be spread out over a distance to cover a line, road, bridge, repair-rearm point, you name it. Players will quickly learn that dispersed and hidden emplacements will survive longer than a full-blown firebase.

[Onizuka-GTO]

Hayoo. I think this isn't Planetside.

This is an entire different game. It reminds me of Flashpoint.
Very tactical, i liked that game, but it wasn't very good online.
You should think about selling your idea, to a development company. :p

[Hayoo]

Hayoo. I think this isn't Planetside.

:lol: I do.

This is an entire different game. It reminds me of Flashpoint.
Very tactical, i liked that game, but it wasn't very good online.
You should think about selling your idea, to a development company.

Unfortunately, ideas can't be sold to a such a company like can be a screenplay or franchise license, you have to be part of the company (or they simply borrow your ideas free of charge) to make these kind of concepts a reality. Thanks anyway for the confidence though. :)

But all in all, that's a curious thing to say, since I have more than just one idea on this thread. Are you refering to emplacements, urban areas, tech levels, or the dozens of other ideas I've illustrated on idealab? Are none of those suitable for Planetside? :p

[TheN00b]

I would say it's fair because in that situation is where the combined-arms team effort comes into play. A firebase is vulnerable to air attack, counter-battery fire from your own firebase, not to mention the infiltrators sneaking in and blowing them to kingdom come. :) With firebases in the field, we'd finally have a reason to fight out in them, using bombardments, orbital strikes, flank attacks, infiltration, etc.

But remember that emplacements aren't just for firebases, the cover can be spread out over a distance to cover a line, road, bridge, repair-rearm point, you name it. Players will quickly learn that dispersed and hidden emplacements will survive longer than a full-blown firebase.

I'm not sure that I agree. If you could get a medium-sized, dedicated Outfit together, you could quite feasibly set up a firebase as large as an actual base. It could end up being a problem when an enemy force moves in, only to find that they suddenly have to deal with two massive firebases as well as the vehicle-spawning main base. Pretty impenetratable, dontcha' think?

[jondotg]

FLAILS cannot fire without a laze is the best i've heard in a while

[Onizuka-GTO]

I'm not saying they aren't suitable for Planetside.

It's just that your idea have evolved so much that it's like an entirely different game.
It would make the original so different, that you would never of believed it was the same.

I mean for all intended purposes, if they put al lyour ideas into this game they would have to repackage it and sell it as:
Planetside 2: Combat Evolved

:p :lol:

[Cryptica]

I think your ideas rock man, I'm very impressed. Unfourtunately from what I've seen of the player body, most of your creative genius would be under-used. I can't imagine any but the most 1337 outfits and squads making effective use of this type of gaming. Everyone has the capability to do it, but virtually no group would make it work. I shudder at the thought of my outfit trying to make a successful firebase.

[Hayoo]

I'm not sure that I agree. If you could get a medium-sized, dedicated Outfit together, you could quite feasibly set up a firebase as large as an actual base. It could end up being a problem when an enemy force moves in, only to find that they suddenly have to deal with two massive firebases as well as the vehicle-spawning main base. Pretty impenetratable, dontcha' think?

Not impenetrable at all.

The leaders on the scene have many options and tactics to choose from to employ against a static enemy position.

Orbital Strikes
Artillery fire
Lib bombing
Infiltrator sabotage
Air strafing
Flanking attacks by armor and supporting troops (even if the firebase has the manpower to watch all 360 degrees of apporach)
Hit-and-run strikes

Now add to that spec ops against gens to nullify vehicle production at the base, the supply issues associated with Urban Areas, and the enemy's desire to protect territory to increase their Empire tech level. Population limits would discourage such a waste of manpower on a static position except in extreme cases, such as defending a choke-point, and even that can be bypassed territorially speaking.

However, I wonder. Just what kind of firebase are we talking about? What I mean is, in your scenerio, what was the outfit-leader's purpose for creating the firebase in the first place? Since it can't move and you need a lot of manpower to defend one, in your mind what was the purpose of it? Is it defending the approaches to a base? Is it blocking a road or bridge? Is it an artillery base? Is it an airbase? Is it a supply base?

[Hayoo]

I'm not saying they aren't suitable for Planetside.

It's just that your idea have evolved so much that it's like an entirely different game.
It would make the original so different, that you would never of believed it was the same.

I mean for all intended purposes, if they put al lyour ideas into this game they would have to repackage it and sell it as:
Planetside 2: Combat Evolved

:p :lol:

lol. Combat Evolved. :) I see what you mean. Yeah, I've been told that plenty of times. But remember what the game was like a year ago? No lattice, no modules, no capitols, no skyguard, no liberator, no cavern locks, no broadcast warpgates? Players would hardly recognize the game. And now we're getting new continents geared toward specific styles of play. The game is already vastly different now than when it first came out. What's a few territory zones and foxholes now? LOL. :lol:

[Hayoo]

New poll for June is up on Planetside-Idealab. May's poll results are also up.

[TheN00b]

However, I wonder. Just what kind of firebase are we talking about? What I mean is, in your scenerio, what was the outfit-leader's purpose for creating the firebase in the first place? Since it can't move and you need a lot of manpower to defend one, in your mind what was the purpose of it? Is it defending the approaches to a base? Is it blocking a road or bridge? Is it an artillery base? Is it an airbase? Is it a supply base?

In my example, the Outift Leader was setting up a firebase to be able to effectively pin down any attacking forces. If two Outfits, let's say the Widows and the Wolverines, work seperately to build two firebases, then coordinate their targets, they create a triangle with the base that is practically invulnerable, a 'kill zone'. This could end up being a huge problem in places like Searhus and Ceryshen, where there is often only one approach into a base.

[Rbstr]

I think your ideas rock man, I'm very impressed. Unfourtunately from what I've seen of the player body, most of your creative genius would be under-used. I can't imagine any but the most 1337 outfits and squads making effective use of this type of gaming. Everyone has the capability to do it, but virtually no group would make it work. I shudder at the thought of my outfit trying to make a successful firebase.

bah, we could do it, we just have to focus, were you there for the BoB raid wer took part in , when we finaly started listenting we did awsome, but then OrreX and his zergfit showed up and our 15 mna platon got stomped (after very hard fighting though, we held out for atleast an hour)

a fire base woiuld be very cool to have and it would give defenders a much bigger chance. Maybee even allowing them to go back and turnthe tides, something that is rarley ever seen

[EarlyDawn]

In my example, the Outift Leader was setting up a firebase to be able to effectively pin down any attacking forces. If two Outfits, let's say the Widows and the Wolverines, work seperately to build two firebases, then coordinate their targets, they create a triangle with the base that is practically invulnerable, a 'kill zone'. This could end up being a huge problem in places like Searhus and Ceryshen, where there is often only one approach into a base.Would add more strategy to the game. Chokepoints exist, the players just have no real ways of exploiting the advantage they provide. I don't see anything wrong with fixing that, and constructable firebases is the perfect way, if you ask me.

[TheN00b]

Would add more strategy to the game. Chokepoints exist, the players just have no real ways of exploiting the advantage they provide. I don't see anything wrong with fixing that, and constructable firebases is the perfect way, if you ask me.

I suppose you're right. Please note that I am playing the devil's advocate: If everyone loves Hayoo's ideas to the extreme, then no potential flaws will be found.

[Hayoo]

In my example, the Outift Leader was setting up a firebase to be able to effectively pin down any attacking forces. If two Outfits, let's say the Widows and the Wolverines, work seperately to build two firebases, then coordinate their targets, they create a triangle with the base that is practically invulnerable, a 'kill zone'. This could end up being a huge problem in places like Searhus and Ceryshen, where there is often only one approach into a base.

I'm guessing you're talking about an artillery firebase then. Well, since I haven't even posted the range or damage capabilities of the emplacements yet, I have the feeling we don't have the same image of a firebase in our heads.

Are you using the Flail for your example (high damage, high splash, insane range)? Even two outfits coordinating fire with Flails can create a triangle that is practically 'invulnerable,' correct? Except that we know there are many many ways to take out Flails (which would be the strongest form of artillery in the game), so why would emplacements suddenly pose a problem if they have less range and damage and suffer more mobility and placement restrictions? Let me explain.

For one thing, emplacements and towed equipment can't be deployed on roads, bridges, within a base's walls, or in front of doors, or they deconstruct.

Second, a few weeks ago I stipulated that the heavy weapons emplacements (artillery, AA, AV, etc) had to be created by the CE vehicle, which can only be procured from a base.

Third, to be effective, an artillery firebase would need at least 3 artillery pieces with open lanes of fire to their target (no trees, towers, or mountains in the way).

Then, because the artillery is so vulnerable to everything else you'd need various other AV and AI emplacements, vehicles or, at the very least, some foot troops to defend them.

Also there's the artillery range to consider. We're not talking the Flail here. Emplacement artillery range is a lot less, maybe 350-450m. Towed equpiment artillery is slightly better. The biggest towed artillery, 155mm, has the best range at 2/3 Flail range, but it has a slow fire, slow reload. Towed equipment also has far far less armor than a Flail or even an emplacement for that matter.

Also, there's the camp's placement. You mention a killzone within a triangle with a second firebase and a facility, but that's looking inward, what about protection of the triangle points themselves. How many troops do you have watching their back. How many are warding off liberators in the skies above? How many are patrolling the perimeter for infiltrators armed with Orbital Strikes or explosives?

Military history is repleat with such scenarios. A force doesn't walk into a kill zone, you destroy it from the outside in. The mobile attacking force has the ability to strike heavily with less manpower and in more places at once than the static firebases require to defend themselves. The firebases would need to cover their heads and rear against these attacks I mentioned before:

Orbital Strikes
Counter Artillery fire (either from scattered locations or from a single firebase beyond the range of the second enemy base and facility)
Lib bombing
Infiltrator sabotage
Air strafing
Flanking attacks by armor and supporting troops (even if the firebase has the manpower to watch all 360 degrees of apporach)
Hit-and-run strikes
Rear Base Spec Ops to deny heavy vehicle protection
Urban Area Isolation to deny heavy equipment procurement

Even with all the checks and balances above, Cheryshen itself would be the most difficult to find suitable areas to put down a firebase. So I'm not worried at all about areas becoming invulnerable, because they simply can't be. :)

[Hayoo]

I suppose you're right. Please note that I am playing the devil's advocate.

heheh. Yeah, I sensed that. :) It's my fault for not posting all the details here and leaving so many questions opened. FeckinOtter and I had an intense debating/discussion session on the OF about the checks and balances for the idea. I forgot I hadn't copied the stuff over to PSU and vice versa.

Here's the link to the thread where it turns to emplacement:

http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message?board.id=psdevdiscussion&message.id=15054&page=3

It starts there and then goes full steam ahead with a lot of writing and debating. Feckin was also playing devil's advocate but, admitedly, in the interest of lobbying his own ideas on the concept...which weren't bad, but some didn't fit with my design. It was fun and kinda felt like a game of chess. :)

I'll post a bit of what I said here, as far as equipment details:

10 types of emplacements that Combat Engineers can create:

12mm MG nest
Radar post
Communications post
Medical post
HQ post
NTU storage
Supply post
Landing Tarmac
Lookout post
Ground monitoring post

7 emplacements (in addition to the CE ones) that Field Engeers can create:

20mm x2 AA nest (can't depress gun below certain level)
50mm AV direct fire gun (can't raise gun above certain level)
60mm indirect fire mortar (probably will upgrade to 80mm)
75mm indirect fire cannon
AV direct fire missile (can't raise barrel above certain level)
100mm indirect fire artillery (previously 105mm)
SAM site (single shot clip)


9 Towed equipment (conceptualized so far) for Field Assault cert:

Storage
Radar
Communications
AA direct fire Flak cannons
35mm AV direct fire rapid-fire cannon (to be changed to 25mm)
80mm indirect fire mortar (possibly make larger)
90mm AV and aritllery cannon (direct and indirect fire modes - mimics versitility of 88's)
150mm indirect dire artillery rockets
155mm indirect fire artillery
Towed direct fire SAM (double shot clip)


The redundancy is from a desire for emplacements and towed equipment to have counterparts and options for different types of roles and cert choices. An emplacement would be ideal for one situation, while a towed weapon would be better in another.

- For instance, the 50mm AV cannon emplacement is a direct fire weapon like the Gauss cannons, minus it's instagib properties. The 75mm howitzer is an indirect AoE weapon.
- The towed 90mm AV cannon is more versital with a direct and indirect fire modes. So to have the versitility of a single towed 90mm, troops would have to build both a 50mm and 75mm emplacement.

- The 35mm cannon (actually later changed to 24mm) is the towed counterpart to the machinegun nest, except it's equally lethal against infantry and vehicles.
- The machinegun nest, requiring no reloads, eats up tons of ammo very quickly like the Mini-chain gun. Ammo is placed in the small ammo box from which the guns draw bullets directly. To keep up a steady stream of fire, a teammate must steadily put more rounds into the ammo box.

- Mortars have a sharp arc and are more suited for medium-range indirect shots. They also have a longer firing time than the 75mm but they can fire different types of ammo like HE (low splash, high damage), fragment (low damage, wide splash), and plasma, (medium damage, medium splash).
- The towed 80mm mortar (possibly 120mm) obviously does a bit more damage than it's 60mm emplacement counterpart. Mortars are good for taking out nearby enemy emplacements, due to their high arc landing rounds inside the foxholes. They are also good on a defensive line, suppressing infantry on foot trying to close in on emplacements.

- The SAM missile emplacement has a one shot clip, able to do 25% damage to a reaver. It must be reloaded after every shot, like the phoenix. The actual ammo boxes for SAM missiles will have few rounds, requiring more supply trips.
- The towed SAM missle has a two-shot clip, able to do 35% damage to a reaver with each shot. Unlike the emplacement, however, it has no inherent protection and is as weak as an assult buggy. Still working on lock-on issues, but I've also been leaning toward a longer lock-on time. SAM sites are useful for guarding airspace approaches to vital areas or operations.

Flak cannons don't really require explaining.

The AV missile is comparible to the Firebird or Hellfire rocket, as a direct dumbfire missile that delivers a heavy punch but has longer fire time and smaller clip size. It's job is to give a tank squad pause, but not destroy it. I have suspended designing a towed counterpart because of the 90mm cannon.

- The 100mm artillery emplacement shoots slightly further than a 75mm, does more damage, and has about 1/2 to 2/3 the range of it's towed 155mm counterpart, which is comparible to the vanguard cannon. The 100m does less damage than the 155mm but you can build the pre-fabs in place. Consider them throw-away howitzers meant for local artillery strikes.
- The 155mm must be towed to the area, but does heavier damage and has about 2/3 the range of the Flail.

The towed 150mm rocket artillery fires Reaver-type rockets, but they fire in an arch like artillery shells. Like the Liberator you can switch modes between anti-armor warheads and anti-personnel bomblet warheads, except they do less damage than Lib bombs. This second warhead is meant as a suppression weapon. Range is comparible to the 100mm howitzer. I have removed an emplacement version as I want the towed weapon's counterpart to be later mounted on a vehicle, which will have a longer reload time but more armor protection and increased mobility.

I have pegged the 35mm as an all-purpose towed assault weapon for infantry, although I'll probably bump it down to a 25mm since 35mm chews up everything so quickly. In fact, I've just now made up my mind. Consider every previous mention of the 35mm here to be actually a 25mm cannon as I'd like the 35mm to be mounted on my Common Chassis concept instead. The advantage of the 25mm over the machinegun nest is that the towed counterpart has a 360 degree turret and the 12mm's do not.

[EarlyDawn]

For whatever reason, the field engineer emplacements don't interest me so much, probably because I'm a support player, so I'll ask about the standard combat engineer ones.

How does supply with the supply post building work? Zone of Influence based? What's the difference between a HQ and comm post? What added command abilities would commanders get at a comm post or HQ? (assume the game is using both the ZOI and Task Force systems here). Could you get medical equipment from a medical post? Also, I think a "tank bunker" style emplacement for Combat engineers would be cool, empowering vehicles in a stationary defensive roll.

Oh, and BTW, I must stress my support for Combat engineer-deployable "primitive" baracades like the tech-sandbags, slotted, and high walls. They would serve well for when you need to place cover between two emplacements on the edge of a firebase, but don't want to deploy one of the "lockbox" emplacements.

I've also gotta say the more thought I put into it, the more I think there really needs to be a locking system for emplacements. If a well coordinated outfit set up a nice firebase, it would be a shame if a few uninformed empire regulars came over and started mucking with the camp.

Finally... I think this system should get a tie in to the Task Force system. Maybe give individual divisions the power to advertise their base and it's theme (Artillary, Frontline/Anti-Infantry, Frontline/Anti-Armor, Frontline/AA, support, medical, ect) on the map.

[Hayoo]

How does supply with the supply post building work? Zone of Influence based?

Originally I had it a deployable locker; with a connection to the supply line you could access your locker in the field. But then I started worrying about all the exploits possible with that. I want players having to worry about carrying the ammo for towed weapon and emplacement weapons with them into the field rather than giving them an instant magic box to use (AMS's aside).

So I have turned the supply post into a very large trunk. CE's can set a post up in the field and then players have to stock it with the desired equipment. They can do this with a fully supplied AMS nearby. If players are serious about longevity in the field, they'll carry as much ammo/supplies as they can, but set up various supply posts so they don't have to go all the way back to a base or tower if their AMS suddenly becomes cut off from the supply line.

What's the difference between a HQ and comm post? What added command abilities would commanders get at a comm post or HQ? (assume the game is using both the ZOI and Task Force systems here).

Yes, these emplacements are intended to work with both concepts.

The HQ post is a CUD structure that, when manned by a commander (there's space for 2), provides enhanced map and command abilities. It cuts down the time to do reveal friendlies or reveal enemies. It allows the placing of special icon-based waypoints. It extends broadcast and command chat range for lower CR (that is, if a ZOI is friendly, a CR1 could concievably reach all Task Force leaders in the whole Zone, whereas before he couldn't reach anyone except by /tells). The post also has space for 2 Comtechs who can provide respawn timer, HART timer, and enemy location info to the commanders or their units.

Remember that chat (potentially bypassed with TS on a small scale) and vital map info, which can't be bypassed, can't reach troops in a zone that doesn't have a link back to a base or secure WG. So if a unit's ZOI gets cut off, they not only can't get heavy equipment through normal means, but they can't see the chats and location of their squad members, platoon members, unit leaders, LLUs, modules, "reveal friendlies", or friendly sensors and mines. This provides a psychological effect on troops who will either panic, attempt to flee, or respawn elsewhere when killed; or pull together and hold out for reinforcements or attempt an orderly withdraw.

The Communications Post provides backup CR broadcast abilities in the event that the ZOI is snatched from under your Empire. It's range doesn't reach as wide as a whole zone, but enough to maintain contact between commanders and troops in the field. Towed communications towers provide the same service but with a much smaller radius, designed to fill in the gaps when in enemy territory. It is possible to maintain contact with a cut off ZOI if it has a Comm Post and a line of other posts or towers linking back to friendly territory. Infiltrators and pilots will do well to destroy these wherever they are found.

The Comm post also has seating for 2 Comtechs for protection and to act as listening posts, trying to determine enemy leader locations, waypoints, or catch parts of their conversations over chat.

Could you get medical equipment from a medical post?

Originally this was to be an aid station with medical terminals. But I don't want medics to become a dying breed either, so I'll probably provide it with medical-equipment only terminals. That way players can get medical supplies if they lose an AMS or it gets cut off from supply. I consider medical applicators to be specialized equipment so if the post gets cut off from supply, I'd only make med juice and medkits available.

I've also considered providing revived troops with an option to revive right there where the adv medic is or be teleported on revive back at an aid station so they're out of harms way and can heal and restock equipment. This will provide more love for medics as players will be willing to wait so that a medic can 'get them the hell out of there' and not ruin their kill to death ratio. :)

Also, I think a "tank bunker" style emplacement for Combat engineers would be cool, empowering vehicles in a stationary defensive roll.

What I've done is created that shallow U-shaped cover that a vehicle can snug up against for frontal cover. I don't really hold to a 'vehicle docking' feature for emplacements, or to a single structure than covers their front and sides, so I've designed one that a large or small vehicle can sit behind and protected from direct frontal fire. This will promote tactical deployment and flank attacks.

Oh, and BTW, I must stress my support for Combat engineer-deployable "primitive" baracades like the tech-sandbags, slotted, and high walls.

I can agree to that. CE's will also be able to create dragons teeth, belgian gates, and a type of razor wire barricade. These structures, in addition to the sandbags, and slotted wall, would Not be deployable inside a base, on roads/bridges, or in front of doors.

I've also gotta say the more thought I put into it, the more I think there really needs to be a locking system for emplacements. If a well coordinated outfit set up a nice firebase, it would be a shame if a few uninformed empire regulars came over and started mucking with the camp.

To avoid the problem of helpful players being locked out of a firebase by an inconsiderate Field Engineer (it's the same issue with locking an AMS to self or group only), I have allowed an FE to only lock one emplacement at a time. If someone undesireable hops in, he can lock that perticular emplacement and mount it himself or get someone else of his choosing to hop it.

I think this system should get a tie in to the Task Force system. Maybe give individual divisions the power to advertise their base and it's theme (Artillary, Frontline/Anti-Infantry, Frontline/Anti-Armor, Frontline/AA, support, medical, ect) on the map.

Interesting. I think the TF system has the features necessary to do this. The Command Squad or even unit leaders can label the position on the continent map as what it is. I'm also working on special icon-based waypoints/markers that the CS can use to mark positions like HQ posts, supply posts, firebases, etc. for the whole TF's awareness on their support systems and what needs to be protected.

It is also this type of information that enemy Comtechs will be looking for. If they spot an HQ or Communications post waypoint, they can direct infiltrators to assassinate the commanders or send bombers or an artillery barrage to take it out.

Commanders can also use this to set up traps, by placing false waypoints ringed with waiting defenders. :)

edit: or perhaps even place a bunch of waypoints on one front as a diversion while the real forces attack on a different front.

[EarlyDawn]

Wow. I think we need to set a map detailing how to overtake SOE HQ and let you direct all this stuff to be put in. Creates supply lines and everything.

How about put in a equipment terminal at supply posts for as long as it is connected to the supply line.

[Edit: Maybe even have multiple lockers at the supply post and let the owner "label" each one for different types of stuff, like medical equipment, ammunition, ect?

Oh yeah, and a question I meant to ask a while ago... what vehicles can carry towables?]

[Hayoo]

How about put in a equipment terminal at supply posts for as long as it is connected to the supply line.

Hmm. Well there's so many places to get equipment already if you count in the Zones of Control concepts: AMS, towers, supply depots, bases. I think we'll just restrict the supply post to being storage only.

Maybe even have multiple lockers at the supply post and let the owner "label" each one for different types of stuff, like medical equipment, ammunition, ect?

Whoa. I'd hate to be the one to design the GUI for that one. :) If there's just one supply post in the area, then players can simply run up and take a look. If there's more than one, then a unit leader can choose to mark each one on the map with a label or map marker.

Oh yeah, and a question I meant to ask a while ago... what vehicles can carry towables?]

The assault buggies and the Deliverer are capable of towing equipment. I might include the Sunderer, but that depends on what people think.

Towed equipment cannot cross over water. If a deliverer tries to cross water, the vehicle will ride above the waves while the towable will be pulled beneath the surface. Once fully submerged, it will automatically disconnect from the vehicle and deconstruct after a moment.

As a side note, pontoon-bridge building will be part of the CE Vehicle's abilities, with sections created one at a time as the vehicle moves forward. A CE Vehicle can only build as many sections as the player's pontoon limit allows and also how many 'construction-units' (for lack of a better word) he has in his trunk. Two CE's might have to work in shifts to cross something as large as a river on Cyssor.

[EarlyDawn]

Harasser too, then? Seems like that would be a nice tow for the smaller stuff.

How does one procure a tow?

[Hayoo]

Harasser too, then? Seems like that would be a nice tow for the smaller stuff.

How does one procure a tow?

Well, since I haven't split towables into light and heavy catagories, I wouldn't peg the Harasser buggy for that, just the Assault Buggies (with the assumption that they have more horsepower). Granted, it might be able to pull some of the logically lighter equipment, but in the interest of simplicity I've made it only those other two vehicle catagories as haulers.

Procurement can happen in one of two ways:

1) A special terminal for towables. You back your vehicle up to it, hit "G", select your towable, and it is automatically created and hitched to your vehicle, allowing you to just drive away.

Disadvantage: Might cause traffic jams with slow players.


2) Created at the vehicle pad. You can select a vehicle as usual or select the listed option next to the Deliverer or Assault Buggy. Your vehicle will be created and as you drive forward, your towable will be constructed and attached to it as you pull off the pad.

Disadvantage: Longer time spent at the vehicle terminal choosing from the 9 types of towables.

Possible solution: Vehicle Pad favorites. Ability to choose a type of vehicle and towable combo for quick aquisition

[EarlyDawn]

Great stuff. What's the next topic on your agenda?

[Hayoo]

Great stuff. What's the next topic on your agenda?

:lol: You mean I have to create more? :p

Well, I'm hoping to post Urban zones and/or deployable emplacements and towables by the end of June and July. This will include descriptions and illustrations of each element, as well as diagrams on how they are used and how they effect (or are affected by) other current elements in the game.

After that I'll be going into Empire Tech Levels, which also relates to Sanctuary Capitols and Outfit Barracks.

After that, I'll continue to flesh out Idealab, updating my wishful patch notes, and then finally implementing the Idea Emporium for players.

[TheN00b]

Hayoo, it says on the front page of planetside.com that they are looking for 'unique content designers'. Look into it, man!

[oddfish]

towables.. i had a whole thread on that stuff a while back. Hayoo, you still got all that stuff layin' around? Pics and what not?

[EarlyDawn]

Thought, prehaps only let the original common pool Deliverer carry tows, to keep it useful after the new varients.

[Edit: Oh yeah. And how many emplacments / "primitive" baracades are we talking about limiting each player to?]

[Hayoo]

Hayoo, it says on the front page of planetside.com that they are looking for 'unique content designers'. Look into it, man!

That's for the fansite, Planetside Stratics. The official site was just making a plug for them. But thanks for the heads up. :)

[Hayoo]

Hayoo, you still got all that stuff layin' around?

Do you mean my stuff or your stuff? :p

I remember participating in your thread. This topic (http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22134) I believe. We were going for the same concept but that wasn't realized till the pictures were posted. :) Ain't it always the way?

[Hayoo]

Thought, prehaps only let the original common pool Deliverer carry tows, to keep it useful after the new varients.

[Edit: Oh yeah. And how many emplacments / "primitive" baracades are we talking about limiting each player to?]

I wouldn't mind restricting it to Common Pool Del only, unless a majority can convince me otherwise.

Grunts could only place one of the basic covers at a time. (created with entrenching tool)

Engineers could only place one of basic or 180 covers at a time. (created with entrenching tool)

Combat Engineers can place up to two of the basic, 180, or 360 support emplacements. (360's created with CE Vehicle)

Field Engineers can place up to three of the basic, 180, 360 support, or 360 heavy weapons emplacements. (360's created with CE Vehicle)

[EarlyDawn]

Sounds good. How about the primitive, non-lockboxed baracades?

[Hayoo]

Sounds good. How about the primitive, non-lockboxed baracades?

Only one per grunt, 2 per CE, etc, if they have the correct tool to create it.

The only advantage I can think of though for the technobox-cover over the ammo-box cover would be creation time. And yet the ammo-box covers are pretty quick to make in their own right. And I don't want to change things so only Engineers can create ammo-box cover.

I'll have to think of other advantages, otherwise I might as well cut out the techno-boxes and other barricades.

[EarlyDawn]

Make them more numerous, like spitfires. It would be cool to construct them around the more advanced emplacements to offer some cover for people leaving, imo.

[Hayoo]

Make them more numerous, like spitfires. It would be cool to construct them around the more advanced emplacements to offer some cover for people leaving, imo.

That's a good solution. So, 3 box-covers and 1 notched-wall per player? I shy away from that heavy no-notch wall just because of it's sheer mass and inability to shoot over it.

The reason for allowing so few of the wall barricades is that vehicles can't force their way over them like they can box-cover or emplacement cover (due to the sloping sides). I'd want belgian gates to be the kind of barricade that tanks can't possible climb over...offset by each gate having a wide placement radius.

So this would mean an entrenching tool would have 3 settings: notched-wall, techno-boxes, ammo-box cover. Then there's a 4th setting for 180ammo-box cover if you're an engineer.

Naturally the box cover and notched wall would have an armor value so that they can be hit directly. This helps preserve the value of ammo-box cover because you have to actually shot the ammo-box on those to destroy them.

[EarlyDawn]

Exactly what I was thinking, on all counts :thumbsup:

[TheN00b]

Exactly what I was thinking, on all counts :thumbsup:

Are you two the same people ;) ?

[EarlyDawn]

Well, then again, I would like the bigger primitive wall, but hey, can't have everything.

And where's my hottub/bar emplacement?

[Hayoo]

Are you two the same people ;) ?

LOL! :p

No, I'm just me.

I'm the one on the right. I mean the left.

http://www.jeffmcdowall.com/157_5722.jpg

[Hayoo]

Well, then again, I would like the bigger primitive wall, but hey, can't have everything.

And where's my hottub/bar emplacement?

It's right next to the bikini wax/tanning booth emplacement :lol:

[EarlyDawn]

:lol:

[Onizuka-GTO]

Don't forget the Massage Parlor too. :love:

:lol:

awwww..... the babies are cute..... which one is older? :lol: :love: ;)

[Hayoo]

Don't forget the Massage Parlor too. :love:

:lol:

awwww..... the babies are cute..... which one is older? :lol: :love: ;)

:p I'm 20 months-old and the baby is 27 years-old on June 17th. :lol:

[EarlyDawn]

Prehaps you could throw in some minesweeping abilities for the CE vehicle?

[7ruth]

Awesome ideas Hayoo, I'm glad the kid lets you play on the computer. He's probably going to make you do something for his birthday selfish ain't it?
I hope you bring us the nice'ities of Idea lab for a good while to come.

Hrm maybe i should contribute a bit...

Could you make a section for planetside Expansions? Sea* Space* ect...
I hope you bring the Idea Emporium up sometime soon. I feel that would be the most beneficial thing to do right now.

[Hayoo]

Prehaps you could throw in some minesweeping abilities for the CE vehicle?

Yeah, I'd like that too, seeing as it has that dozer blade on the front. It'd have to go slow, with that deployed blade though. Being a CE, I'd hate to spend time to lay out a whole minefield, only to have a vehicle race up and take them all out as enemy tanks follow in behind. So slow it must go so I can cram a deci down it's ***. :) If/When the devs split mines between anti-personnel and anti-vehicle, I'd like the vehicle to lay down those as well.

I'd draw the line at it repairing vehicles though since the lodestar already does that. We don't want this thing to be a minesweeper, minelayer, anti-emplacement, reviver, repairer all in one. :p

[Hayoo]

Awesome ideas Hayoo, I'm glad the kid lets you play on the computer. He's probably going to make you do something for his birthday selfish ain't it?
I hope you bring us the nice'ities of Idea lab for a good while to come.

Thanks 7ruth :)

Well, I can only work on this hobby when my son isn't around. He'll get all excited and climb up on my lap, then grab my mouse away from me and start spamming the buttons and keyboard. He can completely destroy a desktop in seconds. :lol:

Could you make a section for planetside Expansions? Sea* Space* ect...
I hope you bring the Idea Emporium up sometime soon. I feel that would be the most beneficial thing to do right now.

I'll start posting stuff for Sea and Space around mid August I think. I'm still working on command squads, urban outposts, deployable emplacements, and empire tech levels.

Not sure when Idea Emporium will go up. I'd love to do it now, but I need to make sure I've thought out exactly how all the elements are going to work (forums, thumbnail gallery, section updates...). I need to ensure maximum communication between contributors, artists, and reviewers, and that takes some planning.

[Onizuka-GTO]

Well, I can only work on this hobby when my son isn't around. He'll get all excited and climb up on my lap, then grab my mouse away from me and start spamming the buttons and keyboard. He can completely destroy a desktop in seconds. :lol:


Awwww
Sounds like he's got a making of a Future Virtual Warrior...and completely validates sturdier hardware design...

:lol:

[Hayoo]

and completely validates sturdier hardware design... :lol:

Amen! :lol:

[7ruth]

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I can only work on this hobby when my son isn't around. He'll get all excited and climb up on my lap, then grab my mouse away from me and start spamming the buttons and keyboard. He can completely destroy a desktop in seconds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOL, I have a cat that does that for me. My lil desktop buddy Tiger, steals my better chair when ever he can thats why I have two=) Man Im typing here, listening to music, watching TV, and talking on TS all at the same time =P

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'll start posting stuff for Sea and Space around mid August I think. I'm still working on command squads, urban outposts, deployable emplacements, and empire tech levels.

Not sure when Idea Emporium will go up. I'd love to do it now, but I need to make sure I've thought out exactly how all the elements are going to work (forums, thumbnail gallery, section updates...). I need to ensure maximum communication between contributors, artists, and reviewers, and that takes some planning.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All good news man im liking it all. By the way, I found old screenshots from beta on PSU that have a HART pane, I took one and put it into a more recent SS and sent it to you. I hope it saves you some work on the picture for the Com Tech cert. I read your bio on the site and I noticed you know about BattleTech. Well my outfit on Emerald is the Eridani Light Horse, the legendary unit that did not follow the SLDF out of the Pherify(der... spelling).

and no... i dont know how to do the qoute thing...

[Hayoo]

All good news man im liking it all. By the way, I found old screenshots from beta on PSU that have a HART pane, I took one and put it into a more recent SS and sent it to you. I hope it saves you some work on the picture for the Com Tech cert. I read your bio on the site and I noticed you know about BattleTech. Well my outfit on Emerald is the Eridani Light Horse, the legendary unit that did not follow the SLDF out of the Pherify(der... spelling).
and no... i dont know how to do the qoute thing...

Thanks, but I've got copies of those shots too. :) I'm creating a Comtech window with a lot more content to it though.

heheh. I noticed the Gray Death Legion battle-armor as your sig. The GD novels were my first exposure to BT. I stopped reading though after the Clans were defeated.

I remember ELH. :) Weren't you guys on Konried, one of the largest TR outfits?

BTW, to make quotes just do an open and closed "quote" tag in brackets.

[EarlyDawn]

Ooooh, comtech window!

Any ETA?

[Hayoo]

Ooooh, comtech window!

Any ETA?

Before Christmas.

Mwahahahahah! :lol:

I'll finish it as soon as I can.

Part of my todo list:

Urban Outposts
Deployable Emplacements
Squad HUD improvements
Command Squad updates
Empire Tech Levels
Sanctuary Capitals
Outfit Camps and Barracks
Player Salaries
Continents (w/standard, geographical, and tactical maps)
Comtech, Tech, Adv Tech
Personal Inventory additions
Current Weapons
Current Vehicles
Current Facilities
Tower cut-aways
Squad compositions
Engineer version of Medic-location feature
Player tracker
Outfit privacy filters
Outfit audit features
Custom addons for Standard Armor (berets, caps, etc)
Hacking status above terminals
Damage status above terminals
Battleplan improvements
MP3 player concept shots
Empire-specific emoticons for forums
Various Wishful Patch Notes illustrations
Navy concepts (zones, lattice, certs, vehicles, etc)
Space concepts (won't develop until # of players rises)

[EarlyDawn]

Bump the comtech stuff up. I think along with command squads, comtechs would add a lot more organization to the game and that's one of the biggest things the game is missing.

Outfit barracks sound cool too, though. Where do you start when you design all this stuff? I have a few ideas but I can never form coherant thoughts or designs for it.

[7ruth]

Hrm... thats a lot of stuff. Well, personally, I think the in game community could use some lovin. If you look at EVE, eve-online.com, I think that game has the whole community thing right.

Thanks, but I've got copies of those shots too. I'm creating a Comtech window with a lot more content to it though.
Good deal man, didn't think you knew about those.


I remember ELH. Weren't you guys on Konried, one of the largest TR outfits?
Yea, we were untill we were sabataged within our own ranks Twice! No repercussions for the perpetraitors either... I was in that outfit from release to about Christmas. The funny thing is that it has the second highest OP on the server and its been inactive for 6 months! That was a long time ago though, I have stuck with the name and created a new outfit which I command. My sig is actually a link to our website, and we are still trying to get a decent host...

I really want the Command Interface, because some time i will be commanding 5 outfit squads at once again, while running my own, and not feel like using paper to keep track of things. Its an odd thing when your MMOFPS game requires pen and paper to coordinate properly... Or its just I play to much and don't get enough sleep to be able to do it in my head...

[Hayoo]

Bump the comtech stuff up. I think along with command squads, comtechs would add a lot more organization to the game and that's one of the biggest things the game is missing.

Outfit barracks sound cool too, though. Where do you start when you design all this stuff? I have a few ideas but I can never form coherant thoughts or designs for it.

I'd rather work on those other things first than Comtech, seeing as the new certs take advantage of the proposed improvements. Some details for the Comtech will surface anyway as I release the deployable emplacements and towable equipment concepts.

I guess I start designing by either asking myself what's missing from a given feature, or I look at what we have in the real world and rework it so it fits with Planetside. I keep a pad and pen with me as well to jot down any thoughts that come upon me when I'm drive or watching a movie or something.

It's kinda like sculpting with clay. You start with a lump of ideas and sketches for one concept, then you start pulling, pushing, and scrapping away at parts till you get something that looks and feels right.

[Hayoo]

Well, personally, I think the in game community could use some lovin. If you look at EVE, eve-online.com, I think that game has the whole community thing right.

Funny you should mention EVE. Their website is actually my inspiration for the game-info webpages of Idealab (the history, continents, vehicles sections, etc.). :)


Yea, we were untill we were sabataged within our own ranks Twice!

That sucks. I'd heard something screwy was going on. That's too bad. You guys were respected by most of us NC. I'd say you were the Enclave or Sturm of Konried. Glad to see you're still keeping the legacy alive.

Its an odd thing when your MMOFPS game requires pen and paper to coordinate properly...

:lol: You've got a point there. Hopefully the Task Force concept can help with that. When I get back into town Monday, I'll look into getting more of those Command Squad graphics out, but I can't promise anything as I'm also job-hunting at the moment.

[7ruth]

hrm... the Enclave... they were a bunch of trouble makers when they were TR. We all hated them really, they blew up everything in bases we had hacked. There is one person i really hate and i'm pretty sure hes in the Enclave, FluffyJr, because he is one of the people that sabataged ELH in the first incident...

Anyways, I hope you find a job man. So... good luck with that man.

[Hayoo]

hrm... the Enclave... they were a bunch of trouble makers when they were TR. We all hated them really, they blew up everything in bases we had hacked.

Wow. I thought it was only a few characters within that outfit that were bad apples. That sucks if it was the whole group, :( because they've seemingly turned over a new leaf as NC and as far as I know those bad apples didn't cross over with them, thank goodness. Fallen Soldiers has done joint ops with them occassionally and they've been nothing if not professional about their work.

[Firefly]

I didn't read through all nine pages of this- that's a very professional looking site you have. I am curious if you work with Zombieside at all. I'm also curious what program you use to do your graphics, what your web engine is (like php, PostNuke, etc), and what program you use to design that page.

[jsloan31]

hmm, player salaries?

could you elaborate? (if this was already explained, sorry, didn't read all 12 pages.)

[Onizuka-GTO]

Oh, i've been looking at your site, Hayoo. and i just saw that Hud you got for Aircrafts, and thoughts of putting that for Tanks too? In Flashpoint they had the exact same Hud targeting system for the commander, and it made driving and gunning much easier.
Of course because Vanguard and Magriders only have two people, only the gunner will see it. But it would be great if say, your infantry part of your squad laser a target and it will show up on your Target Hud, or you could fire a missile that will be laser guided to the target.

Edit: Oh! perfect missile Artillery! Your Infantry people, laser any target call for a Barrage, you sit in your missile launcher vehicle (Far behind friendly held territory) and fire it into the air (at certain angle so that they will fall within that general area) and they will be guided down on to the designated target. If the laser is broken the missiles will just revert to dumb missiles and come down as normal.
What do you think?

[7ruth]

Well i don't know exactly what the Enclave have been up to on the NC side, but i'm thinking they don't like us TR much any more. I don't doubt that there wea only a few in the outfit that were giveing the outfit a bad name. What really got me though was when the whole outfit just up and went NC...

Oh, i've been looking at your site, Hayoo. and i just saw that Hud you got for Aircrafts, and thoughts of putting that for Tanks too? In Flashpoint they had the exact same Hud targeting system for the commander, and it made driving and gunning much easier.
Of course because Vanguard and Magriders only have two people, only the gunner will see it. But it would be great if say, your infantry part of your squad laser a target and it will show up on your Target Hud, or you could fire a missile that will be laser guided to the target.

Yea the Tank commander position was an ok deal, really helped if you had one. This would be a perfect solution to the V-W-V problems, because it really doesnt tell ya much =).
I played OFP a lot before i ever got my hands on Planetside. Good game, but it had a lot of lag, and warping problems. My favorite part about that game were the fan addons, like those f-18s that had cockpits that closed when you got in them. Man... I got so close to Mach 2 in one of those =) course i had to fly straight down. It was also cool to fly jumbo jets, cause you never really new how they would react when you tried to turn=). The Helicopters were fun to play with, hell the whole damn game was fun!
I did enjoy the way you controled a squad though, how when you told them to get into a formation a small wp would appear. Another part to that was when you selected an individual to go somewhere you could use your mouse to pinpoint the spot.

"Shilka 11 O'Clock, 500"

[Hayoo]

I didn't read through all nine pages of this- that's a very professional looking site you have. I am curious if you work with Zombieside at all. I'm also curious what program you use to do your graphics, what your web engine is (like php, PostNuke, etc), and what program you use to design that page.

Thanks, Firefly :)

ZombieB and I haven't collaborated on anything yet but I did make a "Zombieside" banner for him which he liked enough to use for his site.

I use Fireworks, Flash, and Photoshop for graphics. When I start making models they will be done with Lightwave or Inspire 3D. To assemble the site I used Dreamweaver. I've done things the old fashioned html way rather than use php or coldfusion. It's just regular pages and server-side includes. It was much quicker to get the site going.

[Hayoo]

hmm, player salaries?

could you elaborate? (if this was already explained, sorry, didn't read all 12 pages.)

I haven't really revealed details yet but I might as well reveal more here since the idea ties into the Urban Outposts concept.

Many of the outposts have hackable "goods terminals" scattered in some of the public buildings or PX stores. Basically it's a way for soldiers to get standard ammo or basic supplies in town when an AMS is not available or the outpost is under enemy control. You can't get missiles or rocket launchers or vehicle ammo and other heavy equipment. They also allow for the purchase of other one-time devices that I'm still working on. And perhaps some individual perks like increasing garage storage space or something like that.

Essentially, the player salaries (or rank-based salaries) is a seperate system with supplies that help but don't overpower a player (I'm hoping).

The way it works:

Imagine each player's matrix has only so much space, like a hard drive. As a player rises in rank, this space gets taken up with virtual memory to hold implant slots and certification points. So a BR6 guy has a lot of matrix space left. A BR20 guy has very little space left.

Now every cycle, salaries are paid (in amounts depending on rank). So the BR6 guy gets $30/cycle and has matrix space for up to, say, $1000. The BR20 guy gets paid $200 every cycle, but only has space for $250 perhaps. If the max limit is reached, no more money is deposited. Besides the moderate items like AP ammo and med-tool, some minor one-time use items can be purchased 'in town.' It's just another little self-sustatining goal for players to strive for. It also allows a sense of 'foraging' for the non-advanced hacker grunt if say an outposts power goes off. The goods-terminals are always open. Kinda like the Gun's and ammo department at a 24-7 Walmart. :lol:

BR6's can afford to buy multiple bigger-ticket items at once so long as they take the time to save up. BR20's can only afford to buy one bigger-ticket item and then must wait for the next cycle to get another.

(edit:) Also, money cannot be exchanged or traded. Items cannot be sold back to goods terminals for money either. You got what you got.

Obviously the major expoit for this is "muling": creating multiple characters to get more salary or buying the more expensive items and hoarding them in a locker.

I have some ideas to counter this, such as,
only the last avatar you logged off with gains salary while offline. The other avatar accounts are in stasis until you log into them.

Another idea is to space out the cycles in such a way that players logging off a low-BR character would have to wait for days in real time to build up to their max amount, and logging onto their high-BR character would halt the low-BR's salary accumulation. Naturally, players would try to play their high-BR avatar, then after they're done switch to the low-BR and let it accumulate salary while the player sleeps. Cheesy bastards. I'm thinking of other methods to counter these exploits.

[Hayoo]

Oh, i've been looking at your site, Hayoo. and i just saw that Hud you got for Aircrafts, and thoughts of putting that for Tanks too? In Flashpoint they had the exact same Hud targeting system for the commander, and it made driving and gunning much easier.


Well, I don't think I'l be having radar ability for ground vehicles. The best they have is the ground-sensor emplacement that warns you on the global map if a heavy vehicle has driven by. However, I am for the idea of a laze used to mark a target and every squad vehicle nearby would see it on their HUD so long as the beam's contact was made. Not a bad idea. Not sure about the laser guided munitions though. People are pissed off enough about the Flail and will be pissed off about artillery emplacements. I probably won't add the ability for vehicles to do that kind of precision.

It's slightly different for artillery, of course, so I'm a supporter of lazing for that since it promotes teamwork and someone is sacrifcing their gameplay to laze for the greater good. :)

[Hayoo]

What really got me though was when the whole outfit just up and went NC...

They said they weren't appreciated by the TR and were generally scorned for their 'overkill' galaxy and gen-drop tactics. :)

I downloaded the OFP demo cause I liked the trailers and gameply footage, but I never got around to playing it.

Instead I've taken to viewing the modding sites every so often. Granted they're completely based on real units, but even reality has some nice concepts I need reminding of at times. :)

For OFP was it multiplayer based? As in your squad made up of players? Or was it players controlled their own seperate squads?

[EarlyDawn]

It just occured to me... what do the comtechs have that would warrent a new window? It seems everything that cert offers would run through the game world or chat box.

[Indecisive]

The player money thing was in like pre alpha stuff. It was scrapped when everyone realized it sucked.


I wish the old idea of deconstructing your vehicle into your inventory was there. That was leet.

[Hayoo]

The player money thing was in like pre alpha stuff. It was scrapped when everyone realized it sucked.


I wish the old idea of deconstructing your vehicle into your inventory was there. That was leet.

I can say with a massive, no... gargantuan, no...collossal degree of certainty that my money concept wasn't the one used in pre-alpha. :lol: As I recall, that system was used to buy all the weapons and vehicles in the game which is why it would suck. It cateres too much to powergamers. My concept is completely different. You read the whole concept right? I hope you didn't just see the words "salary" and "money" and then comment. :p

How would you fit an AMS in your backpack? :p I can hear the pickup lines now: "Is that a Prowler in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" :lol:

[Hayoo]

It just occured to me... what do the comtechs have that would warrent a new window? It seems everything that cert offers would run through the game world or chat box.

Think of it as the CUD window that pops up when you activate the equipment. Same with the Comtech radio/device/whatever.

HART timer: Sure you could have a player type /harttime, but I wanted a countdown clock because it looks cooler and you don't have to keep spaming the command.
Squad bind point: Requires map interface and I think the continental map might already be a little too crowded to add a GUI to pre-select spawn points. Best to allow a Comtech window to do it, imo.
Squad respawn timers (if I don't include it in the squad window): If I did include this info in the squad window, things would get kinda crowded because of the Command Squad improvements I also want to add - showing active vehicles, certs, etc). Again, Comtech window good place to keep things out of the way.
Encode/Scramble: A Comtech would need someplace to toggle between Encode unit leader's chat or Scramble unit leader's location. You can't do that anywhere currently, as far as I know.
Assigning targets to unmanned phalanx turrets: This one has become "iffy". They might as well hop into the turret themselves. Plus the GUI necessary to control multiple turrets would be a nightmare. Consider this one on hiatus for a couple centuries. :lol:
Strike waypoints: this is more of a 'virtual pop-smoke' feature that doesn't require a laze point but also doesn't put a shaft of light for artillery to target on, only a ground-based marker. It's mainly for targets of opportunity such as a spotted AMS. This wouldn't be in the Comtech window, but a Cont Map function

[EarlyDawn]

I was thinking, why not make the comtech stuff a backpack? You would pick one up from an equipment terminal. Maybe, if you wanted to expand the idea, have medical/engineering/hacking/command backpacks as well, and prehaps some ligh/medium/heavy packs for storage. They could offer different abilities for each skill.

Don't know if you like that, just thought it would be cool to have a mission specific backpack avaliable to you.

As far as the HART display goes, when you have the radio / pack / equipped, you can toggle the window that used to be in way back in the game's life, telling you the HART's current cycle and time left. Gimme a minute and I'll look for a screenshot of what I mean..

[Firefly]

I use Fireworks, Flash, and Photoshop for graphics. When I start making models they will be done with Lightwave or Inspire 3D. To assemble the site I used Dreamweaver. I've done things the old fashioned html way rather than use php or coldfusion. It's just regular pages and server-side includes. It was much quicker to get the site going.
Sweet- with the exception of Photocrap, I use all that stuff too. Do you do the whole carving images up on Fireworks as slices, and exporting the whole thing as HTML and Images to DreamweavAr?

[Hayoo]

I was thinking, why not make the comtech stuff a backpack? You would pick one up from an equipment terminal. Maybe, if you wanted to expand the idea, have medical/engineering/hacking/command backpacks as well, and prehaps some ligh/medium/heavy packs for storage. They could offer different abilities for each skill.

Don't know if you like that, just thought it would be cool to have a mission specific backpack avaliable to you.

As far as the HART display goes, when you have the radio / pack / equipped, you can toggle the window that used to be in way back in the game's life, telling you the HART's current cycle and time left. Gimme a minute and I'll look for a screenshot of what I mean..

While a cert-specific backpack is interesting and certainly would look cool, it's simpler for me right now if I go with a handheld device that takes up inventory space or pistol slot. And remember, I already have several kinds of packs and inventory options on the Wishful Patch Notes too.

Oh, I have copies of the HART screenshots you mentioned. :) But remember that its purpose was singular: only showing the HART timer. It didn't show anything else my Comtech can do, so there's really no need for me to bring back the original pane at all. I'd have to redo it anyway to accomdate new features.

[Hayoo]

Sweet- with the exception of Photocrap, I use all that stuff too. Do you do the whole carving images up on Fireworks as slices, and exporting the whole thing as HTML and Images to DreamweavAr?

I use Photoshop for it's powerful filters to alter images such as making TV scan lines or it's blur tools. I prefer Fireworks for actually assembly of graphic elements and making mock-ups of webpages. Sometimes I'll scan sketches, import them to Fireworks, and either clean them up the the Curves tools or redaw it by hand using the Vector tools so I can use the fill and texture features to greater effect.

I don't use the html/slices export tool on Fireworks. It puts some weird code in Dreamweaver that I don't quite trust. I prefer to slice up the images and export them to an images folder, then import them into Dreamweaver personally for maximum control (I don't have time to triple-check generated code). I also build the tables in Dreamweaver myself and don't use layers because my computer getting along in years and I don't get a more reliable comp till later this fall (hopefully).

[FatalLight]

Cant wait for what you have thought up for outfit barracks, it sounds interesting. Also will you put on the front page of your site when you add new things to the ideas?

[EarlyDawn]

While a cert-specific backpack is interesting and certainly would look cool, it's simpler for me right now if I go with a handheld device that takes up inventory space or pistol slot. And remember, I already have several kinds of packs and inventory options on the Wishful Patch Notes too.

Oh, I have copies of the HART screenshots you mentioned. :) But remember that its purpose was singular: only showing the HART timer. It didn't show anything else my Comtech can do, so there's really no need for me to bring back the original pane at all. I'd have to redo it anyway to accomdate new features.Yeah, I remember the custom storage items, if you recall I suggested those custom properties for each one.

And I didn't really make what I meant by the HART timer clear. I'm not saying that would be the total interface, I'm just saying it would be cool if that were the HART timer part of the Comtech window. Showing you what stage the HART is in and how long it'll be in that stage for.

[Hayoo]

Cant wait for what you have thought up for outfit barracks, it sounds interesting. Also will you put on the front page of your site when you add new things to the ideas?

Yes, newly released concepts and their updates will go on the front page.

[7ruth]

For OFP was it multiplayer based? As in your squad made up of players? Or was it players controlled their own seperate squads?

OFP was the most Tactical multiplayer(single player mod too) game EVER! The AI was excellent, least i liked it. You could have a max of 64 people, there are squad leader*s* and can have AI or People under their command. SLs could also be AIs, but that didn't work out well as I recall...

When you commanded a player/AI you could give them a precise location just as long as you could see it. SO you can tell them what to target, with say a tank or a A-10 WartHog. You could split your squad into fireteams, if you really want to micromanage(weapons loadout more so). Command them to land, eject, take cover, go into formation, ect.

It was that and the player addons that kept me playing for a few years. I also liked how you could make your own missions, I figured out how to stack objects and started making forts =P It was pretty damn fun...

[FatalLight]

Yes, newly released concepts and their updates will go on the front page.
Cool been ther a few time clickin on the same links that still say comming soon, never did say tho good site, good ideas, I liked most of them except the tech points, it would make the game WAY to unbalanced.

[Hayoo]

Yeah, I remember the custom storage items, if you recall I suggested those custom properties for each one.

Oh, that's right.

I don't know about having cert-specific backpacks though. I'm not sure I want comtech equipment to be so big it requires something the size of a backpack. I know it would look cool and all, but the devs (unfortunately) have already given CR5s a backpack with that antennae on it. Adding another kind would take away that visual uniqueness from the CR5s. Not that I care, but the devs probably wouldn't go for that unless they made it look totally unique. It's just easier as a hand-held device right now. Also what would you put in a backpack for Engineers, medics, or hackers?

Now what I can see happening is the ability to display your designated role, such as Engineering, Communications, or Medic (rather than just having an icon pop up when you're using something). By choosing a designation, any armor, vehicle, or backpack would display an engineering, comm, or red cross icon on it like an outfit decal (maybe only visible to your empire). I know that's not the special-ability pack you were looking for, but I don't know if the support units warrant a whole functioning backpack for things. I'll have to think on that some more.


I'm just saying it would be cool if that were the HART timer part of the Comtech window. Showing you what stage the HART is in and how long it'll be in that stage for.

Oh, I see what you mean now. Then the answer is yes, the Comtech pane will have the beta-style timer included.

[Hayoo]

Cool been ther a few time clickin on the same links that still say comming soon, never did say tho good site, good ideas, I liked most of them except the tech points, it would make the game WAY to unbalanced.

Thanks :)

Could you be more specific though about tech level points?

[EarlyDawn]

Now what I can see happening is the ability to display your designated role, such as Engineering, Communications, or Medic (rather than just having an icon pop up when you're using something). By choosing a designation, any armor, vehicle, or backpack would display an engineering, comm, or red cross icon on it like an outfit decal (maybe only visible to your empire). I know that's not the special-ability pack you were looking for, but I don't know if the support units warrant a whole functioning backpack for things. I'll have to think on that some more.Alright, I see your point on the backpacks.. maybe a step too far at this point. But this idea is defenitely a good one, prehaps you could throw it in for review when you do those mentioned asthetic optional items for the Standard armor, which by the way, I really like. Would turn it into more of a last ditch / social armor.

[FatalLight]

Thanks :)

Could you be more specific though about tech level points?
Because then the most powerfull empire would have these awesom ass vecs with uber handling and mor gunners=more firepower=unbalance.

[Hayoo]

When you commanded a player/AI you could give them a precise location just as long as you could see it. SO you can tell them what to target, with say a tank or a A-10 WartHog. You could split your squad into fireteams, if you really want to micromanage(weapons loadout more so). Command them to land, eject, take cover, go into formation, ect.

It was that and the player addons that kept me playing for a few years. I also liked how you could make your own missions, I figured out how to stack objects and started making forts =P It was pretty damn fun...

Interesting. Now when a player orders an 'eject' or 'take cover' is that feature for AI troops only or is it like a voice macro to your fellow players? Also, was it max 64 on one team or 32 vs 32?

What do you think an Operation Flashpoint Online would look like? :p

[Hayoo]

Alright, I see your point on the backpacks.. maybe a step too far at this point. But this idea is defenitely a good one, prehaps you could throw it in for review when you do those mentioned asthetic optional items for the Standard armor, which by the way, I really like. Would turn it into more of a last ditch / social armor.

Yeah, I can hold onto that thought for a while and keep working on it.

[EarlyDawn]

I actually meant the idea of the custom support insignia on the armor, not my backpack deal, just to clarify.

[Hayoo]

Because then the most powerfull empire would have these awesom ass vecs with uber handling and mor gunners=more firepower=unbalance.

Huh? Awesome ass vehicles? I'm curious where this idea keeps coming from. Where did you read that a higher tech levels means an empire is more powerful than the others?

[Hayoo]

I actually meant the idea of the custom support insignia on the armor, not my backpack deal, just to clarify.

Oh :p Well, I'll still keep the backpack thing in mind.

[DMX7]

i think outfit barracks is an awesome idea,hope it'll go through some day :D

[FatalLight]

http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/planetside/Forum10/HTML/007604.html
says so here that it will give the vecs enhancements such as better handling and more gunnners.

[Hayoo]

http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/planetside/Forum10/HTML/007604.html
says so here that it will give the vecs enhancements such as better handling and more gunnners.
But it doesn't say the Empire becomes all powerful. What you read was the summary teaser to show the rewards. Did you read further into the thread to discover the penalties? I answered your very concerns many many times over. :p

It's like your own cert points from BR, where you alone decide where it is spent. You might choose to enhance your Command abilities with the 3-point Air Commander cert. While I may use my new cert point to get that 2-point Two-seater Reaver upgrade. Yet another person might not spend their points at all, waiting for the Empire to raise another level so he can get something worth 4 tech cert points.

Things are balanced in that not everyone will choose the same certs and each tech cert can counter another in a Ro-Pa-Sc manner. Just like not everyone chooses Reaver or Magrider or Medical or MAX or Skyguard. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. People will make their choice based on what they like, what they feel is popular, or what they feel is needed.


Just remember that Empire Certs are mainly to 'slightly or uniquely enhance' existing weapons or provide more options for a current cert. It's not meant to be an entirely new cert system for completely new weapons. Think of it as the new tech invented during WWII to enhance current systems (adding proximity fuses to current artillery or adding fuel tanks to aircraft to make longer-range fighters or making a standard tank amphibious).

Each Empire Tech Cert only enhances existing certs {aside from new command abilities}, slight buffing them if you will, but fundamental things wouldn't change much, such as armor/speed ratio, reload time, etc. Vehicles acting as CUDs or different types of tank rounds available would be some examples of upgrades.

If (a very big IF) an armor or accuracy enhancement were available to upgrade a vehicle, a balancing restriction would have to be placed on another part of the vehicle such as in ground speed or reload time.


"So basically you can get points to upgrade your certs based on your empire's success?"

Yeah, but not in the way your following question suggests. An upgrade to a vehicle could be a side-storage feature to carry more supplies, the increasingly popular bandolier idea, a crew increase for single vehicles, or ability to switch different types of ammo on something that didn't have that before (Vanguard, Prowler, etc). But no, you would not get something that made anything "more powerful" in the TTK sense. Empire certs aren't really made to be kill-buffs. When I first thought of the Empire Certs it was geared really more toward accessorizing vehicles and command abilities than toward infantry weapons.

...The Empire Certs DO come with penalties to the standerd certs they are enhancing. e.g. the side-storage feature would slow down the vehicle. So you have to figure in the trade-offs. If I WERE to put an empire cert toward Heavy Assault, it would come with a massive penalty to balance it out.


I love your idea, but theres one problem. Win = keep winning. that means the empire being beaten sevearly (sp?) will just go to the other empire that is winning.
Thanks, Kazzmann5000. But actually, empire certs are basically no more empowering than plain regular certs.
Just because some BR15 player gets the Heavy Assault cert doesn't mean he will always own the battlefield. Why? Because a new player at BR6 could pick up the same cert and show some talent with it and blow the other guy's nose off. Or mister new guy could pick up a Reaver cert and catch Mr BR15 out in the open and blow him away.

The Empire Certs idea is not an uberness-award. Everyone gets empire cert points simply by going out and doing what we always do, only this time it allows you to get some special toys for your standard certs (to give a loose example: Empire-specifc weaponry for a common pool vehicle). If you don't have the pre-requisite cert, you can't get the Empire one. It will all balance itself out. There should and will be a constant back and forth flow of gains and losses.

Remember, losing territory doesn't mean you automatically lose cert points and be defeated in all following battles. You have a reasonable grace period because of your 'national reserve' so to speak of resource points to keep you at your current Tech Level. AND you will (if this idea were implemented-but not likely) be able to 'save' the upgraded vehicles in garages for such hard times.

But seriously, just because I have an Empire Cert-enhanced Reaver (like upgrading it to a 2-seater) absolutely does not mean I will defeat your un-enhanced Reaver. It's not meant to be the kind of enhancement you think like extra health, extra ammo, or higher damage. Any enhancement will have it's penalties. Every buff will have a nerf somewhere else, but it's the choice you make to play the way you want.

To address your main concern, empire switching will always occur with the weak, ego-minded players who want to always be on the winning side. We can't stop that even today, but we shouldn't cater to a small groups' weakness by denying everyone else who loyally stays with their server's faction some form of meaningful progress of this never-ending war.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For every extra upgrade, slow the vehicle down.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, that would be in line with what I had in mind too. Also, I would suggest less ammo in the trunk and perhaps slowing the turret-swivel rate to simulate the added weight and complexity. Such a Lightning-variant would be ideal for those players who wish to play this light tank like you would a medium one but with heavy restrictions on movement, rate of fire, and survivability.

As one other person put it, these could be labeled in-game as Lightning Mk IIs, so everyone is familiar with its capabilities once they get up close enough.

Another idea I mentioned earlier is cargo-netting on the side of vehicles to provide more room for ammo and supplies, but it slows the vehicle down enough to be noticable.


Well, it's a good idea, but you'd have to make the 'experience' scale depending on total empire pop and current empire pop. Otherwise VS would be left in the dust.
By 'experience' I assume you mean the amount of Resource Points collected (for holding an Urban Area and it's production center)? I have no problem with a scale if it is needed to keep the underdogs in the competition.
But I wonder why you would think the VS (or anyone) would be left in the dust? I assume you are suggesting that the VS is underpowered and therefore can't win territory? There are many VS who would dispute that, as the VS Empire has captured bases and locked continents many times over. And that's all you need to do, is keep fighting, taking back territory for as long as you can. Lost a continent? No problem, just build up a force and take it back. Your national reservoir holds enough resource points to keep you at your current Tech Level for a while.

This system is not a rich-get-richer one. Your entire empire will have to work very hard together to increase your Empire Level to a higher level and keep it there. This is not like the CR system where one person will forever have Orbital Strike and another doesn't.

1) Holding onto territory gains you resource points per cycle

2) Resource points go into a national reservoir that feeds into the Empire Tech Levels.

3) Rising in Levels unlocks modifications to vehicles and equipment.

4) The modifications Buff one part of your vehicles but heavily Nerfs another. Such as gaining Firepower or Accuracy but you lose ROF, Ground Speed, or even Inventory space. It's sort of the price you pay for specializing your equipment to the way you want to play.

5) A modified vehicle does not outclass a non-modified one anymore than a BR13 outclasses a BR9.

And remember, I believe I stated earlier that the most resource points are generated by the Urban Areas closest to your Sanctuary Warp Gate (or Broadcast gate once that feature goes in), so the enemy can hold half a continent and you holding the other would still produce equal amounts of resource points. See?

I don't claim that VS is underpowered, more like underpopulated,�VS would mainly be left in the dust because while there are many who dispute it, losing bases comes more often to the VS than capturing them.

Ah, I see what you mean now. Population problems makes sense. As such I can say with confidence that I have no problem with a point scaling of resource points based on population and I don't see any problem integrating such a thing into the Tech Levels concept.

"Empire levels" was one suggested solution where you didn't lose out if your empire was a lower level, as the bonuses had sharp penalties to balance things out. I've been fighting against the false perception of the Rich getting Richer thing for quite some time because of the assumption that Levels give bonuses only and turns an Empire into an Uber Empire. This has never been the case with any part of the concept.

And remember that this idea was released on September 18, 2003. The concept has been in the process of refinement ever since then. But the basic premise is there. If you still have concerns, that's perfectly fine. I'll do my best to clearly illustrate the idea when I release it on the site.

[7ruth]

Interesting. Now when a player orders an 'eject' or 'take cover' is that feature for AI troops only or is it like a voice macro to your fellow players? Also, was it max 64 on one team or 32 vs 32?
It is just a macro for players, but for AI they do it when commanded. Max 64 players for a 10 mile by 10 mile map, But you could go any direction forever though it would just be water(Good for dog fights).
The maps had lots of shrubs to hid behind, tanks would run them over and they would stay down=). You can destroy buildings, though they would just become deformed really. Vehicles could be disabled in various ways, say taking out a tank tread/car tire, or destroying the rotars on a helicopter. Legs could be broke on soldiers too, forcing them to crawl.
I remember this one addition from a player was a star wars speeder bike, kinda fun to play with, but hard not to crash and die...

[EarlyDawn]

Hey Hayoo, if you can fit it into your queue, it would be cool to eventually see what kind of night combat stuff you'd implement. Flashlights, Nightvision, ect. I know the engine can't handle it, but it would still be cool to see.

[Cryptica]

Wow...ideas...wow...so many good ones...I think my brain is overloading. Hayoo, do you work for SOE yet? I know you didn't a couple months ago, but do you now? Cause your ideas fckin' pwn.

[SecondRaven]

Thinks cryptica should die for chaning his sig

[FatalLight]

Yea SOE should hire you, this game would be sooo much better with your ideas, don't know if you have ne programing experience but you could be the guy who thinks :D

[Cryptica]

I wonder why raven is mad, especially when he changed his sig as well.

[7ruth]

Yea go talk to smokejumper=) hes in that line of work.

[Hayoo]

It is just a macro for players, but for AI they do it when commanded. Max 64 players for a 10 mile by 10 mile map, But you could go any direction forever though it would just be water(Good for dog fights).
The maps had lots of shrubs to hid behind, tanks would run them over and they would stay down=). You can destroy buildings, though they would just become deformed really. Vehicles could be disabled in various ways, say taking out a tank tread/car tire, or destroying the rotars on a helicopter. Legs could be broke on soldiers too, forcing them to crawl.
I remember this one addition from a player was a star wars speeder bike, kinda fun to play with, but hard not to crash and die...

Sounds like a cool game. I'm sorry I missed it. What happened to it though? I don't hear much about it these days. Was it buggy? Laggy? Not enough people? Too many cheaters? 64 players total though...I don't know if I could go back to that after experiencing PS. :)

[Hayoo]

Hey Hayoo, if you can fit it into your queue, it would be cool to eventually see what kind of night combat stuff you'd implement. Flashlights, Nightvision, ect. I know the engine can't handle it, but it would still be cool to see.

Night combat? Hmm. That would be way after Navy and Space, I think. I'll have to wait until the priority stuff is completed before putting energy into an idea that the Devs say can't be done. So we'll see.

[Hayoo]

Hayoo, do you work for SOE yet?

Thanks, Cryptica. Nope, not working for SOE yet. But I've told my people to accept any calls from their people...so we can do lunch. :lol:

[Hayoo]

don't know if you have ne programing experience

Thanks, Fatal :) Nope, no programming experience, just graphic arts, multimedia, and video editing...and creative writing, voice acting, photography, history, sculpture, music, sloth, gluttony, lust, etc.

[Hayoo]

Yea go talk to smokejumper=) hes in that line of work.

I'm hoping to get Planetside Idealab included on the official site's Fan page, but I'm uncomfortable allowing that until the site is "complete": that is, the general game info like weapons, conts, guides, and such are in.

[Indecisive]

Haha..Hayoo, if you were any other person, you would have so many people complaining about double posts ^_^

But, PS Idea Lab is teh wtfpwn, so, I post away!

Hmm. Hamma should plug you during AGN <(^_^)>

[Hayoo]

Haha..Hayoo, if you were any other person, you would have so many people complaining about double posts ^_^

But, PS Idea Lab is teh wtfpwn, so, I post away!

Hmm. Hamma should plug you during AGN <(^_^)>

heheh :) Yeah, that's what happens when multiple players post questions when I'm not online. Hope it doesn't annoy people too much.

Thanks for the mucho-supporto. :cool:

[7ruth]

Sounds like a cool game. I'm sorry I missed it. What happened to it though? I don't hear much about it these days. Was it buggy? Laggy? Not enough people? Too many cheaters? 64 players total though...I don't know if I could go back to that after experiencing PS.

Last I heard they were making a 2nd one, and an Xbox Version. I guess i should try to find out.

Edit: here is a link to the OFP 2 website http://ofp2.lobogames.com/index.php

[Indecisive]

Planetside idea: TR max's that can accually kill something! New and exciting idea eh?

[FatalLight]

How long does it take you to write out one thing in your queue?

[Hayoo]

Last I heard they were making a 2nd one, and an Xbox Version. I guess i should try to find out.

Edit: here is a link to the OFP 2 website http://ofp2.lobogames.com/index.php

Nice scenery, a little fuzzy, but I can see the potential. I have opflashpoint.org in my favorites already but I'll add that one too so I can keep up with the release.

[Hayoo]

Planetside idea: TR max's that can accually kill something! New and exciting idea eh?

I'll let another website deal with MAXs. :)

[Hayoo]

How long does it take you to write out one thing in your queue?

Depends on the idea. The CE's deployables status window took only 3 min to make. Zeusprime and I worked for weeks on Command Squads. Urban Areas and deployable emplacements has taken months.

[Onizuka]

Amazing. Freaking awesome site.

[Hayoo]

I've been watching the OF lately and noticed the adv medic problem was brought up once again. I had some ideas myself, even posted some respawn-timer concepts on my site, but I didn't go far enough. So I went through all the medic threads from today and back as far as August, 2003. I noticed the same requests were voiced over and over like a mantra:


corpse not disappearing when player clicks respawn
easier revive action
player alerted when being revived
less medic vulnerability while reviving
carry or drag corpse to safety
cancel respawn option
stimpacks
healing while moving
more stamina on revive
medic proximity alert
medical vehicle
med station
make revive worthwhile to impatient players


So, what the hell, I'll go ahead and make some screens for this since I haven't seen anyone else do them.

[7ruth]

The devs said that medics would be able use Stimpacks and Regen patches a long time ago.

[EarlyDawn]

That sounds good Hayoo. I'm very interested to see all the stuff in your regular queue, but it's also nice to see you trail off and design some long awaited upgrades.

Prehaps make the stimpacks one of the PX items from the urban areas.

[Hayoo]

The devs said that medics would be able use Stimpacks and Regen patches a long time ago.

Yes, sadly they still haven't gotten around to it, not even a concept sketch. :( Well that's why I listed it as one of the medic requests I'd like to try and illustrate. If they're not going to do it, I might as well give it a shot.

Prehaps make the stimpacks one of the PX items from the urban areas.

That was my initial thought too. I also toyed with the idea of using rations and fluids as part of the PX items (e.g. Army rations slowly regenerate health over time, and drink speeds up stamina regeneration). And then of course you've got standard ammo, shotgun ammo, energy ammo, med juice, medkits, armor juice, armor patches, backpacks, outfit items, social items, all available at the goods terminals as well.

[EarlyDawn]

Yes, sadly they still haven't gotten around to it, not even a concept sketch. Well that's why I listed it as one of the medic requests I'd like to try and illustrate. If they're not going to do it, I might as well give it a shot.I wouldn't be suprised in the least if it's a part of the Elite Abilities / Merit Commendations system. One of the devs (I don't recall whom) said that medics would be "getting some love" in the elite abilities.

[Hayoo]

I wouldn't be suprised in the least if it's a part of the Elite Abilities / Merit Commendations system. One of the devs (I don't recall whom) said that medics would be "getting some love" in the elite abilities.

Me either. :) Thankfully most of what's on the above list are for general improvements that are more for all players than just medics, like a "Cancel Respawn" button or a proximity alert if an adv medic is nearby. Stimpacks or no stimpacks, the list is our destiny. :)

[EarlyDawn]

As it is, there's really a very specific set of reasons to allow yourself to be revived. You pop with no armor, totally drained stamnia, and your implants have to wait to reset.

If you DO respawn, you get full ammo, full armor, you can grab another vehicle, and you're back in the action realtively quickly. Really no reason to do it. I would reccomend making reviving pop you with full stamnia and enabled implants.

[Rayder]

Actually, you don't spawn with 0 armor, you just spawn with how much armor you had left when you die. And you get to keep your weapons and ammo. Also think about no respawns.

[EarlyDawn]

Actually, you don't spawn with 0 armor, you just spawn with how much armor you had left when you die. And you get to keep your weapons and ammo. Also think about no respawns.I stand corrected, this is true, you do spawn with whatever armor you had left. I know you come back with the weapons and ammo you have, I'm trying to illustrate that you're probably better off as it is respawning for a full loadout then getting a halfassed revive.

I also realize that it's useful when you have no spawn point. That's why I said it's circumstancially useful. But consider RtCW: Enemy Territory. People wait for revives all the time for two critical reasons that should be applied to Planetside:

- The time you spend waiting is applied against your respawn time.
- There's really no downside, once you're back you can easily resupply and you're not fatigued.

[Hayoo]

I'll be including a lot of the ideas put forth frequently by the community concerning Advanced medics and making reviving more worthwhile. I'll also be including a few new features as well, so that when a player dies (if there's an Adv Medic nearby) they will have the choice of Reviving, Respawning, or Medevac (which ties into one of the emplacements). Each will have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation.

[EarlyDawn]

Any ETA to complete all the medic stuff?

[Hayoo]

Any ETA to complete all the medic stuff?

You're not going to like the answer. :)

Either I finish the concept screens tomorrow or I don't get to them until next Monday, because Wednesday, Thursday, and all this weekend I'll be out of town again. :doh:

[EarlyDawn]

I'm sure you'll figure something out :D

[Firefly]

With your permission (and perhaps a banner), I'd like to add a link to your website on both my Main Terminal page and also on my Nuke page.

[Hayoo]

With your permission (and perhaps a banner), I'd like to add a link to your website on both my Main Terminal page and also on my Nuke page.

Sure. You can use the banner in my sig. Speaking of which, I have to update the headlines... :lol:

[Phaden]

On the medic discussion earlier, the advantage for being rezzed is that you are not starting far away from your squad/outfit. It comes in plenty handy when you have no AMS or it is too far away. Plus cloaker adv med w/ armour rep becomes fearsome when used with maxes. Let them sit down and wait till clear, heel the armour then res, you have instant max back in action. I always heal the armour first, so the person who is rezzed has a better chance of living until they get back stamina.

[EarlyDawn]

As I SAID EARLIER. I know it's circumstancially useful. It could just be a lot more desirable.

[Hayoo]

Ok, this is as far as I got today. Not 100% done but getting there.

Here's the new Respawn window. I'll narrate what's going on in third person.

Sanctuary Spawn Timer: As normal, when this timer runs out you recall to sanctuary
Choose Respawn location button: As normal, click this to go to respawn map
Respawn Penalty Timer: When this timer runs out, you have paid the penalty and can click on a respawn point to spawn instantly. The time is at 40 seconds as an example.
Medics in area: This notifies you if a "designated" Adv Medic is within 75m-100m or so, whether they have their med-applicator out or not.
Revive and Medevac permissions: Allows a player to select whether they wish to be revived on the spot, medevaced to nearby Med Station, or remain untreatable by Medics. Were a Med Station not available (within 400-500m), the option would dim and be unselectable.
Carry permissions: Allows a player to toggle the ability for Adv Medics to carry you to a safer location for reviving or medevac.


FIGURE 1: Hayoo is killed and Respawn Window opens. As usual a dead-body icon appears on the radar map and a "Need Medic" icon appears above his body. This last icon shows faintly through walls and floors so that Adv. Medics can locate him easier. Were he to toggle "no revive/no medevac" these locator icons would disappear.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_01sanctimer.jpg



FIGURE 2: Since he sees no Adv. Medics in the area, Hayoo clicks Respawn to select spawn point. His body does not vanish into a backpack at this point, instead it remains until he finishes respawning or someone revives him. Now at the map, Hayoo sees 2 Med Stations nearby but can't revive there without an Adv. Medic or Medic Vehicle's help. He chooses the AMS south of the base. He can choose to Cancel Respawn from this screen at anytime and return to the body camera and sanctuary timer to wait for a rez.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_02maplocation.jpg



FIGURE 3: Upon choosing his spawn point, Hayoo is sent back to his body camera and watches both the penalty timer and respawn timer count down. By now he notices 2 Adv Medics are in the area. Hayoo decides to continue respawning but leaves his Allow Revive toggle on just in case. Notice that the Respawn Window shows his respawn point as "AMS, Oshur."

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_03waitforrespawn.jpg



FIGURE 4: In mid Respawn the AMS is destroyed! Hayoo is immediately sent back to the spawn map to choose another location. Upon selection, his respawn timer will continue where the old one left off, without having to start it over. Hayoo chooses Hvar. It's pretty far out of the battle zone but hopefully he can get a vehicle there. Hayoo notices the Med Stations are still there, safely cloaked and undetected. If he can get an Adv Medic's attention he can medevac to the Med Station and get some more armor juice and ammo in relative safety.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_04chooseanother.jpg



FIGURE 5: Hayoo's respawn window now shows "Hvar, Oshur" as his spawn point.

With 15 seconds left on the clock, Hayoo notices that 3 Adv. Medics are now in the area. He selects the Medevac toggle and selects the voice macro "We need a Medic!" This makes Hayoo's map icon flash briefly. It also flashes his Need Medic icon over his body. In the nearby Adv. Medic's chat window, Hayoo's message shows as: Hayoo corpse (1st Level): "We need a medic!" This lets the Medic know Hayoo's corpse is on Level One of the base and desires a revive or medevac. A Medic sees Hayoo and moves in his direction.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_05waitfornewrespawn.jpg



FIGURE 6: Hayoo decides to cancel his respawn as he doesn't really want to go to Hvar. Since any new AMSs the NC bring would deploy outside the SOI to access heavy equipment, Hayoo would rather revive at the closer Med Station because he only needs basic equipment anyway.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_06cancelrespawn.jpg



FIGURE 7: The Respawn Penalty is at 0 seconds. This means that if Hayoo decided to respawn anyway, he could click "Respawn", select a location, and respawn instantly without having to wait for a timer. Hayoo sits tight as any moment the Adv. Medic will appear and Medevac him out of the base to recover and rearm in safety.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_07penaltydone.jpg



FIGURE 8: Revive, Respawn, and Medevac Diagram

Here you can see the choices presented a soldier with the availability of an Adv. Medic, Medic Vehicle, Med Station, AMS, and Tower. Location is Itan, Cyssor.

Notice the health/armor/stamina/implant options available in the top right box.
The AMS is outside the enemy SOI to take advantage of the Urban Areas supply line, access to heavy equipment (MA, HA, SA, AV, etc.).
A cloaked Med Station is in the woods to the west of Itan. The emplacement regenerates health and stamina for troops within it's bubble. It also doubles as a Medevac location that players can remotely Revive to if they don't want to revive where they died. Med Stations only have light-equipment terminals. That is, they only provide standard ammo, medical equipment, and repair equipment.
A Medic Vehicle is in the courtyard. When at a full stop, this vehicle also emits a regenerative field. It also automatically revives or medevacs (depending on the player's toggle) any fallen soldiers within it's revive radius. Typically the medics driving the vehicle can cruise around the courtyard, momentarly stopping next to a dead player and revive them inside the vehicle (if there's room) or revive and teleport them to the nearest Med Station.
An Adv Medic is in the courtyard as well. He can revive troops right there or medevac them to the Med Station, depending on what the player has chosen.
Soldiers can decide to respawn at anytime before being revived or medevaced. It's up to them depending on the situation.
If a player dies with no armor, they can revive, medevac, or respawn with the maximum % armor listed in the box.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/revive_options2.jpg



FIGURE 9: Soldier being Revived. Notice that "designated" Adv. Medics show up as green crosses if their applicator is holstered, and flashing orange crosses if unholstered.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/revived_01.jpg



FIGURE 10: Soldier revived and being heald. Notice he has 10 points of stamina and 10% armor. Had he died with 60% armor, he would have revived with 60%, as normal.

http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/revived_02.jpg

The reason I made Med Stations cloakable upon construction was because I realized Snipers would start camping it from a distance. Also this provides a safe haven and a last-ditch revive point if a spawn point is lost.

Maybe months down the road I'll illustrate the 'carry corpse' feature, but I don't have time right now.

I guess that's quite a bit to go on for a while. Now I can get back to working on urban areas while I wait for people to comment and suggest improvements. : :p

(edit: Due Credits - not including my own concepts, inspiration also came from the collective ideas from almost every player since Beta. :) I went back as far as August 2003 to cull the community requests, most notably from: Blahman, Marsman, Fort4Law, EarlyDawn (LNS), AdeptusAstartes, Nexus8, Terminator_uk, Greyflc, alrabbit, OnyxBMW, Jibzie, Dviddlef, Etheryus, Cassandra, Dawsh, Trident, and hundreds of others. Thanks to each of them for reviving the topics and continuing the discussions.)

[EarlyDawn]

:thumbsup:

I hope the medpost wouldn't sell weapons, as well. Maybe just the principle types of ammo. If it did, it might invalidate the Supply Post / AMS

[Edit: Awww, I got credit. Much :love: Hayoo! Looking forward to the Urban Areas stuff]

Also, requesting clarification on one thing.. for this image:
http://www.planetside-idealab.com/images/respawn_04chooseanother.jpg
What are the Red Cross spawn points?

[Hayoo]

:thumbsup:

I hope the medpost wouldn't sell weapons, as well. Maybe just the principle types of ammo. If it did, it might invalidate the Supply Post / AMS

[Edit: Awww, I got credit. Much :love: Hayoo! Looking forward to the Urban Areas stuff]

I decided to give in and have the Med Station provide basic equipment (standard ammo, medkits, med juice, etc. - but nope, no weapons! :) ) because I realized players would complain too much about being medevaced away from the battle and being stranded without means of restocking even basic lost items. They'd say "I might as well respawn at an AMS rather than be helpless." So they get to grab some 9mm ammo now, but not much else.

The Supply Post is still valid as it's a gigantic trunk space for storing heavy equipment, NTU boxes, Tech system-upgrades, etc. By giving the Med Station limited equipment, it ensures it's use as a rally point for soldiers to heal and restock basic stuff.

Also, requesting clarification on one thing.. for this image:
What are the Red Cross spawn points?

Those are the Medevac points availabe from the player's death location as mentioned here:

Hayoo sees 2 Med Stations nearby but can't revive there without an Adv. Medic or Medic Vehicle's help.

Hayoo notices the Med Stations are still there, safely cloaked and undetected. If he can get an Adv Medic's attention he can medevac to the Med Station and get some more armor juice and ammo in relative safety.

A cloaked Med Station is in the woods to the west of Itan. The emplacement regenerates health and stamina for troops within it's bubble. It also doubles as a Medevac location that players can remotely Revive to if they don't want to revive where they died. Med Stations only have light-equipment terminals. That is, they only provide standard ammo, medical equipment, and repair equipment.

[7ruth]

lol... I know that triggerChaoz guy.

He's a TR CR 5 on Emerald, former ELH =P

[EarlyDawn]

Good stuff. Glad you decided to make only ammo avaliable from the med post. You'd be able to get BANKs, Med Apps, and Nano-Dispensers from it if it was in supply, like we talked about several pages back, right?

What else is left for this topic? Or is it on to Urban Areas?

[Hayoo]

Good stuff. Glad you decided to make only ammo avaliable from the med post. You'd be able to get BANKs, Med Apps, and Nano-Dispensers from it if it was in supply, like we talked about several pages back, right?

Correct. :) Some might consider the Med Station as a Support Station but it's primary focus are health regeneration and medevac ability, so I'll just keep the name.

What else is left for this topic? Or is it on to Urban Areas?

There's the revive improvements to be detailed or illustrated:
easier reviving mechanics
possibly Marsman's personal shield for Adv. Medics reviving someone
how corpse carry works (already mentioned on PS-Idealab but I'd love to illustrate this...I hate drawing people though).
healing others while running (slower rate)
Uniform upgrades viewable by friendlies only (medic armband/helmet)
How role-designation works (new screens?)
brief explanation for new squad bar at top

[EarlyDawn]

Great :thumbsup: