Empire Specific Air

[SandTrout]

I know, I know, this has been discussed a thousand times, but I just wanted to throw out my ideas. I think the Empire specific Air should be a new class of air power, the Gunship

VS Swarmer: this large ship is capable of launching up to 4-6 Flux Podds. These small(half-mosquitoe) sized pods are not spawned directly from vehicle pads, but are launched from a larger mothership that can be spawned at a DSC air pad or sanctuary air pad. This is because they have a limited life-span away from the mother-ship( 1-2 minutes). These craft are capable of moveing any direction equaly at near mosquiote speed(strafe at 100 kph if you dare). They also have a single Magazine of flux cannon shots that can be reloaded when connected to the mothership. These pods cannot land on the ground, but can dock with a landed mothership. They can only undock while the mothership is not landed. Their menuverability comes with a cost. They feature only very light armor(400ish). Once a pod is lost, it cannot be replaced on the mothership, a new mothership will have to be spawned.

NC Levithian: this large airship carries 2-4 side mounted Heavy rocket launchers(think somewhere between phoenix and firebird) and a rear mounted tail gunner manning a 20mm machine gun. this is mainly for AV suppression and base pounding.

TR Ravager: This bird features a set of 6-8 cannons that fire 23mm High explosive amunition. Turrets are placed with 2 on the front, 2-4 on the side, and 2 on the rear for maxium gun covorage. This ammuntion is primaraly effective against infantry, but has proven itself against ground vehicles and air.

[scarpas]

Empire specific Air



the only words in the post that i liked.

[Kam]

Yes lets give the empires huge overpowered planes that make it so all you need is one of them to win a battle. :rolleyes: If they were balanced, it would be a different story, but those that you described are completely unbalanced. Here is a more likely scenario if SOE will ever make ESA: They will just take the Galaxy and lose the cargo hold and mount guns that relate to the empire all over it, just like they did with the deliverer. A ship that can make four others come out of it is completely rediculous.

[SandTrout]

How exactly would they be unbalanced?

The VS have, weak, fast attack craft that require another, much more vunerable vehicle to stay in the air, or even reload. hell, they'd be downed by a couple AA MAXes or strikers in no time flat.

The NC have an AV platform that is(like most NC equipment) highly vunerable to air. shots from the rocket launchers would be slow-moveing, and reletively weak against infantry.

The TR just have some extra guns on galaxy. I never said the explosive shots had to be 1 shots on anything or even large explosions.

Please, I would like some more constructive criticism and more serious review of my concepts.

[xmodum]

Dont like, sorry.
The VS one sounds crazy, too crazy, Nothx.
But I like the effort put into it! :D

[Kam]

I just don't think SOE would ever put this much thought into it and if they did make the ones you're talking about they WOULD be overpowered because SOE has no idea how to balance anything. The concept is good, but most likely they would just put gauss cannons for the nc, Fluxpod guns for vs and few more guns for tr.

[Radaeron]

hmm.. VS idea is slightly OTT :D
I mean, if there were a hundred of those lil pods goin' around everyone would go for the mother... then those pods will ALL die :P

for the TR, i wouldnt like just one kind of turret all over it.
there should be a mortar in there or somethin, relate it to marauder :D

[Kam]

No, I'm sorry the TR just get a lot of weak machine guns. :lol:

[Onizuka-GTO]

:rolleyes:

[Sp3ctre]

I like the idea of a huge Gunship. It would be cool if it needed 2 pilots, one for altitude and one for steering. THen there could be about 10 Gunners and 10 Passengers!

Of course it would be powerful, but it could be like an OS and you can't use them every time you spawn :P. THere could be 3 per empire per continent or something

I think a HUGE ship that needs to be run by a whole platoon is a cool idea, and it will boost teamwork greatly. It could need NTUs and could be repaired by 5-6 engineers. I just think a vehicle like a battleship is needed, and it needs EVERYONE to keep it working.

[martyr]

Dont like, sorry.
The VS one sounds crazy, too crazy, Nothx.
But I like the effort put into it! :D

please keep in mind that the galaxy gunship is on its way

[mussina]

I think they should change the design of the aircrafts for each empire keep the weapons the same just change the way they look I thought is all weapons and vehicles should be empire specific they all should look different from each other

[martyr]

I think they should change the design of the aircrafts for each empire keep the weapons the same just change the way they look I thought is all weapons and vehicles should be empire specific they all should look different from each other

while i agree with this a little bit, the paint scheme changes are pretty dramatic, and i rarely have any trouble telling which vehicles belong to whom.

the performance advantage of having to change only the paint scheme is significant, whereas you're talking about making 66% more new models to render and store in memory.

from the gameplay aspect, how could you explain having a reaver take on an entirely new shape when you hacked and stole it?

it's a neat idea, but i think it's impractical

[Delusion]

If empire specific aircraft were introduced it should be done on the Liberator. Changing the weapons loadout on the 3 seat positions would be easy enough and still intresting.

The posibilities with the bomber seat could leave alot for creativity.

As for more pure attack aircraft? There already seems to be an over abundance especially comparing their power. Making the Galaxy into combat gunships... gawd I'd hate to be infantry that day.

EDIT: What I'd actually prefer to see over more aircraft is more Anti-Aircraft. The best combat must be focused and revolve around the infantry. You add more attack craft without more abilities to take them down and PS becomes Spaceside with infiltrators hacking facilities.

[Kam]

Martyr, when you hack a enemy tank, does it change it's shape to your empires tank design? No. So neither would empire specific reavers. All that would change is the color.

[JetRaiden]

Empire specific gunships has been an idea for a while. dont bother posting your vehicle layouts, becaues its a worn out and tired cause.

[Toneball]

...Here is a more likely scenario if SOE will ever make ESA: They will just take the Galaxy and lose the cargo hold and mount guns that relate to the empire all over it, just like they did with the deliverer...

When I read this I thought of this:

http://www.af.mil/media/photodb/web/web_030128-O-9999J-028.jpg

AC-130H/U Gunship, nicknamed the Spectre. on the left side it has: one 40mm cannon and one 100mm cannon. It simply flys in circles and lay waste to anything on the ground. :D :D

[JetRaiden]

that things absolutely owns in DC. its so fun to jump out of it right on the Iraqi base.

[Kam]

hehe... circle of death. :lol:

[Baneblade]

This idea sounds like someone took mine and spilled coffee on the notes then tried to figure out what was on the paper...

A Galaxy based gunship would bring me back :)

[SandTrout]

I've put some more thought into it, and maybe a gunship isn't the answer. I know we have the phantasm comeing down the pipe, but what about a more combat-oriented version that's empire specific with no cloaking, more armor, and a pair of side guns(empire specific part) for defence?

[dm_cowsfromhell]

Hmm, to tell the truth im against new large aircraft just because of the complete lack of skill necessary to use them, im always pushing for fighters due to the ease with which aircraft currently operate, reavers can score kills far too easily, mossies dominate by simply hovering and shooting their non-radar equipped foes, and galaxies are all but impossible to kill before they can drop their troops. There needs to be some way to counter air which is both lethal and dedicated. (like sayyyyy, fighters)

[EarlyDawn]

I'd rather see more ground vehicles over aircraft, and above anything else "avatar-usable", I'd want to see infantry stuff get priority.

[Lartnev]

and above anything else "avatar-usable"

What does that mean? :(

I think the phantasm could be refitted for an armed variant, I mean Sporkfire said it would now be a lot easier to make variants because of their practice with the deliverers.

I still want my Galaxy Gunship though :)

[MiniOrca]

Empire specific air should not be gun ships that have enough fire power to pretty much clear the courtyard of a base...plus the vanu one sinds kind of annoying/frustrating to use.

In my opininion for empire specific air, empires should get an alteration of the air vehicles already in the game.

for the TR: A version of the mosquito, looks a little bit different, maybe a little longer, it has more armor then the skeeter and 2 chainguns (both a little bit weaker than the skeeters) but has a bigger clip and the CoF expands a little bit faster than the skeeters.

for the NC: A version of the reaver, looks a little different, it will have the same armor as the reaver, it has a skeeter chaingun replacing the guns it has now, but the rocket pods will fire quicker and will cause more damage.

for the VS: A brand new ship, it has dual lasher like guns ( fires a little bit faster than the lasher and the bullets will move faster) for a secondary mode it will have a single fire flux cannon, this cannon will cause a medium range splash damage, directs hits will do a little bit less damage than getting hit form the main cannon of a Magrider.

These im sure could use improvements, but i think they focus on the general contruction of most of the empire specific vehicles and weaponry.

[Vis Armata]

This looks fun. :D

All my craft have a laze pointer that can set temporary waypoints or temporarily paint an object for the squad to attack (effect is similar to the pulse of light that comes from a LLU or module runner), as well as active pulse radar. Active pulse radar (for CR1 and up, perhaps for squad leaders only as well) is a capacitor-driven radar that can reveal the presence of enemies on radar (think Mosquito) for a very brief time.

The pilot never has access to chainguns or pulse cannons for AA or AI, and the gunner only has access to chainguns or pulse cannons - meaning that these craft have to be fully manned.

TR Corsair
Type: Empire Ground Attack Aircraft
Crew: 3
Weapon Systems: Two 25mm chaingun turrets, two Swarmer rocket pods.
Avionics: Target Acquisition System, Active Pulse Radar
Top Speed:100 kph
Armor: Medium

The TR Corsair would be a three-person gunship. The pilot has access to the Swarmer rocket pods and the active pulse radar. The Swarmer pod is a six-barreled rotary rocket launcher that can unload a salvo of small, shaped charge rocklets that are designed to penetrate vehicle armor. The rockets are inaccurate and best used for area saturation. Both pods may fire at once, but the reload time is slowed. Each gunner has access to a turret bubble that houses the a 25mm chaingun (these have a limited tilt and pivot - no 360 degree motion) and a laze pointer. These frount-and-side mounted turrets can overlap their fields of fire or engage multiple targets simultaneously. The TR craft is faster than the NC, and has medium armor thickness.

NC Paradigm
Type: Empire Ground Attack Aircraft
Crew: 2
Weapon Systems: One dual 25mm chaingun turret, One Juggernaut rail gun.
Avionics: Target Acquisition System, Active Pulse Radar
Top Speed:90 kph
Armor: Heavy

The NC version is a heavier and slower gunship. True to NC design philosophy, the main armament on the Paradigm is a heavy, slow-loading railgun. The Juggernaut is highly accurate, but the high-density slugs travel so fast that they generally pass through a target, causing almost no splash damage. The Juggernaut railgun slugs are ineffective against infantry. The pilot has access to the active pulse radar as well. The secondary gunner has access to 25mm chainguns and a laze pointer built into the main turret. The NC version is heavily armed, but also the slowest gunship in existence.

VS Equinox
Type: Empire Ground Attack Aircraft
Crew: 2
Weapon Systems: One dual pulse cannon turret, One Meteor energy torpedo launcher.
Avionics: Target Acquisition System, Active Pulse Radar
Top Speed:110 kph
Armor: Light

The VS Equinox is more like the ancient Earth stories of UFOs - because of a Magrider anti-gravitic drive, not only is the aircraft the fastest gunship, it has excellent lateral motion abilities. The gravitic drive comes at the cost of armor, however: The Equinox cannot withstand many hits. In addition to the active pulse radar, the main armament for the pilot is a Meteor energy torpedo system. The energy rounds are fairly accurate and on impact rupture, causing a plasma-like damage (non-stackable). The gunner has access to a new pulse cannon that is on par with the 25mm chainguns, but is slightly more accurate.

_________________________

These ships would require that the Reaver would be changed to a two-man 'generalist' gunship as well, to make a mix of aircraft more appealing: The pilot would control the 20mm cannons, and the gunner would control the rocket pods. the Mosquito would be the only solo aircraft in the game (save for the Lodestar).

I would like to see a mix of gunships (Empire-specific and generalist) as well as Mosquitoes in a balanced air squad.

[Rbstr]

I've put some more thought into it, and maybe a gunship isn't the answer. I know we have the phantasm comeing down the pipe, but what about a more combat-oriented version that's empire specific with no cloaking, more armor, and a pair of side guns(empire specific part) for defence?

i like this, perhaps put the Del guns on it. I hadly ever put my troops up in a galaxy for 2 reasons, it can't soften up the LZ before the jump, and its to damn hard to get, the airdel concept is much desired

[Sputty]

Not bad ideas sandtrout, although the mothership would need a higher max altitude or something to make it viable in combat or near combat