Alliances/ Outfit combinations

[cashfoyogash]

I believe this was briefly touched on in a previous post, I know the guy suggested this. That outfits can ally with other outfits to basically make one large outfit. An example of this would be for you EVE players corporations allying with other corporations to create an alliance that has the same goal.

In my mind an outfit is compared to a company in the actual military (around 100 soldiers). I also heard SOE plans on making it more beneficial to keep the outfit smaller and not promote one huge 500 player outfit, what small is to them i dont know, maybe platoon size? Anyway, in PS2 id see an alliance of outfits becoming more like a battalion compared to the real military. A battalion is usually composed of around six companies HHQ (high headquarters, also where you would find your mortar infantry and snipers etc.), Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and a support company is usually attached. In my battalion, 1-36th infantry, alpha and bravo were mechanized infantry companies charlie and delta were tanker companies (m1a1 abrams).

I bring up combining outfits up to a certain number of outfits because it would be cool to combine outfits that specialize in certain things. Like you have your strictly infantry companies combining with your armor companies to create a armored battalion, much like the battalion i was a part of. The infantry and the armor really compliment each other well and it would just make organized attacks much easier since it appears outfits can really only specialize in one thing.

I just think you cant have only infantry, sometimes you need your armor to help push the enemy back. So instead of the commander asking for help in a public chat from another outfit he can just order outfit bravo to back up outfit alpha. Or say outfit bravo is the armor outfit and they are rolling through one of the urban areas and they are being pinned down by AV attacks due to all the choke points (armor really is more prone to defeat in an enclosed area) outfit bravo doesnt need to fall back and ask for help the outfit alliance commander can order outfit alpha to dismount (if they were mech infantry) and clear any buildings that are known to be AV nests.

I just hope SOE has decided to make it so outfits can align with each other as it would create a more tactical gameplay and more of a feeling of being a part of an actual military unit while giving commanders more options in how they would complete their objectives.

[Redshift]

nice name :/

I wouldn't mind an actual option to form alliances or battalions but there'd have to be a point to it, unless it was just for the extra chat channel :/

[cashfoyogash]

My point in having it would probably be more for commanders and the versitily they would have in how they conduct military movements. Say your in a infantry outfit you wont need to ask in public chat for armored support if a armored outfit is in your battalion/ alliance. It would be available to you to use, request, or command how ever you want to look at it. I dont think they would share in xp bonuses or skill buffs. Mainly just for organization and command.

[WarChimp130]

I think that's pretty much the plan. Smaller outfits of player who do the same thing and the outfits can specialize and gain benefits for doing so, and then those smaller specialized outfits can become an alliance which will be able to use those Infantry, Armor, Air and whatever else specialized outfits as one.

I could see the bigger outfits just diving their members into smaller specialized outfits with the same name.

[cashfoyogash]

Ok, so as we know this is suppose to be in the game? If people have videos of interviews could you please link them to me, either the post from this forum or the link itself will be fine. Thanks.

[Firefly]

Ok, so as we know this is suppose to be in the game? If people have videos of interviews could you please link them to me, either the post from this forum or the link itself will be fine. Thanks.
No.

He did not confirm that alliances would be in-game.

He did not confirm anything about outfit specializations.

The only thing Higby typed was in response to my PSU forum question was that they were working on something that would address splitting outfits into mini-outfits, and that it was really awesome and that he thought we'd all love it. I'm roughly paraphrasing here. It's in the "Q&A On Reddit With Matt Higby" thread.

[Firefly]

http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showpost.php?p=574052&postcount=300

How about Alliances?
We definitely recognize that the inclusion of role specific advantages as part of the outfit progression will lead players to wanting to create smaller specialized outfits / divisions. We do have a plans to address this and when we're ready to reveal more details on the outfits system (which seriously, seriously rules, by the way -- I think you guys are going to be really stoked with what we're doing here) you'll find out all about it.

This is the ONLY thing he said. There is nothing in there to confirm that you will need mini-outfits and alliances, there is nothing there that states there will be alliances.

[cashfoyogash]

but sounds like basically the same premiss, thanks for the link. i think ill really really like it haha

[Firefly]

You can interpret it any way you want - I interpret it as "We're going to make outfit specializations into cute little fluffy bunnies that you have to TK via Mag-mow in Uncapturable Foothold Bases to gain". That doesn't make it so.

The bottom line is, they haven't unveiled anything for outfit specializations. They haven't said that there will be alliances, they haven't said that there won't be. All he said was, they have a plan to address it. Personally my advice is, don't read into it. You'll end up nerd-raging when they do a 180 from what you thought they intended, and in our experience shit like that leads to "OMG THEY SAID THIS! OMFG THEY DID NOT! ZOMFG YES THEY DID! THEY LIED!"

[cashfoyogash]

you just bursted my bubble, your a downer. haha thanks though and i understand where you are coming from. it could be a complete opposite from what im intending.

[WarChimp130]

I can't keep track of whats real and whats speculation on these forums anymore. I've taken the pieces that I do like from both though and constructed the game to completion in my mind though and it's breathe taking.

[JanitOr KanOs]

It seems like they really want to force outfit identity in this game. Having lots of small outfits forces every outfit commander to form a sort of unofficial command hierarchy on the global command channel. This would make for an interesting meta-game that forces the different factions to come up with their own command structures, though it may not become more than every commander advertising how awesome their outfit is.

They brought up the 101st Airborne a lot in interviews, so it seems like they really want everyone to be in a 101st Airborne/SEAL Team 6 kind of outfit. Something that stands out and gains notoriety.

Maybe they also just want to discourage the Zerging? Not sure if it's possible to stop that, though.

[cashfoyogash]

I think he talks about the 101st airborne due to its air assault capabilities (galaxy drops). They are able to be all over the place and dismount and be extracted and in another battle really fast.

[JanitOr KanOs]

I think he talks about the 101st airborne due to its air assault capabilities (galaxy drops). They are able to be all over the place and dismount and be extracted and in another battle really fast.

Exactly, they're known for that. If an outfit specialized in gal drops got really good at it, they'd become the PS2 equivalent of the 101st Airborne and people would begin to love/hate them for it.

[Firefly]

If an outfit specialized in gal drops got really good at it
Mine does. We don't model ourselves after (or consider ourselves) the 101st though.

[JanitOr KanOs]

Mine does. We don't model ourselves after (or consider ourselves) the 101st though.

I didn't mean you'd become them specifically, I just meant that people would mention your outfit when they needed a good gal drop. Or got wrecked by a good gal drop from you. :D

[ShowNoMercy]

Who didn't gal drop in PS1? it was par for the course. And how would any one group gain notoriety for gal dropping? I guess you would have to do them all the time, since the rate of success on a gal drop is low (unless the base is empty or nearly so).

[JanitOr KanOs]

Who didn't gal drop in PS1? it was par for the course. And how would any one group gain notoriety for gal dropping? I guess you would have to do them all the time, since the rate of success on a gal drop is low (unless the base is empty or nearly so).

I personally only ever gal dropped twice. I preferred not to make every base capture a clusterfuck of raining zerg. Also, yes, by making a reputation of dropping into heavily fortified bases and succeeding, or dropping into bases the enemy had yet to fully man but were moving to that position, one could get a lot of awesome points for that feat. Like I said, they probably want to discourage the zerging a tad.

[Firefly]

since the rate of success on a gal drop is low (unless the base is empty or nearly so).
You're doing it wrong.

That is all.

[Trolltaxi]

Alliances of outfits worked quite well in an unformal way n PS1... at least on TR side on Werner, later Gemini. There were times when these "allied" outfits relied on each other pretty much, at other times cooperation was a bit more loose.

We visited and commented each other's forums, and we knew who to call in different situations. Blood Legion, Red October, Outcasters, Fanteria della Spazio and Ruffnex could pretty well work together for ex.

And I am happy if they address this and add features that help forming these alliances.

[ShowNoMercy]

Also, yes, by making a reputation of dropping into heavily fortified bases and succeeding,

Wouldn't happen. If there are guys trying to push into the BD or FD and being stopped by defenders, what is dropping a few more out of a gal going to do? nothing

[Trolltaxi]

Wouldn't happen. If there are guys trying to push into the BD or FD and being stopped by defenders, what is dropping a few more out of a gal going to do? nothing

Unless that galdropped squad is determined to actually enter the door and make a push hard against that few defenders holding the room behind that door. That will make those clowns outside the door (throwing grenades and making single shots inside the door for minutes without any actual effect) follow them, and this way overcoming a chockepoint.

[Lonehunter]

I don't think setting a cap on an outfit, or making it less beneficial to have over a certain number, is the way to go. I think the only problem they have to address is the Outfit Specializations. If I have an outfit of 200 people, 50 in Air Cav, 50 Ground pound, 100 rapid responders, it would be annoying to have a separate outfit for each. Even if we have some kind of alliances. I would rather just like to see divisions within one outfit that have different Outfit Specialty Bonuses, you don't get that bonus unless your in that division's roster.

[DviddLeff]

Outfit specialisations I see as a good thing; it promotes more of an identity for the outfit which can aid in recruiting for starters.

Back in beta I founded my Vindicators as an outfit that would accept any role (back then everyone wanted to be elite ninja sniper cloakers) so that we could really get combined arms working. I worry that general outfits like mine will be disadvantaged over specialised ones, however I hope that large single outfits will be able to have specialised divisions, otherwise as you say we will just see large outfits splitting into small outfits to cater for each division, potentially harming their communities as they will find it harder to chat ad coordinate potentially.

Higby has mentioned that larger outfits could invest specialisation points/resources to increase their member cap already, and being able to unlock additional divisions for specialisations would work, but obviously the outfit would then have to choose to either spend their points on one division or another. Therefore a larger outfit would be necessary to support multiple divisions.

I do hope also that outfit alliances are in game (check out the originals manual, they are mentioned in there, p29!) as they promote massive teamwork, which is what PS is all about.

[cashfoyogash]

I do hope also that outfit alliances are in game (check out the originals manual, they are mentioned in there, p29!) as they promote massive teamwork, which is what PS is all about.

Originals manual? You mean PS1 manual?

[DviddLeff]

Yup.

[Firefly]

Wouldn't happen. If there are guys trying to push into the BD or FD and being stopped by defenders, what is dropping a few more out of a gal going to do? nothing
You're still doing it wrong.

[robocpf1]

There are still people doing sky-ceiling zero-prep Gal drops and it makes me cringe.

As for the outfit/alliance discussion, as long as that first member cap is pretty huge, I'm ok with it. But I don't want to log in to PS2 and find out that all of the members I have on voice at that second can't get into the outfit that they've all worked so hard to build in PS1. I don't want to spend my first 10 outfit skill points making the outfit big enough to invite everyone.

[DviddLeff]

For the larger outfits that will be a problem as you point out robo... if they are going to have a limit they have to set it at some level however, and one that a decent amount of outfits will have to increase otherwise what's the point in having one?

They could have outfit mergers which is a solution, but not an ideal one.

I wouldn't have a set limit to be honest.

[Trolltaxi]

There is some balance behind the system. An outfit has to decide if they want to grow in numbers (and spend outfit points on that), having all kind of soldiers in it's ranks, but not being able to buff them with outfit abilities. Or keeping it small, focusing on small fields like aircav or armour or maxing/grunting (these are the most obvious picks imho - though it would be fun to have a dedicated combat medic or ninja outfit :) ), and buffing them to the utmost.

Yep, there is reason behind that.

[Sovereign]

I concour, an alliance system akin to what guild wars has would add another dimension to the game.