IDEA for resource system rework. Base resource pools, warpgate radiation, and ANTs.

[Jonny]

Please take a while to read my idea for a new resource system for planetside 2. I've been trying to get my head round a solution for many of this games problems and right now this is my answer, called:

PLANETSIDE 2 RESOURCE UNITS

BASE RESOURCE POOLS, WARPGATE RADIATION, AND ANTS:

Warp gates radiate energy into the air for miles around them. This energy can be turned into nanites to fuel the war effort in Planetside 2. Any faction has the ability to use the radiation from their warp gate to power the facilities/bases they own. These nanites come in packages referred to as Resource Units (RU’s)

Bases drain RU’s with tasks such as spawning troops and vehicles. Different bases have different sized pools of RU’s at their disposal, and the amount of RU’s the base has stored is known as the bases Power Level. Facilities have a whopping 10000 RU capacity. Towers can store 2500 RU’s and small outposts and bases 1000 RU’s.

All bases regenerate RU’s from warpgate radiation (via special arrays). However, the further the base from the home warpgate, the slower it regenerates its power. Facilities (Amp stations/Bio Labs/Tech plants) will provide powerful continent wide facility benefits to the faction that owns them. These benefits are only online when a facility’s power level is above 60%.

Some ideas for facility benefits:

• Biolab 1 – Slow health regen.
• Biolab 2 – Troop spawning costs 20% (1RU) less.
• Biolab 3 – All soldiers have 5% more health.
• Tech Plant 1 – MBT spawning at bases other than the warpgate.
• Tech Plant 2 – Vehicles cost 5% less.
• Tech Plant 3 – Vehicles have shields that absorb 5% incoming damage.
• Amp Station 1 – Base Turrets time to overheat increased. ANT’s refuel and deposit nanites 10% faster.
• Amp Station 2 – Base Turrets health increased and repair time reduced. ANT’s refuel and deposit nanites 20% faster.
• Amp Station 3 – All vehicles engine efficiency improved. Vehicles acceleration and top speed increased by 5%.

Being their own power source, Warpgates are always at full power. The highest rate of Power Level regeneration outside the warpgate is 5RU/Sec, falling to 4, 3, 2 and 1RU/Sec the further one travels from their home warpgate. SEE IMAGE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Infantry do not carry any RU’s on them. Instead, soldiers have an allocation of resources that they are allowed to draw from the system. This allocation amount is based on the soldiers combat performance on the field, with a maximum allocation of 200RU’s per soldier.

When a soldier spawns a vehicle, the price of their purchase will be taken from the RU pool (Power Level) of the base they are at - they will then have lowered their allocated resource amount by that purchase price.

Prices are: (in RU's)

• Flash – 20
• MBT – 85
• Liberator – 85
• Sunderer – 100 (They come with their own RU pool)
• Galaxy – 100
• ESF – 60
• Lightning – 70
• Harasser – 60

Troops spawning at a base or sunderer AMS cost 5RU’s per spawn.

As shown above, sunderers cost 100RU’s to spawn. 50 of these RU’s pay for the vehicle and 50 come as troop spawning potential already stored in the sunderers RU tank, which can hold 500RU in total. Sunderers have special mobile array technology allowing the vehicles to recharge RU’s like a base. This rate is also lowered by distance from the warpgate exactly like bases.

INFANTRY:

Players are directly limited by how many resources they can spend at a base according to the bases’ power level. This system prevents individuals from taking a base down to dangerously low power levels with large purchases:

IE – if a base has a power level of 50% - a soldier wanting to purchase a vehicle there can use a maximum of 50% of his total resource pool (200RU) meaning he can spend 100RU in total. This means the lower the base power level the harder it is for troops to spawn vehicles. This also prevents drivers/pilots who spawn vehicles from starving the base of resources for player spawns.

When the base power drops so low no vehicles can be spawned, it will need recharging via waiting for the background recharge rate or by using an ANT before more vehicles can be purchased.

WHEN ANT’s ATTACK

The ANT is a reasonably quick, armoured all terrain harvester and mobile RU pool. Due to the warpgates unstable background radiation, ANT RU shipments can be required to keep a distant base operational. These vehicles can deploy at warpgates to fill their nanite pools of 10000 RUs. They can also deploy at any base array to deposit their RU’s and fill that bases RU pool up, or in fact anywhere on the battlefield to resupply nearby AMS sunderers with RU’s for spawning troops.

Furthermore, ANT’s act as harvesters which can collect valuable auraxium out in the field, saving themselves a possibly long trip back to the warpgate. Auraxium can be harvested by ANTs from auraxium deposits with fresh ore veins, or even raw from meteors which frequently impact the planets continents. (random events, more likely near map centre or not too far from facilities)

However, raw auraxium mined from the environment must be processed in a refinery before it can be used to power a base. Only large facilities (Amp stations/Bio Labs/Tech plants) have refineries. Once an ANT enters a refinery (imagine CnC harvester animation) the auraxium is refined and provides 3000 RU’s for that facility.

This can potentially save a facility which is under siege and has a low power level, suddenly allowing increased spawns and vehicle purchases. Or top up a facility to bring its facility benefit back online.

Consequentially, this versatile and highly important ANT vehicle is a high priority target for the enemy. Though defenseless it can change the tide of battle and is an important logistic vehicle in keeping the war effort supplied. Destroying the enemys ANT’s is destroying their supply line, reducing their ability to spawn troops and vehicles where/when they want, and preventing their facility benefits.

TL;DR

• Resource Units (RU’s) power bases and are needed for spawning troops/vehicles.
  
• Soldiers do not carry RU’s but have a 200 RU maximum allocation. Soldiers RU allocation is based on their combat experience.
  
• When a soldier spawns, buys consumables or vehicles the RU’s are taken from the base RU pool.
  
• Facility (IE: Amp station): 10,000 RU pool, Tower: 2500 RU pool, Small outpost: 1000 RU pool.
  
• Soldiers spawning vehicles at bases spend part of their RU allocation, with the same amount being deducted from the bases RU pool.
  
• Your factions warp gate radiates RU’s with higher RU/sec regen rates for bases nearer the warpgate. This means bases furthest from your warpgate run low on power quicker so vehicle spawning is slower. Warpgates are always at 100% power.
  
• ANT’s can ferry RU’s from the warpgate to bases that need them. New meta game of supply lines/starving enemy bases of resources while keeping your own powered.
  
• Random events such as auraxium meteors can be mined by ANTs. These resources can then be processed at facilities for 3000RU input to the facility.

Thanks if you read all that. I really think this approach could add the meaning to the resource system players are looking for while adding meta game and balancing continent dominating empires. This system was thought up with continent domination in mind so all warpgates can be captured by one faction on a continent. When a competing faction comes to take a warpgate and establish a foothold, the difference in RU/sec in their favour helps them push out from their warpgate when they earn it back.

Let me know what you think! Thanks.

[Edfishy]

Liking the premise (essentially NTU's of olde); concerned about the following:

- Mining mechanics might make NTU refills too easy. Consider as an option having harvested resources act as base modifiers like the LLU's in PS1. I.e. collecting enough of resource at a facility grants 50% reduced NTU drain for 10 minutes, etc.

- Mining mechanics do represent a higher development cost, and so it may be better to just stick to the basic RU/NTU system.

- RU's being "based on combat experience" didn't seem very clear. Would it just be gauged on your score/hour?

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by Edfishy

Liking the premise (essentially NTU's of olde); concerned about the following:

- Mining mechanics might make NTU refills too easy. Consider as an option having harvested resources act as base modifiers like the LLU's in PS1. I.e. collecting enough of resource at a facility grants 50% reduced NTU drain for 10 minutes, etc.

True. Meteors or fresh ore appearing could be made as rare as the developers like, and as you say it need not be 3000RU but any other kind of benefit thats worth it but still risks your ANT in a battlefield.

Originally Posted by Edfishy

- RU's being "based on combat experience" didn't seem very clear. Would it just be gauged on your score/hour?

Esentially the same as it is now but with only one resource and not based on territory.

Thanks for climbing the wall'o text

[Malorn]

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

[GeoGnome]

I tend to think that factoring in Random Chance into these kinds of mechanics, makes all strategy go out the window. Something more reliable than: "And then a meteor strikes" would be good.

...And this is ignoring that the material you would get from a meteor would be marginal at best. If all that is needed to make nanites, is mass, that can be reorganized on an atomic level by the nanites themselves... then why don't you just harvest a crap load of Sand? Quartz is a hard material, and it's plentiful. Besides, 9/10 it's not like meteorites are anything special.

[DviddLeff]

Hmm interesting concept which is similar to the old ntus.

I would have it along the lattice rather than radiation- that way territories can be cut off and starved of resources until the defence crumbles as spawns slow down.

Malorn these resources could be used for the old ant bombs . Other than that I cant think of much.

Trouble is I like the current system as it has different flavour resources, even if it is currently inconsequential.

[Larington]

On this topic, I made a suggestion a little while back on an approach for ANT/resupply that's tied into the resources system as well as facility energy reserves. It's probably already been seen, but on the off chance it hasn't.

https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/...ducers.130396/

[Edfishy]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

A couple off the top of my head. The trick is having benefits that don't impede on abilities people have certed into. (i.e. cloaked enemies are revealed)

• Reduced gravity / reduced damage on falls (great for getting out of a tower)
• All spawn timers within facility are reduced in half

[Zadexin]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

Some uses for Harvester resources - Give it the ability to repair or reload nearby vehicles similar to the sundy.

Increase the repair speed (not cooldown) of all engineer repair tools in x radius.

Let it expend resources to generate a LARGE mobile anti-projectile shield. Like the one being tried out over the new base designs, but able to hold a small armor column inside it. (think Star Wars Gungan shield generators). It can either be timed to drain a certain amount of resources OR let each hit drain X resource to power it.

Create a Spawn Jammer bubble effect for X resources per minute. This could allow a besieged base a massive reprieve.

Big ass bomb?

[sylphaen]

Randomized resource veins ? What about health, mana, elixirs and flasks ? I thought this was a FPS ?

Devs are working hard enough trying to rebuild a front, adding valuable objectives spawning randomly seems counter productive.

The idea of the lattice is that at any given moment, a small part of the map is being contested in an very intense fight. So if they just put it back, why add something that goes against it ? Your random resource would have to fall in contested areas.


Want something original ?

Want a better idea for harvesting ? Corpses... Pull a dead body from the front line and bring it back to your closest AMS: get "Salvage" (not "savage") points for it (i.e. resources back) ! And if the corpse is enemy, get extra "glory" points. Of course, the more contested the area is, the more valuable the enemy is, the more glory you get (and the opponent's dogtag too - since we might as well copy BF franchise and improve over it!). And of course, you move slowler and can't shoot (or only handgun) when you pull a body ! (with a time limit before body decays)


If humans used to do that during the war of Troy, this should be in a war simulator ! It may even be fun for some !

Resource mining is for Minecraft.

[Chaff]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

Hey MALORN. Great to see you still representing PS.

Make the ANT .... FIELD-DEPLOYABLE. .... like when you went to a WG & open your wings to charge-up your ANT. But, this is a Reverse feature from harvesting nanites.

In "Field-Deploy" mode you simply unload your nanites into the air ..... in the middle of the battlefield (or base) ..... and it essntially buffs everything within a 500 (?) meter radius. Health, armor, reload, ammo,..... all get proximity-buffs.

0-50m = 20% buff for duration of Nanite flow from ANT.
51-100m = 15% buff for duration of Nanite flow from ANT.
101-200m = 10% buff
201-450m = 7% buff
451-500m = 3% buff

....something along these lines. Of course, it would be more thought-out if the total number of infantry & vehicles in the 500m radius affected how long the Nanite Resource Boost lasted.

1,000 combined forces of vehicles & infantry might burn through one full ANT's Nanite Resource Boost in seconds. A small Outpost with fewer than 4o infantry and 10 vehicles might get the Nanite Resource Boost for 4 or 5 minutes ...... take this idea and run with it brother.

....and JONNY......kudos to you. You're on the right track.

[sylphaen]

Actually, I was thinking about a "finish mechanic" (NC:Scalping,VS:Soul taking,TR:Terminal Interrogation) which would be slow (5 seconds for finishing move) and if you feel brave, an extra 5 seconds to "salvage" (giving you back resources (or HP?) for every second you "salvage"). You'd get a bonus at the end (you were sitting like a duck for 10 seconds). The full thing would be channeled so that if you chicken out in the middle, you can't start again. Time would also be limited to start doing it.

That would allow you to "harvest" with some decent amount of risk (for adrenaline and because having it too easy decreases value) in the context of a war-themed game. It would also be a tribute to PS1 looting which could not be implemented because no inventories.


Unfortunately, I think they would lose the PG13 over it.

[Fallunlight]

Malorn. We have to look at this from a functional perspective. what we have and what it can do to benefit pur current lattice system. you mentioned a unique resourxe. Someone mentioned shields and spawns...etc. what i would like to bring to the front is acrually onvolving outfits or leaders. certs, etc. in collusion with the ANTs now here are some other ideas to use in that context.

Regular players driving or leaders driving ANTs collecting resources, this unique resource which pools either zone or continent wide from the one viable option, the warpgates. or bases.

under that line of thought, a continents bases would have to share this unique resource. we are now involving every player on the continent. ANTs would be noncombat asstes to be be protexted and hunted. skittering behind battle lines.

players collect, deliver to either a base or an outpost. the benefits an ANT can carry depend two fold, on that players leadetship certs and/or which accessory he has on the ANT after sufficient resources are collected.
eg. shield applicator, ammo drop beacon for fights far from home, vehicle repair beacon, stealth beacon, the list goes on

these, as suggested would be accessible after each level of leadership certing. so as not to be abused.

another viable option would require the ANT who dropped the beacon that activated any of the bobuses be present or nearby.

oe that the commanders share no resources and spend their own which are earned through combat as well as nanite collection from non commanding players just doin their job.

But the idea of using ants on every level as a viable option. is what id like to see.

other ideas include involving them as they were in PS1. Attached at the hip between a silo and the warpgate.

but ask yourself what banusus could a silo-esque addition provide and who and how would it benefit.

i beleive a unique resource would be viewed as a spending budget for leaders in battle.

ill add more later

[Larington]

I seem to remember people tried ANT bombing back in the day in Planetside 1, but it never came into common usage because to be effective you needed to drive the ANT to a warpgate, fill it up then drive it to the target. However CR5's having orbital strike meant it was a bit redundant, if you really needed that thing dead you could just drop an OS on it.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if ANT bombs became common in PS2 for roughly the same reason.

[Dougnifico]

Honestly, I don't think warpgate radiation is a good way to allocate resources unless we all want to be stuck at the crown again. lol