Air Superiority

[The Janitor]

There seems to be a whole lot of gunships this time around on Auraxis. We've got single-seat aircraft(any of them with a ground attack loadout), 3-person mini-Gal Gunships(Liberators), and then the actual Gal Gunships that may or may not have the same amount of seats/guns per aircraft.

Now, I love gunships as much as the next person, (especially the GG's, they're just yummy), but the core of this is that there are just so many ways to rain death down on the ground that it might get a bit crowded up there. I know they're not going away, and that's fine, I very much want them in the game; I just want to give the ones on my side a clear sky in which to do their job. I understand that we're not in beta yet, and that we have no idea how this is all going to pan out, but what we do know is that there are going to be a lot more people this time around in the battles. Not only that, as stated above, gunships are fun. And we all know a guy who says "I wish they had AC-130's in (insert any given popular multiplayer shooter)." This thread is designed to discuss our favorite ways to deal with this.

So, assuming what the audience is going to be like, and knowing how many of these people are going to love playing point-and-click games from attack aircraft(me included at times, I'm sure) and watching their kill count rise, what method would everyone prefer to clean the skies of these tasty, multi-person targets? Err, vehicles.


Air superiority fighters: Dogfighting! Guns, missiles, and a good ol' joystick. Kenny Loggins is optional.

Anti-air vehicles/MAXs: Mobile platforms with flak cannons, missiles, lasers, all of which can sit comfortably in the middle of a friendly force or base to provide cover against air units.

Personal anti-air weapons: Shoulder-mounted AA weapons, usually missiles. Easily carried on the back of each and every front-line grunt.

Turrets: Whether in a base or deployed in the field, these immobile(or at least difficult to relocate) platforms will really bring the pain. Maybe even jack some of them up to the size of an 88 mm Flak cannon for added awesome.


Personally, I'd love me some good loudouts for fighters. Air superiority is going to be a necessity in this game, so that means we gotta have some Battle of Britain-style fights in the sky. What about the rest of you?

[ringring]

I don't see a reason not to have all of the above but perhaps the flight ceiling should be above the reach of ground based AA.

Regards B of B fighting. It would be nice to have patrolling aircraft in a 'finger four' formation looking to 'bounce' enemy aircraft. Perhaps if air isn't as durable this time around a 'bounce' will be a viable tactic.

[Mechzz]

With the new hex capture system handicapping caps where you don't yet control the adjecent hexes, I think air-power will be a key factor in pushing into enemy territory. i.e. use aircraft to prevent resupply coming from hexes adjacent to the one you're trying to cap until the target is captured.

I expect we will see loads of aircraft in PS2 and all of the options will be needed to fulfill their different roles.

[Canaris]

in planetside 1 I'd never venture out and about without my striker

[Hamma]

There is also a whole lot more AA in this game aside from just the MAX's, you can even equip AA gun's on Vanguards and Prowlers.

[Badjuju]

I don't think the variety matters as long as there is good balance between air vs. ground units. If they find that sweet spot then the factions should keep each others numbers in check.

Edit. Clarification, I don't think *allot of variety will be damaging*

[The Janitor]

Originally Posted by Badjuju

I don't think the variety matters as long as there is good balance between air vs. ground units. If they find that sweet spot then the factions should keep each others numbers in check.

Variety is the spice of life for Planetside. Many different ways to bring glorious, burning death to the enemy. I certainly intend to try out everything before really focusing on any one thing, but flying was always my favorite thing to do in any game.

[Badjuju]

Originally Posted by The Janitor

Variety is the spice of life for Planetside. Many different ways to bring glorious, burning death to the enemy. I certainly intend to try out everything before really focusing on any one thing, but flying was always my favorite thing to do in any game.

Sorry, I ment to say that that I support the diversity and I don't think that allot of diversity will be damaging as long as they the put effort into balancing. Gota love variety, I agree.

[Xyntech]

It should certainly be a mix of all of the above, but as far as what I prefer, it falls into two categories.

My personal preference for how I will help clear the skies is with air superiority fighters. I plan to spend a lot of time flying a Scythe, and I'd like to split that time pretty evenly between tank hunting and shooting down enemy aircraft.

However my preference for what should be the most effective units for keeping the skies safe for other units are AA vehicles and MAXes. Infantry should be able to scare off a stray fighter, but shouldn't be the ones really clearing the skies, and while turrets and deployables can and should be effective against aircraft, I think some of their inherent limitations will prevent them from being the final word in air defense.

So my votes go to Air Superiority Fighters and Anti-air vehicles/MAXs

[Badjuju]

I'm with Xyn though infantry should have a limited role in AA.

[Figment]

The most important consideration for me is that a air camping situation can be turned around and air superiority can be undone efficiently.

Meaning from all sorts of playstyles. Having to rely on air to deal with an air superiority situation would be stupid: they got air superiority!


Especially important is the indoor -> outdoor camped situation.

[Figment]

Originally Posted by elfailo

If you get camped, you're doing it wrong.

Camping happens. You should always be able to fight back though without having to physically leave the place en mass like you would if you would have to rely on air power alone.

Fighting back from an indoor situaiton should be possible with local Anti-Air. Otherwise air units would be too competitive and would mean a precarious stalemate situation would always go to the attacker, since the defender can't get out. Defenders should be able to fight their way back out and beat off an enemy through smart play, if the only way to beat of air is by leaving and bringing in a large contingent of air yourself, then AA is broken.

[BigBossMonkey]

I know I'll be rolling out an AA Lightning ASAP, and my trusty old Burster MAX

[Captain1nsaneo]

I like being a threat and having a choice in how I prosecute my targets. All of them are valid. Lock-On, Flack, and Direct Fire are all unique in where they are best employed. Likewise what they are mounted on. They are all tools in a player's toolbox and will be noticed if they are absent.

[Warborn]

I've been saying since PS1's beta that the solution to all the world's ills resides on air-to-air fighters. Dealing with tons of ground-to-air AA sucks as a pilot. Shitty dogfighting like in PS1 and like what we've seen so far in PS2 where people just float around and shoot each other down also sucks. Making a nice, fun flight model that emulates popular arcade-style fighter plane games, like Red Skies or HAWX or something, and placing the bulk of the AA in the hands of fighter pilots, is a better solution. Keep ground-based AA as a deterrent and make ground units rely on friendly fighter pilots to keep themselves safe from enemy air.

Honestly the lack of any fun air combat on account of the "fighters" being shitty helicopters isn't going to do the game any favours. We've already played Planetside 1. We don't need to rehash the same stuff in PS2.