BFR mechs

Shinjorai · 2012-06-01, 10:12 PM

I only played the original planetside for about a month on a free trial, back in the day. I loved the game but couldnt afford the monthly fee at the time so i didnt play anymore. But one thing i remember was it having mechs in it i think they were called BFRs i noticed they are not going to be in planetside 2. I was just wondering why they were so bad in planetside 1? I think i remember reading while surfing the web about how they were overpowered. I just think it would be even more awesome if there was mechs in the game, because it would lend even more to the futuristic feel of things. Surely if done right they could still have them and it wouldnt create an imbalance, make them the same damage and armor as a tank or something but just a different visual kindve.

Just thinking out loud here and wanted to hear what PS1 vet thoughts were on why they were such a bad idea or if they could be brought into PS2 without ruining it. Like i say i dont really stand on any side of the issue other than i think it would be great if they were there but the game will still be awesome without them. Either or just cant wait to play the damn thing lol, wish theyd hurry up and release the beta start date im getting impatient.

LtCarman · 2012-06-01, 10:16 PM

Though I'm not a PS1 vet...you've just opened up a can of worms. Most threads about this subject has resulted in flame wars.

Refer to this 11 page thread. Everything you'll need to ever want to discuss will be in there.

Shinjorai · 2012-06-01, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by LtCarman

Though I'm not a PS1 vet...you've just opened up a can of worms. Most threads about this subject has resulted in flame wars.

Refer to this 11 page thread. Everything you'll need to ever want to discuss will be in there.

ok kewl thanks, sorry was not anywhere near my intention to start a flame war was just curious.

Sirisian · 2012-06-01, 10:16 PM

I made this thread on the subject of balanced mech.

As a veteran I can probably say this unbiasedly. The problem was they justified their power by using a long timer and a certing process that required cave captures and kills. (Something that was trivial to do). Their power in both variants was from their shield which repaired at an incredible rate. They could be taken down by one player, but that was generally viewed as too much work by some. Before they were balanced they were also overpowered. The flying was also deemed by many as a bit cheap. You had these flying robots everywhere that could easily retreat after getting numerous kills.

When they were balanced they were generally okay. I never cared much for the design of them. The VS one for my empire was humanoid and walked funny. The physics system didn't like them and created a bobbing camera.

SKYeXile · 2012-06-01, 10:16 PM

Maxes are about as mech as you're gonna get.

as for the BFR's from PS1? no comment.

Warborn · 2012-06-01, 10:46 PM

They were very poorly balanced initially and made the game very crappy for a couple months. Afterward they were more balanced, but the flight variant was still a one-man killing machine which even put reavers to shame. Last time I played they were fairly mediocre, but still, flight variants are somewhat strong. In general 1-man vehicles which are more powerful than two-person vehicles are a bad idea. Also, having to muck about in the caves to get certified to use BFRs was a chore.

The reason this is a hot button issue is because Planetside 1 players in general are no different than players from any other game. So even the idea of mechs in a totally different game still makes some wet their diapers and cry for mommy. Needless to say, how BFRs were in PS1 has nothing to do with how mechs could be in PS2, but so far there's been no word one way or the other. Certainly they fit the genre and there are niches they could fill, so we'll have to see.

Sirisian · 2012-06-01, 10:52 PM

I forgot one of the biggest problems with them that's referenced other than the shield. The size of them. They were 24 feet tall for a single (sometimes 2 person) vehicle. It was very odd for a vehicle design. They were basically a lightning rod for attack at that height. Any feasible mech would really need to be half that. Like 12 feet tall. I think I covered the obvious things already.

Warborn · 2012-06-01, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by Sirisian

I forgot one of the biggest problems with them that's referenced other than the shield. The size of them. They were 24 feet tall for a single (sometimes 2 person) vehicle. It was very odd for a vehicle design. They were basically a lightning rod for attack at that height. Any feasible mech would really need to be half that. Like 12 feet tall. I think I covered the obvious things already.

"Feasible" isn't a word which has any business in Planetside. It's not meant to be a game depicting what warfare in the future would actually look like. A big mech has never been a smart idea, period. Nobody would ever actually make such a vehicle.

That said, them being lightning rods was the point. That's why they had huge shields. The gunner variants all sucked except for the NC one as its gunner weapon was amazingly accurate and lethal (typical of NC I guess) but when you crouched them their shields made pretty good defensive positions for friendly infantry/vehicles. They were excellent as mobile fortresses of a sort. Honestly if they had removed flight variants they'd not have been so egregiously imbalanced.

Shinjorai · 2012-06-01, 11:05 PM

Yeah i can kinda see what you mean, about the flying and shield too, that does seem a bit OP.