Vehicle Ownership?

Pyreal · 2012-05-08, 10:53 AM

I can't remember how it worked in PS1, but I would like to see some sort of player vehicle ownership.

This is why:

The Gal you spawned and braved enemy fire to land safely by the enemy base to expedite its fall just died in a fiery crash. Why?

MuttonMaster didn't like where you parked it. So he hopped in the pilot's seat, grabbed the throttle like a hungry monkey and with baleful glares and curses reduced it to smouldering wreckage at the base of the nearest structure.

Will there be a vehicle ownership mechanism?

Or will all vehicles be up for grabs by those who can use them?
Or will the tank I spawn be MY tank?

I can't recall how many times I've had my BF3 tank- that I collected from spawn and artfully utilized- stolen out from under my repair tool!

To prevent tying up resources there would need to be triggers that would end ownership:

* Vehicle empty and idle x time. For Sund and Gal the timer would also include its functions being accessed.
* Owner logged off for x time. It's not instant to offer leeway for LD.
* Owner AFK for x time. No parking a Sund or Gal and hiding in the bushes while you're at work. 10min or so should work.
* Owner separated by x amount of distance from vehicle. You don't need a vehicle on the other side of the map. You should be engaged near your vehicles local.

Well, there we have it: The desperate grasping of a vehicle junkie.

Xyntech · 2012-05-08, 11:05 AM

Presumably there will still be ownership. It would not be at all viable to have random players able to grab your Galaxy. Griefing out the ass.

The real question in my mind is whether or not we will be able to transfer ownership at all. We already know that hacking is out, but what we don't know is whether player x who has certed in AA turrets for his Magrider will be able to pull his customized tank and then give it to another player who hasn't certed in AA Magrider turrets.

Would that player be able to drive the Magrider at all? Would it revert to a stock Magrider? Would it work, but with a non functioning AA turret? Would someone certed in AA Magrider turrets be able to gun the AA turret for him despite it being non functional otherwise?

My current guess is that there will be no transferring of vehicle ownership at all. I could be wrong though, and there are certainly a lot of ways to make it work.

In my mind, if there is an option for losing ownership, it should work pretty much the same as PS1. The original owner retains ownership until they pull/take ownership of a new vehicle, manually give up ownership of the vehicle, or log out for more than x amount of time.

There is no reason why a player shouldn't be able to abandon a vehicle and travel to the other side of the continent, only to come back and still have it waiting for them. It's only one vehicle per player.

Players going afk shouldn't be that big of a deal. They will probably be auto logged out after a certain amount of time, and even if they aren't, a parked spawn point will only be both alive and useful for a relatively short amount of time.

As for tying up resources, those are like running water. There won't be excessive hoarding of resources, so you will always have to be earning new resources. Just like in the first game, vehicles will be (relatively) disposable. You won't be keeping anyone from gaining resources because you let your vehicle gather dust in some far corner of the map.

Mjolnir · 2012-05-08, 04:13 PM

Why not just have a simple locking feature? If you want your vehicle to stay yours, simply hit a button that toggles some boolean somewhere. If you want to share it, unlock it.

Ceska · 2012-05-08, 04:23 PM

In PS, you could allow the access of the driver seat to your Empire, your squad (and platoon I guess, I don't remember) of just for yourself.
You could also limit access of passenger seat to your squad/platoon.
You losed owneship by spawning a new vehicule.

This system worked pretty fine from what I remember, so I don't see why they would change it.

IMMentat · 2012-05-08, 05:06 PM

A sensible thought, personally I hope the vehicle ownership system remains the same as in PS1, but with an "eject all passengers" button attached to any troop transports. possibly with a separate toggle for "but i'm keeping the gunners"

Knocky · 2012-05-08, 05:09 PM

There is nothing wrong with the current system.

I see no reason to change it for PS2.

Rocknoise · 2012-05-09, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by IMMentat

but with an "eject all passengers" button attached to any troop transports.

It would really be a simple improvement to the old system, not a change.
I like that idea! I was a galaxy pilot very often.
And how often i said drop!! drop!! and had to make a second overflight cause 2 ppl forgot to push... and while 2nd overflight u realize they are just AFK and never dropping.

But as i can remember generally there was the possibility to kick out an unliked passenger or gunner from your vehicle.

I really like to keep it the way it was... but this tiny little button would really improve hotdrops.

Sledgecrushr · 2012-05-09, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by Rocknoise

It would really be a simple improvement to the old system, not a change.
I like that idea! I was a galaxy pilot very often.
And how often i said drop!! drop!! and had to make a second overflight cause 2 ppl forgot to push... and while 2nd overflight u realize they are just AFK and never dropping.

But as i can remember generally there was the possibility to kick out an unliked passenger or gunner from your vehicle.

I really like to keep it the way it was... but this tiny little button would really improve hotdrops.

This idea is awesome and would make for some funny assed videos.

Pyreal · 2012-05-08, 08:05 PM

Awesome possum!

I couldn't remember if PS1 had an ownership mechanism or not.

DayOne · 2012-05-08, 08:20 PM

Just a lock feature would be fine for me but additional options for squad/outfit would also be good.

FINALCUT · 2012-05-08, 11:30 PM

You guys should really play Planetside for a while. This feature is in PS1 and it would be good to have more people playing. Also you would get some experience for when PS2 goes Beta.

Kipper · 2012-05-09, 05:45 AM

Um yeah, simple dropdown menu on the arming (or some other) screen would suffice.

For each 'seat' (driver/gunner/passenger etc) you can flick between private/squad/outfit/empire and thus use it to keep your vehicle your as your own or give it away. Take squad mates on missions or allow for randoms to fill empty seats.

I also support the idea of the hot drop button being a 'weapon' for the pilot though, switch to 'eject' and fire and everyone shoots out the bottom/back of the gal. Hilarity (..and usefulness, of course).

If (as we suspect) vehicles cost ANY personal resources to pull, having it stolen would be the most annoying thing that could happen, also grief. Some people would just think they're playing GTA and get free vehicles all day while others had to keep paying for them.

NCLynx · 2012-05-09, 11:23 AM

Eject All feature?

Fund it.

Bluecewe · 2012-05-09, 01:29 PM

Vehicle ownership is also a fantastic tool to force the player to behave more cautiously; you're putting your personal assets on the line.

Xyntech · 2012-05-09, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by Bluecewe

Vehicle ownership is also a fantastic tool to force the player to behave more cautiously; you're putting your personal assets on the line.

What?

You are invested in your vehicle because you paid resources to get it. Having ownership just lets you protect that asset.

PS1 got a lot of things right and a lot of things not so right, but vehicle ownership was done very very right.

On the topic of ejection, I want to be able to launch people hundreds of feet in the air with an ejector seat. You could use it to get on top of tall structures like tech plants, like that soldier cannon in BF2142, or you could use it to grief friendlies because fuck da police.