Questions from a Air Cavalry Platoon CO

[KILLFACE]

As a CO from a Air Cavalry Platoon there's a few question I'm very keen on hearing answers on, and if some of you know the answers already that'll save me many a hour or piss fartin around that I can then utilize on working on my Platoon. But if you don't know the answers don't go out of your way.
I'll do them in bullet point format and try and get straight to the point.

• This ones been answered
• This ones been answered
• This ones been answered
• This ones been answered
• This ones been answered
• This ones been answered

If you are able to help me then thank you, you've saved a few hours of time researching. If not don't worry about it, I'll figure it out.

And while Im at it if your interested in joining a Air Cavalry Platoon file a recruitment form at:
jetbastards.enjin.com
And I'll process you and assign you to a Squad that suits your skill set.

[Gogita]

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

• I heard something about infiltrators being able to jump on a Jeep and cloak that Jeep, is that only applicable to Jeeps or does that work with other Vehicles too? How long do Cloaking devices last? Are they only for a set amount of time like on 2142 or are they toggleable? Are they more effective when standing still than they are moving or does that not matter? Is it possible to hold a weapon while the Cloaking Device is activated?

Never heard of this and as far as I know it's completely untrue. Cloaking only cloaks the user partially or fully depending on how this person is certified. They have several characteristics depending on, again, how the person is certified. We know that you cannot be cloaked forever, and that there is a "energy" bar that depleted when the cloak is activated. We know that it is possible to hold a weapon when cloaked, however I have read before that when shooting with e.g. a sniper, your cloak will be canceled.

Are the Interceptor Craft limited to Anti Air loadouts? Or can I equip them with Anti Ground Weapons too? I really don't like the look of the 3 men Gunships, they look so slow n unmaneuverable they'll get in the way and be about as useful as a Cock Flavored Lollypop with more than 2 or 3 of them. When I first saw them I actually thought they were the Gal's and said oh the Gal's have a turret? Cool. then I read on the wiki they were Gunships and I nearly punched my screen. As a 2142 Veteren (link) and a Tank Hunting enthusiast I was really hoping for something a bit more maneuverable. Something a bit more like a A10 than a C-130, I'm hoping to be able to modify a Interceptor with Anti Ground missiles n such to accomplish that, and also loadout some General purpose Fighter Bombers.

You probably mean the Mosquito/Reaver/Scythe when you mentioned the interceptor craft. Players can customize the weapons of these aircrafts. So to answer your question, yes, you can have anti ground weapons on these vehicles as well.
I guess you mean the Liberator when talking about the 3 men gunships. From the footage we have seen, the Liberator is packed with quite a punch, and therefore is offensively very strong. In addition, it seems to have a decent amount of armor, therefore protecting it from damage. The drawback of this vehicle is the decrease in maneuverability as this is not supposed to be used for a hit and run vehicle. If you want to do this, you should use the empire specific fighters. Therefore, the more clunky moving liberator is justified.

This one is very important for my ladds because we are not packing anything that won't fit in a Jet. Exactly how side-gradeable are the Gal's? Can they be loaded with ECM/Extended radar sort of thing without compromising Troop capacity? And what sort of troops can they carry? Is it only 12 Infantry, 2 Power Armor Units and a Vehicle like on PS1, or is that part sidegradeable also? Will I be able to pack 20 Infantry and 2 power armor units in one, 12 infantry and 6 Power Armor Units in another and a Heavy Vehicle (or maybe 2 light/medium vehicles)with no other units in another?

In the current build we have seen, the galaxy can handle a total of 12 players, including pilot. Probably it can also contain 2 MAX units, just like the Sunderer. However, it has been mentioned that it currently cannot transport a vehicle, but they were considering it to be a customizable option. We have not heard of any option to change the number of people one can transport in a Galaxy.

[KILLFACE]

Yeah I thought It'd be timed like it was on 2142(not played PS1). Not only for balance reasons but it added a lot of tension to the role. It is a relief that they've included it as a toggle, you got no idea how many times on 2142 (never tried ps1)I'd yell "HOW MANY YEARS HAVE WE HAD SWITCHES FOR? WHY PUT A BUTTON ON IT FFS!".
I think it was on pcgamer.com I heard something about Jeep's being cloakable if a Infils on board, but I think they were jus considering it at the time or something. I'll have to double check.
Thats that one outta the way. I'll cross it out.

That too is a relief about being able to put anti ground missiles on the Interceptors. While I do want to have a few of the big smeggers, that's about it, no more than a few. With a large amount of Jets in the air any more than a few of them will get in the way and cause a lot of mid air collisions.
I'll cross that one out too, thanks man, you've been very helpful.
You've also shown the rare ability to stay on topic on a forum. Very commendable.

[Gogita]

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

With a large amount of Jets in the air any more than a few of them will get in the way and cause a lot of mid air collisions.
I'll cross that one out too, thanks man, you've been very helpful.
You've also shown the rare ability to stay on topic on a forum. Very commendable.

You're welcome!

I think mid air collisions will not be a problem in the PS2 when it will be released. During the E3, everyone was given a crazy amount of resources. And as everyone that played at the E3 wanted to try out flying, there were so many planes in the air that collisions even occurred. In the final build, players will adapt to the large amount of air vehicles by grabbing anti-air equipment. This will decrease the number of players that pick air-vehicles because it will be too dangerous to fly and a waste of resources to spawn a aircraft. In will be balanced about by an invisible hand in the game

[KILLFACE]

That's why AA is a priority target

[zomg]

The E3 videos from TB showed a compass above the minimap so I guess that answers the compass q

[KILLFACE]

HUZZAH! Only 3 left now, thanks man.
Unfortunately those were the 3 I figured would be common knowledge amongst enthusiasts if known. Gonna have to do some heavy researching for the others it seems.

[TheInferno]

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

• Exactly what are the details of the VOIP system? Will I be able to for example have 2-3 different push to talk buttons that I can customize, so I can have one of my Squad Leaders being able to for example communicate on the Command Channel, his Squad Channel, and perhaps quickly mention something to the Spotter (eg kill that tank on the ridge)so he can call in a Air Strike for the Squad without needing to waste a minute or 2 coordinating and describing the enemy position when he should be looking after his Squad. I have got Mumble and C3 srvrs but I'm hoping to be able to do push (or toggle)to talk (and assign them to 1,2 n 3) so I don't flood the comm channels with things that are not relevent. So is it possible to for example have 3 different Comm Channels and be able to pick what one speaks to who?
• What sort of Strategizing tools are built into the game? Will I be able to organize (in private) with my Squad Leaders or the CO's of my Comrade Clan's directly on the map and draw different colored circles, x's and arrows and stuff like that? (different colors to signify different Squads/Platoons) And possibly even type quick descriptions such as sneak through here, strike here and garrison here. And so that we can organize Platoon and Multi Platoon raids in game without having to take screenshots and minimize every 10 seconds as it will speed up the process many times.
• This one is very important for my ladds because we are not packing anything that won't fit in a Jet. Exactly how side-gradeable are the Gal's? Can they be loaded with ECM/Extended radar sort of thing without compromising Troop capacity? And what sort of troops can they carry? Is it only 12 Infantry, 2 Power Armor Units and a Vehicle like on PS1, or is that part sidegradeable also? Will I be able to pack 20 Infantry and 2 power armor units in one, 12 infantry and 6 Power Armor Units in another and a Heavy Vehicle (or maybe 2 light/medium vehicles)with no other units in another?

I'm just going to try to answer what I can, here.

1. We don't know that much about the VOIP, other than it will be "very robust" and have multiple channels, including the ability to form your own. I would really like it if they had a button for switching chat channels quickly, but I'm not sure if they've got that functionality in quite yet. Once we get in beta we'll probably get more info from the team as they shore up what they need with it.

2. Pretty sure drawing on the map is allowed, though I'm not sure what the limitations are for it (squad leaders and platoon leaders I think), not sure about different colors yet, haven't heard anything about typing missions in (but it'd be cool, maybe they could give different types of waypoints for something similar?) and I never played Planetside so I don't know what you'd actually need for the last one.

3. I think ECM and Extended Radar are possibilities for the fighter craft at least, so I could definitely see them on the Galaxy. Something like 12 units (that can be improved or sidegraded through certs) however there are no specific limits on MAX slots, so you could have a galaxy of 12 MAXes as far as I know. Galaxy can't carry any vehicles right now, that might change, don't know yet. Would be a cool thing to cert into, though.

Hope this helps! Also, an air cavalry outfit/platoon sounds awesome, but I'll be playing TR. I plan on learning to fly in Planetside 2, so maybe I'll see you on the other end of my gunsight one day! Always good to have more targets.

[Lantis]

Just want to preface this by saying the majority of my answers are speculation based on random interviews, comments, and the like. They aren't necessarily indicative of systems currently in place. Not to mention, I could have completely missed something, so...grain of salt and all that.

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

• Exactly what are the details of the VOIP system? Will I be able to for example have 2-3 different push to talk buttons that I can customize, so I can have one of my Squad Leaders being able to for example communicate on the Command Channel, his Squad Channel, and perhaps quickly mention something to the Spotter (eg kill that tank on the ridge)so he can call in a Air Strike for the Squad without needing to waste a minute or 2 coordinating and describing the enemy position when he should be looking after his Squad. I have got Mumble and C3 srvrs but I'm hoping to be able to do push (or toggle)to talk (and assign them to 1,2 n 3) so I don't flood the comm channels with things that are not relevent. So is it possible to for example have 3 different Comm Channels and be able to pick what one speaks to who?

Judging from various videos and blurbs, the best I can piece together is that they will be supporting multiple simultaneous in-game VOIP channels, for example, Outfit, Squad, Platoon, Vehicle, and, potentially some level of customizable channel creation as well.

I imagine switching between channels would be as simple as something along the lines of...designating different channels on your Numpad.

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

• What sort of Strategizing tools are built into the game? Will I be able to organize (in private) with my Squad Leaders or the CO's of my Comrade Clan's directly on the map and draw different colored circles, x's and arrows and stuff like that? (different colors to signify different Squads/Platoons) And possibly even type quick descriptions such as sneak through here, strike here and garrison here. And so that we can organize Platoon and Multi Platoon raids in game without having to take screenshots and minimize every 10 seconds as it will speed up the process many times.

Not sure if it's been confirmed one way or the other, but a similar system was available in PS, so it's definitely possible. Would most likely require some level of Command certification if it's back.

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

• Will there be a inbuilt compass on the UI which can at least be toggle'd on to make coordination easier? And so I can do stuff like Jet's incoming from northwest, Fighters Intercept. And my ladds get to it?

There's a compass above the mini-map.

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

• This one is very important for my ladds because we are not packing anything that won't fit in a Jet. Exactly how side-gradeable are the Gal's? Can they be loaded with ECM/Extended radar sort of thing without compromising Troop capacity? And what sort of troops can they carry? Is it only 12 Infantry, 2 Power Armor Units and a Vehicle like on PS1, or is that part sidegradeable also? Will I be able to pack 20 Infantry and 2 power armor units in one, 12 infantry and 6 Power Armor Units in another and a Heavy Vehicle (or maybe 2 light/medium vehicles)with no other units in another?

I believe in the Nanite Systems Vehicles Webcast, this was brought up. They were looking into customization options like...allowing a smaller vehicle to be loaded up at the expense of troop capacity. With the side-grade mentality in mind, I would imagine most substantial side-grades would trade their benefits for, at least in the Galaxy's case, something like troop capacity.

And it looks like I was beaten to most of these. Oh, well.

[KILLFACE]

Thanks for that man. Was very helpful. Pretty much answered most of what I was wondering about. I'll summarize this info and repost it on my forums. I'm sure some of the lads would appreciate hearing it too.

Any you think your good enough do you? (link) That's not likely mate. I've hunted n shot down some of the top 20 pilots on BF 2142. Though to be real the best Pilots I saw werent top 20 simply due to not putting in enough hours. I've probably got more melee kills with a Jet than you've got rocket kills(650 from 150 hours on jet)(gotta paint me jet somehow eh).

(edit) Adding another confirmation and a few extra details onto that has really helped. With info on this stuff it's sorta more the merrier eh. Thanks to you also mate. Very much appreciated.

[TheInferno]

Not a problem, always glad to help out!

To be honest, I'll probably end up as scrap metal more often than not. I was mostly a ground pounder in 2142, but the few times I did fly I did pretty well. Loved that thing, but it was always one of the first thing taken, I liked playing infantry and I didn't appreciate the team kills so...

Still. Nothing quite like timing your shield right, getting them to set their shield off early and pounding them when it fails, maneuvering around... ah, that was sweet.

Ah well. We shall see each other in the skies, and then we'll both know how good we are, eh?

[Shogun]

i have something to add for the cloaker question!

what you propably have heard is the ability of the cloaker to sidegrade a atv to cloak when he drives this.
the atv is no jeep, it is more of an all terrain quad-bike. in ps1, there was a variant of this, a cloaker could drive and plug his cloak in to cloak the whole bike.
when the atv was revealed, we asked the devs to include a cloakable version as well, and higby said he will talk to the team about adding a sidegrade module for the atv. most certainly it will replace the onboard weapon, so you can cloak the vehicle but have to sacrifice its firepower.

no talk lately, if this has been added, if it´s still in developement, or if the idea has been dropped.

[TheInferno]

Oh yeah, I think I heard that as well, it either being a cert for the ATV or the Infiltrator. It's still theoretical as far as we know, though.

[KILLFACE]

@ Saifoda - You got no Idea how many halfwits like you 2 I've slapped around for not showing manners when they oughta.
Leave it.

I already know exactly how good I am mate. Wasn't too bad with a gun either(link(it's a pity that stat tracking site doesn't track consecutive rounds eh)). If you decide to wisen up and join NC look me up, we'll be happy to have ye man. You seem like a decent chap.

Ya that may of been what I was remembering mate, thanks for that. That is still pretty cool man, being able to sneak through a bunch of dudes on cloaked ATV's. To be real the gun on the atv looked fairly pitiful, aiming where the bike was aiming, all ya need is a bit of uneven ground and ya stuffed eh. I'm a bit disappointed about not hearing about Jeeps yet. Driving around with some mates in a Hum Vee is simply... cool.

[YaJackWagon]

Originally Posted by KILLFACE

Ya that may of been what I was remembering mate, thanks for that. That is still pretty cool man, being able to sneak through a bunch of dudes on cloaked ATV's. To be real the gun on the atv looked fairly pitiful, aiming where the bike was aiming, all ya need is a bit of uneven ground and ya stuffed eh. I'm a bit disappointed about not hearing about Jeeps yet. Driving around with some mates in a Hum Vee is simply... cool.

There have been a few threads posted about getting the devs to make a "Humvee" vehicle, something to bridge the gap between the atv and that hulking sunderer. However, I think the current rumor is that we won't get something like it at release. Maybe in an update...

I really would like it because of all the fun I had in 2142 eviscerating inf with the ocelot and bandit; and running circles around tanks.