Rethinking Vehicle Air Tranport

[Talek Krell]

The recent Galaxy/Lodestar discussions have gotten me thinking a bit about how the Lodestar was actually used in PS1 and why, and I think the subject would benefit from some discussion.

While the Lodestar had 2 roles it was almost never actually used for vehicle transport. A number of us have been clamoring for a vehicle transport module on the Gal, but there wouldn't be much point if it never saw use so I'd like to discuss why the Lody was used the way it was and what we might do to make air transport a more attractive option.

My thoughts

Problems with the original model:
1. Low impact: Dropping a single vehicle into a battle didn't generally have much of an effect. If you dropped your cargo just behind friendly lines then you'd slightly reduced the travel time of one vehicle, so you weren't exactly turning the tide of battle. A Lodestar could, hypothetically, have made repeated trips to reduce the average travel time from v-pad to combat zone, but that lead to problem 3. If you dropped a vehicle behind enemy lines then Fun could ensue, but the thing wasn't likely to last long. Dropping numerous vehicles at once could alleviate this but that lead to problem 2.
2. Inefficient: One pilot for each vehicle to be dropped was a requirement that became increasingly problematic if one wanted to move multiple vehicles. In practice this usually meant that air transport was only used to move single high impact vehicles like AMSes and the occasional Sunderer.
3. Logistical hurdles: Airlifting reinforcements is a great way to reinforce a front line, but doing so effectively requires coordination between the pilot and the potential air liftees to arrange for timely pickup at the v-pad or interception mid journey. PS1 did nothing to facilitate this, and I dare say it never actually occurred.

Potential solutions to the issues:
1&2. Allow multiple vehicles to be carried: Allowing a Galaxy with a vehicle carry mod (henceforth "Galstar" >.>) to drop a small combat group would make air transport a more efficient use of manpower and resources and also allow a single pilot to create a more significant impact on the battlefield. The ideal would probably be a hook system ala Supreme Commander: A Galstar would have X number of transport hooks and each vehicle would take up a certain number of them. Example: A Galstar with 8 hooks might carry 8 ATVs at 1 hook each, an MBT at 4 hooks with 2 Lightnings to back it up at 2 each, or a single Sundy at 6 hooks with 2 ATVs to scout for it.
3. Use the mission system: Allowing vehicle owners to set a mission on themselves requesting transport to a target area or pilots to set waypoints for pickup and dropoff would go a long way to facilitating transport as a viable full time support activity.