IDEA for resource system rework. Base resource pools, warpgate radiation, and ANTs.

[Jonny]

Please take a while to read my idea for a new resource system for planetside 2. I've been trying to get my head round a solution for many of this games problems and right now this is my answer, called:

PLANETSIDE 2 RESOURCE UNITS

BASE RESOURCE POOLS, WARPGATE RADIATION, AND ANTS:

Warp gates radiate energy into the air for miles around them. This energy can be turned into nanites to fuel the war effort in Planetside 2. Any faction has the ability to use the radiation from their warp gate to power the facilities/bases they own. These nanites come in packages referred to as Resource Units (RU’s)

Bases drain RU’s with tasks such as spawning troops and vehicles. Different bases have different sized pools of RU’s at their disposal, and the amount of RU’s the base has stored is known as the bases Power Level. Facilities have a whopping 10000 RU capacity. Towers can store 2500 RU’s and small outposts and bases 1000 RU’s.

All bases regenerate RU’s from warpgate radiation (via special arrays). However, the further the base from the home warpgate, the slower it regenerates its power. Facilities (Amp stations/Bio Labs/Tech plants) will provide powerful continent wide facility benefits to the faction that owns them. These benefits are only online when a facility’s power level is above 60%.

Some ideas for facility benefits:

• Biolab 1 – Slow health regen.
• Biolab 2 – Troop spawning costs 20% (1RU) less.
• Biolab 3 – All soldiers have 5% more health.
• Tech Plant 1 – MBT spawning at bases other than the warpgate.
• Tech Plant 2 – Vehicles cost 5% less.
• Tech Plant 3 – Vehicles have shields that absorb 5% incoming damage.
• Amp Station 1 – Base Turrets time to overheat increased. ANT’s refuel and deposit nanites 10% faster.
• Amp Station 2 – Base Turrets health increased and repair time reduced. ANT’s refuel and deposit nanites 20% faster.
• Amp Station 3 – All vehicles engine efficiency improved. Vehicles acceleration and top speed increased by 5%.

Being their own power source, Warpgates are always at full power. The highest rate of Power Level regeneration outside the warpgate is 5RU/Sec, falling to 4, 3, 2 and 1RU/Sec the further one travels from their home warpgate. SEE IMAGE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Infantry do not carry any RU’s on them. Instead, soldiers have an allocation of resources that they are allowed to draw from the system. This allocation amount is based on the soldiers combat performance on the field, with a maximum allocation of 200RU’s per soldier.

When a soldier spawns a vehicle, the price of their purchase will be taken from the RU pool (Power Level) of the base they are at - they will then have lowered their allocated resource amount by that purchase price.

Prices are: (in RU's)

• Flash – 20
• MBT – 85
• Liberator – 85
• Sunderer – 100 (They come with their own RU pool)
• Galaxy – 100
• ESF – 60
• Lightning – 70
• Harasser – 60

Troops spawning at a base or sunderer AMS cost 5RU’s per spawn.

As shown above, sunderers cost 100RU’s to spawn. 50 of these RU’s pay for the vehicle and 50 come as troop spawning potential already stored in the sunderers RU tank, which can hold 500RU in total. Sunderers have special mobile array technology allowing the vehicles to recharge RU’s like a base. This rate is also lowered by distance from the warpgate exactly like bases.

INFANTRY:

Players are directly limited by how many resources they can spend at a base according to the bases’ power level. This system prevents individuals from taking a base down to dangerously low power levels with large purchases:

IE – if a base has a power level of 50% - a soldier wanting to purchase a vehicle there can use a maximum of 50% of his total resource pool (200RU) meaning he can spend 100RU in total. This means the lower the base power level the harder it is for troops to spawn vehicles. This also prevents drivers/pilots who spawn vehicles from starving the base of resources for player spawns.

When the base power drops so low no vehicles can be spawned, it will need recharging via waiting for the background recharge rate or by using an ANT before more vehicles can be purchased.

WHEN ANT’s ATTACK

The ANT is a reasonably quick, armoured all terrain harvester and mobile RU pool. Due to the warpgates unstable background radiation, ANT RU shipments can be required to keep a distant base operational. These vehicles can deploy at warpgates to fill their nanite pools of 10000 RUs. They can also deploy at any base array to deposit their RU’s and fill that bases RU pool up, or in fact anywhere on the battlefield to resupply nearby AMS sunderers with RU’s for spawning troops.

Furthermore, ANT’s act as harvesters which can collect valuable auraxium out in the field, saving themselves a possibly long trip back to the warpgate. Auraxium can be harvested by ANTs from auraxium deposits with fresh ore veins, or even raw from meteors which frequently impact the planets continents. (random events, more likely near map centre or not too far from facilities)

However, raw auraxium mined from the environment must be processed in a refinery before it can be used to power a base. Only large facilities (Amp stations/Bio Labs/Tech plants) have refineries. Once an ANT enters a refinery (imagine CnC harvester animation) the auraxium is refined and provides 3000 RU’s for that facility.

This can potentially save a facility which is under siege and has a low power level, suddenly allowing increased spawns and vehicle purchases. Or top up a facility to bring its facility benefit back online.

Consequentially, this versatile and highly important ANT vehicle is a high priority target for the enemy. Though defenseless it can change the tide of battle and is an important logistic vehicle in keeping the war effort supplied. Destroying the enemys ANT’s is destroying their supply line, reducing their ability to spawn troops and vehicles where/when they want, and preventing their facility benefits.

TL;DR

• Resource Units (RU’s) power bases and are needed for spawning troops/vehicles.
  
• Soldiers do not carry RU’s but have a 200 RU maximum allocation. Soldiers RU allocation is based on their combat experience.
  
• When a soldier spawns, buys consumables or vehicles the RU’s are taken from the base RU pool.
  
• Facility (IE: Amp station): 10,000 RU pool, Tower: 2500 RU pool, Small outpost: 1000 RU pool.
  
• Soldiers spawning vehicles at bases spend part of their RU allocation, with the same amount being deducted from the bases RU pool.
  
• Your factions warp gate radiates RU’s with higher RU/sec regen rates for bases nearer the warpgate. This means bases furthest from your warpgate run low on power quicker so vehicle spawning is slower. Warpgates are always at 100% power.
  
• ANT’s can ferry RU’s from the warpgate to bases that need them. New meta game of supply lines/starving enemy bases of resources while keeping your own powered.
  
• Random events such as auraxium meteors can be mined by ANTs. These resources can then be processed at facilities for 3000RU input to the facility.

Thanks if you read all that. I really think this approach could add the meaning to the resource system players are looking for while adding meta game and balancing continent dominating empires. This system was thought up with continent domination in mind so all warpgates can be captured by one faction on a continent. When a competing faction comes to take a warpgate and establish a foothold, the difference in RU/sec in their favour helps them push out from their warpgate when they earn it back.

Let me know what you think! Thanks.