Gameplay: Outfit Air Cruisers Redux

[Figment]

So you hover this over an enemy base that doesn't have air vehicle access.


What happens?


If there's any chance of a one-sided fight (like say a spawn advantage that cannot be camped but allows players to get into a position to camp from denies the players the ability to push back an enemy out of their perimeter) and as such provides a huge advantage: NO. Never implement it.


Basically, I've never seen any suggestion for any vehicle that's not pure transport which operates more than 4 players that's actually balanced. Let alone if it itself can spawn units of any kind, as this foregoes the concept of attrition.

If for instance you can use this to spawn infantry of any number at flight ceiling where it is largely out of reach of those on the ground, this would not be an useful addition to the game.




If you want to implement such systems and units, you should look at a sort of space sim or map where there are no solid bases and everyone (EVERY-ONE) has access to air units, constantly, without those air pads being camped for instance. Otherwise, you're just further incentizing people to leave from a defensive fight where air control has been lost (and is unlikely to be regained soon, since air groups don't tend to connect to the ground play aside from predatory behaviour and have so much freedom there's hardly ever natural coherence in air groups: it takes severe organisation to keep them somewhat together).

We'd be looking at a space sim then. Which isn't really PlanetSide, is it?


So. How would you integrate this with the game then? I don't see these as viable in the regular world. However, you could have them influence the regular world indirectly, for instance by having them control the atmosphere above flight ceiling, denying drop pod ships from delivering players.

However, at that point you're separating (probably small groups of) people from the main game, like with caves in PS1, so whether that is wanted or not is a different thing entirely.



To summarise, I have very little faith in outfit cruisers. Never have and likely never will.