Gameplay: ICBM silo facilities in place of orbital strikes.

[CrystalViolet]

In addition to being a cool setting for battles, these could be an interesting way to deny OS capabilities from opposing empires. Example: The VS are fighting a massive battle on Indar, but having difficulty making progress because the NC are spamming OS's/ICBMs onto their main foothold. In response, a VS commander creates a mission that sends a unit to Ceryshen to take the NC's ICBM facility. The VS take the silo which directly results in the guys back on Indar being able to proceed with their objectives.

This would help spread out gameplay, and would add an element of global tactics to the game. Plus I want to fight in a snowy missile base ala MGS.

[Lonehunter]

I'm not sure if I like ICBMs replacing a giant beam of energy streaming from the sky, but I like another point you have. What if there where certain bases, or just small buildings or territories, where capping them prevented the enemy from using OSs. They've all ready said they're implementing this somehow with resources, different ones providing different things.

How bout a station with a pulse of energy going skyward, to be reflected to satellites for OSs. Power on or off would have a very distinct visual affect.

But as long as OSs stay in the game, I don't mind seeing some ICBMs

[CrystalViolet]

You could have both instead of having 2 different OS sizes. Geothermal satellite uplink facilities on volcanic continents, and ICBMs at the north pole.

Alternatively, the missiles could launch an array of satellites into orbit which would then become your OS resources.

[Traak]

I like ICBM's far better than the OS. ICBM's could have a cloaker letting us know one had been launched from an enemy facility, so we could have some warning that was beyond the OS lead time.

OS's added nothing and no one to the game, period. They were like playing golf and randomly, someone could pop out on the golf course suddenly and dump a bucket of outhouse pit goop on you, LOLing and prancing around proclaiming his own greatness, then pop away without anyone being able to touch him.

OS's need to go. Far away. Forever.

[Tikuto]

Originally Posted by Traak

OS's need to go. Far away. Forever.

Hell no.

[Raymac]

As much as I dislike getting killed by an OS, I think they do have their place. Sometimes they are the only way to break an assault on your base and retake your courtyard.

I really to like the OP idea of being able to deny your enemy an OS (or ICBM) in a certain area. It adds another level to the strategic game that makes PS different from other shooters.

[Xyntech]

Orbital Strikes, or something that serves a similar purpose, need to be drastically rethought if they are going to be put into PS2.

Limiting them in some better way than "lol, only CR5's can use them" is only the start of fixing them. Still, they did serve a valuable purpose, much more so when they were a rare thing. Properly balanced they could be good.

I'm not really itching for them any more than I am for mechs though. Obviously they would be a lot easier to implement than mechs, but I just don't really care enough about either of them. Plenty of better things to include.

Hell, you may be able to fill most of the role of OS's by designing a good artillery system for the game. I'm more interested in artillery than OS's at least.

[Traak]

Since when should one person be able to shift the balance of an entire assault by pushing one button?

"Oh, but, we couldn't get out of the base without that OS." Try dropping somewhere else on the continent, driving an AMS through, or something else that requires more than some twit just pushing one button.

Teamwork was what PS was about. Not rewarding cowardice with a ridiculously unbalanced weapon against which there was no very good defense.

No. Not balanced. Not fair. Not a positive addition to the game, nothing. Stupid on steroids.

[Tikuto]

Originally Posted by Xyntech

Orbital Strikes, or something that serves a similar purpose, need to be drastically rethought if they are going to be put into PS2

Agreed. Totally understandable. One day SOE may realize that Control is just as important as Balance.

Rooting from the idea of accessibility. An Empire-wide game system to control the frequency of Orbital Strikes making for interval Orbital Strikes amongst all commander players per continent.