my loadstar idea

[Shogun]

i would like to see the loadstar making a return.

but since it´s special ability is now with the sunderer, i´d like to have it a little changed...

make it possible for infantry to walk into the loadingbay and fill it up to until all physical space is occupied.

for unloading there could be several possibilitys.

loaded soldiers are not technically in the vehicle so they cannot bail.

the pilot can open the baydoor and all soldiers will fall out, giving the pilot perfect control for hotdrops.

the pilot could come in at low alt and could turn the loadie around and land. this will turn the loadstar into a d-day landing boat.

maybe make the bay a little bigger than for a tank, so you can load 2 small vehicles or a tank and some soldiers or only a huge invasion army of soldiers or maxes.

[DayOne]

I like this. Would be great for large assaults as Gals can only hold 12 people.

I think make it big enough for the largest land vehicle, not sure about which is widest/longest vehicle, and then room for a few soldiers. You could probably fit a platoon in the back of one.

Just being able to hear the engines in the silence. No one speaks as the platoon is transported into battle, escorted by a fighter wing. Tensions high. Then you land, the door is lowered and you rush out into the battle.

[Insanekanifer]

Didn't they say in one of the interviews that the loadstar wasn't going to exist? That most of the properties were going to be in other vehicles; Specifically the galaxy?

Edit: Oh my bad, just read that this was an idea to bring it back. The problem with the lodestar is the devs don't seem to want to have someone that specifically only flys or drives, support vehicles, they seem to want to push people into the action, galaxies deploying and then you're either gunning a turret to defend it etc.

[EZShot]

Would rip the Gal's guts out and nobody would ever use it past it's AMS capabilities. No point in the idea of giving 2 vehicles essentially the same special ability, just, one has more ability.

I like the idea. But why not just give the Gal the features you mentioned? Just without the sheer amount of troops you're talking about? I like the idea of 500 team members not being able to fit into 3 transports...but 300? That's the stuff legends are made of when you see them all rolling over a cliff face toward an enemy base

12 in a gal isn't enough though I fear.

[Shogun]

Originally Posted by Insanekanifer

The problem with the lodestar is the devs don't seem to want to have someone that specifically only flys or drives, support vehicles, they seem to want to push people into the action, galaxies deploying and then you're either gunning a turret to defend it etc.

that might be a problem. but i know there were a lot of people who loved to be only flying or driving. and i even enjoyed it before they gave support xp for every soldier who kills something after he used your service.

[Garem]

Not a bad idea [rebel slimeball].

Since Galaxies are changing roles, Lodestars might as well have a reinvention. The only problem I see is this- why would soldiers want to get in a Lodestar instead of a Galaxy?

A quickie solution to this would be to give Lodestar dropoffs an extra boost, like a 2-3 second impenetrable shield bubble that gives the landing soldiers a moment to get acclimated to whatever situation they land on top of.

[DayOne]

Originally Posted by EZShot

Would rip the Gal's guts out and nobody would ever use it past it's AMS capabilities. No point in the idea of giving 2 vehicles essentially the same special ability, just, one has more ability.

I like the idea. But why not just give the Gal the features you mentioned? Just without the sheer amount of troops you're talking about? I like the idea of 500 team members not being able to fit into 3 transports...but 300? That's the stuff legends are made of when you see them all rolling over a cliff face toward an enemy base

12 in a gal isn't enough though I fear.

I want to see either Gals being customised to fit a LOT more people in them or bring the loadstar back. Even if it's infantry only, you have to strap into a seat or something.

being able to customise something to the extent that it is defenceless but can carry an entire platoon of troops can only add to the feeling of Planetside being a huge war game.

[Shogun]

in everyday battle soldiers might go with the galaxy , but for coordinated outfit event action, a loadstar would make the difference to get everybody into a supprise attack. remember, we are aiming for more players per battle than we had in ps1.

[EZShot]

Originally Posted by Shogun

in everyday battle soldiers might go with the galaxy , but for coordinated outfit event action, a loadstar would make the difference to get everybody into a supprise attack. remember, we are aiming for more players per battle than we had in ps1.

So why not just give the gal more seats?

[Alduron]

I really like what the Lodestar did, but it was awful to look at (kinda like the new Liberator is an eye-sore). I think we'd be better off having two separate vehicles performing different functions. I know they are trying to minimize the number of vehicles, but there are definitely certain situations that you need to deliver specific assets in a hurry.

I'd propose splitting it into two separate vehicles all together.

The first would be a heavy lift vehicle. Off the top of my head, it would have a similar load/unload mechanism as the Pelican from Halo.

It would instead hold only vehicles, and you would only be able to hold a set amount of weight. It could deliver two full-size tanks, three lightnings, or 4 buggies (imaginary numbers pulled from oblivion). Dropping two tanks or three lightnings in a flanking position could be wildly effective. It would allow you to turn some bridge battles in your favor, and it would be a pretty high priority to the enemy because the tanks would be more vulnerable in transit.

The second vehicle would be a strict troop transport. I know we have the Galaxy, but sometimes you just need a bit more manpower somewhere fast. It would be something similar to the drop ship from Rough Necks, Starship Troopers:

It would hold somewhere around two squads (including 4 MAX units) and would have some form of unified drop. It wouldn't have the armoring or the guns that the Galaxy does, but it could get in and deploy faster. I'm not sure how useful it would be in PS2, but it could even have a "hook and ladder" recovery system for fast extraction.

I know the devs want to consolidate, and keep people from just using vehicles for small tasks, but sometimes it just doesn't make sense to run 8 Galaxies to drop your forces somewhere. Even with that number of people you're still missing heavy machinery, which would be silly not to bring along.

[DayOne]

Originally Posted by EZShot

So why not just give the gal more seats?

Galaxy is the new AMS. With AMS capability, guns ans heavy armour it would become too overpowered if allowed to carry 40+ people.

So, enter the loadstar, a pure transport ship that holds a lot of soldiers OR some vehicles.

P.S. @Alduron, great ideas. What I wouldn't mind seeing is huge variations on the Galaxy so the game would include what you mentioned but in the form of customised Galaxies.

[EZShot]

Originally Posted by DayOne

Galaxy is the new AMS. With AMS capability, guns ans heavy armour it would become too overpowered if allowed to carry 40+ people.

So, enter the loadstar, a pure transport ship that holds a lot of soldiers OR some vehicles.

I get where you're coming from but why not just cert tree it out of AMS mode and into troop transport roles?

[Shogun]

Originally Posted by EZShot

I get where you're coming from but why not just cert tree it out of AMS mode and into troop transport roles?

that´s another possibility. my point was just to have the functionalitys i brought up. if we get this in form of a loadstar or a heavy gal modification doesn´t really matter. just wanted to throw this idea into the room ;-)

[SteinB]

Transport vehicles being able to carry larger numbers of troops just makes for fewer happy transport pilots. It's also an all your eggs in one basket issue, do you really want to lose an entire drop force because one aircraft gets shot down? Better to have several aircraft.

p.s it's Lodestar not Loadstar

[NivexQ]

Originally Posted by Alduron

The first would be a heavy lift vehicle. Off the top of my head, it would have a similar load/unload mechanism as the Pelican from Halo.

It would instead hold only vehicles, and you would only be able to hold a set amount of weight. It could deliver two full-size tanks, three lightnings, or 4 buggies (imaginary numbers pulled from oblivion). Dropping two tanks or three lightnings in a flanking position could be wildly effective. It would allow you to turn some bridge battles in your favor, and it would be a pretty high priority to the enemy because the tanks would be more vulnerable in transit.

The way the Pelican lifts vehicles is similar to heavy lift helicopters like the CH-54


But I don't think they can lift multiple vehicles, can they?

Hovercrafts that the military use can do what you described, but they can't fly. Also, the body is pretty similar to what a lodestar is in planetside, except that they're front loading.