Making the bang bus more popular

[CutterJohn]

Air goes faster, so less warning over the base and faster transit times. It flies over CE. Most infantry and land vehicles can't reliably attack it, it flies over the choke point where the ground battle is stalled anyway, and it can drop the grunts off anywhere.

Ground vehicles are slow. They can get pounded by vehicles, CE, infantry AV. Can get hung up on obstacles. They have to go through the navigable parts of the map, which is likely where the fighting is at anyway, or take a long, long detour.

Air has some huge, huge, huge advantages, and I don't see how you could put boots on the ground as reliably with a ground transport without over buffing the ground transport vehicles or heavily nerfing galaxies.

I expect ground transports to be largely useless in PS2, same as PS1, and most every game that features them.

[exLupo]

Originally Posted by CutterJohn

I expect ground transports to be largely useless in PS2, same as PS1, and most every game that features them.

With the galaxy as it is, ground transports are at a real disadvantage. Looking at other games with both air and ground and the air is usually pretty fragile and doesn't carry many bodies while ground can take a beating and hold more. Gals can both take hits and bring the whole gang.

The only way I can think of making sundies and delis worth much without making them rolling tanks is to make gals extremely hard to acquire and the others super accessible. Imagine, if you will, only being able to get gals on the same continent and from a DSC. It'd make that one base a critical capture point and, if people wanted to get to the fight in RExo, ground transports may be the only option. That or a horde of harassers, atvs, buggies and skyguards.

edit:
One of the early key points in PS1 transportation revolved around what you were in and what you had certed. Eventually, cert proliferation as well as agile+ha made a variety of hot drops (gal for rexo/max or mossie for agile) cut away at any real use for ground vehicles. The new sundies really are good but when you can just zip back to sanc and grab a gal, what's the point?

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by exLupo

The only way I can think of making sundies and delis worth much without making them rolling tanks is to make gals extremely hard to acquire and the others super accessible. Imagine, if you will, only being able to get gals on the same continent and from a DSC. It'd make that one base a critical capture point and, if people wanted to get to the fight in RExo, ground transports may be the only option. That or a horde of harassers, atvs, buggies and skyguards.

If people want to get to the fight in a rexo I'm assuming they will mostly show up in vehicles(either driving or gunning), find the ams, change their kit, and run in. Or just run in, die, and spawn at the ams.

[Peacemaker]

I think a good solution would be something ALA BF2142. Ground transports have launch pods to rapidly offload its contingent of troops, spreading them out while doing so. The game is supposed to be spread out from bases more, so depending on balance and how they design it, a tank might not beable to hold ground very long without infantry. Deli becomes Bradley IFV, deli becomes.... Super IFV? Without the need infantry to support vehicles in the open ground transport won't be used. The whole concept of Ground Transport is to keep the riflemen at the front lines. The concept of air transports is to make over, and behind the front lines with little to no vehicle support.

Short story, Infantry need vehicles to support them and vehicles need infantry to support them. To keep up with the vehicles, infantry need ground transport to deploy them in position to support the vehicles.

[Valdae]

Does no-one else think increasing the troop capacity to 20 would make the bang bus worthwhile?! I thought it was my Isaac Newton/apple moment

[Peacemaker]

You mean make it even more of a bullet magnet? Reaver packs would vaporize that kind of a target.

[Valdae]

Meh, you can say that for any ground vehicle that doesnt have AV. I think we're all taking for granted that the sunny will be a little more powerful this time around.

[EASyEightyEight]

Originally Posted by Peacemaker

I think a good solution would be something ALA BF2142. Ground transports have launch pods to rapidly offload its contingent of troops, spreading them out while doing so. The game is supposed to be spread out from bases more, so depending on balance and how they design it, a tank might not beable to hold ground very long without infantry. Deli becomes Bradley IFV, deli becomes.... Super IFV? Without the need infantry to support vehicles in the open ground transport won't be used. The whole concept of Ground Transport is to keep the riflemen at the front lines. The concept of air transports is to make over, and behind the front lines with little to no vehicle support.

Short story, Infantry need vehicles to support them and vehicles need infantry to support them. To keep up with the vehicles, infantry need ground transport to deploy them in position to support the vehicles.

Thinking about it a little more, I can see the practicality of this idea too, only it might work on a deliverer as well. They did mention there would be a more vertical element to their maps, such as scaffolding between canyon walls, and giving ground transports the power to get troopers up to those locations would be a huge plus. If AA presence is very high, it might be preferable to deploy troops from below a position rather than above.

[exLupo]

Originally Posted by CutterJohn

If people want to get to the fight in a rexo I'm assuming they will mostly show up in vehicles(either driving or gunning), find the ams, change their kit, and run in. Or just run in, die, and spawn at the ams.

More reason to change the paradigm. That or totally remove ground transports. If the game's designed with their non-use in mind, save the dev time.

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by exLupo

More reason to change the paradigm. That or totally remove ground transports. If the game's designed with their non-use in mind, save the dev time.

While I don't think players in a dedicated ground transport role would get much business(without some serious nerfs to the expectation of what galaxies will be like, or vehicle availability), I can still see that it would occasionally be necessary, or at least handy. A good vehicle with a viable role that also just happens to be a troop transport wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Lunarchild]

I think they'll see a lot more use if planes are harder to control. Especially requiring a minimal speed for them to stay airborne. This means landing and take-off will be more difficult as well.

This will make it a lot harder for plane drivers and gunners to kill small targets, like infantry and MAXes. Speed can be both an advantage and a disadvantage if played properly. And if it's hard to land a galaxy, it will be used a lot less as a taxi from one battlefield to another, as it will be easier to grab a bang bus.

[Haro]

I think the best way to make apcs more viable is to buff AA. Galaxies simply had way too much go their own way in PS1. They could take just about any AA on the nose long enough to drop of troops and usually get away (speaking as a long time gal pilot myself) and as long as that's possible, no way ground transports are viable. Without a decent counter, the Galaxy had everything the sunderer had and more in terms of transport ability.

On a side note, revamping the design of the transports would be great. The deliverer and the sunderer both looked ridiculous.

[Soothsayer]

Originally Posted by Haro

On a side note, revamping the design of the transports would be great. The deliverer and the sunderer both looked ridiculous.

I agree with what you said, except this!

The sunderer should look more truckish...

[Valdae]

What part if them exactly, do u think looks especially ridiculous?

[Bags]

I love deliverers. Look cool.