Gameplay: Special Operations

[MasterChief096]

Considering the scale of battles in this upcoming game, and the size of the military forces involved, it only makes sense that a special operations element is available to players (besides back-hacking territories). This post is lengthy, I warn you. Please do not criticize without having read the post.

In another thread Malorn brought up the fact that having game mechanics/systems that offer missions or what have you that are behind your lines or the enemies lines might do to much to detract from the main fight as well as be boring for the people involved.

Its because of this fear that I've done some thinking, as I do not want to see special ops become non-existent in PlanetSide 2 nor do I want to see them become something not fun. I want it to be done right. I encourage everyone to build upon what would make Spec Ops in PlanetSide 2 both fun and worthwhile for players, while not being something game-breaking or something that would ruin the main fight.

So first things first, lets start off by listing what can be done in PS2 as far as spec ops (we don't have a lot of info about the game right now so this can be hard, lets just try to use what we do know as of now).

1. Generator holds - Obviously something that was prominent in PlanetSide as doing a gen hold at a tech plant could severely hamper enemy performance by denying them heavy vehicles, or by cutting cave links and removing benefits to an empire. Obviously PS2 is not using the lattice system so we can't have spec ops in the form of cutting lattice links and denying benefits, but generator holds can still play an important role.
- If facilities capture large territories of hexes on the continent, then I propose generator holds at those facilities would both deny the enemy the facility benefit (if facility benefits are in the game) and deny the enemy resources from the region that that facility controls. This can't be built upon until we know more details about facilities in PS2 as well as the resource system, so this thread is going to be subject to continuous update as more information is released.

Hell, now that I've typed, generator holds are basically the only thing I could come up with as something that can be done in PS2 as of now. With that out of the way, lets go into what can be implemented into PS2 to allow the use of special operations forces.

I think there should be several hexes on each continent that have slots or modules if you will, where players can construct certain buildings/structures. These structures would provide the empire with either regional or continental benefits. If providing a regional benefit, the region would have to be large enough so that its likely that it encompasses the front line, but is not so close to the front line as to not make it a "behind enemy lines spec op mission". Now we just have to discuss what can be constructed in these slots, and what benefits should they grant their empire while keeping balance in mind. So here are some ideas I have come up with.

1. BIU (Broadcast Intelligence Unit) - Essentially a very capable computer system that is connected with the hexes and facilities in its region. The construction of one of these makes it so that enemy hacks on territories within the influence of the BIU take 20%-40% longer (balance must be discussed). It takes someone specializing in engineering to be able to construct one of these, new players won't be able to do it.

Lets assume you are trying to take over a continent from the enemy and they have one or more of these BIUs constructed. It provides a special operations incentive to go and knock these out [before] the front line fight gets to the region that these things are making harder to capture.

There are TWO methods of getting rid of these. The first is that you can obviously destroy it, removing its benefits. The second is that you can have a hacker re-code it to work for your empire, making your hacks for the regions under the BIUs influence go 20%-40% [faster]. However, you have to remain in control of the BIU to ensure that the enemy does not recapture or destroy it. This would make a very interesting spec ops scenario possible. A simple go and destroy the BIU mission, or drop/drive/infiltrate in, capture the BIU, and hold it for as long as possible as your main forces take advantage of the benefit you've secured.

This also gives hackers more options as they progress down their specialization. Make it so new hackers spend a lot of time trying to re-code the BIU, but advanced and specialized hackers who have put time into the specialization have the knowledge and experience to re-code a BIU faster.

I believe that with BIUs we wouldn't have to worry about too many players leaving the main fight. Unless you hot-dropped 100 people to hack and guard a BIU, the enemy wouldn't have to pull 150 people to take it back. Hell, in a battle of 1000s, what's 100 people anyways? And I seriously doubt 100s of people are going to go through the effort of getting behind the enemy's front line to guard a BIU. It would purely be spec ops outfits/forces that would be interested in sneaking past the front line to conduct this mission.

2. SAGE (Stationary Artillery Ground Emplacement) - The construction of an artillery gun (just a single artillery gun). The characteristics of this gun need to be discussed, it can either be empire specific or common pool, but I have the basic mechanics for it figured out.

The engineer that builds the gun can assign it to a squad of his/her choosing, and then it is up to a spotter from that squad to laze for the artillery gun. The gun can only be fired once every minute to allow the gun to cool down, with damage equal to that of a flail against infantry (one hit kills) and about 1.5x the damage of a flail against armor (two hit kills, with one hit doing a severe amount of damage). Keep in mind there are not going to be 1000 of these artillery guns, only an amount equal to how many of these continental "slots" you have under your control and how many you decide to build SAGEs on.

This provides a special ops mission to go and knock out the artillery gun, or once again capture it and use it from behind enemy lines. Imagine you are launching an assault as NC against TR on Indar. TR control the entire continent and respond to the NC assault. They construct three SAGEs in three of their slots, and three BIUs in three other slots (number of slots on each continent needs to be decided as well). They have three of these artillery guns firing splash rounds every minute, making it hard for your infantry/vehicles to stay in any one spot for longer than a minute. Spec ops can move behind enemy lines to begin knocking out the guns. The TR lose one gun. Then they lose another, then they respond by sending a small spec ops force to the third in order to prevent it from being destroyed. Perhaps NC captured the other two and after defending the third the TR now have to go retake or destroy them to stop them from being used against their own empire.

3. SAM sites or SAL sites (surface to air missile or surface to air laser for those VS guys lol) - Self explanatory. Works much the same as the SAGE, except its a long range anti-air emplacement that auto-targets aircraft in their region. These sites would make it hard for enemy galaxies to fly behind enemy lines, thus it would make coordination possible between galaxy based outfits and a spec ops outfit so that the spec ops guys can go capture/take out these AA sites before the galaxies fly in to perform their own mission. Otherwise its still useful for the spec ops to go in and take out the AA before the front line reaches their regions and their empire has to deal with SAM or SAL sites.

4. ARNE (Advanced Resource Nanite Extractor) - Building this gives the controlling empire =20%-40% (balance discuss) resource gains in a small region. If spec ops destroy it, the bonus is lost. If they capture it, resources are extracted at -20% penalty for the original controlling empire. These numbers can be adjusted and discussed. I originally thought that capturing it should deny the original empire resources from that region to make it possible for spec ops from say TR to go deny VS Auraxium by capturing this module that they built, but I don't know if thats too overpowered or not, you guys decide.

5. For the fifth module/structure/building I want something to do with radar. I'm just not sure what to have it do in terms of radar, and how to not make it too OP. Perhaps have a radar tower that warns your empire if enemies enter into its region, making it so spec ops and galaxies and what not have to avoid these "radar hotspots" in order to navigate without being detected. Spec ops can either destroy the tower, once again capture it, or temporarily disable it. Destroying or capturing lets the enemy know that you are behind their lines and maybe planning something, but temporarily disabling it does not warn the enemy empire. Say a hacker can shut it down for maybe 45 seconds giving a skilled galaxy pilot enough time to traverse over this air space without alerting the main enemy force.

Now a problem with this is the issue of, "would these even be useful? I mean, wouldn't everyone destroy, capture, or disable it knowing full well what it does?" This is a valid problem, and the only solution I can think of is to not let enemy empires know which of the five constructions are present in the slots on a continent via the map. This makes reconnaissance necessary. A recon aircraft (possibly a mosquito without a gun, equipped with a radar disruptor and improved after burner?) would have to fly to each of the slots to identify what exactly is built there. Therefore you wouldn't know where radar hot-zones are for the enemy unless a recon aircraft flew by and told you exactly what slots had a radar tower, SAM/SAL sites, SAGEs, or ARNEs built there. This adds a good amount of tactical and strategic planning behind special ops missions. You have to find out what the enemy has back there and figure out how to either avoid it or disable it.

To keep things dynamic, perhaps have the locations of these continent slots randomly switch each week, keeping whats built on them, but changing where they are located on the continent. This prevents exploiting these slots permanently and allows it to change things up every week.

These slots both enhance gameplay on the front line and provide special operations groups incentive to go behind enemy lines and try to hamper the enemy empires war effort by disabling, destroying, or capturing these structures. It also provides spec ops groups from the defending empire missions to go re-take, rebuild or defend these slots.

Please discuss, add any ideas for slot structures, changes to numbers, or criticism that you want, just keep it civil and constructive!

[MasterChief096]

Edit: Nvm If figured out why it was lol.

[DviddLeff]

Good ideas.

In my outposts idea thread I detail a bunch of different outposts that outfits could potentially deploy in their hex territories to provide a variety of benefits. Malorn has also made a great thread detailing different types of facilities, and the benefits they would bring both locally and across the continent.

Now special ops teams should be able to operate behind the front lines to disrupt the enemies war effort. In PS this boiled down to knocking out a tech plant gen to stop tanks and Reavers, which was about the only worthwhile target bar locked cave links.

Now in PS2 this could be so much more important, depending on how the devs implement facility benefits and decide on how resources are acquired. Potentially special ops teams could be disabling resource collectors, cutting lines of communication and interrupting spawning links.

[Sentrosi]

Don't forget that SpecOpsFor could be utilized in disabling resource nodes as well, if the game will allow that. I can see a real nice dynamic here.

[akiadan]

Sounds pretty cool, Possibly maybe instal viruses that make the benefits go towards your empire until it is cleared?