Drops

[FortunadoAE]

We've discussed space stations and ships a lot-- I think one potentially cool feature regardless of whether those are implemented is orbital drops.

What are drops? Well, we know the HART system can drop a soldier pretty much anywhere on the map, so why not other stuff? When commanders need certain things, they can drop them into the field.

-AMS. Well, not an AMS but a station that does the same thing. It'd be immobile. It also loses the obvious benefit of being deployed *anywhere* since you can't drop it into an enemy SOI. It's also a bit weaker than a normal AMS armor-wise.

-Repair stations. Drive your vehicle next to them to get repaired.

-Ammo stations. Same as the repair station but it replenishes ammo. Really handy for attacking forces that have great engineers.

-Vehicles. Empire-specific tanks, transport vehicles and air vehicles are too big or too delicate to survive the trip, unfortunately. Dropping in a Lightning next to one of your best tank drivers could help out your side quite a bit, though. Or maybe two of your guys are stuck in the middle of nowhere and need a buggy. Or maybe your ANT driver isn't so great at crossing bridges and needs a new ANT.

-BFRs. Just kidding. Gundams, though, for real.

Plenty of other possibilities, too! Dropping MAX suits? Mine fields? Turrets? Teleporters? Bombs? Decoy AMSes that explode when a hack is attempted?

The fun part would be in the limitations. Outfits could have four drops ready to go at any time, but each slot takes 30 min to reload (or to switch out). Any CR in the outfit could drop stuff or switch up the queue.

It'd work like this:

Outfit 1
Slot 1: Ammo station
Slot 2: Marauder
Slot 3: Marauder
Slot 4: AMS

This outfit likes to distract the other side when they attack so they have two Marauders ready to drop. If they have one two-man team constantly harassing, they can always drop a Marauder to them if they can manage to stay alive 15 minutes on average. They also have an ammo station to help, since harassment is ammo-intensive.

Outfit 2
Slot 1: AMS
Slot 2: AMS
Slot 3: AMS
Slot 4: AMS

These guys can drop AMSes to their heart's content. But if they ever want to drop anything else, they have to switch out an AMS for something else and wait 30 minutes while it loads in. This isn't a super useful strategy since a dropped AMS is more of a desperate backup spawn point, since it has to be outside the enemy SOI, unlike a real AMS.

Outfit 3
Slot 1: Lightning
Slot 2: Lightning
Slot 3: Multivehicle
Slot 4: Repair

This outfit likes to field armor. When they don't have access to Vanguards they'll put out Lightnings. The "Multivehicle" option gives them drop access to the quad bikes, harasser and ANT (you can only drop one at a time but you can decide between them). So these guys actually have about 7 vehicle drop options, which helps them get stragglers back to the fight. They also occasionally drop a repair station to help out their tanks.

Outfit 4
Slot 1: MAX suits
Slot 2: MAX suits
Slot 3: MAX suits
Slot 4: AMS

Here's a MAX-loving outfit that likes their members to drop in the middle of nowhere, don MAX suits, and auto-run into an enemy base. Each MAX suit station drops with 4 suits, which can be equipped like a normal ammo station. Once the suits are gone, though, it disintegrates (don't worry, it will give you time to get your ammo). They drop the AMS nearby in case the initial attack fails-- they can keep dropping new MAX suits in to support the ongoing fight if that happens, though.

[Senyu]

I like the general idea but I think it should be geared to some and special dropped items like the immobile AMS but not things like MAX suits.

[DviddLeff]

I like the concept but I think it should be used for static fortifications.

To be honest I don't like the idea of dropping vehicles onto the battlefield; say you get shot down from an aircraft, the run back to base reminds you how big the battlefields are that we fight over.

[Sirisian]

lol for a second I thought this was going to be a thread about mad loot drops.

I don't mind if anything can be dropped. Could be a command ability to drop anything even a Gal into the battlefield. (It would need to land on flattish land obviously). As long as it had a timer I don't think it would be bad. I remember a few times on the battlefield I felt like I needed my ATV. Just slam one down and have it unpack.

[CutterJohn]

I think it would be best used as additional command tools squad and platoon leaders have. Supply drops in BF2 were an excellent command tool.

I personally don't think Outfits should have control of tools that can affect the fight like that.

[Raymac]

Originally Posted by DviddLeff

I like the concept but I think it should be used for static fortifications.

To be honest I don't like the idea of dropping vehicles onto the battlefield; say you get shot down from an aircraft, the run back to base reminds you how big the battlefields are that we fight over.

^ This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

[FortunadoAE]

Senyu: Yeah, file that one under experimental. There was definitely a demand for MAX suits in weird situations when I played VS.

Dvidd: Too big! Dropping a tank on a tree or rock means big problems... dropping a bunker on a tree would be worse, I imagine. Fortifications also generally *face* a direction, a requirement that introduces too much complexity. As for air, I still think that if you get shot down you should, well, you know, die.

Sirisian: A gal would be cool but I feel like having them on-demand takes something away from the experience. I do like the idea of a "personal" drop. Probably overpowered in most outdoor standoffs though... perhaps if it were limited to small things? A preset inventory box or a quad bike? Could be fun. Maybe the call-down tool would take up a pistol slot, too (and require a cert?).

CutterJohn: The game I'd like to see is one that revolved around outfits. Almost every MMO is improved by joining up with a group; Planetside wasn't an exception. Outfits need more features/encouragement/benefits IMO. I do however think only so many outfits per empire should get space stations. Otherwise everyone would be in their own outfit.

[Psiclone]

An idea is there could he space stations in asynchronous orbit over each continent that you can fight over. Whichever faction owned the space station would get to use orbital drops on said continent.

[Teek]

Speaking of drops but going on a completely different tangent:

Drop pod assault (pardon me for being a WH 40K fan)
Basically, use something like the Hart, but an organized outfit attack that can be issued, say, once an hour?

Pros:
-Allows for quick infantry and max assaults right near or on a base.
-Heavily coordinated, allows your entire unit to move into a close area, bypassing defenses and possibly catching the enemy off guard.
-For 30 minutes after the initial drop, outfit, platoon, and squad leaders are allowed a limited selection of light vehicles and support equipment via drop pods to support the assault.
-Even greater precision in your drop can be achieved if you have a recon team by the base before hand, using a laser targeting device to designate a drop point.
Cons:
-There are size limits for the force being inserted
-Vehicles are heavily limited, only a certain number of maxes allowed.
-Only certain bases are available for assault: namely, bases that can currently be hacked under normal conditions (maybe with a few exceptions)
-Enemy bases can be outfitted with counter equipment by engineers or commanders to help against drop pod assaults:
-an early warning radar system ( I would use the drop system as part of a hart, so an outfit leader would need to trigger an assault maybe five or so minutes before the drop begins, allowing drop soldiers to get equipped, but also allowing for a chance of detection by a prepared enemy.
-Anti-drop pod defenses: batteries of specialized weapons don't actually damage the pods, but force the pod systems to spread out a bit more to avoid fire.
-Laser jammers: prevent the coordinated drop
-Internal base defenses: a defensive system that allows a base some small internal turrets and surveillance systems that activate upon a drop assault being detected.

I've wanted this ever since I first saw the hart drop pod system.