Gameplay: Crew Served Weapons

[Manitou]

In this idea I would love to see the concept of the crew served weapon (CSW) be designed into the game. I have a rough draft of how it would work.

The basic weapon could start along the lines of a heavy machine gun. Certainly we are talking a future type weapon so it could be projectile, energy, something fitting the context of the game. The basic weapon system can be operated by one person, but at a substantially reduced capability, either accuracy, ammo amount or some other factor.

The maximum crew could be either two or three people, depending on the direction the devs would like to take it. But the premise would be that any additional crew members increases the accuracy or reload time or ammo lethality to some extent. This would be done by the additional crew member bringing either a tripod, an ammo case, or special ammo to the CSW.

In other words, only one piece can be carried by one person requiring the crew to work together. There could be other enhancements as the certs are filled in like, sandbags, camouflage, vehicle mounting, wall mounting, etc.

You could also possibly attach special barrels that spit fire, or some other type special ammo based on specific certs in that tree.

This is simply a skeleton overview, but applied to a specific cert tree it could provide potential for great teamwork and added mission variables like holding a certain sector for 20 minutes as commanded by the squad leader. This is only limited by what the devs could brain-storm.

[Tool]

I like the idea of having deployed weapons as well. I think they would need to meet a couple expectations so players would feel compelled to use them.

One being ease of assembly and taredown. This doesn't mean fast mind you, but a non clunky way to get them setup if multiple players are involved.

Second, reward aside from kills or assisted kills. What that means there should be encouragement to use them properly. Think of BF3s announced suppression mechanic and awarding assist points to players who use their LMGs in a more proper role.

Third would be allowing deployment in all areas where you could physically deploy such a weapon system. Rooftops, windows, etc.

Last is making sure its not a class by itself but perhaps a mid level branch in a cert tree as a more deticated role.

[Skorne]

Great idea, you could perhaps extend this by being able to build emplacements, like the future equivalent of sandbags to give some cover for infantry in the open maybe?

[Robert089]

I like the idea, anything that promotes team work.

I can imagine it now, something like an MCG mounted on a tripod with a second player feeding an ammo belt into it so it doesn't have to reload.

[Bags]

Originally Posted by Robert089

I like the idea, anything that promotes team work.

I can imagine it now, something like an MCG mounted on a tripod with a second player feeding an ammo belt into it so it doesn't have to reload.

Sounds like a whole lotta fun for the guy loading ammo.

[kaffis]

Originally Posted by Bags

Sounds like a whole lotta fun for the guy loading ammo.

This this this. I love the idea of large, deployable weapons (and emplacements, for Skorne), but making them crew served is.. ultimately unappealing, because it's going to either be boring for the rest of the crew, or they're going to be "engaged" by a silly minigame that doesn't fit with the rest of the gameplay.

That doesn't mean I don't want these kinds of deployables. Manually operated deployable turrets would be fantastic and fun for some engineers, IMO. Give them an appropriate setup time, and it shouldn't be imbalancing to give engineers access to this heavy a weapon (vs. a heavy assault class) since it's stationary and must be setup with some lead-time.

Between this and emplacements, I see it being a valued and fun addition to the engineering role.

[Bags]

Yup. I like the idea of deployables, but fun must come before anything. I find it hard to believe anyone could honestly find bullet feeding to be fun.

The teamwork comes from the fact that someone needs to watch the machine gunner's back from flanks and cloakers.

[Manitou]

It doesn't have to be as simple as the crew member simply standing there holding a belt of ammo. He could be directly involved in the operation of the weapon in some way.

For example:

• he could be required to aim a laser at the specified target that increases accuracy
• he could be required to required to perform some recharging role for the type of ammo being used
• he could be required to be deploying sandbags/camouflage/etc as it gets worn down by incoming fire

The crew member is having fun supporting his squad/platoon/outfit/empire.

[Volw]

I've tried that in Arma2 (mortars), while being fun for about 30 minutes, it turned out to be mind-numbing and no-one wanted to do it after a short while.

I'd much more prefer to have engineers deploy man-able turrets, which they can't use themselves.

[Bags]

Originally Posted by Manitou

It doesn't have to be as simple as the crew member simply standing there holding a belt of ammo. He could be directly involved in the operation of the weapon in some way.

For example:

• he could be required to aim a laser at the specified target that increases accuracy
• he could be required to required to perform some recharging role for the type of ammo being used
• he could be required to be deploying sandbags/camouflage/etc as it gets worn down by incoming fire

The crew member is having fun supporting his squad/platoon/outfit/empire.

Those still sound extremely boring compared to actually using the machine gun.

[Sirisian]

Honestly this sounds like it has the same flaw as liberator bombing or driving vehicles without a pilot gun. It's fun to fly a bomber, but you never get any kills using the actual bombs. In this weapon idea of yours there are people giving up their time without getting any kills of their own which is a big part of an FPS game. You would need to give people more of an incentive to help another player get kills I think. (Honestly this is just a general flaw with the first game. I never pulled my magrider since using the main gun was fun, but driving wasn't that engaging).

If it was like a multi-user pillbox that might be more interesting. Like if it takes 3 engineers to setup and has 3 gun mounts.

[Robert089]

Originally Posted by Bags

Sounds like a whole lotta fun for the guy loading ammo.

You could say the same thing about pretty much every support role.

Medic healing a HA user: "Sounds like a whole lotta fun for the medic."
Engi repping a tank: "Sounds like a whole lotta fun for the engi."
Gal pilot flying to and from bases: "Sounds like a whole lotta fun for the pilot."

If someone in my outfit were to set up some beastly machine gun emplacement and asked me to load ammo I'm going to do it, the same way I'd heal / revive them or repair the outfit MAX units.

[Bags]

You just compared flying a plane to loading ammo.

I'm not even going to argue with you.

[Tool]

Originally Posted by Bags

Those still sound extremely boring compared to actually using the machine gun.

Once the novelty of being able to do it wore off, it would be boring I agree. If simply having the need to assemble them with multiple parts carried by two or three people could serve a similar purpose without restraining anyone else to the weapon besides the player firing it. Loading/unloading done automatically while others with the gunner are free to cover him until they choose to break it down and move on.

Possibly still give that feeling of a crew served weapon without bogging 2-3 other players down in gameplay that isn't all that exciting.

A branch of the Engineer class tree for field emplacments I would love to see as well. Like mentioned, sandbags, these crew served weapon systems, small camoflauged nets that fit the enviorment, etc.

[Hamma]

For me this game is about supporting my outfit/empire. I've done boring jobs in support of my team before but I was having fun, because I was gaming in an awesome game with my comrades.

Food for thought.