Buggies; what role should they fill?

[Baneblade]

[Alanim]

Originally Posted by Sobekeus

Only if I can get some thrusters on that bad boy, 100% speed boost for -90% turning capability, sign me up.

[Knocky]

[Princess Frosty]

Originally Posted by Espion

Harassment.

This. There's a reason one of the original buggies was called the "Harasser", it's perfect for fast hit and run manoeuvres which do light damage but cause the enemy to react and pull troops off more important targets to intercept. If you can piss off a tank and pull it from the front lines on a trek through some woods or swamp then it's not shooting at it's target and that's valuable, especially when direct counter attacks aren't working.

They were never AV even the Marauder with it's fast firing grenade launcher was never going to pose a threat for tanks, and troops generally could avoid them if they had some cover, so as direct assault these vehicles sucked.

They were great (and FUN!) for bombing around the battlefield at high speed picking up people and giving them a ride, hoovering up the randoms and giving squads a fast way to get from A to B with only a few cert points. they were the next best thing to taking individual aircraft.

[morf]

I'd like to see a buggy that can lay mines - it can just zip through and lay them on the fly full-speed. Also, it would be immune to mines.

Wouldn't mind seeing one with a huge flamethrower mounted to the top too.

[Canaris]

Fast moving vehicles, with various weapon systems, maybe 1 light machine gun and 1 heavy weapons pod(not to big heavy weapon), that can double for a light troop transport. Multi roll like the military Humvee, that's how I envisage the PS buggies like the Marauder

[SteinB]

In addition to their combat roles I hope buggies can also be customized into utility vehicles for engineers and medics to use. Carry extra supplies or large deployables like ammo dumos or healing stationsthat can't be carried normally.

Being silly here...or even giant vehicle mounted long range glue guns and medical applicators!

[Knocky]

Originally Posted by SteinB

In addition to their combat roles I hope buggies can also be customized into utility vehicles for engineers and medics to use. Carry extra supplies or large deployables like ammo dumos or healing stationsthat can't be carried normally.

Being silly here...or even giant vehicle mounted long range glue guns and medical applicators!

You aren't being silly.....we still have not seen any way to hide a vehicle repair point.

So....repair points must be fast deploying if we cant hide em. Perhaps a Basilisk with dual glue guns instead of the cannons?

That would be cool.

[Skepsiis]

To me buggies should be all about speed, manoverability and the ability to traverse rough or dense terrain quickly.

The weapons they can mount should be fully customisable to av,ai and aa varients and should pack a solid punch imo. I would like to see the buggies have the sidegrade option for a far more stable gunning platform for the gunner with some shock absorbing tech or whatever so they can operate off road at speed relatively accurately compared to a tank.

They could do well in a harasment role and are good for hit and runs if undetected (as in not charging the front of a main battle line) depending on their weapon setup... Say burst type weapons with low accuracy for ai hit and run style and maybe something more like a laser guided, relatively high powered missle launcher for longer range av harasment.

But they would be quite fragile compared to tanks and not massively threatening to dug in heavy infantry with solid av to run them off with. I think they should also have a smallish amount of ammunition due to their physical size and would need to scurry off to rearm more often than heavier classes of vehicle.

I would also think it would be cool to see them bring unique vehicle abilities to the battlefield that could prove very useful as part of a larger group or encourage different playstyles like being able to create radar ghosts that look like a few tanks, long range aircraft detection, a missle lock scrambler or adding enemy tracers to nearby friendlies huds so they can find them because of an onboard projectile tracking computer.

I loved driving and gunning buggies in planetside (especially driving the thresher and gunning the enforcer) but I think they need a more defined and specialised role if they are going to be added to planetside 2.

[BorisBlade]

I actually was about to start up a thread on buggies. I'm a huge fan if they are done right and was always sad that the PS buggies (except for the skyguard which im excluding from this convo) were badly designed and never fixed.

Buggies should still be a great option even if you can get tanks too. In ps1, thats never the case, tanks kill infantry, ground vehicles, and aircraft faster and live literally 4-5x longer. The speed difference is minor and doesnt make up for it in the least. 9mph (15kph) speed difference between the tanks and buggies is laughable. You need at minimum +50% more speed on the buggies over the fastest tank. On top of that a turbo feature much like the afterburners of ps1. Without a lot more speed the much lower armor just means you die a ton more. Handling must be top notch as well with some "shock absorbers" for weapons to help stabilize them a bit when moving that fast over terrain. If it handles like crap like ps1 (except the thresher which was the perfect buggy except for its crap weapon and overly low armor, mainly due to the hover givin it insane maneuverability and handling), then it will be pointless to be fast.

Options available to the buggies such as salvo modes to dump a ton of damage out at once then run away while it reloads over a long delay to emphasize hit and run tactics. Short duration immunity shields for when you go in for a strike, or low strength slow recharging shields. Or options for immunities to mines, or sensor arrays, or jammers. Maybe weapon systems with "heat" bars on em that allow for super charged fire rates that cause heat and will not allow you to fire once you max out the bar. Allows for less instant damage than salvo modes but more than normal firing in the short term, but less for sustained fire runs. Again, just more options. Also the options would of course be exclusive so you would have to give up having one thing for others. But the options would be somethin you only get with buggies making them useful over tanks for some situations and still viable in a fight.

Scouting vehicles sounds great, but in a game never works, never did in ps1 anyway. The vehicles must have a place in a fight. They need the platform and the weapons to deliver the damage. Whether that be in hit and run, or in tryin to stay at range and do it while bobbing and weaving or whatever. If the options are there and the systems there in place, they will serve a very fun role. They cant hold ground or break thru lines like a tank, but they can weave in and out and play guerilla tactics and be tons of fun if the correct vision gets applied.

And for the love of god, these have to be vehicles where the pilot only drives, no gun. You should be moving crazy fast and therefore unable to drive well and gun at the same time, plus it would just be retarded anyway. (and i wanna drive one, sounds like tons of fun, but i dont wanna have to gun too, turning me into a half ass pilot when i do.)

[CplVars]

The Marauder was the shit. Riding around Oshur with like 3 of em working in tandem was great fun murdering barney's and smurfs.

That said, I'd like them to be as fun as the Marauder.

[Fate]

Originally Posted by Vancha

I don't think air has the monopoly on quick assault. We know there'll be air-unfriendly areas, as well as times when there's simply too much AA around for air to get close, but I like the idea of expanding buggies' role to equipment transport/possibly a MAX transport (and I do mean a MAX).

Edit: Or maybe I don't. We still don't know enough about them to say.

Too much AA? Doesn't sound like PlanetSide at all.

[Kouza]

IMHO- Let them play more roles.. Trade their lack of armor for- Increased trunk room to lay down mines, speed (duh), and the ability to play all three major roles (AV, AA, AI).. However, they are weak for a reason. They don`t take AV, or Tank shells.

I liked the mine laying idea...