How to add a Bomber/artillary track into the game.

[Destroyeron]

I would like to see a 2 man bomber team.

[Cyanide]

I think a good way to balance these types of things would be as follows.

For the targeting laser itself:
1) It is only carried by reinforced armor.
2) The targeting player can not fire any other weapons while using the targeting laser.
3) The beam of the laser is colored to match the empire and is highly visible. This way once you paint a target the enemy knows where you are. But since it's a reinforced armor they have a chance to last a reasonable amount of time (as in a sniper doesn't own them in 1 shot 2 seconds after painting the target).

The bomber:
1) Basically a galaxy except without the guns and with lower hitpoints. This would make it require an escort to hit the target which means more coordination between team members is needed.
2) Two types of bombs chosable by the bombbadeir. EMP which would knock out vehicles and maxes in the area for some amount of time. Another anti-infantry bomb that on impact scatters into several small fragmentation gernades. Dealing large damage (not nessacerily leathal to reinforced armor, but it would hurt them bad enough to make them easy for allies to kill) to lighter infantry but minimal damage to MAXes and vehicles.
3) Only fires if a lock on the painted target is maintained by the bombadier.
4) Only one bomb run per flight. So the bomber has to be rearmed before making another strike.

The artilery:
1) A slow moving tracked vehicle that requires a 2 man crew (pilot, gunner).
2) The gunner can only fire the gun when he has a lock on a painted target. This does not require direct LOS, so you can fire over small hills.
3) The vehicle must deploy bracing legs before it can fire and must retract them before it can move (like those giant construction cranes do). This makes it almost defenseless if unescorted.
4) The shells the gun fires have a tracer on them so the enemy knows where they are coming from even if the gun is over a hill.
6) The gunner can select from anti-infantry, or EMP as with the bomber, but each shell is considerably less powerful than each bomb.
7) The reload (or cooldown) time between shots is considerably long so that more than one of these vehicles is required to maintain an effective barage.

Misc:
Both targeting weapons require a couple seconds to lock on. This way, a skilled targeter may be able to move around while still keeping the laser pointed in one place long enough for a lock to be aquired, but it would be very difficult to do in the heat of battle.


I think that would make the weapons pretty well balanced. They could always be negated by killing the reinforced that's carrying the targeting laser and the vehicles delivering the weapons are very vulnerable without a signifigant escort that could otherwise be directly involved in the battle.

[Vis Armata]

I don't know about artillery pieces, but bombers would be welcome. Here's my thoughts on bombers:

-If there are different bomb types, they have to be loaded before takeoff.
-Bombers only spawn at Sanctuary, not on continents. Calls for more planning and teamwork, if the bomber has to originate from the home continent.
-Commanders have access to bomber data, and can call in priority targets, which give slightly more BEP.
-Bombers can only land at Air Towers or bases with air pads, no landing at the ground. Harder to integrate into mobile forces, so that planning and teamwork are used to plan a bomb strike.
-Crew: 2 to 3 (pilot, bombadier, secondary gunner)
-Bombs and secondary weapns should reflect empire philosophies (like what Mr.Vulcan said).
-Bombers should look cool - no refitted Galaxies.

[MrVulcan]

I think that bombers should spawn at all places Galaxies do, so that the Galaxy pts are now heavy air pts or something.

And yes, they need new models compeltely, some sweet ones, like wings, or the double body look, etc (diff for each empire)

but I think that they should be able to land anywhere, though that would give a good plus to the air towers now though, but that plus the limited spawn would hurt their use too much, since they would prob be 3-4 certs to use.

[Hamma]

Artillery of any form in PS is bad news.

Nothing worse than running along and having a shell land on you, but you have no idea where it came from? lol. This was meant to be fun.

As for bombers, definatly like to see one of those added in

[Flameseeker]

Scrap Artillery, keep the bomber. Here's my idea.

Bomber must fly in low, and acquire a laser-guided lock on the target. The pilot would have to keep the laser on the target, as it would point slightly downward but mostly forward. IE: A bombing run. This lock would have to be achieved for 6-8 seconds.
The gunner would be responsible for timing the bomb drop. Allow a 2-3 second "Fire" period. This would not be prompted, a display would have to show it, with a slight wait before deployment. IE: Hatches opening.
If the bomb fires correctly, it's like a frag or a jammer over a much bigger area.
If it misfires, due to a crappy gunner, or the pilot loses the "paint", the bomb explodes in the plane. Not destroying it, but making it take at least 75% damage. 1 bomb per plane, miss, and you're screwed.

[BUGGER]

All is good but the bomb exploding inside bomber, instead the bomb should just roll few meters like in the movie Pearl Harbor. Then delay by 5-10 seconds giving the enemy little time to hack it (hacking would take about 1 second) and/or blow it up (the expolsion would be near quatr the full explosion).

[Cyanide]

Originally posted by Hamma
Artillery of any form in PS is bad news.

Nothing worse than running along and having a shell land on you, but you have no idea where it came from? lol. This was meant to be fun.

As for bombers, definatly like to see one of those added in

It's not like you can't go back and find the artillery tank. Not to mention if you're traveling all by yourself and nobody else is there to see where the shell came from you're not playing the game right anyway. I don't think he bomber is any worse than artillery for the game as far as balance though

BTW, 6-8 seconds for a lock? Did you actually watch a clock to see how long that is? 6-8 seconds in an FPS is like eternity. 3 seconds is more reasonable IMO.

[Hamma]

Games are supposed to be about fun. Running around looking for some artillery tank hiding somewhere = not fun

dying without knowing how = not fun

[Headrattle]

Replace the Artillery with a slow tomohawk type weapon. Keep the laser guidance. It takes up a rifle slot. Only four missiles in it until it must be reloaded. Make the Missile slow, big and noisy so it can be shot down. (a little slower then a skeeter. Same speed as a Reaver maybe?)
Make it where it needs teamwork.

Here is the action.
The Missile truck is spawned and you need a techplant to spawn it. It has no defenses, and it is as slow as an AMS. So it needs an Escort. It gets into position.
The spotter runs out there, he can't be invisible because the laser tagger is in a rifle slot.
He has a few guys escorting him.
He signals to the Missile truck to fire.
The Missile goes straight up into the air untill it can "see" the laser and then it turns toward the laser and looses altitude fast so it can get about 100 feet above the ground.
All this time the spotter must keep it on target, he can move the laser and the missile will still follow it, but if it gets pointed at the sky or otherwise loses "sight" of it, then the Missile will just go straight untill it hits something or it "sees" the laser again.
It is loud, and it is destructive.
It mainly does damage to infantry, but it does a little damage to vehicles. With MUCH less damage to tanks.
The Reload time would be long. Maybe 20 to 30 seconds.

It's main use would be to soften up the targets. The enemy can still take shelter OR shoot it down because it is the same speed as a reaver. AA weapons would work on it but it the MAX doesn't wack it, it most likely kills the Max (or severly damages it.) The blast radius would be pretty large, with less damage farther from the center of course.

Why?
If the attacking team uses teamwork they can deal a severe blow to the enemy. And weaken the defenses to the point that the main fight will be inside as long as the attackers finish off the vehicles. The defending team can kill the spotter or shoot it down if they have teamwork. Whoever has the best team will win. Also, if the defenders communicate well they can see and hear it coming, and give out some warning if they are ready for it.

Grand scale ideas.
You would need a Tech Plant to make it.
Phalanxes with the Interlink facility would be able to shoot it down.
This makes some bases more important.


not a big fan of a Bomber, more of a gunship fan. HC130 type thing. Lots of guns sticking out of the sides but as slow as a galaxy.

[MrVulcan]

Originally posted by Hamma
Games are supposed to be about fun. Running around looking for some artillery tank hiding somewhere = not fun

dying without knowing how = not fun

but looking up and seeing 50 bombers going right twards you, and realizing that your entire squad is AA max = Very Fun

[Duffman]

i like the idea of the bomber. they dont have to fly low just not out of aa range.

Needs a laser pointer person on ground to aim bombs down. If tracker is killed the bomb blows up.

Laser can be seen from far away but can also reach lond distances.

He cant be cloaked or Max.

The bomber can only hold like 4 bombs (1 bomb would make it dumb becasue if the thing flew really slow then they would have to make the bomb really strong or no one would use the bomber becasue it would be unpractible)

Bombers could be spawned at same places as galaxies and only land on airpads.

Bombers are jsut as fast as galaxies and have same or worse handleing.

3-4 person crew. Pilot - Bomber - Gunner(1 or 2)

Bomber and pilot both need certs for there repsectable job.

Targeting person takes greif points.

Bomber has to lock onto target for like 3 seconds.

10-20 second delay betwwen each bomb.

[Cyanide]

Originally posted by Hamma
Games are supposed to be about fun. Running around looking for some artillery tank hiding somewhere = not fun

dying without knowing how = not fun

First of all, most artillery shells make a noise when they're falling. Second, I wan't aware that as soon as you die your game screen switches away and there is no death animation. Do you just sit there with a black screen if you're waiting for an advanced med to revive you? Third, if the only thing that could kill you without you knowing what it was is an artillery shell landing right on you, one should be able to use ones amazing brain power to deduce that it was an artilery shell which killed them.

Four, going back to where you were killed in a reaver and blowing the hell out of the artillery gun which probably spent a looonng time to get into that position = FUN.

BTW, if you don't see the dude pointing the big bright targeting laser at your position you're blind. You're also stupid for not running away from laser because it has to achive a lock before firing and once it is fired the shell is not guided by the laser.

[MrVulcan]

I do not like the laser idea at all, 2 people in the thing is enough, you do not want to spend 3-4 certs just to not be able to use it half the time, since no one will spot for you, etc.
Stuff can not be based upon outside influance like that, I think that a nice verying size zone of fire from altitude works well, plus, the piolit flys, the bomber just gets to drop them, so it will be hard enough to aim when the bomber does almost no aiming him/her self, the laser is just too much IMO

and, I think that artilli would not be good, due to a host of reasons, things would just get out of hand... having a bomber fly over the target is fine though

[BUGGER]

i dont know why its all good being so low, sooner or later your just gona fly right into a wall. I think they can drop from anywhere. remember that the enemy does have a vehicle station somewhere and also some scouts in the sky, so it wont be that hard to take out a high rang bomber. If that is hard, then its gona be really hard to stop a full galaxy dropin 10 or so troops. Oh wait, make that 5 galaxys.