News: Roadmap Resource Revamp & Continental Lattice Updated

[Eggy]

^^. I agree, the grief detection, reporting and punishment systems need to be improved for some of these new mechanics to work, otherwise its too easy for the usual suspects to ruin it for everyone.

I think the ANT should not be a sunderer addon. In fact I would like to see 2 power supply vehicles.

A small scale ANT similar in style to the PS1 ANT but with the addition of 1 gunner slot on top with a small selection of the current top guns. This would be similar to the harraser in terms of armour, the lightning in terms of speed and 1 sunderer slot in terms of dps.

A medium scale ANT thats more of a harverster style vehicle to look at, just slightly smaller than a sunderer. 1 dedicated driver, 1 rear gunner and 1 top/side gunner (almost full 360 vision). Still has decent speed and armour. But both less than the current MBTs. Again a selection of the top guns on both slots. This ANT would take longer to fill up, it takes longer to deliver but on delivery it delivers more power.

The first one can be used to deliver a small amount of power fast. You might send 2-3 to the same base on different routes. All need escorts and the fast ground vehicles can provide this.

The 2nd is more of an investment, moves slower and can be escorted by the slower vehicles.

Both are "basicaly" free certs when un escorted.

Both could benefit from an enhanced mine guard, in fact with some thought could maybe also get a flail or EMP pulse for mine clearance.

[Fenrys]

Originally Posted by Malorn

...what other cool uses do you think the ANT and its power mechanic might bring to make it an interesting and fun vehicle to invest in?

-Mine layer
-Deployable invisibility dome
-Deployable shield dome
-Deployable vehicle overshield generator - park your tank nearby for a few seconds to get a temporary shield that can absorb one extra AP shell/rocket
-AoE stealth field, nearby tanks take longer to lock on to
-Massive bomb when charged
-Resource denial/theft (pulls resources out of unfriendly bases)
-Area denial - a gun that shoots 'charge' and acts like a PS1 Radiator
-EMP gun, uses 'charge' as ammo, sets off mines, disables shields, slows vehicle movement and reload speeds

[Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Malorn View Post
...what other cool uses do you think the ANT and its power mechanic might bring to make it an interesting and fun vehicle to invest in?



What about having ANTs be equiped with weapon Refitting Capabilities.

Much like a Ammo Sundy, a Weapon Refitting ANT gives people the option to change out weapon loadouts on the fly vs. having to dump your previous vehicle entirely, losing all those resources just to grab a vehicle with a different weapon loadout.

So with a Resource Discount (perhaps half or 3/4 discount) or based on what the Ant is holding in its resource banks:

A Tank can go to a Refitting ant, and change their weapon from a Anti-Infantry, to Anti-Air

or

a ESF can switch from A2A missiles load out, to A2G or afterburners.

[Ragnafrak]

After seeing so many replies suggesting that the ANT be a new kind of sunderer addon, I felt I had to come back and repost to say NO NO NO NO!

Originally Posted by Carbon Copied

Also you say from the attacking side that it should be indistinguishable but it's kind of counter productive if you're in a public convoy ... The fact that you know you have these visually "that is an AMS/ANT" high value targets should make you more aware of the ESF suicide bomber threat...

if pubs need to know there's an ANT or AMS loaded in a particular vehicle i am pretty sure it could get any number of hud and minimap indicators.

To me, this is one the biggest reasons the ANT should be its own vehicle with its own unique silhouette. Simply adding a decal or HUD indicator to a sunderer that says okay this is an ANT now won't cut it. 1) No one would know until it were spotted, and 2) the sundy holograms and modules all look exactly the same in thermal (NV too imo). ANTs NEED to look different!

An interesting mechanic would be if you allow hostiles to "steal" the trailer.
It should have guns and/or passanger slots.

I like the idea of stealing vehicles, but it should be for any vehicle left unattended, not just the ANT. The Devs know that this is something some of us want, and they'll implement it when/if they're ready.

On the guns/passengers, though - NO, again! The ANT is exactly what Malorn suggested it to be, a space truck. The sunderer is your battle bus! If you put passenger slots or guns on the ANT, you inevitably allow it to be used as just another troop transport (guh, I don't have enough nanites for a harasser, everybody hop in my ANT). Having guns invites its use as an attack vehicle, which it should also not be! Having either or both of these features would influence the resource cost of the ANT as well. I'm of the opinion that the cost should be minimal so that it can be pulled any time one is necessary.

They dont have to build an ant to make this work. A new module for the sunderer would be perfect just make it look like a fuel hauling truck. The new module would add a large tank to the back of the sunderer. Would be limited to driver only. You would be able to use all the other defensive certs that you have. This seems like a quick dirty fix that would really hit the spot.

That's exactly what it would be, quick and dirty. Would you really want the developers of this game to bandaid patch in new functionality every time we asked for it? Slippery slopes are slippery.

As downside of such heavy load, there could be 2-4 less player space in sunderer (risk/reward).

What you've mentioned though, are the exact things others of us have asked for. You want it to be visually distinct from normal sunderers, and you want it to not have as many (any, in my case) passenger slots. What you have then is a very expensive not-a-sundy that still drives like a sundy and has your sundy's guns. At some point, we must recognize that wanting to change so many things about something we have is really wanting something completely different from what we have in the first place.

the reason i thought of using infantry space to load these things is basically what i already said; 1. that it will be harder for (asshats like me in a) Liberator to just swoop in and obliterate, and 2. not dependent on loadouts and the problem you mentioned.

Again, this makes the ANT too much like a Sundy in my opinion. ANTs should be protected by other vehicles in a convoy. We should not encourage convoys of nothing but ANTS filled with troops, nor should we encourage ANTs to go off on their own because they have a few troops inside them. Sunderers already can do that.

I fully understand and appreciate economy of scale but seriously we need more variety of vehicles not just variety amongst the vehicles we have.

QFT!

[Climhazzard]

Originally Posted by Hamma

This one confuses me though.. do they mean equipping items?

Originally Posted by Necroe

i think that means that you have infinite amount of grenades/c4 etc. everytime you use one, it deducts x amount of resources.

Originally Posted by Lonehunter

I think you'd always have a grenade on you, but throwing it removes resources, instead of spending, inventory, and using.

That seems pretty ridiculous to me. I'm assuming the same resupply mechanics will be in use (minus the stockpiling), which means the resources would be deducted when you respawn or resupply at a terminal.

Also, automatic, in-field replenishment would make the second brick of C4, for example, an utterly redundant certification.

Originally Posted by DirtyBird

Could a group/zerg stand there lobbing nades at nothing chewing up resources and manipulate the power levels.

As I understand it, a facility's power drains based solely on the number of people in the area and not how quickly they blow through their personal pool of resources.

Also, I'm assuming the facilities will dole out resources indiscriminately. By that I mean the facility's power level is drained based only on the number of people and not how many of them actually need resources. I could be wrong about that, though.

Originally Posted by DirtyBird

How the resource bonus will work on the Boosts/Membership.

I assume they'd work exactly the same way they do now: +X% to resource income.

Originally Posted by ringring

re: removal of inventory.

Does this mean that someone can simply spam grenades or mines - will a trip back to a terminal to resupply be required?

I see no reason to believe otherwise.

[Climhazzard]

Originally Posted by typhaon

* Transition between continents/warpgates: So we're not getting Normandy-style beach landings... yet?

That's a looong way out.

[soco]

Cant wait for these changes

[NewSith]

Originally Posted by Ragnafrak

I like the idea of stealing vehicles, but it should be for any vehicle left unattended, not just the ANT. The Devs know that this is something some of us want, and they'll implement it when/if they're ready.

On the guns/passengers, though - NO, again! The ANT is exactly what Malorn suggested it to be, a space truck. The sunderer is your battle bus! If you put passenger slots or guns on the ANT, you inevitably allow it to be used as just another troop transport (guh, I don't have enough nanites for a harasser, everybody hop in my ANT). Having guns invites its use as an attack vehicle, which it should also not be! Having either or both of these features would influence the resource cost of the ANT as well. I'm of the opinion that the cost should be minimal so that it can be pulled any time one is necessary.

I actually suggest it to be neither if you didn't notice:

I offer it to be a trailer (truck-trailer, hind-carriage), not a separate vehicle, nor sunderer mod. This means that the ANT (Advance Nanite Trailer) is not capable of moving by itself and henceforth it needs self-defense tools (even passanger slots are self-defense tools). Not to mention that in PS2, the maximum number of hostile to converge on an ant is 666, not 133 and thus the defense may get a little harder, or actually ~5 times harder.

[Soothsayer]

I'd like to see an ANT able to expel some of it's energy as a defensive blast that could function to temporarily disable a vehicle's weapons.

For simplicity's sake, call it EMP.

[Obstruction]

nor should we encourage ANTs to go off on their own because they have a few troops inside them. Sunderers already can do that.

LOL.

as a full time Lib pilot I LOVE WHEN THEY DO THIS.

please, ignore my well thought out suggestions, and make the ANT a slow moving, defenseless, easily identifiable vehicle with a generous hitbox.

and give it a big fat 1000 xp base rate.

i will roffle all day.

[redshirt]

Some form of ANT / Space Truck is needed.

If you wanted to give it more roles beyond being a simple space truck. You could make it into a general logistics vehcile. Give it two utility slots to fit things like Ammo supply, Repair, ANT and 'future cool stuff'. The option for a single weapon mount in one of those utility points might also be worth looking at - with a limited range of weapons availble, standard 20mm, kolbat, and maybe the ranger. Limit the functionality of the repair/ammo supply abilities to being in a deployed state. Allows it to become a mobile deployable supply depo in large tank battles.

Along with a mixture of chassie/defensive slots.

[Ragnafrak]

Originally Posted by Obstruction

LOL.

as a full time Lib pilot I LOVE WHEN THEY DO THIS.

please, ignore my well thought out suggestions, and make the ANT a slow moving, defenseless, easily identifiable vehicle with a generous hitbox.

and give it a big fat 1000 xp base rate.

i will roffle all day.

As we all would! That's the point. It needs to be defended by other vehicles.

Regarding the trailer idea - I don't like it because it's basically just adding more utility to every other vehicle. Whats to stop everyone one having an ANT trailer on their vehicles all the time? Whats to stop every capable vehicle in any given convoy from grabbing one? Who gets to feel special for fulfilling the roll of ANT driver if anybody who's already piloting something else can be an ANT mover at the same time?

[Badjuju]

Originally Posted by Malorn

I posted some clarifications in the resource roadmap thread. Reposting here for your convenience:

Awesome changes, cant wait until they go live.

[Mordelicius]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Whether it is a module, what can equip the module, or whether it is a standalone vehicle is something we'd like your feedback on.

Can you offer up some good uses of an ANT beyond a space truck? We want all the vehicles to have a well defined role and to be fun. Being a space trucker doesn't seem like it is worth the trouble or worth investing in...what other cool uses do you think the ANT and its power mechanic might bring to make it an interesting and fun vehicle to invest in?

A deployed ANT could be a basis for field powering systems:

Orbital Strike(!) - Orbital Strikes need power to activate!! ANT need to deploy and players consume it's power in able to use orbital strikes.

Fog of War - In the future when they release a Weather System. Create electrical storms and disrupt visibility and airspace clearance. Has a cooldown so it can't be spammed.

Artillery Power - ANT is deployed. Allows players to deploy an ANT-powered artillery within the AOE power supply radius. (Artillery is separate of course).

Sunderer Power - I heard they are going to buff the Sunderer with Cloaks and Area force fields. Tie it to an ANT. Sunderers can only activate these Cloaks and Force Fields if an ANT is powering it nearby. Of course the power is drained slowly! So a Cloaked or Shielded Sundy can't function like that indefinitely.

Essentially, create an entire ANT-Power Supply synthesis systems. It would make a great logistics and combined arms/mechanics issue.

[SternLX]

So this is my first post in this thread.
Loving all I have read that was posted on the Roadmap about the Resource system revamp.

Saw Malorns post asking for input on ANT ability or vehicle.
My vote would actually change things up a bit. Like others have mentioned there were vehicles that had specific roles in PS1. The Sundie in PS2 is over used as a vehicle and has too many roles as is. My proposal is thus:

Add an additional vehicle with it's on own unique silhouette(I'm thinking Deliverer) that can serve as either an AMS or an ANT only! If it is in an AMS role it has a dedicated driver, and 2 gun positions(forward left and right side with a blind spot in the rear) for self defense. When in an ANT role it removes the ability to have guns but leaves the seats for riding 'shotgun' as it were. Lore wise I'd say it removes the weapons as the space is needed for the for the Auraxium storage device.

Either way, I think a new vehicle is needed to help more easily identify a high priority vehicle. It's possible to use multiple Sundies now as decoys in a convoy for the real AMS Sundie while the others are kitted as either a Supply or Repair Sundie. If we had another all new vehicle as an AMS or ANT vehicle there would be no question which is the priority target. I know, I know, there are those of you that would say that would ruin a current game play tactic. When actually you could just pull multiple AMS Deliverers and get the same effect. I believe doing this would put the Sunderer back into it's original role of APC/Re-Supply Vehicle and with PS2's vehicle repair twist. Sundie would still be multi-role but with one less ability.

Anyway, that's my ideas and suggestions on the subject.