Thrustpad [Jump Pad] Poll

[Stardouser]

Originally Posted by Raymac

You underestimate the skills of snipers. While headon will be easier, if you give a sniper a known trajectory and a known speed, they could take the jumpers out easy like Lindsey Lohan.

Also, peek-a-boo can happen unless there is a cooldown, but at least the jumper is still in view as opposed to teleports which makes the thrustpads a better solution. Peek-a-boo may just be part of the game since we already see it in games with people doing it around corners and other cover. We'll see if they add a cooldown or not.

And see, here is where this issue merges with TTK.

Should we really have snipers with 1 hit kills? Headshots I accept, always have.

But are we talking 1 hit kills to the body here? Alternatively, if we're talking 2-3 snipers setting up together and firing simultaneously, that's fine, I just don't want to see sniper 1 hit kills other than headshots.

And you know, there's another thing. Even people who like the pads idea, it doesn't mean that they are going to get used 20 times per minute. Snipers who deploy just to get jumper/thruster kills might find themselves getting less kills overall. just a thought.

[headcrab13]

I'm glad to see that the majority of the community is for jump pads. It's a great idea, appears to be implemented well, and will be almost critical in big battles.

[Xyntech]

I posted this idea in my jump pad thread in the idea forum, but I'll repost here since it is applicable to the discussion.

I think that the jump pads (no matter how they are implemented) should have a variable trajectory at which they launch players.

Basically, if you launch them at a slightly faster speed, you can launch them at a slightly lower angle. If you lunch them at a slightly slower speed, you can launch them at a slightly higher angle.

What this would do is reduce the ability for snipers to predict the speed and angle of a jump.

Combine this with either a cone of fire variance in where exactly a player will land, or some minimalistic movement control mid air so that players can manually adjust where they will land, and it shouldn't be hardly any easier to snipe a jump padding player as it would be to snipe someone running around on a base wall.

[Ductape]

I think that people are forgetting that there are only jump pads in the structures. They are a tool for the defending team to better defend the base. The attacking team will still have to hoof it from place to place. Marching or catching a ride into the base.

I love the idea of rapid re-deployment for the defensive forces. I think that the idea is excellent for large bases. The defending force, even if outnumbered will still be able to hold out until their reinforcements arrive. However there is a risk involved with speed. If the defenders jump in groups, they are less likely to be picked off one by one by snipers, but will be more vulnerable to flack and AI guns. I think that in large battles, there will even be an advantage to traveling by ground sometimes

The attacking force I believe will also be able to manipulate the defending team, leading to interesting tactics and creating more stories to share later. Have a ton of snipers in the hills to draw away reinforcements or slow them down. Have an outfit flank and some panicking defenders may call most of the main defense, allowing for the primary assault to punch through. Maybe even post a bunch of snipers up in the hill somewhere then try and then combine the 2 to punch through where no defenders are guarding because they are fast traveling on the other side of the base

I think its a great idea, BUT ONLY for large bases. Seeing these across the countryside and all over the place surrounding the bases, where attackers can use them would be terrible.

Keep them, but only as quick transport/re-deployment for defenders in large bases.

[DSxGIIR]

Jump pads make the game feel like Unreal tournament and Tribes. I think they should keep the jump pads that thrust you upwards then having the pads that throws you to point A to point B. Reason being is say you're chasing down you enemy and he uses the jump pads to evade your shoots and also gain some distance I feel like those things could be annoying but keep the vertical jump pad...IMO

[IMMentat]

further thoughts
tower-tower movement could be almost as easily covered by bridges, especially if the pads end up as universal access.

It's the vertical pads I see as indespensible.

It's a fine line between ease of defensive access and fast-travel within a base.
In the end, it will be base layout (we have almost no info on this yet) and where the pads get positioned that decide if they will be a good or bad thing.
I hope SOE pull it off.

[LancerNC]

I am pretty sure the pads are universal access, he used them as a TR infiltrator, TR MAX, TR light assault and NC Heavy Assault all in a VS controlled base. I see no problem with the pads being universal.

[OcO]

I have been lurking on these boards for quite some time now. These jump pads however are absolutely horrible though and have finally made me wanna register to voice my opinion.

The vertical "gravity well" elevators are bad enough but whatever I guess these would be less strain since they are not actual moving elevators.

The jump pads though are just awful and I seriously hope they remove them. Base defenders already have the re-spawn advantage when trying to hold off an attacking force. Giving them almost instant travel to most any part of the base is to much. If this was a 12v12 or 32v32 game then sure I could maybe see the need for this kind of a feature with the bases the size they are. But we're talking about 100, 200, 300+ people all being able to move to the far side of a base in seconds.

This is imo the definition of "dumbing down" a game. It removes part of the tactical aspects and promotes zerging. A force attacks from the north side of a base and the defenders all go there to engage them. But wait what it was only a small feint by the enemy commander to pull the defenders away from the south perimeter of the base where the main bulk of the attack force has been sneaking around to attack from? No problem the full defending force is able to quick jump to the south perimeter in just seconds after overwhelming the north side rouse force. Attackers have most always needed a larger force due to defenders being within a fortified area and that is how it should be. Now however the attacking force is gonna have to be exponentially larger than the defenders cause the defenders are able to respond to any threat from any direction with their full force within moments.

[Ohaunlaim]

These jump pads seem like a quick fix idea after the devs discovered that huge bases take a long time to get around on foot. As has been mentioned this could actually be an issue when numbers are low and the line of attack is not yet known. But when there are perhaps a few hundred defenders at a base, all venues of attack can be monitored. Then, when the enemy finally arrives, the defenders on the wrong side of the base can slowly make their way to the other side (in the video I imagine this could take anywhere from 30 sec to a minute tops depending on class) while those on the correct side, with their turrets and wall cover, slow the enemy until reinforcements arrive.

Basically near instant travel to every part of a large base defeats one of the interesting factors of having a LARGE base. As well, having them outside the base in order to jump to high points (see unsuccessful attempt near end of video) defeats the point of having differing classes (light assault) or air transport.

Immersion is just a matter of taste and opinion. But here is mine: the whole idea of jump pads seems ridiculous and cartoony. Yes this is a game and not reality. But a jump pad able to do what those do to a person would instantly shatter bones either on launch or landing. At the least users would suffer severe concussions. Anyway, Planetside was a game closer to sci-fi battlefield than Unreal Tournament. Perhaps the intent is to shift it the other direction. If so these jump pads make the transition nearly complete.

If the devs really demand a speed up of infantry from base corner to base corner. They might consider people movers (moving walkways), one in either direction, between the towers. The covered walls already in place would be a perfect place for these. Such would provide fast travel, but also allow for fire-fights where such travel occurs. While flying infantry provides little risk except from snipers and defenders at the destination tower (who really thinks flack is going to detonate against infantry?)

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by OcO

I have been lurking on these boards for quite some time now. These jump pads however are absolutely horrible though and have finally made me wanna register to voice my opinion.

The vertical "gravity well" elevators are bad enough but whatever I guess these would be less strain since they are not actual moving elevators.

The jump pads though are just awful and I seriously hope they remove them. Base defenders already have the re-spawn advantage when trying to hold off an attacking force. Giving them almost instant travel to most any part of the base is to much. If this was a 12v12 or 32v32 game then sure I could maybe see the need for this kind of a feature with the bases the size they are. But we're talking about 100, 200, 300+ people all being able to move to the far side of a base in seconds.

This is imo the definition of "dumbing down" a game. It removes part of the tactical aspects and promotes zerging. A force attacks from the north side of a base and the defenders all go there to engage them. But wait what it was only a small feint by the enemy commander to pull the defenders away from the south perimeter of the base where the main bulk of the attack force has been sneaking around to attack from? No problem the full defending force is able to quick jump to the south perimeter in just seconds after overwhelming the north side rouse force. Attackers have most always needed a larger force due to defenders being within a fortified area and that is how it should be. Now however the attacking force is gonna have to be exponentially larger than the defenders cause the defenders are able to respond to any threat from any direction with their full force within moments.

Couldn't agree more. Planetside's gameplay set it apart because it fostered cooperation, communication, planning and tactical deployment. Having jump pads is just going to increase the scope of the zerg cloud, within which the elements listed above would largely become irrelevant (at least to what it would be otherwise).

I want to say that I am really looking forward to playing a game which is plainly shaping up to be a well put together game (even with a lot of work to go), and I appreciate the dedication of the devs...I can see why the devs have the jump pads in the game at the moment...With low player density, you're just wasting your time in a playtest running from place to place, but does anyone honestly think jump pads would be nessisary when you have say, 300 people defending a base? Having stategically placed spawn points will already be more than enough to deal with any issue about defensive adjustments I think.

When you have hundreds of guys defending a base, it seems to me you'll have dozens of guys in the air at any given moment, which is well beyond 'silly'...people defend this idea saying that it's 'science fiction' so you shouldn't have a hard time accepting something that's not 'realistic'...Sorry; but science fiction isn't about suspending judgement, it's about being imaginative, and I hate to tell you jump pads ain't it. As I mentioned above, PS was set apart for integrating smart gameplay (on top of the scale), which is why it's probably my favourite game of all time. Jump pads definitely send the gameplay in the direction quake three arena, which is pretty much a lobotomised shooter IMO Sorry kids!

Anyways in conclusion I doubt they'l be needed at all, and if for some reason faster transport is needed, lets think of something more cool/creative/thought out than 'man cannons'. Peace.

[Mechzz]

The base that we saw is wide open. No walls, no doors on non-critical areas.

So without some way to get away from the spawns, a base defence would very quickly be reduced to the spawn rooms, even quicker than in PS1 where at least you could move inside the base building before the enemy entered it. The base we saw was wide open to the wind.

It may even be that jump pads are going to cause massive casualties on the defending side due to landing-spot camping.

Still, the jump pads have changed my mental picture of the game quite a bit. I thought LA would be the (only) guys jetting over walls. Now everyone on the defending side can go bouncing about. Halo is the only game I played with that sort of mechanic, and it didn't have a hundred guys trying to do it at the same time. I just don't know how good/bad it will be because I have no concept of what it will feel like in a massive battle.

I think I get why the Devs put it in, but I really don't feel able to guess how it will feel to me as a player trying to enjoy it.

[LZachariah]

I voted "No" on this, because there were only two options, and if I had to make an executive, black-or-white decision, I'd probably go with no. Do I think that these are a gamebreaker? Nah. Obviously, obviously, "beta will reveal all," in terms of how these play out. However, I worry that the massive size of these beautiful bases will be diminished if people can travel to them by soaring through the air, especially in what looks like a slightly "wacky" fashion. If there were lifts or tram-cars or something, that would perhaps seem a little less goofy.

So, I'm not raising any big red flags about this issue, but I suppose, if the Devs wanted to keep these launcher-pads, I'd say I would hope that they would only be in 25% of the bases, not all of them; not even close to all of them, in fact. I think (having not yet played the game at all) that there would be a more tangible feeling of weight and size in these bases of players couldn't rocket themselves to certain locations just by stepping on a catapult-platform.

Just me thinking out loud, but have no fear, this game looks Quadruple-A; I have no doubts that I and my entire Outfit of friends will adore it beyond all reason.

~Zachariah

[Talek Krell]

How would people feel about making it a sort of zipline system after the fashion of Bioshock Infinite's "Skylines"?
Not that...whimsical probably, but just having a set of magnetized tracks run between the towers that could be used for quick transport.

That would be mechanically interchangeable with the launch pads but less likely to make people wonder if they'd walked into the wrong recruitment hut and accidentally joined the circus (It would explain the brightly colored uniform!).


Personally I'd remove the whole thing, but I'll presume there's some reason the devs went with the mechanics they choose.

[Zekeen]

Really, the biggest issue with jump pads is the idea of a jump pad feels out of place.

The numbers of the poll show a rather split community, but really in the end, it just means that we want the devs to tweak jump pads to fit in a bit more. Be it teleport pads, or making more sense, or something. The number of us in the "no" category will drove significantly if an innovative way of designing the jump pads was done.

[Stardouser]

Originally Posted by Zekeen

Really, the biggest issue with jump pads is the idea of a jump pad feels out of place.

The numbers of the poll show a rather split community, but really in the end, it just means that we want the devs to tweak jump pads to fit in a bit more. Be it teleport pads, or making more sense, or something. The number of us in the "no" category will drove significantly if an innovative way of designing the jump pads was done.

I think it simply means a good portion of the community likes them and a slightly less good portion of the community doesn't, I at least seek their removal, not their tweaking. Teleport pads would be better, but leaving the large scale of the game at large and uncontracted would be best.