The Vindicators met up with Matt Higby for a chat

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Seems like a good compromise to me, allowing you to turn aircraft into a hotdrop-delivery system or a dogfighter, but if you want to do both you will be at a disadvantage vs a pure-dogfight spec'd aircraft.

Agreed...Not a fun choice to make, but great for game balancing IMO.

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

Wouldn't most dedicated pilots prefer to die with their vehicle than bailout, so they can pull another and get back with another aircraft?

A lot of people used them purely for transportation or as flying drop pods, to drop on top of a BFR for example. TR was especially fond of this tactic given how good the MCG was outside compared to the other empires HA.

[Knocky]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

Wouldn't most dedicated pilots prefer to die with their vehicle than bailout, so they can pull another and get back with another aircraft?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ....

/gasps4air

That was a good one!

Seriously though....the Devs had to sabotage the planes to keep the "pilots" from bailing out before they died.

[Stardouser]

Originally Posted by Knocky

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ....

/gasps4air

That was a good one!

Seriously though....the Devs had to sabotage the planes to keep the "pilots" from bailing out before they died.

You mean to tell me that there are no "skilled" air whores in Planetside who don't want to engage in infantry combat, and who will die with their aircraft so they can immediately respawn back at the vehicle terminal?

[Owalpo]

Originally Posted by Red Beard

Edit:
I thought there was going to be an announcement at PAX? Is it going to be today, or am I totally out of the loop?

Uh I don't think so

[Goku]

PAX is over in 30 minutes and the PS2 team was heading out @ 3:00 PM EST to fly back to cali. I don't think anything is going to be coming in.

[Talek Krell]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

You mean to tell me that there are no "skilled" air whores in Planetside who don't want to engage in infantry combat, and who will die with their aircraft so they can immediately respawn back at the vehicle terminal?

Apparently a lot of them would rather drop out of their aircraft and suicide to deny their opponent the kill XP instead of just going down. Given that the new module option only seems to cover bailing safely out of an aircraft, I can see this tradition continuing.

[aleksandrgrc]

i like escapeing being an untility or whatever, defensive.
its a loadout from skills. so i got my infiltrators mosquito for those long trips i can jump out of when i get shot down trying to go where i shouldnt.

then the other mosquito that is ment to actually do the intercepter job and ill die in it. right tool for the right job. just want the options. its ok if i cant do em all at once. switch loadouts find a airpad. not such a bad thing.


as for max units. give them defensive claymores they can trigger that engineers place on them. id like to see the max and the engineer have more of a symbiotic relationship in any way.
or give them a ride of their own.
all im really trying to say is instead of powers for maxs or stat changes, make things a little more max friendly in general, they are an oddball unit being in between things. even ditching the suit for a basic loadout would be a huge bonus in those wait for me or its practicly distroyed senarios.
the max also has all that extra bulk i could really see alot of extras for the players hud and command and communications bonuses for commanders and run n gunners alike.

a healer can throw a healing gren. could/should a cloaker have a stealth bubble gren?

[Malorn]

Originally Posted by Talek Krell

Apparently a lot of them would rather drop out of their aircraft and suicide to deny their opponent the kill XP instead of just going down. Given that the new module option only seems to cover bailing safely out of an aircraft, I can see this tradition continuing.

I would imagine it is easy to put more restrictions for bailing when you dont have the bail upgrade, like restricting it to low altitude/low speed, conditions which would normally result in a non-lethal ejection.

[Captain1nsaneo]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

I get the impression that your Empire just receives, passively, as it says, resources simply by owning territory. OK, fine. But how does an individual gain resources? Do you passively get a share of the resources an empire gets? Is it a reward for kills? Or?

Territories give out resources like dividends to all members of an empire. You automatically receive your resources. You do not get resources from killing, you get experience from killing.

Originally Posted by Malorn

So VS get the TR overdrive ability? Yeah not a fan of that, as I think overdrive is what defines the TR (fire-rate & speed, which are the two key advantages of the TR). Lockdown gives fire rate, but at the cost of speed. I had imagined TR benefit was a sliding-scale between lockdown with maximum fire rate, vs overdrive which at the extreme might simply be a speed boost, with customizations to blend the two and get a balance of fire rate boost & speed.

I'm not a fan of burst mode for the following reason: It can be used by AA and AV. Aircraft come infrequently enough that the charge will always be recharged by at least one AA MAX as more aircraft in the area = more AA MAXs.. This means that aircraft will always be facing a bursted AA MAX when fighting. Also when using an AA MAX you do not hold onto your burst mode but as soon as you spot a viable target you use it.

Originally Posted by Stardouser

Wouldn't most dedicated pilots prefer to die with their vehicle than bailout, so they can pull another and get back with another aircraft?

Not when you're carrying AV weaponry. I've won dogfights to be shot down by a guy who bailed using a striker mid air. Also the "better" players carry Decis/Boomers on them so they can kill themselves if they lost so to deny exp for their deaths. Bailing itself also denies exp as when you die in an aircraft there's a multiplier applied to your death.

[Stardouser]

Originally Posted by Captain1nsaneo

Not when you're carrying AV weaponry. I've won dogfights to be shot down by a guy who bailed using a striker mid air. Also the "better" players carry Decis/Boomers on them so they can kill themselves if they lost so to deny exp for their deaths. Bailing itself also denies exp as when you die in an aircraft there's a multiplier applied to your death.

Maybe bail and fall deaths should show as a stat on your public stat page. I mean, you shouldn't lose points for it or anything, but at least be marked for doing it

[Tigersmith]

I wish you guys said hi to all of us other players.

[Clik]

I've bailed out and ended up killing the drooling pilot thinking he's getting a free kill with AA plenty of times. I was never a hardcore pilot, I mainly used my mossie for transportation and scouting. I'd gladly bail out of a dog fight in anyway I could. Oh and the thought of them getting mad about it makes me happy as well.

[aleksandrgrc]

id rather increase survivability of max units than have an ability to do more damage.

also i think max units should carry teammates stuff. ie the light infantry's ammo pack they drop. give each class the ability to affix something to the back of a max(max 1).

-if your adding offensive, defensive, utility slots.
would it be difficult to add one more slot that adopts the ability a teammate bestows upon a chosen max during play?. it could be made to help the max, those around it , both or cause an effect on the enamy.

-its an incentive to interact more with maxs. maxs tend to die unsupported.
- allows more oppertunity, arguably very slight for maxs to fit in with outfits/groups with a particular purpose.

-originally i remember reading something about a max unit haveing the space to carry gear for teammates b4 the launch of the first planetside. and they did have alot of space. well no more grid so, how about this instead?

-i think a graphical representation of what each class can add would just look dandy.

-as for other maxs , have them be able to do something as a pair like stand back to back for a last stand.

whatever the abilities are is not so much important i think as the teamwork involved that makes it a little less lonely for the max pilots incased in all that nano armor.

[DviddLeff]

Originally Posted by Tigersmith

I wish you guys said hi to all of us other players.

Sorry Tiger, the guys that went don't hang around at all on the PSU or official site. I think they did get chatting to a few other PS players though.