Non-Combat Activities for the FPS Averse

maradine · 2012-05-25, 08:30 PM

I like showing off PS2 videos at every opportunity. In the last week or two, that's become a blissfully daily occurrence. I think I've personally ~~suckered in~~ recruited an outfit's worth of players at this point, but a frequent response I get is "man, that looks amazing, but I suck at FPS."

What's my play here?

"Drive/fly this bus around for us!"

"Go fetch nanites in a tractor!"

"Hang out behind this rock and fix our crap!"

I'm not feeling it.

Stardouser · 2012-05-25, 08:31 PM

Well, there's galaxy piloting for transport duty, engineer repairing, and engineers MIGHT be able to build stuff, we don't know.

Not sure what else at the moment, but I'm sure there will be more.

KTNApollo · 2012-05-25, 08:33 PM

Medics and engineers both provide non-FPS gameplay but at the same time helping the war effort, while piloting vehicles doesn't necessarily require FPS skill.

SKYeXile · 2012-05-25, 08:34 PM

well there is no collecting nanites anymore but they could:

lay minefields.
use C4
play as a MAX.
play medics or engineers.
fly/drive sunderers and gals.

that's probably about it.

Xyntech · 2012-05-25, 08:37 PM

It is a FPS first and foremost, so while there are several supportive roles, it's not going to be the part of the game with the most variety.

Being a medic would probably be the best bet though. Or maybe have them gun for one of your vehicles, since that ends up being more of a rail shooter than an FPS.

Engi isn't a bad choice either, presumable. More info is needed on what they can build.

Serpent · 2012-05-25, 08:39 PM

I don't think the situation will be as dire as you think.

Galaxy piloting is going to be very big, that's for sure. And- SCOUTING! Seems stupid, but in an organized outfit scouting will definitely be important.

Stardouser · 2012-05-25, 08:39 PM

I'm not sure about medic, at least for reviving, by definition you're right in the middle of being shot at. I could be wrong but when people are asking about non-combat activities, they don't just mean activities where they don't need twitch aim skills, but where they might not get shot at every 5 seconds either.

maradine · 2012-05-25, 08:41 PM

Base gunner is probably a solid option if the majority of the static emplacements are turreted. I guess playing an infiltrator also reduces a lot of the classic FPS performance pressure.

Xyntech · 2012-05-25, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by Stardouser

I'm not sure about medic, at least for reviving, by definition you're right in the middle of being shot at. I could be wrong but when people are asking about non-combat activities, they don't just mean activities where they don't need twitch aim skills, but where they might not get shot at every 5 seconds either.

If they suck at FPS, they may just not want to be forced to rely on their sub par aiming skills. Things like AOE healing grenades and reviving stationary corpses may be right up their ally.

Hell, maybe they'll even be willing to fire off a few pot shots at the enemy now and then when there is nobody currently needing a heal.

Depends on the player I guess.

Rbstr · 2012-05-25, 08:46 PM

Honestly, if someone doesn't want to play an FPS or drive a tank or fly a plane...this game really isn't for them.

Why try to force it?

JPalmer · 2012-05-25, 08:49 PM

Man, I can't wait to fly a Galaxy.

But, one thing I didn't see mentioned here is that just could be a cloaker and go into enemy bases and hack things for annoyance purposes.

sylphaen · 2012-05-25, 08:50 PM

well, it's a FPS so expect to have to aim, fire or receive fire.

The good news for non-FPS players is that they may still enjoy the game a lot even if they're not good at FPS. I think that's what counts.

But if they are averse to first-person and shooting, I mean... There is only so much that can be done.
(fyi, I'm a support oriented player but not FPS averse)

ArbitraryDemise · 2012-05-26, 12:04 AM

So wait, people want things that do not involve shoving a mouse across a mouse pad... in a shooter?

huh?

I can understand people enjoying playing support roles, I was one of those guys who loved piloting black-hawks in BF2. Yet this is still a shooter. The focus is warfare on a massive scale.

I do not mean to be demeaning or anything, but this seems like asking why there are no shooting sequences in a racing game.

ZeroOneZero · 2012-05-26, 12:11 AM

Bait? XD (Go next to that tower and look pretty).

Graywolves · 2012-05-26, 12:14 AM

It would be cool if some logistics made it in to the game again. Maybe not as necessary as the ANT filling up bases with NTU but perhaps something similar like using a truck to extract resources or distribute them to certain bases.

Not something I've thought hard about but allowing more support roles and involvement of a greater variety of players would help the game in being successful. Diversity is always good.

So far we have medics, engineers, gal pilots, and sunderer drivers.