Gameplay: Aircraft Ground-Support Mods (smokescreen, ammo drop, ect)

Zekeen · 2012-05-16, 04:32 PM

Seeing as Higby has confirmed drop pods for Galaxys (no clue if he got it from my idea thread though), I feel a need to press for more unique mod types!

If you guys need concept pictures of anything in particular, let me know and I'll put some up.

Air superiority has been a BIG thing of Planetside. You never see them coming and they hit hard and fly off, dealing hoards of damage. But we never have had too much in the form of positive results of aircraft coming through. A Lodestar was too big and clunky to get to set up a repair and reload zone, and Galaxys would just drop off some troops and fly on out of there. So here are some ideas to give aircraft a greater supporting role to improve the quality of ground troops!

A quick review and contents so you lazy folk can see what it is and if it warrants reading.

Smoke Screen Mod - Drop smoke canisters

Ammo Drop Mod - Drop Ammo Boxes

Loadout Station Drop Mod - Drop temporary loadout stations

Light Vehicle Drop Mod - Drop an unmanned vehicle for infantry and receive experience from all kills made with it.

Defense Deployment Mod - Mod to allow a Galaxy to deploy and build larger fortifications and heavier turrets than engineers.

Smoke Screen Mod - This is essentially a bombing mod that drops smoke canisters instead of bombs. Using a rapid fire style release, so you can spread out or drop a straight line without the need of multiple presses of the firing button. This allows you to help deviate enemy fire from a battle force, by laying down a smoke screen between them and your allies to prevent vision and direct hits. It can also be used to help troops reach inside an enemy base with less casualties, and even be used on specific enemies to force them to stop fighting and exit the area.
A secondary addition to this mod is single fire COLORED smoke. Used to designate targets or locations for allied forces to do what they do best!
All smoke would reload one canister at a time and slowly, to prevent spam. They would also be limited in amount that can be carried at one time. Most likely only the Liberator and Galaxy should be able to use this mod.

Ammo Drop Mod - Similar to the smoke screen mod, it allows an aircraft to drop an ammo case on troops below. Only moderately bigger than the light assault ammo pack, the ammo case still supplies troops and a significant amount can be carried on one aircraft. Also, one great feature is it is loadable onto almost any aircraft as a secondary mod, allowing it to drop supplies while carrying out other missions along the way with less cost than other mods. Obviously simple, but obviously helpful.

Loadout Station Drop Mod - A Galaxy only mod that prevents it from becoming a spawn point or carrying many troops, if any at all. This mod allows the Galaxy to drop a temporary loadout station for troops below to change their class and loadouts with. A deployed Galaxy would be capable of more, but now it can drop a station into odd areas for troops to access that normally would receive no assistance. Drop them into forests, combat areas, and even onto bases. As a cloaker, what greater assistance could there be than having a loadout station dropped to the top of a base you infiltrated and switching to a heavy assault to blow the place to PIECES! Due note - This loadout station CANNOT equip MAXes. So you're limited to infantry since it is a temporary station.

Light Vehicle Drop Mod - Ok, this one sounds weird until you read it, so well, read on! Rather than transporting a light vehicle with a soldier in it, this mod allows you to select an UNMANNED LIGHT VEHICLE to drop into battle. This is great for when infantry is outmatched and waiting for someone to want to go there, get their vehicle out, load it up, and then go is too slow. Just spawn your Galaxy with the vehicle loadout selected, and drop it into battle. The vehicle you load your Galaxy with will cost YOUR OWN resources. This might sound bad, but there is ALWAYS a bonus to every cost. The first person who enters your dropped light vehicle will OWN it, but EVERY KILL they make gives YOU experience bonus, such as 25-50% for each kill. So, now, while it costs you something, you help out your side and get a bonus while you go do your deeds for the day.

Defense Deployment Mod - A large Galaxy type mod that allows the deployment of certain defenses to be manned by infantry. Much like an engineer ACE tool, the Galaxy can deploy heavier turrets and such than an engineer. All heavy deployments begin undeployed and deploy out if the Galaxy stays nearby, either landed or hovering nearby, making it a sitting duck if the pilot is adamant on the deployment. Other than turrets, some deployments are dragon's teeth (barricades), short walls (for infantry to duck behind and fire from), and even small repair stations that slowly repair vehicle and MAX armor.

SoNaR · 2012-05-16, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Zekeen

If you guys need concept pictures, let me know and I'll put some up.

Yes please and I like these ideas but the Loadout Station Drop Mod is unnecessary and would partially take away the role of a deployed galaxy.

I don't like every single one of your ideas but overall you have had some cool stuff, keep posting!

Zekeen · 2012-05-16, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by SoNaR

Yes please and I like!

I don't like every single one of your ideas but overall you have had some cool stuff, keep posting!

Well be sure to tell me what you don't like and what it is that you don't like about them. And which you do like. These are mostly concepts, they become ideas as they get fleshed out from constructive criticism.

I'll get start on concept art tonight, won't be hard since I did the same for my Galaxy mod thread.

SoNaR · 2012-05-16, 05:15 PM

updated my post^

Zekeen · 2012-05-16, 05:20 PM

Thanks, I'll tweak that one up. I want it to be very limited but capable of helping out a small band of people change for a situation, but not take away from other Galaxy functions.

Gonefshn · 2012-05-16, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by Zekeen

A secondary addition to this mod is single fire COLORED smoke. Used to designate targets or locations for allied forces to do what they do best!
All smoke would reload one canister at a time and slowly, to prevent spam. They would also be limited in amount that can be carried at one time. Most likely only the Liberator and Galaxy should be able to use this mod.

Want to see this in the game whether or not its used like you said in the post or is available to squad leaders as a grenade.

SoNaR · 2012-05-16, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by Gonefshn

Want to see this in the game whether or not its used like you said in the post or is available to squad leaders as a grenade.

Rally point Grenade?

Toppopia · 2012-05-16, 07:16 PM

With the ammo box idea, just be careful about giving enemy friendly supplies, maybe wind affects the boxes and they bounce wildly on the ground so they could end up anywhere

But a cool addition to that is from Halo 2, pelicans had drop pods with weapons inside them. Finally managed to find a picture after 10 minutes of searching.

This would be cool to see a Galaxy fly over and see these drop from the sky.

DaPope · 2012-05-16, 07:49 PM

Smoke Screen Mod -
My concern with this is that inexperience people or those wanting to @$$hat would simply drop this on their own people. You see this happen in almost any game that has smoke as an option. To me in most cases it is more of a headache that a tactical option.

Ammo Drop Mod -
I think this is a nice idea. In the same way infantry may want to take a support role this allows people with that same mindset to take a role using aircraft. You put your effort into equipping support instead of weapons. This can help out the resupply lines of advancing troops or to reenforce defenders who are in a difficult position. I think this could also extend to rearming/repairing vehicles as well.

Loadout Station Drop Mod -
The idea is neat but I think that it would be very limited in actual uses. To me rallying at a starting point makes more sense. It also requires you to work as a team and to be able to work with the forces you have in the field.

Light Vehicle Drop Mod -
Best idea of the group. This is certainly something that would be used often and effectively. It could be used to get a recon unit out of danger fast, allow a scouting team to have additional firepower, or to turn a small unit on foot into a flanking unit if the battle turns.

Defense Deployment Mod -
This is also a good idea, it helps to keep the front line moving in an advance or in defense you can put down roadblocks to allow your team to reenforce and prepare for the assualt.

Zekeen · 2012-05-16, 08:03 PM

You are right on the smoke being abusable, but people abuse everything and anything regardless of what you do. We're going to have people ramming a tank with their own to flip it, it just happens.

The loadout is for delivering equipment terminals to locations a Galaxy just can't get in (it's a big big ship - see "Clegging").But you are right, it probably wouldn't see much use. I believe that even bad ideas should be posted though, might give someone else a better idea.

Added some concept art