Ammo Dispensing

[NewSith]

One simple thread before I go to bed.

Do we need ammo dispensing?

In the light of the latest LMG thread, a problem came to my mind. BF handles ammoboxes fine, but it is due to the game's scale. In PS having unlimited ammo would turn every indoor fight into a bloody meatgrinder. So what's your idea?

[Talek Krell]

I'd like to see something that involves a bit more logistics than the battlefield "one class has the job of spamming ammo boxes" system, but with enough flexibility and fall back options for it to be an interesting experience rather than a frustrating one.

I think providing a variety of options for a variety of situations would be best. I'm thinking of stuff like air or orbit (SL ability?) dropped supply crates, a few classes with the ability to carry some (but not limitless) spare ammo crates around, engineer deployables, hackable enemy terms, so on and so forth...

[CutterJohn]

I wouldn't say 'spamming', but I wouldn't mind engineers being able to set up ammo dispensers. Not an unlimited number like the BF series of games, more like the TF2 engineer. I'd be cool with medics setting up heal terminals as well. Unlike the aegis, however, i'd put this a lot lower in the skill tree.

Since there is no pack looting, I also wouldn't mind seeing enemies drop a generic 'reload' gizmo that gives you like 1/4 or whatever of your ammo. Tribes:Ascend has this, and it works quite nice.

Also, a BF2 style of supply drop as a squad/platoon leader ability would be quite nice.

[ThGlump]

I kinda expect that there wont be any ammo sharing. Ammo will be dropping from dead enemies no matter how many they have left. If they plan weapons as a rare drop, there must be some sort of common drop and that would be ammo.

System i would like would be dedicated support class for providing ammo, but nothing like infinite box in BF.
It would be created from nanites, so you could create any type based on whats needed (if you specialize high enough, you can create more bigger complex stuff like deci, medkids, repair/healing refils). You would have only limited amount of nanites so you have to choose carefully what to create.
Then standard resuply at terminals.

[Shogun]

since we will have no ams, we need some other method of setting up ammo dispersal. like a mobile weapon terminal as ce?

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by Shogun

since we will have no ams, we need some other method of setting up ammo dispersal. like a mobile weapon terminal as ce?

I'd put good money on the sunderer being the ground based spawn/equipment point.

[Xyntech]

I'm in favor of an engi deployed ammo supply. Make it either a limited supply, or take time to generate more ammo. More shit for engis to do, more ways to resupply, not so spammy.

I certainly hope there is a way to resupply like an AMS as well. At least through a landed Galaxy, but hopefully through a Sunderer.

[SKYeXile]

if they put in ammo dispensing they need a big flashing set of tits on screen to get the dicks attention to drop ammo, god dam germs in BF3 never drop that shit, it pisses me off, i always have to switch to pistol or loot some shit cunts weapon whos using an 8x scope in close quarters.

[Sirisian]

Yeah something like the BF dispenser as a deployable would be preferred. I've already made a thread about limited ammo as a gameplay mechanism. My second post in that thread discussed an ammo dispenser.

Not sure if should be engineering specific, but it's a nice support idea if the devs actually make ammo a problem.

It's interesting how many people don't like to deal with ammo in FPS games. Lot of differing ideas on if restocking ammo should be necessary at all.

It's not like we have an inventory. I imagine you spawn with a fixed amount of ammo now.

[SKYeXile]

Originally Posted by Sirisian

It's not like we have an inventory. I imagine you spawn with a fixed amount of ammo now.

that is unless you get the ammo perk....

[LongBow]

yeh, ammo is a though subject, but the simple fact is, in a "gen drop" senario or similar single room hold out, you need the *defenders* to have a limited ammo supply in order to avoid both sides getting stuck into a meat grinder that lasts much longer than it should.

[Rivenshield]

The problems of logistics and supply are part and parcel of what made PS1 great. We need ANTs, and we can't have infinite portable ammo supplies.

[Tasorin]

Logistics is one of the things that separated the heard of zerglings from the Clans who had a plan and made it work. I can deal with the Engineer class having a cert high up on there tree to dispense ONE LIMITED USE AMMO BOX, until the Engineer themselves hit a full terminal and loaded back up for battle. I would like to see this ability reduced to just one class though and not have it in multiple cert trees. By Limited Use Ammo, I mean an ammo box that will only dispense so much before it is depleted and then despawns. Hopefully that would reduce the use of Ammo Box's to those who specialized in the Engineer cert tree and not just dabbled, and not allow a single Engineer to spam a battlefield with Ammo Box's since they only get one per return to the terminal to reload. You could even add insult to injure to limit the use to extremely tactical if you put a cool down of say 20 minuets on the reuse of the Ammo Box per individual Engineer.

Let's say everyone has a percentage value of Ammo they are down in order to be fully loaded again. If you came up to the ammo box, and you needed 35% of your full load to re-supply, the Ammo crate would be reduced by 10% of your needed reload value. In this scenario the Ammo crate would be at 96.5% Capacity after you used it to reload 35% of your total ammo value. This would give Limited Ammo Box's the ability to completely refill a unit of 10 from 0% to 100% and then despawn. As well it would have a decay timer so it wouldn't be persistent say for more then 5 minuets.

That is just my two cents though.

[Talek Krell]

Originally Posted by Tasorin

As well it would have a decay timer so it wouldn't be persistent say for more then 5 minuets.

I dislike that idea. You wouldn't despawn a tank because the pilot left it alone for a while or make an engy lay a new minefield every few minutes, right? Granted that I'm operating on the assumption that it will be a bit like CE in PS1, where you can only carry a handful of ACEs at a time and have a set maximum for each CE type. Decay may make more sense in some other context, but I prefer things being persistent whenever possible.

[Tasorin]

Originally Posted by Talek Krell

I dislike that idea. You wouldn't despawn a tank because the pilot left it alone for a while or make an engy lay a new minefield every few minutes, right? Granted that I'm operating on the assumption that it will be a bit like CE in PS1, where you can only carry a handful of ACEs at a time and have a set maximum for each CE type. Decay may make more sense in some other context, but I prefer things being persistent whenever possible.

I was just trying to remove another possibility for exploiting them. Say if they decided that it would have a hit box and cause collision detection. Then since they are persistent you could stack them up and use them as road block barricades. Or the ability to go hide them off in the treeline from a control point and allow for continual re-supply until the Ammo Crate was depleted. With a decay timer in a short cycle it forces you to use it a little more tactically for a short window to group up, resupply, and move out and draw fire.