Regarding instakill via drop-pods

avpmaster · 2012-07-21, 03:51 PM

Seems to me as if the drop pods can become a massive annoyance if a player is apathetic about his k/d r, and constantly crashes down on enemy vehicles at the expense of his life. I just think that it's absurd that the prowess of a tank or a liberator becomes null knowing that a player can drop on it and destroy it, along with it's entire crew.

Suggestion: No damage penalty for vehicles / person in drop pod dies when collides with vehicle?

Just a thought.

Timealude · 2012-07-21, 03:53 PM

i imagine they arent really easy to aim and also its on a pretty long timer im also sure they can be shot out of the sky (source?)

ruskyandrei · 2012-07-21, 03:54 PM

I think you're going too far but I do agree.

Instead, I suggest the person in the drop pod take some damage (maybe down to 50% hp or so), and the impact target also take some damage ( a fixed amount, perhaps just enough to instantly kill infantry but only enough to do minor damage to something like an MBT or Lib/Gal).

Rasui · 2012-07-21, 03:59 PM

Random unavoidable death is a horrible thing to have in a game no matter how seldom it happens. I hope they take it out.

Shinjorai · 2012-07-21, 04:04 PM

Yeah because with the amount of people that are going to be on at any given time, even with the cooldown, it could get a little bit rediculous, i say on a direct hit let it do alot of damage but not completely destroy whatever it hits unless it was heavily damaged already.

Lets say you got two squads of griefers, thats 20 people, very possible it could happen, they all wait till their timer on the drop pods are reset and go on a griefing spree taking turns suicide bombing things, It could get a little out of hand and fast. So they definitely need to adjust the damage on it. I think its a reasonable mechanic they should keep in but not as an Insta Kill.

Rivenshield · 2012-07-21, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by ruskyandrei

I suggest the person in the drop pod take some damage (maybe down to 50% hp or so), and the impact target also take some damage ( a fixed amount, perhaps just enough to instantly kill infantry but only enough to do minor damage to something like an MBT or Lib/Gal).

That sounds about right.

OP raises a salient point, though. This is potentially one helluvan exploit. If a platoon of infantry hide their three spawn beacons in the area where, say, War Machine is operating... well... War Machine is toast. All that teamwork, all that heavy armor, all that careful preparation and coordination on their part -- as well as their fearful reputation -- is for naught, because a handful of kamikaze TR just guided their own personal Rods From God down on top of their Vannies.

As a loyal Terran, I think that's bullshit.

Littleman · 2012-07-21, 04:42 PM

These pods are large, fast, and extremely hot. I would imagine any aircraft basically having ANOTHER aircraft - built for atmospheric entry mind you - slamming into it would bring the bird down. The momentum alone would send even a galaxy careening into a fatal stall, never mind losing an entire wing.

Also considering these pods are designed to collide full speed into cold, hard earth, yeah... they're like giant bullets, nothing is going to take that and shrug it off.

Finally... I'm betting the insta-gibbing is more of a practical issue. What happens if a guy lands on a tank? Does he show up inside it? I'm sure the idea of landing on top of the tank has crossed SOE's minds, but they opted against it for reasons only they know.

But you know what I think? I think the solution to this problem is MUCH simpler: don't allow even the slightest amount of control over the pods decent. If you happen to cross right into that path, it really is your own fault. Extra points if actually hitting something in mid-air throws the pod off course.

BTW, that whole "hidden beacon, falling thunder" scenario is fairly contrived, and takes a good deal of teamwork in it's own right. Couple that with the fact that SOI's are likely to return - which will deny squad spawning within them, and possibly galaxy spawning as well - and really, I see sneaky people calling in a squad to bomb a forming tank column closer to an impossibility at worst, and a wasteful impracticality at best.

vVRedOctoberVv · 2012-07-21, 04:49 PM

I think you guys are really being ninnies about this. A drop pod killing what it lands on is perfectly fine. You can't really "AIM" the damn thing to any extent, you know. Even if you can nudge the course a little bit, unless something is stationary and DIRECTLY under you, your odds of hitting it are slim to nil.

Will it EVER happen? Yes, of course, just like people sometimes "win the lottery", but will people be able to consciously TARGET stuff with it? No, not so much... Seriously, don't worry so much.

Helwyr · 2012-07-21, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by Littleman

[...] I think the solution to this problem is MUCH simpler: don't allow even the slightest amount of control over the pods decent.

That would seem reasonable, combined with with some audio and visual indicators that a pod is descending close to you I really don't think it would be an issue.

Blackwolf · 2012-07-21, 04:59 PM

Adding guide light from pod to target would be ideal I think. This gives plenty of warning for everyone under the pod to clear the area and also for-warns them of incoming infantry/MAX suits or whatever, making the use of squad spawning limited to non-combat situations.

Changing the fact that it insta kills stuff? Bad idea. If it lands on you, that much steel at that temperature traveling at that speed is not going to feel like a fluffy bunny.

SFJake · 2012-07-21, 05:06 PM

I think there is one simple solution to this:

Sound.

The pods are apprently dropping from space, right? They should be making a decent amount of noise and there should be an obvious visual. They're after all, breaking through the atmosphere and going at very high speed toward the ground. These things would be making a lot of noise.

In other words, the last thing they should be is subtle, in every way.

Not only does that make them more epic overall, but it also makes sure that anyone paying a minimum of attention to their surrounding will not get randomly squashed. It might still be dangerous on vehicles however, if they can't look up enough (can they?). I think they should be able to look as high as they want in Third Person even if the cannon doesn't follow.

Blackwolf · 2012-07-21, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by SFJake

I think there is one simple solution to this:

Sound.

The pods are apprently dropping from space, right? They should be making a decent amount of noise and there should be an obvious visual. They're after all, breaking through the atmosphere and going at very high speed toward the ground. These things would be making a lot of noise.

In other words, the last thing they should be is subtle, in every way.

Not only does that make them more epic overall, but it also makes sure that anyone paying a minimum of attention to their surrounding will not get randomly squashed. It might still be dangerous on vehicles however, if they can't look up enough (can they?). I think they should be able to look as high as they want in Third Person even if the cannon doesn't follow.

Last I heard vehicles won't have 3rdPV

noxious · 2012-07-21, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

That sounds about right.

OP raises a salient point, though. This is potentially one helluvan exploit. If a platoon of infantry hide their three spawn beacons in the area where, say, War Machine is operating... well... War Machine is toast. All that teamwork, all that heavy armor, all that careful preparation and coordination on their part -- as well as their fearful reputation -- is for naught, because a handful of kamikaze TR just guided their own personal Rods From God down on top of their Vannies.

As a loyal Terran, I think that's bullshit.

Given the timer on squad spawning, it would take a non-trivial amount of coordination to orchestrate a strike like that. If the group of tanks remains mobile and aware of their surroundings (IE, have secondary gunners to watch the sky [for aircraft, not just drop pods, mind you]), then it should be possible for the vehicles to evade such a strike strike. Aircraft obviously do not have this luxury, but they also have much higher mobility-- as long as an aircraft remains mobile, only bad luck will cause death by drop pod.

Wolftdb · 2012-07-21, 05:43 PM

Maybe if they still have the drop but get rid of the Pod Halfway through the flight. Have the pod break into small sections which can either do damage or not. Make it similar to what is used in Section 8 Prejudice. That way there is no reason to have the Pod do so much damage and the delivery service is still the same.

Raymac · 2012-07-21, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by Blackwolf

Adding guide light from pod to target would be ideal I think. This gives plenty of warning for everyone under the pod to clear the area and also for-warns them of incoming infantry/MAX suits or whatever, making the use of squad spawning limited to non-combat situations.

Changing the fact that it insta kills stuff? Bad idea. If it lands on you, that much steel at that temperature traveling at that speed is not going to feel like a fluffy bunny.

That's not a bad idea.