ESFs, Airframes, and Increased Variety

[Varsam]

I was bored, so I decided to get down some thoughts on ESFs that have been stewing in my head lately.

So I've heard a lot of talk (read: complaining) both in-game and around the forums about the lack of variation in air vehicles, specifically the combat roles of the ESF. Supposedly the airframes are a way to specialize in a particular playstyle. But while they all do different things, the differences are relatively minute, and does not stop the ESFs from performing the same roles even when equipped with different airframes. It is still entirely possible to hoverstrafe ground targets without the hover frame for example, or dogfight without the dogfighting frame. Currently, the dogfighting airframe is the defacto preference for pilots, since encountering enemy ESFs is a very common occurrence and can prove fatal if not properly equipped. The hoverframe comes in second, and the racer frame comes last, since it often doesn't particularly enhance any combat aspect of the ESF except its ability to run away.

Rather than introducing new vehicles entirely to the game, I propose we rebalance the airframes (and rocketpods) to give them more definitive roles, and add more variety and meaning to player choice when determining loadout. The ideas I had keep with my belief that certifications should not necessarily be direct upgrades over the vanilla version, but ways to specialize into a different playstyle.

Racer High Speed Airframe: This would be the most drastic change, I think. Since the current role it fills is very poorly defined, I propose we rebalance the racer frame so that it significantly increases top speed and acceleration (by 50-100%, as opposed to the 15% maximum that it does now)... at the cost of reducing effectiveness of its airbrake and removing hover ability almost entirely. Vertical thrust would be almost completely removed (a small portion would have to remain in order for the craft to make safe landings), and the inertia of the craft would be much lower, so that slowing down or stopping midair would cause the craft to plummet quickly. This transforms the Racer ESF into a quasi fixed wing fast attack craft, capable of quick travel and insertion, but incapable of sustained close air support. A racer ESF kitted for anti-air would be a terror to other aircraft. Kitting for anti-ground would allow it to truly strafe targets from relative safety, while severely hindering its ability to hit moving targets by taking away its ability to match speed without adversely affecting its own movement.

Hover Stability Airframe: This would also be significantly changed. I propose a significant boost in its inertia, vertical thrust, and horizontal attitude, so that the vehicle behaves more like a helicopter than what we now think of as ESFs. In turn, it would sacrifice acceleration, top speed, and momentum so that, while the aircraft would be capable of hovering without the use of vertical thrust (making it a much more stable platform from which to attack ground targets), it would need to use vertical thrust to enact fast movement. This turns the hover ESF into what most people think of as a gunship or close attack craft. Kitting anti-air turns the hover ESF into a stable and dangerous deterrent to other aircraft, able engage at ranges ground-based AA would be incapable of affecting. kitting anti-ground turns it into true close air support.

Dogfighting Airframe: I propose no changes, other than perhaps a slight boost to things previously covered by the other airframes. This frame should retain the hybrid quality of ESFs that we are currently familiar with. It would be capable of all the things that the other frames are capable of, but much less effectively.

In addition, I think significant changes to the cosmetics of the ESFs would help friendly and enemy players to determine what kind of aircraft are around them. Racer ESFs would have wider fixed wings, thrusters oriented to the rear, and a louder, higher pitched sound. Hover ESFs would have their wings replaced by larger thrusters oriented downwards, removal of rear thrusters, and a deeper, more resonating sound signature. And dogfighting ESFs would retain their current aesthetic theme.

Lastly, I think rocket pods need their AOE significantly reduced to reduce their viability against infantry, since they make the nosegun equivalents pretty redundant. But that's just me.

Thoughts?

[Rothnang]

There are two problems that I see with that:

Airframes are certs that you build up in ranks and you can also fly an ESF without one, meaning that if they change the functionality of the aircraft too drastically you might end up with a situation where the best possible airframe is a rank 1 or 2 where you maintain the best overall balance of traits.

Secondly, making the same unit do wildly different things while looking the same is possible, but it really doesn't make for a very good gameplay experience. You should be able to see what you are fighting. It shouldn't be a guessing game if the unit you are looking at is a helicopter or a fighter jet. That would be poor design. Changing the appearance of the craft may make identification at short ranges possible, but from far away they would still all look the same and show up with their regular tag. We already see that with Lightning tanks, from the air you can't tell if they are completely harmless to you or carry the best AA weapon in the game until you get close enough for them to blow you away if it's the latter.