New Idealab Work In Progress: Commander-occupied Vehicles

[Hayoo]

The Concept: When a player with Command Rank enters a vehicle in the gunner or passenger seat, he or she will now be able to access an onboard CUD and it's functions according to their rank. This CUD may be engaged by switching firemodes with the right mouse button.



When selected, the player then presses the fire key and the Command Ability window will appear.

A single communications antenna will also appear on the vehicle if a gunner/passenger is of Command Rank or is a squad leader. If he is both, two antenna will appear on the vehicle.

EMP Blast and Orbital Strike abilities are not available with vehicle CUDs. Commanders may access Reveal Friendlies, Reveal Enemies, and Squad Home Base options.

Future concepts will include communications, map board, and other abilities.

Interface Images:

[Hayoo]

[myrtar]

aerials! awesome!

[MasterCalaelen]

God, just the antennas alone are sexeh and make the vehicle look way better.

But I doubt if anyone uses the Reveal Friendliess/Enemies command while in a vehicle, since your just shooting stuff.

And EMP Blast from the Vehicle would be great however, that way you can clear minefields from inside the vehicle instead of having to go outside the vehicle.

OS's are cool with not being able to get launched from inside the vehicle though.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by MasterCalaelen

But I doubt if anyone uses the Reveal Friendliess/Enemies command while in a vehicle, since your just shooting stuff.

It's a matter of convenience being able to do it on the move, especially if you are in a tank squad searching for targets. And don't forget that there are more command rank abilities coming from the devs, and depending on what those abilities are, being able to access them while safely in a moving vehicle would be a boon to squads.

And EMP Blast from the Vehicle would be great however, that way you can clear minefields from inside the vehicle instead of having to go outside the vehicle.

Because I'm creating an engineering vehicle for safely removing mines (and laying different types of them), I don't have any plans to include the EMP ability for vehicle CUDs. Were this included it would effectively turn every tank or transport with a CR-ranked occupant into a mine-clearing vehicle, which wouldn't be very good to have in the game.

*shrug* Just my perspective.

[myrtar]

heh, it would turn them into anti-bfr monsters, too, having the ability to jam them from your vehicle, then open fire... but the reveal option from inside the vehicle would be lovely. it's something that inconveniences me almost nightly, having to debark to uplink.

[Hayoo]

Another little cosmetic thing I want to add is that whenever you access the CUD menu from inside, or send a command message, a blue blinky flashes at the top of the antenna. It's kinda the same deal when a CR uses a CUD while on the ground, but without that strange blue beam of light. Plus it'll add a little excitement to hunting Squad Leaders and CR's since enemies can see the antenna and this blinky as well.

"I count 3 prowlers coming down the road."
"Command Tank, 10 o'clock! Double antenna!"
"All tanks target command track. Fire!"

You have been awarded 210 experience points for the kill and 100 experience points for killing a unit leader.
You have recieved the Assassination merit for this kill.

Oh, did I forget to mention you get points and merits for killing CRs and squad leaders now? heheheh.

[Binks]

Sunderbus w/ antennae for the win! This is an awesome idea. I totally agree w/ not being able to OS...that would just be stupid...however EMP should be usable from certain vehicles...ATV's possibly, APC's most likely (deli, maybe varients though I'm personally against this) and sunderbuses...and being able to reveal friendlys from inside a vehicle would be nice, I'd be able to do stuff like "Hmm...large pocket of friendlys under those hotspots, lets get over tehre and check it out"...<3 the sunderbuss antennae

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Binks

Sunderbus w/ antennae for the win!

I'm glad you like it. :) It does look pretty sexy, don't it.

however EMP should be usable from certain vehicles...ATV's possibly, APC's most likely (deli, maybe varients though I'm personally against this)

I'm considering the EMP being usable from an engineering vehicle, probably an unarmed (or lightly armed) Lightning variant or one of my own design. I'd like breaching defenses to be a teamwork effort, with the mine clearing vehicle providing the safe lane, supported by tanks and infantry.

[IncomingFire]

Originally Posted by Hayoo

Another little cosmetic thing I want to add is that whenever you access the CUD menu from inside, or send a command message, a blue blinky flashes at the top of the antenna. It's kinda the same deal when a CR uses a CUD while on the ground, but without that strange blue beam of light. Plus it'll add a little excitement to hunting Squad Leaders and CR's since enemies can see the antenna and this blinky as well.

Empire specific blinky? Or just blue which isn't a very festive color and might tick the TR and VS off making them complain even more :P.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by IncomingFire

Empire specific blinky? Or just blue which isn't a very festive color and might tick the TR and VS off making them complain even more :P.

meh. it can be whatever. sure, empire specific. :) I chose blue because that's the color I see when NC CR5s access their CUDs. If it's purple/red for the other empires, then it should be the same for the vehicle CUDs.

[Pyrotechnic]

Hehe, nice pics, very well made. I agree with not having the EMP available in a vehicle, that would be overpowered IMO. The reveal e/f is fine though.

[Hayoo]

Thanks, Pyro. :)

[myrtar]

Originally Posted by Hayoo

You have been awarded 210 experience points for the kill and 100 experience points for killing a unit leader.
You have recieved the Assassination merit for this kill.

Oh, did I forget to mention you get points and merits for killing CRs and squad leaders now? heheheh.

that concept is terrifying.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by martyr

that concept is terrifying.

LOL. Exactly. Right now, any CR, or unit leader for that matter, only has the fear of your average grunt. You don't get the sense that players are actually gunning for you, a leader, like they would in a real war. Cut off the head and the body whithers and all that. It's about time leaders felt the risks of the position they have worked so hard to attain, and it's about time that players understand how you can affect the enemy by taking out (or delaying) their leaders. :)

Those who are in it for commanding will have the sense to take the necessary precautions like running with your squad, wearing a cloak suit, holing up in a base or tower pouring over their maps, or commanding from a mobile vehicle. This new perspective is also useful for my Command Post emplacements. If the enemy spots one, they'll feel the urgency in taking it out: in other words, another mission option for the strategy-minded..and hey, they get more XP and Merits for it. Mwahahah!

[StarRaven118]

WayHey!!! now this i pray gets put into the game. its a simple concept and makes getting CR more worthwhile. now peeps get CR just for the CUD abilities. it be nice to be worth something if you die and maybe make you more inclined to use those skills that you are worth.

p.s im rambling but i really like this

[Murphdawg]

What's with the icons in the squad names? And what is that other bar inbetween health and armor for?

Antenna's look sweet. Are they only for SLers and cr5s? If you were in a Raider with SLer and 4 cr5s. Would there be 5 antennas? =o

[Murphdawg]

Originally Posted by Hayoo

LOL. Exactly. Right now, any CR, or unit leader for that matter, only has the fear of your average grunt. You don't get the sense that players are actually gunning for you, a leader, like they would in a real war. Cut off the head and the body whithers and all that. It's about time leaders felt the risks of the position they have worked so hard to attain, and it's about time that players understand how you can affect the enemy by taking out (or delaying) their leaders. :)

Those who are in it for commanding will have the sense to take the necessary precautions like running with your squad, wearing a cloak suit, holing up in a base or tower pouring over their maps, or commanding from a mobile vehicle. This new perspective is also useful for my Command Post emplacements. If the enemy spots one, they'll feel the urgency in taking it out: in other words, another mission option for the strategy-minded..and hey, they get more XP and Merits for it. Mwahahah!

What about Outfit leaders? =(

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Murphdawg

What's with the icons in the squad names? And what is that other bar inbetween health and armor for?

Antenna's look sweet. Are they only for SLers and cr5s? If you are were in a Raider with SLer and 4 cr5s. Would there be 5 antennas? =o

That's part of my Squad HUD proposals. The gun means that squad member is a gunner. The steering wheel means that guy is driving a vehicle. And so on. If the person has an REK in hand, an REK icon will appear. The middle bar lets his squadmates know how far along he is when hacking something. The same middle bar is used to display progress on repairing, healing, or whatever.

For Antennas, the most any vehicle can have is two. If that squad leader has CR1+ then the Raider will have two antenna. If he is CR0, then it will only have one. If the SL exits the vehicle, and only the CR5's remain, but none of them are a Squad Leader, then there will only be one antenna. I'm thinking that Outfit Leader status will count toward an antenna.

Originally Posted by Murphdawg

What about Outfit leaders? =(

You can get XP bonus and the Assassination Merit for killing Outfit Leaders too. As for command options, if they're a CR1+ or Squad Leader, then all the appropriate command abilities apply.

[Murphdawg]

They need something different. Like a real commander ;)

[DarthS]

I feel reveal friendlies/enemies would be most useful for airborne units, although big arials would look a bit daft on some of the aircraft.

For example, you in a Reaver and you know theres enemy spawning at an AMS close by, *Click*...Ah-HA! BOOM!

Or in rapid reaction units mounted up in galaxies, your on route to a target and you notice an enemy hack on a friendly facility. Not sure if anyone's on it? Reveal friendlies/enemies to see whats going on without having to wait in command chat for a responce.

Personally, I rarely use my reveal comand abilities, but with this I'd use them much much more.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by DarthS

I feel reveal friendlies/enemies would be most useful for airborne units, although big arials would look a bit daft on some of the aircraft.

For example, you in a Reaver and you know theres enemy spawning at an AMS close by, *Click*...Ah-HA! BOOM!

Or in rapid reaction units mounted up in galaxies, your on route to a target and you notice an enemy hack on a friendly facility. Not sure if anyone's on it? Reveal friendlies/enemies to see whats going on without having to wait in command chat for a responce.

Personally, I rarely use my reveal comand abilities, but with this I'd use them much much more.

If the reveal ability were placed in an aircraft, I would keep it as far away from Air Cav as possible, simply because it's a solo cert, how rapidly they can respond, and how everyone seems to have certed it anyway. By comparison, ground vehicles must navigate terrain, so letting all of them have antennae (with the exception of ATVs and AT veh) would be fine.

If I were to have it in aircraft, I would put it in a Galaxy Variant, as kind of an Radar/Command plane, with no weapons, but maybe some countermeasures. The operators on board would then vector in aircraft to the target.

[myrtar]

awacs galaxy, perhaps - replace the guns with antennae, radar, and uplink?

maybe advanced feature for a passenger cr5 to jam enemy OSes once every 5min?

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by martyr

awacs galaxy, perhaps - replace the guns with antennae, radar, and uplink?

maybe advanced feature for a passenger cr5 to jam enemy OSes once every 5min?

Yes, that would be a good feature to intice a commander to use the gal.

[DarthS]

A nice idea, but of limited potential I think. You simply don't get that level of coordination in Planetside that you'd require supporting aircraft such as AWACs.

Who would sit up there in the sky over a pitched battle with no defensive turrets, easy prey for mossies and libs and reavers and starfires? It would have to provide one hell of a benifit to make it worthwhile.

A giant mossie radar perhaps, range of a base SOI? That would achieve the same effect. It would certainly make interlink fights a little less one-sided.

In the outfit level, deciding where to comit your gal of forces in a pitched battle is important. Knowing where the enemy is located before you drop is worth a hell of a lot, but I wouldn't give up all my guns for it. At the most, the side guns, never the tail gun. Thats just suicide.

I conceed the point on aircav however.

[DrizzCat]

Any one in the REcon Wing on the Wind Wraiths in GoTR would, Hell Even I would, Us Lib pilots have ended up "On Station" at a base for a Full hack count, Just circling in the Airspace

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by DarthS

A nice idea, but of limited potential I think. You simply don't get that level of coordination in Planetside that you'd require supporting aircraft such as AWACs.

The reason you don't get that coordination is because leaders don't have the tools to do so. A fast command platform with extra map, radar, and comm features would go a long way on the battlefield.

Who would sit up there in the sky over a pitched battle with no defensive turrets, easy prey for mossies and libs and reavers and starfires? It would have to provide one hell of a benifit to make it worthwhile.

A giant mossie radar perhaps, range of a base SOI? That would achieve the same effect. It would certainly make interlink fights a little less one-sided.

There are plenty of leaders who would like to be that eye-in-the-sky, myself included. And it doesn't have to sit over a pitched battlefield either. I'm pretty sure I never said or implied that. AWACS certainly don't, so there's no reason to assume this variant would either. I would shoot down the idea myself if someone proposed such a silly mode of operation.

Ground-based command vehicles would have to be a bit closer:



But this galaxy variant would have a wide radius for its abilities and could hover just outside the danger zone. And yeah, having a tail gunner wouldn't be too hard to rationalize considering the kind of target it is. I wouldn't go so far as a structure-penetrating radar though, just aircraft detection and OS jammer in addition to the ability to use Reveal friendlies/enemies from within the craft, plus whatever extra map goodies I have cooked up elsewhere.

[Hayoo]

Antennae chart

[Aut]

Then the CR5 haters know what vehicles to grief! oh noes. . . anyway, I like it! It would could help with armor colums and just knowing where your commander is.

[myrtar]

Originally Posted by Hayoo

Antennae chart

ooh, i do like that. OLs should definitely get some perks

[Hayoo]

Yeah, I wanted to give OL some visual perks, similar to the CR armor, but more subtle and personal.

Antennae are good for vehicles, but I need something for OL on their armor. I was thinking the left shoulder pad would be ideal. Many people have suggested outfit rank and/or outfit merits go there.

I would also like a visual for SL and PL, like on the front of their helmets or something. Maybe 1 bar or dot for SL, and three for PL.

[DviddLeff]

Outfit rank should go on the left shoulder at least.

Although, Id love to get whole new armour looks for the ranks, getting increasingly decorative as you go up the ranks. Id like to see outfit leaders with full capes, animal furs, massive shoulder pads, trophies, hell, maybe even banners like samurai...

Im all for making SL/PLs stand out as well, dots would do it, but Id like some kind of shoulder antenna to represent their ability to lay waypoints for the rest of the squad.

[Hayoo]

I don't know how animal furs and capes would look on a modern battlefield, but sure, whatever makes an outfits unique. :)

[DviddLeff]

Lol, I know, but I just think it would look badass :)

I think its from my Games Workshop days... all the leaders had ornate/special armour and tons of visual goodies to make them stand out from the crowd.

[Hayoo]

But then we'd start seeing new empty outfits pop up everywhere so players could get the perks. :D People are so predictable.

But we do have the outfit point system to keep this from happening....which unfortunately would lead to the "many" helping the "few" get cool unique goodies. It's a vicious cycle. It must be broken, and I have a plan for that:

Step 1: Collect underpants
Step 3: Success

[DviddLeff]

But what is step 2?!?

Yeah, Outfit point totals would have to be reached to get the armour upgrades across the outfit (even the basic guys would get upgrades eventually). This pushes people into outfits, and that can only lead to more organisation and more friends being made.

[firestar73]

This is a cool idea but what about dedicated command vehicles like the AWACS Galaxy i saw on the vehicles page

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by firestar73

This is a cool idea but what about dedicated command vehicles like the AWACS Galaxy i saw on the vehicles page

It would act as a mosquito with a much larger radar to detect other aircraft at range. Anything flying above 100m would be detected about 400-600m out.