I like this option...The main problem here is that this game has a very organised structure for units... let's say a full strike force wants to mobilize...they get 8 rhinos for 80 people, and they decide to get some predators...with the 3-man crews, they would get 6 predators for 18 people (some crewed from members from various squads) and 2 unlucky people should get bikes or another rhino, or stay home...with the option of 5 man crews, it works out perfectly...gameplay related compromise, but a logical one...
admittedly, there will always be compromises in the name of gameplay. I mean, normally your average Ork isn't expected to stand up to your average Marine.
The only possible reason to want driver+gunner is to be able to tank alone. If you can't operate a tank with a team then you shouldn't be in a tank. Forcing the driver to also gun is only a nerf to the tankers who are willing to be a team. No, Smedley, it's not "more fun this way". It fucking sucks for everyone involved.
All you have too do is look at PS2. Letting a player drive and fire the main gun at the same time is not good for game play.
You are absolutely right on that Dark-Knight, i hadn't read that part of "Imperial Armour Vol 2 - Space Marines & Forces of the Inquisition" and it makes more sense on the newer Predators. but in my opinion it's a strategic downgrade to have one gunner controlling several weapons with different field of fire. so i still prefer 2ed with 1 Driver and 3 Gunners. So my guess is that Forgeworld wanted to upgraded the Predator with remoted sponsons but the Guard only got maned guns.
MBT comprises all the goodness of Light, Medium, Heavy in 1 tank, it has Speed, Mobility, Powerful gun, Tough Armor and a reasonable cost to produce. Predator has all of this characteristics, it has a tough front armor, its autocannon can punch through Armor and Infantry alike, why is it a son of light tank and Cruiser tank? Cruiser tank is the concept used only by British Army in WW2, it is basically a mix of Light tank and Medium tank, the rest of the world used Light/Med/Heavy classification.
5 seat Predator vs a 12 seat Rhino. I have no doubt that both the cost and potency of the Predator will be scaled to a level where you want to stay in the thing and would never ditch it without a good reason. People continue to raise the "Predator as transport" concept and it's never going to be that way. It just won't be balanced until they have open world tests and they can compare the functionality of their specialized roles. They don't use a Rhino for it's intended purpose during the stream playtests, just a Damocles spawn point. There are other ways to circumvent the imbalance, such as making the Rhino faster and adding a fast-deployment mechanic but ultimately it's the Rhino's lower cost and capacity that will make it the premier transport. I see the logic of 3 man MBT crews, but it smacks of obvious lone-wolfism when people go straight to "1-2 tank crew !!" rather than talk about alternative ideas to ensure that Rhinos/Razorbacks fulfill the main transport roll, and that's not where EC is going. Live and die by the team.
Maybe I'm mistaken but aren't some weapon systems controlled by the machine spirit? or can't all of them be. I mean lore-wise. Speaking of lore, chapters pretty much can custom make their armour, not to mention traitor marines who can do whatever they want. It's not like they are tied down as to what to do with their equipment. Hell i even read how thunderhawks got turned into freaking boats. So the number a tank occupies doesn't conflict with lore imo. However by having half a squad in a tank makes the squad weaker, in the sense that if you want to use 10 predators that's 50 less infantrymen you are going to get. With enough devastators and anti-munitions you just wasted tons of requisition and manpower for nothing. So this balances things out, two-man tanks are ok but are fucked if flanked, one-man tank can't do anything. So this decision is sensible. Mind you even if you don't get blown up, just by seeking cover and evading lascannon fire will already take you out of the fight partially.
