In terms of control - I think the driver should drive the tank and control a defense weapon (firing port or something from the front hatch), not the main cannon. Doing that would keep people from rushing in, thinking they can take the whole enemy faction head on.
Pretty much everything Traejun posted. While I certainly think vehicles have a place on the battlefield, I don't want them to become more desirable to control than one's own toon.
i agree. and you should need at least 2-3 members to run a transport vehicle and 3-4 to drive and fire a tank like a predator
Battle tanks: Rare sight on battlefield High healthy/armor moderate sustained damage transports (trukks, chimeras and the like): numerous lightly armored customizable to be more defensive or offensive
That shouldn't be an issue, anyone could do the same in Planetside-1, except if you didn't have great certifications, individual skill, and teamwork you're driving around half-wasted hulks. Aircraft was different of course, but you couldn't win the war by vehicular combat alone. Not everyone is going to pull of tank convoys decimating an opposing empire in this either, but when they do, with co-ordinated player infantry squads by Teamspeak or Ventrilo, that's where it'll prove it works. Nobody should be prevented from spawning most vehicles, lest it involves empire-wide resources, which in that case should be confined to the "guilds" of the four empires present or something. I'm talking outta my ass, but the more I see Eternal Crusade go along the PS1 in parallel, the happier and much more confident I am of this MMO. Individual vehicles, no matter what they are, being those monstrous tanks or titans in Warhammer's universe, should be able to accomplish much without infantry alongside them. Its logic.
They also said they are looking into making Predator tanks and equivalents require 4 players to man at max capacity I hope they do.
I certainly hope vehicles in 40K aren't an afterthought like so many of today's games on console and PC. I've played several tank sims in years past, it seems most, if not all the games that have come out in the last several years are total garbage when it comes to simulating armored combat. Developers pour tons of resources and man hours into cutting edge customization and a "realistic feel" for their infantry play, then lob on a single 3rd person view for their vehicles, with no customization for vehicles, no damage models for vehicles, ect, ect. Shoot any vehicle X amount of times and it goes boom, regardless of which side your shooting, extremely lame. I hope to see: -realistic damage models for all vehicles. Armor values for frontal, side, rear, top armor, sloped armor, tracks. A main gun that can be knocked out, without the entire vehicle being destroyed. -Ability to repair vehicles in the field. A thrown track repair mechanic, that takes X amount of minutes to repair. -3 different views or stations for tanks. Gunners seat with different views, normal and zoom gunsite view with adjustable range. Commanders seat with viewfinder(limited view) when buttoned up, plus the ability to unbutton and scan with binoculars, or use a bolter to fight off infanty close in. Drivers seat, with limited vision. -some mechanic that allows for resupplying your vehicle(ammo, fuel, replacing dead crew members) without having to respawn. -customization for tanks/vehicles. Ability to upgrade armor at the cost of speed. Change main gun type(launchers, plasma cannon, lascannon, ballistic rounds, ect). Different paint schemes for different chapters. -Command vehicles with enhanced communications abilities, +morale bonuses for nearby troops, ect. -Multi-crew: the ability to invite friends to crew a tank with you. P1 controls commander, main gunner, p2 controls driver, hull gunner. This should be INVITE ONLY. I've played some games where any random bozo can hop into your vehicle, which becomes more of a nuisance rather than adding to the overall experience. -Rank requirements for vehicles. Nothing worse than seeing some of the best equipment in other games I've played being driven from the spawn straight into enemy lines and instantly destroyed by overzealous newbies. Time of mission 30 seconds.... I've played other tank sims and had missions last 2 to 3 hours in the same vehicle, with no respawns, multiple enemies killed.
I like alot of your suggestions as well, my favorite is the trade off for different performance of vehicles. More Armor? Maybe a mine-roller? It will go slower. No extra Armor plating? Engine Enhancements? It goes faster but goes boom easier. IMO Tanks should definitely have that slight stall between going backwards, forwards, and pivoting. I think most games with armor make them too nimble sometimes. Balancing the Eldar vehicles is going to be a pain, much like how the grav tank in PS2 is hands down the best due to being able to strafe and "juke" missiles. If they go this route with Eldar those things better have paper mache armor by comparison to the more immobile armor the other factions have.
