Let's be honest though guys we're asking for a lot, but believe me I want Psychopski's and Krage's suggestions in. What sucks for us is that we truly don't know yet how people are able to earn and purchase equipment, but I feel vehicles should be more about quality than quantity. The design of tanking in video games and the balancing act of pet-owning classes in RPG's and MMO's are honestly, remarkably similar its not even funny. If you've noticed, RPG classes that own only one pet usually are strong classes with great melee and ranged capacities, while classes capable of controlling more than one pet at once usually are fragile nukers like the Necromancer in Diablo-2. My point is, if tanks are capable of being fully utilized to their complete effectiveness with only one player, acting as driver and gunner, we'll end up in a scenario of numerous vehicles brought onto the battlefield that are weak, cheap and not potent, that'll wither away quickly in battle. Whereas when vehicular combat requires multiple players to fully operate it, they can be "realistic" and die from well-placed shots to like Red Orchestra, but the game will naturally shift them towards decisive monsters prowling battlefield zones with an elite cadre that knows the in's and out's of their equipment. So I would enjoy if they taken the Planetside-1 route with high vehicle durability and multiple positions, yet as these two above me suggest, we also need some sort of dynamic that makes players in EC "pull back" their armored contraptions rather than suicide-running them when they're almost down. I'm skeptical on going to far with so much depth realism that'll it be tedious maintaining vehicles in the game in throngs of circumstances, but basically summarizing every vehicle with major parts susceptible to several levels of strength would be awesome. I concur. 1. Tank Turret(s) 2. Hull. 3. Engine. 4. Right Track. 5. Left Track. If track-based vehicles lose tracks we can divide it so both sides have their own durability, and implement an interesting aspect of the game whereas the driver can still move it around albeit very slowly and only on one side. Lets have indicators concerning all these components replicating Mechwarriors 3D display of the Mech's status in the bottom-section of the HUD, signifying percentage of damage inflicted by color-coding. That'll completely streamline and balance out this system. Its not that I want to prevent one-shot or two-shot component kills, those will exist naturally by high-grade weaponry, not an issue, but if an low or mid-tier anti-armor weapon effectively slashed 50% of an enemy vehicles section health, display it for the players within the vehicle. We can tie this system to both friendlies and enemies by ranks in certain skills. Enemies can identify through psionics or mechanics skills, analyzing vehicles and having read to them on the screen specifically how much was damaged. But if we want to have such an in depth damage system present in this game, which I honestly doubt will go anywhere near that far mate, heavy vehicles in general will need to be few-and-far between in the game world so they're not overbearing, and with this comes high durability and great expense.
After reading this thread we also need to consider 40K lore, for example a lot of Chaos war machines are possessed (although this isn't a requirement), Eldar war machines are powered by spirit stones, Space Marine Dreadnoughts are the tombs of honoured warriors ect. So there are a lot of war machines that cannot be used by a player. Personally I would like to see neutral tanks and war machines on the field, high powered, can be captured by any faction that can do it and that have respawn times when destroyed. Also a tank that you are driving that gets blown to bits should be killing those in it instantly.
Forgotten about that, you're correct, but this shouldn't present to us from face value an obstacle, but an opportunity to create more unique game features alongside what will be the main vehicle mechanic of purchasing, earning them and accessing them. Plus, as much as everyone here I see loves 40K lore, this is a game, and to sacrifice gameplay for lore will do nobody any good. Dreadnoughts shouldn't abide by lore, they should most effectively mirror how MAX's in Planetside are acquired. Sure, you could also implement an intuitive minor feature that allows deceased Marine players to be allowed access to Dreadnoughts if they performed a good K/D ratio, that'd be great. But it would be most simple and enjoyable if it was like a certification that allowed players to eventually earn Dreadnoughts by empirical resources and individual chosen skills. Honestly though having a high K/D ratio to earn one would be pretty fucking badass too...
I'm thinking in the beginning vehicles will be limited to things like bikes and boars., these are vehicles that could be effectively summoned by a player without too much impact on the game. Maybe larger vehicles should be summoned from depots (so long as you meet the minimum conditions)? This way at least you can be "chopped up and stuffed" in a dreadnought, unable to leave your new plasteel body until you get killed and respawn.
I hope not, it's way too big, the transport could load and carry 2 Rhinos. On the table top the Thunderhawk was a deployment tool or a special ability not a usable model (at least back in the day when I was playing). Thunderhawks as units were only ever used in Titan Legions, even things like the Baneblade (someone mentioned it earlier in the thread) was a Titan Legions unit and was never in the table top game of 40K, the 1st time I saw one used in a 40K scenario was in Dawn of War. Something like the Ork Battle Wagon would be interesting though, being that it has no upper troop carrying limit (you can bundle as many orks on it as you like and if they fall off they take damage).
1 driver and 1 gunner plain and simple but if its just a transport then 1 driver and lotsa passenger seats
I feel like you should spawn as a vehicle, and die as the same vehicle. Because realistically, People wouldn't jump out if their tank if they see enemy anti-armour troops, they simply wouldn't have that option. Partly because rhey wouldn't have the time it would take to get out of the thing, partly because they would be in serious trouble for abandong a tank. Kinda how no soldier would just drop their weapon, and pick up someone else's. So, when you log into the game, you have the option to spawn as one of several infantry classes, or as one of several vehicles. And this system would allow you to use those demonically possessed chaos war machines, and similar things. (transports being somewhat of an exception, you can jump in and out of them as infantry, but the driver still remains the driver, gunners remain gunners, etc.)
I'm not sure I agree with this, the point of playing this game in an MMO style is that I am my toon/character, so I wouldn't want to have to switch and become a possessed vehicle. I agree as far as things like Dreadnoughts are concerned that you shouldn't be able to jump out of them and run off but I do not like the idea of spawning as a vehicle. In my mind there should be several "mount" style vehicles that you can summon, these could be bikes, anti-grave bikes, boars, eventually Imperial guard rough rider horses. All other vehicles you should have to go to a depot/spawn point for and, if you have the unlocks open, you can then spend an in game earned currency to buy a larger vehicle (singularly if you want a walker or Dreadnought, as a group if you want a 2, 4 or 6 man vehicle). If you are in a walker or the designated driver of the vehicle then you are bound in it until it blows up, you log out (and therefore lose it) or you drive it back to the depot and get your partial currency returned, everyone else should be able to bail out regardless if or no that they are gunners or in a transport. Anyone in a vehicle that blows up dies. This way it will limit the number of vehicle on the field as it will cost you currency (be that some form of credit or valour earned from kills or some form of XP) to buy the vehicle, which you will lose if you log or die, and it gives an incentive for survival as you will get a partial return on your currency by driving it back to the depot (maybe the same currency will repair it after taking it takes damage, or a tech priest/mek can do battle field repairs).
Well, the point of playing the game in an MMO style is to have hundreds to thousands of players shooting each other to death. Remember, it is primarily a TPS rather than an RPG. For some vehicles, being able to buy them at a base would make sense, so I agree that could be included (This could include most things). However things like Dreadnoughts, Defilers, Killa Kanz (I think someone on this forum mentioned that Orks inside one of those can't get out), and other such things, you would have to spawn as them instead of one of your regular classes.
