Originally Posted by Malorn
Please, you may not like me or my outfit, but don't make shit up. We were not incompetent noobs and we were quite quick to adapt to BFRs as much as was possible in that early insanity in late 2004. This little story you describe never happened. When we rolled vanguards we always focus-fired BFRs (and every other vehicle for that matter) for the simple ridiculous reality that a single vanguard's damage could be out-healed by the shield of a BFR. You had to focus fire to kill them and everyone in Liberty who drove and gunned a tank was painfully aware of that fact. We understand the basic and fundamental concept of focus-fire in games and have for about two decades, thanks.
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First, I disliked you and your outfit no more or no less than I did my own. That incident only served to illustrate my point that the underlying problem with BFRs was less a problem of game mechanics and more one of the small & vocal minority who happened to constitute the majority of the forum population not adapting their tactics to the situation. As for that incident itself, you can believe what you want since I can't change what you wish to hear and I was laughing too hard to take screen shots at the time (assuming I had figured out which key took them). However I still have a good laugh remembering how those tanks (if you were leading them or not, or even if it was a Liberty + PUG) kept charging headlong into the worst possible match up for them without regard to using basic tactics. To me, that just confirmed that no matter how well-regarded by a server, how well placed on the scoreboard, and how vocal in it's superiority an individual or unit is, they are still more than capable of throwing anything resembling sense and discipline to the wind given the right incentive.
Oh and your Darwinism comment. What do you think your statements about BFRs are? Just because the small group of highly vocal "vets" (a term you use to describe yourselves that carries an immediate "we are better than you" context) found something imbalanced doesn't mean the majority of players did. I certainly didn't find them so, and had the (mis)fortune to run into a number of others across all the servers who even though they didn't pilot BFRs personally had no problem disabling or destroying them either. Personally, I think you are accusing me of using the same argument that underlay a lot of the "vets" arguments, yet not accepting that maybe your own arguments are equally flawed. Something commonly described as "pot calling the kettle black". At least in my view, I'm little a better because while I disliked a number of things (surgiles, the dominance of HA, endless zergs of aircraft), I didn't let it reach the point where I would damn anything that even carried a hint of those ideas simply out of the need to lash out at them.
Originally Posted by Malorn
Ground-vehicle behavior they would have just been a role overlap. Instead they were given regenerative shields and jumpjets, two things which fundamentally changed vehicle combat and broke vehicle balance in the game. Really those are the two things that made them terrible. Had they just been 2-seater "heavy tanks" with more armor and no shields so any damage they took was permanent like any other vehicle then they probably would have been fine and we could have weathered the storm.
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I think you just proved my point. You talk about regenerative shields, but ignored that vehicles operating with the Amp station benefit would also have as shield with some regenerative capability plus carry a great deal more armor for the cost. As for the jump-jets; those were confined to one version (the one with the lightest armor and firepower of the two "advanced" types), and were already a well-established part of the game (seeing as every VS MAX had already used them). If anything I would have thought an NC would have appreciated finally having that same ability to bypass walls with something besides aircraft. Really the only "new" aspects for BFRs was the ability to damage specific parts by targeting specific areas and shields that were selective in which types of weapons they stopped instead of all-or-nothing prospects. Even more interesting, you continue to miss the reason why shields were given (with the attendant graphical work required) instead of extra armor. BFRs had those shields so they would be able to combat their primary targets (vehicles) yet remain highly vulnerable to their primary counter (close-assault by infantry). Instead people like you complained until the shield was lowered (reducing the BFRs ability to fill it's primary vehicle hunter/ killer role) and the armor increased (reducing the effectiveness of the BFRs primary counter). In that way, you only have yourself and others like you to blame for the balance nightmare that BFRs became because it was partially your stream of complaints that resulted in the Achilles heel of the BFR getting extra armor.
You also ignored my point that role overlap already existed in Planetside. As an NC you saw it every day - Sweepers were functionally the same as Jackhammers and filled the exact same role while varying only in details (smaller clip, bit better CoF, and a little less damage) and yet you rarely (if ever) complained about that. Heck, if we extended your argument against BFRs or other "mechs", why have ANY new equipment at all since all the roles are already covered. Even your LMG arguments are hypocritical if you apply your own statement to them; PS2 already shows weapons with capability for suppressive fire in the form of masses rifles so why would be we need something like an LMG when the capability is already filled. Could it because those differences in detail provide strengths and weaknesses that differ from the other units filling that role?
Frankly Malnorn I'm actually surprised in a fashion. I had originally thought you would have grasped the limits and advantages of BFRs and similar units quickly and have incorporated them into your methods even if you personally disliked them. I see now though that you are no different from the members of SG and other "elite" units; once you found something that worked you slammed the door to new ideas and reinforced them with unthinking hate.