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AMS - Singular, non troop transport, high value target fulfills one role - easily identifiable from all other support vehicle types.
Sunderer - Troop mover, base and line smasher - you see it you know it's going to hit hard somewhere and have a lot of problems coming out of it.
ANT - Fills support roles of base power, but equally importantly supports a convoy outside catering to ammo and repair supplies (separate modules) - to a degree has to get involved with the fight to keep things going not just linger at the rear and hope to get through.
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i agree, i think divorcing the AMS from the sunderer loadout is an excellent plan, and leaves lots of room to improve and rework the sunderer as an APC, support vehicle, and spacetruck. and the cert refund wouldn't be too stressful since it's a cheap module anyway.
separating the support functions may not be the best plan though. and designing and implementing so many new vehicles may not be either.
what i would do, is make the AMS and ANT a sort of sunderer add on. make it a deployable module that you pick up after you spawn your sundie, and drop off when you get where you're going. the ANT is simple. the load takes up 6 seats and the ANT station you deliver to simply eats the whole damn truck when you drive into it.
the AMS, then, could be a load unit, also filling 6 seats, that is nanite constructed anywhere a sundie could have deployed in the past. it could be like an extra small spawn building that has a small shielded area where soldiers can spawn and safely use a terminal, jump lift up to a top platform with air cover, and man articulated weapons not unlike sundie gun positions F2 and F3 and/or a single destructible/repairable manned base turret.
however, unlike a spawn building, it is a destructible unit. and unlike a deployed sundie, it can't pick up and move after it's been deployed. although the sunderer that deployed it is free to engage in combat, ferry troops that spawn at the module, or return to a rear base for an ANT run or to prepare to load another AMS when that one is destroyed or times out. timers could work the same as currently deployed sundies, just man the turret to reset the 20 minute timer, or have the owner load another AMS unit to start the despawn timeout, or change ownership. same rules would apply with owner logout or continent change as with current deployed sundies.
what you do to facilitate this loading process is place specific, shielded, drive thru stations on the map that load 6 infantry positions with either AMS or ANT module "load placeholders." this way there's no obvious external change to the vehicle model that screams "suicide air strike this one and then trololol," but still makes it a juicy target, as it appears to be a 7/12 or 10/12 sundie. a juicy target that could also have 4 AA MAX units inside, waiting to clown car the Air Wing that spots it.
loading at a facility also provides a "behind enemy lines" scenario where a small group can attempt to interfere with loading, while escort groups will oppose them by moving in ahead of a group of potential ANTs and AMSs to secure the area.
this way AMS and ANT will be a valuable target among vehicles in a convoy but not easily distinguishable from the escort APC sundie loaded with troops, nor the repair and ammo sundies supplying the armor unit and harasser escorts.
i think this solution presents the easiest transition for the design team, relies almost entirely on existing code mechanics, and provides for interesting strategy elements from both sides of the conflict.
this turned out to be a long concept description, so i'll bullet point it as well.
- divorce AMS unit from sunderer loadout
- AMS and ANT units "load" into seats 6-12 for transport in any spawned sunderer
- AMS is a nanite constructed mini spawn building that a sunderer deploys and drives away from
- AMS "building" is a destructible, repairable unit that has armaments and infantry shield doors but cannot move
- ANT unit is unloaded at a receptacle in a destination base, possibly consuming the delivering sunderer as well
- strategy elements in this design include defending or blockading loading stations, harassing or escorting convoys, and "decoy" support sunderers that actually contain 7/12 live units
- benefit to this solution is ease of implementation, primarily using existing code mechanics and art assets.