IDEA for resource system rework. Base resource pools, warpgate radiation, and ANTs.

[Malorn]

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

[Edfishy]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

A couple off the top of my head. The trick is having benefits that don't impede on abilities people have certed into. (i.e. cloaked enemies are revealed)

• Reduced gravity / reduced damage on falls (great for getting out of a tower)
• All spawn timers within facility are reduced in half

[Zadexin]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

Some uses for Harvester resources - Give it the ability to repair or reload nearby vehicles similar to the sundy.

Increase the repair speed (not cooldown) of all engineer repair tools in x radius.

Let it expend resources to generate a LARGE mobile anti-projectile shield. Like the one being tried out over the new base designs, but able to hold a small armor column inside it. (think Star Wars Gungan shield generators). It can either be timed to drain a certain amount of resources OR let each hit drain X resource to power it.

Create a Spawn Jammer bubble effect for X resources per minute. This could allow a besieged base a massive reprieve.

Big ass bomb?

[sylphaen]

Randomized resource veins ? What about health, mana, elixirs and flasks ? I thought this was a FPS ?

Devs are working hard enough trying to rebuild a front, adding valuable objectives spawning randomly seems counter productive.

The idea of the lattice is that at any given moment, a small part of the map is being contested in an very intense fight. So if they just put it back, why add something that goes against it ? Your random resource would have to fall in contested areas.


Want something original ?

Want a better idea for harvesting ? Corpses... Pull a dead body from the front line and bring it back to your closest AMS: get "Salvage" (not "savage") points for it (i.e. resources back) ! And if the corpse is enemy, get extra "glory" points. Of course, the more contested the area is, the more valuable the enemy is, the more glory you get (and the opponent's dogtag too - since we might as well copy BF franchise and improve over it!). And of course, you move slowler and can't shoot (or only handgun) when you pull a body ! (with a time limit before body decays)


If humans used to do that during the war of Troy, this should be in a war simulator ! It may even be fun for some !

Resource mining is for Minecraft.

[sylphaen]

Actually, I was thinking about a "finish mechanic" (NC:Scalping,VS:Soul taking,TR:Terminal Interrogation) which would be slow (5 seconds for finishing move) and if you feel brave, an extra 5 seconds to "salvage" (giving you back resources (or HP?) for every second you "salvage"). You'd get a bonus at the end (you were sitting like a duck for 10 seconds). The full thing would be channeled so that if you chicken out in the middle, you can't start again. Time would also be limited to start doing it.

That would allow you to "harvest" with some decent amount of risk (for adrenaline and because having it too easy decreases value) in the context of a war-themed game. It would also be a tribute to PS1 looting which could not be implemented because no inventories.


Unfortunately, I think they would lose the PG13 over it.

[Fallunlight]

Malorn. We have to look at this from a functional perspective. what we have and what it can do to benefit pur current lattice system. you mentioned a unique resourxe. Someone mentioned shields and spawns...etc. what i would like to bring to the front is acrually onvolving outfits or leaders. certs, etc. in collusion with the ANTs now here are some other ideas to use in that context.

Regular players driving or leaders driving ANTs collecting resources, this unique resource which pools either zone or continent wide from the one viable option, the warpgates. or bases.

under that line of thought, a continents bases would have to share this unique resource. we are now involving every player on the continent. ANTs would be noncombat asstes to be be protexted and hunted. skittering behind battle lines.

players collect, deliver to either a base or an outpost. the benefits an ANT can carry depend two fold, on that players leadetship certs and/or which accessory he has on the ANT after sufficient resources are collected.
eg. shield applicator, ammo drop beacon for fights far from home, vehicle repair beacon, stealth beacon, the list goes on

these, as suggested would be accessible after each level of leadership certing. so as not to be abused.

another viable option would require the ANT who dropped the beacon that activated any of the bobuses be present or nearby.

oe that the commanders share no resources and spend their own which are earned through combat as well as nanite collection from non commanding players just doin their job.

But the idea of using ants on every level as a viable option. is what id like to see.

other ideas include involving them as they were in PS1. Attached at the hip between a silo and the warpgate.

but ask yourself what banusus could a silo-esque addition provide and who and how would it benefit.

i beleive a unique resource would be viewed as a spending budget for leaders in battle.

ill add more later

[Chaff]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

Hey MALORN. Great to see you still representing PS.

Make the ANT .... FIELD-DEPLOYABLE. .... like when you went to a WG & open your wings to charge-up your ANT. But, this is a Reverse feature from harvesting nanites.

In "Field-Deploy" mode you simply unload your nanites into the air ..... in the middle of the battlefield (or base) ..... and it essntially buffs everything within a 500 (?) meter radius. Health, armor, reload, ammo,..... all get proximity-buffs.

0-50m = 20% buff for duration of Nanite flow from ANT.
51-100m = 15% buff for duration of Nanite flow from ANT.
101-200m = 10% buff
201-450m = 7% buff
451-500m = 3% buff

....something along these lines. Of course, it would be more thought-out if the total number of infantry & vehicles in the 500m radius affected how long the Nanite Resource Boost lasted.

1,000 combined forces of vehicles & infantry might burn through one full ANT's Nanite Resource Boost in seconds. A small Outpost with fewer than 4o infantry and 10 vehicles might get the Nanite Resource Boost for 4 or 5 minutes ...... take this idea and run with it brother.

....and JONNY......kudos to you. You're on the right track.

[Valkar]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

I could see the resource being used for a number of additional things. For instance instead of using it tofill a base you could convert it to energy via a module attached to the ANT and make the ANT a mobile shield generator, providing defence from bombardment. So for example it mined 10000 RUs then this converts as a shield with 10000 shield points. The shield could extend like a bubble for say 25-50m in all directions protecting things like AMS's or Skyguards or troop concentrations.

Again you could replace the shield module with say a heavy EMP turret module that uses the RUs as fuel/ammo and it can fire focussed EMP blasts disabling vehicle weaponary or base turrets for 5 seconds.

Loads of possibilities

[Rahabib]

I gotta say, ANTS/harvesters and silos dont excite me. They sound boring and force the players to micro manage. I am all for a meaningful resources system (see my sig) but it should be an extension of tactical battle management, not making players play farmville planetside. Also allowing hackable silos will just make it so that people have to sit around watching for invisible infiltrators just screwing around. Baby sitting silos isn't fun.

[Whiteagle]

Originally Posted by Malorn

Hypothetically speaking, what sort of other uses can y'all think of for a harvester unit's resource? Fun stuff that would make it worth pulling beyond maintenance? What else might that resource be used for, or how else might the harvester unit use that resource to do cool and fun stuff?

Well, going back to my own musings on Nanite Pipelines and Communal Base Resource Pools:

Originally Posted by Whiteagle

-Resources are reverted back to their Beta Incarnation, where the three colors all have a use for different consumables and Vehicles.
-Their storage is switched from the Individual Players to communal Base Silos, from which the purchases of every Allied Player within that Territory are deducted.
-The Resources now also serve as NTU, being evenly drawn on to repair damage to that Base's Terminals, Turrets, and Generators slowly over time.
-The Lattice is now represented in world by an Ancient Tech Nanite Pipeline, with the various Bases having been built on the distribution nodes of this Pipeline.
-Each Node is also connected to an "Extractor" located somewhere within the Territory, which in game represents where the Resources actually come from.
-On particular stretches of Pipe there are "Safety Valves" which control the "flow" of Resources, which can be hacked by Infiltrators to mess with or outright destroyed via damage to stop said flow.
-Nanite Transports are Support Vehicles that can either remove or refill Nanites from a Silo, as well as draw extra "Residual Resources" from the Safety Valves or Extractors at the five minute Resource Ticks.

Originally Posted by DviddLeff

Trouble is I like the current system as it has different flavour resources, even if it is currently inconsequential.

Eh, I like its Beta incarnation better, where the three Resources were used for different things in each catagory.
So the Catalysts were for Heavy Combat Vehicles like MBTs and Liberators, while Polymers were for ESFs and Lightnings.

Originally Posted by sylphaen

Want something original ?

Want a better idea for harvesting ? Corpses... Pull a dead body from the front line and bring it back to your closest AMS: get "Salvage" (not "savage") points for it (i.e. resources back) ! And if the corpse is enemy, get extra "glory" points. Of course, the more contested the area is, the more valuable the enemy is, the more glory you get (and the opponent's dogtag too - since we might as well copy BF franchise and improve over it!).

...Corpse-eater attachment for the ANT, that refills its Resource Tanks depending on what was just killed?