Distinguishing Common Pool Vehicles

amblingalong · 2012-06-18, 11:00 AM

I know the devs have talked extensively about how the silhouettes of the various classes/vehicles will mean the new camo options won't be a problem for IFF. What I'm curious and a bit nervous about it how this will work with common pool vehicles, especially air vehicles which move fast and are thus harder to look at closely. If a liberator with zebra stripes or desert camo is flying at the 1k flight ceiling, how am I going to tell if I should shoot it or not? Even if the stripes are tinted (as Kohn alluded to) it's still going to be pretty rough, unless they make IFF a dedicated HUD element the way they did in the GDC video (red tags about enemies, green tags about friends). The problem is compounded with colored camo, like desert or jungle.

Is this concern misplaced? Ideas to fix it?

jabber · 2012-06-18, 11:06 AM

think it was mentioned during day 3 at e3. that custom camo (zeebra) will be faction specific in the final game. yellow stribes on blue for nc, red on black for tr

amblingalong · 2012-06-18, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by jabber

think it was mentioned during day 3 at e3. that custom camo (zeebra) will be faction specific in the final game. yellow stribes on blue for nc, red on black for tr

Yeah, Kohn mentioned that. Still, for things like desert camo- which really can't feasibly be colored, say, purple- I have to wonder how this'll work for liberators/galaxies (and lightnings to a lesser degree).

wOOtbEEr · 2012-06-18, 11:21 AM

I hope they put the little green marker above all visible friendlies and don't put the red mark or nametag on something until you hit it. That way if you see it and it doesn't have green, shoot it. This leaves the camo able to do it's job since its not throwing a red mark over a well hidden enemy that you just happened to drag your crosshair over.

w00tb33r

amblingalong · 2012-06-18, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by wOOtbEEr

I hope they put the little green marker above all visible friendlies and don't put the red mark or nametag on something until you hit it. That way if you see it and it doesn't have green, shoot it. This leaves the camo able to do it's job since its not throwing a red mark over a well hidden enemy that you just happened to drag your crosshair over.

I like this idea quite a bit; it basically promotes good teamwork and avoids tking, but without incredibly obnoxious 3D spotting. In the GDC footage, I remember it was a pretty cool effect on the friendly tank column, so clearly they're already thinking about this; I just hope they leave it in for friendlies and take it out for enemies.

ringring · 2012-06-18, 11:38 AM

I suppose similar will apply to vehicle variants.

e.g. Lightning Tank Destroyer variant will have a different profile and sound to Lightning AA variant.

Khrusky · 2012-06-18, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by amblingalong

I like this idea quite a bit; it basically promotes good teamwork and avoids tking, but without incredibly obnoxious 3D spotting. In the GDC footage, I remember it was a pretty cool effect on the friendly tank column, so clearly they're already thinking about this; I just hope they leave it in for friendlies and take it out for enemies.

This is what normally happens in other games in my experience, and for the reasons you stated I also want it to be done like this in PlanetSide 2.

Especially as it actually encourages people to pick the more practical camos than the garish zebra/giraffe/pornstar ones we've seen (although there'll still be thousands of them).

PoisonTaco · 2012-06-18, 12:28 PM

I'm more worried about night time when all you have is a silhouette to distinguish from. See a Galaxy or Liberator in the sky when it's dark out? How are you supposed to tell if it's friendly or not? Same goes for lightnings and sunderers at night time when you can't quite see the colors on the vehicles.

Don't friendlies have the green names over their heads and other identifiers? If so then our worries are for nothing.

amblingalong · 2012-06-18, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by PoisonTaco

I'm more worried about night time when all you have is a silhouette to distinguish from. See a Galaxy or Liberator in the sky when it's dark out? How are you supposed to tell if it's friendly or not? Same goes for lightnings and sunderers at night time when you can't quite see the colors on the vehicles.

Don't friendlies have the green names over their heads and other identifiers? If so then our worries are for nothing.

We've seen it two ways- one where nobody has the tag, and one where friendlies have green and enemies have red. I'm hoping we get the hybrid where friendlies do and enemies don't.

PoisonTaco · 2012-06-18, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by amblingalong

We've seen it two ways- one where nobody has the tag, and one where friendlies have green and enemies have red. I'm hoping we get the hybrid where friendlies do and enemies don't.

Looking back at TB's stream from E3, you have green names over everyone's heads who's a friendly.

So yeah this shouldn't be an issue.

Dairian · 2012-06-18, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by wOOtbEEr

I hope they put the little green marker above all visible friendlies and don't put the red mark or nametag on something until you hit it. That way if you see it and it doesn't have green, shoot it. This leaves the camo able to do it's job since its not throwing a red mark over a well hidden enemy that you just happened to drag your crosshair over.

w00tb33r

This is how it needs to happen. He just said it first..

Synapse · 2012-06-18, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by wOOtbEEr

I hope they put the little green marker above all visible friendlies and don't put the red mark or nametag on something until you hit it. That way if you see it and it doesn't have green, shoot it. This leaves the camo able to do it's job since its not throwing a red mark over a well hidden enemy that you just happened to drag your crosshair over.

w00tb33r

Beautiful.

Otleaz · 2012-06-18, 05:47 PM

Green markers make night time meaningless... You will just shoot everything that isn't green.

If you don't know who you are looking at, press your fucking talk button and ask.

Landtank · 2012-06-18, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Otleaz

Green markers make night time meaningless... You will just shoot everything that isn't green.

If you don't know who you are looking at, press your fucking talk button and ask.

Can't shoot what you can't see.

PhoenixDog · 2012-06-18, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Otleaz

Green markers make night time meaningless... You will just shoot everything that isn't green.

If you don't know who you are looking at, press your fucking talk button and ask.

Yeah...If it's night time and you can't see me in the first place...How are you going to see me? You'll see the green markers on your empire...But nothing will appear over the other two. Hidden enemies stay hidden.