Gameplay: CE: Deployable trenches

[NapalmEnima]

It should be possible to create deployable trenches. Limit it to certain terrain types (can't dig into rock for example), or not?

Trench sides should always be the same material, so the devs don't have to design what's under the ground as well as the ground itself. Yowch.

Deep enough so that crouching conceals you and standing leaves your head/arms exposed, far enough out to fire on something the same height as yourself, maybe a bit lower.


Allow for drawing drenches rather than deploying them in fixed chunks. Have to be drawn in relatively straight lines.

Maybe a couple "digging" modes. The "front line fighting position" trench plus an enclosed tunnel you have to crouch down to use.

Not destroyable, but they fill in over time as Auraxis repairs itself? Lore it up.

Put a delay of say... 5 minutes on the fill in, and an Engineer can come along and "re-dig" before it starts to fill in. Engineers should be able to tell how long a given trench has before it starts to fill in on their HUD. Say another 2-5 minutes before its completely filled. The tunnels should become useless fairly quickly as we cannot duck any lower.


To further prevent trench spam, each CE can only have X length of trench at a time. Switching classes causes the trenches to start to fill in immediately.

Trench shapes:

• |_| symmetrical, equally capable of fighting in both directions.
• \_| and |_/ Asymmetrical. only really provides cover from one direction. You want both so you aren't required to always draw them in one particular direction.
• O (tunnel)

A "fill in" mode might also be handy. Skip ahead with whatever's left of the fill timer and completely fill in after 10? seconds.

A fill in mode might also be Nasty. If some folks are hiding out in a dead-end tunnel and you close the tunnel... what happens? /Suicide becomes real handy.

I suggest that there be some sign on the surface that a tunnel is present. OTOH, maybe only detectable via dedicated gear (available to engineers, perhaps other classes, vehicles). This gear should have a small, per-instance resource cost.

Folks can build a small trench off in the bushes and dig a tunnel deep enough for your whole squad to hide in. Set up a sensor on the surface and wait in a GOOD hiding spot. But if some sneaky enemy CE guy comes along, they might close off your tunnel fast enough to trap you all inside. Risky.

An asymmetric trench dug in the "wrong" direction might also be a good barrier to wheeled vehicles and those with smaller tracks. Tank might be able to go right over depending on how their suspension works out.

[Sirisian]

Nothing is more interesting in war than trench warfare! Wait...

No but seriously this might work. I'd prefer stuff like dragon's teeth and deployable walls. Trenches just seem like such a complicated idea that might be solved with other deployables above ground that don't require terrain editing. I prefer ideas that can be destroyed by tanks other units. So a wall might take 10 tank shells to destroy or something or disappear after 2 minutes.

[SKYeXile]

err yea, i would like to hear from a coder, if this is even possible to do.

but otherwise i think the dragons teeth or deployable walls or shields is good.

[Traak]

LOL I liked this so much I voted it five stars before I read it.

I just don't want cheesy graphics on the inside of the trench, so it would be a PS1 flashback. I wanna see nice, chunky dirt. Or bare steel.

[NapalmEnima]

Its technically possible to have an object that clips the ground inside which the ground doesn't exist.

"Portals" I believe the term is. How practical is it to let people create them on the fly? Not at all sure.

[Geist]

Originally Posted by NapalmEnima

Its technically possible to have an object that clips the ground inside which the ground doesn't exist.

"Portals" I believe the term is. How practical is it to let people create them on the fly? Not at all sure.

....Portal Gun in Planetside...

[DviddLeff]

If its not possible, I fully approve of Hayoo's emplacement system from his Idealab:

[Traak]

How about plantable trees? Especially ones with gigantic buttress roots like tropical rainforest giants?

[Arius]

Please delete.

Necroing something from 2011? I only just saw that when it was too late, dear god.