Transport

[Aliceinchains]

I know that this is prolly a huge question to ask but is there any way we can have drop ships with honest to god pilots that are real ppl that fly us to certain zones for a price or in our guild.   I think that would be extremely cool.   if only Kali. net had come this far.  lol

[Hamilton]

That is the intent, players can operate aircraft and spacecraft.  Though likely at the beginning this will not be possible until at a later stage, such as an expansion (and all expansions are free, which are considered part of the core system).

[Deft]

I too was wondering about the dropships..ty for clearing that up.. as for waiting I'll be in a hanger somewhere working on mech parts till I can fly... 

[Agamemnon]

Flight its self was in, but we removed it while we continue to work on Phase 0, the social WIP and get other items in that need to be in....but as Hamilton said...

/bad Arny impression

It'll be back!

[Sturm Kintaro]

Believe me, the idea of Dropship combat drops would add a WHOLE new tactical sphere to the game... your unit's gotten mousetrapped in a canyon, being pushed against the wall, and the enemy closing in, when all of a sudden, a pilot with more chutzpah than brains pulls of a daring/suicidal combat drop, and the enemy's now put in a vice between the two forces... that kind of combat definitely makes it far more realistic.

[Kellzz]

How would the transport be designed?

Mech's are held within the vehicle? or is the vehicle just a cockpit and the mech's sit outside?
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2007/255/reviews/941687_20070913_screen005.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3x-grObOXM


If the mech's are inside, exiting the vehicle could take much longer as the mech's would have to exit 1-2 at a time.

If the mech's are outside, all mech's could be released from the vehicle at once, but are more vulnerable to fire.

[Shadow Star]

There can be both types of drop ships. The open air variety is more for planet side transport as flying through space in that manner, while not impossible, is just not a good idea. Enclosed Drop ships can be used in both atmosphere and space areas. Also freighters can have conversions to be small drop ships (No more than 4 mechs or so in a heavy freighter). Where as Drop ships are huge and can carry many more.

[Sturm Kintaro]

And depending on what the engine allows for, you can have multiple ways of dropping 'Mechs.

If you think of the BT Dropships, they came in a variety of sizes, and allowed for multiple delivery methods.

Landing - By far the least damaging to the 'Mechs & Vehicles, but the most time consuming.  Need a wide, flat area that has solid ground to hold the weight. (Dropships started at 3,000 tons)  Dropships aren't fast, and while on the ground have limited weaponry.  Powerful weaponry, but limited firing arcs.

Hover Drops - Requires Mechs with Jump Jets, and a pilot with exceptional skill.  Potential damage to 'Mechs is mild, with chance increasing with higher initial drop height.

Parachute Drops - Can be done from higher altitude, however offer pilot much less control of final landing point.  Mech may end up many km off course due to wind conditions.  Also, 'Mechs would be vulnerable in air, with very limited potential to return fire.

Bubble/"Egg" Drops -  Done ala HALO style, the 'Mechs are encased in a hard foam bubble and shot down @ high speed towards the ground.  Chance of 'Mech damage is much higher, but allows for an element of surprise.

Plenty of opportunity there to use Transports as a tactical force multiplier.

[Culan]

I would love for a nubby to bait a group of gankers into a canyon so I can drop all of my friends on him That makes for a really intense game experience on all sides. The gankers are salivating at the thought of a kill, the nubby thinks he's gonna die, when a bunch of mechs fall out of the heavens. Suddenly, the nubby is smiling, the gankers are all like "oh Sh!@#!" and the backup thinks it's time to take care of business.

[Stigmatax]

The problem with this is one big one... why would you need large sized drop ships if you for some reason can not travel beyond your own planet?

Basic idea would be to start off with single planet scaled transports... ground based preferred. Air based should be based on corporate economy, how many "fast" transports they can afford. They can hold one or two mechs and help to rapidly deploy mechs and assault/defense vehicles on the battlefield. Larger transports can be made available depending on corporate economy, they should be slower and used to carry backup support to the battlefield, such as extra tanks, aerial assault vehicles.

The idea behind a rapid transport for mechs/vehicles allows for quick response to hostile takeovers from other corps. The slower larger transports can being in the needed backup support and then the ground transports can being in the necessary items to keep prolonged battles going.

[Kellzz]

I dont get it.


Are you saying that air based transports are slower than ground based?
that makes no sense



the large drop ships would be used to transport an entire lance if not multiple lances over a large distance in a short amount of time. Mech's only have 2-3 hours worth of fuel, and that fuel cant be used to run around trying to get to the fight.

[Hamilton]

I think we need to release a Dropship Lorescape...

[Dead Eye]

Alright more lore , i hope that there can be orbital drops. Like launching a mech in a shell in orbit so it planet falls. Then the shell break once it pass the atmosphere leaving the mech to use max thrust on it's jump jets to land. I was thinking about writing about a short story on it a long time ago, but i couldn't find anything about dropship, except the story about the sneak attack on the genoma station. Hopefully as time goes on, more information is available for those short story people to let their imagination run.