Zat Earthshatter
Osmon Surveillance
Caldari State
304
   |
Posted - 2012.07.06 09:58:00 -
[1] - Quote
Hello, this thread is to adress the "far"-future addition of air-to-air combat vehicles, commonly known as fighter aircraft.
It's a known fact they are planned for an expansion, likely during the winter-spring EVE expansion.
This is merely to help shape the idea in CCP's head, and help them get the ball rolling.
WARNING: This is a very long OP.
First, what we DO know -
>They will VTOL in design, so no runway-based airfields.
>At least the tech-1 variant is A2A focused
If there's more confirmed information, I would like to hear it.
Now for suggestions.
I would like to start by proposing two variants of fighters - Standard fighters, and bombers. Bombers have more emphasis on air-to-ground fighting, and wouldn't have the air-to-air power of standards. This is the basis for much of my post.
1. Controls
Firstly, this craft will need to have two modes for the VTOL to work.
Second, current controls won't work for both modes.
I suggest that the radial module menu should be selected with the D-pad for control purposes.
Hover -
Dropship controls, but the vehicle remains mostly flat like the RDV flies. Weapons will be handled in their proper section. Small turrets angle their central points down 5 extra degrees compared to Flight mode, to optimize for hover combat.
Flight -
Lift/lower controls are now your throttle, with no input being 50% thrust. There can be two implementations of flight.
>Arcade : Left stick turns (combo roll/rudder) and controls pitch. Right stick aims turrets within the FoV. This is similar to the "arcade" variant of Starhawk's scheme.
>Sim : Left stick is roll/pitch. Right stick vectors thrusters, enacting yaw and up/down "sliding". In this scenario, the guns auto-track the closest enemy in the center of FoV, but are more limited than the "arcade" option for balancing.
2. Weapons
Once you can fly straight, you need to shoot straight.
Fitting -
depends on the subclass
>Standard (A2A) : 3-4 small turrets on an FoV swivel range.
>Bomber (A2G) : 1-2 small turrets on FoV swivel, and one Large turret fixed on a 10-degree downward angle, similar to the A-10's GAU-8 cannon.
Usage -
On standards, R1 fires all guns. Make them all one type, or mix them up for more versatility. Small missile turrets should also be allowed to lock-on if fitted to a fighter-class craft.
With bombers, only the large A2G gun fires on R1. The others are on X.
3. Defenses
Muscles don't matter if you are as soft as butter. If you have ECM, don't worry about that line.
Tank :
If you REALLY wanted to - these are max tank estimates. Battleclinic fitting wizards notwithstanding.
>Standard (A2A) : 75-80% of a dropship's tank IF a pure fit.
>Bomber (A2G) : Due to the slower frame and more fitting units (large turret), having about 150% dropship tank would be standard, but pure tank would be about 250% dropship.
ECM :
The bread and butter of military air defense, these take a few forms.
>"Buckler" projected shields : erects a small shield about 5-6 feet away from the craft's nose, with about 50hp. Completely stops the round that hits it, but has a long cooldown. Skilled usage can block a single Forge gun shot, and it auto-blocks at least one missile in a Swarm launch. Can be countered by "killing" with any small gun before using a heavy weapon.
>Target Jammers : Just like their EVE counterparts, plus the added advantage of preventing the target from "spotting" your craft while active.
>Flares : Attempts to fool the IR sensors of a locked-on munition. Swarm launchers will tend to get a few missiles through due to its unpredictable-flight design, but highly effective against single lock-ons and target jammers.
>Cloak : Like the EVE counterpart, the fighter would uncloak by passing too close to something or somebody. Requires a special module to "spot" targets while cloaked.
>Eject! : What self-respecting fighter doesn't have mortars strapped to the pilot's seat!?!? You have to select the module, and then hit O before the craft hits the dirt. Once out, just use your inertia cancelers to land safely.
4. Design
Lastly, they should look sweet.
Since i can't yet translate EVE design philosophy to DUST, i'll instead list real-world planes to get the ball rolling. This does mean difficulty suggesting Amarr and Gallente designs, but i'll post those sections anyway
Amarr
>Standard : Unknown
>Bomber : Unknown
Caldari
>Standard : F-35 Lightning II. Has VTOL ability and the killer looks of the F-22 Raptor. I'd pick the F-22, but then the Caldari would suffocate (shame, one awesome bird too)
>Bomber : B-2 Spirit. the Ace Combat series has a better bomber variant, but i'm not sure it's completely real. "FB-22" was the name of it.
Gallente
>Standard : Unknown
>Bomber : Unknown
Minmatar
>Standard : V-22 Osprey. Make it smaller, and replace the props with ducted fans.
>Bomber : Also V-22 Osprey. Only here, it's closer to the real thing, for heavy-lifting purposes. Fuselage on both versions needs a change to look truly Minmatar though.
Any more ideas? I'll accept links to TRUSTED pic sites only |
Zat Earthshatter
Osmon Surveillance
Caldari State
304
|
Posted - 2012.07.10 03:46:00 -
[3] - Quote
@carl : Not only are the stats incorrect for DUST play, the EVE fighters are built from tritanium, so they would blow up the second they hit atmosphere.
@khun-al : Good idea. My OP was based on the assumption that these would be one-seat craft.
(nerd alert) the LAAT ships from Star Wars are basically RDVs and heavy dropships with extra guns attached.
Not too different from what we already have, minus 2 laser turrets.
Lastly, the Bomber class is my version of the gunship. I am open to having one swapped with the other though.
@eryx : I'd be all for the swarm idea normally, but Starhawk beat us to it, and its predecessor had them years ago!
I'm overly cautious when using ideas similar to recent games, especially signature weapons and vehicles. |