(still on this boring conquest system huh?)

Sarcasm?

I hope so

(still on this boring conquest system huh?)

Sarcasm?

I kinda thought the purpose of a mod was to modify. Push mode, too, takes away part of the freedom you had in vanilla as you can no longer just take any control point but rather find yourself restricted to one or two, but I hardly see anyone complaining (I think Steve/Stevanyss' complaint is the Two Credits rant is the first I've ever seen about this issue). Removing parachutes takes away from the "fun" and "open-ended gaming" of vanilla, but still it's been done. Restricting some weapons and devices to squads only takes away from the trademark "fun and openness" of the Battlefield series - it's still been done, and I hear no complaints. Locking the probot takes away from...

You get the idea.

Whatever you might want to believe, it's not feasible other than in theory to 'cover your bases'. In effect this'd mean having at least one person spawning there doing absolutely nothing until a vehicle arrived, just so you could keep that random lonewolf from taking it. Next to no one is willing to do this.

It's like the old Hoth map in GC, where the Imps could just sneak into the Rebel command centre and proceed to have lots of Imps spawn there and rape the Rebels in the hangar and then proceed to take the trenches outside in a pincer strike - Imps attacking south from within the base with infantry and speeders, and from the north with AT-STs. In essence, this allowed them to win the round with no effort at all. Sure, it was easy for a lot of people to say that it was the Rebels' own fault for not covering their bases, and sure, making the Imps have to take trenches (or was it the hangar?) before the Command Centre "took away some of the freedom that made vanilla fun"... but again, I never heard any complaints.

Why? Because "covering your bases" works in theory, but the few times I volunteered to do this in GC, spawning in the Command Center on Hoth doing absolutely jack s**t for up to half a round just in case some lone smacktard decided to try to sneak in... was not fun. Likewise, "covering your bases" in FS map is not fun, which is why we have push mode maps. It's the exactly same thing in my eyes. It's not fun in being massacred by your own team's Assault Transport just because some noobflake on the other team happened to see the grey icon appear in your main base a second before your team did.

So my view (and I want to stress that this is my view only and does not reflect that of anyone but me), is this:
• All vehicles locked until occupied by someone who owns them. Light vehicles such as the AT-ST and Combat Speeder can be stolen once occupied and abandoned.
• All heavy vehicles (tanks, whatever transport aircraft we might add such as the Assault Transport or Lambda, bombers, X-Wings, etc.) locked at all times.
• Starships and transports locked at all times.
• Probot remains locked.

There's also the "authentic SW experience" argument. I would strongly dislike hearing the infantry in the trenches report "Imperial walkers on the north ridge, massacring the Imperials". Stealing vehicles very easily ruins the flow of a map.

You bet they wouldn't.

How about this:
It takes an engineer to steal the vehicle and he must be in the vicinity of the vehicle for x seconds before he can get it unlocked.
Mano

I really like that idea, but I think any kit should be able to do it.  I'm not sure but maybe the Devs can apply the silo capture code (or whatever) from 2142 and apply it to some of the 'lesser' vehicles/ships (shrug).  Highfive man !  That would make for some even more interesting gameplay IMO too.

How about this:
It takes an engineer to steal the vehicle and he must be in the vicinity of the vehicle for x seconds before he can get it unlocked. Maybe even an unlock that will open the vehicle in 1/2 the time? This solves the specialist issue some people have AND it gives the opposing team x seconds to protect their assets. - wow thats pretty good. does the dev team need an idea guy?

Mano

Civilian vehicles/Adapted Civilian vehicles/Speederbikes/Swoops: Always unlocked.
  Piloting these guys should be common knowledge to just about every member of the Alliance and Galactic Empire's military forces.

Light Tanks & Walkers: Unlocked in combined-arms maps, Locked in Urban combat maps (when they're the most powerful ground unit).
Far more cover exists on Urban combat maps, thus making it easier to escape from and deal with vehicles. Plus, most infantry won't likely go anti-tank. If someone were to get out and start repairing their vehicle (or to repair someone else's), or exit for any other reason, it seems a viable tactic to just simply rush up and seize the vehicle before they know what happened. Also, being the most powerful ground unit on the map... smart teams would grab an opponent's vehicles and take them well behind their own lines, thus denying their opponent vehicle support.
Since combined-arms and vehicle war maps are larger, a mode of transportation won't always be available. If you or your squad are marooned in enemy territory and extraction seems unlikely, having light vehicles to get around and offer a fighting chance available would prevent running races across the map.

All heavier vehicles: Locked.
These vehicles are strategic imperatives, being able to destroy vehicles easily (and aircraft, with good gunners), as well as threatening infantry. Having them be capturable would encourage a coordinated opposing faction to Covert-Op the enemy bases, steal their heavy vehicles, and spirit them far away; thus preventing them from respawning and placing the victims at a disadvantage.

Starfighters & Atmospheric fighters: Locked.
Same reasons as above.

Airborne Transports: Unlocked.
It's a viable means of escape for a squad, and stealing one doesn't smurf a team over. Causing some damage to an enemy vehicle depot, then grabbing a shuttle or something to flee, sounds kind of epic to me, to be honest.

Capital Ships and transports in space: Locked.
Period.

In short, I think that when vehicles are the top strategically vital unit for taking and holding ground on their own, or for shredding the enemy (Fighter aircraft and Heavy tanks on Comb-arms maps, Light vehicles on Urban maps), they should be locked so that the enemy can't just sweep in and steal the units for a victory. Units ideal for transportation, such as civie vehicles, bikes, and airborne transports, can be exploited by non-owning factions without causing a significant gameplay disadvantage to the victims.

f you really want to, (uh...emphasis on "really") then you can use UT3's method. Vehicles are locked from the start, but when someone comes and gets in, uses it, then gets out, its unlocked and can be hijacked. I personally dont really like this method, but whatever, use it if you with.

Why on Earth not? You still have the ability to steal vehicles, you just have to actually work for it rather than being a lone wolf and crawl into the enemy's main. It brings me so much satisfaction on Mos Espa to steal an AT-ST in the city and actually get it repaired and brought to bear against its former owners.

There are nearly always speeders and whatever that you can steal at a main base. And then again, requiring you to have to hitch a ride with a friendly picking you up would encourage teamwork .

IMO, anything that has implied personnel should be locked.  Capital ships can't be flown at all effectively by one person.  In a way, implied personnel is how mobile spawn points are justified in a game-setting.  So, things that big, no stealing.  Anything below is fair game.

That more effectively explains my opinion more than I could do myself

IMO, anything that has implied personnel should be locked.  Capital ships can't be flown at all effectively by one person.  In a way, implied personnel is how mobile spawn points are justified in a game-setting.  So, things that big, no stealing.  Anything below is fair game.

I can understand why some people would want to keep a row of tanks/starfighters in their base locked. It stops lone-wolves from speeding over and stealing stuff.  Still, in those rare times when you're driving a speeder, taking damage from somebody tenacious on your six, but manage to stop and escape, say, near the enemy base... I'd rather be able to jump into the enemy's vehicle and get back to the fight, than have to run all the way back or suicide.

I'd rather twenty lone-wolf dinks stole tanks for each time a better player is able to turn the tide by getting into a nearby empty vehicle than never be able to drive one, at all.

What's your opinion?

When I say heavy vehicles I mean, the Firehawke and Freerunner, and other vehicles of its class or more rare/powerful. This does not include the ATST and others below it on the vehicle 'food chain' like speeders.

I will save my views for after I see some other peoples input, as I foresee a few common arguements that will crop up.

Yes, i'm still alive. >_>

Anyway, didn't we already cover this?

http://forums.fsmod.com/viewtopic.php?id=6519

And didn't i lose that argument? XD

Basically, i think vehicles shouldnt be locked, cuz i think it's cool and realistic to be able to steal your enemies' equipment, and i would LOVE to see people typing, "WTF?!?!?!" when i sneak up to an AT-AT and steal it. If you really want to, (uh...emphasis on "really") then you can use UT3's method. Vehicles are locked from the start, but when someone comes and gets in, uses it, then gets out, its unlocked and can be hijacked. I personally dont really like this method, but whatever, use it if you with. >_<