1 Topic by Safe-Keeper (edited by Safe-Keeper 2007-02-24 19:04:42)

  • From: Grong, Norway
  • Registered: 2006-07-25
  • Posts: 5,192

Topic: Reconnaissance missions?

What about a mission where either a flight of fighters or a group of scouts on the ground are tasked with a photo recon mission in preparation of an attack? To win, the scout unit, who possess a Scout class with a camera of some kind, need to photograph several objectives, while the defenders need to prevent them from doing so.

I've never heard of a Battlefield mod giving players photo recon missions before, so it'd make for a refreshing change.

     Implementation
OK, so to make a camera reconnaissance mission, you have to put an invisible object around the object to be photographed. This object will be invisible and you'll be able to walk through it and shoot through it with all weapons, except the Camera. Next, make the camera itself, which fires an invisible instant-hit bolt that does no damage to anything but the object around the object to be photographed.

Now, when shot (no pun intended) by the camera, the object is destroyed instantly (one-hit-one-kill).

So to make it an objective to take a photo of something - just make it an objective to destroy the thing that covers the object to be photographed.

If air units or some other vehicle group is doing the scouting, just have one or more of them carry a camera, which is "fired" by the alternate firing key.

     Problems
The problem I see here is balance. Since cameras are "one-shot-one-kill", it'd be fairly easy to win. Also, it goes without saying that you'd have to fight your way to the target to be captured on film, which'd easily turn the "recon" mission into an all-out battle. I see two solutions:

1. Make the recon objective part of a larger mission. You could have a "two-phase" deal where you first have a recon force and then a full-fledged attack force.

I don't really like this idea, but it can perhaps be spiced up a bit this way, if at all possible: The map will give the scouts a predetermined amount of time to take their photos and a number of targets, for example a squadron of parked TIE Fighters on a landing platform, some parked AT-ATs, and so on. The attack force deployed depends on what the scouts can take photos of. So in other words, if the attackers don't get a report about that AT-AT-led armour unit, they don't send bombers with their initial attack force. So:

• Photograph AT-AT: Bombers arrive with first group.
• Fail to photograph AT-AT: No bombers arrive until a minute or two after the first strike.

Just an example.

Then, when the initial strike begins, the Imperial fighters can take off, the AT-AT can start moving, and so on.

2. Make it so that the person or vehicle taking the picture needs to return to "home plate" with the picture. I suppose that in order to balance things, you'd have to have the unfortunate paparazzi show up on the Imperials' map. This way of doing it I'd absolutely love - a mix of Objective mode, CTF and Xtraction. The problem is I have no idea if this can be implemented.

3. 1&2 combined somehow.

"One of the bitches actually gave birth while she was attacking, and her puppies joined in on the carnage."
--the awesomeness that is Boatmurdered.

Safe-Keeper's Website

  • Registered: 2006-01-02
  • Posts: 3,516

Re: Reconnaissance missions?

Good idea smile

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FSDev| Dutch_Razor's Website

  • Registered: 2006-05-15
  • Posts: 728

Re: Reconnaissance missions?

Good concept - but I don't think people bought an FPS for recon missions. Unlikely to please the masses, this is.

--------------------------------------
If I should die, think only this of me:
That in some corner of a foreign field
There lies a plagiarist.
  • From: Grong, Norway
  • Registered: 2006-07-25
  • Posts: 5,192

Re: Reconnaissance missions?

Good concept - but I don't think people bought an FPS for recon missions.

Tough luck for them.

"One of the bitches actually gave birth while she was attacking, and her puppies joined in on the carnage."
--the awesomeness that is Boatmurdered.

Safe-Keeper's Website

  • Registered: 2006-07-24
  • Posts: 1,242

Re: Reconnaissance missions?

I like the idea, but it wouldn't realy work well in-game unless we could do a couple of things (thati'd have to ask our coders about)

1) the ability to load maps FAST (like REALY fast)
2) Tie in objectievs complete from the pervious map to teh next one. (Which I think we can do since we planned a campaign style mode)

So basically the recon mission would be an interim bonus mission, e.g. there are 3 maps.

1 (Map 1)
2 (Bonus map)
3 (Map2)

If when playing map 1 (map one is a standard map just like every other map however a randomly spawning, Enemy plans or something file is placed on teh map) If a player happens to find this enemy plans, Then the bonus map is loaded when map 1 is finished (otherwise it skips the bonus and goes straight to map2)

the bonus map then loads, and the plans you found were where teh empire/rebel base was going to be.

It is now your job on this map to go recon teh area takeing data such as vehicle types, shield generators etc. and dependandt on what you succesfully recon (bonus map would have ashort time limit 5 mins or something)

When the bonus round ends and Goes to map 2, Based one your recon your Team is outfitted, with equipment designed to counter act whatever you reconned.

e.g. a shield / power generator ala Hoth, you recon that your team is awarded AT-ST's to take it down.

If you recon X-wings, your team is given Tie fighters or Anti Air emplacements to counter it.

The bonus map attacking team wouldbe determined by whichever team found the plans in teh first map.


I highly doubt the above is possible given the engine but this is the only acceptable way i'd see this type of map panning out as playable fun and makeing sense.

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  • Holmes
  • Shock Trooper
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 98

Re: Reconnaissance missions?

Safe Keeper wrote:

1. Make the recon objective part of a larger mission. You could have a "two-phase" deal where you first have a recon force and then a full-fledged attack force.

I actually like this idea.  I think it would be pretty cool if what you recon determines what vehicles/ etc spawn.  It wouldn't have to be a seperate map.  Perhaps after the first enemy command point is neutralized, the recon objectives would disappear.