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Landscape building ideas

Posted: 2008-05-23 03:26
by Psyko
Landscape Building Ideas

Hi there :)

I'd like to start by saying, these are consepts that i have spent the last few months chewing over, about possible building augmentation and future static object crafting. I dont expect the changes and suggestions to be implimented tomorrow, i just want to throw them out there so that they can be considered in the future. Now, while i do not have the skills or utilities to fashion such 3d models, all i can hope to do right now, is provide my opinions and insight to anyone who does possess these skills. So i know readers may think, PR is up to it's eyeballs with other tasks at the moment and/or these objects are not currently in development or will not/may never be in development. I would love to experement on my own to create 3d models, but i just cant. I am also aware that modifying vBF2 structures is against the EULA agreement, but perhapse PR structures could be modified slightly. The PR structures are used on every map, and copied and pasted so any modification to a structure would result in the modification being replicated all over the game.

I do not have any pictures right now but can add them later if anyone shows entrigue.

So basically my idea is as follows. Make structures that have interesting gameplay characteristics. The rest of this post is a list of particular building frames with slight changes or characteristics.

[1] Hotel roof changes
The hotel building is one of the largest buildings in PR and is generally used by long range shootists. When prone on this rooftop, it is difficult to use the sign as cover and it is hard to find shelter or cover. if a small skirting or ledgeway was placed down with chunks missing it can provide a high class sniper overwatch position which may prove highly difficult to clear out.

[2] Rune changes
The rune building is the small square roofless building with the broken walls and clutter on the ground where the roof had caved in. it has a diagonal beam along one corner of it which provides excellent cover when placed in certain directions. I like using the rune when playing Al Basra, it is situated near the tanker crash site and on the crossroads, but faces in awkward positions. when using this rune as cover for a squad i often find that the squad disperses to nearby cover instead to avoid cluttering up the small space, however, if walls has bricks taken out (i know textures and models are seperate things) it could provide a very good shooting position for extra soldiers using it.

[3] Long sandbags
Much like the last suggestion, remove a sandbag here and there with a tight notch so the soldier can crouch and fire through it. It would be very good for suppression weapons and general riflemen so they can cover medics while they heal their wounded. There is too much jack-in-the-box in BF2 and to limit this, through-fire cover would be greatly appresiated by all. Plus, in reality soldiers push through sandbags/knock through bricks and shove their weapons in the dirt when digging into a position.

[4] General roof additions
Al Basra is a brilliant rooftop map, but does not have the type of rooftop cover that is required to fortify a city. but from video footage, it is suggested that most fighting is done on street level using vehicles corners and large piles of rubble and debris as cover. the corners and vehicles are accurate, however, rubble and mounds of dirt in convenient places are uncommon, thus putting sections of the city to waste and localising fighting in only key places, which may become repetitive. suggestion: double up the vehicle wreck count and rubble mounds, and extend the height of each rubble mound. My recent playtime with 0.5's Airport made me realise that fighting could be intensified with more cover and objects in barren areas. But in general it would be very nice to have random clutter littering the rooftops for low cover on building with rooftop ladder access, such as al basra and sunset city. Which are frequently used as marksmen sites.

Final
I believe that extending the individual fights in PR is the key to increasing gameplay. Cover and movement are the two key dynamics in gameplay. and if the personal functions and animations cannot be changed then perhapse the landscape can. Many soldiers can say that when they were in one on one battles, they mainly stuck behind a good piece of cover for a long time, until they were clear to move. But maybe the good cover is too rare and that is why we see many places being used over and over again.

I guess thats pretty much all i wanted to say. but i'd like to stress how much holes in walls and missing bricks would benifit gameplay as we cant blow small chunks out ourselves so it needs to be encorperated into the map design.

Cheers for reading. :grin:

Re: Landscape building ideas

Posted: 2008-05-23 03:57
by Howitzer
I love it ! , lets bring some Sandbox script in PR :D

Re: Landscape building ideas

Posted: 2008-05-23 12:43
by Drav
Hmm there are actually a lot of good ideas on this forum today!

Defo agree with some more notches in the sandbags, as crouching and then standing to fire western style, gives your oppenent a lovely big target to shoot at at the mo.

Really agree with what you say about cover being very important, especially as you cannot create your own ingame. Holes in the walls would have to be big enough so you dont just create overpowered camping spots, but I totally agree with chunks taken out of walls and more attempts at hasty fortification. Al Basra isnt really the right map for this, as it was never really beat up by the invading forces compared to say Fallujah.......

Lets wait and see what Fallujah is like if its in the nxt release. Meanwhile my agreement quota has been reached, I'm off to look for stupid ideas :)

Re: Landscape building ideas

Posted: 2008-05-23 20:34
by Gamerofthegame
Would be nice to have more buildings with interiors in general, even if they are just something you can use to walk through.

Absolutely wonderful, though, would have the hotel thing actually have a interior. And I know for a fact it doesn't, as one time a Spec ops and I tried to climb up the hotel in Jabal and we fell through the balconies. Plus, a hotel interior would be interesting for CPs and firefights, as well as having it so not everyone is on the roof. Granted, if you fully model it, IE make every room open and every window etc etc, that might be laggy.