I would like to suggest and discuss two main points: interactive and punctual damage on vehicles and team-orientated vehicles.
Starting off with interactive and punctual damage:
I am not sure anymore if you could do it in Halo 3 and I haven’t experienced it in Halo 4 but in Reach you have been able to destroy the Scorpion’s and Wraith’s main weapons but leave the vehicle itself still intact, hence you have been able to eliminate the threat without having to blow up the entire vehicle.
With that in mind I have thought about the addition of interactive and punctual damage that can be caused on purpose.
Why does a Plasma Grenade that sticks to a Warthog’s wheel blow up the entire vehicle? Why doesn’t the explosion only affect the area around the wheel and the wheel itself?
So, a well-placed Sticky on the wheel could either make the Hog harder to control or even unable to move (but the turret would still function) instead of causing overall damage or complete destruction.
Why not let the pilot of an aircraft have some trouble with controlling its vehicle by shooting at its turbines or stabilizers and cause them to malfunction?
Or shoot at and destroy the Mantis’ “joints” to cut off the connection between the operator and its weapons or simply blow off one of the Mantis’ arms with a rocket or 2 well-placed stickies.
I think with such a damage system you could theoretically increase the general damage resistance of vehicles but each vehicle would have at least one punctual weak point that could either minimize or eliminate the threat it causes.
Besides, I think it would create many unique, creative and skilful ways to take out vehicles effectively without necessarily relying on power weapons to destroy them entirely and would likely create many twists during a game.
Team-orientated vehicles:
When I take a look at the current and even at the past vehicle sandbox I see a lot of “single seaters” (Scorpion, Wraith, Mantis, Banshee, etc), which are giving a single individual massive power, for a game with a multiplayer that primarily focuses on team play.
Personally, I would like to see to keep more focus on designing vehicles that require team work to be used effectively.
Now I don’t ask for redesigning or replacing the entire vehicle sandbox (though I kind of like the thought of redesigning the Scorpion into a team-orientated vehicle for MP; 1 driver/operator for the MG & 1 operator for the main turret) but I would like to see more vehicles (especially heavy ones) that encourage and require team play.
Vehicles with a similar concept like the Warthog or the Falcon is what I am aiming for.
You require one person who is solely piloting the vehicle plus at least another person who is solely operating the arms. But only when the occupants of the vehicle are working together as a team the vehicle becomes a true threat for the enemy.
Also, when you split the roles you could allow the pilot/driver a larger variety of more precise maneuvers, since he would not have to focus on shooting.
Besides, I think it is often much more fun to successfully operating a vehicle as a team than to seed death in a “single seater”.
Last but not least, I would like to introduce you to a concept of mine that I think could put team play and vehicle combat on a different level.
Castor and Pollux – the inseparable twins
(Inspired by the Sentinels from the novel Ghosts of Onyx)
Faction: Forerunner
Castor and Pollux would be “light” armored and armed (2 light hardlight cannons), hovering, agile and fast moving vehicles that can only be occupied by a single person. They would be identical in their functions but would have slight differences in their aesthetics to differ which is Castor and which is Pollux (I explain the reason for that later).
So far, with exception of their aesthetical design, weaponry and possible unique maneuvers, they wouldn’t be so special in comparison to the already existing vehicles.
But here comes the twist!
The vehicles Castor and Pollux would always appear as a pair on the map (either 2 for each team or placed together or separately in fair locations) and like the Sentinels from Onyx they are able to unite with each other.
To unite Castor and Pollux they have to be occupied by players from the same team. Are both vehicles arranged in a close range to each other you are able send a request (via a certain button) to your team mate that tells him that you would like to unite with him/her. If your team mate confirms the request the vehicles unite.
What was separated would now become one, what would mean you achieve double the strength (power and resistance) but in exchange for agility.
The new vehicle would now be controlled by a pilot, who solely pilots the vehicle, and a gunner, who solely operates the weapon: a powerful Sentinel Beam.
To prevent that the positions of pilot and gunner get distributed randomly, the player who controlled Castor would always become the pilot while the player who controlled Pollux would always become the gunner (that’s why the slight differences in aesthetics).
Now I would like to know what you think about that.
Feel free to comment, suggest or criticize as long as it is constructive.
Concepts of vehicles that would encourage team play are appreciated.
