Version 1.01: Incorporated some tweaks from the forums, deleted some suggestions, changed some others around.
Version 1.02: Changed some wording, changed Support class suggestions.
Version 1.03: Competely re-worked the final commander/teamplay section.
Class tweaks
General Notes: When looking at how classes play, I've taken my experiences in the game and what I've heard about on the forums and compiled a list of suggested tweaks to each class that might improve how the game plays. Take them or leave them, they're simply a list of possible changes that might help each class. By no means am I suggesting that all or any of them be implimented, especially not at once.
Now, keep in mind that some tweaks are to tone classes down, some are to tone the classes up. I am of the opinion that the medic could be toned down a little bit for the points it gets as a class, but only slightly. The other classes, then, should be toned UP so that there are many opportunities for a lot of points for all the classes. This is simply because of the huge requirements for increasing in rank and gaining medals and such. So, with that in mind, most suggestions tweak most of the classes 'up' for teamplay (not for combat), and attempt to balance them out so no one class is cut-and-dry better than the others in terms of combat effectiveness and ability to gain points (other than combat classes being better than teamplay classes at combat, obviously).
How many of these tweaks are implimented, if any, would be up to EA. Their job would be to determine if the assumptions which I base my suggestions on are correct, then select a proper course of action, be it implimenting my idea if it has merit, or rather, finding their own solution to the problem. For example, if stats do show that in fact, medics are advancing and racking up more points than other classes, perhaps some of the changes I suggest for the medic should be implimented. The key of course, is the find balance, to where all of the classes are played near equally. You wouldn't want to do all these changes at once, however, as you run the risk of overpowering or nerfing classes and losing players.
The tweaks, by the very nature of tweaking, must be slight, and the effects of each tweak must be judged before moving on. EA would have to do things such as check and see which class generally has the highest average score after a match, or the total amount of time the community has logged playing each class, or perhaps the ratio of fights won with one person crouching and the other running then diving prone. From the statistics of the game, we can determine what is balanced and what is not, because the more feasible choices the player has, the more strategy and skill (and thusly, teamplay) are allowed to have free reign.
Anyways, in terms of the average number of points any given class should get on a map, it should average about the same between the classes (if the players are equal skill levels), and I think a good level (of total points per minute?) would be just below where average medics are now. So, if you compare classes and their intrinsic combat and teamplay values, players of equal skill levels (with their respective classes) should wind up with around the same points at the end of the match.
So, the assumptions I operate off of are...
1.) Medics have more chances to earn points, and as such, earn more points and advance unfairly fast when compared to other classes. Thusly, they are overplayed.
2.) Spec Ops is overplayed, due to their relatively good main weapons and their C4, which allows them to threaten nearly anything on the battlefield. No other class can make such a boast.
3.) Support, Engineer, and Sniper are underplayed (in the roles they are intended for, anyway).
4.) Anti-tank and Assault could use some slight tweaking, but seem ok overall.
5.) No one class or vehicle should be able to dominate a match, every vehicle and every class should have prey and predator (rock, paper, scissors relationships).
...if you believe these are incorrect, please tell me, and I will reconsider my suggestions.
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1.) Engineer - Currently, the engineer class is usually only played when making specific use of vehicles. They hesistate to use mines, as teammates will often run over them and punish them. Not only that, but due to the relative rarity of situations in which an engineer can gain a repair point, they are left somewhat out in the cold for the purposes of class-specific teamplay points (when compared to medics and support classes). Both medics and support classes are not forced to spend anywhere near the time the engineer much spend to use their Teamplay abilities. I'd like to see the person who manages the Second or Final level of engineering repair badge without exploiting in some manner or Blackhawk hopping for an hour and a half. So, make it easier for the engineer to earn themselves repair points, fix the mine-tk problem, and maybe flesh out the engineer's ability to sense and disarm enemy explosives, if appropriate.
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a.) Get repair point for repairing 33%, not 50%. (anything...bridge, friendly vehicle, UAV, etc.). Also, they'd need to be able to see when friendly vehicles are damaged more than 33%. Perhaps an additional point for returning a piece of commander gear to functionality.
b.) Friendlies running over Mine = Either a.) Suicide or b.) Mine doesn't go off (IFF identification system).
c.) 'Engineer sense': As far as I can tell, when you're in game and you're near enemy explosives as an engineer, you usually get a warning. I'm not sure if this 'sense' is specific to the engineer class, but it should be. Furthermore, it could be tweaked into a real feature of the class. It could tell you the type of danger (Claymore, C4, or Mine) you're close to. The warning should tell you how close you are to the enemy explosive, either with a distance meter to the nearest explosive, or by blinking more rapidly as you approach the explosive. Of course, it should NOT be indicated by an icon in the HUD like friendly explosives are. Make it so that given time, Engineers can find where an explosive is and disable it.
d.) Should be able to sense/disarm enemy C4 in addition to enemy Claymores and Mines.
e.) Engineers would be the only class capable of disabling enemy explosives, and they should get points for doing so (it's a risky job, and engineers are the only guys who can do it, so they should get points).
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2.) Spec Ops - Many people play Spec Ops, but they usually seem to play it as more of an assault class rather than actually engaging in 'Spec Ops'. Only rarely have I seen bridges blown or C4 used to set up traps and destroy Commander assets. Usually, Spec Ops are the guys charging out of buildings blowing up tanks or going around suicide bombing. Spec Ops, more than many classes, is capable of taking on any threat and being good at nearly any role, hence its popularity. The class, in my opinion, should become geared more towards being sneaky and actually engaging in 'Special Operations'. Leave Flag Capping to the assault class. My main suggestion is a more inaccurate and/or less powerful gun (but silenced and with a flash suppressor). If you want to be sneaky at range, be a sniper. If you want to be sneaky up close, play Spec Ops.
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a.) Weaker Gun: Tone the primary gun down, and the other aspects of the kit become critical. Now this 'nerfing' of the primary gun of the Spec Ops can come in one of two ways. The first is that the weapons are made far less powerful, like the Anti-tank classes submachine gun is now. The other option is to make them far less accurate, so that their effective range is limited to say, combat within a base (beyond the range of a shotgun, about the same range as the submachine guns). Lastly, you could also do a combo of both, making the guns slightly less accurate and slightly less powerful. Now, to start making the class sneaky, while you tone their main gun down in one fashion or another, make the rifle silenced and/or have a flash suppressor. Lastly, since most Spec Ops guns appear to be very small, they should allow for a lot of stamina. Simply put, if the Spec Ops guy loses the element of surprise, he should stand a serious chance of losing a firefight.
b.) Reward for destroying enemy command assets.
c.) If the class remains overplayed after having the gun tweaked down, change how C4 works. Make it so that it only sticks to stationary targets (you'd be able to stick it to a stationary enemy tank still, but not a moving one). Or, make it so that it takes a moment for the Spec Ops guy to arm each C4 and deploy it. This would reduce the number of anti-vehicle kamikazis, and it still wouldn't hinder C4 for its primary use, sabatage and setting traps (because the Spec Ops class usually isn't pressed for time when setting traps or destroying enemy command assets, if he's sneaky).
d.) Spec Ops should have a form of Camo, like the sniper, but not an actual guile suit (not as good). As I mentioned below, Camo should make it so that your name doesn't show up when an enemy aims at you (Allows camo to be more effective, especially if you remain still).
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3.) Support - Relatively few people seem to play Support Class. While those that do seem to have developed a taste for the class, personally, I think there might be a few tweaks that might improve players chosing this class in support of their team. Now, I think the solution would be to make their machine guns heavier and more specialized weapons, rather than the current incarnations, where they seem to simply be large, inaccurate battle rifles.
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a.) The support class should be able to 'Deploy' his machine gun using the bipod (while either prone or set up on a ledge, like sandbags or a window or whatever) like they did in Day of Defeat. While deployed, a character could not move, and would be restricted to aiming within 45 degrees of the original direction he deployed in. In order to aim somewhere else, you'd need to undeploy, point in that direction, and redeploy. Being deployed would grant a tight, lethal spread, and the gun would be very inaccurate in any other situation. This should allow for sustained bursts of relatively accurate and therefore LETHAL fire (this makes sure people respect it and make it a point to take notice of the support guy, if only to make sure he's taken out before they advance). In DoD, the maps were relatively small, and a deployed machine guy was always a real threat if he was pointed in your direction. In BF2, the maps are larger, and thusly there will be a range where a deployed machine gun becomes ineffective (for the sake of balance). However, this range should be beyond the distances encountered when defending or attacking a base. Basically, within a certain range, I want it so that when a person realizes a machine gun is firing at them, their first reaction is to seek cover, not to return fire. Those who attempt to run through a constant stream of fire from a machine gun should die VERY quickly, unless sprinting VERY short distances perpendicular to the machine gunner from piece of cover to piece of cover. The rule of thumb is that in a straight up firefight (both combatants aware of each other), the guy in front of the deployed machine gun LOSES (unless the oppenent is a sniper or someone proned with an accurate rifle on single shot mode, at long range).
b.) In order to deploy, take away the machine gun's ability to 'scope in' with Iron sights. Instead, make it so that right clicking deploys/undeploys the machine gun (if the character is prone or near a supporting surface). This prevents the machine gun from being too effective beyond medium range, as the person using it would be unable to zoom in for more precise aiming. Keep in mind, that although deployed machine guns would be powerful, there would be ways to remove them. Grenades would be effective, since the Support class would have to undeploy before he could run. Armor, as well, would be effective at rooting out Support guys. Also, a simple flanking maneuver to come at the machine gunner from a direction other than the one he's deployed in would work as well (IE: If you know a machine gunner's waiting for you at the end of an alley, DON'T GO DOWN THE ALLEY).
c.) Make sure the machine gun fires tracers so that enemies know where the machine gunner is, and so the machine gunner knows where he's hitting.
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4.) Medic - Few changes needed here, as in my opinion, the class is pretty good. Many people, however, believe that those being a medic are so because they simply wish to gain a lot of points. So the solution I offer here is simple. Make it so that the points a medic gets are from actually taking the time to do a dedicated healing/revive action. Simply throwing down a health pack doesn't really seem like teamplay to me, nor does it make sense for a medic to simply toss down a pack and say 'heal yourself'. Make it a dedicated action to heal teammates, and still allow points for reviving (which can be a critical function of a medic and is dangerous), and I have no problems.
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a.) Not able to drop healing packs.
b.) Should know which wounded are squad leaders/commander.
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5.) Sniper - Many changes are offered here, because for the most part, the Sniper class, while certainly not useless, simply seems...off. It can be done better, and as such, the role of a sniper should become more defined and, well, sniper-like. So I'm going to throw out a lot of suggestions. I wouldn't dream that all of these should be implimented, because then you'd have elite snipers making the game completely unfun by capping you and your entire squad clear across the map, just like we have elite pilots now who are functionally invincible to anything but a better pilot (that's bad). No one person should be able to determine whether or not a team wins EXCEPT for the commander, and even then, only if he commands well and his men listen. The only combat tweaks I'm suggesting are more accuracy (but with scope sway and restrictions) and a little damage tweaking for the M95 and the semi-autos (see a.)).
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a.) More damage for M95 (1-shot chest kill (if target is unarmored)) (M95 should have large muzzle flash and make a lot of distinctive noise). Also, not sure if this is already the case, but the semi-auto sniper rifles should be able to kill in one HEADshot.
b.) A sniper should only be able to scope in when stationary. The moment he moves he should scope out. Snipers shouldn't have crosshairs with their sniper rifle unless they are zoomed in.
c.) Deviation of weapons should be changed. The American Bolt Action should be almost perfectly accurate if the sniper is prone and deployed. Basically, if a sniper can see a target, and the target is stationary, he should be able to reliably hit it in the head with the American Bolt Action, and in the chest with every other rifle (let's just say, for argument's sake, the American Bolt Action has an deviation of 1, and all the other rifles should have a deviation of 2). Depending on how far a sniper can zoom, at the most extreme zoom level, an American Bolt action should be able to reliably hit a target in the chest, while the other rifles would have like a 75% of hitting the target if you aim for center of mass.
d.) Allow snipers to deploy, like machine gunners, when prone or given a surface to deploy on, such as a sandbag or a window ledge. While deployed, you can't move and you can only move your point of view 45 degrees from the direction you set up. Deploying while standing would give you prone level accuracy (the good here is that a sniper can set up in a buildling with some cover), and deploying while prone would give you the best accuracy in the game (in terms of accuracy levels, it would probably halve deviation). The 'x' key could be used to deploy, but only while unscoped and either a.) prone or b.) near a suitable support surface, such as a ledge or sandbags. Deploying and undeploying would take a moment.
e.) Higher levels of zoom (re-select sniper rifle to change zoom level, ala switching firing modes for other weapons). Sniper rifles would have very, very, very little accuracy when unscoped (the player shouldn't even get a crosshair).
f.) Scope Sway (ala Day of Defeat's sniper rifles). Standing = most scope sway, crouching = less, prone = even less sway, deployed while prone = least.
g.) Accuracy for positions: Standing should be inaccurate, useful at short ranges only or for spotting, crouching should allow for more accurate shots but would still be inaccurate, useful perhaps to shoot someone across a small base or a few dozen yards from you. Prone would result in more accuracy, allowing you to say, hit a target across a sizeable river (like the one in Dragon Valley). Deployed and prone would give you the most accuracy, allowing you to hit anyone you can see (keep in mind that the sniper would be required to factor in travel time of the bullet, so don't worry, it'd still be hard to hit someone at that range). Note that all this is only if the rifle is scoped in. If unscoped, the sniper would be lucky to hit someone 5 yards in front of him.
h.) Gets kill assist or teamplay points for enemy vehicles spotted that are destroyed by teammates during 'spotted' duration (not infantry, because the sniper can just kill those)
i.) Sniper hits reduce stamina to zero (represents the dangers of snipers and their pinning ability) if they hit in the chest, abs, neck, or head. This makes the semi-autos more dangerous without increasing their damage, and it also promotes making sure you hit with your first shot.
j.) Gains additional points for killing enemy Squad Leaders (4 points total, 2 for the kill and 2 for the fact that it's a squad leader) and Commanders (6 points total, 2 for the kill and 4 for the fact that it's the commander) (would be able to know who the squad leaders and commanders are if he can see them). Reward careful, deliberate sniping (and patience), where he sets up, shoots, then moves to avoid detection.
k.) Name doesn't show up when enemy aims at you (Allows camo to be more effective, especially if you remain still). See notes below on camo in general. Note that muzzle flash and noise from firing your weapon could still give you away.
l.) Claymore Teamkill Fix: Either counts as suicide or doesn't go off on teammates.
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6.) Anti-tank - The anti-tank class, while pretty good overall, could also use the opportunity to make some more points. Also, if any ground trooper should be set up to fight aircraft, I think the Anti-tank might be a good candidate, since there seems to be a general complaint out there that air defense weapons simply don't work all that well (a good pilot is neigh invulnerable in an aircraft, and chopper pilots can be an absolute terror). Point is, anti-air emplacements offer precious little protection from aircraft, and besides, the better pilots know exactly where the emplacements are and when someone is in them (and it's not hard at all to dodge missiles, even after you've dropped counter-measures) by the fact that the emplacements cease the appear grey and empty on the minimap.
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a.) Stinger? (switch firing modes on anti-tank rocket to target aircraft?)
b.) Should get teamplay points for taking out vehicles. An additional point for assisting in the destruction of an enemy vehicle (so they'd get the kill assist plus the vehicle destruction assist), and a couple of extra points for destroying an enemy vehicle (assuming a one-man vehicle, they'd get two points for the kill and two points additional points for killing the vehicle).
c.) If man-portable Stingers are out of the question, perhaps simply make the Anti-tank rocket more dangerous to helicopters, especially if they hit it in say, the main rotor motor or in the tail rotor (like in the movie "Blackhawk Down"). Critical hits should put the chopper in the upper red, causing those within to have to bail out.
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7.) Assault - The Assault Class, for the most part, seems to do pretty well as is. They could use more opportunities for teamplay points, however.
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a.) Since assaulting points is most of what the Assault class does, they should probably gain additional points for assaulting and capturing a point (always get points as though capturing, rather than assisting?).
b.) Takes points faster than other classes (say, 25%)
c.) Additional Smoke Grenades (2?)
d.) Fewer Grenade Launcher rounds (3?) (make sure the Grenade Launcher is a secondary weapon, not primary).
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Tweak Vehicles
a.) Weaker choppers (perhaps only weaker to blast weapons like tank rounds and Anti-tank rockets). Attack choppers should only take one tank shot before going down (or being buried in the red). Transport choppers should take 75%+ damage from a tank round? Also, make it so that hitting certain spots on a chopper cause more damage (like the tail rotor or the main rotor engine).
b.) More effective anti-air (against planes) (missiles should seek better/faster, or chance that flares won't work). Don't make missiles turn better, make them seek better, make them faster, and make them more persistant. Make it so that flares only temporarily distract the missiles, and in order to actually dodge the missiles, the pilot must drop flares AND engage in evasive maneuvers. Evasive maneuvers alone would not work. Make it so that a missile locked on is a VERY SERIOUS situation for a pilot. As is, a pilot is near invulnerable to missiles launched from the ground, as those on the ground only get one chance to shoot at them before they're gone, and by simply dropping flares, any missiles the ground troops/vehicle throw up are completely nullified. As is, the only defense against a good pilot is a better pilot. So, make it so that missiles are more persistant and have a good chance of actually hitting and killing the airplane. Also, the missiles, WHEN THEY ACHIEVE A LOCK, SHOULD BE LOCKED ONTO THEIR TARGET. No other heat sources, save maybe the flares, should be able to shake/distract the missile. I've fired missiles from AA turrets before at a plane, and watched them steer completely away from the plane and hit a friendly transport chopper. If I let it get a lot, by god, it should be locked. If I choose NOT to lock on, then, and only then, should it go after the nearest heat source. Alternately, give planes (and possibly choppers) a limited number of flares, if the missile AI can not be improved as suggested above.
c.) Take the ability to drop bombs away from airplane pilots. Let them have guns and missiles, that way they're effective against any aircraft and at strafing positions. Let BOMBERS drop bombs, and leave that in the hands of the Bombadier, not the pilot. This will balance the aircraft just like other vehicles are balanced. As is, a skilled pilot can kill just about anything on the map, and while they can't take points, they can defend them by bombing neutralized flags. They may not be able to hit infantry spread out across the map, but I'll be damned if they won't bomb a position that's being taken and completely abort a squad's offensive. If they want to attack ground vehicles, let them use a chopper or a bomber, but be vulnerable to fighter aircraft. Everything should be effective against some things, and vulnerable to others. Like the Spec Ops class, no other vehicle but a fighter-airplane can take on everything on the map (and the fighter can do it easily with a good pilot). If it proves impossible to make the missiles more persistent and lethal, perhaps only allow the Bomber to have flares, but deny them to the fighter, so they have to outrun and dodge the missiles. Therefore, the 'food chain' would go... Ground Troops/vehicles killed by Bomber which is killed by a Fighter which is killed by Ground Troops/vehicles. It doesn't matter if real Fighter planes can do it, all that matters is that it's balanced in game.
d.) Anti-air vehicles: The flak should be used to chew through choppers, and should do at a very good rate, whereas the missiles should be effective against aircraft.
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Change Team Damage/Punish system
a.) Change it. Fix what counts as a tk to actually represent tk's (see e.)). For example, few people mean to run over a teammate with a tank, and no one seeks to fire a heak seeking missile after locking onto a jet and have the missile hit a friendly transport helicopter instead (such accidents should simply count as deaths for those unfortunates on the recieving end). If at any point the killing force is out of the player's control (missiles which guide themselves, mines and claymores which the player has no control over after deploying, etc.), it's not a TK. Direct control weapons are what cause what can be interpreted as a TK's (T.V. missiles, C4, hand weapons, grenade launchers, etc.). Once the control is out of the player's hands (to a certain degree), they are not responsible for deaths or injury of their teammates.
b.) Make friendly explosives warning symbols denote C4, Claymore, or Mine.
c.) Make Claymore and Mine TK's count simply as suicides, or the weapons simply don't go off. To make sure Mines and Claymores won't be used for TK's, make it so that only after the weapons have been in place for five seconds, it doesn't count as a TK.
d.) Forgive should fully remove all point loss.
e.) Fix physics and kill allocation so that tk's are really tk's (rather than someone tripping on their way out of a helicopter). A pilot should not count as tk'ing his passengers (they chose to ride with him and have the option of getting out at any time), an engineer and a sniper should not be responsible for someone who gets themselves killed by their emplaced explosives, a tank driver should not be responsible for the damage caused by a friendly vehicle running into him, and a commander should not be held responsible for people running into the middle of an arty bombardment (any other situations you guys can think of?). Basically, if it is the 'victims' fault for the tk, it shouldn't count (a commander can't keep people from running into an arty bombardment).
f.) Tk should default to 'forgive'
g.) Less points punishment for Tk's, stricter server policies on the NUMBER of Tk's (tighten up what counts as a tk though, for example, getting hit by your own team's artillary should count as a suicide, as I've seen too many commanders kicked from servers because of people running into the middle of an arty bombardment).
h.) A new class of team injury/kill, called 'accident', which only penalizes 1-2 points, and also results in no points loss if forgiven. DepthChargeX [accident] robin_j. This area would entail backing over people, arty teamkills, and similar accidents. This would make it so that what is defined as team damage and team kills is more narrow, and therefore people get punished less.
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Change Team Balance system
a.) Switch Lone Wolves first, then entire squads (if possible), smallest squads before larger ones, Squad Members before leaders. This means that the lone wolves get switched first, then 1-man squads, then a member from a 2-man squad, then the squad leader from the same squad, so on and so forth (Commander should NEVER be switched).
b.) Create a system for Clans, whereby those with the same Clan Tag are always put on the same team. Furthermore, allow a player who joins a clan to automatically have his clan tag updated and added to his profile (that way you don't have to start an entirely new profile when you join/leave a clan).
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Game Mechanics
a.) Can't shoot while jumping (takes a moment to bring gun back up)
b.) Can't shoot while diving (takes a moment to bring gun back up after proning) (makes crouching a worthwhile option in a firefight)
c.) Jumping takes 30% stamina? Not able to jump below 30% stamina level?
d.) 3-d warning for for incoming friendly arty (IE: In game in addition to on the map)
e.) Easier to get lots of points as any class (that, or change the ranking and medal requirements to something more realistic and attainable).
f.) When you leave a squad, you cannot rejoin for 15 seconds (prevents leaving and rejoining to change squad leader)? 30 seconds? This makes keeping the squad leader alive very important.
g.) Extend Flag Defense Area to twice radius to capture flag or to the entire base. Flag Defense assists? (reward defense more, because being stationary and suffering through arty and bombing sucks).
h.) Pistols less accurate than just about any other weapon overall, decent power, except against Body armor.
i.) Give different symbols for different threats, C4, Claymore, Mine, class-specific warnings?
j.) Parachutes only for jumping out of helicopters/aircraft (not jumping off a high ledge). Perhaps simply increase the distance one must fall before a parachute can be used (make the distance you fall before you can open a parachute = to a fall that would kill you).
k.) Commander punished less for arty tks (assuming 3-d arty icon tweak) (perhaps count them as an 'accident', as mentioned above). Also, Tk's from arty bombardment shouldn't count towards getting kicked from a server.
l.) More incentives to command (and command well) (fewer points for 'active duty' commanders, as they should be commanding, not running around capping points), Commanders only get teamplay points for defending, not capturing points or kills. Command points would include an assist for having a spotted target destroyed during the spotted duration (like the suggestion for the sniper class) (only gets points for calling out enemy vehicles and snipers, as other infantry is 'the norm').
m.) Longer 'spotted' time to reward taking the time to 'spot' something or someone. 15 seconds for a tank/airplane/chopper/anti-air/APC (high profile important vehicles which teammates NEED to know about), 10 seconds for a Jeep or Boat (Transport vehicles), and 5 seconds for infantry (whatever the current 'spotted' duration is).
n.) Fix VOIP support (multiple times I've played on a VOIP server and not been able to communicate via VOIP)
o.) Get additional points for destroying/killing spotted targets (spotter wouldn't get any extra points if they kill what they spot). (Gives Planes, Armor, Helicopters, Snipers, etc. incentive to help out their teammates in distress). This only applies for spotting enemy vehicles and snipers.
p.) Capping goes slower in vehicles? (3/4 in ground vehicles, 1/2 in aircraft/helicopters?) (makes it important to have infantry support when taking a point)
q.) Medals, Badges, and Ribbons should use TOTAL stats, not 'x in one round' values. Otherwise, badges such as the knife or pistol badge, which require a score of 'x in one round', are detrimental to a team when a player actively goes after them. Rather than do awards by a person's performance in a round, do it by their performance overall, or over time as a rate (perhaps get an award for reaching a RATE of 3 teamplay points, or Commander points, or Squad Leader points, or Squad Member points a minute, or kill assists, or vehicle points, something like that), or a percentage. Increase the incentive for teamplay, not individual glory, with awards. This also prevents people from choosing a server based upon round time and how long they have to try to get a medal. Simply put, make it so that going for any award and playing as best you can for your team are not mutually exclusive.
r.) Take a look at the records of each top player. If they have exploited, simply bust them down to private (or take away the appropriate amount of points that they exploited). If they've cheated, ban their CD-key.
s.) When voting, the amount of votes required to get something done, such as a map change or kicking a player or a mutiny, should not take into account those who abstain from voting to determine the required number of votes. Say, if 75% of those who voted vote for something, then the vote would be successful. Kick votes should require more, like 80%.
t.) Spec Ops and Snipers should be able to disable THEIR explosives and pick them up, probably using their knife like an engineer would his wrench.
u.) Reward for defending command assets (from Spec Ops).
v.) Camo, while also helping you visually blend in, should prevent your name from showing up when an enemy aims at you (when you're on foot) (applies to sniper and possibly spec ops).
w.) ENTIRE TEAM SHOULD BENEFIT FROM WINNING, not just commander! x2 for being commander, 20% extra points for being a squad leader, 10% extra points for being a member/Lonewolf on the winning team. How would you prevent last minute team switchers and losers bailing out of the game? Make it so that wins/losses games still count even if you ditch (if the game ends within three minutes after you leave and you've been there for at least three minutes), for one, and make it impossible to switch to the winning team (disallow team switching for each player after being in the game for three minutes (three minutes after you join, and the first three minutes of any round after)...server-autobalance-auto-team-switch only after that). Make it so that if you switch teams, you do not count as dying or committing suicide.
x.) In-Vehicle chat (both typing and VOIP channel)
y.) Fix lag for communication rose and typing. I can't count the number of times I go to say 'Thank you' to a medic for reviving me and my shotgun goes off, removing the face of the man I'm trying to thank, nor can I count the times I've been typing while in an aircraft, and whatever I'm typing ends with 'e', resulting in a situation where when I hit enter to state what I intend to say, I impact upon the ground at about the same time.
z.) Make infantry slightly tougher when it comes to being run over by vehicles (IE: Make it so that you can't tk a friendly trooper with the very corner of your tank while moving 5 mph).
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Lastly, command and teamplay needs to be emphasized more, with points. Commanding needs to have legitimate benefits for the Commander, so that those who like to command and are capable of it do so. Make command points reflect the benefits of following.
Command points should be given to the Commander for:
1.) Honoring requests from Squad Leaders within reason. A Commander should be able to drop Arty or UAV or Supplies within a radius of the Squad Leader's request and still have that count as 'honoring' the request, based on his prerogative.
2.) Having his orders followed. Any order he gives that is completed gives him a point.
Command points should be given to the Squad Leader for:
1.) Following orders from the Commander.
Command points should be given to Squad Members for:
1.) Following orders from either Squad Leaders or the Commander.
When giving orders, the orders are considered 'completed' if even a single member of a squad completes them. Only the members that actually follow the order get the additional command points. No command points are given for 'move' orders. There should be a way to set up waypoints and a set of commands for squads. Perhaps give the commander a point resource, where he can assign a point value to a certain command as incentive for those getting the order.
How orders work would have to be changed to reflect this.
Orders:
ATTACK: The Commander and participating squad members gain points if the squad he orders to attack a point captures it. 'Attack' is an option when a commander has a squad (or squads) selected and right-clicks on an enemy or neutral capture point, or zooms all the way in and right-clicks on a specific point or target. For example, a commander can select a squad and tell them to capture an enemy point. By the same token, if the commander has just spotted an enemy tank, he should be able to right-click on the tank and give the squad orders to attack the tank (not simply the position the tank is currently in, mind you). The orders to attack specific enemy units (and the accompanying ICON on the HUDs of the squad) would last as long as they are 'spotted' or on the UAV. If ordered to attack a specific enemy target, the player gains an additional point for the kill, and the commander gains a point for having his order followed. Attack orders last until the Squad Leader requests new orders, the Squad is given a new command, or until the point is taken.
DEFEND: The Commander gains a point each time the squad he orders to defend a point defends it (gains a flag defense kill, see h.)). This will cause commanders to consider defense more. Each member of the squad gains an additional point for each Flag Defense kill (that occurs in the area they're supposed to be defending) or Teamplay action (that occurs within the Flag Defense Area) while on these orders. Defend would be the order selectable when a commander right-clicked on a captured point. Defend orders last until the Squad Leader requests new orders, the Squad is given a new command, or the point has been taken by enemies.
DESTROY: The Commander gains a point if the squad he orders to destroy a target does so, as does the participating Spec Ops. 'Destroy' orders could only be given on destroyable targets, such as bridges, enemy UAV and Satellite trailers, etc. The Spec Ops players gain an additional point, and the Commander gains a point. Destroy orders should only be broadcast to the Spec Ops players within a squad? Destroy orders would last until the target was destroyed or the Spec Ops was given/requested new orders.
REPAIR: Commander gains a point if the object/vehicle is repaired, and the Engineer gains an additional point (on top of whatever points he gets for repairs) for obeying the commander. If repair orders are given on a vehicle, the repair order icon on the Engineer's HUD should move with the vehicle. Repair orders should only be broadcast to engineers within the selected squad. Repair orders would last until the target was repaired or the Engineer was given/requested new orders.
MINE: The engineer and the commander only gain points from this order when the Mines laid within 15 meters of the location of the command gain kills. The engineer gains an additional point per kill gained by the mines, and the commander gains a point per kill. The mining order would be complete as soon as the engineer requested new orders or was given new orders (no points for completing the order, only for the kills netted by the mines put down in the area of the original command). Mine orders should only be broadcast to engineers within the selected squad. Mine orders would last until the target area was mined or the engineer was given/requested new orders.
MOVE: No additional points for moving. Should be able to right-click on a friendly unit and tell a squad to move with it (IE: Tell a squad to move with and support a tank, or tell one squad leader to move with another squad leader).
UAV, SUPPLIES, and ARTY: Commander gains no points for using these powers, unless he uses them to fulfill requests from squad leaders. However, some squad leaders request these powers improperly, making it so that if the commander honored their request, the powers would be wasted. Make it so that if the commander honors the request in the general area of the request, the Commander is rewarded (this allows commanders to, for example, put a supply crate someplace more useful than what a squad leader might request it at, and still get the points).
Make it so that depending on what you right-click on the map, you get different options. For example, if you have a squad selected, and you right-click an enemy or neutral point, the option to attack it should come up (not defend). If you select a squad and right-click on your point, the option to defend it should come up (not attack). If you right-click on a friendly tank, repair should come up, etc.
Commanders should be able to queue up multiple orders (at least three) for a squad (perhaps by holding shift), and Squad Leaders should have the ability to say when an order is complete and move on to their next command. For example, if a squad leader had multiple orders queued up by the Commander, 'Requesting new orders' would be replaced by 'Orders complete' in the communications rose. 'Orders complete' would clear the current order, automatically moving to the next order in the queue. A squad that doesn't have orders would be able to request new orders.
There, that's my tweaked list of suggestions for EA. Thoughts? Further tweaks?
Version 1.02: Changed some wording, changed Support class suggestions.
Version 1.03: Competely re-worked the final commander/teamplay section.
Class tweaks
General Notes: When looking at how classes play, I've taken my experiences in the game and what I've heard about on the forums and compiled a list of suggested tweaks to each class that might improve how the game plays. Take them or leave them, they're simply a list of possible changes that might help each class. By no means am I suggesting that all or any of them be implimented, especially not at once.
Now, keep in mind that some tweaks are to tone classes down, some are to tone the classes up. I am of the opinion that the medic could be toned down a little bit for the points it gets as a class, but only slightly. The other classes, then, should be toned UP so that there are many opportunities for a lot of points for all the classes. This is simply because of the huge requirements for increasing in rank and gaining medals and such. So, with that in mind, most suggestions tweak most of the classes 'up' for teamplay (not for combat), and attempt to balance them out so no one class is cut-and-dry better than the others in terms of combat effectiveness and ability to gain points (other than combat classes being better than teamplay classes at combat, obviously).
How many of these tweaks are implimented, if any, would be up to EA. Their job would be to determine if the assumptions which I base my suggestions on are correct, then select a proper course of action, be it implimenting my idea if it has merit, or rather, finding their own solution to the problem. For example, if stats do show that in fact, medics are advancing and racking up more points than other classes, perhaps some of the changes I suggest for the medic should be implimented. The key of course, is the find balance, to where all of the classes are played near equally. You wouldn't want to do all these changes at once, however, as you run the risk of overpowering or nerfing classes and losing players.
The tweaks, by the very nature of tweaking, must be slight, and the effects of each tweak must be judged before moving on. EA would have to do things such as check and see which class generally has the highest average score after a match, or the total amount of time the community has logged playing each class, or perhaps the ratio of fights won with one person crouching and the other running then diving prone. From the statistics of the game, we can determine what is balanced and what is not, because the more feasible choices the player has, the more strategy and skill (and thusly, teamplay) are allowed to have free reign.
Anyways, in terms of the average number of points any given class should get on a map, it should average about the same between the classes (if the players are equal skill levels), and I think a good level (of total points per minute?) would be just below where average medics are now. So, if you compare classes and their intrinsic combat and teamplay values, players of equal skill levels (with their respective classes) should wind up with around the same points at the end of the match.
So, the assumptions I operate off of are...
1.) Medics have more chances to earn points, and as such, earn more points and advance unfairly fast when compared to other classes. Thusly, they are overplayed.
2.) Spec Ops is overplayed, due to their relatively good main weapons and their C4, which allows them to threaten nearly anything on the battlefield. No other class can make such a boast.
3.) Support, Engineer, and Sniper are underplayed (in the roles they are intended for, anyway).
4.) Anti-tank and Assault could use some slight tweaking, but seem ok overall.
5.) No one class or vehicle should be able to dominate a match, every vehicle and every class should have prey and predator (rock, paper, scissors relationships).
...if you believe these are incorrect, please tell me, and I will reconsider my suggestions.
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1.) Engineer - Currently, the engineer class is usually only played when making specific use of vehicles. They hesistate to use mines, as teammates will often run over them and punish them. Not only that, but due to the relative rarity of situations in which an engineer can gain a repair point, they are left somewhat out in the cold for the purposes of class-specific teamplay points (when compared to medics and support classes). Both medics and support classes are not forced to spend anywhere near the time the engineer much spend to use their Teamplay abilities. I'd like to see the person who manages the Second or Final level of engineering repair badge without exploiting in some manner or Blackhawk hopping for an hour and a half. So, make it easier for the engineer to earn themselves repair points, fix the mine-tk problem, and maybe flesh out the engineer's ability to sense and disarm enemy explosives, if appropriate.
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a.) Get repair point for repairing 33%, not 50%. (anything...bridge, friendly vehicle, UAV, etc.). Also, they'd need to be able to see when friendly vehicles are damaged more than 33%. Perhaps an additional point for returning a piece of commander gear to functionality.
b.) Friendlies running over Mine = Either a.) Suicide or b.) Mine doesn't go off (IFF identification system).
c.) 'Engineer sense': As far as I can tell, when you're in game and you're near enemy explosives as an engineer, you usually get a warning. I'm not sure if this 'sense' is specific to the engineer class, but it should be. Furthermore, it could be tweaked into a real feature of the class. It could tell you the type of danger (Claymore, C4, or Mine) you're close to. The warning should tell you how close you are to the enemy explosive, either with a distance meter to the nearest explosive, or by blinking more rapidly as you approach the explosive. Of course, it should NOT be indicated by an icon in the HUD like friendly explosives are. Make it so that given time, Engineers can find where an explosive is and disable it.
d.) Should be able to sense/disarm enemy C4 in addition to enemy Claymores and Mines.
e.) Engineers would be the only class capable of disabling enemy explosives, and they should get points for doing so (it's a risky job, and engineers are the only guys who can do it, so they should get points).
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2.) Spec Ops - Many people play Spec Ops, but they usually seem to play it as more of an assault class rather than actually engaging in 'Spec Ops'. Only rarely have I seen bridges blown or C4 used to set up traps and destroy Commander assets. Usually, Spec Ops are the guys charging out of buildings blowing up tanks or going around suicide bombing. Spec Ops, more than many classes, is capable of taking on any threat and being good at nearly any role, hence its popularity. The class, in my opinion, should become geared more towards being sneaky and actually engaging in 'Special Operations'. Leave Flag Capping to the assault class. My main suggestion is a more inaccurate and/or less powerful gun (but silenced and with a flash suppressor). If you want to be sneaky at range, be a sniper. If you want to be sneaky up close, play Spec Ops.
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a.) Weaker Gun: Tone the primary gun down, and the other aspects of the kit become critical. Now this 'nerfing' of the primary gun of the Spec Ops can come in one of two ways. The first is that the weapons are made far less powerful, like the Anti-tank classes submachine gun is now. The other option is to make them far less accurate, so that their effective range is limited to say, combat within a base (beyond the range of a shotgun, about the same range as the submachine guns). Lastly, you could also do a combo of both, making the guns slightly less accurate and slightly less powerful. Now, to start making the class sneaky, while you tone their main gun down in one fashion or another, make the rifle silenced and/or have a flash suppressor. Lastly, since most Spec Ops guns appear to be very small, they should allow for a lot of stamina. Simply put, if the Spec Ops guy loses the element of surprise, he should stand a serious chance of losing a firefight.
b.) Reward for destroying enemy command assets.
c.) If the class remains overplayed after having the gun tweaked down, change how C4 works. Make it so that it only sticks to stationary targets (you'd be able to stick it to a stationary enemy tank still, but not a moving one). Or, make it so that it takes a moment for the Spec Ops guy to arm each C4 and deploy it. This would reduce the number of anti-vehicle kamikazis, and it still wouldn't hinder C4 for its primary use, sabatage and setting traps (because the Spec Ops class usually isn't pressed for time when setting traps or destroying enemy command assets, if he's sneaky).
d.) Spec Ops should have a form of Camo, like the sniper, but not an actual guile suit (not as good). As I mentioned below, Camo should make it so that your name doesn't show up when an enemy aims at you (Allows camo to be more effective, especially if you remain still).
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3.) Support - Relatively few people seem to play Support Class. While those that do seem to have developed a taste for the class, personally, I think there might be a few tweaks that might improve players chosing this class in support of their team. Now, I think the solution would be to make their machine guns heavier and more specialized weapons, rather than the current incarnations, where they seem to simply be large, inaccurate battle rifles.
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a.) The support class should be able to 'Deploy' his machine gun using the bipod (while either prone or set up on a ledge, like sandbags or a window or whatever) like they did in Day of Defeat. While deployed, a character could not move, and would be restricted to aiming within 45 degrees of the original direction he deployed in. In order to aim somewhere else, you'd need to undeploy, point in that direction, and redeploy. Being deployed would grant a tight, lethal spread, and the gun would be very inaccurate in any other situation. This should allow for sustained bursts of relatively accurate and therefore LETHAL fire (this makes sure people respect it and make it a point to take notice of the support guy, if only to make sure he's taken out before they advance). In DoD, the maps were relatively small, and a deployed machine guy was always a real threat if he was pointed in your direction. In BF2, the maps are larger, and thusly there will be a range where a deployed machine gun becomes ineffective (for the sake of balance). However, this range should be beyond the distances encountered when defending or attacking a base. Basically, within a certain range, I want it so that when a person realizes a machine gun is firing at them, their first reaction is to seek cover, not to return fire. Those who attempt to run through a constant stream of fire from a machine gun should die VERY quickly, unless sprinting VERY short distances perpendicular to the machine gunner from piece of cover to piece of cover. The rule of thumb is that in a straight up firefight (both combatants aware of each other), the guy in front of the deployed machine gun LOSES (unless the oppenent is a sniper or someone proned with an accurate rifle on single shot mode, at long range).
b.) In order to deploy, take away the machine gun's ability to 'scope in' with Iron sights. Instead, make it so that right clicking deploys/undeploys the machine gun (if the character is prone or near a supporting surface). This prevents the machine gun from being too effective beyond medium range, as the person using it would be unable to zoom in for more precise aiming. Keep in mind, that although deployed machine guns would be powerful, there would be ways to remove them. Grenades would be effective, since the Support class would have to undeploy before he could run. Armor, as well, would be effective at rooting out Support guys. Also, a simple flanking maneuver to come at the machine gunner from a direction other than the one he's deployed in would work as well (IE: If you know a machine gunner's waiting for you at the end of an alley, DON'T GO DOWN THE ALLEY).
c.) Make sure the machine gun fires tracers so that enemies know where the machine gunner is, and so the machine gunner knows where he's hitting.
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4.) Medic - Few changes needed here, as in my opinion, the class is pretty good. Many people, however, believe that those being a medic are so because they simply wish to gain a lot of points. So the solution I offer here is simple. Make it so that the points a medic gets are from actually taking the time to do a dedicated healing/revive action. Simply throwing down a health pack doesn't really seem like teamplay to me, nor does it make sense for a medic to simply toss down a pack and say 'heal yourself'. Make it a dedicated action to heal teammates, and still allow points for reviving (which can be a critical function of a medic and is dangerous), and I have no problems.
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a.) Not able to drop healing packs.
b.) Should know which wounded are squad leaders/commander.
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5.) Sniper - Many changes are offered here, because for the most part, the Sniper class, while certainly not useless, simply seems...off. It can be done better, and as such, the role of a sniper should become more defined and, well, sniper-like. So I'm going to throw out a lot of suggestions. I wouldn't dream that all of these should be implimented, because then you'd have elite snipers making the game completely unfun by capping you and your entire squad clear across the map, just like we have elite pilots now who are functionally invincible to anything but a better pilot (that's bad). No one person should be able to determine whether or not a team wins EXCEPT for the commander, and even then, only if he commands well and his men listen. The only combat tweaks I'm suggesting are more accuracy (but with scope sway and restrictions) and a little damage tweaking for the M95 and the semi-autos (see a.)).
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a.) More damage for M95 (1-shot chest kill (if target is unarmored)) (M95 should have large muzzle flash and make a lot of distinctive noise). Also, not sure if this is already the case, but the semi-auto sniper rifles should be able to kill in one HEADshot.
b.) A sniper should only be able to scope in when stationary. The moment he moves he should scope out. Snipers shouldn't have crosshairs with their sniper rifle unless they are zoomed in.
c.) Deviation of weapons should be changed. The American Bolt Action should be almost perfectly accurate if the sniper is prone and deployed. Basically, if a sniper can see a target, and the target is stationary, he should be able to reliably hit it in the head with the American Bolt Action, and in the chest with every other rifle (let's just say, for argument's sake, the American Bolt Action has an deviation of 1, and all the other rifles should have a deviation of 2). Depending on how far a sniper can zoom, at the most extreme zoom level, an American Bolt action should be able to reliably hit a target in the chest, while the other rifles would have like a 75% of hitting the target if you aim for center of mass.
d.) Allow snipers to deploy, like machine gunners, when prone or given a surface to deploy on, such as a sandbag or a window ledge. While deployed, you can't move and you can only move your point of view 45 degrees from the direction you set up. Deploying while standing would give you prone level accuracy (the good here is that a sniper can set up in a buildling with some cover), and deploying while prone would give you the best accuracy in the game (in terms of accuracy levels, it would probably halve deviation). The 'x' key could be used to deploy, but only while unscoped and either a.) prone or b.) near a suitable support surface, such as a ledge or sandbags. Deploying and undeploying would take a moment.
e.) Higher levels of zoom (re-select sniper rifle to change zoom level, ala switching firing modes for other weapons). Sniper rifles would have very, very, very little accuracy when unscoped (the player shouldn't even get a crosshair).
f.) Scope Sway (ala Day of Defeat's sniper rifles). Standing = most scope sway, crouching = less, prone = even less sway, deployed while prone = least.
g.) Accuracy for positions: Standing should be inaccurate, useful at short ranges only or for spotting, crouching should allow for more accurate shots but would still be inaccurate, useful perhaps to shoot someone across a small base or a few dozen yards from you. Prone would result in more accuracy, allowing you to say, hit a target across a sizeable river (like the one in Dragon Valley). Deployed and prone would give you the most accuracy, allowing you to hit anyone you can see (keep in mind that the sniper would be required to factor in travel time of the bullet, so don't worry, it'd still be hard to hit someone at that range). Note that all this is only if the rifle is scoped in. If unscoped, the sniper would be lucky to hit someone 5 yards in front of him.
h.) Gets kill assist or teamplay points for enemy vehicles spotted that are destroyed by teammates during 'spotted' duration (not infantry, because the sniper can just kill those)
i.) Sniper hits reduce stamina to zero (represents the dangers of snipers and their pinning ability) if they hit in the chest, abs, neck, or head. This makes the semi-autos more dangerous without increasing their damage, and it also promotes making sure you hit with your first shot.
j.) Gains additional points for killing enemy Squad Leaders (4 points total, 2 for the kill and 2 for the fact that it's a squad leader) and Commanders (6 points total, 2 for the kill and 4 for the fact that it's the commander) (would be able to know who the squad leaders and commanders are if he can see them). Reward careful, deliberate sniping (and patience), where he sets up, shoots, then moves to avoid detection.
k.) Name doesn't show up when enemy aims at you (Allows camo to be more effective, especially if you remain still). See notes below on camo in general. Note that muzzle flash and noise from firing your weapon could still give you away.
l.) Claymore Teamkill Fix: Either counts as suicide or doesn't go off on teammates.
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6.) Anti-tank - The anti-tank class, while pretty good overall, could also use the opportunity to make some more points. Also, if any ground trooper should be set up to fight aircraft, I think the Anti-tank might be a good candidate, since there seems to be a general complaint out there that air defense weapons simply don't work all that well (a good pilot is neigh invulnerable in an aircraft, and chopper pilots can be an absolute terror). Point is, anti-air emplacements offer precious little protection from aircraft, and besides, the better pilots know exactly where the emplacements are and when someone is in them (and it's not hard at all to dodge missiles, even after you've dropped counter-measures) by the fact that the emplacements cease the appear grey and empty on the minimap.
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a.) Stinger? (switch firing modes on anti-tank rocket to target aircraft?)
b.) Should get teamplay points for taking out vehicles. An additional point for assisting in the destruction of an enemy vehicle (so they'd get the kill assist plus the vehicle destruction assist), and a couple of extra points for destroying an enemy vehicle (assuming a one-man vehicle, they'd get two points for the kill and two points additional points for killing the vehicle).
c.) If man-portable Stingers are out of the question, perhaps simply make the Anti-tank rocket more dangerous to helicopters, especially if they hit it in say, the main rotor motor or in the tail rotor (like in the movie "Blackhawk Down"). Critical hits should put the chopper in the upper red, causing those within to have to bail out.
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7.) Assault - The Assault Class, for the most part, seems to do pretty well as is. They could use more opportunities for teamplay points, however.
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a.) Since assaulting points is most of what the Assault class does, they should probably gain additional points for assaulting and capturing a point (always get points as though capturing, rather than assisting?).
b.) Takes points faster than other classes (say, 25%)
c.) Additional Smoke Grenades (2?)
d.) Fewer Grenade Launcher rounds (3?) (make sure the Grenade Launcher is a secondary weapon, not primary).
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Tweak Vehicles
a.) Weaker choppers (perhaps only weaker to blast weapons like tank rounds and Anti-tank rockets). Attack choppers should only take one tank shot before going down (or being buried in the red). Transport choppers should take 75%+ damage from a tank round? Also, make it so that hitting certain spots on a chopper cause more damage (like the tail rotor or the main rotor engine).
b.) More effective anti-air (against planes) (missiles should seek better/faster, or chance that flares won't work). Don't make missiles turn better, make them seek better, make them faster, and make them more persistant. Make it so that flares only temporarily distract the missiles, and in order to actually dodge the missiles, the pilot must drop flares AND engage in evasive maneuvers. Evasive maneuvers alone would not work. Make it so that a missile locked on is a VERY SERIOUS situation for a pilot. As is, a pilot is near invulnerable to missiles launched from the ground, as those on the ground only get one chance to shoot at them before they're gone, and by simply dropping flares, any missiles the ground troops/vehicle throw up are completely nullified. As is, the only defense against a good pilot is a better pilot. So, make it so that missiles are more persistant and have a good chance of actually hitting and killing the airplane. Also, the missiles, WHEN THEY ACHIEVE A LOCK, SHOULD BE LOCKED ONTO THEIR TARGET. No other heat sources, save maybe the flares, should be able to shake/distract the missile. I've fired missiles from AA turrets before at a plane, and watched them steer completely away from the plane and hit a friendly transport chopper. If I let it get a lot, by god, it should be locked. If I choose NOT to lock on, then, and only then, should it go after the nearest heat source. Alternately, give planes (and possibly choppers) a limited number of flares, if the missile AI can not be improved as suggested above.
c.) Take the ability to drop bombs away from airplane pilots. Let them have guns and missiles, that way they're effective against any aircraft and at strafing positions. Let BOMBERS drop bombs, and leave that in the hands of the Bombadier, not the pilot. This will balance the aircraft just like other vehicles are balanced. As is, a skilled pilot can kill just about anything on the map, and while they can't take points, they can defend them by bombing neutralized flags. They may not be able to hit infantry spread out across the map, but I'll be damned if they won't bomb a position that's being taken and completely abort a squad's offensive. If they want to attack ground vehicles, let them use a chopper or a bomber, but be vulnerable to fighter aircraft. Everything should be effective against some things, and vulnerable to others. Like the Spec Ops class, no other vehicle but a fighter-airplane can take on everything on the map (and the fighter can do it easily with a good pilot). If it proves impossible to make the missiles more persistent and lethal, perhaps only allow the Bomber to have flares, but deny them to the fighter, so they have to outrun and dodge the missiles. Therefore, the 'food chain' would go... Ground Troops/vehicles killed by Bomber which is killed by a Fighter which is killed by Ground Troops/vehicles. It doesn't matter if real Fighter planes can do it, all that matters is that it's balanced in game.
d.) Anti-air vehicles: The flak should be used to chew through choppers, and should do at a very good rate, whereas the missiles should be effective against aircraft.
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Change Team Damage/Punish system
a.) Change it. Fix what counts as a tk to actually represent tk's (see e.)). For example, few people mean to run over a teammate with a tank, and no one seeks to fire a heak seeking missile after locking onto a jet and have the missile hit a friendly transport helicopter instead (such accidents should simply count as deaths for those unfortunates on the recieving end). If at any point the killing force is out of the player's control (missiles which guide themselves, mines and claymores which the player has no control over after deploying, etc.), it's not a TK. Direct control weapons are what cause what can be interpreted as a TK's (T.V. missiles, C4, hand weapons, grenade launchers, etc.). Once the control is out of the player's hands (to a certain degree), they are not responsible for deaths or injury of their teammates.
b.) Make friendly explosives warning symbols denote C4, Claymore, or Mine.
c.) Make Claymore and Mine TK's count simply as suicides, or the weapons simply don't go off. To make sure Mines and Claymores won't be used for TK's, make it so that only after the weapons have been in place for five seconds, it doesn't count as a TK.
d.) Forgive should fully remove all point loss.
e.) Fix physics and kill allocation so that tk's are really tk's (rather than someone tripping on their way out of a helicopter). A pilot should not count as tk'ing his passengers (they chose to ride with him and have the option of getting out at any time), an engineer and a sniper should not be responsible for someone who gets themselves killed by their emplaced explosives, a tank driver should not be responsible for the damage caused by a friendly vehicle running into him, and a commander should not be held responsible for people running into the middle of an arty bombardment (any other situations you guys can think of?). Basically, if it is the 'victims' fault for the tk, it shouldn't count (a commander can't keep people from running into an arty bombardment).
f.) Tk should default to 'forgive'
g.) Less points punishment for Tk's, stricter server policies on the NUMBER of Tk's (tighten up what counts as a tk though, for example, getting hit by your own team's artillary should count as a suicide, as I've seen too many commanders kicked from servers because of people running into the middle of an arty bombardment).
h.) A new class of team injury/kill, called 'accident', which only penalizes 1-2 points, and also results in no points loss if forgiven. DepthChargeX [accident] robin_j. This area would entail backing over people, arty teamkills, and similar accidents. This would make it so that what is defined as team damage and team kills is more narrow, and therefore people get punished less.
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Change Team Balance system
a.) Switch Lone Wolves first, then entire squads (if possible), smallest squads before larger ones, Squad Members before leaders. This means that the lone wolves get switched first, then 1-man squads, then a member from a 2-man squad, then the squad leader from the same squad, so on and so forth (Commander should NEVER be switched).
b.) Create a system for Clans, whereby those with the same Clan Tag are always put on the same team. Furthermore, allow a player who joins a clan to automatically have his clan tag updated and added to his profile (that way you don't have to start an entirely new profile when you join/leave a clan).
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Game Mechanics
a.) Can't shoot while jumping (takes a moment to bring gun back up)
b.) Can't shoot while diving (takes a moment to bring gun back up after proning) (makes crouching a worthwhile option in a firefight)
c.) Jumping takes 30% stamina? Not able to jump below 30% stamina level?
d.) 3-d warning for for incoming friendly arty (IE: In game in addition to on the map)
e.) Easier to get lots of points as any class (that, or change the ranking and medal requirements to something more realistic and attainable).
f.) When you leave a squad, you cannot rejoin for 15 seconds (prevents leaving and rejoining to change squad leader)? 30 seconds? This makes keeping the squad leader alive very important.
g.) Extend Flag Defense Area to twice radius to capture flag or to the entire base. Flag Defense assists? (reward defense more, because being stationary and suffering through arty and bombing sucks).
h.) Pistols less accurate than just about any other weapon overall, decent power, except against Body armor.
i.) Give different symbols for different threats, C4, Claymore, Mine, class-specific warnings?
j.) Parachutes only for jumping out of helicopters/aircraft (not jumping off a high ledge). Perhaps simply increase the distance one must fall before a parachute can be used (make the distance you fall before you can open a parachute = to a fall that would kill you).
k.) Commander punished less for arty tks (assuming 3-d arty icon tweak) (perhaps count them as an 'accident', as mentioned above). Also, Tk's from arty bombardment shouldn't count towards getting kicked from a server.
l.) More incentives to command (and command well) (fewer points for 'active duty' commanders, as they should be commanding, not running around capping points), Commanders only get teamplay points for defending, not capturing points or kills. Command points would include an assist for having a spotted target destroyed during the spotted duration (like the suggestion for the sniper class) (only gets points for calling out enemy vehicles and snipers, as other infantry is 'the norm').
m.) Longer 'spotted' time to reward taking the time to 'spot' something or someone. 15 seconds for a tank/airplane/chopper/anti-air/APC (high profile important vehicles which teammates NEED to know about), 10 seconds for a Jeep or Boat (Transport vehicles), and 5 seconds for infantry (whatever the current 'spotted' duration is).
n.) Fix VOIP support (multiple times I've played on a VOIP server and not been able to communicate via VOIP)
o.) Get additional points for destroying/killing spotted targets (spotter wouldn't get any extra points if they kill what they spot). (Gives Planes, Armor, Helicopters, Snipers, etc. incentive to help out their teammates in distress). This only applies for spotting enemy vehicles and snipers.
p.) Capping goes slower in vehicles? (3/4 in ground vehicles, 1/2 in aircraft/helicopters?) (makes it important to have infantry support when taking a point)
q.) Medals, Badges, and Ribbons should use TOTAL stats, not 'x in one round' values. Otherwise, badges such as the knife or pistol badge, which require a score of 'x in one round', are detrimental to a team when a player actively goes after them. Rather than do awards by a person's performance in a round, do it by their performance overall, or over time as a rate (perhaps get an award for reaching a RATE of 3 teamplay points, or Commander points, or Squad Leader points, or Squad Member points a minute, or kill assists, or vehicle points, something like that), or a percentage. Increase the incentive for teamplay, not individual glory, with awards. This also prevents people from choosing a server based upon round time and how long they have to try to get a medal. Simply put, make it so that going for any award and playing as best you can for your team are not mutually exclusive.
r.) Take a look at the records of each top player. If they have exploited, simply bust them down to private (or take away the appropriate amount of points that they exploited). If they've cheated, ban their CD-key.
s.) When voting, the amount of votes required to get something done, such as a map change or kicking a player or a mutiny, should not take into account those who abstain from voting to determine the required number of votes. Say, if 75% of those who voted vote for something, then the vote would be successful. Kick votes should require more, like 80%.
t.) Spec Ops and Snipers should be able to disable THEIR explosives and pick them up, probably using their knife like an engineer would his wrench.
u.) Reward for defending command assets (from Spec Ops).
v.) Camo, while also helping you visually blend in, should prevent your name from showing up when an enemy aims at you (when you're on foot) (applies to sniper and possibly spec ops).
w.) ENTIRE TEAM SHOULD BENEFIT FROM WINNING, not just commander! x2 for being commander, 20% extra points for being a squad leader, 10% extra points for being a member/Lonewolf on the winning team. How would you prevent last minute team switchers and losers bailing out of the game? Make it so that wins/losses games still count even if you ditch (if the game ends within three minutes after you leave and you've been there for at least three minutes), for one, and make it impossible to switch to the winning team (disallow team switching for each player after being in the game for three minutes (three minutes after you join, and the first three minutes of any round after)...server-autobalance-auto-team-switch only after that). Make it so that if you switch teams, you do not count as dying or committing suicide.
x.) In-Vehicle chat (both typing and VOIP channel)
y.) Fix lag for communication rose and typing. I can't count the number of times I go to say 'Thank you' to a medic for reviving me and my shotgun goes off, removing the face of the man I'm trying to thank, nor can I count the times I've been typing while in an aircraft, and whatever I'm typing ends with 'e', resulting in a situation where when I hit enter to state what I intend to say, I impact upon the ground at about the same time.
z.) Make infantry slightly tougher when it comes to being run over by vehicles (IE: Make it so that you can't tk a friendly trooper with the very corner of your tank while moving 5 mph).
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Lastly, command and teamplay needs to be emphasized more, with points. Commanding needs to have legitimate benefits for the Commander, so that those who like to command and are capable of it do so. Make command points reflect the benefits of following.
Command points should be given to the Commander for:
1.) Honoring requests from Squad Leaders within reason. A Commander should be able to drop Arty or UAV or Supplies within a radius of the Squad Leader's request and still have that count as 'honoring' the request, based on his prerogative.
2.) Having his orders followed. Any order he gives that is completed gives him a point.
Command points should be given to the Squad Leader for:
1.) Following orders from the Commander.
Command points should be given to Squad Members for:
1.) Following orders from either Squad Leaders or the Commander.
When giving orders, the orders are considered 'completed' if even a single member of a squad completes them. Only the members that actually follow the order get the additional command points. No command points are given for 'move' orders. There should be a way to set up waypoints and a set of commands for squads. Perhaps give the commander a point resource, where he can assign a point value to a certain command as incentive for those getting the order.
How orders work would have to be changed to reflect this.
Orders:
ATTACK: The Commander and participating squad members gain points if the squad he orders to attack a point captures it. 'Attack' is an option when a commander has a squad (or squads) selected and right-clicks on an enemy or neutral capture point, or zooms all the way in and right-clicks on a specific point or target. For example, a commander can select a squad and tell them to capture an enemy point. By the same token, if the commander has just spotted an enemy tank, he should be able to right-click on the tank and give the squad orders to attack the tank (not simply the position the tank is currently in, mind you). The orders to attack specific enemy units (and the accompanying ICON on the HUDs of the squad) would last as long as they are 'spotted' or on the UAV. If ordered to attack a specific enemy target, the player gains an additional point for the kill, and the commander gains a point for having his order followed. Attack orders last until the Squad Leader requests new orders, the Squad is given a new command, or until the point is taken.
DEFEND: The Commander gains a point each time the squad he orders to defend a point defends it (gains a flag defense kill, see h.)). This will cause commanders to consider defense more. Each member of the squad gains an additional point for each Flag Defense kill (that occurs in the area they're supposed to be defending) or Teamplay action (that occurs within the Flag Defense Area) while on these orders. Defend would be the order selectable when a commander right-clicked on a captured point. Defend orders last until the Squad Leader requests new orders, the Squad is given a new command, or the point has been taken by enemies.
DESTROY: The Commander gains a point if the squad he orders to destroy a target does so, as does the participating Spec Ops. 'Destroy' orders could only be given on destroyable targets, such as bridges, enemy UAV and Satellite trailers, etc. The Spec Ops players gain an additional point, and the Commander gains a point. Destroy orders should only be broadcast to the Spec Ops players within a squad? Destroy orders would last until the target was destroyed or the Spec Ops was given/requested new orders.
REPAIR: Commander gains a point if the object/vehicle is repaired, and the Engineer gains an additional point (on top of whatever points he gets for repairs) for obeying the commander. If repair orders are given on a vehicle, the repair order icon on the Engineer's HUD should move with the vehicle. Repair orders should only be broadcast to engineers within the selected squad. Repair orders would last until the target was repaired or the Engineer was given/requested new orders.
MINE: The engineer and the commander only gain points from this order when the Mines laid within 15 meters of the location of the command gain kills. The engineer gains an additional point per kill gained by the mines, and the commander gains a point per kill. The mining order would be complete as soon as the engineer requested new orders or was given new orders (no points for completing the order, only for the kills netted by the mines put down in the area of the original command). Mine orders should only be broadcast to engineers within the selected squad. Mine orders would last until the target area was mined or the engineer was given/requested new orders.
MOVE: No additional points for moving. Should be able to right-click on a friendly unit and tell a squad to move with it (IE: Tell a squad to move with and support a tank, or tell one squad leader to move with another squad leader).
UAV, SUPPLIES, and ARTY: Commander gains no points for using these powers, unless he uses them to fulfill requests from squad leaders. However, some squad leaders request these powers improperly, making it so that if the commander honored their request, the powers would be wasted. Make it so that if the commander honors the request in the general area of the request, the Commander is rewarded (this allows commanders to, for example, put a supply crate someplace more useful than what a squad leader might request it at, and still get the points).
Make it so that depending on what you right-click on the map, you get different options. For example, if you have a squad selected, and you right-click an enemy or neutral point, the option to attack it should come up (not defend). If you select a squad and right-click on your point, the option to defend it should come up (not attack). If you right-click on a friendly tank, repair should come up, etc.
Commanders should be able to queue up multiple orders (at least three) for a squad (perhaps by holding shift), and Squad Leaders should have the ability to say when an order is complete and move on to their next command. For example, if a squad leader had multiple orders queued up by the Commander, 'Requesting new orders' would be replaced by 'Orders complete' in the communications rose. 'Orders complete' would clear the current order, automatically moving to the next order in the queue. A squad that doesn't have orders would be able to request new orders.
There, that's my tweaked list of suggestions for EA. Thoughts? Further tweaks?
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