Northern Strike unlocks discussion (no beta info please)

[Fraz86]

spec_ops_comm,
You had inside information on a couple of those. I'm not going to say which ones because I don't want to anger anyone, but I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about. Just be careful...the moderators seem to be taking the NDA quite seriously (even though you and I are not actually bound by it, technically, as we are not part of the beta).

[therealmeal]

So I heard what the beta unlocks are, and the personal one sounds REALLY lame to me. How about this as an idea:

A parachute you can steer.

How frustrating is it to fall and not be able to turn more than 60 degrees while you can get shot at from all 360?

[Kalo]

Seriously IDASH wtf do you want? all of that stuff can be useful -.-.

[LahLahSr]

Engineer:
- Some deployable that has to be built by 2 engineers together - a gun turret that can be operated by only a support gunner for example
- Vehicle barrier that takes time to build, but is effective against everything except tanks

Assault:
- Taser that will immobilize enemy so you can run up and knife him
- Deafener-nade that cuts out sound completely for the targets for 10 seconds

Support:
- 2 support guys can build camouflaged MG nest together
- Deployable mortar for medium-range indirect fire (much like the engy in Desert Combat)

Recon:
- Silencer for the lambert
- Silencer for the pistol

[Vreki]

Seriously IDASH wtf do you want? all of that stuff can be useful -.-.

Well, we are prevented from discussing any facts, so that question is a bit unfair.

But let me introduce you to The Vreki Unlock Scale (TM)

* New unlocks which open new aspects of the game: 2 for doing great work.
* New and useful unlocks: 1 for doing it right
* New unlocks which nobody will use: 0 because who cares
* Reuse of existing concept: -1 for lack of creativity
* Improvements to well balanced tools/weapons: -2 for lack of creativity and threat to game balance

So I would want new unlocks to be mostly 1 pointers, accept a few 0 pointers and be very happy about 2 pointers.

Nothing should score -2, and the average should certainly be positive.

[A5ko]

Ok, due to a dodgy link that was trolling around some forum, i actually saw the supposed new unlocks. Of course i'm not going to disclose what i saw as;

1). I'll get bitched at, even though i signed nothing and i was not intentionally looking for the unlocks information.

2). You probably know what unlocks im talking about anyway.

All i will say is, i'm a little concerned how particular unlocks can work without becoming immensly silly.

[so1id sn@ke]

Dammit, am I the only one who HASN'T SEEN THE NEW UNLOCKS!!!!

Threads keep getting deleted before I can see them! GRRRRRRAAAA!!!! :mad: :cussing: :wall:

[knightsabre7]

Dammit, am I the only one who HASN'T SEEN THE NEW UNLOCKS!!!!

Threads keep getting deleted before I can see them! GRRRRRRAAAA!!!! :mad: :cussing: :wall:

Personally, I don't think you're missing much. I really hope these are just 'fake' unlocks or something just to throw us off! ;)

[Kibax]

Dammit, am I the only one who HASN'T SEEN THE NEW UNLOCKS!!!!

Threads keep getting deleted before I can see them! GRRRRRRAAAA!!!! :mad: :cussing: :wall:

Which means you will have a suprise when you play the game, you will have an experience people who have seen the unlocks already cant touch. Be happy and keep waiting.

[Vreki]

Which means you will have a suprise when you play the game, you will have an experience people who have seen the unlocks already cant touch. Be happy and keep waiting.

Except that the info will very likely be released as PR material before the booster is released.

[Kibax]

So, atleast its official.

[Vreki]

So, atleast its official.

So what? That doesn't seem to have much relevance to your "surprise" argument?

[Kibax]

Im not the one making this into an arguement so really I dont need an 'arguement' at all since I really dont care.

[spec_ops_comm]

spec_ops_comm,
You had inside information on a couple of those. I'm not going to say which ones because I don't want to anger anyone, but I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about. Just be careful...the moderators seem to be taking the NDA quite seriously (even though you and I are not actually bound by it, technically, as we are not part of the beta).

lol! Seriously???

I'm not even joking all my ideas are original ideas I came up with - no insider information whatsoever!

[Dr_Zyklon]

my favorite unlock: god mode :p

[Vreki]

Im not the one making this into an arguement so really I dont need an 'arguement' at all since I really dont care.

Then stop spamming all threads with "NDA violation" over trivial matters like who are beta tester. Nobody cares

[Kibax]

Obviously you do since you have such a keen eye for the subject.

[Shellsh0cker]

Well, we are prevented from discussing any facts, so that question is a bit unfair.

But let me introduce you to The Vreki Unlock Scale (TM)

* New unlocks which open new aspects of the game: 2 for doing great work.
* New and useful unlocks: 1 for doing it right
* New unlocks which nobody will use: 0 because who cares
* Reuse of existing concept: -1 for lack of creativity
* Improvements to well balanced tools/weapons: -2 for lack of creativity and threat to game balance

So I would want new unlocks to be mostly 1 pointers, accept a few 0 pointers and be very happy about 2 pointers.

Nothing should score -2, and the average should certainly be positive.

My personal opinions:
Recon: 2, -2
Assault: -2, 2
Engineer: 2, -1
Support: -2, -2
Player ability: 1
SL: 1

Total: 1
Average: 1/10

It's positive, barely.

Here's what I would want, ideally:

Recon
Sniper Tree: I've actually had a couple of ideas for this one, so I'm going to post all of them.
1: Man-portable railgun (weapon). Meant mainly for killing infantry, but can do minor damage to armored vehicles. 1-hit kill (not critically wounded) to head or chest. Critically wounded if you get hit in the arm or leg. To balance the power of this weapon, it fires tracer rounds, has a long cooldown/reload time, can only be used while prone, must be reloaded after every shot, and there is a short delay between when you click and when the gun actually fires, like the mounted railguns.
2: Tracer rounds (active). Fire at a vehicle, and it is "spotted" until it is destroyed.
3: The real unlock actually sounds like a pretty cool idea, leaving aside the fact that nobody knows what it actually does.

Special Ops Tree: Silencer (passive). First of all, wouldn't work on the snipers, only the Lambert and the pistols. Would allow a Spec Ops soldier to act more like the behind-enemy-lines stealth troop that he's supposed to be.

Assault
Combat Tree: Riot Shield (active). Functions like the IPS, except that you carry it, must stay crouched to provide full coverage for yourself, and can't fire while you're using it. It only provides cover from one side.

Medic Tree: Combat Enhancer (passive). Along the lines of the SprintCor and Staminar, this increases your sprint speed. The idea behind this is that medics need to get in, revive, and get out. Also, as LordZyphon said, Assault troopers are the front line soldiers, it makes sense that they should be moving faster than everybody else.

Engineer

Anti-Armor Tree: Mortar (weapon). Allows you to lay down a mini-orbital strike on a position from a considerable distance away. Indirect fire (hard to aim).

Anti-Air Tree: The real unlock, from the Anti-Armor tree. That's actually a really good one.

Support

Heavy Gunner Tree: Power Armor (passive, but optional). As described by LordZyphon. In case you don't want to look for it: twice as effective as heavy armor, NO sprint, increased accuracy (reticle narrows faster). Makes a noise similar to the Active Camo, but louder.

Close Combat Tree: Flamethrower (weapon). Screw the Geneva convention. Yes, this could work. Short range, relatively little, er, fuel per, uh, tank, relatively long reload, would set guys on fire but not kill them immediately, so if they got to a med-kit soon enough, there wouldn't be much to worry about (this was how TFC did it; I think it works really well). Like the Clark, a very situational, close-range-only weapon.

Player

Parachute controls: Bring this back for BF2!

The real unlock is another good idea, definitely going to get that one.

SL

I like the real one, the "Area Force Field" that other people have come upwith seems rather unrealistic and also hard to code.

[Drevor]

Well, we are prevented from discussing any facts, so that question is a bit unfair.

But let me introduce you to The Vreki Unlock Scale (TM)

* New unlocks which open new aspects of the game: 2 for doing great work.
* New and useful unlocks: 1 for doing it right
* New unlocks which nobody will use: 0 because who cares
* Reuse of existing concept: -1 for lack of creativity
* Improvements to well balanced tools/weapons: -2 for lack of creativity and threat to game balance

So I would want new unlocks to be mostly 1 pointers, accept a few 0 pointers and be very happy about 2 pointers.

Nothing should score -2, and the average should certainly be positive.

Edit (dont really need a second ban.. not that there was any information in there buuuuut....):
*bleep*

total score: -1 and I will still end up buying it ...*sigh*


Edit (adding some actual content to my post):
My personal unlock list would include stuff like: DAO12-like and a repair drone for engies, hook/zip line I loved those in BF2SF, EM/IR vision (spot devices easier), first aid-kit (one time, 50% health), remote *bleep* (yay, one NS hit!)

[Vreki]

Edit (dont really need a second ban.. not that there was any information in there buuuuut....):
*bleep*

total score: -1 and I will still end up buying it ...*sigh*




Ha, I managed to squeeze it down do -4, and I still feel like buying it.

I think BF2142 must contain subliminal ads, the billboards are just decoys ;)

[Svartberg]

Well, from what I've heard unlocks are fine (3 on the Vreki scale, whoa !), I'd only change one thing though ...

Support should have been given a Bombardment Shield (protection against artillery) instead of a certain overpowered one.
I gotta say that Bombardment Shield idea is the best idea I've heard here - press and hold to use, only protects against artillery, protects nearby troops in a certain radius = brilliant.

Assault Lines sounds cool, if it works out right (and doesn't prove to be a nade fest boredom) we might even see that with vanilla maps, more intensity more fun :)

Edit: fixed the post as not to offend the admins.

[CrazyKnifeBoy]

Not really. In SF they werent that much of an issue.

And Ized, this thread is to discuss what unlocks should belong in NS. I created it because I have yet to see one serious discussion, every other thread is like "lol jetpax".

Yea but these unlocks are going to be available in vanilla BF2142. In SF you couldn't take grapple hooks and ziplines into BF2.

[Oleg]

Support should have been given a Bombardment Shield (protection against artillery) instead of a certain overpowered one.
I gotta say that Bombardment Shield idea is the best idea I've heard here - press and hold to use, only protects against artillery, protects nearby troops in a certain radius = brilliant.


For this to make sense, first the artillery should actually have some POWER at the first place. I play commander a LOT, and artillery in 2142 is fantastically weak. It makes lots of noise (did Dice audio engineers normalize those sounds?), but the effect on infantry is negligent. In real wars - artillery was/is the biggest killer.

Now, you suggest an unlock to make arty even less dangerous...

On top of it, this whole unlock business is all about making commanders even more irrelevant :mad: Mini-pseudo artillery stuff, legal wallhacks for everyone.... bah. Good thing I got all my commander awards already while it was some fun to play commander :D

[nosoupforyou]

i still think that recon should have a silencer unlock, works on all weapons, would just be cool :)

[Svartberg]

For this to make sense, first the artillery should actually have some POWER at the first place. I play commander a LOT, and artillery in 2142 is fantastically weak. It makes lots of noise (did Dice audio engineers normalize those sounds?), but the effect on infantry is negligent. In real wars - artillery was/is the biggest killer.

Now, you suggest an unlock to make arty even less dangerous...

On top of it, this whole unlock business is all about making commanders even more irrelevant :mad: Mini-pseudo artillery stuff, legal wallhacks for everyone.... bah. Good thing I got all my commander awards already while it was some fun to play commander :D

Heya Oleg,
While I see your point, I still don't think you'd say that if you knew which unlock I wanted it to replace.
Maybe it's the lesser evil, or maybe it's the fact many people will prefere other items rather than a bombardment shield so you'll still get your cheap *cough* kills. ;)

Either way, in your avarage 32 players server, you'd get 2 pissed people because of this unlock (and they'll still have their fair share of arty kills), and 30 happy ones who hate being fried like chickens :D
Not to mention what is going to actually happen in reality will make you commander far more pissed off ...

[knightsabre7]

Here's what I'd like to see in the new unlocks. Some of these things have been posted before. If so, thanks to whoever thought of them first. I don't think any of these things should be insanely hard to build and I've tried to keep them reasonably balanced...

Assult
Faster Reload - Can reload assault rifles more quickly. Perhaps 25 - 33%.

Rocket Pack - Allows the soldier to launch himself into the air - about the equivalent of getting launched in an APC pod on a conquest map. This would be great for scaling walls, getting on low roofs, and getting behind enemy lines at choke points. One use only before needing resupply.

Engineer
Flak Cannon - Unguided anti-air weapon that fires an explosive shell with decent area effect. One click to launch, second click to detonate. Heavy damage to aircraft, moderate damage to light vehicles and infantry, minimal damage to armor. Auto-detonation on impact with an object or after a certain distance. No lock-on tone.

Explosive Detector - Similar to the Pulse Meter, this scans an area and explosives become visible with a skull and crossbones that your squad can see. Skull and crossbones should be a different color than normal to distinguish from friendly explosives. Handy for Titan vents and cooridors, and when taking flags/silos.

Recon
Silencer - As someone posted previously, this would muffle the sound on the carbine and pistol. Should probably also decrease damage slightly to balance.

Light Sniper Rifle - Medium damage, semi-auto. 'Nuff said.

Support
Mounted Machine Gun - In the spirit of teamwork, this is a light machine gun that you can place somewhere and you or other team members can hop on and use. Would work like the mounted machine guns in BF2 except that you can move it around and it would probably have finite ammo.

Stabilizer (option 1) - Would work kind of like the heavy machine gun stabilizers from Aliens. Standing, crouching, and prone deviations would all be as if you were crouching - basically, improved standing accuracy but decreased prone accuracy (because of the bulk). Increased mobility at the expense of potential higher accuracy.

Cooling System (option 2) - Allows machine guns to fire longer before overheating. Perhaps 25% - 33%.

Flamethrower (option 3) - Yes, it's been posted many times but flamethrowers are cool. I really liked the one from Unreal 2. Could see this as being potentially laggy though. Maybe some sort of incendiary grenade launcher would be a viable alternative?

Ability & Squd Leader - Keep the current NS ones.

[Erhardt]

For this to make sense, first the artillery should actually have some POWER at the first place. I play commander a LOT, and artillery in 2142 is fantastically weak. It makes lots of noise (did Dice audio engineers normalize those sounds?), but the effect on infantry is negligent. In real wars - artillery was/is the biggest killer.
I don't think anybody who played BF2 would argue about the artillery in 2142 being weaker, but it's still plenty lethal, I'd say. I've killed plenty of enemies as commander with it. A direct hit will kill, and if they take too long to hustle out of the area of fire, they're probably dead meat too. If they were hurt to begin with when it starts coming down, their odds of survival are pretty lousy as well. It's just not as quickly lethal as the arty in BF2.

On top of it, this whole unlock business is all about making commanders even more irrelevant :mad: Mini-pseudo artillery stuff,
I suggested the mini-arty as an unlock for squad leaders... I guess it WOULD steal some thunder from the commander in Conquest maps (not Titan maps though, since the commander doesn't have arty there to begin with), but that's why I emphasize "mini". If you have a serious clearing out of bad guys to get done, you'd still need the commander's strike. The SL one I put forth would hardly compare (I envision it as lasting only a fraction as long, and covering only a fraction of the area, of a Commander's full-on orbital strke), but still be helpful in a pinch, and particularly in a round where your commander either has no clue, outright sucks, or hogs the strikes and crates for himself.

[Nazspeed]

i agree snipers need help maybe extra bullet in the zeller per mag 3 shots just doesnt make it worth while.... 4 would'nt be overkill other sniper rifles have a bigger mag anyway a silencer would be nice too...they have cammo anyway so why not make em completly stealth .... Engy's need a better point system as far as repairs go and fixing the saaw would be nice other thann that i think the new player abilities are probably gonna be bf2 booter pack style climbing gear maybe ..... and yes artilley sucks and should be stronger ... titan attack pins and awards and some kind of antyarmor bage would really make everyone happy

[Kalo]

Well really people you want all this "cool" new stuff from what i see the G36 was like a pwn mobile and BF2 was a vehicle whore game like halo, 2142 is extremely balanced and you NEED brains to be a vehicle whore.

Stop asking for stuff to unbalance the game.

[A5ko]

Well really people you want all this "cool" new stuff from what i see the G36 was like a pwn mobile and BF2 was a vehicle whore game like halo, 2142 is extremely balanced and you NEED brains to be a vehicle whore.

Stop asking for stuff to unbalance the game.

So what would you suggest? You can't seriously say that ^ and not have some sort of opinion on what should be implemented.

You can't leave the game as it is, it'll get stale (if it has not already). Though you can't go adding new stuff left right and centre because balance is effected.

[Vreki]

So what would you suggest? You can't seriously say that ^ and not have some sort of opinion on what should be implemented.

You can't leave the game as it is, it'll get stale (if it has not already). Though you can't go adding new stuff left right and centre because balance is effected.

I think some of that could be avoided if the new stuff was restricted to new maps.
That way you could play on maps designed with these weapons and tools in mind, while not harming the core game.

[A5ko]

I think some of that could be avoided if the new stuff was restricted to new maps.
That way you could play on maps designed with these weapons and tools in mind, while not harming the core game.

Aye but a good booster pack would be one that benefits the core game. I'd like to add to the actual gameplay of the original and have one game, not two.

[AgentOfDiscord]

Vreki Unlock Scale, eh?

Well I'm not that objective, so I'll jsut abuse the scale to show what I will end up using (and how often)

Recon: -2/1
Assault: 2/-2 (high-tech electronics and disposable shelling should not go together in one sentence)
Engineer: 0/1 (...I am willing to bet that will cause teamkills like the Zeller)
Support: 1/0
Player: 2
SL: 1

For a total of 4. Nabbad <.< in my scale

[JohnnySupreme]

Engineer: Some kind of weapon that does vehicles no damage but hurts the enemy inside. Not big but enough to kill with 3 shots. Pilum reload times.

Medic: A stun/gas granade that does not kill but makes enemies fall to the ground for 15 seconds. Well maybe anyway.

Sniper: A different ammo type for the rifles that allows you to tag enemy soldiers. If you tag the commander or SL you can see (on minimap) and hear their orders. Also shows their possition.

Support: A laser. This is the future. I'm lost for an idea.

[Kalo]

Great idea! that way no one will use the other stuff DICE put hard time into cause the other stuff is "Pwnmobile lawl"

[so1id sn@ke]

I've seen the unlocks, so here is how I will score it

Recon:-1/2 (sniper unlock is too complicated to use tactically, but spec ops one is awesome, simple, but good simple)

Assault-1/1 (I'm more a medic, so I think the assault unlock is too plain, bad simple, but the medic one will be useful for me actually, seeing as I carry that "weapon" around...)

Engineer 2/1 (nice concept, the most creative unlock IMO, the expander is nice, simple again, but nice, I'm afraid it makes assault even weaker though....)

Support 1/? (woulda gotten a 2, but I'm worried about balance, it should have a limited lifetime, maybe 1-2 minutes, and no resupply. I don't know enough about how this "modified weapon" works, so I'm not sure yet)

Overall:5 Not terribly creative, but good job DICE. :)

[Whiteplague]

Engineer. Anti tank side-- a sticky thermite grenade.

you throw a grenade on a vehicle, (for this example we'll say a tank) and, as thermite grenades work, it will start to burn at several thousand degrees, slowly doing damage to the tank, and weakening that spot of the armor. the now weakened area can be used for a one shot kill unless that area is targeted by an engy repair gun.

man that would be SO cool!

[nutcrackr]

Assault: -2/1
Recon: 2/-2
Engi: 2/-2
Player: -2


Don't know support or squad leader but overall unlocks are disappointing.

[Whiteplague]

Assault: -2/1
Recon: 2/-2
Engi: 2/-2
Player: -2


Don't know support or squad leader but overall unlocks are disappointing.


what do you mean by your little "chart"?

[nutcrackr]

Thats just the scale of how I rank the unlocks in NS that I have seen (but can't talk about). See the previous page for what the scale means

[Vreki]

what do you mean by your little "chart"?

The Vreki Unlock Scale (TM)


Click on the quote link to see the definition. :)

Handy if you want to lets us know your opinion without violating the NDA.

[Casper]

I would like an unlock that makes all players on both teams die with a negative 10 each time they put down an APM or Sentury gun.