Yea i know there have been threads like this b4 but there were none on the first page so i figured i might as well take a crack at it. The thing I like most about drifter is that they're different. So here Launch Jets: Similar to the dark troopers jump pack from Star Wars: Battlefront 2. They would launch you at a 45 or so degree angle in one short burst. I think in order for this to work there would also have to be a short period of no fall damage upon use. Kick Jumper: Ok a bit of a weird one that would probably not appeal to most, but this one is for outmaneuvering in face to face scenarios. Each activation would use approx 1/5th the fuel for a short burst in the direction you are facing and launch you a short distance (10m maybe) in that direction. (My fav in this list simply because its so different) Transition Jets: Instead of starting out slow and then accelerating like standard jump jets, you start out at a high speed (possibly higher than standard) and as you keep the jets going the speed of flight decreases along with the fuel cost of prolonged flight. Effectively these would start out with mobility similar to standard JJ and would end up keeping you hovering like drifters (although it would not perform as well as either in their specialized roles). Would have a higher initial activation cost than normal but total flight time would be longer than standard jump jets. "The Beamer": Straight vertical jump with a slow fall. Activation would be in a burst like the Launch Jets with a period of decreased fall speed and (and this is important because otherwise danger of falling slowly is pointless) normal, non jumping, COF. Allows you peakaboo over cover and rain fire down, in addition to being a good scouting techinique.
They could simply bring back in the game the old Icarus Jump Jet (extrmely powerful vertical propulsion). I never got why they've been removed, maybe they allowed players to hide in places that were completely out of reach for other classes. You could almost take off on the ground and land on Biolabs Landing pads
Probably the same reason they removed some cloaks, so they can introduce it later and hopefully balance them better.
Actually the clients couldn't keep up with the Icarus jumpjets, so basically it made you invincible for a short duration of time.
From what I understood, the Icarus Jets moved the character too fast causing player hit box issues (i.e. warping). There are still some videos on you tube that shows the Icarus. It's definately a heck of a lot faster than current JJ and DJ variants.
Personally the dark trooper was my favorite class in SWBF 1-2, but like there was the problem in SWBF1 with the DTs shotgun, it would likely cause problems with the LA in PS2. Maybe give it certain restrictions, like being heavy, thus only allowing small weapons like SMGs. I definitely approve of these ideas especially the Launch jump jets cause that would give LA more abilities to close the gap in large open fields. Also one i think I'll use the most is the Kick Jumper mostly because I like the dash in War for Cybertron so much that it would work great and most likely boost the LAs power in CQB. As a minor tweak to make the kick jumpers more useful in a standard situation, allow them to boost in the direction you are looking at, so they can still be used vertically. Maybe even as an added bonus allows the LA to stick to a surface and effectively parkour. Giving the launch jets a similar ability would be great. Also one minor tweak to the launch jets is to completely remove fall damage when equipped. In all these ideas are great, but may need some minor tweaks to get in the game. Also with the new movement system basically removing warping, I think that these have a good possibility of getting in-game and I would use them all personally. Heck, maybe if Higby really liked us he would get some people on making the different jump jets have different models. Also the camos need to effect JJs on TR and NC not just VS. I'll probably post some ideas for concepts on the new models soon.
T Thanx for the response! Most of the ideas you propose I already included, but the rest of your proposals are pretty excellent.
I've been wanting something along the lines of your "Launch Jets" ideas for a while now. Kick Jumpers sound pretty good, too. Personally, I want something that lets you simply hover in place (with perhaps a small amount of horizontal maneuvering), to provide a stable airborne firing platform with which to rain down fire upon unsuspecting enemies.
I want to be able to take my jetpack off my shoulders, jam a brick of C4 into each nozzle and then hit the ignition, rapidly propelling the C4 in an arcing trajectory (think of default ESRL speed + arc) and allowing me to become Death, Destroyer of Prowlers.
I would add more slots for upgrading a single item. Like JUmpJets? I would make a JumpJet upgrade tree specific to the LA. You could get Extra Fuel, Mufflers and maybe HoverJets. Improved speed and directional changes...yeah.
We need the ability to dual wield jet packs. On the topic - nice ideas, but what would want is just a faster jet pack. Current seems too slow for a rocket engine, and depends too much on momentum. Perhaps, a different cert trees, like KnightCole suggested - speed, longevity = fuel capacity, fuel regeneration speed -- choose one.
I think the ability to use certs to tweak and finetune abilty performance would be a great addition to almost everything in PS2.
I want 2-3 LA's to be able to link arms and pickjup non LA infantry classes, maybe fly them to a roof or something.
launch and kick jumper only ones I would potentially use. kick jumper should be 5 meters not ten. Otherwise you would be rivaling aircraft in terms of speed. plus I don't need ten, i need 5 to get me around a corner or to cover. or jump me behind the enemy so i can disorientate them by my sudden movements while flanking them for a solid Uppercut to the face. Actually continuing on that, the kick jumper would be great for LA in a CQC indoors area. HA have their shield to eat bullets, LA can dodge bullets (to an extent,) but the direction of the jump should be you're movement, not your facing. because you don't want to jump head on into someone with a gaussaw.
