What if this was an option for ejecting ESF but using it meant you would lose either your C Explosive/heal item slot or a weapon slot Im 50/50 on the idea and looking for some insight
You have to consider the Parachute as its own thing, unless you have a proposal about how to enforce the "empty Utility Slot" thing when you get into the ESF. If you're proposing that it is something that you put in your Utility Slot directly and activates when getting out of an ESF that is not landed (we'd figure out how to detect that later), then that is a different story, though I think you might be short-changing the Utility Slot by giving it such a limited item.
The idea is to give non LA a safe drop without trivializing LA in planes, which is why itd take a slot Im not pushing this idea, just here to see what others think
You're not a true skynight unless you Bail Assault. Edit: Actually, funny story - last night I was in an ESF (full bail assault package) and took down a few guys, was feeling pretty good about myself. Then the g-locks came and I was running from them. I got close to the pad (we had Hossin, so auto-repair was working), but SunnyXtreme was chasing me down. I landed for a sec just to see if I could repair enough to fight back, but he was on me too quickly. I took off, and then bailed and tried to drift down under the launch pad at the biolab...but halfway through my drift, my controller turned off for NO DAMN REASON, and I fell to my death. LOL
The game puts the focus on killing other players. So many players are obsessed with other players staying in and dying inside the Vehicles they destroy. Other players are obsessed with believing in the game as a perfect concept, and base their ideas of what is good/correct based on what the game has done. Does it make sense in the future there is no parachute (or other eject/escape) on ESFs? No. But the above two groups will fight/lobby hard to keep it as is. It's part SOE/DBGs fault for putting so much emphasis on killing players, and so little on just killing Vehicles. That affects the first group. The second group is just ~Aspergers or fanatics.
i swear that ESF's used to have a ejection seat a while back , but it was never used due to taking one of the spec slot thingies and to the detection problem , just make it activate able ( press number c4 n **** would be in)
As a frequent Skyguard player I don't really care if pilots bail out of ESFs to preserve their KDR. When I pull a Skyguard I am looking to do two things in equal measure; (1) deter enemy air from attacking friendly ground forces so we can push to the next base more easily and (2) get XP. If I kill an ESF and the pilot bails I still get 400 XP before modifiers, cost the guy 350 nanites, discourage him from coming back in another ESF, and possibly encourage other hostile air to be more cautious and less aggressive if they heard my Skyguard firing. If the pilot does not bail I get 100 extra XP, an increase of 25%, and a notch on the kill board. Nice, but really not a big deal.
I seem to recall making a general parachute suggestion thread a couple years ago, something that every player could buy, and I practically got run out of town on a rail. lol I would still love to see the parachute added as a general gear option, and just balance it. There just aren't enough shooters that make use of the chute, and a game like this, with super high bases and cliffs, is perfect for them. A far as the xp issue with bailing pilots, that one is easy: Any pilot who bails out, and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed by an enemy before crashing, yields full xp and k/d stats, both ways. You can go further if you want and say any craft that takes damage within 15-20 seconds before the pilot bails, yields full stats.
All this would be easily changed by adding in a new class that is meant to operate vehicles: Crew. For most ground and air vehicles, only the Crew class could get into the non-passenger portions of vehicles. So for example a Sunderer would take 3 Crew and 9 passengers of any class. But a HA could not jump in and drive a Sunderer. Likewise a Lightning or an ESF could only be operated by members of the Crew class. Same with MBTs and Liberators. Harassers could fit a passenger of any class in the back but would need Crew for the front two. Flashes might be the only vehicle that could be operated completely by any class. The Crew class of course would be pretty terrible in direct infantry combat... same health/shields as an Infiltrator but can only be armed with sidearms or SMGs. No offensive grenades (maybe they'd get smoke), no explosives, etc. Implants would also be limited. Crew would, however, get a set of utilities meant to increase the abilities of their vehicles (stronger, faster, sturdier). And a beefed up repair tool. And a Parachute might be one of the utility options. Ejection systems would be changed such that they allow Crew to exit an aircraft while it is in motion... but they do not guarantee that you will hit the ground safely. That is managed by putting a Parachute on, which not only prevents death but also allows the player to pick where they will land. Galaxy and Valkyrie passenger ejection should be changed so that there is a delay of 1-2 seconds as well as a random dispersal pattern. Regular infantry could opt to wear a Parachute as well to gain some control of where they will land.
