First of all I would like to thank everyone for their comments on my ideas, they are greatly appreciated and I think most people understand where I was going with the idea. One other thing you should know is that I would love to see the naval aspect of the game improved first as well. I should have mentioned this before, but the excerpt that this infantry idea was taken from was a forty one page quasi-code brief of which the infantry composed about a page and a half. The rest of the brief was focused on how to implement various ship types, (combat & noncombat), from the view of the player with the understanding of the basic framework already establish.
A Response:
I NEVER intended that anyone would ever assimilate this idea with a Battlefield 3 or 4 type experiences. I literally meant an infantryman that would look and act just like a bailed pilot with maybe the ability to kneel in order to reduce his profile. The only differences would be different guns/equipment extended from the "pilot's" arm, no enemy icon on a "pilot" until 500ft, and maybe a few minor others that are not even worth writing about.
To those who think that an FPS experience in AH would flood AH with infantry I would imagine a player may have more fun just going outside and shooting imaginary friends with sticks; that would probably be more fun, have better mobility, and better imagery.
Yes, some players would be pulled from GVs & Planes to play as infantry, but I believe this would be only occasionally, and would serve more to pull players to the game through player options than would cause players to quit due to bad game experiences.
I imagine that being an infantryman would be much like driving a PT boat. It would be more of a novelty used for specific occasions rather than as a major offensive force.
I envision a scenario where an infantryman would be killed instantly with a shot to the head or torso, and would bleed out as if pilot wounded if hit in an extremity. This would make them very vulnerable; so vulnerable in fact that if you whine because one shot you it would damn near be your fault. Being realistic, anything .50 caliber and above would be an instant kill making it incredibly easy to eliminate infantry.
I don't know about you but I can not imagine a player with a gun and no speed or armor making a drastic difference in the major war effort. If you have ever taken a base, or done anything of note with a bailed pilot, please find me in the MA I would love to meet you because you are surely a GOD. I can't even get a lightly armored GV (Jeep, M3, M18) next to a base without getting killed, much less on foot. I'm not sure that even a team of 5 to 10 infantry could do much to a base, but they could cause enough confusion in the enemy to make it fun for all playing. Being realistic... If you were really worried about being killed while spawning an aircraft at a base it would take multiple de-ackers, with players who know what they are doing and would most likely entail a hell of a long walk for any attacking infantry. Even if the infantrymen took a ride in a GV to the base from a friend you would still find yourself in a situation where multiple GVs would be around a de-acked base. This is a situation you should not take off from anyway, but lets say you did and got killed. You could then launch from the hanger, bail out, and go shoot the guy who just shot you with your pistol, or better yet spawn as an infantryman and shoot him in the head with your rifle.
People surely would not play AH for the FPS capabilities as so many others have stated the FPS experience can be found for free elsewhere with better functionality & graphics. On the other hand I believe the current and future players who view AH as a very capably WWII simulator, and not solely an aerial combat Sim, would greatly appreciate the added spectrum of game-play and options for attack. For those who think that it will make it less realistic please tell me a war that has ever been won in reality where there have been no boots on the ground. Yes, the FPS would be arcade like, but that would be intentional, and would further reduce the hardcore FPS players.
In general, after examining the pros & cons (even the ones you think I haven't thought of) I am of the opinion that an arcade style limited ability infantryman would be a positive addition to the game for many well thought out reasons. There would be few things that an infantryman could do that can not already be accomplished by some other means in the game already and would therefore be no more a detrimental addition to the game than say a Jeep or a Storch.
One other thing, just so everyone is clear on this; I do not think that my ideas are monumental, spectacular, or better than anyone else. I am completely aware that there have been countless others with this idea or ideas like it over the years. Please forgive me for not researching and scouring the former years worth of wishlist posts which I'm sure address this topic. I merely intended to get the communities opinion on what my RUDIMENTARY ideas concerning this topic were.
Once again your input is greatly appreciated either for or against. It would however be nice to see the Debbie Downers smile a little more in life!!!
