Here's the deal - write in here what cool stuff you'd like to see in BF2. Things it should have, but doesn't. Not bug fixes so much, but more gameplay stuff. Maybe we can send it to EA and they'll notice... hey, dreams are free, right? Here's my list to get it started:
* The ability to choose from a range of weapons for each class. For example, the AT class might have to choose between a guided AT rocket as at present with 3 rounds for it, or an RPG-like thing but with 6 rounds. The support class could have a machinegun, a man portable SAM (like the ones you find at the moment), a clip-fed grenade launcher, or a light mortar. Or a flamethrower
The assault class can choose between long-range, high damage, accurate weapons (think SLR); short range spray-and-pray weapons (think an SMG); or something in between (M16 or AK-74).
* AA missiles that are a threat to aircraft. Maybe its just me, but they seem to miss 8 times out of 10 and don't do a great deal of damage when they do hit. The fixed missiles should be a real threat, worth destroying or sending specops in to blow up, rather than a vague irritation to pilots.
* Radar guided missiles for the gunner in an F-15, Su-30 or Su-34 to use. Give them 2 or 4 of these, and drop the number of LGMs by half. Say when they get in they're in radar AA missile mode, right-clicking brings up the LGM screen as at present. These missiles should be BVR (beyond visual range) capable, and do respectable damage, but be difficult to use. Since the game is tracking the aircraft even when they're not in your field of vision, let the gunner look around - if he is looking towards an aircraft, the lock-on process starts. If he can keep the cursor in his sight box for a few seconds he gets a lock and can let fly. This would make the gunner an asset in air-to-air combat, rather than baggage, and make the bombers slightly less naff in the process.
* Laser target designators for the specops class, allowing them to paint a target for the LGMs from the bombers.
* AA guns. Something like a twin or quad MG mount with a 360 field of fire. Something like a ZPU-4 for those of you who know WTF I'm on about. The Chinese in particular use a lot of AA guns, every battalion in the Chinese army has a company of towed 25mm autocannon attached to it (very similar to a ZU-23-2). These things would be great against choppers, and might even give aircraft a few worries too. If you gave them a clip size of say 50 rds and made them immobile they would go some way to balancing out the blackhawk whoring without being unbalanced themselves. Maybe they don't have unlimited ammo, and a support class has to rearm them?
* Give engineers the ability to not just repair stuff, but actually build things too. Like SAM or ATGM sites, sandbag walls, MG mountings, AT obstacles, bunkers, and so on. You could run it by right-clicking with the spanner selected brining up a build menu - all of these things would have to have a cost in materials and an engy would only be able to carry so much, meaning he'd need a supply crate to let him keep building. Perhaps he can only build certain structures to begin with, then he add on to them when he has more materials - it might go like this (-> = upgrades too): Sandbag wall -> wall with MG -> SAM site or ATGM site -> bunker -> bunker with MG -> bunker with ATGM or SAM.
* Give the machine-gunner in a tank something to do while crouched down or with his second mouse button. I don't know, maybe reload the smoke dischargers? Hey, that would actually be useful... or let him put frag grenades in them instead of smoke!
* Some variety between the nations. Again, maybe its just me, but it all seems very samey - an M1A2 is a T-90 is a Type-98, and they're all the bloody same! Here's some ideas for each nation:
USA: A-6 attack bomber (no guns or AA missiles, slow and hard to manoever - but with assloads of bombs and missiles), drop the F-15 (US Marines don't use them), take the ATGMs off the LAVs (it doesn't actually have them), put AA missiles on the AH-1's wingtip pylons (use the pilots right mouse button for these), put TOWs or automatic grenade launchers on some Humvees, make the M1A2 fantastic against tanks and with no splash damage (APFSDSDU rounds don't explode, and M1s carry very few HE rounds).
MEC: BMP-3 (light tank gun, autocannon, ATGMs, machineguns - might need 2 crew!) or BMP-2 (autocannon and ATGMs) APCs, take the ATGMs off the BTR-90s and replace with a heavy MG, give the Mi-28 more unguided rockets and TVMs (the in-game model has them...), give the T-90 gun-launched ATGMs and fewer rounds carried.
China: Replace fixed SAM sites with 25mm AA guns, take ATGMs off the WZ-551 (it doesn't actually have them...) and replace with a MG, add the Type-90 APC (a BTR-90 with a MG instead of the autocannon and ATGMs), add the Type-59D tank (slow, weak armour, poor gun damage, no missile countermeasures, but LOTS of them - perhaps it respawns very quickly?).
Thoughts or additions?
Gunnar out.
