Our very own KAOS Developer, Dan Matlack explains the Vehicles Defense Systems in Homefront. How they work, what you use to take them out, and how vehicles are balanced in Multiplayer with an arsenal of weapons at your disposal. Enjoy!

Homefront Vehicle Defense Systems
With expansive maps, escalating warfare and Battle Points all pushing Homefront matches toward a crescendo of vehicle and anti-vehicle warfare, the Kaos design team has created two vehicle-only systems to make that inevitable warfare much more enjoyable from both a vehicle and infantry viewpoint – the Vehicle Over Armor System and the Vehicle Missile Defeat System.

Vehicle Over Armor System
Vehicle Over Armor is used strategically on both the medium armored vehicles and the heavy armored vehicles. We use the VOAS to not only affect damage values, but also visually represent the damage itself, both on the mesh and in the vehicle HUD



As seen in the above image, the side panel over armor on this tank for example is functional for both game play aspects and visual aspects. For the driver of the tank, there is a HUD display that corresponds with the level of damage the vehicle has taken in any given area – green for full armor, yellow for damaged armor and flashing red for a completely exposed weak spot. For the attacker, the damage is displayed artistically with explosions, smoke, fire and visual mesh changes so that the attacker always knows where the weakest part of the vehicle is exposed. The medium armored and heavy armored vehicles use the over armor system as a ‘shield’ of sorts as the side panels on these vehicles absorb all the initial damage from an attacker leaving the armor destroyed but the vehicle with full health. Don’t worry, the entire vehicle is not armored and it is up to the driver to use this to his advantage as best he/she can. It’s also up to the attacker to exploit the vehicle’s weaknesses to the best of their ability. This really creates dynamic vehicle versus vehicle battles and vehicle versus infantry battles as it becomes tactically important to jockey for position for both attacking and protecting the vehicles.
No other vehicles in the game currently use over armor as shields, however we do use the over armor system to convey damage to the vehicles’ owners and passengers and also visually convey damage to the attackers. Below is an image of the rear of a tank before it has been hit and after the over armor has been destroyed. In this case, 100% of the damage has been passed through to the vehicle’s overall health and the over armor does not act as a shield and therefore is not displayed in the vehicle HUD



Vehicle Missile Defeat System

The Missile Defeat System is a timer-based and rechargeable vehicle mechanic that helps protect vehicles from incoming enemy missiles and rockets. The system works in two ways – active projectile missile defeat for land vehicles and active shrapnel flares for air vehicles. The missile defeat system may be activated by the owner of the vehicle at any time and will last a preset time limit and immediately be followed by a cool down time wherein the system will be unavailable. This mechanic is represented in the HUD with a timer notification countdown and an available/recharge bar



For the attacker, if a vehicle has the VMDS active an icon shield will be visible above the vehicle. On ground vehicles in 3p, a flashing red light will be visible on the defeat system itself and for helicopters, flares will be visible



The land-based missile defeat works by firing a projectile from the system on the vehicle to destroy the incoming missile in mid air before it causes damage. The helicopters use flares to attract the incoming missiles and then detonate to destroy them. Both systems work on all incoming missiles in the game – however – proximity rocket launchers can still damage vehicles if their detonation is close enough.
In conclusion one might think, ZOMG!? THE VEHICLES ARE SO OP! … well, don’t fret! Vehicles are meant, by design, to be powerful in Homefront. They are expensive, hard to get and difficult to keep alive and as such SHOULD be powerful and have extra features to help them not go down like they are made of paper. Our vehicles are strong, feel strong and have a ‘weightiness’ to them that makes them a treat to control and a prize to strive for in game. Vice versa, the satisfaction gained when taking out a vehicle is tremendous for the attacker. RPGs, Proximity Rocket Launchers, C4, EMP Grenades, Grenades, large caliber guns, vehicle to vehicle, and drone to vehicle rockets ALL play a major role in taking down vehicles. The mini games that spring up between vehicles and infantry versus vehicles are entertaining, challenging, tactical and over all, a blast to partake in.

Please feel free to post any questions or comments in the ensuing thread and I will do my best to answer them when I have time. Please keep the questions on topic!
Thanks,
Dan Matlack
(Images are not representative of in-game rendering. They are screen grabs taken in a white room at low resolution to illustrate the functionality of mechanics only)

http://community.homefront-game.com/blo ... se-systems