Was playing a 5v5ish game and noticed that most players decided they'd rather stay around spawn and build instead of going on the offensive.
I don't have a problem with that, but the few who go on the offensive have to fight through the unrelenting hordes of bricklayers and architects armed to the teeth with grenades and rifles several times due to quick respawns.

What I'd suggest is allowing players to choose to be a Soldier or Builder(or whatever you want to call them) when they join the game or go to their CP.

Soldiers would be heavily armed but only able to carry a few supplies for quick defenses while under fire.
-possibly lower starting block count
-rifles could take out blocks with two instead of three hits to reveal enemies easily

Builders would be lightly armed, but able to help their team by building bunkers for defence, bridges for easy movement across terrain and so on.
-replace the rifle with a weaker pistol of some sort
-start with 50 blocks
-cap their block count at 200
-one or even no grenades upon spawn
-maybe have their pick harvest blocks with two swings

I feel like this would improve the game for both offensive and defensive players.

I would second this - given how quick respawns are however, maybe there should be a time limit on changing classes, so a builder doesn't just change straight into a soldier as soon as they get killed, rendering the class system useless.

//Soldier
Weapons: Semi-Auto Rifle (max 80 ammo), x2 Grenade (max 4)
Blocks: 10 (maximum 25)
Notes: The main infantry of an army. Always good to have, offense or defense.

//Builder
Weapons: Pistol (max 56 ammo), x1 Grenade (max 2)
Blocks: 80 (maximum 150)
Notes: Has less power than the average soldier. Best left for defensive purposes.

//Scout
Weapons: Pistol (max 16 ammo), Binoculars
Blocks: 5 (maximum 10)
Note: Good for the laid-back, tactical player, but nothing more than a helper for the other classes. NOT recommended for any head-on fighting, defensive or offensive.

(last one's a gamble, but I wasn't really thinking, so, like my other ideas, twist and reform it to your heart's content. :P)

I think that just adds to the challenge of invading bases. Nonetheless, I do think that a class system would add ALOT to the game, and it seems this view is shared by most people I've played with in my short 2 game career.

Its seems the type of people who play are either builders/defenders, attackers/snipers, and destroyers. So i would go for making classes that either reflect this, or lump attributes into two classes, so it would be builders/destroyers and soldiers.

My suggestion would be something like

Engineer:

Shotgun
Improved mining and building capabilities
TNT for destroying enemy structures

Soldier:

Assault Rifle
Poor mining and building capabilities
Grenade launcher

Soldier 2

Single shot rifle
Standard building/mining
Grenades

Anyway, a damn good game. Another suggestion might be mountains that can be walked up, rather than having to jump all the time

BTW

Sidearms are needed.

pls no classes
digging & building are fine as they are and making classes will only ruin the everyman style
could use sidearms/more weapons however

I agree, please no classes. It may seem cool at first, but IMO it just ruins the overall feel of the game

more weapons would be nice tho :3

Another vote for no classes. Multirole plastic soldiers!

Kinda like ZakDCCLXXVII's idea. Soldier, Builder, Scout, and maybe a few more weapons, but on a side note great game, hope to see all of you on the battlefield!

The only classes we need are shooters and builders; once a shooter has exhausted his ammo, he becomes a builder until death.

Classes are not needed. That's what TF2 is for.

EDIT: disregard that i suck cocks, ammo can be refilled, just shoot or build idc which

Another vote to no classes, but instead of that, I suggest loadouts. You get to choose two weapons and a grenade, plus the digging tools.

I like the everyman thing going on in the game right now.

No classes. Please.

Classes would be a bad move right now.

I support the idea of classes.
After seeing one game and how much tunneling goes on, the best word to describe it is "rampant" Not every player should have a pickaxe. It is too powerful a thing when every player can build a tunnel-network the vietcong would envy.

Needless to say, this game also takes inspiration from Infiniminer, and as such it would not be bad to have a variant of their classes.

However Douche's idea of a load-out is good to.
I think, for the future, you should envision something that uses both.

But for now, here are ideas I'd bring to consideration for classes.

Proposal of classes, and general functions:

-Rifleman [Spade/Pistol/Rifle/Grenade]; the primary strong-arm of the team, they will be necessary for defending as well as mounting offensives. Also, grenades ought to have increased throwing range. Riflemen would get 4 grenades. The spade would dig like a pick-axe, but would not collect blocks, allowing Riflemen the capacity to at least entrench themselves.

-Engineer [Pick-axe/Pistol/Placing-Blocks/Detonated Charge]; builder of the team, also useful for penetrating fortifications if you can get them to the front-lines alive. Engineers working together can create structures very quickly. Detonated charge destroys a considerably large area of blocks, and thusly the engineer only carries one of these at a time.

-Scout [Knife/Pistol/Scoped-Rifle (with 1/2 capacity of normal rifle)/Camouflage]; Scouts reveal nearby enemies on the map, as well as enemies in their field of view. Camouflage makes the scout immobile, but appear as a stacked pair of blocks (the colors being the same as the block the scout stands on). While using camouflage, moving or shooting while cause it to be removed. The knife allows the scout to attack other players without making any noise.

-Officer [Radio / Pistol / SMG / Claymores ]; Radio allows the officer to mark blocks as objectives (which will appear on the map) as a means to easily rally players. Officers can also place an objective marker on friendly AND enemy players (so if an officer spots you stealing the intel, he can mark you). Objectives will disappear by default after 1 minute, when a new objective is marked, or when the officer has been killed. Claymores can be used for setting up defenses, ambushes, and traps, however they will not distinguish between friendly and enemy players. Officers can be identified by the radio-pack they wear.

Another change you should consider is bullets damaging blocks. This should be removed. Explosives and digging tools destroying blocks, yes. Bullets destroying blocks, no.

Please no classes, the one man all out is much better.

No classes, just be able to choose your loadout. You choose it at the base or a weapons cache.

Primary weapon-
Rifle: Basic infantry weapon, high accuracy
Assault Rifle: 20 round capacity, medium accuracy, low- medium damage
Shotgun: You know, a shotgun
Sniper Rifle: High damage, slow reload. slow rate of fire, 5 round magazine
Sub machine gun: Low damage, high rate of fire, low accuracy
Light Machine Gun: Can be fired like a normal gun, low accuracy, medium damage,
Heavy Machine Gun: Mounted only, cannot be fired while carried, medium- high damage, low recoil, slow reloading
Flame Thrower: Throws flames, unlimited ammo but overheats quickly, slows movement

Secondary weapon-
Pistol: 8 round magazine, can be fired as fast as you can click
Revolver: 6 rounds, slow rate of fire, high damage
Rocket Launcher: Large blast radius, effective against blocks but not so much players, 2 rockets, ammo cannot be refilled
Grenade launcher: Effective against players, not so much structures, 2 grenades, ammo cannot be refilled
Bangalore Blades, can be used to blow up a large area of barbed wire, 10 second fuse, can kill players

Equipment-
Grenade: Goes boom, 2 grenades
Smoke Grenade: Makes a smoke screen, 1 grenade
C4: Effective against all, can be picked up and moved by enemy players if they find it, explodes if shot, 2 blocks
Mine: 4 blocks wide, explodes if stepped on, 4 mines
Barbed wire: cannot be passed through or jumped over, damaged player, one block can be destroyed in 30 hits, 30 blocks
Weapons Cache: Can be deployed anywhere on map, allows players to switch classes, refills ammo, can be destroyed
Decoy Intel: Looks like Intel, but explods

Weapon Attachments-
Silencer: Reduces sound and hides flash and bullet path
Grip: Reduces recoil
Red Dot Sight: Replaces Sights
Reflex Sight: Replaces Sights
Scope: Replaces sights, adds slight zoom, slight sway and increased recoil
Bayonet: Insta kill
Under mounted Grenade Launcher: Same as grenade launcher but less powerful, 1 grenade
Extended Magazine: <---

Of course this guy should fix the gameplay problems before he starts adding new features.

No choosing loadout please, god I hate that shit.

Seconding on the no loadouts. I also think it's stupid. Multiple weapons would be hard to do though. If they were randomly placed around the map, and someone was lucky to find one they could become really powerful and destroy anyone in their path. It would also encourage traveling around the map which most people don't want to do.

If there was no choice to classes, I would keep it simple:

Builder - Current pea shooter gun, pickaxe, spade
Trooper - A faster firing gun
Medic - Medpack with a few uses, recharges in tent, Pea shooter

But like I said, PLEASE DON'T ADD CLASSES AT ALL

But perhaps think of something to stop everyone doing mountain tunnels like cave-ins.

i approve a class system, as long as it is kept simple.

- soldiers should be the bread and butter of the army, maybe even keep them like they are right now
- engineers should be able to build more efficiently and demolish stuff too, but bad at fighting.
- "supporter" to support the frontline fighters with (limited) ammo and health, but bad at fighting.

i like the "realism" of the game so making one class all over-the-top would kinda suck!

more weapons would be nice too.
well, just my 2 cents!

Load outs are stupid. I'd rather have simple classes as mentioned in the above posts.

If there is to be a class system, keep it simple; 2, maybe 3 classes max for Defence, Offence and a neutral class.

There's no need for classes. I am very much against the idea of classes.

"I am very much against the idea of classes..." -because...what?
Finish your statement.

Classes are absolutely needed in this game.
It is too powerful a thing when -EVERY- player can dig and tunnel. It entirely defeats the purpose of building fortifications when every player can just circumvent them by digging.

You can hear players digging. No, I think it would be more annoying not being able to get by a fortification.

Classes will only make the game more difficult to balance. The game is already well balanced. Digging makes a lot of noise and is easily discovered if you're paying attention. As for fortifications, forcing an engineer class to approach in order to circumvent it would only cause an increase in stalemates. The point of building is to make it easier for defenders, not to replace defenders.

I can see it now... Arguments every day about class balances and people complaining that one class is too strong or another is too weak. If the AoS dev is smart, he will avoid classes and save himself from a lot of needless drama.

The game is not well-balanced.
Calling a game in beta well-balanced is like calling raw-meat cooked.

It is not balanced when one person, alone, can dig a tunnel that goes from one end of the map to the other.
It is easy to hear somebody digging, yes, but it is not easy to locate them when you have a 50x50 area of tiles you can hear them within and their tunnel only occupies one row of that grid.
And you know what happens when that tunnel is discovered? They dig another.
And they can dig as many tunnels as they wish because there are few tactics that can counter/prevent tunneling.

There are NO tactics that can prevent tunneling when EVERY player is equally capable of it.

In the case of classes, at no point of assaulting a fortified area are you -required- to bring an engineer, but doing so makes it easier.
You can always overcome fortifications the normal way, you know, by killing everybody and charging in. The purpose of classes though is to distribute player abilities in a way that encourages cooperation.
This game ought to have qualities which encourage players to work together against a common enemy beyond the most primitive elements of a CTF game.

There is no cooperation in being able to tunnel directly under intel and then backtrack all the way back to the resupply.

If the AoS dev is smart, he will implement what balances the game, brings players' experiences together through cooperation to defeat their enemy, and ignore anybody who stirs up drama.

Classes are not difficult to balance when you have as few as four.
Claiming that balancing four classes in a game of this nature is making a mountain of a mole-hill, and then tunneling under it.

I'm sensing a lot of hostility...

Regardless, I don't think we will see ever see eye to eye on this and we've both made our points, so let's let it go unresolved. It's up to the dev to make these decisions and when he does we'll just have to deal with it.

Maybe he should leave an option for server operators to activate classes or not. That shouldn't be hard to do at all and everyone can be happy.

Ultimately, I just view classes as a medium for balancing the elements of firepower, communication, tactics, and building/destruction.

Voting for either an MG class, or no classes at all. Being able to dig and build while being useful at combat is great.