Defences and area commands

Can we get area building removed from defences? its pretty hard to rotate defences without accidently using the area command. In most cases, we are not wanting to build many defences next to each other either, which kinda makes it pointless to use area build commands with defences.

Or, even better, can we get some sort of option ingame as to whether we use that circle area command or line command to build buildings? i know some people would enjoy that grid layout, but i am no sim city player, and would rather not build all my power plants clustered like that. I would rather use the line command for everything.

I was thinking as a long term goal type thing I'd like window in the options where I could define, on a structure-by-structure basis, whether it should use the Circle/Cube or Line style.

Mike

Yeah, thats what i was thinking when i wrote the post, of it being a building by building purpose, but i guess i got too far ahead of myself and forgot to type it.

I like that they tried it, and its kinda cool, but it doesnt quite work. So i need options.

I posted a very similar "idea" in the Beta build thread. I've posted a link to this thread if that's ok?

Might I suggest a brief delay before the area commands kick in, or perhaps holding down a key like the space bar or something else when you want an area command. When you are trying to just quickly queue up a bunch of defensive structures you don't necessarily want to create 2 turret or 3 turret lines here and there.

Circle area command for defensive structures would be interesting. Not "fill area with towers", but "fill area with tower ranges", so it's completely covered.

I'd like to shift from various configurations with the press of a button (mouse3 perhaps?)

Then we can choose which configuration makes sense at the time.

Lines aren't always useful for all factory's for example the aircraft factory's don't need an exit area and can be grouped in squares rings or any shape you feel fits the area your building in.

You see, the problem with this is that it cannot be too slow.

Lets take building mexes as an example. We have 6 mexes clustered close together. If i can individually click on all 6 mexes faster than the area command would take to do it, why would i use the area command when i can choose exactly which mex is built first?

Also, there is nobody that should be building defences in the way that area commands do. At most you want 2, maybe 3 turrets max. Any more and you are going overboard and spending far too much. And because we only generally want to be building 2/3 turrets, we NEED to space them out to cover the most area. The whole idea about turrets kinda pulls away from area build commands.

By delay I meant one second. You might be able to work with a delay of 1/2 a second but I am not sure. So you click and hold the button for one second then it switches to area command mode until you release the mouse button. For example: Once you are in area command mode you can have it default to line and then press a key on the keyboard if you want to switch to area. The default could be either it really doesn't matter which area mode it defaults to. The key is that you simply toggle it to the other by pressing a key on the keyboard.

I think the real change that needs to be made to the area commands is you need to be able to specify area or line. When doing an area it should space things out according to their effective range(for defensive structures) and footprint for other structures. If you are doing a line then you need those units close together, so when dropping a line of structures they should be spaced according to the foot print only.

A ring command would be awesome! And you would have to make it so that all of the structures rotate to face away from the center of the circle.

I think you fail to see the problem. When you build defences around mexes, you do not build them in squares, but in more of a wavy line. There is no way other than clicking to do such lines. I dont think i have ever played a game of PA when i have thought ' i need defences in a square layout '. The only time i build defences is for defending mexes or if we some how managed to miss an army coming towards a base and did not manage to get my own army into position to stop it in time. There is no situation when a square build formation is useful for defences.

Not sure but I think the separation distance is a per building thing, meaning for say rocket towers you could make use of a square formation if the distance was great enough to say, build one tower in each corner of a factory. Even better would be if the distance could be scaled with the mouse wheel or some other method like, Total Annihilation Demo Recorder Mod (or the modern community 4.0 patch).

If it can save you 10 or 15 clicks to get anti air scattered through your base I think it has value.

Until they implement "spacing" with the mouse wheel or something to decide how far to space apart structures, and shaping with mouse wheel click (m3) to cycle between square and drawn (I personally don't like circle at all when it is fast enough to sweep a circle around with a draw tool), and also drawn area commands specifically...

...Then I agree that area commands probably should be limited to mobile units and mexes and such. Probably definitely disabled for towers unless reworked to require a larger drag space to activate and intentionally more space between towers (I always prefer where they overlap each other by 1/5th of their range so one can't knock one tower down and run through fast as possible)

Wait you rotate them? Why? Don't they do that by themselves anyway?

Not until they target something or you later force attack an area. by the time a slow firing cannon like a Holkins turns to face the correct way a fast and nimble force could easily get close and destroy it before it fires a single shot.

I see your point though, its a minor annoyance.

I build missile defence in squares. they hit bombers harder and do better against doxen. I use them to defend stuff worth defending, not create a very thin marginot line.

It's a pretty major annoyance when your lasers or pelters allow an attacj to get through which would otherwise have totally failed.

if you have stuff worth defending, combat units are what you need, not defences.

Yes. Defences buy time.

A thin line of missile turrets is easy to penetrate. I think 7 doxen win against 1 turret? If you have 4 turrets close together you need 30 or so doxen to destroy the turrets. It's easier to run around, but harder to destroy. A shell of turrets is easy to hollow out and leave the defences defending nothing.

When you are trying to fight 30 enemy doxes with missile turrets you are doing it wrong imho