I don't know what to say so i copied the first 2 sentences from my post on the beta issues and bugs forum I hope to see the game having multiple uses for the buildings. I would love to see buildings like the deep space radar being able to upgrade units range of view or give the player abilities that he/she can use on the battlefield like scanning on any planet (costs resources) or something of that sort. In PA there are too many buildings that can only be used in certain scenario's due to this many buildings are useless in the late game and few times are never used at all because the scenario never occurs. Buildings that have this problem are: (forgot some of these buildings names) - The 1 headed laser (never used) - umbrella - deep space radar - anti nuke launcher - under water mine (never seen being used once) I am sure i missed a few and a few i have gotten wrong but i hope i made the message clear, buildings need more uses then just only one. *p.s i didn't put the nuke launcher in the list because it can launch between planets and already has many uses.
There will be no upgrades in the game. Please check out the FAQ. -1 Headed laser, I have seen it. It is usefull early game turret. -Umberella, indeed you don't see many of these. -Deep space radar, need it in all games where someone builds an orbital launcher. -Anti-nuke launcher, I've seen it so many many times. -Under water mine, Do we have an underwater mine!? In essence the buildings are your upgrades. If you have a Radar tower and you want to make your range bigger, just make an Advanced radar tower. On planets with no water their will be no naval. But that doesn't mean that the buildings are useless. Also Uber is trying to make that a game that doesn't make T1 obselete if you get T2. EDIT: I am against buildings with muliple uses. P.S. If want a game with lots of upgrades try out Supreme Commander. PA is the successor to TA not SubCom.
Aura type buffs won't be in the game. They're taxing on system resources and are not appropriate for a war based on simple, cheap and perfected tech. This is true, and it is a real problem because narrow unit roles do not create good dynamic gameplay. Unfortunately, addressing such an issue requires a clever dev who can understand how all the bits work together. Making a simple multi-use unit is pretty hard.
And yet, PA makes use of so many lessons learned from SupCom, can you imagine PA without Strat zoom? SupCom is just as important to PA's Heritage as TA does. Mike
- The 1 headed laser (never used) • used very frequently. It's a great early game tower. - umbrella • Will become used more and more as orbital becomes used more. Especially when we start on multiple planet. In fact, late game is the only time the Umbrella is valid. - deep space radar • Should be built any time Orbital is a factor. - anti nuke launcher • Very useful structure, especially with interplanetary nukes. - under water mine (never seen being used once) • I've never seen this one used either, but I think it's intended more as an anti-sub defense, which subs don't work yet, so the mine is useless. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if this gets removed.
I wonder if that mine actually works, maybe I'll try it out tomorrow and see. Perhaps we're all missing a hidden gem!
The problem with the jellyfish is that it is visible. It is an antiship and antisub mine. Unless the enemy has subs, it would be completely invisible. It probably does work. The thing is, it's not an invisible threat at the moment, so unless people really aren't paying attention to their naval units, its kind of a waste of time. I'm pretty sure that units would target it as well.
Amazing fact: I thought the same thought a while back - and tried it out. I was losing water control in a lake, so I set up a minefield, so to speak, in front of my torp launchers. I was kinda smug about the nasty surprise that other player was getting. Nope. His bluebottles saw them and blew them up as soon as they came into range. Don't worry, the description SAYS they are stealthy but noooo. That feature doesn't work yet. Honestly I only use umbrellas when I don't have enough fighters, and only use single laser turrets as a raid deterrent or an expensive wall that can shoot. Seems fine to me.
That's partially a problem. Mines of any variety depend on an enemy to run over them. Faster units run over more things. Subs are traditionally the slowest type of unit in most RTS games. So... yeah.
Well, I think the concept was to have a last ditch defense against sub attacks on your base, if nothing else. I don't have experience with antisub defenses/tactics from other games, so I can only draw from the quiver of common sense and M.A.D.. Considering the barracuda will be able to build and launch IRBMs, I think mines are VERY last ditch. You'll need a torpedo bomber strike force to even consider taking one out before it gets into range.
Unfortunately the theory and the execution of sub mines do not line up in any way whatsoever. It's back to the drawing board.
[quote="ghost1107, post: In essence the buildings are your upgrades. If you have a Radar tower and you want to make your range bigger, just make an Advanced radar tower. [/quote] The problem with these upgrades is that most players skip the first and go straight to the second like with the orbital radar. Most people don't bother building a normal orbital radar and instead build a advanced one straight away. [quote="ghost1107, post: P.S. If want a game with lots of upgrades try out Supreme Commander. PA is the successor to TA not SubCom.[/quote] buildings don't have to have upgrades just more then 1 scenario where they can be used, like with the nuke: it can be used to fire missiles at bases in other planets which opens up a large amount of tactics for players to use. Not only that but it can stop players from making a impossible to reach planet guarded so well that they win by default.
The problem with these upgrades is that most players skip the first and go straight to the second like with the orbital radar. Most people don't bother building a normal orbital radar and instead build a advanced one straight away. [quote="ghost1107, post: P.S. If want a game with lots of upgrades try out Supreme Commander. PA is the successor to TA not SubCom.[/quote] buildings don't have to have upgrades just more then 1 scenario where they can be used, like with the nuke: it can be used to fire missiles at bases in other planets which opens up a large amount of tactics for players to use. Not only that but it can stop players from making a impossible to reach planet guarded so well that they win by default.[/quote] Or... Or you could just have 2 separate buildings to fulfil both those functions? I don't know why you're so against specificity, in my opinion it makes the game more tactical, more interesting and easier to read. I mean I suppose you could combine all types of radar into one, or have one factory that produces all unit types but it would reduce strategic thinking and make the game generally less interesting.
Combining all radars to one would be a horrible idea Same goes for the factories I understand that new buildings are forced into the game due to the games expectations but making certain buildings more viable for in game scenarios would cause the game to become more user friendly and compatible with tutorials. Such equipment like the normal orbital radar are completely discarded for more advanced technology within the game making them utterly useless late game and rarely built at all. NOW, If such equipment like the orbital radar were to have some type of other use it could be more viable and opens up a range of diverse tactics within the game A in game "Demo" of this in action can be seen with the newly updated nuke launchers which can fire nukes at other planets, this has made the game more enjoyable and has pathed the way for newly thought out tactics using interplanetary warfare.
Aah, I (partially) misunderstood you. On the subject of unit/building redundancy I agree; there shouldn't be any unit that is replaced by a completely superior version. Giving the 'basic' versions a secondary purpose is one way to do this, or to give the 'advanced' version a secondary purpose but much smaller range or whatever. It's up to uber to work out the details (and neutrino has specifically stated he wants to eliminate all unit redundancy, although we have yet to see this) I wouldn't call interplanetary nukes a 'secondary purpose' though, that's just part of the functionality of the building. I stand by my original post in that I think it's fine, even desirable, to have units or buildings with a single specific purpose, even if it means that unit or building won't see much play except for when certain circumstances are met (eg anti-nuke launcher)
