The Importance of Options

On an unrelated note it would be interesting if the star was actually a gameplay location too, orbital only ofc. Could post anchors to intercept other units coming through, hide your commander and so on.

It's been suggested and I'm pretty sure Uber said no... can't remember the details though.

I don't really see the point of fighting around there...

The only reason I can think of is if Solar Arrays must be in line of sight to the sun. So then we could send solar arrays to the sun so they constantly generate power and then we'd need to fight over them.

Planetary Annihilation has the potential to be one of the most well balanced and enjoyable games of the past five years. It will do all this and yet remain the awesome game we were promised during the Kickstarter.

It is well past the brainstorming and theorycrafting stages. We are well into the implement and iterate stages. This means that trying to copy a previous game, no matter how similar, is just not going to work.

SupCom had its own issues. These issues involved the details of how the game played. As time went on, people modded it to varying degrees in order to match their playstyle and what enhanced gameplay. The benefits of this are obvious - you get a dedicated playerbase who enjoys a mature discussion and playthrough of a match and the strategic tactics therein. The downside was the playerbase eventually shrank as folks lost interest faster than new players could understand and succeed with the complex gameplay mechanics.

Total Annihilation was an enjoyable game, but its issues were also in the details. We cannot just rip concepts out of TA and paste them into PA. We have to carefully look at the context of the game first, and look through what is needed in the games' balance, then determine how this concept will enhance gameplay.

If a concept intro'd at this stage will not enhance and expand the gameplay, while keeping it super-friendly for new players, there really is no reason to do it. There is no reason to try to continually modify the idea to make it fit. It will detract from gameplay, because you are just adding complexity without any depth.

Balance is not about whether folks from previous games will like it. It's not about if the community as a whole will like it. It's all about if it will have a positive effect on the game and complete the overall picture of the game.

That's not to discard the opinion of these players - or their experience thus far - but to note that Uber has a vision for PA, and whether we like it or not, it's their vision and they are going to stick to it. And I agree with them in this.

More options:

1. Increase support costs
2. Increase complexity of testing
3. Split the community
4. Overwhelm new players
5. Can lead to negative game experiences which drive players away

Great =)
but FLAK is also "op" , because 1 FLAK shot can kill up to 10 t2 bombers. and if u turtle FLACK cannons u cant get hurt by air, even if u dont have any t2 Fighters.

Except Flak can't move. If a player turtles with flack and builds no fighters, then they can't expand very well because gunships will take out the unguarded expansions.

The point of Flak is to take out lots of clumped up aircraft.

I'm looking forward to when air formations get more flushed out. I also hope aircraft aren't stackable in the future.

One issue now is that flak is an upgrade to AA, but really they should fill different roles. AA should be shooting fast moving things while flak hits large formations and planes which hang around.

While it is true that less options is better, it's not an invite to have none at all.

The importance is to have options in the right places, to cater the experience of PA to more people than just a hardcore group.

That includes disabling features (I always disable nukes in supcom, and preferably mass conversion too), changing the AI (for an ***-whooping learning experience or casual fun), but also options for the planet you play on like a random or geometically distributed metal spot.

The issue is that flak takes out lots of clumped up aircraft.


Flak *should* thin out aircraft so that the missile turrets can deal with them better. IT should be very similar to artillery in function. Soften up an enemy, but not outright destroy it.

totally agreed