PA Has Ruined All Other RTS Games for Me

Discussion in 'Planetary Annihilation General Discussion' started by brianpurkiss, September 20, 2014.

  1. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

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    It resizes to other screen formats though? Not to mention there's a mod to resize it however you like. PA's build bar is much better for ANYONE in the fact it's much more flexible than FAF's.

    Now subjectively, FAF's build bar is kinda ugly, last I played it the build bar was opacite enough that seeing build icons and such were just kind of blending slightly.
    DalekDan likes this.
  2. Shwyx

    Shwyx Well-Known Member

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    I agree that area commands, picture in picture and multi-planet-scale gameplay are awesome features.

    However, I can still see myself playing other RTS games for their custom map scenes and much more complex (ladder) gameplay. Say what you want about SC2, for example - most 1vs1 matches there are much more challenging than anything PA has to offer at the moment.
    DalekDan likes this.
  3. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

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    I think this debate should rather be revolving around features not looks and presentation.

    FA's bar may look sh it but it makes better use of your pixel real estate and feature a build queue ...which I've been asking for from the start :/
  4. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

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    But in doing so it also reduces the usability, putting techs in separate sections, and needing a scroll bar. Not only is it a bit meh looking, it reduces it's functionality by trying to separate things so it takes up less space.
  5. MrTBSC

    MrTBSC Post Master General

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    realy sadening of how people derail a thread into a stupid flamewar of what game is superior bla bla...


    WHY do you guys think we like to play PA?

    and WHY should we go back again to FAF?

    what has supcom PA couldn`t have?

    artificialy pace impeding upgrades and hq buildings?
    vetererancy that makes powerfull units even more needlesly powerfull ?
    forced altered playstyle factions?
    more units and structures from which many are the same in a different skin and merely slightly altered stats at best?
    money and timesinking experimentals that are merely a combination of already existing units?
    superior ui? mods made over the course of 7 years?

    you seem to not understand the posibillities of this games engine ... whatever has been made back then could be replicated on PA it´s just a matter of time ... and then some ...
    optimi likes this.
  6. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    It would take up ALMOST HALF YOUR SCREEN if it had no tabs! And you almost never switch between tabs anyway! So it doesn't matter! And if I used a stone age monitor I would not complain that I have less FOV than people who use a more modern monitor!
    But this is completely irrelevant anyway, rather suggest things that can actually be brought over from FA or ANY game for that matter that does something better UI-wise. I already did, and you guys just said 'But FA's build menu sucks!'
  7. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

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    I was saying it's build menu was bad in the first place, you were the one responding to me. ;)
  8. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    Yea, because that's BS.
  9. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

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    that's all fine and well but can't lessons be drawn from both?
  10. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    Yea, I mean, if I were to create a build menu I would take a radically new approach... which I hoped PA would do in many more respects than it did.

    My idea would work like a command rose in RO or BF

    you press... say B... and a radial menu pops up with a two main sections "t1" and "t2". Each fo those section would expand into "eco", "production", "intel", "defence", each of those into the simply when you move the cursor over them.

    This way you could build muscle memory patterns for selecting certain buildings very quickly and you would save screen space.
  11. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

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    that's all well and fine :p .... but I was rather talking about the build queue
  12. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    The build queue is displayed on the map itself? I don't understand.
  13. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

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    :rolleyes: yes you don't..... uhmmmm units much?
  14. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    ?? What does factory UI have to do with build UI? It just happens to always be put in the same panel in all RTSs
  15. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

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    do we need a UI for unit queue build or not?
  16. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    You need a factory UI for unit queues. A build UI is what builder units like engies/ fabbers have. At least that is what I mean with those terms, which should be rather apparent though, from what I have been saying.
  17. tehtrekd

    tehtrekd Post Master General

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    Considering most micro-based RTS games require you to use heavy amounts of focus fire, yes, there are indeed RTS games where area attack commands would be a detriment to game play (or at the very least, completely useless)
  18. MrTBSC

    MrTBSC Post Master General

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    how goes the saying? better to have and not needing it than needing but not having it?
    Last edited: September 20, 2014
  19. TheLambaster

    TheLambaster Active Member

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    yea, I agree. Some games design philosophy though is to artificially limit the UI... liek StarCraft. Personally I find this to be stupid, but in the sense of the games design idea more powerful tools like area commands can indeed be a detriment to the game, if it is intentionally built around a very limited set of tools.
  20. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

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    i want the damn build queue so i can reorganise what I'm building.

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