Commander Differentiation

Discussion in 'Planetary Annihilation General Discussion' started by stuart98, June 11, 2015.

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Thoughts on Commander Differentiation?

  1. Differentiate both by weapon type and commander class.

    63.6%
  2. Differentiate only based on weapon type.

    6.1%
  3. Differentiate only based on commander class.

    3.0%
  4. Don't differentiate commander stats at all. That's bad and you should feel bad for asking about it.

    24.2%
  5. Conflicted (Post below to elaborate)

    3.0%
  1. stuart98

    stuart98 Post Master General

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    Wondering what the opinions of the current userbase are on commander stat differentiation based on weapon type and commander class?
  2. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

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    I think the game could well stand to have some weapon / class based differentiation *so long* as a commander of each type is available to everyone with the base game.

    Edit: I think if this is done it should be kept as simple as possible e.g:

    Light class: Lower Armour, faster movement speed, better standard gun / aa capabilities than standard. Good for claiming territory quickly and for covering proxy bases but vulnerable so shouldn't over extend.

    Standard Class: current type of commander- good all round commander, safest option for newer players.

    Heavy Class: More Armour, low movement speed, slightly better build arm and better uber cannon. Too slow to make base rushing a problem, and slow speed could hamper early expansion. The best late game commander.
    emraldis, tenaciousc and lordathon like this.
  3. tenaciousc

    tenaciousc Active Member

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    Nicely put! I like your ideas a lot! More diversity = win, in my opinion.
    cdrkf likes this.
  4. Remy561

    Remy561 Post Master General

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    I like the idea of differentiation, but I dislike the idea that people will get the idea that they need to buy a commander in the armory to gain advantages. So no, I prefer all equal.
    MrTBSC likes this.
  5. emraldis

    emraldis Post Master General

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    Well I think the idea would be to class them based on type of commander, not individual commander, so everyone would have access to at least one commander of that type, and wouldn't have to buy anything. Or at least that's what I'm taking away from this.
    wilhelmvx, cdrkf and stuart98 like this.
  6. stuart98

    stuart98 Post Master General

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    There are four commander classes.

    Imperial (EG Delta, Theta)
    Quad (EG Osiris, Ajax)
    Raptor (EG Nemicus, Rallus)
    Tank (EG Aeson)

    There are three different weapon types.

    Laser (EG Progenitor, Aryst0krat)
    Missile (EG Theta, Shadowdaemon)
    Uber (EG all of the stock commanders)
  7. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

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    To avoid making certain combinations only accessible via purchases I think only base the differences on the commander type....
  8. mkrater

    mkrater Uber Alumni

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    I like to call them the Laser Cannon, the Rocket Launcher, and the Uber Cannon ;)
  9. freddymc

    freddymc New Member

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    Well I think that instead of making commanders have different qualities why not make it so that you can choose the qualities for each commander. I have the theta commander, and I want to use him as the "fast" commander, but I would also like to try out the "tough" commander. And I don't want to use other commanders as theta is my fav, so It is basically forcing people to choose commanders based on their playstyle. They should make it so that you can select what qualities you want and each and every single commander has the same options.
    planktum likes this.
  10. maskedcrash

    maskedcrash Active Member

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    I like the concept of having different commander types, and I know that (IN THEORY) they will make sure that everyone has access to the same types of commanders.
    But I feel a little off about it. The Commanders not being solely cosmetic makes me uneasy about the armory purchases. I know that theoretically, no-one will have an advantage... but eh...

    Here's an idea- what if you could customize commanders with weapon types and whatnot? I mean that's probably not gonna happen, but a guy can dream, right? Would definitely make me feel a bit better about this whole thing.
  11. MrTBSC

    MrTBSC Post Master General

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    thought the uber cannon is the commanders special attack .... *confused*

    topic:

    personaly i don't like the idea of having to decide what comander to use and then stick with it till the end gameplaywise ...
    i rather then take inmatch commander customisation with every commander having access to the same customitationoptions ... and those should be realy customisations with advantages AND disadvantages ... not just straight upgrades ...
    Last edited: June 12, 2015
  12. tenaciousc

    tenaciousc Active Member

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    Bring back commander upgrades from Forged Alliance!
  13. veep

    veep Member

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    What I would really like to see is purely visual differences (in use) between the three commander weapons, with identical effect and stats. It seems like an oversight that a rocket launcher doesn't look like a rocket etc. It would give a nice bit of flair to commander choice without affecting game balance. I think differentiated stats would have to be very similar in the end anyway.

    On a tangential note, I'd like the commanders to be showcased more in general. The only place I really see the guy is on my own main menu! And I can't even change him to my favorite color. :(
    It would be cool to get a quasi-cinematic pip-shot of commander destructions for instance. How often have I destroyed an enemy while looking elsewhere? Or in place of the existing notification when a commander is spotted - change the pip to a cinematic shot as if from a recon vehicle and make it stay long enough to see. Heck, maybe make it from the POV of the unit that spotted him!
    Last edited: June 12, 2015
  14. MrTBSC

    MrTBSC Post Master General

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    god please, no
  15. Crembels

    Crembels Member

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    While i like the gist of the idea and i certainly enjoyed the commander upgrades from SupCom, i believe that the commander that gives the biggest economic benefit will always win in the end. This game is won through army strength and strategy, not the personal might of the Commanders.

    Build arm speed and eco boosts remain useful from beginning to end. Stronger armor, faster movement and beefier guns are useful up till minute 10 at most (perhaps less in high level 1v1) when a commander doing anything except building factories, Eco or assisting fabbers (while surrounded by AA and ready-to-go defensive force) is nothing but a colossal, 1000+ton bipedal liability.

    Ive seen high ranking games of FAF and SupCom in general and ive seen that commanders are used as effective front line fighters in the early game, but PA isnt SupCom, and barring CommBoxing maps they basically never meet each other on the battlefield and there is no way in hell a commander can be expected (or should ever be capable of) standing up to a large army by themselves. Hell i consider it a serious issue if my commander so much as gets his paint scratched because my army failed to stop the enemies.

    Its like... 2 minutes? Or so of production time with a handful of T1 tank factories to net a force capable of killing an unsupported commander no problems. Have a comm with DOUBLE (zomg) the strength? 4 minutes. Whoopdy do i'm so scared.

    Visual distinction and cosmetics? No problem, go crazy. But actually having there being gameplay differences between them is going leaves us open to degenerate strategies due to the importance of economy, and because of that I believe any economic boosting commander is going to win that fight every time. If no eco boosts: the fastest one will come out ahead, since they may be fast enough to mean land and naval wont catch them leaving air the most viable option.
    MrTBSC and igncom1 like this.
  16. igncom1

    igncom1 Post Master General

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    Lets get some 'army' skins rather then stat based changes.

    I wanna see a spider bot army, or an ork army or even a darlek army!
    tunsel11 likes this.

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