Radar

One does not simply master an RTS without a radar; is there going to be one? I've heard there are going to be multiple screens, but I would prefer a map and/ or radar.

Are you referring to the TA concept of a radar tower (huge range, limited intel device) or a mini-map?

The first will be in, but the second I do not know. Although you can easily make one by opening a small window and then zooming all the way out.

I'm not sure there will be a mini map because of the problem of trying to project a sphere to a flat rectangle (imagine taking the map off a globe and trying to lay it flat). Instead, the planet covered with fog of war where you can't see, only colored dots should appear if the radar detects other units there.

No real comment on how effective this proposition would be, and from my laymen's viewpoint it sounds solid. But honestly, they are planning to have these really colorful, cartoony worlds, covering them in fog of war would be a shame.

Someone wrote a very good post about consolidating vision sources, since the player cares more about the intel than where it is coming from.

I also think a Zero-K like vision approach makes sense where there is no reason to shroud the entire map in fog- enemy units can simply appear when detected. A vision and sensor overlay might be available if you really want to know exactly how far your units can see, and how densely your sensors overlap on different areas, but most of the time that information is irrelevant to the player.

We've had enough radar threads; we don't need another.

First a list of previous, noticeable threads and posts on the same topic:
General discussion on radar
Unified intelligence concept
Not even terrain is a static thing
Why LoS is a broken concept on spheres

You see, there are a lot of threads on that specific topic, but so far every one of them had come to a different conclusion. (And none of the resulting ideas is "perfect", they all have severe weak points in various scenarios or they are complex beyond reason because they would require hundreds of exceptions because the base system didn't cover ALL the desired features in the first place.)

If to find a working system for intelligence (NOT limited to classic radar / vision concepts!), the question is less "how should it work", but "what information do we want each player to have" in the first place. The requirements must be worked out first, then we can try to find a system which fulfills the requirements within the parameters of the rest of the simulation. Keep in mind, that the ultimate goal is not to match later gameplay to the intelligence system, but to rather design an intelligence system which fits with the desired gameplay.

There is no point in trying to extend classic systems in an iterative process, that would only lead to a bloated, yet lacking concept and would just prevent us from trying better approaches. So please stop suggesting the combination of LoS, radar, omni radar and don't use Zero K as a reference. For now it's completely irrelevant whether these implementations did work or not, nor what implementation will be chosen at all. Fist step is to define abstract requirements only.

A very solved problem. Pick a projection you like.

Since you're a backer, I'd assume you'd read this:

Thread in the Backer's Lounge about sphere unwrapping

I think there's a fairly unhealthy obsession with simulating in depth things like radar when really what you need is the bare minimum of "tower make you see enemy" to make it work for gameplay with a minimum of hassle.

There's still no technical reason that it cannot be done. It isn't done because Uber doesn't want to spend their time and our money on it, and for no other reason.

No, it can't be done. Every projection works only for a certain bodytype (PA is NOT limited to spheres, even the most basic planets are far more complex in shape!!!), there is no distortion free projection in existence and there is also no projection which wouldn't split the map in unwanted and unintuitive locations. This has been discussed before, several times, and dozens of various projections have been suggested, but NONE did produce usable results.

This is why there won't be any kind of static minimap. Second window / splitscreen / second monitor (or any combinations of these) which shows you a certain perspective of a planet of your choice: Yes, as many as you like. But not a single minimap. Never.

I think that the rectangle should not be the entire planet, but the ground near the commander (so if the enemy are sneaking up on him, I will know)

You mean like having a small window with a camera which is always fixed on the commander? Again, classic minimap is not required for that. And it already has been confirmed, that the game will allow you to observe as many locations in the game at the same time, as your hardware is capable of rendering.

But what i don't get, why even think about minimaps at all? To me it feels pretty much like the OP did never play SupCom or any other game which featured strategic zoom. That makes a classic radar obsolete as zooming out frequently gives you all the required informations. In much better details than a small minimap.

True that. I've never felt the need to use a minimap in SupCom, and even having dual monitors wasn't particularly useful to me with strategic zoom (though crashes were a bigger reason not to use it).

I'm also fairly sure that the OP has not played either SupCom or any other RTS with a significant zoom feature. Which he really should, because any game that he has played is likely completely different from what PA's predecessors were or what PA will be like.

I made a post of this in a previous thread about minimaps that was unnecessarily created in the backer's forum:

And some more on a couple of the limitations of using multiple viewports:

Yes, Exterminans, there are methods to achieve this, efficiently and effectively, with a large multitude of shapes. (It's only with the really convoluted shapes that it becomes a problem, but those are really going outside of the scope of standard gameplay, in which case modders would have to exclude the standard minimap in favor of something else.)

Uber has stated there won't be any sort of standard, unwrapped-style minimap, but whether they have another solution in mind, I don't know. I would like to see an alternate system that answers my concerns though. I really don't care what solution they come up with, as long as it provides a similar level of situational awareness.

Is radar a circular thing? or is it a distance from the point.

I would like to see it being distance based in a 3D radar area.

(Must remember to try and create, or petition a mod that makes ground units radar immune, as I am curious of the implications of requiring scouts to spot ground army's rather then just detecting them.)

Those two scenarios are mathematically defined to be equivalent, so I have no idea what you're asking here.

I think it's a 2d vs 3d question.