Scale Megathread

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

I agree with making trees, buildings and units smaller. (units and buildings more than trees though, to make them seem to fit better) It would also give the impression that the units can fire further. Speed might has to be reduced though, so units don't rush over surfaces. And hey, what's bad with games taking a bit longer? You think you will take solar systems within 30 mins? And a 1 vs 1 shouldn't be about a whole solar system anyway, you can't manage that without team mates.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

I personally definitely would like that all weapons and radar has more range. It just feels weird how short-ranged almost everything is right now. It does affect my perception of scale quite a lot.

Well, there's of course the problem that maps have a certain feature density.

The gameplay relevant feature density of maps is already rather low. An occasional restriction on ground unit movement and some building construction, mainly. It just doesn't feel like terrain is prominent enough / matters enough.

Scaling down units would make current maps even more devoid of gameplay-relevant features.

I'd rather see more terrain<->unit interactions. Which probably just means more weapons systems that have trajectories and terrain-obstructed AoE and other aspects that make terrain (and terrain destruction) matter, and more planetary editor features to create such terrain.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

Smaller units would make the range seem higher! Oh, and we can have both, interaction between terrain and units, and a better scale.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!










http://www.uberent.com/pa/2013/01/18/de ... -concepts/

Large continents, big canyons, good looking terrain and a pretty good general sense of scale (the units could even be a bit smaller -like 30% of their size- to make the landscape completely dwarf them).

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

I like to sound like a broken record but:

Such feature sizes would only be possible at much larger planets then we currently play with (in relation to gamespeed/unit size) thus changing gameplay completely.

And I like the current gameplay. (No, you can't just change scale without changing other stuff.)

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

That's exactly the point!

Reducing unit's size fix the scale problem, and at the same time it will fix others problems like the too small weapon ranges (especially for the navy), all without needing gigantic planets.

And if you add thepilot's tricks like lower camera height and increased camera focal the feeling gets even better without further modification.

IMHO unit's travel speed is a part of a macro-strategy gameplay.
Like Chris Taylor said it about SupCom, larger maps mean more time to travel mean the time become a greater factor to take into consideration when building a strategy. (Like the time is the third resource after metal & energy)

Nothing is instantaneous and if crossing an entire planet take some time it's infact better because that mean you can't react instantaneously to any attack from anywhere simply by sending troops withing a few seconds, more space and time make you need to really think about long term logistics and be more careful about scouting, spying and gathering intel, which are importants parts of a macro level strategy game like PA.

Also there is always air-transport for fast travel, orbital cannon for faster reaction and why not teleporter gates for really fast planetary (and even planet to planet) transportation.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

I like nasher's thinking.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

I like it when there isn't much scale diversity between units, and between units and buildings. It sounds good in theory but when everythings at very diverse scales then all the units look good at different scale levels. You're looking at a t3 unit and then all the t1 units are like ants. I'd rather the TA (or even SupCom 2) way where everythings sort of the same size. And air units aren't on a totally different high altitude.

Also prefer low range unit battles like TA more than Forged Alliance. They drag on longer (or they will when the unit armour values are higher). The t1 combat in TA just went on continuously. It was like a stream of units across the map constantly sparring. In FAF the units either all die in 15 seconds or sit out of range of each other dancing about thinking about attacking for 5 minutes.

Note: I really like Forged Alliance, probably more than TA, but there are things that TA did better.

So in other words.. I like how it is now. Don't change.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

I prefer long ranges. It just feels better, in my opinion. More 'authentic' or 'realistic' or whatever.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

also prefer long ranges and rack my brain all I can I cannot see how shorter range could result in longer fights, it just defies physics.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

Decreased scale would be nice. Units seem to have a tiny attack range in comparison to their size. Also in comparison to geographical things like plateaus, mountains and seas, units look terribly large. I could live with the current scale if they choose not to change it, but I'm sure there are a few perks to be gained from scaling down the units and buildings.

My 2c
.-Zetta

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

Yes Zetta, I agree with you, also good news, in this thread Jon Mavor replied to say he too thought shrinking the units and trees down was in order. hoping to see this happen sometime in one of the next patches.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

>Shrinking Trees
>Implying we need more trees

Err-- Don't we have to render an extra million or two polygons just because of trees? Won't shrinking them exacerbate that problem?

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

:twisted:

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

Thats because if you increase their attack range related to their size too much you end up with icon wars again just like SupCom... as you have to play in a zoom level where you can overlook the engagement and if the ranges are large enough you won't see your units at all besides in icon form...

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

just use my mod. my icons are much smaller.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

That's not my point.

I don't want to have to use icons at all! (Besides when I need a quick overview.)

Thanks to the current scale of the game its very easy to play at a zoom level where you don't need icons. But if we get the changes so many people here seem to want it won't be possible anymore... :cry:

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

If you don't want to have to use icons at all then you should be following up on what the starcraft/C&C lineage/familly has to offer, not the TA/SupCom familly

Plus I'm cosidering finding a way to increase icon pop-in distance so as to enjoy the 3D more. since my icons make it clear you can still see them very well when they pop in.

Though of course this would be less the case if the unit size is reduced.

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

Considering I'm a big TA fan and TA had no icons... I guess I have to nuke you now. :evil:


(Yes, strategic zoom IS a great innovation. Doesn't mean you have to only play through it. )

Re: SCALE MEGATHREAD NEW POLL !!

imo that's a perfectly acceptable genre trope for this kind of RTS, especially since it pairs so well with the unit size/planet size thing. TA units looked the same. So long as unit size/ranges ratios match up with TA I'll be happy.

It does if it gives you an advantage and you're playing in competitive multiplayer, and also if it becomes basically a subconscious way that you control the game. If I wanted to avoid using zoom in supcom for some reason I'd have to install a mod that limited the zoom-out distance. Limiting myself from scrolling out on the mouse would be absolutely maddening.

(for this reason I also hate it when online magazines have a needlessly complicated page system where double clicking or selecting text brings up a context menu, wtf stop go away, I habitually double click and select text all over the page as part of reading on a monitor, this is not uncommon and nobody uses those features anyway)