Spherical maps will be this game's downfall

Thanks for those tips bunny. I'll have to try them.

I actually dislike playing with pole lock. For whatever reason, the only disorientation I ever get is now with the new zoom out into solar system view. Now that the system orientation follows whatever camera position I had on planet, I can get lost when in space. It would be nice to have obvious N/S pole indicators in the solar systwm view now too. However, one thing I would love to see is a faint line hovering over the ground indicating the equator on planets. (with an option to turn it off ... maybe even a faint longitute/ latitude grid?) In combination with the N/S pole indicators, it would really help prevent any confusion I think.

I suppose we could have just made a starcraft clone instead <yawn>.

we arnt shooting for starcraft, were shooting for awesome.

Uhm. What? How are flat tabletop maps a "Starcraft thing"? Last I checked, it was a "just about every RTS ever" thing. It's nice to break the mold, but c'mon.

Garat, do something. He's at it again.

The whole reason I fell in love with the game, was because of the spherical maps.... I've been playing RTS games for about 10 years and when I saw this game come out over the summer I was in awe!!!!!!! This is a game I've been wanting for YEARS...... I have to admit that getting use to the 3D maps has taken some time but..... orienting the planet on it's poles really helps

I am really interested to see how they implement more camera controls and the duplicate screen option (as mentioned in the live cast) I really think that the duplicate screen could help you keep your self oriented around the planets..... or maybe even later in the game have two planets on the screens.....

Also I really think that a nice gamer's mouse would be handy for this game.... with so many controls and this to click.... having all of those extra buttons right at your finger tip would help

As they implement more notification.... that will also really help. As I've experienced; working on another planet can be kind of annoying when your not a team because your constantly thinking about what is going on at "home"

I really think that it just comes down to controls and mainly speed. The new camera controls are really really nice for moving quickly between planets.... before the update, I hated moving between planets but now...... no problem at all

Also doud.... I think that you really pin pointed what the OP missed in his post.... You were complaining about the spherical maps..... but I really don't think that is what your problem was with..... a better way to sum you whole paragraph would be to say that the maps aren't complete yet because there are no real "strategic" points to attack from..... correct me if I was wrong.......

Lets make small squads of experimentals and level up their skillz tree. I'll buy coloured skins for $2.50 a pop.

/troll

Regarding your last part there,
I think that more height advantage needs to take place to give strategic variety. The metal planet has those neat platforms, they are fun to build on but I have not seen a statistical advantage in using them. All in time though.

Agreed very much so..... and that is why I said all together that I think the main point behind this thread is just have more strategic planets to play on..... which as you said "All in time though"

Neutrino may be blunt, but he's also not wrong. Rather than fixate on flat maps, we'd rather continue to work to make round maps not only work, but work very well, and play very well.

There are a combination of things to focus on - player information to help with orientation, continued biome development to continue to make sure it's not a "360 degrees of oh god I'm screwed" through terrain that helps to make more natural defenses and adjust gameplay, and continued tweaking of unit rosters, behaviors, etc.

While we want to support a number of other map types in the future, it's a large amount of work, and frankly, it's way down the priorities list. If we just throw in the towel and say "Ok, flat maps it is".. what's the point? We might as well have just made a TA/SupCom/StarCraft clone at that point. We're trying to not only evolve the genre, we're trying to introduce what we hope are some revolutionary features. And honestly, multiple round maps that are fun to play on is and will continue to be a remarkable change to the genre.

Honestly, I already prefer to play on round maps, though there is still work to be done. If all you want is flat maps, there are plenty of games already out there to quench that thirst. Not everyone agrees yet that round maps can be more fun. Hopefully by the time we're done with V1.0, we'll have made converts out of most people. If not, we'll still continue to evolve and improve it. Some people may never like round maps. But.. some people don't like bacon. I can't understand either group.

Well you defiantly lead to another great point. This game has really set the hope for another genre....... that the game is build around the spherical maps and if you take that away then..... you just have another "clone" for another RTS game...... then removing the point of the game all together.........

and, I think that over time if flat maps were added, most people wouldn't play on them. They might play a game or two but from my experience with the differance between the two..... over time these globe maps are going to change the way gamer's see and play RTS games in general..... If the 2d's were added I really think a small percentage wouldn't play on them..... (not saying no one would play them..... just a small percentage)

I agree with both of you.... the solution, in my opinion is to make the scale incredibly smaller... x.01.
https://forums.uberent.com/threads/scale-megathread.48650/

I think you will like this game its in 1D http://www.sophiehoulden.com/games/thelinearrpg/

I think I just came across my most favorite PA quote ever.

Garat, just for information purpose, is Uber still working on improving planet generation and variations ? I've seen improvements on Metal planets, but is the same kind of improvement worked on for earth/desert/lava biomes ?

Agreed. I may have to steal this somewhere.

pure genius. Round maps FTW.

Scouting lets you know where your enemy is and then you can establish a defense along the shortest route to their base. This still does not eliminate the possibility of an attack from the back but that really is the majority of the fun. Your opponents offensive and defensive options are as wide open as your own.

yeah, it is believed there is more map features coming before release. It is possible they could also include terrain effect such as high ground and very mild range advantages although with random map generation it should be a mild range boost because there is always a chance the land might favor one side.

Besides that, land sometimes already creates choke points. Someone is also bound to create a flat map. I wouldn't know if it would play as planned because right now it is all sides spread for metal points but that would be very limited on a flat map where you know how much map you are working with.

Honestly, i respect your right to an opinion and even agree we are playing with unfamiliar territory that might either attract or repel new players. However, try just a bit with the current metal spreading and covering as much a round planet as possible. You might just like it and still want a flat map too.

My suggestions when playing this game is just build scattered out structures, pockets are easier to defend on all sides than blobs and don't get me started on nukes... if you have a line formation of metal then take the opportunity to build a line of defences, lines like that usually work from either and any side and you can improvise if you find which side they are on... and scouting is more important because you need to know enemy spawn and direction they are spreading towards.

Like they said, there are less map features beside water to take advantage of. There is still a lot of strategy in defending in all directions and attacking an enemy that is accessible in all directions. You can probe them for weakest openings, as can they you.

The most strategy goes in with more unit roles for taking advantage of formations or ambushes or choke points.