Biome type weather and climate effects

Discussion in 'Backers Lounge (Read-only)' started by FunkOff, April 3, 2013.

  1. FunkOff

    FunkOff Member

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    Given that we recently saw some different types of climates that will be in the game, may I propose that they have effects greater than decoration?

    Hypothetical examples:
    Desert - Sometime affected by sandstorms that reduce optical/radar visibility distance (Sand storms have this effect IRL)
    Sandy Island - Soft sand reduces the movement speed of bots, vehicles normal (soft sand makes walking harder IRL)
    Moon-type surface - Lower gravity - Reduces acceleration, deceleration, and turning speed of land units (due to decreased force of friction with the planet's surface, like IRL), air units cannot be used (due to no atmosphere, like IRL)
    Jagged rock - decreases vehicle movement speed, bots normal
    Lava planet - Heat-dependent weapons are less effective (lasers, rapid-fire guns, etc, as in IRL)
    Metal planet - Weapons with splash damage are more effective (hard, metal surface improves ground blast wave deflection, causing nearby targets to take greater blast damage, similar to IRL)
    Gas planet - Ground/naval units cannot be used.
    Snow planet - Snow storms reduce optical visibility (but not radar).
  2. antillie

    antillie Member

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    I like the idea. I'm just not sure they will have time to implement this sort of stuff. Also there is the issue of randomness. If you make these things random then you are taking away from strategy. But if they are "always on" effects then it could be pretty cool.
  3. FunkOff

    FunkOff Member

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    Something simple should be easy to implement. Also, I agree that it should be set... further, I think it should be intuitive, meaning that it resembled IR effects. This will make strategy more important... and yes, it must avoid randomness.
  4. antillie

    antillie Member

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    I am all for it then. I like the idea of being able to "hide" out in the desert. Or having to take the biome into account when planning my attack strategy and force composition.
  5. Neumeusis

    Neumeusis Active Member

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    Ho, nice thought.

    But i remember have read a post of Scathis (or it was an answer to a question during a live stream ?) that they do not like too much the random effect, could be a great burden for the affected player.

    So like said antillie, should not be random.
    A passive effet on the terrain type could be interesting, but didn't this risk to limit player stategy ?

    As this type of unit will be disadvantaged on this type of terrain, they would not be used ?
  6. FunkOff

    FunkOff Member

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    This would depend on specific balance factors we're not yet aware of. Indeed, bots and vehicles will have to be balanced well to both be useful even without climate/terrain.
  7. Joefesok

    Joefesok Member

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    Not a fan, it could lead to imbalance during planet generation (Putting one side in a blizzard tundra and the other in a calm plains)
  8. rabbit9000

    rabbit9000 Member

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    All things I'd love to see but the hardcore strategy crowd don't ever want to see because it interferes with their amazing plans and they shout down fresh ideas around here pretty vocally.

    The only way I think we could ever get such things would be if say, the blizzard areas had massive boosts to energy gain via extra wind and things.

    It would have to become a series of buffs and debuffs.

    I guess nobody ever realises that having their base and armies obscured snow storms makes them difficult to attack and pin point too...
  9. exampleprime

    exampleprime New Member

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    Although it sounds cool I think its all nice-to-have stuff, and I would prefer for it to only be an option in custom games if it was implemented. Although as I said, it does sound cool
  10. Bastilean

    Bastilean Active Member

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    You obviously don't know who Funkoff is.
  11. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    Honestly it doesn't matter who he is.

    A winner and a loser is inevitable, but no one wants to lose because of bad luck during planet generation or bad luck against the Random Number Generator, that has decided your base is stuck, blind, in a snow drift for the next 5 minutes while your enemy lobs arti at you.
  12. yogurt312

    yogurt312 New Member

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    Like many things, at the end of the day its lots of fun as long as its default turned off.
  13. rabbit9000

    rabbit9000 Member

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    But if your base is completely hidden in that snowstorm, arti will just be a passing annoyance...
  14. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    Hope you can micro your units around mostly by radar.

    Don't bump into any enemies while you stumble around with your reduced LoS.

    Oh wait... your units still fire on targets with radar confirmation?

    So what Bloody use is this "reduced optical visibility" when gameplay wise your units don't actually NEED vision?
    Just to piss the player off?
  15. bobucles

    bobucles Post Master General

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    Uhh, radar is still vision. It just happens on a different wavelength.
  16. antillie

    antillie Member

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    While radar can tell you that there are hostile units present it provides no information on force composition. Are those samsons or goliaths rolling towards my front lines? Are those fast moving dots light ground units or big slow (compared to other aircraft) bombers? Also radar can be jammed.
  17. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    Emphasis, since you obviously missed it last time. Humans tend to only be able to see the visible (or optic) spectrum.
    Honestly I expected better from you bobucles, usually you tend to read someones post before you reply.

    Oh, so I can sit there, blind and not know what's about to shell me until it's too late.

    Brilliant.

    No wait, the other one; Frustrating as it's RANDOM as to when this happens.
    No... just No.
  18. FunkOff

    FunkOff Member

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    I agree that randomness would detract from strategy, but this doesn't depreciate the value of terrain buffs/debuffs.

    Effects like snow storms, if implemented, should occur randomly, or arbitrarily. Weather systems IRL are somewhat predictable and should be in PA if implemented, such as by tracking the movements of clouds.

    Maybe weather is too much to implement in PA, but terrain effects most certainly should be included.
  19. antillie

    antillie Member

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    I agree with nanolate that any element of randomness will just make it frustrating. Given that, it becomes more of a question about the differences between biome types as opposed to actual weather.

    This introduces a whole host of balancing issues when a planet contains more than one biome. So in the end I am not sure it could be done without being, A. broken, B. irrelevant, or C. annoying.
  20. KNight

    KNight Post Master General

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    These kind of things aren't needed to begin with, the intent(I assume) is to introduce gameplay(ie Non-Visual) variance into the different Biomes, but the fact is, there already is that variance to begin with!

    A Desert Biome will already play differently than a Forest Biome strictly by the type of terrain you encounter within them. And all this is accomplished without changing the way units work, Tank A will always have the same top speed, but the nature of the forest will mean it rarely achieves that top speed due to turns it has to make(unless it's big enough to crush trees) just as the rolling nature of sand dunes would limit it's range and what it can target, this all happens naturally.

    Mike

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