My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k words)

http://starshiptroopers.wikia.com/wiki/Luna_Base

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

I believe it is more like satellites and perhaps a weapons platform than a Halo. But indeed you have posed an intriguing suggestion.

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

That would be nice, heres my hope for the orbital layer:



(Yes i know "No space combat" but you can still make a sphereic plane and have "space ships" that fight in that plane, the result being not true space combat, but space combatish enof for my taste, could be inspired by old time naval battle with broadsides and stuff)

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

garatgh I think both our visions for the orbital layer are quite compatible

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

My mind bugged over thinking which way the stresses on the orbital ring happen if doesn't spin enough to orbit.

But why would they do (and you want them to do) it half-assedly as planes called spacecraft when they refuse to do it properly?

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Depends on what you define as properly... and what IT is. These are only space craft if you call them that. Maybe they are simply "Upper Atmospheric Assault Vehicles" Anyway like I've said elsewhere empty space isn't worth fighting over. Why do so many people believe in order to do space combat you need to be able to park in the middle of nowhere? Space is full of objects worth fighting over and the Orbital layer provides a great layer in which to put units capable of moving easily from 1 point of interest to another and fighting for them in their own layer as well as being a great point from which to launch attacks into other layers of different points of interest.

Think of it this way. Most people agree Star wars has space battles. Can you name a space battle in Star wars that didn't revolve around some kind of astrological body? Therefore, if we only consider the movies, could they not be considered Orbital craft with hyperdrives?

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Well using the same argument why allow ground units to drive around in open terrain with no bases or extractors nearby?

In my opinion space combat in orbital layer only feels too restrictive.
What point is there to space combat if you cant actually USE the vast amount of space available to you?

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

While i agree that open space combat would be best, that has allredy been confirmed to not be ingame (atleast not at release).

Having orbital layer space combat (while not as good) could still be aloot of fun. They could allow units to travel between worlds like rockets and stuff do = no control of the unit while in open space, works like a ability.

Theres plenty of popular (somewhat popular atleast xD) 2d plane space combat games out there (sins of a solar empire, starwars: empire at war, etc etc etc), so i belive i wouldent be alone in thinking that "while its not ideal, its still good" (a 2d plane space combat being the same as sphere plane combat, the plane is just warped).

The interaction between orbital and surface could be realy intressting (special abilites like drop pods, transporting ground units between worlds, orbit to surface weapons & surface to orbits weapons, etc)

When thinking about it, most space combat strategy games move the units in a 2d plane (well the units can move up and down alittle, but you still just control them on a 2d plane).

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Because that isn't as hard to do, it's already confirmed in game, structures like metal makers make any land worth building on etc etc. We already know there won't be open space movement, and the reason is it's too much for the devs to handle and not any other stupid reason. If they could do open space battles, they would. Why hate on those who would settle for this?

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

But tactically, how interesting is empty space?
Not much I'd say.
You can move up, down, left, right, back and forth but the closest route the the enemy is still in a straight line.

I played a 4D shoot-em-up in space but you can still play it like it is in 3D and do well.
You can go up, down, left, right, ana and kata but it still doesn't really change the tactics of how you play it.
It is just the aiming that is complicated.
Adanaxis

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

I see it more like orbital stations were ships go to refuel/repair/drop off resources.

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

This would be wicked...Maybe in the add on?

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Someone (I forget who, but it's likely nanolathe, knight or raevn) put it quite succinctly on another thread; orbital combat either ends up as aircraft but in space, or naval but in space.

The images I've seen so far in the thread look suspiciously like naval, but in space

So to play devils advocate: would you prefer big, shooty space cruisers and battleships in a layer above your big, shooty water cruisers and battleships? Is the main benefit of the space-ships that they can move between planets? Is the expectation that they can also bombard the planets?

Massive orbital battles will indeed be cool, however it's all too easy to eclipse existing gameplay (massive ground battles, and massive asteroid bombardments). The original vision for PA doesn't have orbital and space units as a big focus, and I (amongst others) think expanding orbital is something that is likely better served by the community at a later date, leaving Uber to deliver a solid core land / air / asteroid experience we can then build upon

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Yeah I think that was me.

I prefer to see the Orbital layer be something actually unique from the other combat layers. in addition as we know the core gameplay is focused on a planetoid's surface(Land/Air/Naval) and the lack of proper deep space gameplay makes me feel that focusing Satellites more so and crafting them with more of a 'support' theme/role in general would be ideal.

Mike

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

According to all the screenshots, no matter what spaceships we make, we're going to make them out of grey metal.

C'mon future, can't you toss a coat of whitewash on there or something? Maybe a sticker that says "I don't break for nova", or some flame decals? How about a racing stripe at least!

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Paint is useless in space, where there is no oxygen for ships to rust
On the planet though, yeah, I could see paint options.

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

You never heard of style? Plus everyone knows a racing stripe adds 10% more acceleration.

Also, it acts as an early warning system: if you start passing ships with crying eagles or confederate flags spray-painted on them, you know to turn the hell around.

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

On a 5km long spaceship, that's a pretty big lake of whitewash you'd need. Hell, that's bigger than the planet we saw them fighting on in the livestream :mrgreen:

The SSD Executor probably counts as a "metal planet" in a PA scale; land bots on it and start repainting as you see fit! (shark mouth on the front gets my vote)

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

Those sound like pretty solid benefits to me. Either way, I'm all for a unique orbital experience where it makes sense but if massive cruisers or nimble fighters "aint broke don't fix it" right? To me it makes sense if the bots found something that works well planet-side they would adapt their designs to work in other environments.

As for leaving orbital until after launch, absolutely no. It was a stretch goal they achieved just like metal planets and naval units so I would feel lied to if they didn't flesh that layer out fully, no matter what they decide on doing with it.

Re: My hope for the orbital Layer (pictures are worth 1k wor

There actually is some oxygen, but, it's better to think about it like you're being sandblasted by an extremely small number of really fast oxygen atoms.

Rule one: space is weird

Random useless fact of the day, end.