PA Alpha Build: 52512

Discussion in 'Support!' started by garat, August 24, 2013.

  1. SXX

    SXX Post Master General

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    Also there is two shaders which broken for open source drivers (because of array syntax and type mismatch in main() ) shaders: prelight_virtual_vizmip.fs and prelight_virtual_vizpage.fs, what for they're used?

    PS: Actually they're broken for Windows as well.
    Last edited: August 24, 2013
  2. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    Aeonsim, Or you could build Anti-Orbital missiles on the ground. You do not need a Space-Fighter-Plane-In-Space to deal with orbital units.

    The cost is prohibitive. Literally. The cost is there to prohibit your use of the orbital layer in its entirety. Once you've got even one orbital unit (which costs more than a frickin Nuke buy the way), you're so deep into investing into that layer that you're going ton have to micro your *** off to make sure that that 50,000+ Metal was worth it.

    Orbital Units are being balanced towards the extreme late game, meaning they will never see play outside of ecowhore snorefests...

    ...

    ... yay ... that's just what I always wanted out of my interplanetary asteroid flinging RTS. [/sarcasm]
    Last edited: August 24, 2013
  3. aeonsim

    aeonsim Active Member

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    I'm not sure it's prohibitive yet (we need to play some games and see), how ever it is very much a late game action. The whole Asteroid flinging thing is more like a SupCom Experimental so it's a crazy late game act. If you try to go orbital in the first 20-30mins you better well expect to loose.

    With regards to fighting in the orbital layer though something like this may differentiate it.
    If ya change the movement patterns, give the units VERY slow turn rates and momentum when moving so your units have a semi ballistic flight path might make sense and make that layer very distinct from the main layers as well as making it a lot less likely to end up as a layer you micro.
  4. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    I've "played some games" as you put it... A single Orbital Radar costs 50,000+ metal.

    That cost is prohibitive. There is no argument to be made otherwise Aeonism.

    And yes, altering the flightpaths to more accurately reflect real orbital mechanics would be nice. It's a shame then that Neutrino spoke out against that idea, saying that it's too "deep" compared to the rest of the game.

    Good to know that.

    Uber: "We're not shooting for realism, we're shooting for shallow."
  5. ace63

    ace63 Post Master General

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    I think the cost is there to prevent players from using orbital stuff in current games and is totally on purpose.
    Also I didn't think of orbital units of late game units at all. They said there will be T1 and T2 orbital so there were surely thought to be used throughout the whole game.
  6. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    All evidence to the contrary.

    Also
    Explain to me the "purpose" of this. It makes testing harder. That's completely counter to Uber's goal in the Alpha Stage to... you know... test.
    Last edited: August 24, 2013
  7. YourLocalMadSci

    YourLocalMadSci Well-Known Member

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    It is quite possible that the devs' line of reasoning is in the direction of "Lots of people are really excited about the orbital stuff, so lets throw what we have in there in order to cheer them up. However, it's really unfinished, so maybe we should discourage people from playing about with it too much at this point in time, as we don't want people to get too attached to something that's going to change a lot, or judge the final status of this area based on a few quick bits thrown in."

    If this is the case, then I perfectly understand, and despite my own enthusiasm for orbital combat, I'm happy to wait until there is enough there to sensibly give feedback about and discuss. Although I could be completely wrong. I'm not a mind reader.

    However, if this represents something like an initial direction in which to take orbital units, down a terrifyingly expensive, hard-gated, ship/air combat in space route...

    Well, then there are things that need to be said.
  8. carnilion

    carnilion Member

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    ah we got a real alpha build this time. orbital stuff in heavy experimental stage, way overpriced immo, but someone (garat? neutrino?) statet its better to make it too expensive at the start then too cheap. orbital fighter has lack of texture (or my hardware makes strange things) no animations for going into orbit for satelite (it just hoovers there) and so on... its ALPHA, so dont bash them for that ;)

    the spy satelite is exactly the type of unit i wantet to get with orbital stuff. radar, or even with advanced (t2) visiual viewing range, consuming a shitload of energy. the fighter just is in by now in this form to get some kind of counter for the satelite i think. and will at least be reworked.

    performance increased some at client side - good work^^
  9. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    *shudders*

    I'll be right there alongside you MadSci.
  10. hanspeterschnitzel

    hanspeterschnitzel Active Member

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    Having orbital units actually orbit around the planet would be cool.
  11. mushroomars

    mushroomars Well-Known Member

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    I don't mind ship/air orbital combat but holy **** is it overdone. I'd have to agree with Nanolathe when he says that's shallow, I'd much prefer a satellite network over a wet space navy.

    And I think I made a post on this before, a rather long-winded and passionate post for that matter, that Orbital units should not be expensive. Yes, it requires ludicrous amounts of fuel and energy and planning and technology and rocket to get even small objects into space in real life (The Arkyd Satellite is hardly larger than a Gatorade cooler, and it took several hundred thousand to get up there, in all probability several million to build the rocket it's hitched to).

    But that's why we have "We aren't shooting for realism, we're shooting for awesome." That isn't a cop-out, it isn't an excuse to cut corners or a reason for stupid suggestions (no matter how many people use it that way). It is a literal reason to toss out pointless things like cost barriers in favor of making the game as enjoyable as possible.

    And I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants getting into space to be just as legitimate of an option as, say, building an artillery outpost on a planet, or constructing a land army. I haven't played the update yet (I'm about to go kayaking), but I can guess that all the Orbital units are hilariously, stupidly expensive. And that is a damn shame.
    Zenotheory likes this.
  12. Clopse

    Clopse Post Master General

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    Thanks for working late on a Friday to get this out guys. You can't please everyone it seems.
  13. bongologist

    bongologist Member

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    One step closer to multi-planet behaviour, bring it on, thanks Uber :)
    guyverdan and z4c like this.
  14. ace63

    ace63 Post Master General

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    I completely agree and wouldn't mind if the orbital units completely broke the game how it works now. However, there are people playing the game, making tournaments, streaming, etc.. right now. I think this is to discourage them to use broken stuff in their actual games. It is no problem to start a game against AI to build an orbital factory and test some stuff out.
  15. thetdawg3191

    thetdawg3191 Active Member

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    this is obviously a dead-first-pass on the orbital layer. its at least telling us "hey, we have SOMETHING for you."
    its obviously not perfect, but we at least know its now in the process. personally, i do enjoy having a moving radar that only 1-2, maybe 3 types of units can attack.


    all-seeing eye, knowledge is power, that sort of thing, ya know?

    as for the orbital fighters? i wouldnt mind if they hocked those. maybe put in something more sensible. like ATTACK Sattelites as opposed to RECON sattelites. i want death from above, damnit.
  16. ace63

    ace63 Post Master General

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    I am also not a friend of orbital fighters. I think the orbital layer should not able to attack the orbital layer at all. I'd rather have catapults etc.. to combat sattelites.
    As for 'death from above': HELL YEAH! :D
    guyverdan likes this.
  17. glinkot

    glinkot Active Member

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    Two things re the recent posts:

    A) orbital *should* be at least as expensive as they are. An economy on a small portion of a smallish planet can build them now, so the cost won't be much when economies span planets. Assuming the economy does span planets.

    B) it's first pass, so initial feedback as asked for is all we can give. Right now orbital is too close to the ground and doesn't look very orbital. It doesn't need to be complex to manage, but it should give you the feeling the things are orbiting. Later enhancements like filtering what layers to view would also help I'm sure.
    cmdandy likes this.
  18. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    I have exactly the same thing.:( Fix please?
  19. ghostflux

    ghostflux Active Member

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  20. nanolathe

    nanolathe Post Master General

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    Ace63, are you completely insane?

    Uber are to tread on eggshells because of some unofficial, zero-stakes tournaments?

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