Smart robots....

Yep, definitely sounds like one for the modders. Personally, I found playing SupCom with AutoMass fab mods and other automation tools felt a little like cheating (The exception being the Support Commander manager, since in friendly games they were spammed and the native UI didn't scale well when trying to upgrade alot concurrently)

Which is why we have simplified the system.

Dealing with the lack of energy is a major component of the game. But automating this too much you are eliminating an entire mechanic from the game.

I understand where players are coming from here but you have to realize your opponent is going to do the same thing. If you make chipping away at energy not effective you won't pursue the strategy. What you are asking for is the ability to program units to react in a specific way to a future situation. I don't think giving that to the player improves the game experience.

sounds like we are fighting a computer player. (arm green) can see every thing even when u cant.

The Sorian AI is going to do it. It is an inevitable consequence of figuring out the best way to distribute its resources.

There are many reasons for any one particular energy user to be favored over another. A different situation may force different choices for energy distribution. Honestly, that just means there's a really good energy system. Forcing hard choices is good.

The only option that seems really straight forward is metal. Favoring any production over first gathering the resources necessary for production does not make sense. The best case scenario is that harvesting is sacrificed for a more immediate emergency, in which case the emergency pretty much demands everything to be shut down anyway.

Pfft. The problem is not placing enough emphasis on energy consuming systems. Make PD use energy, add Comm powers that use energy, and integrate some unit abilities that use energy(stealth,jump,etc.). Then the choices for distribution immediately become numerous and difficult to manage. EZPZ.

All the hard choices on energy happen with combat based expenses. Random spikes in demand (like from turrets and ubergun spam) require extra storage, extra generators, and add the wild uncertainty that makes energy difficult to manage. Too much is a waste, but too little makes the system ineffective when it's needed. It also places a back door on every single one of these systems by letting the player directly destroy the energy. No energy means crippled guns and a loss of extra powers. That could be lethal.

When it comes to eco, Harvesting + Production provides a baseline for how much energy a player will build at the minimum. No one is going to win a game where they can not harvest resources and build units, although everything beyond that is mutable. Changing either value isn't going to alter much beyond changing the size of the smallest possible energy supply. Obviously this would change how much auxiliary power a player has available in an emergency, similar to how the Enterprise powers its shields entirely off of the ship's oxygen supply. The long term survival rates are about the same either way.

more user input and less control from the computer system. you are the "commander" use your commands to tell things what to do.

Very well, thank you for the responce. :mrgreen:

I made a bigger post in the economy thread with my thinking here.