Suggestion: Proximity Alerts

Discussion in 'Backers Lounge (Read-only)' started by drtomb, March 21, 2014.

  1. drtomb

    drtomb Member

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    Been suggested before?

    At any rate, sounds like a good way to keep your focus on potential threats, without directly looking at them or guessing which way the enemy is coming from... maybe some color indicators on the edges of the screen... arrows... anything that fits the game would be nice :)
    philoscience, cdrkf and blacksword13 like this.
  2. cptconundrum

    cptconundrum Post Master General

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    Hm.. Maybe if it only triggered for big threats it would be ok, but after a few minutes into the game there are things going on all over the planet and it might get overwhelming.
  3. drtomb

    drtomb Member

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    Perhaps these alerts could be toned down within their own options menu so you dont get alerted about everything.
  4. brianpurkiss

    brianpurkiss Post Master General

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    This would be pretty difficult.

    Some threats are bigger than others, so it'd be tricky to have a system to determine threats. It'd also be easy to annoy the crap out of your opponent by making aircraft fly close and then away, close and away.

    I like the concept, but I don't see how this could be implemented.
  5. cptconundrum

    cptconundrum Post Master General

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    Well, it probably could use the same system the ai uses to detect threats. I still think it might be annoying though. There is also a point where we have to ask if we really want to help players that much instead of reward you for paying attention.
  6. thetrophysystem

    thetrophysystem Post Master General

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    Idk, if a large number, say 10, of enemy "attack units" all come onto "field of vision" at once, I would consider that a threat.

    If the game would alert when such an event occurs, that would be nice.
    philoscience likes this.
  7. brianpurkiss

    brianpurkiss Post Master General

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    Exactly.

    When does these types of systems become too much and we might as well let the AI play the game for me?
  8. robber364

    robber364 Member

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    what if the game dropped a ping whenever a scout spotted an enemy units for the first time? like you set your fireflies to patrol the planet, and when they come across a certain number of units within a certain time span (much like they do when they fly over an army or base) they automatically drop a ping.

    EDIT - looks like this is what everyone else was saying, I just said it differently. my bad.
    Last edited: March 24, 2014
    igncom1 likes this.
  9. philoscience

    philoscience Post Master General

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    I agree. This seems like a great solution to the built in lack of an overhead map. The PIP is very useful for certain applications but it will never be a full solution for enhanced holistic awareness.

    Further, I don't I think this would be that hard to implement and could be very useful. A light red tinge at the corner of the screen indicating the direction from which a sizable unit movement for which you have vision/coverage for example. Just something subtle that you can ignore if you choose. It makes for a kind of interesting intelligence, and no it won't always be useful but it adds another skill level of discerning true threats (a constantly growing red glow to the east) from false positives. It could even be based on having a certain intelligence gathering building. Even the 'troll' situation Brian outlines sounds like good gameplay to me. I don't think a noise, but a subtle visual effect indicating an incoming major troop movement, would be great.
  10. trialq

    trialq Post Master General

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    Ping on first contact is a good idea.

    The red haze is a good idea but probably a hard sell. Maybe as a feature of advanced radar it has legs.
    philoscience likes this.

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