Engine v86, Scripts v179, Manual repositioning
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*sam* Posted Mar 31, 2008, 11:11 pm |
This patch adds manual repositioning before the start of a wilderness event. You will find that the enemy is invisible until the event starts, and you are free to move your cars around inside the purple circle by clicking them and rightclicking the terrain.
I will soon make the purple circle's size based on scout skill and possibly the map itself. This should get rid of the 'bad spawns' problem once and for all. Or at least, it's your own fault from now on, not mine 
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Seiler Posted Mar 31, 2008, 11:19 pm |
Any chance this will lead to another scout skill, which enlarges the purple circle?
Oooh, and speaking of trainable skills, any in the works for handgunners? |
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*sam* Posted Mar 31, 2008, 11:23 pm |
I guess, ye. I was thinking that this is what scout skill would do in the first place though.
Maybe 'marksman' - giving you a better chance of scoring critical hits on other peds? I thought of a nice one for driving skill: 'slipstreamer': boosts the effectiveness of slipstreaming |
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Jansan Posted Apr 1, 2008, 12:03 am |
Sounds great, now I can stay away from Arc. 
As for hand gun specializations, I can bump that old thread that people were listing ideas in. |
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*Longo* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 12:13 am |
slipstreaming ? | ||||||
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*Longo* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 12:22 am |
When you have on ghosts and targeting lines you can see the enemie's ghosts while your setting up your cars | ||||||
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*Diablo Vash* diablovash@gmail.com Posted Apr 1, 2008, 12:58 am |
What about a skill to see the pirates at the start by a low chance?
Perfect skill, if my driver ever starts training again. |
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Dr Mathias Posted Apr 1, 2008, 1:58 am |
Do we still get a chance to truce after we move once and see what the enemy force is composed of? Seems like you wouldn't be able to truce without knowing there is someone to truce there... | ||||||
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*viKKing* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 6:03 am |
I think this is unecessary, but a viewing distance radius based on scouting skill could make the trick and a good compromise. |
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*Zothen* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 6:47 am |
Agree! I dont like it that you cant see the other cars that may be 75m in front of you! Does not sound logical to me! When the squads moved into this final position they usually should have seen each other, shouldnt they? What should be the gain for gameplay from this? To me it might have a sense when being ambushed! |
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Parduz Posted Apr 1, 2008, 7:44 am |
I want to thanks Sam for the "custom positioning" feature.
As any other thing that give choiches to users, it now will raise a lot of things/requests (as we can see in the previous posts). As i like so much to place my cars myself, i'll like also to rotate them and set the initial speed: i think that now that the "pre-starting" (positioning) phase is here, it should be feasible..... just guessing, anyway, as usual
About the "starting fog-of war": I'm a bit (really tiny bit) disappointed by not knowing AT ALL what i'm facing.... at least if they are in front or behind me? I try to reason on it: Premise: i'm thinking theoretically and to a general behaviour, no matter if one of the two opponents is a player ot a NPC. Basing on what i've understood right now, when i go scouting/huntingl, i may have these cases: 1) I "win" the scout: - In all the subcases here, i should know what i'm facing. I won the scout, i prepared myself for the event, i know what is about to happen. So i think that seeing the enemy cars should be done 1a) My scout do a great work: i'm able to prepare an ambush. My starting zone should be centered and bigger than the ambushed one. 1b) I can prepare myself: i should be able to choose if starting chasing the enemies, charging them frontally or being chased by them... after all, i win the scout and i should be able to choose my best strategy. 2) I lost the scout - In all that subcases i should not known exatly what im about to fight. 2a) Trivial problem: i'm a bit surprised, but i managed to do something: i should know at least if they are in front of me or at my back 2b) Ambushed: not really much to do: i have my area to place my vehicles (i always drive in "formation") and no more. I don't see any serious game umbalance here.... but i may be wrong. Anyway, it seems logical and fair, to me. A bit of difference should be done for the scout itself: admitted that the scout is driving his own car, maybe an option to place it alone in some reserved areas is not so strange: his job is to run all around, not to drive in a tight formation.... |
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Seiler Posted Apr 1, 2008, 7:55 am |
Lol 75 meters? I had one start within my circle on an ambush, about 5 meters in front of my car 
Plus, I think them bastards target on their prep turn, while we cant
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Big Ron Posted Apr 1, 2008, 8:36 am |
Fantastic news. Thanks Sam | ||||||
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*sam* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 11:31 am |
I don't have much time today, and obviously there's some stuff that should be modified in this 'user placement' thing. One thing a few of you have mentioned however is re-orienting cars, and I specifically haven't allowed that because (although you are admittedly very close to them) the basic premise is that you have just become aware of the enemy force when the event starts, therefore you are setting a 'travel formation for this terrain' rather than a 'combat formation for an imminent battle'. This is the same reason I have the enemy cars hidden at the start. | ||||||
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Parduz Posted Apr 1, 2008, 12:11 pm |
I may have miss something.... but when we go out to scout.... are we not hunting for pirates? or are we just going out as baits and hoping to get caught by them? IF we are the hunter, (provided that the scout is doing his job right) we're the ones that should have to know and choose the prey. |
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ISHOULDCOCO Posted Apr 1, 2008, 12:16 pm |
I would prefer to have a travel formation above all else really
the truce stuff is rare and fairly uncoomon I would also suggest that the higher scout skills get a direction for teh enemy and maybe a distance a'la fog of war but not much else maybe anapprox CR of enemy ? COCO |
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*sam* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 3:15 pm |
Although this is true, I think you missed my point (or I made it badly). The formation you make at the start of the event represents a stable formation that you are taking across the terrain, not one that is informed by knowledge of a specific enemy. The enemy appears 50m away for gameplay purposes rather than realism purposes (it would be way too easy to escape if they appeared at a realistic distance). However, the point about trucing is important. Maybe what we should have is a text description of the enemy force ("2 chompers and a symphony is approaching") etc. |
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Dr Mathias Posted Apr 1, 2008, 3:59 pm |
That map with the sandstorm is a great opportunity for "close encounters of the dangerous kind". |
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Kermit Posted Apr 1, 2008, 4:43 pm |
I hate that map. My client crashes a lot when I am on it. |
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*viKKing* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 7:24 pm |
Did you try reducing the number of displayed particles in option? |
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Seiler Posted Apr 1, 2008, 7:38 pm |
I'd prefer it you had a setup phase, then after everyone clicked ok, the enemy was displayed, and then you planned your first turn. As it is now, you start so close that often your first turn is very critical, and right now we're doing it blind. This would solve most issues, allowing for truces, etc, for planning with your buddies, for not starting in awkward positions on bridges, but still leave a fog of war element during the setup. It would definitely be good to have a bit more info, and I'd like to see any enemy vehicles that start within my own purple circle. Had an encounter last night in which an enemy vehicle started within the circle facing my vehicles, ended up starting the event about 5m in front of my car.
Oh, not really. In fact, aggressors get ambushed far more often. You're traveling. They have an overwatch in your area, and usually track your movements from after you leave the city until contact is made. Usually the aggressors outnumber the ambushers, but for gameplay I think it works out fine. |
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*viKKing* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 7:52 pm |
I know some positions need to be checked and fixed (mostly moved back from player position) and this is planned, excepted maps on which it is not possible (Firelight ones, for example). |
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madmax Posted Apr 1, 2008, 8:50 pm |
Wait,you mean drafting is actually effective? I didn't know that! |
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Seiler Posted Apr 1, 2008, 8:56 pm |
well it was a firelight map. But it'd still be nice to see if an enemy and I are going to occupy the same space..
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*Longo* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 10:30 pm |
Yea Sam, considering the high bounties the pirates accumulate, I for one would liek to know what I am fighting. The one advantage of being a pirate is the option to truce, and this present setup all but removes that 1 advantage. | ||||||
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*sam* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 10:36 pm |
I'll be adding a text description Longo.. | ||||||
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Valiance Posted Apr 1, 2008, 10:40 pm |
One thing I have noticed is that the length of time you have before an event starts has dropped to 3 minutes from the increased 7, but we have more to do in that time. I find myself rushing really hard to examine the map, move my cars around and assign gunners.
Then, unlike before, at the end of the 3 minutes, the event just seems to start. Previously it started the first turn's countdown. This would give you an extra 30 seconds per car to plan. Could we make it that you have 3 minutes to position your cars (Sam's point about this really being "formation setting"), then the baddies appear and you have a normal period (30secs per car) to target bad guys, set commands. As it stands, positioning is nice, but the bad guys get free shots off, and your convoy can't respond to the actual threat in front of them until after they've already moved for the first turn. |
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*Longo* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 10:46 pm |
Great points Val. | ||||||
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*Zothen* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 10:48 pm |
AIs dont have to aim for one round like players have to. they can instantly switch guns so they are able to shoot in the first round. |
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*sam* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 10:53 pm |
I'll extend the start time, sure. An extra 3 minutes?
I'll change that. |
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Valiance Posted Apr 1, 2008, 11:05 pm |
6 minutes is fine by me, but didn't you extend it before because of that PvP issue with Alo and TMP. I didn't follow that argument closely, but presumably the logic hasn't changed. If it has, then fine - I'm happy with the three minutes if it then *starts* the first orders phase, rather than the current situation where it gives your orders (i.e. a reversion to how it used to work.) | ||||||
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*sam* Posted Apr 1, 2008, 11:08 pm |
I only previously extended it in pvp events. |
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Kermit Posted Apr 1, 2008, 11:31 pm |
Yeah I do that most of the time and it seems to help. But sometimes I forget to. That option doesn't seem to get remembered. |