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klausD said:
Maybe you have a different view what a RTS game is. My view is if the engine is realtime, it is RTS. If it has a pause button or a "slow down" function does not mean that it is no RTS anymore.
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This definition is absolutely wrong. Real time does not make RTS. RTS implies very simplistic heuristics. It implies speed over strategy. It implies victory through clicking/pressing buttons quickly. A real time system is NONE of these inherently. RTS is one tiny portion of the real time spectrum.
The best turn based systems use simultaneous ordering combined with some form of initiative system. Each player issues orders, then a phase of execution occurs, with units from both sides acting in an interspersed manner. This eliminates the stupid things that happen in combat systems such as that of SEIV, where one side gets to do a ton of damage to the other before the other side can react. It also eliminates the stupid things that happen in systems like MOO2, where one side still gets a lot of ships acting at the same time, before any enemy ships can act. This is because MOO2 only has the initiative system, no simultaneous order execution. Immediate execution of orders brings about many balance problems. The MOO2 system was a small step in the right direction, but did not go far enough.
Real time execution with auto-pausing just smooths out the initiative curve and eliminates all turn based idiosynchrocies. All ships get to truly act at the same time, providing a far more realistic and balanced system. It plays out the same exact way that a good turn based system does, except it does it better. You don't have to click on ANYTHING during the short phase of order execution, as in a simultaneous turn based system. Thus, no click festing whatsoever. Period. It ends up being EXACTLY THE SAME in terms of you interfacing with the combat system and giving orders. The ONLY difference is that the real time system makes everything smoother.
A simple "replay last execution phase" would eliminate any concerns about not seeing what happened on another portion of the combat map. It would replay the execution of combat that occured between the last two auto-pause points. You could go view a different portion of the map, hit the button, and watch the combat from that segment of the map's perspective. In fact, it would be a good idea for everyone to email Malfador with requests for this feature... se5 at malfador dot com awaits your emails.
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klausD said:
Thats good to hear. Ok, its not what I would really prefer (a similar system to MOO2 but with sligthly improved graphics) but its better than the standard realtime system I assumed in my first posts. I could not learn the procedure from your previous post, but after your second explanation now I check the system. Thanks for the info.
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We must be prophets or somesuch; what has been described on the SEV combat system is exactly what we told you before would alleviate all RTS and click festing concerns you had...