The Future for SE IV? Does it have one?

[steveh11]

I suppose it's too much to ask for a proper Newtonian movement system? Proper vector arithmetic, acceleration and displacement handled, Facing changes etc?

(Actually, the facing part is optional depending on the 'ground' scale and time scale.)

Even without 3D, a 2D vector-based game would be so much better than the current battle system.

...and seeing as I like the current system too, going 'real physics' could only make it better!

Steve.

[Suicide Junkie]

I'd also like to see the ability to attach fleets to fleets, so they would move as one strategically. If that is used, at the biginning of combat you should be given a screen in which to set the fleets in relation to each other on the tactical map.

Do a multiselect with the shift-click. Your fleets will move as one for the next month of game time, just like multiselect does for individual ships.

[ August 19, 2002, 16:59: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Do a multiselect with the shift-click. Your fleets will move as one for the next month of game time, just like multiselect does for individual ships.

Except I have tested this and it doesn't work. Although I suppose I could have screwed it up somehow. Have you tested it? What ended up happening in my tests is fleet A hit the target right before Fleet B, even though they had the same movement. The Combat ended up happening seperately.

I agree though it shold work. I am hoping maybe I just did something wrong.

[Barnacle Bill]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Do a multiselect with the shift-click. Your fleets will move as one for the next month of game time, just like multiselect does for individual ships.[/QB]

I know, but I meant nested so that I just give orders to the outermost fleet. For example, 2nd Fleet contains BatRon 4 (consisting of 3 Battleships) and CruRon 22 (consisting of 4 heavy crUsers). For attacking through a warp point I might add a minesweeper squadron. For invading a planet I might add a squadron of troop transports. What I want is to be able to build higher level fleets out of building blocks consisting of lower level fleets.

[Lemmy]

Except I have tested this and it doesn't work. Although I suppose I could have screwed it up somehow. Have you tested it? What ended up happening in my tests is fleet A hit the target right before Fleet B, even though they had the same movement. The Combat ended up happening seperately.

I agree though it shold work. I am hoping maybe I just did something wrong.

no, that's how it is supposed to work, they can only move together, not attack, they would have to be in the same fleet then.

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by klausD:
BB,

Your "impulse system" sounds clever but a little bit too complex for my personal taste. I would love to see the normal SEIV tactical combat in SEV. Just a little bit pepped up.

with:
-better looking ships, ships with different "shapes" and user modded sizes. Why not having a dreadnought model which is 2 squares wide and 3 squares long, while another dreadnought type (of another race) is 4 squares long and just one square wide. Why not having a round "death star" model which occupies 4 or even 9 squares on the playing area.

-shooting and moving initiative depending on technology and race.

-advanced ground combat. But please no big planet surface a la fading suns. (none or just a small)

-4 different shooting angles (left, right, front, behind)

-turning and manoevre rules.

This and some other small tweaks should be enough to have a formidable time with SEV.

sorry for my bad english
klausD

PS: like many fans of SEIV (and its predecessors) I dont care a lot about all these fancy 3D stuff. I like the game as it is. A revolution is not necessary when the basic system is very good.

He makes it sound more complicated than it really is by delving into the details of how he thinks it should be implemented. In essence, the 'impulse' system means each turn is broken down into many smaller sub-turns. And if you have things like weapon recharge crossing turn boundaries then it's not even that -- it's breaking combat down into thousands of tiny turns. That's it. We just need 'smaller resolution' of turns so it's not possible for someone to do too much in a single turn. That's the essence of the 'I go - you go' balance problem.

I agree that firing arcs for weapons, shield facings (essentially inseperable from weapon firing arcs, when you think about it), turning rates, and maneuvering rules are all essential to a good tactical combat system. With initiative advantages for smaller ships we'd finally have a good 'balance' that would make smaller ships worthwhile into the late game.

The fancy graphical options would be nice, but would make it vastly harder for third-party add-on shipsets to be created. I think it would be better to just have more than one image per size class, and keep the graphic formats as simple as possible.

[ August 19, 2002, 20:32: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Will]

Originally posted by Lemmy:
no, that's how it is supposed to work, they can only move together, not attack, they would have to be in the same fleet then.

No, if you shift-click multiple ships and/or fleets, and tell them to move to an enemy location (and thus attack), all will enter the sector at the same time. This will not happen when a turn has passed since the orders were given, the grouping only Lasts for one turn.