quote: Original post by ahw
I am wondering a little bit. how would be the battle view ?
Erm, brace yourself...
3rd person only, as in a typical RPG. I do have a very good reason, though! My inspiration is Starflight and Sentinel Worlds. In these games, you flew a starship, operated a ground vehicle, and (in SW) walked around on foot.
At present, this is too much to ask for a 1st person 3D engine. The player would also expect each game option to be more detailed for 1st person. Thus, you'd have to implement a 1st person starship sim, a vehicle sim, and a FPS shooter. Way to high of a learning curve.
People already accept RPGs as 3rd person. They might still accept RTS games as 3rd person (if it looks nice enough). 3rd person also gives you a nice level of situation awareness that's damn harder to get in first person. Finally, 3rd person is "lighter," more beer & pretzels, which is sort of what I'm going for.
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If I am a single unit a la Starcraft, then fuc:k that man ... the only time I would accept such a view is if it was a sattelite view and I, the CO, was NOT on the actual battle field.
This is why I'm looking for a compelling reason to be on the battlefield. A reward, or bonus, if you will.
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Except that, I love the idea of being a CO without being as almighty than the commander in Total Annihilation, or as a hero unit in Starcraft. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind if the special powers were granted on a scenario basis (that is, the bonus has an explanation consistent with the story). for instance, artifacts are a cool idea, and it is quite normal that leaders get the best material available (armors, guns, etc).
Both inventory and artifacts are part of the design so far. Your character can equip himself with special armor and weapons, or even use alien devices you've researched. These are cool, and will make you a super unit, but I don't want you to have to rely on this before you have fun getting personally involved in struggles.
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any more details ?
Plenty!
My goal is to make you feel like an adventurer in the future. You're in an open ended universe that's dynamically changing as you play. You have a personal presence, can get involved personally in adventures, and experience the universe first hand as an RPG character.
So you begin as an individual with attributes/skills that can be built up. Your control is somewhat similar to Crusader: No Remorse or Diablo.
The extension of this is that your character can pilot various ships and vehicles. (The control scheme remains the same for familiarity and ease, and isn't meant to be as detailed as a sim. Again, think Sentinel Worlds and the cool ground and foot exploration mixed with the space combat.)
Now, if you choose to do so, you can attract a party. Some of these will be heros, and the rest will be "red shirts," like the throwaway guys in Star Trek. In fact, if you imagine that you're a freelance Captain Picard, with about 5 or 6 senior staff being your heros, and the rest of your crew the regulars, you might see what I'm after. (Another example is to imagine playing Darth Vader, and doing all the stuff he got to do.)
How in the heck does this all apply to an RTS? Glad you asked!
You can grow both vertically and horizontally. Your character can get stronger, and you can hire help (like in Rage of Mages). So there are 3 ways to play: Stay solo and beef yourself up (super unit), pull together a small team (RPG party), or raise an army (RTS). You're free to mix and match these styles, btw.
This enough detail? It probably looks unrealistically gigantic, and may be, but I think I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Basically, if I can do an RTS engine (and I know I can), then a lot of this is in the bag.
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Just waiting for the mothership...
Edited by - Wavinator on August 31, 2000 7:46:40 PM
