70 replies to this topic

[MaddMaxx]

Darren Tyler, on 19 June 2013 - 07:25 AM, said:

This would be a nightmare to code. This will never happen.

I would have guessed that getting a/any Mech to look good while running, at any speed, would have been a nightmare. PGI has accomplished that nightmare. Perhaps the time has come to tackle another.

[LeShadow]

I honestly don't think it would be that hard to code, it's still a rather simple mechanic, compared to some of the other stuff modern games need to be able to handle. (On the other hand, I'd also think fixing the splash damage would be simple )

It's rather all the graphics work (hit viusals and GUI mostly) as well as the plethora of balance adjustments that would inevitably have to follow that make me shake my head. Unless you believe PGI would get all the numbers right on the first try. Ahem.
Also, while it certainly could be done whithout affecting performance too much, whether that is a realistic goal depends on the engine and existing game code.

Also, while HSR has helped mitigate the problem, ping is still an issue. Among, possibly, other hit detection flaws (it's hard to be really certain about those). The way things are now, you will not always, but at least most of the time, damage the torso section you hit on your screen (given an average ping). Make the hitboxes any smaller and latency will become the deciding factor in higher skill games.

[ExtremeA79]

MaddMaxx, on 19 June 2013 - 07:52 AM, said:

I would have guessed that getting a/any Mech to look good while running, at any speed, would have been a nightmare. PGI has accomplished that nightmare. Perhaps the time has come to tackle another.

I am a programmer, and I can understand (some) the problems that PGI encounters when they develope.
Making a mech look good while running? I don't know what you mean by that and it was certainly not a nightmare and would not be ridiculous to code.

This, however, would almost be impossible, especially since you have PGI developing this game, and the netcode and 12v12 coming up.
It is impossible from a coding stand point.

LeShadow, on 19 June 2013 - 01:21 PM, said:

I honestly don't think it would be that hard to code, it's still a rather simple mechanic, compared to some of the other stuff modern games need to be able to handle. (On the other hand, I'd also think fixing the splash damage would be simple )

GUI's a problem?
Simple mechanic?
I wish you could have the knowledge of a programmer and relook at this.

[Ansel]

There isn't any reason to reduce the armor per hex. Just make each "impact" hit the surrounding hexes for 1/2 damage. And if it would hit "more" hexes it would again half damage, I will call this "splash".

Examples of splash 1 weapons: AC-2, AC-5, UAC-5, SL(all), ML(all), MG
Shoot an AC-2 and it will deal 2 points of damage to the hex that it hits.
This class of weapon will only splash one "hex ring" out, meaning it will hit the 6 hexes surrounding the initial hex for 1 damage.

Examples of splash 2 weapons: ERPPC, PPC, AC-10, LRMs, Gauss Rifle, LL(all), SSRMs
Shoot a PPC and it will deal 10 points of damage to the hex that it hits.
This class of weapon will splash two "hex rings" out, meaning it will hit the 6 hexes surrounding the original hex for 5 damage and would then hit the 12 hexes surrounding that area for 2.5 damage.

Examples of splash 3 weapons: LBX-AC10, AC-20, SRMs, Flamer
Shoot an AC-20 and it will deal 20 points fo damage to the hex that it hits, it will hit the 6 hexes surrounding that for 10 damage and hits the second ring out for 5 damage finnaly it would hit the 18 hexes surrounding that ring for 2.5 damage.
Note* in total that would mean that an AC-20 would hit a "total" of 37 hexes for 185 "total" points of damage.

This would mean that each extra ring of damage could also be adjusted and weapons moved if they are proving to be too weak in their class, for example if lasers are just not doing enough they could be bumped up a class to splash 2 and 3 respectivly.

It's not a bad idea overall.

[ExtremeA79]

Ansel, on 19 June 2013 - 01:34 PM, said:

Examples of splash 3 weapons: LBX-AC10, AC-20, SRMs, Flamer

SRM's do not have significant splash. They have anti armor/armor piercing warheads.
LRM's on the other hand, ho ho ho, they have high explosive warheads.

But whatever floats your boat.

[Ansel]

Darren Tyler, on 19 June 2013 - 01:37 PM, said:

SRM's do not have significant splash. They have anti armor/armor piercing warheads.
LRM's on the other hand, ho ho ho, they have high explosive warheads.

But whatever floats your boat.

I was thinking more for balance reasons, if they kept the damage low, say 2.0, and the range low, they would need to hit a significant area to be an effective brawling weapon, or just make missles have less splash and no reduction of damage for extra hexes hit.

[Unrelenting Farce]

Maybe one day, we will be able to have games with these features.

Good idea, but it won't happen yet.

[ExtremeA79]

I like the idea, but it just is not possible guys.

[LeShadow]

Darren Tyler, on 19 June 2013 - 01:34 PM, said:

GUI's a problem?
Simple mechanic?
I wish you could have the knowledge of a programmer and relook at this.

Actually, that's what I do for a living. Else I wouldn't dare make such a statement. Don't get me wrong, I didn't say it wouldn't take time. But in the end it's no different than, say, writing a simple physics engine or collision detection.

The problem with the UI is that you suddenly have a great deal of extra info (separate armor for every tiny hex) that you need to present to the player. I can see a lot of things going wrong there. Or would you just use the current paperdolls and keep the rest hidden?

Also, in my experience, it's usually the graphics guys who spend a lot of time fine-tuning their work. Which is good, we like shiny. But some recent examples (the last 3 'Mech models which are rather... similar or the abysmal airstrikes) lead me to think they might be a bit overworked as it is.


PS: I think we do all agree that it won't happen and that it would be impractical for PGI to try something like this at this point in time. But calling it "impossible" is, in my opinion, wildly exaggerated.

Edited by LeShadow, 20 June 2013 - 03:43 AM.

[FunkyFritter]

Unless I'm missing something adding hexes would just make the problem worse. 4 ppcs or any other precision alpha strike is all going to hit the same hex, mixed builds would be hit much harder by the change. You mentioned lowering base damage and adding splash to counter that, but I don't see how hexes have anything to do with that solution.

[Motoko]

This thread is hilarious.
Hexes will never happen; because I would imagine hexes are not code-friendly.
Let's not try to revamp the mechanics of an entire game, shall we? Hitboxes are hitboxes. Someone with some programming know-how should try to give an estimation of how many lines of code it would require to code this mess.
Anyways.
Great idea, i'll admit, but it's not happening. More hitboxes; probably but not going to happen anyways, but that's more feasible than OP's idea. It's still not going to happen in the near future. OP should try to learn a programming language and code that himself, prove it can be done.

Edited by Motoko, 20 June 2013 - 12:45 PM.