11 replies to this topic

[mekabuser]

And will it be the dawn of new functionality for non voice coms to designate targets.
???

Is it going to be from the cockpit?
THe battlegrid? where you have to zoom every single time you open the thing. ?

Its been a pet peeve of mine that pgi has known that one of the major problems for players is the lack of functional communication tools for non voice com players..
Lo and behold here comes a money maker mechanic where suddenly we will be able to designate an area of the map for bombardment.

I am dying to know if they only figured out how to do this to implement the money bombs?
Whether or not they even are going to utilize the mechanic to help non voice com communications?

Many questions..

[Chrithu]

My first guess is that we will indeed be able to select the target area via the Battlegrid.

[Thomas Dziegielewski]

Version 1 : Look at target point, click button, that's where Strategic Strike goes.
Version 2 : Battlegrid

I'll guess there will be a two month gap between the versions.

[MadPanda]

Thomas Dziegielewski, on 13 March 2013 - 09:09 AM, said:

Version 1 : Look at target point, click button, that's where Strategic Strike goes.
Version 2 : Battlegrid

I'll guess there will be a two month gap between the versions.

Why so long to add battlegrid targeting? Seems like super simple math problem how to translate coordinates from minimap to real map.

[ItsAPotato]

The mini-map may not have originally been coded to keep track of the necessary data points. Still, probably not super hard to add them, but any change to a working component has the risk that you break it. As a developer myself, I can tell you that there are a million things behind the scenes dealing with code that make life difficult, even if it seems like a simple operation from an external point of view

Also, once the function is in, refining it and adding improvements to it probably moves to the bottom of the priority list in a beta game like this.

That said, thanks for the super fast response, Thomas

[Reith Dynamis]

Why so long? If you an expert why don't you do it? Or are you gonna keep complaining? Good things come with time. I'd rather they take care of it then just shove something half-cocked into the game even if it is a BETA.

[Barkem Squirrel]

I would add a map overlay with reference points for artillery. Then designate the area to be hit with by: point A, 200 meters north by north west.

Or a feature for the commanders console with a symbol to place on the mini map.

An air strike with a start and end point to maneuver the drop azimuth.

[Vincent Lynch]

I have been wondering too until I read this thread, but yes, designating it on battle grid makes sense.

[Eddrick]

Thomas Dziegielewski, on 13 March 2013 - 09:09 AM, said:

Version 1 : Look at target point, click button, that's where Strategic Strike goes.
Version 2 : Battlegrid

I'll guess there will be a two month gap between the versions.

Version 1 is more usefull for most situations. Version 2 is only good if you can't see the target area.

A bit of a wait. But, the more important part is being done first.

I assume that the Version 2 is mostly dependant on the BattleGrid changes.

[Thomas Dziegielewski]

MadPanda, on 13 March 2013 - 09:13 AM, said:

Why so long to add battlegrid targeting? Seems like super simple math problem how to translate coordinates from minimap to real map.

The gameplay code side is not the problem. It is done exactly how commander orders are issued right now.

[Fate 6]

ItsAPotato, on 13 March 2013 - 09:19 AM, said:

The mini-map may not have originally been coded to keep track of the necessary data points. Still, probably not super hard to add them, but any change to a working component has the risk that you break it. As a developer myself, I can tell you that there are a million things behind the scenes dealing with code that make life difficult, even if it seems like a simple operation from an external point of view

Also, once the function is in, refining it and adding improvements to it probably moves to the bottom of the priority list in a beta game like this.

That said, thanks for the super fast response, Thomas

It can keep track of the waypoints people set and the mechs on the map. It is clickable (can add waypoints). What's the problem?

[ItsAPotato]

Fate 6, on 02 April 2013 - 02:26 PM, said:

It can keep track of the waypoints people set and the mechs on the map. It is clickable (can add waypoints). What's the problem?

Holy zombie thread, Batman!

My original post still applies. Things often seem finished or implemented in the coding world when they really aren't. I can't tell you how many times my boss tells me to push some coding endeavor to production when exactly 0% of the back end is actually functional because it LOOKS like everything is in place.

For example, one situation I could see: None of what we put on the map now translates to anything appearing on the actual 3d world in which your big stompy robot walks. The battle grid that the commander uses may just be an image which players edit, none of which gets translated to real-world coordinates on the 3d map.

Obviously something is holding them up, because they've said (in this very thread) that the ability to order strikes via the battle grid is coming. It may be gameplay balance issues, it may be technical issues. Understand that the people seeing this code every day know more about it than you do.