HAWKEN servers are up and our latest minor update is live!
Forgot Password? SUPPORT REDEEM CODE

Jump to content


Destructible Environments


  • Please log in to reply
6 replies to this topic

#1 legionwolff1

legionwolff1

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPip
  • 24 posts

Posted June 01 2011 - 05:02 PM

This seems to be something very much looked over in games these days, and this is most definitely not me saying that Hawken would be trash without this but...

Let's talk about Destructible Environments.
Games have come so far since the early days of the first FPS but still it seems that nobody wants to include the ability to destroy scenery in games. Granted some newer games have it, but seriously stop making kill cams look like blockbuster action movies and start making the entire experience more realistic.

Pros
-Make more use of what you have in your mech. If I only have one missile left and the other team's top scoring mech is headed my way what should I do?
    A. Attempt to hit mech with missile (which he'll probably dodge by the way).
    B. Run away (yeah he'll shoot you).
    C. Shoot the support beam of a near by skyscraper toppling it onto his mech crushing and killing him.
Uh duh. I'm pretty sure we'd all choose C.

-Makes game more realistic and challenging. Making the player think "is this cover going to fall on me if the enemy shoots it?"
-Adds some depth to the game as far as targeting goes. "maybe i can hit the building he's under and kill him."

There are some issues I admit.

Cons
-It will be stupid if an entire team just spams the buildings of an arena to make them all fall, crushing their opponents. :/ ugh i hate spammers
-People will complain that this will ruin the game. To me it make it more realistic.

Ideas to think about
-Possibly an entire building wouldn't come down but maybe just a part, or some debris.
-It would take a to of ordinance aimed at the right spot in a building to topple or damage it, so it wouldn't really work but in extreme cases.
-Falling debris could create dust clouds that would blanket the map for a time causing visibility changes.
-If you blow up a building there is a definite chance that it may fall toward you so wild firing wouldn't be too great of an idea.
-Maybe only certain building could be hurt, toppled, or broken.
-Possibly those buildings could be marked on your HUD or mini-map

Just a couple of thoughts. As always comments and suggestions are welcome. -LW
"Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,"

#2 Flyingdebris

Flyingdebris

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 124 posts
  • LocationFlorida

Posted June 01 2011 - 05:53 PM

the problem lies in that making destructible environments is an expensive endeavor production wise.  The only reason why a 9 man team was able to make as large and complicated environments as they did is cause they churned out environmental assets out by they ton by kitbashing different stuff together really fast.  

If they had done more destructibility, or go back and try to add it beyond the light poles and mailboxes you can crunch through in the vids, they would've needed a much much bigger team, more time, and a bigger budget to pull it off properly.

i.e. there is a reason DICE is able to blow up most of their levels in the BC 1-2 and upcoming BF3 games, between EA/DICE's actual inhouse personnel/and their outsourcing budget, their dev team is effectively in the hundreds.
Mech time all the time

#3 legionwolff1

legionwolff1

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPip
  • 24 posts

Posted June 01 2011 - 07:56 PM

Ah okay that makes sense. Well if not in this game i'd love to see it in the sequel of Hawken.
and on a side note I really can't wait to see what Adhesive can do with this game. It's gonna be amazing, definitely gonna be heavy hitter in the gaming world. and hopefully along the lines of the success of Minecraft.
"Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,"

#4 Iconic

Iconic

    Newbie

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 6 posts

Posted June 02 2011 - 01:13 PM

Aye, truly destructible terrain is a an absolute b*tch to code, and normally requires a lot of the calculations to be part of the graphics engine (the engine has to be able to cope with the amount of load in order to do them).  And getting your hands on the two 'viable' engines that can do destructible terrain (geomod and frostbite) is next to impossible.

However, it would definitely be something worth considering for a second mech related title as it's vital to that experience of driving 50+ tonnes of pure death.

#5 legionwolff1

legionwolff1

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPip
  • 24 posts

Posted June 02 2011 - 05:07 PM

Agreed
"Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,"

#6 HappyApathy1

HappyApathy1

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 46 posts

Posted June 04 2011 - 07:02 PM

I would be more then happy with something like the level of destructibility seen in World of Tanks, adding shatter-able glass windows would also be a nice touch.

#7 The_Silencer

The_Silencer

    Advanced Member

  • Full Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,266 posts
  • LocationStyx.

Posted June 05 2011 - 12:36 PM

Talking more specifically on destructible stuff, what I'd like to see is Gas Tanks with moderate max_damage value and large health. In a way that players can not insta-destroy them ( well, at least not the big ones.. ). This would probably add some few more tactics into the game, IMO.

Posted Image

.

"The difference between theory and practice is smaller in theory than it is in practice"





1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users