3 replies to this topic

[Delta_Centauri]

Note: Some of these ideas or suggestions will have been said already, I know.

This is simply going off of what I would like to see sometime in the game, I'll tell if I think it should be an on-release feature or something that should be in the works. I'm open to criticism and expansions to what I've said, but don't expect me to change this post to add or delete something you may feel differently about.
Finally, I'm not keen on the Unreal Engine. I know that its a widely used engine because of how well it can be modified and what can be done on it, but coding wise I have never used it and have little knowledge based on it.

The List (Along with descriptions of what I mean when saying them);

In-Game Resolutions Based:
Expansive Widescreen Support: This will be limited more towards the Unreal Engine then the game itself, but I hope that the team remembers to get the game to support from simple low resolutions like 800x600 to higher eyefinity/multi-screen resolutions. I believe the engine itself scales games to eyefinity based resolutions now, but I hope the developers remember to have a full and supported list on release so that resolutions that normally everyone will be able to play on (Say 1920x1200 and less) on release will scale well without bugs and later will have fully supported multi-screen based resolutions.
Overall, it may not seem a big deal but this will bug a few people if resolutions don't scale right at their resolution.

Windowed Mode: This will probably be another pre-feature but I hope to see windowed mode on the release of the game. Some may bother to say windowed mode is useless for them but I enjoy windowed mode, especially when playing on a smaller resolution in windowed mode.


Performance Based:
Nvidia/AMD Support: I don't know how well Companies like Nvidia/AMD/Intel react and support small indie-developers, but getting optimization updates for users hardware is a lovely thing. Now I'm not saying getting Nvidia Physx/3D or AMD Eyefinity in the game is a must-have, although some may like the features.

Dual Core/Tri Core/Quad Core Optimization: Again, it may be a simple engine ready feature, but I hope to see solid dual & quad core optimization (Possibly single core and tri core as well.) There's been a couple games that I've seen work good on both dual, tri and quad core computers, but they sometimes slip when optimizing for one or the other.

Gameplay Based:
Movement/Controls/Navigation: I love the movement style, the current video's show a few problems with Mechs moving on the ground, but I'm sure they'll be fixed. I would like to see multiple controller support but it wouldn't need to come with it on release. By this I mean stuff from gamepads to joysticks. Other then that, I don't have much to improve based on what I've seen.

Independent Pilot Combat (IPC): People will argue about this I believe, but I would like to see pilots being able to leave their Mechs and have their own combat and control style. The way Pilots work would be as followed;
1) Pilots could abandon their Mech through evacuation methods (Eject/Escape-Pod) which will instantly cause their Mech to Self-Destruct. The Self-Destruct would end up being a small or mid explosion where the Pilot escapes safely. The blast radius would be small and only does a small amount of damage to any close ranged enemy Mech (Unless Friendly Fire was on, which would result in equal damage to any in-area player.) The only way to use Eject or Self-Destruct would be when the Mech enters critical damage (Below 15% Health System.)
2) Once you set your Mech to Stand-By or Repair. From here you can leave and go around freely as a pilot. When leaving your Mech it is under a lock-down phase where no other pilot whether Ally or enemy can disable and use the Mech.
Pros: Smaller Target, capable of bypassing scans and scout targets without being spotted by Mechs. You have a jetpack that has a longer 'flight time' then mechs and can take out enemy Pilots directly*. Enemy turrets and other enemy automation systems won't target you unless fired upon. Can obtain a new Mech once at base/spawn center. Can ride as a passenger on some Allied Mechs (Few Mid classes/Heavy classes Mainly), allowing faster travel and enemy pilot tracking. Useful against Light Mechs and finishing any severely damaged ones.
Cons: Extremely defenseless against Mechs and their damage, can basically rip you to shreds in an instant. Jetpack doesn't have as much of a boosted height gain as Mechs, slower on foot. Seperate hitpoints even when riding a Mech as a 'passenger'.

*Pilots cannot be taken out when in a Mech.
Pilots could be allowed or denied through the server Admin itself (As in he can enable or disable IPC.)
In terms of how pilots look, I would design around the same as how troops looked in "Shattered Horizon." I wouldn't go as detailed, but a sleeker or thinner designed armor would be more suiting then the look of an old bulky-styled astronaut.
Pilots are something I would look forward to the future, seeing how well this game might be. Not something done right away, possibly 2-5 months before even mentioning after release.

Mech Impairments: One of the best things in Mech Warrior games was the addition of hitpoints or specific spots that could be impaired or damaged and slowed or weakened the Mechs power. I'm not sure if this was going to be featured, but I loved Mech games because they had specific hit markers for certain parts of the armour which allowed you to pick at it and tear away at a Mechs movement or firepower. I would love to see this in the game, as it would bring a bit of nostalgia along with useful tactics.

In-Game Chat/Mic/Commands: Although most games, especially FPS games use mic chat, they seem to be simplified or brought down to a minimum. One user made a suggestion on how it should work, and I liked it. Chat would work out as any Ally member of the team could communicate to one another but the enemy team could listen in if you were close enough. Although I like the idea, a real-life situation would have pilots use Private Channels (No, I'm not saying this game could end up being a real situation.)
Instead of letting close enemies be able to listen into communications, have it where an enemy can jam a Mech/pilot's communication or hack into the channel, where it can feed chat to you or the rest of the team without the enemy knowing.
Jamming=Stopping any Mic chatter to go in or out, radar scanning would not pick up the Mech, in close-combat both the jammer Mech and enemy Mech is unreported to the enemy Mechs allies.

Continuation of Commands: As to Voice commands not through the Mic, use a simple bot +chat to tell the squad. It's faster then trying to type and it helps those without a proper mic.

Perks/Unlockables/Equipment: Personally, I don't like unlockable perks or equipment, but it does tend to make me and others stick to a game longer. As to what perks are, they would be non-visual additions towards you or your Mech, such as a jamming system. As to equipment, that could be from visual aesthetics to new weapons or body frames.
In short, this would allow more customization along with being easy support additions once and a while. You may end up getting users who dislike this sort of feature, such as how Team Fortress 2 was and is still being run now.

Smooth Transition Between Third-Person & First Person: The game showed that it may feature a third-person perspective but in case there isn't, it should be added. Third person would allow a wider aspect view along with being able to visually inspect your Mech, whether its a simple look at a new weapon you put on in the battlefield to inspect the damage done to your Mech...people tend to like these little features.

[Ashfire908]

Another one of these kinds of topics... (by my count this is the fourth) Would have preferred to see opinions on existing topics to go in those topics as to not fragment discussion, but what ya gonna do_

Don't have anything to comment on really besides that if you could hack into the other teams comms without them knowing, and they knew that, then no one would use the in-game comms for fear of their comms being tapped.

[DarkS7ar]

Ashfire908 said:

Another one of these kinds of topics... (by my count this is the fourth) Would have preferred to see opinions on existing topics to go in those topics as to not fragment discussion, but what ya gonna do_

Don't have anything to comment on really besides that if you could hack into the other teams comms without them knowing, and they knew that, then no one would use the in-game comms for fear of their comms being tapped.

At least this guy has a lot to discuss, my eyes started to hurt a quarter of the way through and I'm a writer. 0.0

[Delta_Centauri]

DarkS7ar said:

Ashfire908 said:

Another one of these kinds of topics... (by my count this is the fourth) Would have preferred to see opinions on existing topics to go in those topics as to not fragment discussion, but what ya gonna do_

Don't have anything to comment on really besides that if you could hack into the other teams comms without them knowing, and they knew that, then no one would use the in-game comms for fear of their comms being tapped.

At least this guy has a lot to discuss, my eyes started to hurt a quarter of the way through and I'm a writer. 0.0

I hope it isn't because I gave the topics separate colours. Looks like a bit of an eyesore, that's why I didn't put 15 different colours per section.
As to a lot to the discussion, I had loved Mech games and wanted to start my own. Problem is, I'm only good at modeling and rigging/animating which I've only had 1 year of College experience and online tutorials so far. There are some real simple needs and wants, such as the widescreen and windowed modes. My only reason for that is a big company named Kalypso (Tropico series) never bothered to put an option to go windowed mode.