Caltrops - Gamerasutra





	[quote name="Fabsy"][quote name="Ray of Light"]<font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: TA advocates I know always crowed about how you could have 300, 500, 800 units on the go <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: AS MANY AS YOU WANT <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: while ignoring the problems of controlling 500 units [quote]<img src=http://tinypic.com/ic0fhx.jpg>[/quote] <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: this is something I never saw before in RTS, units big enough to step on smaller units <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: maybe the harvester vs infantry in C&C <font color=orange>Mr. K</font>: and in dune 2 <font color=orange>Mr. K</font>: the problem I have is that the big unit doesn't look so much large as the smaller units look tiny <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: it says the little guys are as big as tanks! <font color=orange>Mr. K</font>: yeah, but the big thing has these funny hinge legs that look like they could support about 6 pounds[/quote] Every single C&C vehicle ever running over infantry, overlord tanks in generals running over regular tanks. Those are <b>friendly</b> red units that giant Wild Wild West spider is stepping on. I can't wait to juggle controlling 800 units running around while trying to keep my giant ones from stepping on them! I wonder how easy this will be in the zoom feature. [quote name="The GameSpy Press Release Network"][quote]Supreme Commander will be pure simulation. Here's what that means: when a tank rolls over a hill in Supreme Commander and fires its cannon at a moving target, it's not an instant hit. The trajectory of the shell is computed as it whirls through the air. Hitting a moving target from a moving platform is hard -- the AI might not be able to compensate, especially if the target suddenly switches direction or vaults in the air. For this reason, tanks may not be the best choice against fast targets (as opposed to a vehicle that fires lasers or guns.) They also work better when stationary. This isn't because the designers are futzing with numbers behind the scenes: It simply how tanks work.[/quote] <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: that could turn out any number of ways <font color=orange>Mr. K</font>: yeah, it's impossible to know from that quote if this is a good or bad thing <font color=orange>Mr. K</font>: generally when something like that is mentioned as a selling point, I think "bad" <font color=lightgreen>Ray</font>: I don't see why you'd fight with anything except cruise missiles, ICBMs, and spotters[/quote] That's another retarded selling point blind TA followers keep trotting out. "Projectiles are calculated in a true line of sight straight line!" In practice, it meant that after 15 minutes nobody could hit anything because all your shots would be blocked by the ridiculous amounts of wreckage everywhere. Ditching abstracted, "always hit" models for this is always a mistake. What you end up with is the original C&C where tanks would never lead their shots and as long as a tank was moving it couldn't be hit unless you manually force fired ahead of the target. I've seen more <a href="http://www.caltrops.com/pointy.php?action=viewPost&pid=42010">TA players praising this point</a> claiming, "it forces you to use SKILL and aim!" Total Annihilation gives you control over hundres of units AND forces you to micromanage at a ridiculous level, it's the best of both worlds! [quote]<font color=orange>Mr. K</font>: i liked the zoomed out shots of the nukes going off to emphasize the fruitlessness of your battle [quote]<img src=http://tinypic.com/ic1efp.jpg>[/quote][/quote] Wow! You can zoom all the way to this satellite view! It's almost like.....like some sort of minimap! That you can't see all the time forcing you to switch away from the action! Didn't Republic just try the exact same thing, and everyone just played in satellite view the entire time which made the entire graphics engine useless? One last TA selling point that <a href="http://www.caltrops.com/pointy.php?action=viewPost&pid=41942">insane fans</a> keep bringing up is the music. Honestly it really wasn't that great. Some tracks that were on about par with Warcraft 2's music. Remember that? No? THAT is why you cannot appreciate the genius of TA. Go back to <s>Quake</s> C&C! [/quote]