Larry Burstyn Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Did search which came up with nothing...at least nothing I could see. I would like to rotate the map so I can see the field from different views...will that ever be done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kabill Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 No, it'd be a massive amount of effort given that everything is sprite-based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BULIGO Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Did search which came up with nothing...at least nothing I could see.I would like to rotate the map so I can see the field from different views...will that ever be done? It would need a whole new graphical engine. Not only that, but imagine: every single item you see on the battlefield would need not one but four different pictures. For example, your soldier would need one picture from the back, one from the left and right side, one for the front side etc. It IS doable but as kabill said, would need much more resources than GH has. Nor can you zoom the battlefield. We're stuck with the sprites we have and that's it. No big deal, really, the engine allows you to 'see' through walls and obstacles when your guys are behind an obstacle and that is something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphan Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 imagine: every single item you see on the battlefield would need not one but four different pictures. For example, your soldier would need one picture from the back, one from the left and right side, one for the front side etc. You know, I understand where you're coming from... but what assets aren't drawn from other angles? I mean, you say that there'd need to be 4 sprites for soldiers to see them from 4 angles, but there are already eight sprites for soldiers for 8 different angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steave Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 You know, I understand where you're coming from... but what assets aren't drawn from other angles? I mean, you say that there'd need to be 4 sprites for soldiers to see them from 4 angles, but there are already eight sprites for soldiers for 8 different angles. UFOs, weapons and other equipment and most map tiles. For example, a rock won't look the same from a different angle unless it's perfectly symmetrical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BULIGO Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) UFOs, weapons and other equipment and most map tiles. For example, a rock won't look the same from a different angle unless it's perfectly symmetrical. Or Skitso's improved stumps Well, SimCity 4 had all that, rotations and zooms, but they did not need kickstarter to do it Edited August 11, 2014 by BULIGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Caine Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Bastion doesn't have it, nor does Transistor and both suffer for it as they are real-time fast-paced game (although Transistor does have the benefit of being able to pause the action). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphan Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I can see the UFOs being a problem, and definitely a valid justification. With rocks and weapons and such, part of why I don't mind the graphics in this game is because 2D isometric games are representative to me; that is to say that I don't really care if Log A is identical to Log B, because both are only representations that there are toppled logs in that location. I'm not looking closely enough to care, because the game isn't built to remind me that every log is special and unique. The UFOs are a different story, though. They were very obviously on the receiving end of a lot of effort, and are a very important part of nearly every ground mission. If those can't rotate, that's a deal breaker. Thanks for calling those out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BULIGO Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 "Rotating' a 2D map does not rotate anything, it simply redraws the whole map again with new sprites/props/tiles. No models with triangles, just pictures.And there is only one set of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RasterOps Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 It would need a new engine, yes. It has been done and can be done. It should have been done here. It wasn't done and is unlikely to be done. It was just a bad design decision from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Other methods were intended to render it unnecessary. Some of those like prop transparency didn't work out as well as hoped. I would still disagree that it is an essential feature as I can quite happily play without it in the vast majority of situations. I would rate it as a nice to have bonus for the odd occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nazrath Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 My only complaint is that you cannot make the walls somehow transparent or not there. Sometimes when trying to fit into a bottom left area with no other soldiers makes the placement in-exact at times. Other than that, no need to rotate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llunak Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 My only complaint is that you cannot make the walls somehow transparent or not there. So what would you suggest exactly as that "somehow"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerodaimaru Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I just wish that if you had your mouse over a tile that would move a soldier behind a wall that the wall would go transparent around the mouse. It already does this around the soldiers when they are actually in the cover but I find myself having to count tiles on a fairly regular basis to make sure that I am indeed standing in cover and not out in the open. And even then its "hold my breath and pray" moment when I hit that end turn button most of the time. My strategy for most maps actually revolves around making sure I'm having to use as little cover like that as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llunak Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I expect you'd quickly find it annoying how this would make almost everything turn transparent and back whenever you'd move the mouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solver Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Seems like transparency when the mouse is moved while holding down some key is the obvious choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llunak Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 That's the problem with some's and something's. Ctrl is already taken, I've just taken Shift for cover showing, there aren't that many keys left. Just making things transparent around the mouse positions won't work in all cases either, e.g. when trying to find out what exactly blocks a shot. It's not that hard to code it, it's just a question of replacing some's and something's with more definite terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerodaimaru Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I expect you'd quickly find it annoying how this would make almost everything turn transparent and back whenever you'd move the mouse. Not really. I'm not talking about the whole wall or cargo container disappearing just because my mouse is over it, just the section covering whatever tile my mouse is over. if my mouse is over something then its an area I plan to interact with or want more information about and stripping away the pretty but otherwise useless fluff covering where my soldier would move I think is pretty important. I mean when I'm about to commit to a move I no longer care if its a wall, cargo container, or helicopter that my soldiers are about to hide behind. I care about getting them in the exact tile I want them to be in and currently the only way to do that in a lot of cases is to count tiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solver Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Anything is better than not having the feature at all. Hold the Tab key or comma for all I care. Really, another good option is having a toggle key combination. This is done in some strategy games. Press something (Ctrl+Z) and then objects under the mouse become transparent. Press it again and the feature is off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steave Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Anything is better than not having the feature at all. Hold the Tab key or comma for all I care.Really, another good option is having a toggle key combination. This is done in some strategy games. Press something (Ctrl+Z) and then objects under the mouse become transparent. Press it again and the feature is off. Tab is already taken for going up/down a level. I think alt is free though? And yes, some other toggle like that would be perfectly fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solver Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Toggle might be a good option because there are potentially more things that could go well with a toggle system, and I think the usual modifier keys (Control, Alt, Shift) should be reserved for the most common actions. Wanting to make objects transparent is not too rare, but shouldn't even happen on every mission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BULIGO Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Tab is already taken for going up/down a level. I think alt is free though? And yes, some other toggle like that would be perfectly fine too. An Golden Oldie, Patrician III has that feature, transparent buildings on-command. Also an isometric 2D game. In that game for example you build houses for your workers in various cities. So do your AI competitors and the city council itself. After some time, its a jumble of houses and no way you can tell which are your which are not. So, there is a clickable 'button' on the upper right corner of your screen which makes all the houses but yours in the city become transparent. So you see only your ones and can easily click on each of them if you need. Well, it's been done 10 years ago, could be done today. Would be nice actually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russelleon Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 If they sell enough copies they need to make an upgraded version in a modern engine. I know they talked about the Unity engine. I think the mechanics of the game are solid, now it just need modern graphics in the battleground part of the game like Firaxis X-com to really have the ultimate next gen x-com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaianDestiny Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 The devs are no longer working on Xenonauts. This will not change no matter how much money they get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BULIGO Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 The devs are no longer working on Xenonauts.This will not change no matter how much money they get. They bought their Murcielagos and drove away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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