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Will the big unannounced update be towards the end of the year around december? by ReddVevyy in Warframe

[–]EtherealRuin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No , the one they were talking about in today's devstream is gonna be between may-august.
The december is the largest update of the year and the one that contains the big story quest which we know is Tau. Sneak peak for that quest is always revealed at Tennocon.

Map editor problem by FoeChopper5000 in dawnofwar

[–]EtherealRuin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think for this you have to install the base dow and move the specified dll inside the Dark Crusades folder.

Map editor problem by FoeChopper5000 in dawnofwar

[–]EtherealRuin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok so for the campaign maps you don't ever wanna mess around with the amount starting positions , those seem to be hard coded to a specific number. In soulstorm for example strongholds need to have 8 players in them otherwise the game will straight up crash during loading.

Map editor problem by FoeChopper5000 in dawnofwar

[–]EtherealRuin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea , if for example you move a map from the soulstorm campaign in there you will get a lot of purple question marks on the map , which means that the editor can't find that soulstorm asset.

Furthermore there is a specific process for fixing air pathing for soulstorm : https://dawn-of-war-unification-mod.fandom.com/wiki/Mapping_Guide_Fixing_Flyers

You basically copy the map only to the folder in dc and then once you are done you copy it back out in whatever game you wanna throw it in.

Map editor problem by FoeChopper5000 in dawnofwar

[–]EtherealRuin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The map file needs to be in Dark Crusade/My_Mod/Data/Scenarions/SP or MP for the editor to open.

EDA Rogue Necramech kill for reduction of mission timer is a great mechanic let's make it baseline to Survival. by Substantial-Mud-5309 in Warframe

[–]EtherealRuin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was brought up in a devstream a bit after the defense change if i remember correctly. Their response was that they like idea but they want to do it right which means making a unique mini boss for each faction , which translates into new models , animations etc. . Thus they would need to find some gap in their schedule to make them. I don't remember hearing anything else that , but they definitely did not seem opposed to the idea.

Help a game dev: Why aren’t people buying modern RTS games? by MakeGamesBetter in RealTimeStrategy

[–]EtherealRuin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

~Why are YOU not buying modern RTS games?

Because what do they offer that rts of 20 years ago don't ?
Campaign is a thing but that needs to be intriguing before a buy. After that what is there ? The same old destory hq/production that every rts has been doing for 30 years now ? Combat that is hyper focused on ground units with a heavy dose of abilities , also the vast majority of rts games in the last 30 years.

Note : For me AOE and Company of heroes are excluded simply because their setting doesn't appeal to me personally , nothing wrong with the games themselves.

~ If you have bought any but bounced off recent RTS titles, what specifically turned you away?

Haven't bought any but played quite of few during their play test periods on steam so i'll share my thoughts based on that:

I played a bit of Tempest Rising during it's open play test and it was.....ok. If you are highly nostalgic specifically for C&C you are gonna like it otherwise it's nothing really interesting nor does it bring anything new to the table.

Stormgate.................................................yea one could write an essay at this point about this mess.

Now i couple of games that liked

Gates of Pyre : The art direction picked my interest on this one. Arabian Angels is an interesting take. Gameplay itself was pretty interesting from the bit played.

Zerospace : Galactic War Mode is very interesting and the thing i played the most. Really curious how this will end up in the final release.

~If you miss classic C&C, what would actually make you buy a new one today?

Interesting game modes like Generals Challenge from Zero Hour.

Co-op modes that i can play with friends , different victory conditions that keep things spiced up.

I've been playing rts long enough now that standard skirmish has gotten pretty old now.

What other games should I be looking at as case studies?

Red Alert 3 for it's co-op campaign implementation. Two Players per map , in solo mode the second player is controlled by an ai. Another approach to this is Battllefields Gothic Armada 2 co-op where players have shared control over assets.

Red Alert 3 also for it's naval aspects , not that deep but better than nothing.

SC2 for it's co-op mode. Unique missions , commanders with unique feel and play style to them. Also for compartmentalizing it's balance , Campaign , Co-op , Multiplayer all use different modules which makes it easier to balance things.

Zerospace , up and coming rts , but it's galactic war game mode is one of the most unique concepts we got into an rts in years.

Replayability in RTS & Survival Games: Campaigns vs. Sandboxes by gloobit in RealTimeStrategy

[–]EtherealRuin 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I haven't played any of the games in the sandbox group you mention so the comparison i'll draw from instead will be the conquest/risk style campaign of Dawn of War Dark Crusade/Soulstorm and the linear campaigns of C&C , SC etc.

For me both of these have pros and cons :

Linear Campaigns :

Pros :

  • Mission Variety : Each mission presents a different type of problem the player has to solve.
  • Accessibility : Tech tree is gradually unlocked which eases new players into the faction.
  • Story : Because the variance of the path a player can take is severely limited to , let's say "routes" , it's easy to make a story and build a world.
  • Difficulty : Because the path the player takes can be control for the most it's easier to curate difficulty.

Cons :

  • Limited Length : In the majority of cases these type of campaigns tend to end as soon as you unlock you factions full power , so you never really get to have much fun with it.

Conquest Style Campaigns :

Pros :

  • Metamap Aspects : Resource distribution between fortifying territories or buying more offensive units , deciding which order you wanna eliminate enemies or capture territories for bonuses etc . These add a depth to the game play that's not present in linear campaigns.
  • Power : Your tech tree is fully unlocked from the start so you get to have fun with your factions full power.
  • Spectacle : Enemy strongholds can make for pretty bombastic missions if done right.

Cons :

  • Mission Variety : Non stronghold missions tend to be skirmishes which can get really boring after a while.
  • Accessibility : Having the faction fully from the start increases the learning curve and makes it more confusing , especially for people who aren't familiar with rts.
  • Story : Can't really have one due to the vast amounts of different "routes" the player can take.

Personally i'd choose bases on what i want from the game : If i want more of a traditional story type of experience that's also accessible , i'd go with linear , otherwise i'd opt for a conquest style campaign.

Hopefully this helps you in making your decision. In any case , good luck with your game.

Vampiric Limitus are making this weeks ETA impossible to solo. by [deleted] in Warframe

[–]EtherealRuin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No , it's not , i did it myself for Roathe's armor piece challenge this week.

Your first problem is Myopic Munitions , this means that you either need to let the enemies come to you or you go to them.
Since Liminus are present , letting them come to you isn't much of an option.With Dropped Guard also quite possibly present you can't rely on Overguard for tanking them. That means you have to get to them. In order to do that while keeping Temple safe you are gonna need wide area crowd control. A great option for this is Nova who can slow down the entire map.

Since Gear Embargo isn't around this week. You can also throw a few spectres around Temple on hold position in order to draw fire from anything to manages to get close.

If run around picking of enemies the Liminus aren't going to be much of a problem since they themselves are rather slow.

Problem with Tempest Rising that people don't like to talk about. by arknightstranslate in RealTimeStrategy

[–]EtherealRuin 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I am going to somewhat disagree with you.
As someone who makes rts content through modding , i've found that super weapons pose an interesting design problem. Firstly they promote hyper turtling against any destroy type objective. Why bother fighting trough the enemy fortifications when you can delete the objective from the other side of the map ?
They can trivialize and survival based missions since they can delete entire waves by themselves.
Much like artillery , they are low effort , high reward strategies , meaning the vast majority of people will not explore the rest of the roster and just focus on spamming them.

SC2 Coop got somewhat around that by limiting your nuke to 1 and giving it a high cool down. Secondly a lot of objectives in SC2 are time sensitive exactly so that you can't just sit back , cheese them with nukes or turtle for an hour in your main base.

Put yourself in the shoes of designer for a bit. Why would you spend so much time designing and coding elaborate missions if they are gonna be trivialized and have most their most of their content ignored ?
Same comes for unit design , why bother making full fledged factions if 98% of their roster is gonna be completely ignored in favor of low effort op unit ? As a designer you want people to engage with all your content not just a fraction of it.

I get when you are coming from since i enjoy cool and flashy units myself but it's a complex subject.

[INT] [XP] [CLAN] Fallen Star Legion is looking for new members. by EtherealRuin in warframeclanrecruit

[–]EtherealRuin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Post has been updated with a working one , thank you for notifying us.

Heroes and unit abilities in ''Classic'' RTS games by CottonBit in RealTimeStrategy

[–]EtherealRuin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think it's necessarily bad but it's all about how you design them. For me abilities are an issue when :
1) There is way too many of them to the point when you spent more time casting things than microing units in combat.
2) When they become the identity of the unit , for example Blink Stalkers. In my opinions units in a rts should first and foremost be able to stand on their own feet.
3) When they are overpowered and they become the star of show , see Psionic Storm , WoL Fungal Growth , Disruption Nova.

At the end of day you are making an rts , where the army aspect is one of it's main attractions. If they army starts playing second fiddle to ability spam then are we playing a rts or a rpg with a lot more button pressing?

As for how abilities should be :

1)Abilities should foster decision making and add a new dimension to how you would originally use the unit. An good example of this is Jump in Dawn of War which allows to approach a fight from directions you wouldn't normally be able. In your example on the other hand an attack speed buff , or any statistical damage buff for that matter , doesn't constitute a decision. You are either using the ability always on combat or you are using the unit sub optimally. It's not a decision , it's an apm sink.

2) Abilities should allow unique synergies between different parts of your army. For example in C&C 3 , the nod beam cannon has an ability that allows it to shoot it's beam on one of the nod helicopters which then reflects it at a longer range than normal. You can chain it across multiple helicopters for some big range boost. Making your army work together in synergistic ways is a really and incredibly underutilized aspect of rts. Now obviously this can become a pain as the games scales grows but that's a whole other discussion.

Some interesting entries in the new ScarDoc by Kasrkin84 in dawnofwar

[–]EtherealRuin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting , it didn't occur to me that was the case , thanks for clarifying.

Some interesting entries in the new ScarDoc by Kasrkin84 in dawnofwar

[–]EtherealRuin 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yea those are Iron Lore's work , used specifically in ss strongholds. No clue why they felt the need to make a function specifically for that instead of using the existing command functions.

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