Factories assisting

Gabba · Post by **Gabba** » 02 Nov 2006, 17:15

A really cool SupCom feature that should make it into Spring. Basically, you tell a group of factories to assist a main factory, and when they are idle they split the main factory's queue among themselves.

The system is described in more detail in this thread.

Hunter0000 · Post by **Hunter0000** » 03 Nov 2006, 01:13

+10^10^10^10

Thats really cool.

Maybe a new order for factories only? *Production Link*?

Only thing is to make sure it doesnt disrupt the *slave* factories own orders when you use it to make somthing specific.

bwansy · Post by **bwansy** » 03 Nov 2006, 01:56

Do they have to be of the same type? That is, aircraft plants can't build tanks, right?

FizWizz · Post by **FizWizz** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:06

that would be pretty awesome for E&E's hub system

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:06

Sounds completely and utterly useless. One situation in which this would be good O.o

Snipawolf · Post by **Snipawolf** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:08

Pfff, I do think this is just lazy, just select all of your factories and press ctrl, click on something, and you have 5-10 or something building...

Hunter0000 · Post by **Hunter0000** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:35

Um, for those of you claiming lazy a couple things:

1. Stop being so lazy and using waypoints and hotkeys and repeat order and stuff, jeeze that like.. makes it easier to play!

2. This allows your to perserve an 'army building factory' with a central rally point yet still allows you to use your secondary factories to respond to your needs when you need them. Its very convieniant and encourages multiple factories (IMO a good thing) rather than builder spam. Ever wish yu could churn out another builder real quick without clanceling you whole repeating queue? Yeah, I know I have.

Pxtl · Post by **Pxtl** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:36

Don't like. Bad UI. Ordering factories = ordering the units they build. Same reason mobile factories don't work well. If you want a unit that assist, make it a nanotower. At best, I could see landing pads assisting construction.

Hunter0000 · Post by **Hunter0000** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:42

While I can see the issue your going at, if it was properly implimented as a distinctly different order (Modifier key ect..?) that problem would be eliminated.

Argh · Post by **Argh** » 03 Nov 2006, 03:22

Actually, I think this can already be done. I think a Factory can also serve as a NanoTower- and quit being a Factory while being a NanoTower. It can be done with scripting.

Hunter0000 · Post by **Hunter0000** » 03 Nov 2006, 04:59

Argh wrote:Actually, I think this can already be done. I think a Factory can also serve as a NanoTower- and quit being a Factory while being a NanoTower. It can be done with scripting.

Thats not whats being requested. What is being requested is that the assisting factories take any units out of the queue of the assisted factory that they are able to build, builds them, and then sends them to the assisted factory's waypoint. WHile the method you just put up there with the script would be able to acompish this, it would also do all sorts of other things that most people dont want factories to do (and also doesnt solve to problem of saving its own orders while it assists).

Gabba · Post by **Gabba** » 03 Nov 2006, 05:24

Min3mat wrote:Sounds completely and utterly useless. One situation in which this would be good O.o

Thanks for being so moderate in your criticism lol.

It's useful in all situations, because you can manage a single production queue for all your factories if you want to. Let's say you're building two types of units in one factory. In the current system, when you expand and build a new factory you'll have to redo both queues to rebalance the production between the two... takes valuable battle time.
Well not with this new system: select the new factory, right-click (or use a special button/shortcut) on the main factory that already has the build orders, and the new factory will start building the second unit in the main factory's queue. And so on, when it's finished it will take the next unit to make and build it.

A big advantage is that if you need one of the "assisting" (actually, "queue-sharing") factories to do something else for a moment, like build one more constructor, just order them to build one. When they finish their own queue they'll go back and build units from the main factory's queue.

edit: Oh well I realized that Hunter0000 above said about the same thing. At least I hope the point has passed now!

Pxtl wrote:Don't like. Bad UI. Ordering factories = ordering the units they build. Same reason mobile factories don't work well. If you want a unit that assist, make it a nanotower. At best, I could see landing pads assisting construction.

It's true that it's useful to send constructors right out of the factory to assist another. Even though it can ruin your economy pretty fast if you don't attend it closely, so I don't know if it's really a good thing.
But sometimes exceptions are necessary you know: right now I really wish factories wouldn't answer the group # keys when they are grouped with other units (that's TA behavior actually). This would allow me to use the feature of units being automatically assigned to the factory's group, without also changing the rally point to the middle of the enemy base .

Dragon45 · Post by **Dragon45** » 03 Nov 2006, 06:18

Once again, this is GroupAI territory. It's certainly possible with GroupAIs, but it would be a little annoying to use because Spring's AI integration is clunky.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 03 Nov 2006, 11:34

A big advantage is that if you need one of the "assisting" (actually, "queue-sharing") factories to do something else for a moment, like build one more constructor, just order them to build one. When they finish their own queue they'll go back and build units from the main factory's queue.

edit: Oh well I realized that Hunter0000 above said about the same thing. At least I hope the point has passed now!

the alt key...
and btw this will save you all of 3 miliseconds because you can just select a factory then hold shift and select another / use ctrl z and queue up the wanted units...
useless feature. lock.

Hunter0000 · Post by **Hunter0000** » 03 Nov 2006, 12:20

Min3mat wrote:
the alt key...
and btw this will save you all of 3 miliseconds because you can just select a factory then hold shift and select another / use ctrl z and queue up the wanted units...
useless feature. lock.

What if the factory is on repeat so you have to then cancel the unit to? What if not all your factories are the same but can build the same units? What if I want to save 3 miliseconds?

Min3mat, lets apply your logic to all of our new features. Hey look, the fight command saves you all 3 miliseconds it would take you to select the units and hit 's', useless feature lets remove it. Building spaceing using 'z' and 'x'? only saves you a 3 milseconds because everyone can space perfectly right away.

Your adding nothing to this discussion. Go troll somwhere else.

AF · Post by AF » 03 Nov 2006, 12:52

Argh no it cant.

Spring splits builders and factories into different CommandAI's, and as such a factory can only build factory style, and the same for a unit. This is why we cant have mobile factories, and why we cant have true hubs and nanotowers, just units with maxspeed=0.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 03 Nov 2006, 13:17

What if the factory is on repeat so you have to then cancel the unit to? What if not all your factories are the same but can build the same units? What if I want to save 3 miliseconds?

Min3mat, lets apply your logic to all of our new features. Hey look, the fight command saves you all 3 miliseconds it would take you to select the units and hit 's', useless feature lets remove it. Building spaceing using 'z' and 'x'? only saves you a 3 milseconds because everyone can space perfectly right away.

Your adding nothing to this discussion. Go troll somwhere else.

No you nonce.
If repeat is on then make it a good sized repeat order...
If not all your facs are the same yet can build the same units: you aren't playing spring
I was joking about the 3 miliseconds because it wouldn't even save that, if anything you'd lose time.
The hell is the 'fight' command >.>
Spacing with Z and X saves you a immeasureable amount of time especially with certain things
I'm adding criticism to this thread. Which you obviously can't take...
Trolling OMFG SHUT UP NOB I NAHVE LIKE MISLLIONS WINS TO TAKE CAKE BISCUUITY RAWWWR U R LIEK TEH WGNOGS.
Now i'm adding trolling (and sarcasm) to this thread. e-Lols too

pintle · Post by **pintle** » 03 Nov 2006, 15:52

min3mat both t1 and t2 XTA klabs build zippers. But I'm obviously not playing spring.

pwned

PauloMorfeo · Post by **PauloMorfeo** » 03 Nov 2006, 19:37

I didn't quite understood one thing.
In SupCom, if lvl-1 factories are assiting a lvl-2 factory, the lvl-1 factories will build lvl-2 units inside?

If so, that sucks, because you are paying to have a factory of lvl-2 units then, sudenly, all other lvl-1 factories also can build lvl-2 stuff without any extra cost...

1v0ry_k1ng · Post by **1v0ry_k1ng** » 03 Nov 2006, 19:44

sounds pretty useless to me but hey its a feature

Spring RTS Engine

Factories assisting

Factories assisting