SpikedHelmet's Wishlist - Better than yours!

[SpikedHelmet]

1) 3D collision meshing for units and features
2) Feature scriptability (essentially, allow features to use scripts exactly like units, for animations and such)
2b) If not feature scriptability, than ability for a "nuetral" side with real units.
3) Option to NOT use silly green glowing blobs of nanoness.
4) Behavioural/Situational AI scripting abilities -- in Descent: Freespace you had the option of scripting behaviours and actions into units.. ie, tell a ship of yours that if a certain enemy ship was destroyed or heavily damaged, to do something, like leave, or board the ship, etc. Basically things like, if your Commander is being attacked all nearby units will automatically move to defend it; or another such as if a certain enemy unit is encountered, a certain unit of yours will move to intercept it (ie, a counter-unit). I do not know anything about Spring's AI abilities and this all may exist. If it does, yay!
5) Proper interactive GUI interface map-making program! gogogo
6) "Prerequisite" tag in FBI (like C&C) that dictates that a certain unit needs to be created for that unit to be able to be built.
7) "NumberBuildable" tag in FBI that dictates only a certain number of this unit can be built (as opposed to painstakingly setting build limits in mplayer settings. Also this would be universal).
Two options for how air vehicles land; VTOL, as it is now, and also conventional "runway" landings that require the aircraft to skid on the ground. This may seem silly if he does so over hills that would in any circumstance obliterate the plane, but its less silly than seeing a P-51 Mustang or F-15 Eagle coming in for a soft hover-landing.
9) WeaponAmmo#: Dictates how much ammunition a unit has for its weapons, after which something will happen... like it just doesn't fire for a certain amount of time or some shit. Good for things like bombers, tanks, etc.
10) Couples with WeaponAmmo#, AmmoRestock#, which sets how long the unit takes to restock its ammo after running out.
11) Script support for forcing a weapon to fire outside of the aimweapon portion, though this is rather specific for a personal need of mine and I don't even know if this is possible already (is it? *looks at zwzsg*). It's for C&C drop pods; when they land to unleash troops they unleash a barrage at the ground underneath them to clear the area before touch-down.
12) Setting different kinds of flying units, somehow, with an FBI tag. I know in TA if you had a flying unit it was treated as an aircraft reguardless of if it was actually just a flying rocket KBot or something. For me, I need to make Jumpjet Infantry but I dont want AI sending them patrolling around the map with the aircraft.
12b) Alternatively, just an FBI tag linked with hover units telling the game that this unit ignores obstructions and features.. as if it were able to hover above trees and stuff, but not be an aircraft.

Okay that's all I got for now. I have to go take a shit and then head to work.

[Warlord Zsinj]

And while we're at it, I don't understand why Gnome's already scripted feature to allow map makers to set what terrain their map is, allowing that mods can load certain skins/models dependent on the terrain, so that we can have units that will change their skin to reflect their terrain hasn't been put in. (ie: snowtroopers in Star Wars, or desert camo in Axis & Allies, etc)

[GrOuNd_ZeRo]

SH, I did receive your message but the system wouldn't allow me to send it for some reason, anyway I agree with all you said in it.

CTOL aircraft would be great for a bunch of mods, but I suggest that a C&C style airbase would be best for that, I don't favor the landing on any place idea, also i'd like to see planes land the right way not any way they want.

Reloading would be very good as well, in the OTA engine it was already possible to script reloading as many might have seen in WD units (infantry and MLRS reload after dispensing all their shots) but it's not (yet) possible to have aircraft reload, again i'd favor them reloading their shots in an airbase.

I'd also like to see support for different types of muzzleflares, I keep suggesting this because I really need it for my units to look good when firing, i'd atleast like to see a way to scale my muzzle flashes, i'd also like to be able to pick individual bitmaps for every unit, it would also be nice to have different shapes I.E. conical, star-shaped etc but this would require alpha rendered faces which the devs are not really interested in developing (but I have to stretch that it's VERY important for modern games!!!).

additionally i'd like to see better physics for laser type weapons, I had to switch WD weapons around to ballistic weapons using full-bright tracer models and MANY units, better yet would be a way to sellect an alpha-model for ballistic weapons which would probably make most sense on firearms.

1. 3D collision meshing would be excellent, many weapons fire straight through small models and hits are not registered correctly.
2. feature scriptability would be great, neutral sides would be better yet!
3. Disabling green nano-spray/nano skelleton is a must for many mods.
4. Behavioural/Situational AI scripting abilities, but the more features the better IMO.
5. Proper interactive GUI interface map-making program, yes. would be nice.
6. "Prerequisite" tag in FBI (like C&C), Yes would be great. (new construction opions!)
7."NumberBuildable" is a must.
8. agreed, but covered this already.
9. same.
10. can be scripted, not necesary IMO.
11. would be nice.
12. would also be nice.

[patmo98]

7) "NumberBuildable" tag in FBI that dictates only a certain number of this unit can be built (as opposed to painstakingly setting build limits in mplayer settings. Also this would be universal).

Please don't do this. I want to be able to control how many of a unit can be built in a game that I host. This may work as a reccimandation, but only if I don't need to change it each time.
A unit limit like in OTA might be nice, but in OTA the host not the mod maker could control this. IE if the limit on Krogotes was set to 1 by the modmaker the only way the host could cange this is the release a modded data file. I think that this number whould very too much between maps.

[Torrasque]

Thought, some mod could require it.
I could look very wrong to have an army, or even, en esquad of Dark Vador.

You are limited with only one commander ... and nobody find that strange.

[Chocapic]

Thought, some mod could require it.
I could look very wrong to have an army, or even, en esquad of Dark Vador.

You are limited with only one commander ... and nobody find that strange.

cuz generally it would be tremendously unbalancing not to be bounded to 1 commander

[GrOuNd_ZeRo]

I wouldn't mind having specialist units that you can only build one of at a time.

in MP these rules could be overridden.

[patmo98]

I wouldn't mind having specialist units that you can only build one of at a time.

in MP these rules could be overridden.

I guess that might not be bad, IF it could be over-ridden in the lobby. It whould also halp the people working on TA:K.

[smokingwreckage]

A unitlimit as a limit that could be set by the modder would be GREAT for specialist and super-units.

[aGorm]

It would alow you to make Hero units to... IE: you can build hundreds of PeeWees, but only one twice teh size, super peewee piloted by aGorm, with butha cannons on each arm.. Ok, but you get what i mean. Theres nothing wrong with limiting certain units, and some things certainly should not be able to be changed in the lobby, cause if its a charater, haveing more than one would not make sence. Also, a secondary tag for it so you can decide between 1 per a game, or just 1 at a time would be nice. (again, a hero dies, how are you gonna build him again? hes dead. however with teh prequisit thing, you could have loads of differnt hero units that required you to have built the previos one... all this is obviosly for mods, not for TA. befor someone goes TA ISNT ABOUT HERO UNITS or somthing)

aGorm

[FizWizz]

I think most of SpikedHelmet's ideas would be excellent.
If I may add, BTech would gain immeasurable benefit from #1, #3, #4, #7, #8, #9, #10, #12.
A really exotic feature that I would like to see made possible in the future would be jumpjets that acted like they do in BattleTech as well, able to make a unit 'shoot itself' into the air with a defined amount of impulse in a certain arc (like say, >=60 degrees from directly upward), and act like a ballistic object until it lands on the ground again.

[Gnomre]

7) "NumberBuildable" tag in FBI that dictates only a certain number of this unit can be built (as opposed to painstakingly setting build limits in mplayer settings. Also this would be universal).

Please don't do this. I want to be able to control how many of a unit can be built in a game that I host. This may work as a reccimandation, but only if I don't need to change it each time.
A unit limit like in OTA might be nice, but in OTA the host not the mod maker could control this. IE if the limit on Krogotes was set to 1 by the modmaker the only way the host could cange this is the release a modded data file. I think that this number whould very too much between maps.

I disagree--hell, someone already beat me to the punch, you wouldn't want to see multiple Darth Vaders on the field (well, each player would have access to one of their own, but that'd strictly be for gameplay reasons). No one is forcing you to use it on OTA style mods, but it would be a welcome feature in several.

[Guessmyname]

7) "NumberBuildable" tag in FBI that dictates only a certain number of this unit can be built (as opposed to painstakingly setting build limits in mplayer settings. Also this would be universal).

Please don't do this. I want to be able to control how many of a unit can be built in a game that I host. This may work as a reccimandation, but only if I don't need to change it each time.
A unit limit like in OTA might be nice, but in OTA the host not the mod maker could control this. IE if the limit on Krogotes was set to 1 by the modmaker the only way the host could cange this is the release a modded data file. I think that this number whould very too much between maps.

The best way for that to work would be a sort of tie-in with the Lobby - the tag makes the looby automatically set that restriction on the unit, but the host can twiddle with it or even remove the limit if they so desire

[Rafal99]

6) "Prerequisite" tag in FBI (like C&C) that dictates that a certain unit needs to be created for that unit to be able to be built.

And "Researches" - for example you have to resarch some technologies before building a certain unit. Researches are very important thing in many RTS games. I think they would be very useful for some mods.

[GrOuNd_ZeRo]

I'd like this research idea.

in modern warfare mods it could be like the following:

-M1 Abrams, 105mm cannon, basic version
-M1A1, 120mm cannon, improved LOS, improved armor
-M1A2, Improved accuracy, improved LOS, improved armor
-M1A2 SEP, Improved accuracy, improved armor, improved LOS, improved firepower.

Even though it would not be a 100% realistic, it would be fun as hell and amusing, tech levels would be set to so you can start a game with certain upgrades already in place.