Spring RTS Engine

I would like to get some opinion about adding "reverse" future into spring.

I played the new C&C where you were able to push button and make tanks move back to the pointed direction instead of trying to turn around in semi-circle. I would love to see similar feature in spring.

This could include all units beside planes (maybe not gunships). Speed and accel should be multiplied by some factor (0.75 for example) to make them move slower backwards.

I think this would make micro even more fun and challenging. I like to put alot of effort in my micro (which makes my macro crap ), but i noticed that it's not worth bothering since you're mostly affected by tactical decisions before any of the units shoot (when to engage, from where to engage for example). I would love to order flash to creep backwards when LLT starts shooting it instead of it doing semi circle and getting killed. Flash would still be killed if player wouldn't react instantly.

This feature could make games even more fun, micro alot more effective and no-brain spam less effective. It would make me hold another key beside shift too!

p.s. i have no idea about coding and i can't know if this is even possible to make.

I want to see this, and a way, through FBI, or Moveclass to make the unit have realistic steering, like in Warzone 2100. Your idea could really benefit micro mods[BloX for one!].

Volunteering to rewrite all the pathfinding code? Last I heard, unit reverse would take that kind of heavy rewriting (Exception: you can "fake" reverse through script in some limited situations, see SWTA infantry.)

Of course, maybe a Dev will show up 3 posts down and be like "Done! It's in the SVN." and then I'll look like an idiot for shooting this down, but I just want you to understand that you're asking for something that would take a lot of work. Not a simple, small change at all.

That's why i wrote that very last line in my original post -.-

As st ated before, the pathfinding code would have to be completely rewritten. Also, this would cause a much more severe cpu hit, as each unit would have to calculate pathing twice, and that would be bad.

YAY LOTS OF PATHING LAG

I'm confused, how would this make any difference to the engine, it can probably all be done in LUA or COB.

If it could be done so easily we would have done so already. No, needs major adjustments to the pathfinder. Basically it will have two choices when it needs to make a descision where to go and burns twice as many cycles. It was all being discussed already (search function) and the conclusion is that no one wants to mess with it. The pathfinder is also one of the bottlenecks.


KDR made his infantry in GINTA make a full turn and walk backwards when they shoot stuff behind them I think. That's about all we can have.

Sure, you can try to move that car around on a precalculated circular path so it looks like it makes a turn á la Generals but then again, the hit sphere is fixed and not attatched to the root object. Out of option.


Anyway for the CNC3 backwards mode you can abuse the activate button to have it "drive backwards", i.e. turn the model by by 180° or even simulate a real U turn. The advantage would be more firepower in the rear section if your car happens to have fixed weaponry and it might just look cool.
If you need the On/off button then just use LuaUI and LuaCob to add yourself a new button and use a Cob call-in (Lua calls Cob function).

Also it'll affect balance and looks and I can tell you 75% of the modders would freak out if you just changed unit movement.

In terms of modifications to pathfinding people are willing to take on, this falls below reducing collisions by simulating where a unit will be as well as where it is/ That is difficult enough to make most people take a left turn for vodka.

Maek FPS-only feature.

well, in order to have a button that makes it reverse, you could use LUA or something to switch it for an identical unit, but with the model and everything flipped...

wouldn't be particularly clean or anything, but it would work, wouldn't it?

If you had read my post you'd have known it can be done by script.

You could make a LUA script that, every time a move order is issued, it checks if "is it a good idea to drive backward?", for an easy example, move order to within range x within a cone behind the unit, and then do the appropriate stuff to make it happen, maybe something like turn the unit 180 degrees but keep the model facing the same way, and set speed to 50% if you like.

rattle wrote:If you had read my post you'd have known it can be done by script.

Your one is talking about them running away, correct?

In C&C3, to my knowledge, tanks drive backwards when you press the button telling them to.

If I am correct (not certain, but I think I am), then why can it not be done with a new unit?

Wisse wrote:I played the new C&C where you were able to push button and make tanks move back to the pointed direction instead of trying to turn around in semi-circle. I would love to see similar feature in spring.

The request can be fulfilled with LUA, unless I have missed something.

For the record, I did read your post (although, I didn't see the last paragraph, which is practically what I am saying).

Mr.Frumious wrote:Maek FPS-only feature.

I concur, would be nice to be able to reverse in FPS mode.

Well technically your unit will always move forward but that doesn't matter if it looks right.

Combined with the cone stuff Zpock mentioned it's easy as cake, once the LUA part of it is done that is.

imo reverse in fps mode is all thats needed it would rock and wud give more of a reason to fps

We'd need a call for reverse so we can animate that properly.