Spring RTS Engine

The FPS view is one of the best features of this game. It's just pure fun to take control over a unit and do all the killing your own way But the thing is that units in TA die easily. What if we give the player controlled unit som abilities? Maybe som form of boost for planes so that they have some form of a chance to outrun missiles? Or give ground units increased speed, hp and attack strenght?

The player controlled unit could me marked out on the main map. Maybe we could have a score system to se who kills the most player controlled units Maybe the unit delivering the finale blow gets tons of experience. This could make the game fun and more interesting.

We could add som penelties for taking\leaving controll of a unit. Could be some kind of 5 sec. countdown and maybe a 15 sec. "spawn rare" when you die.

I would also like to make some sugestion to the FPS mode. Like missile lock-on indication and target selection.

I would like missile based weapons to lock on but normal weapons such as lasers to be like the comms dgun, i.e. they fire when you point.
About the rest this is primarily a RTS game but i suppose you could make a mod with these features if the SYs implement them. I would prefer time spent making the game less buggy than adding extra features for a time though

If you die in FPS mode, what happens next should be an option, you should be able to set the game to move you to the nearest unit of the same type upon death or do what it does now.

FPS mode is only a gimmick, it doesn't really belong to the gameplay. Spring is mainly a RTS, where you have hundreds of units to manage at once, and a streamlined interface so you can focus on the macro scale. While you're controlling one single unit, the 499 others are left unattended.

Maybe the dev could make it so each time one unit becomes player controlled it run the script called fpsmodeon() and when a player exit the unit it run the script called fpsmodeoff(), so modders could easily give armor boost, show a flag piece, and unjamm a few weapon when unit is used in FPS mode?

But Spring isn't meant to be played in FPS mode. Play Natural Selection or Savage if you want a RTS/FPS hybrid.

.. or battlezone

but still it would be good if we could even have the possibility to change the units that a person controls, who know what those wacky modders are up to

Yes it's a gimmick and it has good hype value, which will get more people interested. So just for that reason it should be kept in and maybe developed further.

Another thought;

There hasn't been much talk of single player campaigns although I imagine someone will want to make one either for the standard units or for a mod. Having some missions carried out by one single unit in FPS mode does offer more variety to the kinds of missions that are scriptable.

At the moment the onyl way to make a campaign is by using a Global or GroupAI and a custom script. Or a mission where you and the enemy start out from scratch.

Oops, sorry to have forgotten the great BattleZone2.

I wish missions were defineable in *.smd the same way TA define mission in *.ota, as I explained in details in my .smd and mission thread.

I truely enjoy FPS and IMO it should be more than just a gimmick in the future.

Just imagine controlling a unit, being able to move it as flexibly as any other FPS game, and a nuke explodes in the horizon creating a pillar of fire and a blinding flash! -drools-

Just imagine dueling with your buddies in your Peewee or AK! while the rat bastard in the AK send out a HORDE of other AKs to kill you.

Just imagine glorious dog fights! players trying to infiltrate your base with their favorite unit, and you will have to teach them a lesson with your mighty hordes...

The possibilities are staggering...

It would be so cool to have your 2 guns in screen like any other FPS, you could strafe, maybe even jump? maybe units should have AI's similar to bot AI's?

Maybe in the future, somewhere in 2006 we will have all these features, this would truely be a dream game...

THe FPS mode is one of the reasons I play this game, although I do not consider it an alternative to actually "playing" the RTS aspect of the game. (being the decision maker)

The FPS mode allows me to bridge the gap between AI and the human brain.

I commonly use it to execute an appropriate D-GUn command, as i have mistakingly blown a majority of my base sky high whilst D-Gunnin'

It is also useful in taking out targets out of range of a cannon.
Many a time i have thwarted a rush of Mechs via Long Range Cannon blasting.
Every RTS needs a gimmick, otherwise it is "Just another RTS"

I use it in World Domination to sneak Navy Seal's into enemy base's and blowing up the enemy! Its just like in Red Alert 2, but... you controll Tanya.

Its cool!

Every RTS needs a gimmick, otherwise it is "Just another RTS"

How about "solid gameplay". That seems to be the number one failing of other RTS's. Its the "gimmick" thing that blinds them to what really makes a good RTS.

Exept for two things:

1) Solid Gameplay dose NOT sound good on the back of a box
2) Spring DOSE have solid gameplay

Joystick compatability would add Allot to FPS mode (especially with non-gunship aircraft). It's kinda hard right now to have a true dog fight using the mouse and arrow keys

Fps mode would be really sucesefull if units could jump AND duck. Then you could acully try to avoid stuff coming at you.

And if we implented jumping in the enige, the battles would be sooo much smother. Since currently k-bots move in a very... stale way. Think about a k-bot crouching when standing still to long (or having a button) and jumping sideways when someone is firing at it(offcourse that wouldt happen ofen... 20/1 chance?) Hammers could take cover behind DT, and maybe croutched units should have some defencive bounes since they cant move while crouching (or move VERY slow).

If it's even posibole to make them jump and duck.

The only problem with such features would be the animations, we would have to add complex animations to units

Jumping and Strafing wouldn't really require much extra scripting, if at all, it might be nice if the legs retracted a little while jumping, and some little shock absorbtion animation would be neat.

Jumping and Strafing wouldn't really require much extra scripting, if at all, it might be nice if the legs retracted a little while jumping, and some little shock absorbtion animation would be neat.

As long as it's really ''gravity'' infulenced. I saw some guys make an ''ilusion'' that something jumped bye making the animation got up and down... Worked unit mountins, where it ''fell'' to fast... very fast.

If posibole, how about a unit that can jump over stuff? a special abilty, using the d-gun button or whatever. Jump over those everlasting holes made bye mines ect... Click and a radius circle appears, then push to jump.

Kixxe wrote:And if we implented jumping in the enige, the battles would be sooo much smother.

How about cliff jumping?
atm i dont think there is a tank powerfull enoug to "jump" when reaching the top of a mid cliff.
But think about jeffies or zippers jumping abit when the terrain goes a bit rough or irregular.
I doubt its currently possible for this to happen, its not implemented in the engine.

hm.. units that have % of blocking.. or evading stuff... i think that work is mostly done by the engine... it manages when a projectile hits or not a unit. (Althoug that is usefull to other kind of mods).
Effectiveness of some especific manuover is determined by the fisics engine.. thats the beauty of a simulation..
and adds to the units design, both in the scripting and moddel.. well.. model.. is a esfere atm, will that change at some point? so models can be determined by its actual model, or by several esferes?

Is it possible, rigth now, to tell an A.K. (i.e) to stay at max range, sorrounding the target(strafing) when it sees an enemy?
(in its script file).
or that depends only on the ai moving them?.

for a unti to leap, as gnome said would require that a unti script be able to force fire, also the unit must fire a weapon under it to launch it upwards, that had no explosion, did not deform terrain, and didnt damage any units.