Spring RTS Engine

I'm requesting a widget which would in some way alert me when a unit is being attacked. I don't want the classic Com alcatraz sirens, just something kind of subtle yet noticeable and not annoying.

Maybe some graphic or console message or something.

Eg: "Flash are under attack" or w/e. Be creative.

Micro-rendered (32x32ish) versions of units with red exclamation points in speech bubbles over their heads would be cool... exclamation point would flash on for a couple ms each hit and unit would disappear if no attacked for a few seconds... also be cool if said min-icon had a health-bar.

(stole image from Gundam guide in the wiki)

after mocking it up at 32x32 it will probably need to be 64x64 to be identifiable which unit is being displayed

...also would expect to be able to click on these mini-units to focus on them.

SinbadEV wrote:Micro-rendered (32x32ish) versions of units with red exclamation points in speech bubbles over their heads would be cool... exclamation point would flash on for a couple ms each hit and unit would disappear if no attacked for a few seconds... also be cool if said min-icon had a health-bar.

(stole image from Gundam guide in the wiki)

after mocking it up at 32x32 it will probably need to be 64x64 to be identifiable which unit is being displayed

...also would expect to be able to click on these mini-units to focus on them.

Win idea is win. Do want

Made it 64x64

Left clicking the icons would select that unit and centre the camera above it.

If the unit is not selected and visible select it, if the unit is selected or out of view focus on it, double-click always centers and selects... but that's just my opinion.

JAZCASH wrote:Left clicking the icons would select that unit and centre the camera above it.

Or how about, if there was a key binded to take you to the latest site of action and would scroll through them? How awesome would that be

Yeah, putting something on F3 would be awesome
But wouldnt it be easier to have a clickable console? Where if you clicked a message it would take you to it?

Console messages move around so they would be hard to click the right one? They also aren't terrible noticeable when you're mind's in the heat of a game.

for fun

Imagine your army of several different unit types getting attacked, now imagine the amount of spam icons on your screen.

A more compact way of notifying about attacks would be to cut the whole map into virtual sectors and flash the sector (rectangle part of map) on the minimap with a small message displayed "Our units are under attack in sector T-54".

The message could be clickable to zoomin on the area.

Regret wrote:Imagine your army of several different unit types getting attacked, now imagine the amount of spam icons on your screen.

A more compact way of notifying about attacks would be to cut the whole map into virtual sectors and flash the sector (rectangle part of map) on the minimap with a small message displayed "Our units are under attack in sector T-54".

The message could be clickable to zoomin on the area.

That's why the widget would only show alerts for single types of unit, only show them for the period of them being attacked, would be small, and the max amount of icons to show would be customisable

Is this intended for the hearing-impaired or are you just not using speakers for whatever reason?

Caydr wrote:Is this intended for the hearing-impaired or are you just not using speakers for whatever reason?

Widget would play a quiet but easily identifiable sound which would only play once every time the attacked units list becomes 0 and then >0. Sound file would be changeable obviously and .mp3.

I have a setup in my tooltip widget that brings up a small popup menu when you space-click on a unit. I've been looking for things to add to that menu. Currently there are only two - Show Unit Info window, and Make/Break ceasefires (with the unit's owner).

A separate widget could be created which could show icons for desired units (that you assigned using the menu) and all kinds of info like if they are under attack, stockpiled, hungry, want to go to the toilet, whatever. Basically it would be like a "secondary select" where the units are not directly selected in the Spring-sense but their icons can be shown for you to keep tabs. I also envision a small arrow around the icon pointing in the unit's general direction from where your camera is currently.

You could add a button to the command menu, but the benefit of my menu is you can apply this to any unit (allied, enemy, gaia) and not just your own.

In my xta gui the edges of the screen pulse red like a beating heart when your boi is under attack.

An icon appearing on the screen when a unit is attacked that, when clicked on, tracks the attacked unit (thus instantly centering it on the screen) would be ACE!

not that gundam icon, though

somthing all purpose, like an exclamation mark in a circle or whatever

My setup is even better than that. The edges of the screen get red and pulse like blood pumping, and drops of blood appear on the screen (kind of like in MW2), and WITH NO CLICKING REQUIRED you are automatically put into fps mode on your com.

IN ADDITION TO SIRENS and a flashing light on the commander's shoulder there is an audio message when you get into FPS control (EMERGENCY SYSTEMS ONLINE) which can be heard by the other team via lua majicks. Also, the game speed is automatically locked at .5 for bullet time mode.

There is even a red button that says EMERGENCY SELF DESTRUCTION with an audio countdown that is a seducing woman saying Time to malfarction: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Also your screen flashes red, then fades to black and stays black for 3-4 seconds after your com dies.


Its really immersive...

1v0ry_k1ng wrote:not that gundam icon, though

somthing all purpose, like an exclamation mark in a circle or whatever

i was thinking a 64x64 render of the unit in question... the gundam was just an example

JAZCASH wrote:

Caydr wrote:Is this intended for the hearing-impaired or are you just not using speakers for whatever reason?

Widget would play a quiet but easily identifiable sound which would only play once every time the attacked units list becomes 0 and then >0. Sound file would be changeable obviously and .mp3.

For not so obvious reasons, it should prolly be an ogg, but yes. I like this idea.