Arcade Game?

The Harv · #1 September 29th, 2003, 09:42 AM

Loved SE IV and the games is was based on. Excited to try the demo but...

1) Combat. Is this an arcade game? Is this an fluke on AMD systems? I mean at 1x things are flying around so fast it is CRAZY to the point of being absurd. You have a 1x to 8x so we can make tracks to jump points and planets. How about allowing us to zoom down to 1/8th speed. I really consider it unplayable (I am sure there are plenty who feel they can handle it the way it is). This really must be corrected.

2) A Key to say orbit the planet I have targeted. Nothing like bopping around and end up to close to planet so when you exit buying stuff you find you a hair off and run into the planet. I want to have a planet targeted (Should not matter how far away I am) which says when I get close automatically park me in orbit. If the user changes course you cancel it. This is not a must but would be really nice.

I think I saw a post on arrows to show you which way the bad guy went. I second that. For that matter. How about a box around all targetable objects. You could make this configuarable. Turn it off/on for ships, planets, etc. it is hard to spot things and you could have some way of knowing something is there. If it is close enough to target I should be able to see it.

Thanks,

Robert

[ September 29, 2003, 08:43: Message edited by: The Harv ]

DeadZone · #2 September 29th, 2003, 11:39 AM

Game too fast???

Damn I have to have it 8x just for the need of speed
And I have an AMD system which is really fast

Wydraz · #3 September 29th, 2003, 03:56 PM

I heartily agree with The Harv. It's not unplayable for me, but it is certianly not what I had hoped and expected.

Piloting a DESTROYER should not be like piloting a fighter, which is what it feels like. I look forward to mods that use more reasonable turn rates for large ships like these. I spent an hour Last night trying to get through the escort mission - I just cannot beat three ships at once - because the battle's fast and furious pace makes it frustratingly difficult to keep track of their movements, my ship's status, and which keys I need to use.

IMHO starship battles should require more strategy and less reflexes.

[ September 29, 2003, 14:57: Message edited by: Wydraz ]

bor · #4 September 29th, 2003, 08:18 PM

I agree also, the game moves a lot faster than I'd like. (Athlon xp t-bred @2ghz Radeon 64mb)

I thought it was a design issue, but maybe for some reason it runs faster on some systems than others. Either slow it down or add joystick support. Also, the maneuverability seems pretty over the top, especially when using the mouse. It feels like the ship from Asteroids.

An option to automatically turn off time compression when attacked would be nice as well.

tip: for keeping track of enemy ships... f8 helps a lot, also, you can switch radar settings.

[ September 29, 2003, 19:20: Message edited by: bor ]

Phoenix-D · #5 September 29th, 2003, 09:23 PM

If there's this much request to slow things down, I'll probably bang out a mod for it once I get the full Version. Everything would need to be reduced- ship speeds, turn rate, acceleration, weapon and power recharge rates, shield/armor/hull repair..

And except for the Last, it looks like its all modable. So, can we get a general idea on how much things should be slowed down?

Phoenix-D · #6 September 29th, 2003, 10:11 PM

Problem solved, mostly.

http://members.cox.net/phoenix-d/Slowdown.zip

This little mod for the demo slows ship turning, acceleration, and top speed by 4 times. It also gives you 4 times as long to do the missions. I couldn't change the components and repair rates to match, so this might play a little oddly..

To install, just extract the zip file to your Campains directory, start a new game, and select "Slowdown" instead of Backwater Blues.

[ September 29, 2003, 21:12: Message edited by: Phoenix-D ]

Mehrunes · #7 September 29th, 2003, 11:05 PM

I tried halving down the ships accel and turn rates, but I ended up thinking that it was too much. Maybe 75% would do it.

Renegade 13 · #8 September 30th, 2003, 12:36 AM

The game must run differently on different systems. On my machine the speed is just fine. Cutting it back by 4X would make the game unplayable. Although I do agree that the turn rate should be reduced, maybe by 30-50%?? (Especially for the destroyer

) But this is just me and it sounds like quite a few of you are having some trouble with this, so good luck!

Phoenix-D · #9 September 30th, 2003, 12:49 AM

4x was probably overkill, but I did it that big so I could be absolutely sure it was working, without needing to do extensive testing.

DeadZone · #10 September 30th, 2003, 05:09 AM

IMHO Game speed is ok for me
All it is is the turning rates that annoy me, but these are easily moddable anyway