What this game needs to be GREAT!

[Matthew]

Hi all and thank you for this wonderfully fun game. There a few things in it though where it could use some polish.

1st, LAN support is a must. My internet transfer space is limited and I don't want to have to be online just to play a game with someone next to me.

2nd, the skirmish and multiplayer start screen icons are hard to figure out. If you could use some more intuitive icons with common settings easily accessible( difficulty, # of players), it would really help.

3rd, when you set the display mode to a decent level,(1024x768 minimum) the control buttons can be hard to use.

4th, the camera shake in the game sucks, so I can see why it is disabled by default. Instead of having the camera rotate around the Z axis(I'm speaking in Direct X terms), you should have it move, so that it looks like it is being pushed away from the explosion.


Thank you for reading this and thank you for this great game!

[Safety0ff]

1st, LAN support is a must. My internet transfer space is limited and I don't want to have to be online just to play a game with someone next to me.

Have you tried using the IP to join the game? Just type in the local ip of the computer.

[Zarel]

LAN support - we already have. The relevant message could be made clearer, though... Just host a game, and ignore the lobby error message, and then join that IP.

Skirmish/Multiplayer icons - what's wrong with them? I can't think of a standard icon for "difficulty" (we just use a slider), and the number of players says "2P", "4P", and "8P"... I think that's clear enough.

Control button locations - what's wrong with them?

Screen shake - good idea!

[Matthew]

Okay, I didn't know that you could use the IP for a LAN game, but if that is the case, you should have a button that when clicked tells you your IP.

On the skirmish/multiplayer icons, first you have to host a game even in single player mode, then you have to click a button that looks like an empty square to start the game. The word Go! or Start or just an arrow would be better. Also, I never saw the 2p, 4p, 8p. In one of my favorite multiplayer games, Star Wars Galactic BattleGrounds, there are 8 dropdown boxes arranged on the left side opf the screen, one on top of the other. Each dropdown box has the options of None, Galactic Republic, Empire, etc, all through the civilizations. Next to each dropdown box, on the right side, is a toggle button that shows a number from 1 to 8. When clicked, it advances one. This shows which team you are on. If you have two players on team 2 then they become allies while all players with team "-" can attack everyone.

When you play a game in a high screen resolution, the little exit buttons on a screen popup(eg. research) become very small. A button set for each major screen mode would be nice.

[Zarel]

Okay, I didn't know that you could use the IP for a LAN game, but if that is the case, you should have a button that when clicked tells you your IP.

Erm, no other game does this. If you are used to playing LAN games, you should presumably already be able to easily find your IP.

On the skirmish/multiplayer icons, first you have to host a game even in single player mode, then you have to click a button that looks like an empty square to start the game. The word Go! or Start or just an arrow would be better.

It says "Ready". Well, it does in 2.3. You should really upgrade to the RC. Or the final, which will be coming out in about a week.

Also, I never saw the 2p, 4p, 8p.

Click on the map selector. It's along the left.

In one of my favorite multiplayer games, Star Wars Galactic BattleGrounds, there are 8 dropdown boxes arranged on the left side opf the screen, one on top of the other. Each dropdown box has the options of None, Galactic Republic, Empire, etc, all through the civilizations. Next to each dropdown box, on the right side, is a toggle button that shows a number from 1 to 8. When clicked, it advances one. This shows which team you are on. If you have two players on team 2 then they become allies while all players with team "-" can attack everyone.

...well, we have a team chooser, too, and I think it's about as easy. Are you suggesting any changes to ours, and, if so, can you be more specific?

When you play a game in a high screen resolution, the little exit buttons on a screen popup(eg. research) become very small. A button set for each major screen mode would be nice.

The buttons should stay the same size in most screen resolutions, as long as you're using your monitor's native resolution... If the buttons are too small, there's still the green "Close" button in the center of the command panel: http://guide.wz2100.net/commandpanel

[Matthew]

Every other game that I have played that has lan support either doesn't ask you for an IP and just shows a games name in a list, or it has a button that when clicked will tell you what your IP is.

[Zarel]

Every other game that I have played that has lan support either doesn't ask you for an IP and just shows a games name in a list, or it has a button that when clicked will tell you what your IP is.

Hmm. I didn't know that. I'll look into it, then. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Matthew]

Your welcome.

I thought a few other things that might help too.

1st. Tooltips on interface controls. It was easy to figure out the skirmish interface with your help, tooltips might keep new users from running into the same problems.

2nd. I would like to see the 9 unit que limit removed.

3rd. It would be nice if on the manufacturing screen, there was some kind of indicator of how much power and how much time it will create a unit.

Hope this keeps you busy

[Buginator]

Every other game that I have played that has lan support either doesn't ask you for an IP and just shows a games name in a list, or it has a button that when clicked will tell you what your IP is.

What other RTS games have this ?

[Zarel]

I know StarCraft has network discovery, but I don't know about other games.

[Matthew]

Age of Empires Classic, Age of Empires 2, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars Empire at War, all of the games in Command and Conquer The First Decade, MS Combat Flight Simulator, MS Flight Simulator 98+2004, OpenLieroX.

All of these games have a waiting room where all available games are shown. Usually before you get to the waiting room, you choose whether you want a LAN game, Internet game, Serial game, etc.

Hope this helps.

[Buginator]

AFAIK, those use UDP, and can do a simple broadcast to see what is on the LAN.
We use TCP for everything... but, we will see what we can do.

[BlueMaxima]

3rd. It would be nice if on the manufacturing screen, there was some kind of indicator of how much power and how much time it will create a unit.

Hovering over a unit and looking at the power bar shows how much power you'll need.

[BulletMagnet]

if you use TCP, you should be able to resolve a computer name to IP, right? that's usually easier for players than thumbing in an addy as people often know what their computer is called.

[Kih-ap-hiih]

Hi, its my first post, I know, but not know my IP too.
But my problem is related to game play,
as trouble with selected repair truck,
after clicking on one, or selecting more, repaired unit. Is that a bug?
Because I cant unselected it normally with right MB (or mouse button).
If I have wrote something wrong, let me know thanks!