If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Discuss the future of Warzone 2100 with us.
KukY
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If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by KukY »

There is a lot of discussion about making bridges avalable.
Then,shouldn't there also be tunnels?
Or,a new turret that can modify heigts?
winsrp
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by winsrp »

and when you shoot a missile to the ground it makes a hole... why not.
KukY
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by KukY »

winsrp wrote:and when you shoot a missile to the ground it makes a hole... why not.
Great idea!
It would make game more realistic,
that is the main line of this game,
to be realistic,isn't it?

But i think it would be very,very complicated...
icyflames
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by icyflames »

13KukYNexus666 wrote:
Great idea!
It would make game more realistic,
that is the main line of this game,
to be realistic,isn't it?


But i think it would be very,very complicated...
I wouldn't have thought so...
KukY
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by KukY »

icyflames wrote:
Great idea!
It would make game more realistic,
that is the main line of this game,
to be realistic,isn't it?


But i think it would be very,very complicated...

I wouldn't have thought so...
Well,I only wrote that because i remember someone said that somewhere...
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Mysteryem
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by Mysteryem »

winsrp wrote:and when you shoot a missile to the ground it makes a hole... why not.
That makes my wonder what would happen in a multiplayer game where someone in cheat mode raises or lowers the terrain of a specific area. O_o
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Vermithrax
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by Vermithrax »

13KukYNexus666 wrote:There is a lot of discussion about making bridges avalable.
Then,shouldn't there also be tunnels?
Or,a new turret that can modify heigts?
Bridges are much easier than tunnels. In fact making bridges has been a capability of militaries since time immemorial. The Persians built a bridge across the Bosphorus when they invaded Greece prior to Thermopylae.

Tunnels are difficult. Even modern armies cannot make them.

So, no. Making tunnels isn't reasonable. A turret that can modify heights is likewise a silly concept.
zeland
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by zeland »

Vermithrax wrote:Tunnels are difficult. Even modern armies cannot make them.
Tunnels have been a tactical advantage since time immortal. The ancient Chinese used tunnels to break through fortified city walls. The Vietnamese used tunnels very effectively to whoop American troops during the Vietnam war. Even the Palestines are using tunnels to smuggle weapons and launch attacks against Israel.
KukY
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by KukY »

Vermithrax wrote:Tunnels are difficult. Even modern armies cannot make them.
Modern armies from 2009.
But the game is in 2100.
There should be incredible technologies in game,
and turret that can build tunnel is incredible,
maybe that will realy exist in 2100.
KukY
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by KukY »

Please just tell me what you think about tunnels.
If there is a bigger number of people that like that idea,
I'm going to post it on viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3645
I don't want to post it if nobody likes that idea.
Dylan Hsu
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by Dylan Hsu »

It's a bad idea. My $0.02.
TVR
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by TVR »

Subterranean access? It was great in Metal Fatigue, but tunneling is strategic and wouldn't be very well represented.
yahodahan
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by yahodahan »

hehe, there is a lot of sarcasm going on in this post :P

However, to be completely serious, lets just look at this from a technical standpoint: not possible. Or at least, so incredibly complicated it really has nearly nill chance of being implemented, much less work reliably.

Even newer game engines don't like modifying terrain. It has the "butterfly flapping" effect, ie:
-suddenly the AI has to find new paths
-the moving/changing terrain needs new UVW coordinates for textures
-what textures go on the new coordinates needs to be decided
-do the original terrain polygons get stretched, or subdivided?
-what about the hole? an entirely new and very complex set of polygons needs to be created, mapped, textured
-all those polygons need to be stitched seamlessly into the original terrain
-more UVW mapping and texturing, procedurally
-game must check for any intersecting entitities, and decide what to do with them
-lighting needs to be built for the new tunnel (though i'm not sure how the WZ engine does lighting, maybe a non-issue)
-collision determined for the new tunnel and suround terrain
-and so much more....

Its just ugly business. Certainly, a lot of that could be solved by using static meshes (pre-built, pre mapped, pre lit shapes), but you still have the issue of changing the terrain- most importantly, cutting a hole directly through it. Engines do not like this, or at least no engine I have worked with ever did. Come to think of it, the AI pathing is probobly a non-issue, actually. But getting them to "see" the tunnel may be tough.

Now, one way that might make it possible would be (and I have no idea here, unreasearched) IF WZ terrain actually is simple quads (four sided polygons), and the game ONLY let you place the tunnel on very precisely aligned quads, then automatically delete the start/end quads, place a static mesh that could fit and overlap on the edges just a bit- then you would have some awesome tunneling!

However, you would need mappers to set up such "tunnel-possible" areas of the terrain very carefully. That shouldn't be a problem, but more importantly there would also have to be (I assume) a lot of complex and ugly math/etc going on behind the scenes, when the comp is deciding whether to let you build the tunnel there or not. For example, when you are trying to build a factory, but part of the green square hits the side of a mountain, and turns red, ya know? It would have to be like that, only VERY VERY VERY picky.

Wow. I writes a novel. :D (hope some of this helps, somehow)

I like the idea, but don't see it being done...sorry.
yahodahan
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by yahodahan »

actually, I really hope this could work, cuz I would love to build and texture a WZ2100 tunnel... :D

it's just a matter of cutting that terrain, changing collision, making the AI "see" it as a path, and only allowing it to be done in right place.

oh crap. But what about the tunnel LENGTH?

Hmm. Could be really cool. You would drag the tunnel out like you do concrete walls, so it would be comprised of small modular static mesh sections. Then you would have to build entrance/exit peices...:D

Could make for some very cool choke points and stratagem.
KukY
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Re: If there will be bridges,why not also make tunnels

Post by KukY »

yahodahan wrote:actually, I really hope this could work, cuz I would love to build and texture a WZ2100 tunnel... :D

it's just a matter of cutting that terrain, changing collision, making the AI "see" it as a path, and only allowing it to be done in right place.

oh crap. But what about the tunnel LENGTH?

Hmm. Could be really cool. You would drag the tunnel out like you do concrete walls, so it would be comprised of small modular static mesh sections. Then you would have to build entrance/exit peices...:D

Could make for some very cool choke points and stratagem.

Finally someone that likes my idea...
Anybody else?