UI Expansion Request

[Siber]

Laying it right out there, I don't think I'm a very good Warzone player. I'd like to get better, but there's a feedback problem. Namely, when I'm playing against the AI and it steamrolls me one way or another, it can be hard to know why. I can theorize about why I'm unable to do anything to their units, but I can't know for sure.

What I'm proposing is this: Let players select units and see their base stats and their upgrade levels. A model for this would be Starcraft(2), a game I am glad Warzone is different from in a lot of ways, but which gives players admirable feedback. A toggleable unit info panel near the bottom of the screen that shows health, armor, speed, range, rate of fire, and damage, all in the format of basevalue+upgradebonus, would be a godsend for transparency and lessen the need for me to have the warzone guide website open on my second screen while I'm playing.

[aubergine]

I'm not sure that will solve the problem for you. I too struggled a lot with the AI until I learnt more about things like build orders and micromanagement of units. Sadly, there isn't much documentation or examples of such things although some projects have been started recently in the hope to rectify that situation.

When you start a game, the initial structures you build, and the order in which they are built, along with initial research and units, etc., makes a huge difference to the outcome of the game.

Here's an example of a build order:



Note that in WZ 3.1 Beta 7 there's a bug that prevents trucks being built until you have a HQ (Command Centre) so currently I make the HQ first, before the factory, until that bug is fixed in the next beta.

If you get the build order right, and micro manage units, then it becomes less important to know what the enemy is doing (assuming the enemy is an AI -- things are different when up against humans).

[Siber]

Even if the change doesn't massively help me get better at the game, I'd still want it in the game. Knowing how much armor that damned heavy cannon tank has makes it somewhat less baffling and frustrating when it waltzes through every defense and unit you have without dying. The extreme magnitude of improvement upgrades can bring can be surprising to the uninitiated, casual player.

[aubergine]

Playing defensively is a very risky tactic, it takes a lot of practice and good knowledge of the tech tree and what upgrades to do, etc.

It's much more effective to defend with units rather than structures in most cases.

A good counter to cannon tanks is rocket hovercraft - they can stay just out of range of the tanks and quickly move them further away after they've fired so they get time to reload.

Also, number of units is important - in most cases the enemy will focus on attacking one of your units so if you've got lots of them you can retreat the damaged units behind the healthy units so increase survival rate.

EDIT: Which map are you playing, and which AI are you going up against? I'll see if I can make a vid that shows some alternate strategy to use.

EDIT #2: And are the AI players allied with each other, what are their difficulty settings, etc?

[Siber]

While I appreciate the help and would gladly continue this conversation in another venue, my intent with this thread was to advocate this feature(motivated only in part by my relative lack of skill), not seek aid.

[Nameless]

I don't know how difficult it would be to actually do so but I personally think a complete UI redesign for WZ would be awesome / needed. I too feel that there's not enough feedback afforded to the player and that a redesign could help in that area.

( Just for kicks and just so you know I had been sketching out layout ideas for a completely new UI before I had even read this thread )