Terrain Improvements - Page 2

Tikuto · 2009-11-24, 04:21 AM

Originally Posted by JackEarthrider

Terrian manipulation. (underground, terrance, trenches, artifical hills, etc)

This is a great, great suggestion. What I want to be possible in PlanetSide 2 is this but not just this. I'd like to know for fact that everything in-game can change: facility design, trees, landscape, vegetation, and so-on for the game-developers. Like in Fallen Earth a player can make a crater in the ground with a single hand-weapon.
PlanetSide NEXT could do this too? Game-developers could use this feature to change the game world?

JackEarthrider · 2009-11-24, 03:47 PM

Well I actually meant pre-existing terrain manipulation (because what else do futuristic societies do?) but if real time terrain effects are doable then why not?

(although I have a feeling no server could handle that much strain, I'm not sure)

ANaKeR · 2009-11-25, 11:33 AM

Destructible environment would be the ultimate, I am completely for it.

Imagine a forest where a battle is taking place and shells are hitting trees and knocking them down. Logs are lying everywhere and tanks have to navigate around or over them instead of mowing over all the soldiers unimpeded like the current game. Trees slowly regrow over time and logs disappear into the ground. Potholes are created from explosions and slowly fill in when not being used by a soldier for cover.

To program this would be a challenge, but there's no reason it can't be done. If you have enough processing power and bandwidth, the possibilities are endless.

JackEarthrider · 2009-11-25, 12:56 PM

Kind of reminds me of what they had in the "Red Faction" series. The only possible problem is that sometimes people get more focused on destroying the environment then on actually fighting each other (I used to do that on Red Faction) then when your out of things to blow up you get bored and do something else.

Anyway, just having interesting artifical terrain types would be good enough for me; it presents unique tactical oppurtunites and sets apart different areas of the map.

If real time terrian manipulation is possible, then ya more power to it. But i'd be happy with just artifical terrian in pre-existing locations (terrances, tunnels, bases built on arficial hills, trench networks, etc).

DviddLeff · 2011-02-08, 01:34 PM

https://sites.google.com/site/planet...rrain-overhaul

Updated this on the PUP with a few ideas I have seen around the place, also added a whole bunch of models I put together in sketchup and images from trusty old Paint.

CutterJohn · 2011-02-08, 04:34 PM

Nifty ideas, I quite like the lot of them.

My personal dream would be using a procedural terrain generation engine(or planet generation engine), and each week.. we all fight over a new planet. Never the same layout.

More likely is I'd like to see battles fought on continents/planets that have very unique traits and thus require very different selections of gear and tactics. A venusian hell hole, where going outside in anything less than a MAX or a vehicle with an enclosed cab is a Bad Idea. A gas giant where all fights are with aircav, with nasty cloud formation 'terrain', fighting over floating installations. A water zone with the only land being some small islands. An airless moon with low gravity. Etc, etc, etc.

I think the variety in available equipment would help differentiate the maps more, and keep fights from being the same old, same old.

DviddLeff · 2011-02-08, 04:55 PM

Yeah exactly, the more differences between both facilities and continents the better.

Tremadog · 2011-02-08, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by CutterJohn

Nifty ideas, I quite like the lot of them.

My personal dream would be using a procedural terrain generation engine(or planet generation engine), and each week.. we all fight over a new planet. Never the same layout.

I think this is a very exciting proposal, but I imagine having to load up brand new continents could cause downtime, either from SoE's end uploading them, or at the client end to download them, I'm not sure if that would be an issue, but regular downtime to maintain the servers would be useful I guess, and if we can fight somewhere different next time the servers goes up it would probably be worth it. If they kept the "classic" continents in some form in addition, it would keep more stubborn players happy, too.

CutterJohn · 2011-02-08, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Tremadog

I think this is a very exciting proposal, but I imagine having to load up brand new continents could cause downtime, either from SoE's end uploading them, or at the client end to download them, I'm not sure if that would be an issue, but regular downtime to maintain the servers would be useful I guess, and if we can fight somewhere different next time the servers goes up it would probably be worth it. If they kept the "classic" continents in some form in addition, it would keep more stubborn players happy, too.

Thats a forthcoming game that will generate an entire galaxies worth of planets on the fly. Skip to about 5 minutes in.

In a perfect world, you'd have it all procedural.. The base layouts, roadways, flora and fauna. This is doable, but would require a lot of work to setup. Then just have a galaxy map showing who owns what. Perhaps with a popularity vote that leads to maps people consider fun being tossed back in regularly, while maps that people hated would never be heard from again.

The extra benefit is this gives a periodic win condition. One of the sides gains control of the planet, has bragging rights. Then a new planet opens up. You wouldn't even have to distribute anything because the nature of procedural programming means everything is already on the computer. You can even generate the weather and local conditions, meaning you can stipulate what equipment can be used in which environments.

I don't expect this, since it would be a hell of a lot of work to set up properly, and likely delay the game for a good period of time while the engine was setup(unless they just bought Infinitys').

A more likely scenario is just new custom maps released every so often, and old unpopular ones retired. Regular PS maps are not that visually complex. You could easily just snatch up some DEMs to make a map, paint textures, roads, flora on, and plop down the premade bases. I could make something the quality of a PS continent in a day in the Cryengine Sandbox tools.

Grimster · 2011-02-09, 03:03 AM

Originally Posted by ANaKeR

Destructible environment would be the ultimate, I am completely for it.

Imagine a forest where a battle is taking place and shells are hitting trees and knocking them down. Logs are lying everywhere and tanks have to navigate around or over them instead of mowing over all the soldiers unimpeded like the current game. Trees slowly regrow over time and logs disappear into the ground. Potholes are created from explosions and slowly fill in when not being used by a soldier for cover.

To program this would be a challenge, but there's no reason it can't be done. If you have enough processing power and bandwidth, the possibilities are endless.

I am all for destructible environments. I only wonder if it possible in a MMO without the risk of causing lag.

But if it is doable then why not.

Gogita · 2011-02-09, 03:46 AM

Originally Posted by Grimster

I am all for destructible environments. I only wonder if it possible in a MMO without the risk of causing lag.

But if it is doable then why not.

I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to make Planetside work without lag if the terrain was destructible. Keep in mind, more than 500 people firing their weapons and canons... all destroying pieces of terrain = LAG LAG LAG

Also, I think the whole landscape will be constantly destroyed untill nothing is left. I think Planetside is too large scaled for destroyable terrain.

CutterJohn · 2011-02-09, 04:09 AM

Originally Posted by Gogita

I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to make Planetside work without lag if the terrain was destructible. Keep in mind, more than 500 people firing their weapons and canons... all destroying pieces of terrain = LAG LAG LAG

Also, I think the whole landscape will be constantly destroyed untill nothing is left. I think Planetside is too large scaled for destroyable terrain.

Destructible environments are not that hard unless you are trying to match up the rubble as well. If its specific objects that are destructible, and there are just two states, destroyed and not destroyed, and you don't care if the rubble position matches, then its easy. You control how many destructible points are in any given area, and there wouldn't be that many. I could definitely see base walls being destructible, as breach points into a base courtyard/interior, along with bridges, and smaller trees. There were never all that many of these things on screen at any given time.

Grimster · 2011-02-09, 04:12 AM

Originally Posted by Gogita

I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to make Planetside work without lag if the terrain was destructible. Keep in mind, more than 500 people firing their weapons and canons... all destroying pieces of terrain = LAG LAG LAG

Also, I think the whole landscape will be constantly destroyed untill nothing is left. I think Planetside is too large scaled for destroyable terrain.

Yeah I tend to agree with you. It would be a awesome feature but like you said I doubt it is doable not with today's technology at least.

DviddLeff · 2011-02-09, 12:24 PM

Its alright when the map gets reset every 30 minutes, but I just don't think it would work in a persistent world.

Destroyable assets like bridges, bunkers or base walls for example might.

Gogita · 2011-02-09, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by DviddLeff

Its alright when the map gets reset every 30 minutes, but I just don't think it would work in a persistent world.

Destroyable assets like bridges, bunkers or base walls for example might.

Destroyable walls will make it too easy for the attacker to get in a base. Have a couple of tanks stand far away and let them spam the wall for a couple of minutes, hole in the wall.

Destroyable terrain, bases, bridges etc sound nice and such... but keep in mind what kind of effects it will have in the game. And is it really THAT BAD if this was not implemented in the game?