SmedBlog: Seamless Continents/Naval Units - Page 6

Sledgecrushr · 2012-08-11, 07:17 PM

The way I see it is the aircraft we have will be certed to be able to go under water. This way you can be both fast and super sneaky and they wouldnt have to do much to the craft but a little cosmetics. This way the water navy fans get their boat and its not dumb.
Edit@ IMHO the only navy I would like to see is space navy.

Stardouser · 2012-08-11, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Baneblade

Smedlonius, we both know that Air Cruisers are the way to go for a naval expansion.

You mean like Valiant from Dr. Who? Well, that's a flying aircraft carrier, but same idea.

Toppopia · 2012-08-11, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by Blackwolf

Why would you have to? The concept isn't even all that new. Plenty of games have massive areas that are seamless. SWG and DAoC use the same technique that I'm betting PS2 would use for this.

As long as they can make it so it still works fine on old computers.

Baneblade · 2012-08-11, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by Stardouser

You mean like Valiant from Dr. Who? Well, that's a flying aircraft carrier, but same idea.

Pretty much, just with no overpowering the ground war.

Duskguy · 2012-08-11, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by Blackwolf

A - Naval conflict would probably occur as an accident. You wouldn't launch a ship or an entire fleet with the sole purpose of looking for a fight on the high seas. You'd launch your fleet with an intended goal and destination. Travel between point A and B would leave you open for attack if someone got wind of your fleet and intercepted it. It might be boring for the most part if you are the scout air craft meant to keep an eye out for the fleet, until you find one and call for reinforcements.

I just plain agree with B - D.

way i meant point A was bases like biolabs and such. which would feed into your idea of sailing from one place to another with a set destination. and if incorporated in the hex system the continents use, would provide clear front lines of battle for even the sea.
the hexes for the sea would likely have to cover more area since you cant have THAT many capture points, but would still provide a reasonable outline for the front line.

Electrofreak · 2012-08-11, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by Toppopia

I don't want to buy a new computer though

I don't know why everyone is so certain that being seamless would require a huge amount of resources. It doesn't!

When you move from one zone to another in a game, old textures are removed from memory while new textures are loaded into memory. The game is generally paused while this occurs because it takes time.

However, if you go into an area that's large enough with generic textures (wide expanse of ocean) the textures for the old continent can be removed from memory (as the land is no longer in sight) while new ones are loaded for the new continent. As long as neither land mass is in sight, it's not an issue.

Think about the loading screen between zones in Assassin's Creed. It doesn't stop the game... it lets you run around a blank, empty playing field while the new textures load. The concept is the same, we'll be able to zoom towards the other continent as the textures load. As soon as they do, the land mass will start to become visible. If you turn around and go back, the land mass disappears, the textures for that continent are unloaded, and the textures for the new continent are loaded. You continue to see ocean all around you and then, after the new textures are loaded, you see the new continent appear on the horizon.

Hopefully that makes sense.

fb III IX ca IV · 2012-08-11, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by Blackwolf

Why would you have to? The concept isn't even all that new. Plenty of games have massive areas that are seamless. SWG and DAoC use the same technique that I'm betting PS2 would use for this.

I'm pretty sure the Just Cause 2 map is the size of a few PS2 maps scattered in an ocean. And that game ran on consoles.

Baneblade · 2012-08-11, 07:32 PM

It doesn't even have to be done like that Sean, pretty much every mmo works like this already, it is just a design decision to segregate zones. WoW's continents are seamless, but I know you don't load Kalimdor as a whole when you port to Darnassus.

A seamless PlanetSide is not a big stretch in the design phase, it just has to be 'built'.

Bruttal · 2012-08-11, 07:34 PM

Can't wait are my thoughts

RoninOni · 2012-08-11, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by Duskguy

really hope for a few things to keep in mind since you and the team plan on doing this, which im all for.
A- sea bases/capture points/islands generously dispersed through the ocean/seas to keep the game play action oriented rather than sail around for ages not finding anyone.
B- actual boats of some sort, which i sort of discussed in a previous post.
C- more players, lots more players. if you are combining the world, you would need the 2k players from each continent + any new continents + all the ocean space, otherwise the game will get boring as no one will be able to find anyone and will be much like conquest in BF3 on consoles.
D- the server/client actually being able to support all these players, because after more continents are added, we are talking around 12k players at least

Server can determine dynamically which players, and what data about those players, your client actually needs to track and only transfers that information.

They already have that in place to an extent... your client doesn't know all the details of the players on the other end of the continent... just that they're there.

You'll just get lump stat's... like "600TR/500NC/565VS on Ice continent" or something

Brusi · 2012-08-11, 07:38 PM

everyone talking about the tech not beina available... i'm sure they don't mean client side tech.

Server and networking tech, maybe?

Electrofreak · 2012-08-11, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by Baneblade

It doesn't even have to be done like that Sean, pretty much every mmo works like this already, it is just a design decision to segregate zones. WoW's continents are seamless, but I know you don't load Kalimdor as a whole when you port to Darnassus.

A seamless PlanetSide is not a big stretch in the design phase, it just has to be 'built'.

True, a lot of games do the same general thing.

RoninOni · 2012-08-11, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by Baneblade

Pretty much, just with no overpowering the ground war.

Simple... make them prohibitively expensive.

They'd be rare cause only very large outfits could afford them, with pooled resources. It'd be like a flying air base. And having it get shot down... well, you just lost a lot more resources than that facility your fighting over is worth. A LOT more.

Naval units have an advantage, gameplay wise, over space carriers though... by having that element restricted to the waters and borders, it can be made much more significant without making everything else pointless. It's restriction actually helps gameplay.

Additionally, even though they may have tech for space craft, those MASSIVE space craft can't fly in low orbit... they don't have the aerodynamics to fly and they're too big even for Vanu's magentic fields.

Thing's float on water... BIG things. MASSIVE things. Then all you need to do is be able to push it. Vanu could be explained by being able to power the magnetic field to keep it barely above the surface, but to move it actually displaces water from in front of it (or whichever direction it wants to move) to the opposite direction, so it can't move over land. (Basically it creates it's own water current)

Space stations supposedly exist as that's where the drop pods come from.... there's just no fighting over those orbital platforms.

That could be something else added entirely, and destroying an enemies orbital station (should be no easy task) over a continent would remove drop spawn ability for x hours (for that continent/region) while a new one is commissioned and deployed, significantly affecting their ground wars tactical options for the duration.

Drakkonan · 2012-08-11, 08:29 PM

If they were going to devote a ton of manpower to any of the ideas Smed's proposed, I'd hope it would be this one.

That being said, I really doubt we'll see it before Planetside 3.

RoninOni · 2012-08-11, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by Drakkonan

If they were going to devote a ton of manpower to any of the ideas Smed's proposed, I'd hope it would be this one.

That being said, I really doubt we'll see it before Planetside 3.

who said anything about PS3?

This isn't EA/Activision....

This isn't CoD....

They built on an engine with VAST future power potential with the intent to expand PS2 more and more over years and years.

They are hoping people are still packing the servers in 10 years, and plan to keep adding content to make that reality happen.

More and more land masses is one of those ways. As will be new equipment and certifications.

Whole planets with connecting oceans will be another, adding an entire new facet to the war... Naval Combat.

And yes, this gets my vote as the #1 on the wish list.

The supply line/harvester idea is a much more realizable and immediate project however so likely we'll see that one well before Naval Combat