av93

The program that you make, could be coded to rewrite the units stats?

Always typing wrong. I was just only referring to kushites. I'm sure that I had a better level of English when I was in highschool.

What it's lacking for finishing the civs in the differents mods?

I won't aim it like this. The long alpha way it's because the developers are volunteers, and it's a very big project. Because is not only a game being developed, but also a very flexible engine. And also because there's a sense of quality as you pointed. And also cause the engine was rewritten at some point by Ykkrosh (I think to the ground, but not sure). Another factor could be that working online in teams wasn't so easy in the 2000 earlies than now. But I think that a permanent alpha status isn't good. That doesn't means that the devs could continue if they want to add features, balances or expansions to the game, but I would like to see one day the game finished, and turned into a very popular game that overshadows the AAA games, and maybe becomes an E-Sport. And adding because the sake of adding, could cause a game with a collage of features and ideas that doesn't work together. More isn't better always.

Maybe developers could do a document with the defined role of every unit that have in mind could help. I tried it with this topic here (with some personal ideas, but without deviating too much from the design that it's hinted in-game). Right now we only have the wikia outdated docs, that were designed with hard counters in mind. Then the balance adjusting could be done trying to fit their role. I won't make any suggestion (there're plenty on the forum), but It should be clear why train spearmen over pikemen, or how to counter cavalry skirmishers. The design objectives (IMHO) : all units should be useful, even if some of them are a little more situational than others. All strategies should be able to be countered. All civs should have more than one viable strategy, even if they have holes in the tech tree and they perform better in some ways.

Now that you're working on maps @elexis, did you take a look on this?

Then advertise it the next one time

Why not a step between "balance mod" of before, and the current SVN system?: why don't release in 2 phases: an alpha 22 release candidate, 1 month of gameplay testing for everyone, and then an alpha 22 "stable".

I think that Pyrogenesis can't do "platoons" or "banner armies" (fixed batch training with a concrete mix of units). It would be cool to support it (the ability to train fixed numbers of units, and a mix of them) Having or not having guns is not a "engine feature", just an art thing. Guns could be added, the only support that would be needed should be adding "muzzle flashes", as Stanislas said, and maybe smoke trails: a particle emitter when a unit is attacking, and a straight one tied to the projectile (the second one I think that could be done now) The game have a lot of features.... you just need to understand them well. Wall converting to a door individually is not a feature, it is the possibility to a entity to upgrade to another. With this upgrade component, units can be changed to a another one (spearman to a hero, packed building in a wagon to a proper building, but also archer going to a melee archer mode) I think that the gameplay features that the engine are capable are scattered all around the wiki, and not every one is listed. Also keep in mind that the game is being developed, so a lot of info could be outdated. Just play the game and try to understand what the game can do, and how it could be changed, like the upgrade component.

Well, I tried to make some suggestions here. Maybe if we want to discus more, we should keep clean this topic of a debate that have been talked before

Strategy is the overall way that you would develop in-game. Tactics is more about situational decisions in a strategy context (mainly micro). So making a rush is a strategy, but seems the mainly one, negating the others. The difference between rushing and raiding, IMO, is that raiding doesn't aim to kill at once the player, just annoy or try to suffocate eco with a few units. Rushing would try to kill the enemy by force and numbers. Please. We know that the debate about game design had been long and complicated. But something like planning the Alpha like a 2 phases (one for the features, and then for the design and balance?) wouldn't help? I know that should be the other way, but the game almost handle all the basic engine features of a RTS game, except abilities and battalion/squad system.

IMHO, there's no sense of playing without cavalry games, if the balance is well done. No cav rules are showing that there's a problem of design or balancing. If a strategy is substantially superior (then others strategies aren't really choices) and doesn't have counters. But there has been done a lot of talk in forums about the OPness of cavalry skirmishers rush, and they would be nerfed for the next alpha.

It really won't make a real difference for rushing (maybe yes, depending in some maps)

Well, you're correct, the system it's the same but needs polishing regarding closing gaps and rebuilding walls (I think that some work have been made for the latter)

(Little Off-Topic) Hmm, then a 2WW mod could be easily done converting the models? If I understand correctly, he made a script for converting the models, but not the animations.

Aoe2 also has this kind of scenarios. The main problem is the walling system in 0 a.d, that doesn't have a grid so leaving gaps it's easy.

Don't Kofun japan match better the 0 A.D timeframe?

Very impressive Lion

I think that could be done now. But overall I think it would be a bad design choice. Sorry for the Off-topic

So Dahae horse archer needs new skin? About the kausia, I thought that was a Macedonian only fashion. Didn't know it was more popular. What about the mounted skirmishers (mounted milita) of the Seleucid, it's fine as it is??

-Seleucids: Arab infantry javeliner for sure (persian props), probably syrian archer (macedonian props), maybe mounted skirmisher, and don't know about dahae horse archer. The chariot and the cataphract are WIP. -Ptolemies: nabatean camel archer (they don't have promotions, only basic rank and no variations), judean slinger (uses greek props), and cretan archers (maybe they only need to get rid the kausia cap of the basic ranks),

If I can suggest something, I would add more variety on building and farming animations. Seeding it's half done, no? I hope that all Seleucid and Ptolemy units will be done for the new alpha, no more placeholders.

Aren't done? I think that icons need to be made

+1 for the height, the angle seems the same. I wasn't good in drawing in the high school, but if you make another screenshot selecting both CC (to show the selection boundaries) and you use some kind of virtual measuring tools, I think you should be able to see if there's some kind of difference. Maybe it's too rudimentary technique, or I'm wrong.

What it's 34c3?