Suggestions for 0 A.D.

[satchitb]

Huh? I don't see any units on my minimap. I see terrain, and visible area but no units.

[Ykkrosh]

Hmm, that sounds like a bug. What OS / graphics card / drivers are you using?

[feneur]

Also, what kind of map are you playing on? I've found the blue of Player 1 is hard to see on the green grass color (might be a good idea to saturate the player colors a bit more on the minimap?), have you tested on e.g. Median Oasis or another map with a lot of desert?

[ribez]

If you already don't know, I would suggest you to look the way are implemented unit orders in Warzone 2100. I found that way very complete and intuitive:

http://guide.wz2100.net/orderingunits

I also like the GUI during gameplay, that leave free much of the screen.

[ribez]

In future Alphas is planned something like sphere of influence?

From my point of view a player shouldn't be able to build in the middle of a enemy village. Maybe a solution could be a zone determined with a circle centered in the Civic Centre where enemy buildings are not allowed.

Look that thread for the problem i noticed:

http://www.wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14790

[Rasunadon]

Also, what kind of map are you playing on? I've found the blue of Player 1 is hard to see on the green grass color (might be a good idea to saturate the player colors a bit more on the minimap?), have you tested on e.g. Median Oasis or another map with a lot of desert?

I have the same problem - no units on minimap. It worked in Alpha 3 but now in Alpha 5 not. Still using Ubuntu.

Here are two screenshots showing similar areas in Alpha 5 (screenshot-minimaperror1) and in Alpha 3 (screenshot-minimaperror2). Hope it helps.

[fabio]

I have the same problem - no units on minimap. It worked in Alpha 3 but now in Alpha 5 not. Still using Ubuntu.

Here are two screenshots showing similar areas in Alpha 5 (screenshot-minimaperror1) and in Alpha 3 (screenshot-minimaperror2). Hope it helps.

It looks like a bug I reported some time ago ( http://trac.wildfiregames.com/ticket/803 ) which is a mesa r300g bug ( https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=36762 ). If you have a Radeon R300->R500 than it's probably the same bug. Unfortunately there is no fix currently available, if you have some other info (e.g. different radeon card) you can add it to the mesa bug.

[satchitb]

I'm running Ubuntu 11.04 on an Acer Aspire 5738 with an Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Chipset.

[OmriLahav]

I suppose this is the best forum to post this, so here goes:

I used to play AoE2 a lot, and I remember always thinking...

It makes no sense at all that the siege engines just snap apart from swords and arrows.

(though obviously if it's siege engine against siege engine - it should break upon death).

What I always wanted to see... is that when the engine's life bar empties - the soldiers "driving" it are all dead,

and then it's first come first serve - the first army to put a soldier in it takes control of it...

That would've been awesome, and would def. keep my cousin from spamming siege engines and tearing up my town lol

Just a thought.

[Rasunadon]

What I always wanted to see... is that when the engine's life bar empties - the soldiers "driving" it are all dead,

and then it's first come first serve - the first army to put a soldier in it takes control of it...

If I remember well this was implemented in Castle Strike.

[Mythos_Ruler]

I suppose this is the best forum to post this, so here goes:

I used to play AoE2 a lot, and I remember always thinking...

It makes no sense at all that the siege engines just snap apart from swords and arrows.

(though obviously if it's siege engine against siege engine - it should break upon death).

What I always wanted to see... is that when the engine's life bar empties - the soldiers "driving" it are all dead,

and then it's first come first serve - the first army to put a soldier in it takes control of it...

That would've been awesome, and would def. keep my cousin from spamming siege engines and tearing up my town lol

Just a thought.

We could make siege engines convertible like we plan on making Female Citizens and Herd Animals. This I would support. If the enemy has soldiers within vision range of their siege engines, then you have to destroy them. If the enemy has no soldiers within vision range of their siege engines, then mobbing them with your own soldiers converts them to your side. I would do this for Bolt Shooters and Catapults, while not for Siege Towers and Rams (we have to assume there are always units inside to operate them).

[chaosislife]

We could make siege engines convertible like we plan on making Female Citizens and Herd Animals. This I would support. If the enemy has soldiers within vision range of their siege engines, then you have to destroy them. If the enemy has no soldiers within vision range of their siege engines, then mobbing them with your own soldiers converts them to your side. I would do this for Bolt Shooters and Catapults, while not for Siege Towers and Rams (we have to assume there are always units inside to operate them).

No, we should totally do it for rams too, Trojan Horse. Bwahahaha. Personally, I'd like all units to be convertible if they're horribly out numbered. It would make a tad more sense than 3 soldiers trying to take on an army.

Edited June 17, 2011 by chaosislife

[Sebovzeoueb]

Cossacks had capturable artillery. I found it to be a bit annoying, but I guess it's because I'm not a particularly skilled RTS player, and I quickly get overwhelmed by lots of stuff going on. It does make total sense though, and does indeed avoid siege spamming.

It would make a tad more sense than 3 soldiers trying to take on an army.

The Spartans should definitely be able to do that though...

To make things more complicated, maybe some units could be very loyal, and never convert, and other units easily captured and converted.

I think any implementation of capturing units has to be well thought out, otherwise it will just be a pain, but if well implemented could definitely add something.

With regards to building siege engines on site vs at the siege workshop, maybe something like Stronghold could be done, where you train siege engineers who then set up a little tent on the battlefield and build siege engines. This way you would still need a siege workshop, and maybe the smaller units could be built at the workshop, while the larger siege engines could be built in situ be specific engineers. Not sure what the history behind this is though.

While trying to find out on WIkipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_engine), I came across this sentence in the article on siege engines:

it seems that the Greeks limited their use of siege engines to assault ladders, though Peloponnesian forces used something resembling flamethrowers.

I'm definitely up for having flamethrowers!

[Mythos_Ruler]

The Greeks invented the catapult (Oxybeles or "bolt shooter", Lithobolos, literally "stone thrower") and the crossbow (Gastraphetes or "belly bow"). The Roman scorpio (a bolt shooter) and ballista (a stone thrower) were developments on these Greek models. They also used siege towers, the most famous of which was Demetrius' Helepolis, designed and built by Greek architects.

During the Siege of Delium the Boeotians (Thebans) built a kind of wheeled "flame thrower" called a fire raiser to burn out the Athenian defenders.

[Sebovzeoueb]

Nice.

I was wondering though whether we know if these engines and structures were built near the site of siege, or whether they were built at the home city of the attackers, then wheeled all the way to destination. It wouldn't make sense to build them on site if historically that wasn't at all the case, but if that was how it was done, then I think there is a case for including some sort of siege construction element into the game, even if it is just like the trebuchets in AoK.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Smaller engines, like the Oxybeles and Gastraphetes could be built in an armory or somewhere like that back home, then carted or hauled along with the army as part of the supply chain. The Romans were famous for doing this, but not unknown to Greeks. These engines could also be built at the site of the siege because most armies brought siege engineers and mathematicians with them. While larger engines, like large stone throwers and siege towers, were definitely built on-site when needed. Building a siege tower like constructing a building would be 'ok' to me.

[chaosislife]

While we're on the topic of making things more complicated we could do something a bit like Seven Kingdoms 2 and base conversions on reputation. We could give each player a reputation meter which would go up or down dependent upon certain actions, like killing women would lower your reputation and make your units more likely to defect while acting peacefully would slowly raise your reputation and make your units more loyal.

[Sebovzeoueb]

Seems much like what I have found in music, where the Greeks invented most of the stuff, and the other civilisations (especially the Romans) adopted it. Maybe there could be some unique hero siege super mega units like the Helepolis and the flame thrower, where you only get to build one, but it is epic. And when it has been destroyed, you don't get another one.

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

What about diplomacy? Is there going to be a system where you can please and displease opponents? This is another thought, but in the game Company of Heroes, you could force your units to rout. Routing caused them to run very quickly, ignoring opponents until they rallied at the base. Do you think that a system like that would be useful?

[Alpha of the Eagles]

The Greeks invented flamethrowers. That way they kept the Turks at bay for ages.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Seems much like what I have found in music, where the Greeks invented most of the stuff, and the other civilisations (especially the Romans) adopted it. Maybe there could be some unique hero siege super mega units like the Helepolis and the flame thrower, where you only get to build one, but it is epic. And when it has been destroyed, you don't get another one.

Yes, this was my original idea for the Greek Helepolis.

[Mythos_Ruler]

The Greeks invented flamethrowers. That way they kept the Turks at bay for ages.

"True" flamethrowers weren't invented until the AD 7th century, by the Byzantines (the Eastern Roman Empire, essentially, who spoke Greek). "Greek Fire" it was called and used against the Arabs and Turks. I think the penalty was death if you were caught giving away the secret formula for the stuff. We only have vague ideas of how it was produced. Although slightly out of the timeframe of our game (by about 150 years), we could conceivably give Greek Fire to a hypothetical "Eastern Roman" faction in Part II. Perhaps as a Special Technology.

The Theban "Fire Raiser" from the Peloponnesian War was essentially a giant flaming cauldron at the end of a 20 foot-long bellows. They wheeled the Fire Raiser up to the enemy walls and gates, pushing the cauldron-end against the battlements, then forced air into the flaming cauldron through the bellows, causing what I would describe as a great "eruption" of flames and pitch and combustibles. lol, It was almost as dangerous to the Thebans as it was to the Athenian defenders.

[Rasunadon]

Siege units: definitively convertible, siege towers and trebuchets buildable on site.

Conversions of other units: why not to use druids/monks like AOE ones?

[Alpha of the Eagles]

The Theban "Fire Raiser" from the Peloponnesian War was essentially a giant flaming cauldron at the end of a 20 foot-long bellows. They wheeled the Fire Raiser up to the enemy walls and gates, pushing the cauldron-end against the battlements, then forced air into the flaming cauldron through the bellows, causing what I would describe as a great "eruption" of flames and pitch and combustibles. lol, It was almost as dangerous to the Thebans as it was to the Athenian defenders.

It would be fun as an extremely costly and dangerous unit for late, late game. It could easily be used by enemies to lure the opponent in friendly fire, making it a bit hard to use, but extremely fun if you get it right.

[Sebovzeoueb]

friendly fire

I see what you did there