Suggestions for 0 A.D.

[MishFTW]

Besides roads, I would also like to make the suggestion of a cool building placement system. I know its a game of ancient warfare, but whats wrong with building neatly? After all, many citys were neatly planned.

What I propose is a GUI option that displays the grid when the player selects a building to construct. This grid should correspond to the game engine's tiles already (no brainer) but also allow for building snapping. In my opinion, its a lot neater. But this doesn't have to be the primary focus of the game; its better suited for development after Part 1 is finished.

But on a side note: the terrain flattening issue should be addressed much sooner

[Pedro Falcão]

Besides roads, I would also like to make the suggestion of a cool building placement system. I know its a game of ancient warfare, but whats wrong with building neatly? After all, many citys were neatly planned.

What I propose is a GUI option that displays the grid when the player selects a building to construct. This grid should correspond to the game engine's tiles already (no brainer) but also allow for building snapping. In my opinion, its a lot neater. But this doesn't have to be the primary focus of the game; its better suited for development after Part 1 is finished.

But on a side note: the terrain flattening issue should be addressed much sooner

Starcraft 2 has such a feature.

[L'ethu]

I think we could consider adding taxation into the game when metal runs out and there are no potential trading partners in the game. By researching taxation, all working civilian or citizen soldier/town levy will generate a steady flow of metal for the player.

[Guest afeder]

I think we could consider adding taxation into the game when metal runs out and there are no potential trading partners in the game. By researching taxation, all working civilian or citizen soldier/town levy will generate a steady flow of metal for the player.

Hmm. So when your treasury goes broke, you want to print some money to pay civil servants and then tax that payment to generate revenue for your state? That seems anacronistic -The Fed wasn't invented until 1913

[hhyloc]

I think we could consider adding taxation into the game when metal runs out and there are no potential trading partners in the game. By researching taxation, all working civilian or citizen soldier/town levy will generate a steady flow of metal for the player.

Wouldn't this mean infinite resource? Cause the metal generated can be traded for other resources via Market = infinite resources

[quantumstate]

Starcraft 2 has such a feature.

Starcraft 2 has all buildings locked to a grid system (confusingly this grid is at 45 degrees to how the graphics are drawn). This is pretty different from 0AD where buildings can be placed however you like. I am not sure quite how an optional grid system would work for 0AD.

[L'ethu]

Wouldn't this mean infinite resource? Cause the metal generated can be traded for other resources via Market = infinite resources

That sounds logic, at least this reminds me this is not Command and Conquer: Generals.

Thank you.

[hhyloc]

That sounds logic, at least this reminds me this is not Command and Conquer: Generals.

Thank you.

No need to thank me, I made the same mistakes every now and then.

Edited February 16, 2012 by hhyloc

[Pedro Falcão]

Wouldn't this mean infinite resource? Cause the metal generated can be traded for other resources via Market = infinite resources

Yes, and what's so wrong about infinite resources if they come much slower than the gathering rate? Age of Empires 3 featured 2 buildings that produced infinite resources: Mill (food) and Plantations (gold). Also Rise of Nations's resources never exhausted.

[hhyloc]

Yes, and what's so wrong about infinite resources if they come much slower than the gathering rate? Age of Empires 3 featured 2 buildings that produced infinite resources: Mill (food) and Plantations (gold). Also Rise of Nations's resources never exhausted.

I think if the rate is slow, then it's probably ok. But I'm more concerned with what direction we are going to take, shall we follow AoE 3 and RoN or do it different? I'm still unsure whether infinite resource is really a bad thing or not, in my earlier post I didn't mean that infinite = bad but the idea may conflict with the existing system of finite resource we're having now.

[Kazu Kun]

:X considering the game is trying to follow a realistic timeline aspect, I think we should try to make in-game play at least sort of realistic, so infinite supplies, shouldn't be in this game.

Now a small income, (something like how they did with the relics ) WOULD be nice to have, and defiantly wouldn't hurt to have it in the game

[quantumstate]

:X considering the game is trying to follow a realistic timeline aspect, I think we should try to make in-game play at least sort of realistic, so infinite supplies, shouldn't be in this game.

Now a small income, (something like how they did with the relics ) WOULD be nice to have, and defiantly wouldn't hurt to have it in the game

Some types of infinite supply are very realistic. Like farms which produce food pretty much forever if you manage them correctly. Similarly trade is effectively infinite, new trees grow, metal mines have years worth of resources. The game generally has a confused timescale, since in real life training soldiers would take large amounts of time, of course we are missing children etc. It is just not possible to make a fun rts with realism imposed for these things (at least there has never been an rts which comes close).

Infinite resources with too rapid a gather rate are generally bad because they break gameplay balance. I don't see the problem with slower infinite resources.

[Kazu Kun]

You do have a point, maybe they should implement a system to where your train from the begginning, and as you gather resources they level up into a randomly generated system of villagerstypes ( Such as women, etc. etc. )

Edited February 17, 2012 by Kazu Kun

[Enrique]

I would like to see slaves taking some role on this game, like they had on ancient times. I've been searching if slaves suggestions were made on the forums for a while and I found some ideas that didn't match the gameplay designs planned.

Now reading this posts about auto-generating resources it came to my mind the following idea:

Why not use slaves as some kind of treasure to collect around the map (like small tribes in small groups of cabins). Once you've collected them, you can move them to any resource gathering point and that particular resource will increase slowly over time... or maybe speed up construction? or even pop-cap free citizens?

I know I should work more on the idea... but there's the concept xD

[Kazu Kun]

@ Enrique

That sounds pretty awesome, enough said

[Mythos_Ruler]

What about those cultures that did not have slaves?

An idea I had would have used the Market and the concept of a finite "global team pool" of slaves, depending on the number of enemy units killed. Basically, the more enemy units your team kills, the greater number of slaves become available for purchase at the Market. They would cost Metal, have a finite lifespan (you're working them to death), have no attack, and are bonused at gathering resources. They can help build, but do not have the list of buildings in their GUI (they can't lay foundations). They would become available once you hit City Phase or research an unlocking technology.

[Pedro Falcão]

@Mythos I coud not think of any better ideas.

[Enrique]

What about those cultures that did not have slaves?

An idea I had would have used the Market and the concept of a finite "global team pool" of slaves, depending on the number of enemy units killed. Basically, the more enemy units your team kills, the greater number of slaves become available for purchase at the Market. They would cost Metal, have a finite lifespan (you're working them to death), have no attack, and are bonused at gathering resources. They can help build, but do not have the list of buildings in their GUI (they can't lay foundations). They would become available once you hit City Phase or research an unlocking technology.

Hey! That sounds awesome! It even fits better with the slave-market concept. And bonuses and restrictions sounds like a balanced system/unit to me!

Again, excuse my ignorance, I thought that slaves was so common on every culture on ancient times as iphones nowadays

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

Perhaps if you kept them idle they could live a bit longer.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Perhaps if you kept them idle they could live a bit longer.

Right, perhaps they lose Health as they perform actions. They are also capturable, like female citizens.

[hhyloc]

Right, perhaps they lose Health as they perform actions. They are also capturable, like female citizens.

Can they be converted back to soldiers? Like you re-capture the slaves (formerly your soildiers) in an enemy city and spend an amount of resource to re-equip them, this amount should be smaller than the original cost of the soldier before he was captured because we don't have to train him again.

Example: Hoplite cost 50 Food and 60 Wood, re-equip would cost 40 Food and 50 Wood

[Mythos_Ruler]

Can they be converted back to soldiers? Like you re-capture the slaves (formerly your soildiers) in an enemy city and spend an amount of resource to re-equip them, this amount should be smaller than the original cost of the soldier before he was captured because we don't have to train him again.

Example: Hoplite cost 50 Food and 60 Wood, re-equip would cost 40 Food and 50 Wood

Seems a little too micro-heavy. Remember we have to keep things somewhat abstract.

[wraitii]

If you're going for abstraction, you might go the full way: each fallen enemy soldier boosts a "slave bonus" counter, that decreases over time. Basically, the more you'd have of this bonus, the faster you'd gather resources. Easy, clean, no micromanagement.

Note: this also would allow for different bonuses for different civs, ie those who did not have slaves for example could use this as a "prestige bonus" that would make their troops slightly faster or whatever.

However, I'm thinking this might be too much of a "bonusing the winning side" thing.

[Mythos_Ruler]

There is abstraction, and then there is the right amount of abstraction.

[ribez]

If you're going for abstraction, you might go the full way: each fallen enemy soldier boosts a "slave bonus" counter, that decreases over time. Basically, the more you'd have of this bonus, the faster you'd gather resources. Easy, clean, no micromanagement.

Note: this also would allow for different bonuses for different civs, ie those who did not have slaves for example could use this as a "prestige bonus" that would make their troops slightly faster or whatever.

However, I'm thinking this might be too much of a "bonusing the winning side" thing.

yeah, i think this system only benefit the winning nation: we need a sort of trade-off, like revolts (Spartacus rules )