Pop Cap Thoughts

[Juggernaut1985]

Just a thread to discuss the population cap which has been revealed by Delphi. No specific numbers but there is a Pop Cap. Whats everyones thoughts?

 

I personally do not want one becuase I like the idea of massive fleets later on ingame and the freedom it allows me to defend my planets without sacrificing defense. If it stays in I hope we can at least mod it to be a very large number.

[Naja]

Exactly. If too many units gets burdensome for your comp, TURN THE BLOODY GRAPHICS DOWN.

 

Or at the most benign level, the pop cap should be adjustable or moddable by us.

[Darkmark]

I voted yes, but before everyone starts thinking I'm insane, let me justify my decision.

 

Too many units on screen can lead to serious problems. I'm not talking game wise, I'm talking cpu wise. When the graphics card and processor explode from trying to handle too many units on screen at one time and all the data each carries with it, that's the point where you would begin to regret it.

 

It's there for a reason. As a gamer I would love no pop cap, but this isn't an ideal world, and I know my cpu and others wouldn't like to have to deal with that many units. The truth of the matter is to not have one is still a dream as of yet, and I wouldn't want to have to miss it when it does go.

[Juggernaut1985]

You do know that units not on your screen(ie on other planets and such) are not rendered and thus don't put a burden on your comp until you see them again.

[Darkmark]

I'm thinking a hell of a lot of units

 

The possibility is there. I mean, some smartass will obviously group their full fleet together at one time or another. When that does... something's gotta give.

 

It's the possibility that it can kill your cpu that I'm thinking of, not that it always will.

[Nevets]

no sir, I don't like it.

[Ghostly_Substance]

Well i've been annoyed a thousand of times in RTS games such as

 

Galactic battlegrounds

Rise of Nations

Dawn of War

Age of Empire 3

Homeworld 2

 

Since when does an Empire not support 200-250 or maybe in this case 800-2000 (guessing). If you can buy it and support it then that should work. If there is a limit for computer performance then there should be a option to maximize it and to also get rid of it on XML for the higher end people. I'm not one of them higher end but if I end up playing at someone elses house in skirmish. Well it might help from people swarming you with thousands of units but its the skill that counts.

 

My 2 cents and no harm intended even if theres insults in there which I didn't catch

[Juggernaut1985]

Your comp isn't going to die from rendering. CPUs don't explode and Vid card don't die from rendering. It'll just go slow. Look at Generals. The worst case scenario is that the game simply restarts.

[Darkmark]

'fraid not. From my experience of other games, the removal of the pop cap CAN result in the processor dying. It hasn't happened to me, but I don't tend to remove the pop cap and flood maps with so many units there's no ground to be seen.

[Ghostly_Substance]

When I finish played Civilization 4, World of Warcraft, or Guildwars my computer decides to freeze up. I press start button on my keyboard, I press CTRL + ALT + DEL and nothing (you can hear the computer trying tho). I then hold the power button on my tower and then turn it on again and swift wondered where I went once or I donno who I talked to on Xfire. That wasn't unit cap problem

[Swiftdraw]

Meh, my comp can handle most of anything that is thrown at it. I dunna like pop caps much, just because I'm more of a horde player.

[Naja]

I still fail to see why turning down the graphics option wouldn't be just as viable as a population cap. I don't like this trend that a lot of games are adopting. It's very oppressive, and it kills the "epic" feel.

[Stellar_Magic]

I think some more information would be of use before we decide if a pop cap is a good or bad idea.

 

Having the number of units available proportional to the number of planets under your possession would make sense, but I would prefer a system similar to Rome: Total War where each formation has a cap, but there is no strategic cap except for how many units you can support through taxation.

[Sparky]

i think the best way to fix is to give the users different unit cap options, depending on the computer specs...and if push comes to shove, hopefully they will do similarly to HW2...so you have the capability to edit the unit cap.

 

Sparky

[Wiking_pff]

I don't mind it. Except in AoE2, pop cap never bothered me too much. If it's high enough, that's ok by me.

[Holly-Gan]

I'm fine with it, and Delphi also said it was hardly noticeable so I guess its really high.

 

Delphi, why is there a limit? C&C never had one.

 

 

For performance and game-play reasons. More on performance though. I promise you this, it will be barely noticeable. Oh, and there was a pop cap in C&C, we just didn't tell ya about it.

 

http://swempireatwar.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=981&start=0

[Samheyn]

Delphi said "hardly noticeable" indeed.

When talking about "pop cap" most of you think of a 200 unit limit like in Starcraft or WC where you have to spent more points for bigger units etc.

There is a pop cap, yes. But there is one in every RTS. As Delphi said there was a pop cap in c&c, too and I remember that I never reached this limit when playing without any rules.ini modifications and default unit prices. Also think about the AI that perhaps builds the largest fleet its ressources allow it to produce. Perhaps at the end the enemys units would decrease the performance to a point were even on a high end machine the game wouldn't be playable anymore. It coul possibly be that you will never reach the unit limit in a standard game and perhaps it can be raised through mods if you think your machine could handle it...

[Popcorn2008]

Gameplay > Realism. If a pop cap makes it so the game doesnt freeze up every 10 seconds so be it. Im in favor of a pop. cap, it adds challenge to the game. And since Delphi said it will be barely noticable I dont think its that much of a deal.

[Naja]

As long as the game maintains that "epic" feeling, I'll be fine with the amount of units. Legions of Stormtroopers and AT-ATs!

 

I think by pop cap, we're referring to how many units you can have on screen, and not how many units you can have as a whole in the galaxy, correct?

[Grand Moff Joyce]

I would not like one. It would take away the sence of a massive fleet. Just imgaine the battle with Endor with a pop cap.

 

AA: Its a trap! I knew we should of had more units!

 

Rebel officer: We went to our pop cap.

[Teradyn_pff]

I do not want a pop cap that is like Battle for Middle Earth. Anyone ever remember the cut scenes when the game was in developement? Looked like you could have 1000+ units on your side at a time. Multiplayer it turned into more like 150 to 200 unit points. Very bad IMO, that is one area where everyone who has read the books or seen the movies would be expecting massive armies.

 

I don't want to be limited to 5 cap ships and 3 fighter squadrons in a space battle or 3 AT-ATs and 5 troop formations on ground. This is my problem. If we have 20-30 planets on our side, how will we protect them if there is a pop cap that is small?

[Grand Moff Joyce]

I would like a pop cap that would be very hard to reach

[Garbageben]

I'd be fine with a pop cap that is based on the number of planets under your control. Obviously the more planets you have, the more units you can have. Maybe some of the planetary bonuses will be pop cap increases above the norm as well? (Coruscant for one)

[Grand Moff Joyce]

I'd be fine with a pop cap that is based on the number of planets under your control. Obviously the more planets you have, the more units you can have. Maybe some of the planetary bonuses will be pop cap increases above the norm as well? (Coruscant for one)

Thats a good idea.