Stellar_Magic

I'll be upgrading for christmas but right now I've only got a GeForce4 MX440. So I managed to get the only GeForce4 that isn't Pixelshader compliant. I doubt the graphics on EAW will push our machines much further then Generals would.

How this works is I'll post a combat situation that could occur in the game modification Reality of Rebellion. Then I'll post what tactics both sides could utilize to win. Walker Assault Scenario: The Galactic Empire's possession of Kuat Drive Yards has enabled the creation of the classic imperial assault force. Equipped with AT-ATs and AT-STs the Empire has launched an attack on a Rebel Base. The Rebels are using Golan DF.9 Anti-Infantry Towers, Atgar P-Towers, and Merr-Sonn PLX-2M Missile Launchers. Rebel Victory: The superior range of Imperial AT-AT Walkers minimalizes the usefulness of PLX-2M Anti-Armor Teams and the Golan DF.9 and P-Tower's lack the firepower needed to penetrate their armor. The Rebel's only chance at victory is to utilize the terrain by creating a reverse slop defense. Place the Infantry on the opposite slop of a hill and wait for the walkers to come to you. Then, as they climb over the crest of the hill they'll be well within the range of the PLX-2M's which can take down an AT-AT with two to three hits. Imperial Victory: Slow and steady is the way to go from an imperial perspective. Don't allow your walkers within the range of hand held anti-tank weapons, use your infantry to assault ridges instead of using the walkers. Use the AT-AT's to take out P-Towers and DF.9s from long range. With the infantry taking down the PLX-2M's and the AT-AT's taking down the Anti-Infantry weapons you should be able to tear apart the Rebel defense.

Which is why putting in accuracy will be of such importance. Still, I think perhaps reducing the in game size will also go a long way toward solving the problem, after all a smaller target is harder to hit. For an initial release I'll probably reduce the size of most every unit by 90% basically making the size of each unit 1/10th of what it was in the original game. That will be a good starting point I think. Another matter is translating game units into actual real world units. I think I'll make each game unit roughly equal to 10 meters. I'm thinking about starting a thread to discuss tactics with canonically realistic units.

Well I've been looking at the known ranges of some of the weapon systems used by both the Rebel Alliance / New Republic and Empire. There are some weapons that actually have an even longer range then the AT-AT Walkers. Loronar MAS-2xB Mobile Blaster Artillery Armament: 2 Turbolaser Turrets, 1 Quad Laser Turret, 1 Turbolaser Pulser Maximum Range: 20 Kilometers Atgar 1.4 FD P-Tower Armament: 1 Laser Cannon Maximum Range: 10 Kilometers Golan Arms DF.9 Anti-Infantry Battery Armament: 1 Laser Cannon Maximum Range: 16 Kilometers It can also be inferred that the Maximum Range of most vehicle mounted heavy blasters will be in the range of 10-16 Kilometers this means that armor vehicles are capable of engaging targets at the edge of the horizon. As a result of these ranges strategic use of terrain will become much more important. Deploying units in defelade sp? possitions to protect them from being engaged by enemies at the edge of their range or beyond. Also, while most units will be able to fire at targets at their maximum ranges, hitting them is another matter. If I can get accuracy in game the threat of being engaged at long ranges will be marginalized, after all a tenth of a degree off when shooting at eighteen kilometers translates into hundreds of meters downrange.

Well, once we start adding structures we'll be forced to edit the maps to accomodate larger bases probably. In which case making big maps will be something that may come naturally. It's possible that it won't be possible to make larger maps, in which case we'll be forced to go with option number two.

Well I've stopped tossing out ideas for the moment and moved toward some very real issues with the design of the modification Reality of Rebellion. How big should it be? Now, I'm not talking about the number of units or complexity of the technology trees, I'm talking about a very real question. How large should units be on the screen and by extension, how big will the maps need to be? If we're talking about canonical realism the design of gameplay and the maps will have to be altered. Some of you may be asking... What is he talking about? Well here is what I'm talking about. In The Empire Strikes Back there is canonical evidence for the maximum effective range of an AT-AT's weaponary. General Veer's destroys the Power Generator from a distance of just over 17 kilometers suggesting a maximum range of just less then 18 kilometers for the Walker's heavy weapons. If you look at the maps as they have been displayed they appear to portray an area less then four kilomters across. This leaves us with some choices. 1) Increase the size of the maps to arround 20 kilometers by 20 kilometers. 2) Decrease the in game size of the units so that it is proportional. 3) Do a combination of 1-2. What do you guys think?

Sorry man, there aren't spaced based versions.

Uh... You just said that. Anyway its not always true, a Sabot round which is the armor penetrating shell for a tank is almost useless against infantry... Simply because a Sabot round has no explosive force, its basically a giant metal dart, against infantry at most you'll kill all the guys standing one in front of another which simply doesn't happen in combat.

Okay, I've simplified and streamlined Blastech's Tech Tree. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/StellarMagic01/BlastechCorporation2.jpg You'll notice that some designs no longer are listed. These (The DC-17m and DC-15s) will be available upon the construction of the weapons factory. Also some designs require specific technologies before being researched.

Holiday stress is being bled into the forums... I really don't want to risk NMA on the wims of Blizzard Entertainment.

Thats alright... none of the moderators can do anything in this part of the forum... CAIN... Delete this topic before we become awash with Blizzard's Evil Lawyers.

The Blastech E-11 was just coming into imperial service before ANH. Most of the Imperial arms used before the E-11 are from the DC series. Other weapons like the EE-3 and A280s are older then the E-11.

Hmm... I've been thinking that maybe the corporation tech trees are too complicated. What do you guys think?

Only Eville Jedi put a cannon where every single gun on a ship was...

Well here's another Tech Tree... The Blastech Corporation Technology Tree. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/StellarMagic01/BlastechCorporation.jpg

Boba Vs. Vader happened in one of the books. It ended up being a draw.

Well, I'm trying to portray the way in which an infrastructure is actually set up. Loronar's Shipyards are different from most of the others in that they are set up more along the lines of a true factory in space. When you build a Strike Cruiser you'll get Three Strike class ships instead of one. Only two designs are produced by the Ship Factory the Loronar Strike Cruiser and the Belarus Strike Cruiser whereas with other major Shipbuilders one factory can produce a much larger number of different designs. The reverse unfortunately will be true on the ground. You'll be forced to construct factories for individual lines of weapon systems. A Factory for E-11s, a factory for EE-3s, a factory for A280s... Thus you'll be forced to decide what line of equipment is most worth the expenditure of development, much like how a real government would have to decide what to build in a time of war.

I've had both Solo and Leia die before. It seems the only characters that are impossible to kill are those that are objectives (Mon Mothma, Luke, Palpy, and Vader).

Well due to SWR there are some already prexisting connections. Both me and EvilleJedi are more then willing to work together because of that which really helps. On another note I've finished work on one of my Tech Trees... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/StellarMagic01/LoronarCorporation.jpg

No need to double post Ghostly, anyway the only way we'll be able to modify the UI (Other then cosmetically) will be if they release the source code. They can choose not to in which case we'll just have to adjust our plans accordingly.

LEt me guess, Expansion Packs. You'll get your Dreadnaught, SSD, and all sorts of never before seen units.

In that scenario I guess we'll just have to sit back and blast against the shield for awhile... Supposably Particle shields can be penetrated by "Grounded" vehicles, like walkers. Thats how the Imperials were able to take down the shields at Hoth, deploying walkers outside the shield radius and marching them under it.

Yeah, the Nebulon B has the same stability problem... Now that ship is a Pogo Stick. Another question with this ship is armament and scale... Supposedly this thing was able to take on heavier ships, maybe even a Victory class from what Delphi has said. Getting these ships right will be tough... I know, use the Concept artwork as a starting point. From the look of the concept art I was wrong about the electrostatic vanes, but it still looks like someone chopped the front off a Nebulon B and sat on it...

Well maybe LEC will qualify the origin of this mysterious vessel. I have to put it in the roster of some corporation for my modification. Actually, after looking at the screenshots I think that the two side wings aren't actually wings but electrostatic vanes much like the Nebulon B-1's. Also the hull seems to drop down much farther then you modeled, its hard to tell from the screens we've got.

I didn't think the original design was half bad, but leave it to EvilleJedi to make something a thing of beauty. Though I am wondering if the concept of the Assault Frigate Mk.2 is different from what we all know as the Assault Frigate. It looks so much like a Nebulon B that I almost wonder if the Assault Frigate might be more analagous to a Nebulon A-2 whereas A stands for assault and B stands for Battle. Just my own personal thoughts.