Ambrosia Software Web Board: Silence 3D-lack PC critics - Ambrosia Software Web Board

I've discovered that PC'rs appreciate a good 2D combat game. Here's my evidence (this is *嵘 long, so sorry)

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I'm not sure about translating melee into 3D entirely--part of what makes it Star Control melee is the fact that it's 2D space combat. However, there is an unrelated project, called Hellfighter
(www.dracova.com/hellfighter/), that's going to use 3D technology soon. That is, the ships will be rendered by the computer 'on the fly' so to speak. My main problems with this game are a lack of inertia and
gravity, as well as a lack of wraparound (mopping up the last few enemies in a major battle can be HELL), but the fleet versus fleet capability is marvelous (on a small to medium scale). I'd love that in Star
Control melee--even without the ability to commant the rest of your fleet, just to be part of a rapid strike by a fleet of arilou jumping about randomly through the enemy... Or a Pkunk fleet; that would strike terror
into the hearts of the enemy--complete anihalation will still leave you with about half as many foes! But I digress. I think the direct rendering could do amazing things for a 2D melee, though, without having to
change the gameplay (which I'm assuming we all love ). Of course, fleets would change the gameplay, but... Well, in my humble opinion, it would be for the best. Network Star Control fleet battles! "Oh no!
Marketing's comanding the evil Ur-Quan fleets again!"


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So the problem is that if you go 3D, you lose that overhead feel which made melee so great. Unless someone can find a way around that, you have to sacrifice 3D or the overhead view.

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I don't think 3D technology CAN improve Star Control Melee!

I mean... Its the unique 2D way of fighting that makes it so much fun!

If it was Wingcommander-esque it might still be a nice game (I DO love Wing Commander) BUT it wouldn't seem like Star Control melee to me!
(More like StarCon actually!)

No... To be a Star Control melee it has to be in 2D, and thats not a bad thing at all.
There's so much 3D craze already and it really doesn't take 3D to make a good game!

Remember all those command and conquer clones? (Actually Dune clones)
They're all flat and in the vast majority of them those games the graphics are very unimpressive. (Minus perhaps cutscenes)
Still many, many people are totally addicted to those games.

As I see it 3D will make melee LESS fun to play even if it might look better.
(Sides, 3D would radically change how powerful the ships are too!
The Avenger would suddenly be one of, if not the toughest ship around.)

2D for me!
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I'm completely with Leopard on this one. I wonder even if a couple of the earlier submitters have even played SC1 or 2 (or, Dogar&Kazon help me, 3).
What makes melee so much fun is the constant general knowledge of your enemy's location, and the uncertainty of the planet's. What a standard 3D flight-sim take on melee would bring is more time spent
finding your enemy and less time worrying about immanent gravitational doom. How is a sharpshooter like the Druuge going to hold up against a Mycon that can jink in not 8, but 360*360 ways? And what
about space marines on your tail? Finally, I think we can all accept the planet's relatively small size (or aliens think REALLY big), but crashing into a big red rubber ball in a 3D game would just look silly. About
the only good that would come of 3D would be a major increase in Earthling capability (and they all thought it'd be point defense... heh heh)

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That said, allow me to say that the fleet combat idea RULES. Options for 1on1, 3on3, or 7on7 would
seriously spank some fun into melee. Imagine the fun of leaving an (improved) AI in charge of your "wingmen" while you tab back and forth to assume control. A minimal (therefore easy/efficient) command
system could tell the computer to "pillbox", "chase", "jink", or "cover" and also toggle weapons and special usage (no worries about
Ur-Quans who think launching fighters is D&K's gift to interstellar warfare). THAT has potential. I like the internet/more-than-two idea also. But please, above all else:

Keep space a Cartesian plane bounded by itself!
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Excirpted from the *WINTEL* Star Control Web Board. SC3 is available for Mac and is very similar to Ares in the combat portion.

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We will trade and collect your skulls.

[This message has been edited by Fleet Admiral Darkk (edited 01-17-2000).]

With all due respect, sir, I don't think I understand the relevance of your post to this web board.

Simple. Remember Q_cubed?
He said all 2D games are inherantly inferior.
This is proof even he must accept.
For he was a PC user...
Ah, hell! If the old board still exists, check out
"Why is Ambrosia still care about Macs?"
In the idle banter forum.

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We will trade and collect your skulls.

I see. My apologies, I was missing the context.

The answer to the question "Why does Ambrosia still care about Macs?" is rather simple, and comes in three little bite sized answers:

1. The Macintosh is a superior platform that is easier to develop on.

2. There's money in it.

3. Because Ambrosia started mass producing shareware for the Mac when they were doing the worst, and now they are riding on this wonderful Mac boom that Steve Jobs brought starting with the Microsoft deal and most recently the iMac and Mac OS X, so why in Zeus' name would they stop now?!

This post has been edited by Aithon: 04 January 2007 - 06:13 PM

It is actualy "Why is Ambrosia still care about Macs?"
PC users need to learn grammer.

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Commander-in-Chief of the Nijayias Interstellar Navy.

One thing that you could do to make Ares 3D is to make the view a perspective view and then add two controls that make the ship move up and down. What you'd have wouldn't really be 3D combat--but you would have three or four layers of 2D combat, which is really just the same thing. You could jump into another layer to dodge something, but you'd be strafing and that would keep the game to a simple 360° of direction. If you were to make the ship pitch, then you'd also have to make it roll and that would mean... Where's the calculator... 1190246400° of direction. I'm not quite up to handling a fleet at the same time.
(typo)

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No, I'm not that cruel. I don't use the flamethrower on my
enemies. I save that for my
allies.
-caalaklael, the trigger
happy obiard

[This message has been edited by caalaklael (edited 01-30-2000).]