Welcome back to another State of the Game!
This week I added a very highly requested feature to the server system of M.A.V.. The server operator can now queue up levels, select the levels to play next, and remove levels from the rotation. This has allowed players to really test out the latest version of No Man’s Pass and provide great feedback on it!
More progress is continually being made on the ‘Commander Update’ as well. While the name ‘commander update’ makes it seem like it was focused on a single role, it is actually focused on expanding out the 3 role triangle of a good team, namely the commander, the scout, and the support role. While the other 3 roles benefit from teamwork, they are much more ‘lone wolf’ type roles. These heavy teamwork roles are harder to play, but can be a devastating combination when wielded in experienced hands.
That said, I have started working on how artillery fire [currently howitzers and rockets] work. They don’t currently fill the indirect fire role as much as I would like, so I have begun tweaking some of the mechanics. The first of which will be a range finder, which will notify you of the exact range your rounds will travel. This is important, because of the long travel time, you need to have additional information to help place your shots. This also allows you to more consistently deliver rounds to the same area, shot after shot.
Now, this ‘exact’ range firing is a little tricky, as it’s mathematically impossible to match up the target ranges, with the required shot speeds and shot angles. I am working on coming up with a solution that will allow somewhat realistic shot arcs, but still provide the functionally that is required.
This also means howitzers and rockets will likely go through another round of balance tweaks [I already started messing with howitzers] that will help them fit their new firing method better.
After that is done, I will need to teach the AI how to use the new method.
So far, the results are exciting! It’s much easier to drop rounds on a target at long range and they are less likely to dodge, since the rounds are coming straight down on them. I hope to have a snapshot with the new mechanic out in a few days.
Until next week! Happy M.A.V.ing!