multiple turns at once?

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

Moderator: Oberlus

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
pd
Graphics Lead Emeritus
Posts: 1924
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 6:17 pm
Location: 52°16'N 10°31'E

multiple turns at once?

#1 Post by pd »

i'm sure you know this: you are sitting in front of the screen, watching your empire and are pressing the turn button again and again, cuz you are waiting for fleet xy arriving in system yz and notthing else is happening.

since moo2 i wanted to be able to right-click(or whatever) on the turn button and choose how many turns should be proceeded at once.

what do you think about this?

Daveybaby
Small Juggernaut
Posts: 724
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2003 11:07 am
Location: Hastings, UK

#2 Post by Daveybaby »

I cant think of a way to make it practical for multiplayer (except for the Moo3 option of running with the AI for n turns before starting the game) but theres no reason this couldnt be done for SP.

All you have to do is hand control of the client over to an AI for a number of turns.

I've just implemented something like this in my own project, and its amazing how useful it is for development purposes - being able to run a game to completion in 30 seconds really helps you to spot bugs and balance issues.
The COW Project : You have a spy in your midst.

luckless666
Pupating Mass
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2003 3:16 am
Location: West Sussex, United Kingdom

#3 Post by luckless666 »

Daveybaby wrote:I cant think of a way to make it practical for multiplayer (except for the Moo3 option of running with the AI for n turns before starting the game) but theres no reason this couldnt be done for SP.

All you have to do is hand control of the client over to an AI for a number of turns.

I've just implemented something like this in my own project, and its amazing how useful it is for development purposes - being able to run a game to completion in 30 seconds really helps you to spot bugs and balance issues.
Just exclude it as an option in multiplayer
Chris Walker
| c.walker (at) mgt.hull.ac.uk |

WorldForge.org

User avatar
pd
Graphics Lead Emeritus
Posts: 1924
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 6:17 pm
Location: 52°16'N 10°31'E

#4 Post by pd »

Daveybaby wrote: [....] but theres no reason this couldnt be done for SP.
great ;)
Daveybaby wrote:All you have to do is hand control of the client over to an AI for a number of turns.
maybe the player should be able to decide, whether the ai takes controll or not. i thought of this feature to 'skip' the turns where nothing(at least not much) is todo. but if the ai takes control, it would make things i don't want it to. a simple checkbox to enable/disable the ai would be cool.

Daveybaby
Small Juggernaut
Posts: 724
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2003 11:07 am
Location: Hastings, UK

#5 Post by Daveybaby »

pd wrote:maybe the player should be able to decide, whether the ai takes controll or not. i thought of this feature to 'skip' the turns where nothing(at least not much) is todo. but if the ai takes control, it would make things i don't want it to. a simple checkbox to enable/disable the ai would be cool.
To be honest, i cant see much need for that sort of thing. I mean, if you dont want to do anything for a few turns, then just click 'turn' a few times. Its not really difficult.

If you want to run for 10 turns because theres nothing interesting happening, how do you know that on turn 5 someone wont launch a massive invasion fleet and take half of your systems? So youre going to need some sort of mechanism that will detect whether something is important enough to wake you up, and thats the point where it becomes waaaaaay too much extra work for too little gain.

Being able to run with an AI instead of a player would be great for setting up initial conditions for an advanced MP game, and its very useful for debugging, but its probably not that useful (as you said) mid-game, because its going to mess with your empire in a way you probably didnt want.
The COW Project : You have a spy in your midst.

Aquitaine
Lead Designer Emeritus
Posts: 761
Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2003 1:54 pm
Location: Austin, TX

#6 Post by Aquitaine »

This is the kind of 'polish' feautre that we might add right before or shortly after v1.0. It's come up before (I think on the MOO3 forums) but it's not really a fundamental design thing, so I'd suggest putting it off until we really are just adding polish.
Surprise and Terror! I am greeted by the smooth and hostile face of our old enemy, the Hootmans! No... the Huge-glands, no, I remember, the Hunams!

User avatar
pd
Graphics Lead Emeritus
Posts: 1924
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 6:17 pm
Location: 52°16'N 10°31'E

#7 Post by pd »

This is the kind of 'polish' feautre that we might add right before or shortly after v1.0. It's come up before (I think on the MOO3 forums) but it's not really a fundamental design thing, so I'd suggest putting it off until we really are just adding polish.
right, i just wanted to mention it. better now than too late ;)
good to hear it's an easy to implement feature.

User avatar
utilae
Cosmic Dragon
Posts: 2175
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2003 12:37 am
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

#8 Post by utilae »

You could do a thing where you right click on the turn button and a list box extends that has the number of turns to skip:
eg.
10
7
5
3
1
TURN (button)

Kinda like how you use the back button in MS Internet Explorer (ya know that little arrow button that drops down the list of websites you can go back to).

Post Reply