[palito-dev] musings

[Michael Devey]

howdy,

fixed (did someone say hack?) the semicircle issues and made patrol commands 
visually recognisable (well after you've placed them ... todo later).  Not very 
exciting so I won't send it in yet.

anyway musings ...

I was thinking it may be better to focus more on the console than the key 
interface.  Zed was talking about playability without mouse, I think now would 
be a good time.  Doing it to such a level that clicking the mouse button is 
actually a bind to "moveunits current_selected_array x y" or some such thing.

What brings this on?  Well I want to put in a second patrol route interface.  
Where a saved route is linked against and not copied.  So for example changing 
the size of your defence perimeter does not mean selecting all the units you 
want to copy a route - you just change the route and those using that route 
follow without you having to pick and choose. (significant memory reduction too 
for large groups) 

I intend to implement it in such a way that you don't have a unit selected to 
place the route and can have it finished before units start following it.  This 
will help stop the "clumping" of units that is so common in large groups when 
you're too slow setting your waypoints.  On that note it'll need some code to 
select which waypoint the unit is closet too so they don't all go the start.  
Oh yeah this 2nd patrol interface shouldn't require much just an int to say 
which patrolroute it's following (larger than the max allowed means it has it's 
own spercific orders) and an int for which order it's upto, and the associated 
code changes so routes don't get freed.

(heh on reading this through I discover changing the number of  waypoints could 
break this arrangement but you get the idea :)

so yeah instead playing with the keys I'd rather just use console for the time 
being and work out some logical bindings at a later date.

starting to think about how to do better patrolling techniques with this second 
method - back to my plane patrol route protecting my base model - setting the 
related distances between units - 

a maximum distance:  ie all units wait at the highest (or a selected?) waypoint 
before progressing - ie wipe the floor with the first couple of units they find

an average distance:  maximum coverage over the patrol route

a minimum + maximum distance:  most effective fighting distance - far enough 
apart not to get slaughtered by area effect weapons but close enough to support 
(helps stop getting annihilated by units you can't see yet too)

and the trickier related code to allow units to diverge from this behaviour 
when in the thick of the action so they don't wait around to form up into 
formations(oh yeah formations we should think about that and units weightings - 
just stop me if I start sounding like a TA2 freak)

anyway for starters, setting up your scout planes with an average distance 
would be a good. 

thoughts?

myke