Communication Posts

[TH300]

Communication Posts

Originally proposed by Hooman

Related ideas:

- Resource Management
- Mobile CC
- Mini CC

Description:

Instead of building a tube all the way to another base, just put up directional antennas/dishes that can link one point to another.

This is a good idea, because:

- running satellite bases / mining outposts becomes easier.
- new Strategy: destroy opponents communication posts.

This is a bad idea, because:

- resource sharing between bases not realistic.

[Starfox00000]

how do the ppl get through the antennas?

[omagaalpha]

lol topic should be call teleporter then not comucation post. For comucation post impled video link or to be able to talk to enemy or allies.

[TH300]

in this thread we are talking about communication posts which are only good for the transfer of data between different locations on the map.
If you want teleporters, post them in a new thread. But before you do so get some info on how the tech works and why it is realistic to have them.

If communication posts are included they will clearly not transfer colonists. As a consequence we must count colonists for each seperate base and the only way to transfer them would be by evac transports (or tubes, but the communication posts wouldn't be needed when a tube connection existed).

To sum it up: Communication Posts will make the game far more complex.

[Sirbomber]

Hmm... This made me think of something.

If you have enough people, you can create a new colony independent of you. It would be AI controlled (but you, as the commander of the mother colony, could give your own orders to it too) and it would have separate resource counts. It'd kinda be like a new player. Any tech either of you gets is shared though.
Let me try to sum it up:
1) P1 (Red Eden we'll say) has 300 people. 121 kids, 107 workers, and 72 scis.
2) P1 decides to make a separate colony. He constructs enough equipment (ConVecs, Trucks, Miners, kits, etc) to support a new colony.
3) The new colony is built and begins mining operations, growing food, keeping mraoel high, etc.
4) P1's population grows too high and he is unable to maintain it. His population demands too many agridomes/reses/etc.
5) P1 clicks Command Center #1-02 and clicks the "New Colony" button. He is asked how many colonists (minimum of 20 workers and 12 scis) he wishes to transfer to the new colony, along with food and metals. He clicks the number he wants and clicks "Establish Colony." He is given a message saying "All structures connected to this Command Center will be transferred to the new colony. Are you sure?", and he clicks "Yes".
6) The entire base is now a Green Eden Ai controled base. But P1 can still command it/etc, although the Command Center is now labelled #1A-01 (if it's his second new base it would be #1B-01). Also, P1 can always click the "Merge Colonies" button and will automatically gain control of the colony if his old one is destroyed.

Note: CC #x-01/lowest numbered CC wouldn't have the New Colony option.

[omagaalpha]

Cool idea Sirbomber and make more sense too. And get rid the I am god I can have as many coloney I wanted. More then commander of coloney and you can only be in one coloney at time.

[zhukant]

Sirbomber, isn't that something very close to OP1's idea?

[omagaalpha]

to me say no for outpost 1 ai only built one building  massive of it(with no reason to number of it).
He propse when you start new base that you has too have ai commander run that base.

[Vexhare]

So in effect, you could create 10 colonies all run by ai's then merge when your fighting and take control of 11 fighting bases?... interesting.

[omagaalpha]

actual merge button only coloney you are commanding is destoryed so basical player can only run 1 base and he has let ai building other for coloney when started

[Sirbomber]

You can control their vecs and stuff, but for the most part, they're independent. Maybe you shouldn't be able to form groups with their vecs, making control of them clumsy and difficult in a large battle.
Their ore, food, power, morale, pop, etc., are independent from you.
I guess it's like OP1's multi-colony thing (wasn't thinking of it at the time) but the main difference is that this would actually work if it was implemented.  
But yeah, the player shouldn't really interfere with the AI controlled colonies unless something's going wrong.

[zhukant]

How are you guys going to engineer such an AI?

[omagaalpha]

lol actual something that be easy todo game develop get that point to do. Actual work well enough human should interfered in computer ai of sub colonies.
p.s. think topic off this thread for multiple coloney handle

[Sirbomber]

How are you guys going to engineer such an AI?

Who says they're going to do this anyways?

[omagaalpha]

thought point out they want ideas so that make best possible, to worry how going to done should not be worry at this point.

Edit sorry forgot not in above sentanece

[Vexhare]

well... from my standpoint I think there needs to be way more thought and planning before we can worry about programming it...

[TH300]

if we can program a computer player AI, we can program an AI that controls a single outpost, right?

I don't know if I like this idea. It makes things easier for the player, but some people like to control as much as possible. I'm thinking about making AI control optional.

[Sirbomber]

Yes, I said it should be optional. Which is why there is a button to press to do it.

[Stormy]

of course it's possible to code a computer AI, Eddy-B is doing it... All you need to do is start with a design document and then work from there making it more and more advanced. (easier said than done).

Interesting idea, but that could be abused by people.... as long as you are able to turn it off before going ingame, I think it's alright.

[dm-horus]

this idea sounds really tacked-on. from what ive learned theres no point in adding things to a game that already exist just so you can get an extra function. youve already got a cc so having one thats mobile is pointless unless in the vein of cnc which allows it to "deploy." nobody builds a new car when they want new rims, they just add the function to whats already there. but i doubt i have to worry about amateurish mods making their way into op2 because i doubt it would ever get coded or even work properly.

the idea of having antennas doesnt work because the foundation of colony management is that everything runs on COLONISTS. people cant go thru antennas and seeing as how savant computers are so complex, the factions suddenly gaining the ability to manufacture enough to run entire buildings is nonsense.

if you wanted to do something like what youre proposing, just remove tubes entirely so it makes sense. having buildings that needs tubes while others dont is silly. you might as well turn op2 into sc that way. why not give cc's an area of effect? any building within a range around the cc will be online. this will at least force people to have multiple cc's.

[Freeza-CII]

This is all very interesting but sadly this isnt startrek and people fit better throught tubes then radio waves.  The only thing you could do with the radio waves idea is transfer energy much like the solar sats.  But this would realisticly cause a problem that it would high energy microwaves make people not have babies or live very long lol.

[Jgamer]

*ahem* Actually, from what I get from the microwave weapon research topic, inter-structure energy tranfer is made using microwave beams as well as powersat energy tranfer. So, this antenna system could eliminate the need for a tube connetion for power and command but there's still the problem of colonists (just use E.T.s), metals (they're tranferred through the tubes, but the new colony can have it's independant stock) and life-support (if i'm not right the OP2 CC does also the OP1 CHAP's work producing a breathable atmosphere, however I think agridomes can be altered to do so)

[dm-horus]

the point is that by using this youre eliminating a MAJOR part of the game, story and canon: colonies could be built in sprawling, C&C style instead of the tight, efficient style that we have all gotten used to playing op2. no longer needing tubes would be like making all ore mines instantly drop resources into your reserves instead of requiring cargo trucks. its too much all at once. besides, these units are too similar to command centers which already do the function well. theres no need to change the game so drastically for such a small benefit. just build the tubes, man.

[Tramis]

As for communication posts, suppose that instead of having to do with building colonies, any vehicle that is outside the range of a command center, RCC, or communications array would have massively reduced AI, to show that it's relying on only its own computer systems.  This would reduce its accuracy, pathing ability, perhaps speed or rate of fire...

[Stormy]

As for communication posts, suppose that instead of having to do with building colonies, any vehicle that is outside the range of a command center, RCC, or communications array would have massively reduced AI, to show that it's relying on only its own computer systems.  This would reduce its accuracy, pathing ability, perhaps speed or rate of fire...

I like this idea it would just make things a bit too much complicated imho....