Phase Gates
wulf
Join Date: 2008-08-03 Member: 64749Members
Join Date: 2008-08-03 Member: 64749Members
Well, I've been one to be highly critical of every revisited aspect from NS1 from aesthetic to functional features. Especially marine concepts and alien movement. Buildings too bulky and square, not really fit for a mobile marine team etc and no skulk bhop (which I am <u>sure</u> will be fixed).
But one thing I do have to say is the new phase gates look damned attractive. Slim, functional, sexy. I would go in and out of it all day. Also the siege cannons are pretty cool concept wise too.
Yeah gj!
But one thing I do have to say is the new phase gates look damned attractive. Slim, functional, sexy. I would go in and out of it all day. Also the siege cannons are pretty cool concept wise too.
Yeah gj!
Comments
+use fixed that in NS, so quite puzzling why it's not in NS2...
when it's in the middle of a small room with sentries and other buildings covering the walls while fighting amongst a dozen marines and aliens.
It would make a lot more sense to build phase gates (and IPs) out of the way so people don't spawn into the middle of an area. Spawn them on the sidelines so they don't have to watch all around them as soon as they appear.
That way he can build both of them against the wall and shut off the "portals" going to the wall. That way he can place the PG really close to a wall, and marines will always spawn out of them facing they way they should.
That way he can build both of them against the wall and shut off the "portals" going to the wall. That way he can place the PG really close to a wall, and marines will always spawn out of them facing they way they should.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I actually thought that's how they worked when I dropped the first one the other night. Having them open only on one side would be ok, making it selectable by the commander might be a little tricky ui-wise.
I'm kinda with Kouji though, +use would make things a lot easier, even if it's not quite as cool as just walking into the light ^^
It would make a lot more sense to build phase gates (and IPs) out of the way so people don't spawn into the middle of an area. Spawn them on the sidelines so they don't have to watch all around them as soon as they appear.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
well, yeah of course it makes sense. now tell that to the majority of commanders.
tl;dr: less hypothetical statements, more action! Go try them, they're sexy! :)
How does it work?
If there are 3+ phase gates you have to cycle through each one to get to the location you want to go to?
Another problem I have is that when I run through the phase gate I just keep running through the other side without instantly teleporting, and about 1 second later I appear in the new area.
Judging from the aesthetic of the Phase Gate, I imagine that's something they intend to implement eventually. If not, they need to!
It would make a lot more sense to build phase gates (and IPs) out of the way so people don't spawn into the middle of an area. Spawn them on the sidelines so they don't have to watch all around them as soon as they appear.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Originally you wanted phase gates and ips away from walls so they wouldn't get grinded, but now I'm not sure with how it directs you out of a side. Personally I'd rather spawn in the middle of a room than the possibility of facing a wall.
Could make them rotatable? Honestly I think infantry portals should also be orientable like a turret.
Spawning facing a wall is bad, but spawning in the middle is not much better, because you are always going to have half the room behind you you can't see.
Either program it so that they automatically orient to face the biggest open space, or let them be manually oriented. It's worth the couple of extra seconds for the benefit in useability.
they are entertaining to watch unfold.
and i like the simple animation.
they're unfolding remind me of the transformers movies...where their unfolding doesn't look like it makes complete sense...
but who cares because it look so cool.
Also the problem with accidently going through the NS1 phase gates were they were small pits in the room not big blue glowy doors.
<img src="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/static/comm_manual/images/pg.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
I would rather phase gates be paired than chained.
I never liked the chaining in NS1 and I still find it confusing.
I realize they are easier to maintain chained versus paired.
From what I can tell, they cycle through in the order they were built. So if the comm built the first PG in marine start, 2nd in heliport, and 3rd in crossroads, you'd cycle through them in that order (for example, if I was in crossroads and wanted to get to heliport, the first teleport would send me to marine start and the 2nd would send me to heliport).
I'd like to see some method to allow either the player or the commander to choose the PG destination if there are more than 2 PGs, but I'm not sure the best way to accomplish this.
<img src="http://www.brett3d.com/media/hl_19.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
xen
<img src="http://www.brett3d.com/media/hl_19.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
xen<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
better yet, let xen aliens teleport to the infested phase gate to help fight the marines.
How they currently work is not exactly how I thought they would. I made a diagram to help explain everything below... with some suggestions
<img src="http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/OutlawD1/Portal-Gate-Direction.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
The order in which the commander placed the PGs does determine the order a player cycles through the portals. Its all one direction. When you enter the 1st you'll exit the second. Enter the second, you exist the third. Doesn't matter which side. However which side you enter does determine the side you'll exist. However, how this is done currently its very confusing.
When you place a PG you'll see on one side the same blue semi-circle as the the turrets. I simply call this side the "front" side of the PG ....and other the side the "back" side. The way I assumed it worked was that if you entered the front side you would exist the from the front side on the next PG.
It doesn't work like this.
The blue semi circle indicates the <i>direction</i>. To explain this better, lets say you were to make a long line of PGs down a corridor ..and with the blue semi circles all going the same direction. If you were to enter the PGs going that same direction, you would pop in and out in a forward line all the way down the hall...portal style. It would make sense to do it like this, if you were placing all the PGs down a corridor in the same direction...and wanted to play the NS2's version of portal :P. However the PGs will be in completely different rooms and so doing it like this makes it very confusing...for both the commander and player.
Again, I would make it so that if you enter from the front of the 1st PG, you exist from the front in the 2nd PG...and so on. Also, enter from the back, you'll exit from the back...simple. It makes it easier for the commander to keep track of which side will do what...and it allows the commander to place PGs along the wall. Currently if you want to place PGs along the wall you have to make one PG facing away from the wall, and the next one facing towards the wall. Very counter intuitive, plus if you place a third one against the wall, it mucks up the whole process. With a third PG, you will eventually portal into a wall, which will push you back into the PG...and you have to do the cycle all over again hoping that it will not push you back into the PG this time.
Ideally I'd like to see the front side cycle you forward from PG to PG, and the back side cycle you backwards. So if you enter each time from the front side, you'll cycle from <b>1st PG-> 2nd PG-> 3rd PG-> 1st PG-></b>....and so on (assuming only 3 PGs)
If you enter from the back sides, you'll cycle from <b>1st PG-> 3rd PG-> 2nd PG-> 1st PG-></b>....ect..
If they want to keep the current automatic portal, they'll have to change how it works.
Maybe also display the PGs on the map represented with numbers. That way you know where they are, how many are placed and in what order.
1) I'm disoriented when I teleport though. It's probably asking too much to actually 'see' through the PG every so slightly (so you know where you will be facing) like Portal :)
2) If a commander drops a PG against a wall (so one side is right up against a wall) then you may end up teleporting into that side of the PG and then need to teleport right back out (ie it makes it useless). Perhaps a timeout of a few seconds before you can teleport again?
3) Some way to select which PG to teleport through (popup menu?) would be awesome. A simple feature would be to 'favourite' a PG, so that when you die, you teleport to that one (instead of another in sequence) when your entering the PG for the first time again from marine spawn.
1) I'm disoriented when I teleport though. It's probably asking too much to actually 'see' through the PG every so slightly (so you know where you will be facing) like Portal :)
<!--coloro:#00BFFF--><span style="color:#00BFFF"><!--/coloro-->I'm unsure how "disorienting" this warp is but it would be a cool feature, they're alright the way they are now though. That way you cannot watch from the other side on whats happening. Leave that to the commander to tell his team!<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
2) If a commander drops a PG against a wall (so one side is right up against a wall) then you may end up teleporting into that side of the PG and then need to teleport right back out (ie it makes it useless). Perhaps a timeout of a few seconds before you can teleport again?
<!--coloro:#00BFFF--><span style="color:#00BFFF"><!--/coloro-->I think having the direction of where the unit would be facing after warping in would be better. e.g. an arrow on the building placement showing the commander where the marines will be facing.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
3) Some way to select which PG to teleport through (popup menu?) would be awesome. A simple feature would be to 'favourite' a PG, so that when you die, you teleport to that one (instead of another in sequence) when your entering the PG for the first time again from marine spawn.
<!--coloro:#00BFFF--><span style="color:#00BFFF"><!--/coloro-->Press e on phase gate, brings up minimap with available phase gates. Select which one to warp to, ???, success.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not sure anymore which way it is, but i think it was that way:
E.g. place the arc where ppl go in, place the other arc(on the 2nd pg) where ppl go out. (so as long as you go into a pg on the side with the arc, you always look into the right direction when you come out)
=> best placement ist against a wall - as close as possible. (doesnt block much view(or bullets if aliens dance around it) or movement)
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Kwwv0.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Option 2 would be, arc in, no arc out. (but i guess i wont need to paint that too)
So imagine you have 2 outposts and a base with PG.
When you try to go to outpost 2 your first teleportation will take you to outpost one. So you can check up on it and then continue to your destination. Patrolling your outposts is never a bad idea. Even when the next one is under attack, it's not like you lose 2 minutes with the extra teleportation.
When you enters the <b><!--coloro:#4169E1--><span style="color:#4169E1"><!--/coloro-->blue side<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b> you will go out in next phase gate (by build chain) ... i.e. enters blue side on 1. gate -> exit in 2. gate
When you enters the<b><!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro--> red side<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>, then you will go out on previous one (enters 2. gate on red side will go out from 1. gate)
<!--coloro:#9ACD32--><span style="color:#9ACD32"><!--/coloro-->+ clear visual recognize where you can go
+ don't need any special additional mechanism (like popup menu, which will slow you down) ... fast decision in combat<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->- need to go around PG when you want teleport just between two gates (1. -> 2. -> 1. -> 2. -> ...) but we can live with it :D<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Yyrrh.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
All they need to do to stop the complaining is to allow the commander to switch the power off on phase gates like he can do with the power packs.
That way when he wants his team to goto a area right away the other phase gates are turned off and they wont end up there. BANG BANG
When you enters the <b><!--coloro:#4169E1--><span style="color:#4169E1"><!--/coloro-->blue side<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b> you will go out in next phase gate (by build chain) ... i.e. enters blue side on 1. gate -> exit in 2. gate
When you enters the<b><!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro--> red side<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>, then you will go out on previous one (enters 2. gate on red side will go out from 1. gate)
<!--coloro:#9ACD32--><span style="color:#9ACD32"><!--/coloro-->+ clear visual recognize where you can go
+ don't need any special additional mechanism (like popup menu, which will slow you down) ... fast decision in combat<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->- need to go around PG when you want teleport just between two gates (1. -> 2. -> 1. -> 2. -> ...) but we can live with it :D<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Yyrrh.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
this is the most straightforward and easy to understand way
Commanders turning phase gates on and off is not a great idea - what if a marine needs to go back through a phase gate for 10 seconds to visit an armory? You have to give marines freedom to make some decisions alone. If they are being turned on and off marines could get confused they won't know where they might end up and it will involve more micromanagement for the commander.
Lets take summit. Marine start has a phase gate. Crossroads has a phase gate. And now a 3rd phase gate has just gone up at generator for a hive rush!!!
so since crossroads is fine for the mean time we turn that phase gate off. This leaves us with generator and marine spawn phase gates. Marines go through and end up at generator? whats so difficult about it that its not a good idea to let phase gates be turned on and off? this is a rts game isnt it?
And if crossroads gets in trouble he can always activate it on again and get marines there.
All this isnt necessary tho which is what i mean that ns1 phase gates were fine and it wasnt a big deal. (like how people are making it out to be now)