Vision giving units.

[Viridian Wolf]

I like this idea though i don't think there are the 3 universal commander classes( strike , artillery , tank ) anymore , its now more of 2unique classes per faction

There should some ways to get vision on areas or the enemy for a limited amount of time so players can react accordingly otherwise it becomes a little random , who has the better company composition

[EMPstrike]

Oooooor some new deployable turret that gives a good size field of view ^^

I like this place.

[Jetsam]

Watching gameplay vids that are out there form the various shows indicates there is a fairly standard FOW implemented...

I recall seeing it in some older vids. I don't see any reason why there wouldn't be FOW. It's a huge asset to any RTS game, it makes scouting and map awareness so much more important.

[hahahaweee]

what about attacks that reveal fog as they pass (like ashe's arrow in League of Legends)... maybe a nano bot swarm, or an icbm

[USMC0311]

I see a few options for this;
01). As I stated in the artillery thread, illumination artillery shells that remove fog of war from a distance over an effects area. The effect would be small to medium size. Think 30 meter view.

02). Aircraft: In real life we have; Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint S.T.A.R.S., Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly E-6 Hermes), Boeing E-3 Sentry, Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, and the E-1 Tracer. All were made for this function. The effect would be small to HUGE. In real life all of these aircraft are also unarmed. Think 3000 meter view.

03). Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). I'm thinking a UAV that flies around the battle-space that is remote controlled and tied into a small controlling unit in the background wherever you place it. The UAV itself cant' be destroyed and has a SMALL view range. To kill it you'd have to kill the controller/base. The effect would be very small size, and temporary but continuous as long as the UAV is still flying. Think 30 meter view.

04). Satellite. Have the Satellite pass over the battle space every so often and the owning team can pick a spot to target the satellite which will remove fog of war over a selected area for a short to medium amount of time. After this time has elapsed you'd have to wait again, and you only have so long to select the zone to simulate a real life satellite's orbit timing. Think 30,000 Meters scale view. Only allied players will be away of where the satellite is targeted.

Side note. You could also have it so that the command center controlling the satellite is a target-able and destroy-able building, giving the enemy the chance to destroy your satellite view.

[Einharjar]

I see a few options for this;
01). As I stated in the artillery thread, illumination artillery shells that remove fog of war from a distance over an effects area. The effect would be small to medium size. Think 30 meter view.

02). Aircraft: In real life we have; Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint S.T.A.R.S., Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly E-6 Hermes), Boeing E-3 Sentry, Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, and the E-1 Tracer. All were made for this function. The effect would be small to HUGE. In real life all of these aircraft are also unarmed. Think 3000 meter view.

03). Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). I'm thinking a UAV that flies around the battle-space that is remote controlled and tied into a small controlling unit in the background wherever you place it. The UAV itself cant' be destroyed and has a SMALL view range. To kill it you'd have to kill the controller/base. The effect would be very small size, and temporary but continuous as long as the UAV is still flying. Think 30 meter view.

04). Satellite. Have the Satellite pass over the battle space every so often and the owning team can pick a spot to target the satellite which will remove fog of war over a selected area for a short to medium amount of time. After this time has elapsed you'd have to wait again, and you only have so long to select the zone to simulate a real life satellite's orbit timing. Think 30,000 Meters scale view. Only allied players will be away of where the satellite is targeted.

Side note. You could also have it so that the command center controlling the satellite is a target-able and destroy-able building, giving the enemy the chance to destroy your satellite view.

My Gods, marine, you're full of information, aren't you. I like it >

Real Life applications in-game could be rough.
1, Satellites that the US uses for military purposes are often Geosynchronous. So they are actually the eye in the sky 24/7. Infinite LoS basically for infinite amount of time. That alone would mean No FoW at all for game purposes.

2, UAVs, if they were to mimic real life applications; would be insane as well. Unlike manned air craft like our old TR1s, U2s, Hawk Eyes and all AWACS aircraft as well have limited flight potential due to the crew. 28 hours straight is a hard toll on those guys. UAVs however, like Northrop's evolving Global Hawk program can fly for over 60 hours non-stop. The larger one flies 30k ft above the deck and gives you almost Satellite styled LoS and intel. Again, it's almost like removing the FoW all together.

3, Recon and Electronic Support craft like AWACS however COULD be more fair in game. These craft are more over the "battle field awareness" type. The smaller UAVs provide the same logic. It's meant to ID friend from foe, not just detect things from hell'a far away. The Air Force is getting crazy with some AWACS support uses however. A new B1B configuration basically bakes the bomber a "Starcraft Valkyrie". With AWACS providing multiple target information at great distance, this new B1B set up allows it to launch 12 missiles simultaneously at 12 separate targets. It's the "Look down, shoot down" credo to the max. I wonder if we could be creative and apply similar scenarios for EoN's more ground focus operations. A spotter+target tracker working in tandem with a specialty weapons delivery system.

[USMC0311]

My Gods, marine, you're full of information, aren't you. I like it >
Real Life applications in-game could be rough.
1, Satellites that the US uses for military purposes are often Geosynchronous. So they are actually the eye in the sky 24/7. Infinite LoS basically for infinite amount of time. That alone would mean No FoW at all for game purposes.

Yes I am fully aware that the current generations of satellites operate differently then what I proposed. Most miltiary satellites operate as you stated. But take like the CIA/NAS/DIA satellites. They are needed all over the world at various times. Just use this in game as the reasoning why the satellite's not over-head all the time. Also.. it woudl making it less game unbalancing don't ya think?

2, UAVs, if they were to mimic real life applications; would be insane as well. Unlike manned air craft like our old TR1s, U2s, Hawk Eyes and all AWACS aircraft as well have limited flight potential due to the crew. 28 hours straight is a hard toll on those guys. UAVs however, like Northrop's evolving Global Hawk program can fly for over 60 hours non-stop. The larger one flies 30k ft above the deck and gives you almost Satellite styled LoS and intel. Again, it's almost like removing the FoW all together.

What I'm suggesting is having it operate like one of the tiny UAVs, not really a predator or global hawk. I'm thinking a SMALL area of view that's basically right below the UAV. Also could make it so that it has a flight and reload time so that every so often it has to return to the control base, and then you must wait a while to use it again.

3, Recon and Electronic Support craft like AWACS however COULD be more fair in game. These craft are more over the "battle field awareness" type. The smaller UAVs provide the same logic. It's meant to ID friend from foe, not just detect things from hell'a far away. The Air Force is getting crazy with some AWACS support uses however. A new B1B configuration basically bakes the bomber a "Starcraft Valkyrie". With AWACS providing multiple target information at great distance, this new B1B set up allows it to launch 12 missiles simultaneously at 12 separate targets. It's the "Look down, shoot down" credo to the max. I wonder if we could be creative and apply similar scenarios for EoN's more ground focus operations. A spotter+target tracker working in tandem with a specialty weapons delivery system.

Yes the new model... t least when I looked into it was called the B1R. I love the idea IRL... don't think it'd be balanced in a game.

Some stuff just can't be balanced/fair, for example;
United States Artillery. America has the biggest guns, fastest firing guns, farthest firing guns, most accurate firing guns, can manufacture their artillery guns fastest, and cheapest (lowest % of GDP). Just giving n example of how some stuff needs to be toned down, even if not accurate, for games.

[Einharjar]

Well the tandem team system could still be possible. obviously, not of the Air Force's caliber as stated before. However much smaller tandem relationships? Yes. In fact in a lot of RTSs, we already have minor tandems. Since I have the most experience with Starcraft lately...
SCVs + Mech = Heavy Metal builds. You forgo most infantry, if not all infantry and use SCVs to repair your tanks and provide AA cover via Missile Turrets
Ghosts + Raven/Science Vessel = Spotting/Hunter Killing team. The increase scout range of the air units, plus their detection ability allows the Ghost to EMP/Snipe Templars, as well as paint a nuke at maximum range.

Detection Units + Army = The most basic RTS tandem force. Need that detector to spot those stealthies. This is almost in every RTS utilizing stealth units in a traditional means.


Other Tandem ideas? Well, I remember early SC2 (and I'm sure other RTSs) had another "pod/drone" that the Raven could deploy. It would "paint" a target much like the Ghost would paint a nuke, only it would focus on an actual unit. The result would be basically a debuff on that unit. Friendlies would do like 25% or more damage than normal to that unit.
Expand this to an actual support unit for EON, that paints targets. That's it's only function.
It could have different modes too!
The Bull Snake support vehicle. Has two "weapon" modes that are passive abilities used to support nearby friendly units.
"Battle ID Targeting Assist (or BITA) - A targeting system that highlights up to 12 enemies and transmits their data, such as armor, facing, weak points and other information; to nearby friendlies, allowing 20% more damage"
"Target Exposure System( or TES) - A targeting system that highlights a single target, thoroughly scanning it's hull for weak points and soft spots, granting 35% more damage and increases critical hit chances by 5%"

Mods and upgrades could further enhance these elements, maybe even specializing it's targeting and battle field awareness functions such as a Sensor mod that replaces the TES with a Anti-Air specific version so you do even more Damage to anti-air. A Similar tandem system used in modern day militaries for AA control (Isreal's new system being a prime example)

[LockednLoaded]

I like puppies