Thread: UAV alternative

We all know and love UAV's from BF, but there comes the problem of realism in a WW2 setting. Some people have suggested mini radar stations etc - I don't really like that much, so here's the alternative I'd suggest:

Spotter planes. Works just like a UAV. A plane flies overhead, but in a straight line - instead of revealing a small circle on the map, it instead marks enemies along a narrow strip. Angle of the line to be determined by the map, for simplicity, although there's no reason it couldn't be decided dynamically based on positions held by each side. This is very close to the method used in Company Of Heroes - infact it's pretty much identical. A spotter plane flies overhead, and reveals enemies along a straight line.

Additionally, this adds the possibility of further mini-objectives. The UAV effect can be tied to the plane, and the plane can have a health box. There's no reason this couldn't be shot down by AA on the battlefield - infact, on many maps there's no reason that AA positions shouldn't be placed on the map with that express purpose. If the plane flies relatively slow and low, players could shoot it down before it passes over most of the map. Or for the purposes of gameplay, automated AA could kick in. Of course, players on the other team could then make it their business to go about taking out any AA, so that they can make better use of the UAV - and indeed any other air-based off-map call-ins that may be included. JMTC

Halfdark

I like the idea. At first I thought about Red Alert 3 which also have a UAV which comes in by a straight line and only reveals the area it flies through. That would make it more realistic, yes, as well as it doesn't harm the gameplay that much. And I agree; the plane should be shoot down and fly slow. I'm not sure if I like the idea of an automatic AA though, but it would make sense to perhaps let it be automatic as you said; the enemy would then take out the AA's.

Maniche

Yea, I like this idea a lot. It would be AI controlled plane right? I instantly thought of CoH when I read your post.

How would it be balanced or how would you get this ability? Who would "deploy" it?

I imagine the commander on each team would be responsible for deploying it on his own or at the request of a platoon leader.

I like the idea - perhaps it could only tag enemys for a few seconds before they the markers freeze and eventually dissappear. That way you'd get a rough idea what they were doing from the direction of movement etc...

Also I wonder how possible it would be for it only to mark enemys which are in the open - so players could take cover in buildings or under vehicles etc... to avoid detection.

Naga's version would be ideal. Though, I don't know how easy it is to code that kind of thing. From what I've seen, a lot of engines (and the AI specifically) don't seem to give a damn if you're in cover and hiding, or not. They still know where you are*

The cammanders should have to call it in via radio. Either a fixed radio "station" at their base, or maybe have mobile radio-men? I don't really know how much you guys have planned yet, so this class might already be in the works.

I'd suggest for the sake of consistency, that this UAV tagged enemies for display in map/minimap/whatever in exactly the same way as anything else which tags people for display on maps. I'll create separate thread for this, since it's something which ought to be discussed, but I'd suggest consistency is the name of the game here.

As for the mechanics of observing cover, I have a thought:

Akin to a suggestion I've made many times before, to deal with other similar problems, (see my ideas on cover affecting points-for-kills, or mini-objectives etc; I can't be bothered to link to them but I'm sure many of you will remember them) the use of helper objects could be employed. Have an object, obviously invisible, which just acts as a marker for the engine. Then have code looking a bit like this:

Code:

onUAVCalled(){

*  work out flight path
*  move plane along flight path
*  as plane moves along, call "aerialSpot(player)" on each player within x distance of the plane on the ground
}

aerialSpot(take a player as an argument){

*  find out the distance between the player and the nearest aerialCover object
*  if this distance is more than some small number (ie. they are not very clost to a tree/building) {
* * * mark them on the map in the normal fashion for spotted players
*  } otherwise {
* * * do nothing
*  }
}

To work out the player's closest "aerialCover" object, you're going to have to look at the player's distance to every single one on the map. This is potentially quite costly, so it makes sense to do it only when required (I had thought of just having a timer to update each player with this info every few seconds, but it would lag the server out if you had more than a relatively small number of them), and only with the players actually potentially affected by the UAV.

The result of this is that you end up with what is actually quite an easy way to implement aerial cover.

Not to rez a old thread but...

If you are still considering such a thing, I know it's possible to code in special effects based on types of areas placed within a map.
For instance, lets say this (in laymans code)

Code:

If <any> player enters area of type <cover> then add that player to class <incover>
only display players without class <incover> on UAV display(ties is with your UAV code)

only problem, aside from getting it coded, would be in relation to destructible objects that provide cover as well. Due to the fact that level designers need to actuallyy place the area shapes on the level in engine. Once that object is destroyed the area shape is still there. There is a possible solution however:

Code:

If <anyobject> is LINKED(This is a cryengine thing)  to <cover> area type, then allow above code to be <ON>
If <anyobject> is LINKED to <cover> and said object is destroyed, then invalidate, or turn <OFF> that bit of code.

nanophage, everything what are you "coding" here is very nice , but its really complicated.

would you expect less from a non coder?

wasn't there a spy plane during the war responsible for taking pictures of the battlefield in a striaght line? If you add a UAV to a WWII mod it would take it completely out of context.