Thomm Posted May 4, 2000 Share Posted May 4, 2000 Two (related) technical questions regarding "inactive" unit markers: (1) Is there a specific reason why you did not let all three soldiers become body markers in succession, thus tracing the path of the unit? Interface problems? (2) If an enemy body is spotted, and LOS is broken afterwards, will the body remain a body, become a marker (German cross or US star), or vanish? Thanks, Thomm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterk Posted May 4, 2000 Share Posted May 4, 2000 Hi Thomm, Just my guess, I'm not a beta tester or anything - that would triple at least the size of the information that has to be carried through the game for this sort of thing. Also, to have more casualty markers means having to spawn dead units. Right now, nothing gets spawned - I imagine that the unit just gets marked as killed when it's finished off and gets a different bitmap in it's final resting place. Quick and simple. It sounds like they wanted to do _something_ to deal with causualty tracking but they also wanted to keep the impact to a minimum, hence the one-shot casualty marker. What you're asking for would be nice though. p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ol' Blood & Guts Posted May 4, 2000 Share Posted May 4, 2000 I can't remember exactly what they said about this, but I think Peterk is right. To lay down a dead body for every dead figure in the '3-man' squad would be too much information for the game to track. The MAIN reason why BTS has put this in there, IMHO, is to just be able to see WHAT HAPPENED to the squad that you thought you had just a second ago. Since KO'd AFV markers are still left on the field, why not eliminated squads? I think the decision to do this was based more on game mechanics rather than some moral questions that some people, who shall remain nameless, brought up. It's a WARGAME fellas. People die, tanks die, so whats new? ------------------ "Why don't we say that we took this one chance, and fought!" "Stupid humans. Hahahahahahaha!" --from the film Battlefield Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomm Posted May 4, 2000 Author Share Posted May 4, 2000 Dear Peterk! No doubt the present solution is very straightforward. Like you I now think that LOS and FOW issues actually exclude any other solution! I would be surprised if the multiple body issue was adressed some time in the near future. It seems to be an all-or-nothing design decision. I would be still interested in an answer to question (2), though! Regards, Thomm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomm Posted May 4, 2000 Author Share Posted May 4, 2000 Double post! How embarassing! [This message has been edited by Thomm (edited 05-04-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomm Posted May 4, 2000 Author Share Posted May 4, 2000 Question (3): Do inactive units have colorful bases like active ones? I think a different color would be appropriate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted May 4, 2000 Share Posted May 4, 2000 Answer to number 3 is NO, just like KO'ed tanks, Eliminated Units no longer have ANY bases, they do however 'Scale' with the other units using Shift C, or whatever the key is to modify scale. I think its Shift C! Either way, you can make them bigger so you can see them easier since without the colored bases they are sometimes hard to pick out from the higher camera views. Madmatt ------------------ If it's in Combat Mission, it's on Combat Mission HQ! And if it's NOT on CMHQ then its just GOT to be on CMHQ-ANNEX... CMHQ http://combathq.thegamers.net CMHQ-Annex http://cmhq.tzo.com [This message has been edited by Madmatt (edited 05-04-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted May 4, 2000 Share Posted May 4, 2000 IIRC, I am pretty sure that the answer to question number 2 is the same as it is for a KO vehicle. Once you have LOS to a Eliminated Unit marker (aka dead body) you will retain the knowledge no matter if you have a valid LOS to it or not. Here is the logic behind that, as I see it. Say you see a German Infantry squad stumble into a nasty MG ambush. Fire rips into them and all men are taken out. The little ELIMINATED UNIT marker (aka body) replaces the last man standing. You saw the whole squad drop and no one get back up. For all practical purposes they are all dead (or incapaciptated enough to be no longer a direct threat). Ok, a few minute later you get up from your position and move out and over a hill. You can no longer SEE the ambush spot but if someone was to ask 'Hey, where did that German squad get whacked?' you would be able to point over the hill and say 'Yeah, back there over that ridge in the woodsline! We chewed um up good!'. Even though you can't currently trace a LOS to the Eliminated Unit, you would still know where it was. Why isnt this replaced with a marker like a LIVE unit's ID? Well, for one, that little body isn't GOING ANYWHERE. The markers for unknown contacts and last sited positions are based on the fact that you are tracking a LIVE MANOUVERING COMBAT EFFECTIVE UNIT, not a shot to hell unit or team. When your ID unit slips behind a hill or a forest and is replaced with that marker its assumed that they are going to move SOMEWHERE else. That marker is to remind you that, yeah, That squad was last seen THERE, but chances are they arent THERE anymore. Those Eliminated Units are not going to raise up like some sort of Army of Darkness sequel and launch an assualt against you. Once they drop you will always be able to see them, just like knocked out vehicles... Is this a perfect system? No, but it works well enough without adding any extra CPU cycles or unneccesary overhead. Hope that answers your questions and maybe now we can cover a NEW topic for once this week! Madmatt ------------------ If it's in Combat Mission, it's on Combat Mission HQ! And if it's NOT on CMHQ then its just GOT to be on CMHQ-ANNEX... CMHQ http://combathq.thegamers.net CMHQ-Annex http://cmhq.tzo.com [This message has been edited by Madmatt (edited 05-04-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citizen Posted May 4, 2000 Share Posted May 4, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Once they drop you will always be able to see them, just like knocked out vehicles...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And for a dose of reality and humanity... assume that there are cries for help coming from that spot and a medic toiling away. Not hard to keep tabs on that even if you don't have LOS. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts