Rise of Nations -- Time for your ideas!

[theponyguy1]

the infantry unit should not be represented in 3 men. Instead, everytime a person makes a infantry unit, 3 men get made, and it still takes up on space in population.

[mrboo123]

Could you included the Sioux? And have a cople Sioux city names, a cople US city names, a cople Canadian names, and maybe a cople Cubia names (I let out Mexico becuse the Astex could pick up there city names up.)

[jglidewell]

Customize formations

It would be neat to make your formations and unit advances and be able to assign it to a formation button.

[Mahdimael]

One thing I hate in RTS games is having to find the particular building or unit to research upgrades. I'm not sure if this is how it works in RoN, but maybe you could implement it in this way as well:

add a "windows start button" style interface for researching stuff. So you click the "research button", then select the building/item where the tech can be researched, then the individual tech. This would save a lot of time.

So, for example, I want to research "advanced cavalry", I would click Research->Stables->Advanced Cavalry. Much easier than trying to hunt for my stable. Additionally, you could use this to show what techs have been researched (denote them in another color, for example).

Do this, and I will be happy (Ok, I'll be happy anyways)

[MarkG]

there are keyboard shortcuts for each type of building

for example pressing "k" will select baracks(pressing again will select your second baracks, etc)

[Mahdimael]

Originally posted by MarkG
there are keyboard shortcuts for each type of building

for example pressing "k" will select baracks(pressing again will select your second baracks, etc)

That's good. How many different building types are there?

[cnich29]

We need these ideas at Gamescope. I plan on emailing BHG the list from GS, weekly. It's the best way to assure your voice is heard.

http://www.gamescope.net/index.php?viewCat=21

And don't forget to vote. TVA

[Brian Reynolds]

Hi guys-- just finishing up a 90 hour week coding/designing. Have time for just a quick hello and a (few) answers to questions!

* Unit outlines when concealed behind buildings/trees: since RON uses a full 3D engine (which is why the animations and combat effects can be so cool), it is not technically feasible to include "outlines" for units the way some previous 2D games have done it (note that new 3D games like Age of Mythology also have not used outlines, even though previous 2D games in the series did). BUT, we do have a preference for you to be able to turn off the "solid" display.
* Research Building finder -> pressing TAB cycles you through all of your buildings where a research or upgrade is currently available.
* Taxation -> a way to gain more wealth based on the total amount of territory you control (and you can research various upgrades).
* Line of Sight -> yes, units see further "in front" than they do in back, to the sides, etc.
* Governments -> as you heard, some of our early attempts at this just didn't turn out to be the "fun" parts of the game, so we pulled them out. Actually I now have a fairly cool idea about how to represent them in the game and make them exciting, but rather than "ramming it in real quick and dirty" we've decided to focus on them for the expansion, when we can make them a really central feature and apply the resources to make them the coolest possible.
* Entrenchment -> any foot combat unit can be entrenched, but you have to have a General nearby to do it. And yeah, if the units are caught while still entrenching that's not so good.
* German City Names -> heh. That's a (very) beta file, not final.
* Hotkeys -> yes, for (virtually) everything
* Supply Wagons -> yes they can move... slooowwwwwly. "Depletion" of supply wagons has been in, out, back in, back out again, etc. Right now it's out because it was turning out to create more micromanagement than fun (always a balancing act).
* Circular Map -> Conquer-the-World, which depicts a global scale, has a circular map. The main game, which depicts a "theater" scope, does not.
* Satellites -> yeah, we have 4 "future techs" that are revealed once you've researched every normal tech in the Library. One of them lets you have a big satellite grid.
* Allies -> Yes, you can coordinate with your computer allies; you can "signal" or "ping" where you want to focus your mutual attack (or where you need help or whatever). There is also a "taunt" system where you can give specific instructions like "build a wonder" or "work on your economy" or "wait for my signal to attack" and stuff like that.
* Diplomacy -> Diplomatic status possibilities are War, Peace, Ally (note subtle difference from traditional War,Neutral,Ally). Peace means your units can't fight and severe attrition for going in their territory. Ally means you can work together, trade resources, use each other's buildings, etc. You can exchange resources as part of a diplomatic deal, and you can agree to mutual attacks on foes. It costs money to break alliances and peace treaties. AI players will demand (and pay) tributes under the right circumstances.
* Americans -> okay, okay, mea culpa, I'm sorry we cut them. Maybe they can be revived for the expansion. The other night I came up with this mad scheme where if you're playing the British in Enlightenment Age you get this choice between "Commonwealth" and "Revolution"... Okay, I'll go back and work on the game now before I get in too much trouble.

Enjoy!

Brian Reynolds
Big Huge Games

[MarkG]

hi brian, many thanks for the update!

* Taxation -> a way to gain more wealth based on the total amount of territory you control (and you can research various upgrades).

i havent seen this in our copy(beta 1). is it something that has been implemented now?

[solo]

I hope there will be a printed user's manual. Please do not go the route so many other companys have been taking lately, by omitting the manual and suggesting we print out the help files.

[Mahdimael]

I've often thought about how revolution could be successfully implemented in a game where you control both the "mother country" and the colonies. Unfortunately, all the schemes are fairly complicated, but they usually amount to choosing a side in the revolution. If you remain as the mother country, and you're able to reconquer the colonies, you would get some kind of bonus from those colonies. If the revolutionaries, you would have to defeat X number of enemy soldiers before you would be considered Independent.

In any case, it's not easy to implement, and almost certainly it's near impossible in a RTS

[Viking Berserk]

will the people from bhg take a look at the gamescope ideas? http://www.gamescope.net

[One_Dead_Villy]

hmmm....if the game is to have governments, and americans come as a result of a type of government change. Then it would be an across the board change.

So maybe if it was similar to the way AOM does it with gods, that you get different civ bonuses or unique units depending on which god/ government you pick. RON can use a similar scheme and when they change with revolution brits become american and get different bonuses and UU's then a commonwealth brit.

[Viking Berserk]

but odv, there are still people living in britain today, what about the british civ?

nah, then i think it is better to just make more civs.

[Rohag]

Originally posted by One_Dead_Villy
So maybe if it was similar to the way AOM does it with gods, that you get different civ bonuses or unique units depending on which god/ government you pick...

Intriguing. AoM’s system of deities interests me, and I agree it might serve as a model for government development in RoN (or another game).

Can anyone here comment on just how much diversity AoM’s system brings to each of its three cultures?