Messages

76

World / Re: Air force or Navy

« on: August 11, 2013, 05:14:28 am »

Not really.  Airships are a bit like aerial tanks.  They can strike, but they can't take ground without assistance with mopping up, and they can't hold ground without assistance.  Over the sea, they're fair-weather sailors at best.  Their armour and fire power will always be limited compared to surface based alternatives - no matter how much Handwavium is thrown at them.  They'll be blown by the wind, and eventually grounded by adverse conditions long before their surface equivalent need to head for home or port.

Look at the modern day.  Tanks haven't replaced infantry, helicopters haven't replaced tanks.  Maritime aircraft haven't replaced naval shipping.  If you look at recent convoys in hostile territory - say Iraq or Afghanistan.  Has the presence of helicopters removed the requirement for ground-based escorts?  If not, why not?  And is this any different to what's being postulated for GOIO AM?   And look at modern seagoing shipping - has the availability of long-range aircraft and satellite surveillance reduced the need to physically station warships off the coast of  Sudan to protect against piracy?

What is the context difference in GOIO AM that would cause things to be different? - Handwavium has made the physics of airship flight easier and cheaper, but has it affected the overall limitations of LTA transport or the balance of the roles of air/sea/land forces?

77

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: 35mm AA gun

« on: August 11, 2013, 05:03:15 am »

I'm not sure what you're thinking of (35mm Oerlikon is twin barrel) but your description makes me think of the  quad QF 2-pounder "pom pom".

It's an interesting design, and one that would be instantly recognisable to a lot of players.  I'm not sure about the two-player requirement for any gun, I can't see how that would work and it's a big change from the current mechanic.  What would each player be doing?  How could an AI perform one role while a player performed tha other?

But as a heavy gun, something similar to four light flak barrels on the same mount, I could see that working.  The animation would be very distinctive.

78

General Discussion / Re: My issues with this game.

« on: August 11, 2013, 04:47:39 am »

Not all randoms are that bad.  Try moving up from the Beginner games to those where the more experienced players are.. this could of course lead to a new line, "You have beginner players that don't realise that there's more than just beginner matches"

Could be the time of day your playing.  It's the school holidays, there's a large number of new players many of whom are 12-14 years old and are getting frustrated because it's not a nice, easy game they can win by button-bashing.  The steep learning curve that rewards thinking about how you play is what keeps the core players playing.  But it's also a frustration for others.

79

World / Re: Air force or Navy

« on: August 11, 2013, 04:41:44 am »

Assuming that the Handwavium physics that allows GOIO airships to fly at all hasn't completely buggered up the AM economy and moved it too far from reality..

Airships are fine for hauling high value, low volume commodities (high tech finished goods, people, ideas, etc.).  But for the low value, high volume commodities (grain, coal, etc.) surface shipping is cheaper (unless there's some Handwavium thrown in to significantly up the cost of surface travel).  I would assume that there is still a seagoing trade between coastal ports, and land caravans between inland cities.  Where there is seagoing shipping, there will be navel forces to protect trade routes and enforce tariffs.  It's cheaper to mount the armament of a Galleon into a seagoing equivalent, and the surface ship will be better able to cope with bad weather and storms.  Surface ships are also effective at moving men and materiel in large numbers.

I'm interested to hear Muse's ideas for the AM economy.  But I'd be disappointed if it uses airships for hauling all goods between every city.

80

General Discussion / Re: New Class idea [Buccaneer]

« on: August 10, 2013, 03:22:12 pm »

No boarding.  Ever.

It's in the FAQ.

81

General Discussion / Re: Is this kind of behavior acceptable in GOIO?

« on: August 10, 2013, 04:01:56 am »

What really gets my knickers in a twist is that (usually captains from what I have seen) treat their crews like this and they complain about noob scrub rage quitters.

They don't complain about quitters, you're missing the point.  They treat their crews like this to make them quit.  Particularly when mid-game joiners takes you from Captain (pilot) +Gunner +2xAI, to Captain +2xGunner +Pilot.

If you haven't shouted at a new joiner for being an idiot for joining a second or third gunner or pilot, then you're either a saint or a liar.

And I still don't want a kick option.  But I would like to specify the role for the slot.  And if I set a slot as Engineer, and a player tries to join as a Gunner they should see the message "The Captain of this airship has set a preference for an Engineer in this slot.  Continue Yes/No?"

82

General Discussion / Re: Your Community

« on: August 09, 2013, 06:55:00 pm »

By default you're placed in a beginner match if you quality for them

Only if you select Quick Match.

And Quick Match is the worst possible way to join a game.  It does nothing useful for anyone.

83

The Lounge / Re: What are you Reading?

« on: August 09, 2013, 06:43:35 pm »

I fear I may need to by Swallow's book. Reading a Neal Stephenson right now.

I'm half-way through re-reading Skinner by Neal Asher.

Psyching myself up for another re-read of the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.  I've read it two or three times since it came out, it takes me three months to get through it all.

84

World / Re: Air force or Navy

« on: August 09, 2013, 06:31:27 pm »

Just because we're using Naval terminology doesn't mean that it's part of the Navy. If you go by definitions:

Navy - The branch of a nation's armed services that conducts military operations at sea.
Air Force - The airborne branch of a country's armed forces.

Then Airships are airborne, therefore they are part of the Air Force.

Your definition is overly simplistic, and doesn't work for any nations military forces I can think of (it doesn't work for UK, France, Germany, US, Russia, etc.).

Dedicated air forces are a relatively young concept (starting 1918 with the RAF).  Navy and Army forces have had their own air units for almost as long as there has been flight, and continue to do so.


I go with Navy.  It works better with the style of the game.  Two airships are based on nautical vessels (Galleon, Junker) and most of the armament is closer to naval or army examples.

85

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Do NOT force reload

« on: August 09, 2013, 05:40:33 pm »

The dev app version of the current build retained the ammunition loaded, but you reloaded with vanilla when that clip emptied if you didn't carry that ammo type.  SO if the weapon was preloaded with heavy clip, you could fire that clip as heavy despite not carrying it yourself.

I'm sure that before that, if you use a weapon preloaded with an ammo you didn't have it just defaulted to the standard ammo without changing clip?

86

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Ship stabilization

« on: August 09, 2013, 02:38:17 am »

Inertia.  Blame Newton.

But please, let's not make this game too easy.  It is possible to learn how to bump the engines to control your drift, but it comes with practice.

Get some flying hours under your belt.

87

General Discussion / Re: Is this kind of behavior acceptable in GOIO?

« on: August 09, 2013, 02:33:32 am »

Sad to say, but yes.  This kind of behaviour when a player decides to join mid-match as second gunner is tragically becoming all too acceptable. 

Howard has assured us that Quick Start won't drop a second gunner onto a crew, so the player must be doing this deliberately.


(I'm more restrained in my language when this happens, but I will very strongly encourage a player to exit the match, start-stop a Sandbox game, change role to engineer and come back)

88

Q&A / Re: Beginning with the Galleon

« on: August 08, 2013, 01:07:32 pm »

And, just a quick question, how would you say would be a good strategy to close the distance with enemies?  I

Oh, that's an easy one.

If you're in a Galleon just wait.  There'll be a Junker along in a minute to chew you up from the stern.

89

Q&A / Re: Other Options other than the tried and tested Gat/Flak

« on: August 08, 2013, 01:03:44 pm »

I'm seeing a few more double-mortar pyras about.  It's effective, but pilots need to be a lot more aggressive when using it.  There's a real timidity about most pyra pilots these days, and it's a ship that needs to be flown hard and aggressively when you get into CQB.

90

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Improved matchmaking via a ranking system

« on: August 08, 2013, 12:58:02 pm »

Maybe all the noobs don't bother checking the steam hub, or even the forum. Maybe if there was some kind of news feed in the game, it could help, or something to direct them here idk.

I don't check the Steam hub, does anyone?  And 99% of the forum isn't about the fundamental basics of how to play the game - do even have a guide to the fundamental basics?

I've had a long drive today, and something that struck me whilst thinking about this thread is just how awkward Sandbox is for training when you need to shut down the map and restart it just because you've shown them the basics of Engineering, and now you need them to have more than one ammo/pilot tool so you can show them something else.  And I'd quite like the option of a balloon target that visually shows on screen the health of balloon, hull armour, hull, gun component and engine component (only one of each).  Just so there's an obvious, visual indication of the different relative effects of weapon and ammunition choice.  Similar to the health bars in Spectator mode, just have more of them and floating off to the side of the balloon target with an icon so you know what is what.  Perhaps even have different types whose relative health represents each ship type (although the balloon targets themselves are visually identical other than a silhouette on the balloon, and just share the same health characteristics as the ship class they represent).