Multiple formation choices

[plusminus]

I find it a bit frustrating that you get one formation choice, and if you want to play with another one, you have to write down what you had on your old one in case you want to revert to it. Plus actually re-arranging all the units...

I think it would be helpful to have several slots into which you could save formations, and at the start of each battle, pick which one you want (before seeing your enemy's formation choice of course. But the chat functions should still be active beforehand).

This would be very liberating, allowing people to experiment with newly acquired units, greys having special formations for fighting golds, and so forth.

[Say What?]

That would be cool and all....but I am sure that would be hard to program. But if it does happen than it will take a long time to be put into effect. :D

[canopus]

Layouts could be designed in the settings area, and assigned to slots 1-5 or 1-3. The last one selected in settings would be the one active.

This way, all that this would take to implement is having a spare several dozen bytes in your settings area, where these alternate layouts would be stored.

-canopus the crafty

[drakonfire]

stop the redundant threads!!! http://www.tacticsarena.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2883
guys there is a search button for a reason!

[plusminus]

I skimmed through that thread before posting but I must've somehow missed the bit about formation saves. Apologies.

[drakonfire]

okay... well... skim more thougharly next time lol

[canopus]

dragkinfire what do you suggest if no admin answer for this request?

I have a thread on this as well, do you want me to keep adding a post every week there with:

is it a possibility yet?

No , instead those threads die and new people bring up the same point 3rd afaik, and I will post to the new thread.

-canopus the persistent:eek:

[Snork]

Originally posted by canopus
Snork you're my hero. So what do you suggest if no admin answer for this request?



It means they're not going to do it, and that posting threads over and over is just annoying them. :)

[canopus]

quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by snork
Canopus you've got to give up and assume that anything YOU think is important will never come to pass.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks Snork, you shouldn't be such a wuss.

-canopus the diplomatic

[EddBoy7]

Sounds pretty cool

[Snork]

Originally posted by canopus
quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by snork
Canopus you've got to give up and assume that anything YOU think is important will never come to pass.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks Snork, you shouldn't be such a wuss.

-canopus the diplomatic

I don't think you quite have the hang of the post changing.
You're supposed to put something that makes you smart, or makes me wrong, not the other way around. :)

I don't understand how that quote makes me a wuss. I must be missing the point. :)

[canopus]

Snork-

If you think that "just because you don't get a response the first or second time you suggest something" that you should give up, then you are a wuss.

I have a suggestion for you: do you know for a fact that they are not working on this for later release? If they are, I think that they would be glad people are still interested in the feature.

I can even tell them how to do it, why don't you try and follow along:

Q. how many variables do you need for each unit's location within a formation: only 2-3

1) unit code: 1-255
(there are not this many different types of units so this could cost at most 1 byte)

2) x coordinate on grid -will cost 1 byte
3) y coordinate on grid -will cost 1 byte
(you actually have less than 255 squares on the arena so you really only need 1 1 byte code to specify a unique grid location, not a separate x and y)

Now they WILL need to change the "core code" in only one place, not multiple times afaict: When the units are transfered to the arena area from settings, instead of accessing locations and units from the ONLY formation, they will have to reference these from a *specific* formation. (Even 3-5 could add much to gameplay/training).

Instead of pulling the formation data from a single hard-wired formation location, just use an offset to the location in the formation tables (formation size * formation number).

How big are these additional formations? With a max of 10 characters, this means only ten data points, each taking 2-3 bytes (or in the real world 2-3 integers in a table which could actually add 2-4 times the storage space.)

If bytes are used as you can see only 20 bytes are needed for a complete description of each formation. If integers are used this may go up to 80 bytes, I suppose.

Do you see my point, Snork?

It may not be that complicated nor take up very much space.

-canopus the computer nerd

(However, let me admit one point of oversimplification in that that the 25 unused pieces would also need to be stored as well for each formation. So in compressed data this is 35 units max x 2 bytes for each= 70 bytes per formation.

Wooow woow, this is i'm sure beyond the space alocated on our servers for gold accounts...

Snork- each arena avatar takes more storage space than 70 bytes.)







:rolleyes: