I think of the performance impact that might have would be an issue. The overwatch cone likely just paints a 2d circle onto the 3d terrain using a shader so quick for the GPU.
To do what you suggest means to:
Iterate through each tile on each level
Check if the tile has a floor
Create a hitbox on the tile
Cast a ray from soldier to hitbox
Determine if ray is inside OW cone
There could be possible shortcuts if you can compute the limits of the cone so you can only test tiles in the cone, but it is still more expensive performance wise than the shader because it’s all CPU bound. And it gets redone any time the cone changes vector or radius.
I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that the benefit might not be worth the performance impact which could result in a laggy UI.
My solution is simple, not efficient. If you want to be efficient, that’s easy since PP is made up of flat layers. Calculate angle of the cone, calculate height of a human target, then draw a 2D cone on the grid, the same way Xenonauts does for its line of sight, based off the X axis of the 3D cone.
If the angle of the cone gets too high, then cut off the grid cone at the height where the 3D cone is above a human head.
I dearly hope Snapshot is listening and taking this feedback seriously. Vast majority of players do not like the current implementation of RF. I’d like cover system tweaked as well but I feel if the things you listed were done I wouldn’t have issue with it anymore.
I must say, if you are playing Pheonix Point in the exact same way you have been playing X-Com (Fraxis) you are doing it wrong!
ie
X-Com - Move soldier to a good spot with good cover between your soldier and the alien then fire, doing this in Pheonix Point just wont work.
Instead you should move you soldier to a good vantage point of your target and with enough movement left to make it into cover, fire first then duck behind something solid.
When it comes to Cover, Over Watch and Line Of Sight:
-Full cover blocks LOS, hence never OW in directions of full cover.
-OW works best when you have a clear LOS to your target.
-Be clever and learn your enemy, they can only move so far;
-Predict their movement path and draw them across team mates OW paths.
-Keep the OW cone bright red, dull dark red OW’s are just a waste of time.
I must say, when I first played PP, I tried playing it exactly like I played X-Com (Fraxis) and I must say that my first impressions were not good!
But as time went on and I learned/noticed different things ie the shades of red in the OW, I began to get the impression that I will probably never play X-Com ever again.
I remember doing a lot of that rather silly TU dance in and out of sight in the original XCOM. A little bit of that makes sense, as that’s basically what taking cover is, and how it works in a turn-based game.
The reason cover is so useless, is because it’s very easy for the enemy to hit you in the head six times with auto fire from 30 metres away. Lower accuracy would make cover and layers of cover more useful.
The strategy you’re surmising sounds like something out of Advance Wars.
Yeah, because the cover is useless. “I only get shot in the head a few times, with it” is useless. Getting shot in the head while in low cover should be rare, unless you’re at very close range.
I would have to disagree!
If you couldn’t be shot in the head while in low cover, you would instantly make low cover OP.
ie I would just sit snipers behind low cover to complete every mission.
The low cover is exactly that low, it covers your lower portions, not the upper.
Maybe they should add an option to “hunker down” if you are in low cover,
ie a unit in low cover hunkers down, moving its hitbox completely behind the cover, essentially turning the low cover into the full cover for that unit, however, a hunkered-down unit will do nothing else during the enemy’s turn.
You have to? Rare =/= a non-event. If you want broken builds and tactics, the game has enough of those already. I was talking about how every other game works, that head shots are not a give-in.
yes, you are correct, BUT IF Pandorans would have a large aiming circle AND aim for the centre of mass (like they should), being behind the lower cover would means that half of their aiming circle is blocked by cover. and if they move the circle higher to compensate the cover, that would means the higher part is totally of the target.
So while you are correct regarding the cover, the problem is not withing the cover but the great aim.
OK,
Taken in this context I can see that maybe I misunderstood.
But can you blame me 100%, lol
But if you want the game to be easier, then just say so.
Rather than skating around an event that I have not experienced in 50+ hours on the veteran level.
At the moment I like the difficulty of the veteran level, it is not easy, but far from impossible; the same mission can be tackled in different ways, some ways can end up in a total wipe and others clear victory, I really like the fact that the outcome is mostly up to the player.
Yer there are bugs in this game and I have reported every single one that I have come across.
However, I was trying to hint Rookie to give a bit more instructions so that maybe I could reproduce it as the only time I have encountered anything like what Rookie described; was after a move that I would call more of a brain-fart (ie I accidentally clicked the touchpad and moved to an inconvenient position)
IMO, the gretest strength of Pheonix point is that it has taken a different path to Fraxis X-Com. hence I am going to disagree and partision against moving the game in FXC’s direction.
I never said that. I’m sick of the “lul, lern 2 play noobz” argument, and the people who make that argument.
Why do you even think reducing accuracy is automatically better for the player? I didn’t consider it easier, just more workable. I figured I’d continue on Legendary, when the game is fixed; that detail being something I am repeatedly FORCED to bring up, whenever I suggest bugs in the game’s design be fixed, and people accuse me of just wanting the game to be easier.
You must be doing this on purpose. “Every other game,” is not just FiraXCOM.
Thank you for undermining your argument. Now please go away and don’t continue to troll this discussion, or I’ll ask a moderator to deal with you.
It does surprise me, though, that the only argument that can be brought up to defend these bugs is classic 12 year old trolling about not possessing the important skills of video-gaming.
It is the way I play PP.