The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
Please vote in the Forum Structure Poll. Polling will close at 2PM EST on January 21, 2025.
Achron - real-time strategy with real time travel
darksteel
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok, so this is like my second thread in history, and I am so scared but what the fuck.
So apparently a bunch of developers at this year's GDC showcased a frankly pretty kick-ass and unique concept for a real-time strategy game. The premise is that it is a real-time strategy game, but any player has the ability to go back at any point within 400 seconds in the past, or 60 seconds in the future of the game, and manipulate the game from those points. The effects of changing the past are not immediate, and are instead carried over by "waves", which upon reaching the present, take their appropriate effect.
For example, player A destroys a player B owned unit in the present. Player B then goes back 30 seconds, and uses his own units to destroy player A's unit. When they switch back to the present, player B's unit is still destroyed until the "Time wave" cathes up to the present, at which point player A suddenly finds his own unit dead, and player B's unit mysteriously revived. Player A can then go back further in time to prevent this incident, or even go into the future before the "Time wave" reaches it, manufacture units there, send them back in time using a special structure, and reinforce an assault 300 seconds in the past, to influence the present.
If that was hard to understand (and I'm sure it was), then here are some videos!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqerUDPguO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUwLGaiWKAo
I am very excited about this. The concept of affecting time in a real-time strategy game takes the yomi (mind-reading) element of strategy games even further as you're forced to think four-dimensionally. This allows for a much greater variation of playstyles than we've seen before. It's the kind of deliciously complex thing that always excites my RTS loving ass.
tl;dr: Crazy exciting time-travel shenanigans grafted onto a real-time strategy game.
So apparently a bunch of developers at this year's GDC showcased a frankly pretty kick-ass and unique concept for a real-time strategy game. The premise is that it is a real-time strategy game, but any player has the ability to go back at any point within 400 seconds in the past, or 60 seconds in the future of the game, and manipulate the game from those points. The effects of changing the past are not immediate, and are instead carried over by "waves", which upon reaching the present, take their appropriate effect.
For example, player A destroys a player B owned unit in the present. Player B then goes back 30 seconds, and uses his own units to destroy player A's unit. When they switch back to the present, player B's unit is still destroyed until the "Time wave" cathes up to the present, at which point player A suddenly finds his own unit dead, and player B's unit mysteriously revived. Player A can then go back further in time to prevent this incident, or even go into the future before the "Time wave" reaches it, manufacture units there, send them back in time using a special structure, and reinforce an assault 300 seconds in the past, to influence the present.
If that was hard to understand (and I'm sure it was), then here are some videos!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqerUDPguO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUwLGaiWKAo
I am very excited about this. The concept of affecting time in a real-time strategy game takes the yomi (mind-reading) element of strategy games even further as you're forced to think four-dimensionally. This allows for a much greater variation of playstyles than we've seen before. It's the kind of deliciously complex thing that always excites my RTS loving ass.
tl;dr: Crazy exciting time-travel shenanigans grafted onto a real-time strategy game.
darksteel on
0
Posts
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Or will, in the future. Unless I go back in time!
This is really weird. Color me interested though.
Also, what sort of AI takes over while you time-hop and everyone else is in the present?
This game has my cogs a turning, and will definitely be placed upon the ever increasing list of games to check out/purchase
It will never be successful
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
Oh right, time waves. I wonder what point going into the future has, besides teleporting back units that just got screwed over by a present-time time wave. Or would that be undone once the time wave hits their point in the future?
What happens if you keep sending the same units back in time to the same point over and over? Could you create a massive (albeit temporary) defense force that way?
But this is fine too.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
Assuming that energy only regenerates when you're in the present and switching times is free, wouldn't that involve an enormous amount of twitch to switch times as much as possible to observe what's happening while still somehow spending most of your time in the present?
I don't usually play RTS but this sounds cool.
These are the perfect responses to this game, I feel.
You could theoretically scout the map consequence free, but the time manipulation mechanic would allow you to think ahead of your opponent by, for example, going back to the past and messing with HIS scouting maneuvers. Possibly even launching an attack on his own base. It's the "yomi" in the 4th dimension.
I can see going into the future as a sort of 60 second safe spot where you can still expend some effort into stopping whatever fucked you up. Say you got attacked by 6 units produced from Factory A, and it destroyed your entire army. By going into the future before the time wave affects it, you can produce units, send them back in time covertly, and then destroy Factory A. The first time wave will destroy your produced units, the second one will revive them because Factory A never existed in the first place.
And yes, there is actually a third video that says you can continue to send units back in time over and over as some sort of patchwork, temporary, increasingly expensive, and diminishing returns (of utility) defense force.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4L3J_bfjLU
You're fighting on 6 different 'time waves'. Basically, you have to multitask between time waves - in 3D chess you're dealing with multiple planes.
So it's an RTS on multiple planes and the planes can affect each other.
Probably a lot easier to play than think about.
Assuming I got the right impression from the videos, you will be able to see in the timeline display where in time your opponent is looking. Also, if he happens to launch an attack in the future, you'll be able to see with conveniently colored graphs on the timeline if your forces are in combat in a specific point in time. So you can immediately jump to the future and try and stall his attack, or send forces from the past to the future to help.
In fact, launching an attack on the future might not be the best idea, since there is more room to go back to the past than in the future. If someone attacks in the future, it will be easy for a player to eliminate the cause of the attacks in the past.
Fiendish glee!
Now someone one-up them and add quantum probability manipulation, then I'll never have to make sense again.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
/asplode
I wonder if you'll be able to build a special unit:
So was I.
Here's a question, though. Let's say you rush someone by going back in time to blow up their construction yard/whatever counts as the base building building. Does that mean that by default any buildings built after that are destroyed in the present in this game?
If so, griefing and base rushing just became a whole new level of annoying.
Yesssssss
The concept is far too complex for it's own good
Most people can't even watch TV shows that have time travel in them without getting confused, fer fuck's sake
I mean, I'd play it, but I wouldn't do well, and though that wouldn't really be the game's fault, most people would think it was
This would totally be the best possible tagline for the game though
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
"You cannot do this! You will destroy the very fabric of space! You will ruin us!"
or "You lose, Commander Achron. I have reverted time and now your win has become a loss."
-" Ah, but I had anticipated this move and went back into time to make sure this reversion of yours has become impossible."
"Ah Achron but you see, I didn't simply revert your win, I reverted your reversion of my win back before your reversion was even contemplated."
-"Ahaha ..."
" What?"
-"Your efforts will be in vain! For this match never existed!"
"WHAT? WHO AM I - WH- NOOOOOooooo"
and so on
40 seconds in the past, the enemy is dropping a bomb on my base
12 seconds into the future, my army has engaged the enemy's base.
1 year into the past, I look at the thread and think this is an awesome idea
60 seconds in the future, I have lost
Epic.
Upload the replay!
Though, I think a turn-based time travel game would still be more practical.
Then from there it falls into the format of one side trying to rewrite history and the other side defending it.