Tank control

Hope this is the right topic for this;

I've broken down the basic options for customisable 3d tank controls - so that any player can have a setup that suits them. But would appreciate feedback - have I missed anything?

viewpoint
1st person
- in the cockpit
3rd person
- 'periscope' view (ala COD2 tank battles)
- or above and behind tank (standard 3rd person)
- - camera distance from tank

gun behavior
- locked to viewpoint centre
- independent of viewpoint (player can look around and gun 'catches' up)
- (in 1st person, cockpit geometry will need to fade in/out so as not to obscure view)
- gun can shoot only when centered on viewpoint
- can shoot regardless of viewpoint (player may be looking one way, gun pointing another)

turret yaw
- turn rate
- - slow -> instantaneous (= no longer a tank game but a FPS?)
- - if viewpoint independent of gun, turn rate can be instant
- - turn rate based on distance of mouse pointer from screen centre
- - - mouse pointer returned to screen centre after each update
- - - pointer gradually moves back to screen centre as sights centre on pointer
- - - pointer position unaffected by yaw (gives continual yaw but people hate this style?)

- turret turns with tankbase
- turret independent of tankbase


Shell
- Speed
- - Slow to medium
- - - Affected by gravity y/n?
- - instantaneous hit

RMB behavior
- lock turret
- return turret to front

disregard...see lower post.

Just my opinion but I think you're giving the user too many options here in terms of gun & turret behaviour.

I thought the control method on JohnJ's battletanks was pretty good. Maybe you should take a look. I think it may still be available for download.

Stevie

Right then, user option: limit user options.

Not to be trite, but JohnJ's battletanks game was a throwaway game - I want my efforts to be taken a bit more seriously.

Too many option will kill the gameplay. You would need to totally change the pace of the game to make it work for both instant aiming and realistic aiming.

Look, I'm asking a hypothetical question here, and that is, that if you were to give the user all available options when controlling a 3d tank (I'm not saying they will have all available options) but if they were given all, hypothetically, just hypothetically, - would the above list be comprehensive?

Camera locked to turret and tank catches up?

Rob

That's an interesting idea - is that perhaps ThinkTanks style?

I'm not sure that would work for the main control scheme - but that's definitely an option for the RMB function.

I'll note that one down for implementation.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it would seem to be better to implement one control scheme that "works", rather than to supply users with a potentially intimidating number of configuration options. Besides, if there is a significant problem with the default control scheme then making loads of control configuration options available to the player seems like you're saying "I give up. Fix it yourself!"

In a hypothetical sense I think you have covered every possible option.

What sounds cool is being able to look anywhere and then hold down the RMB for the turret to track to where you're looking. You should be able to shoot any time you want imo.

The turret should track to where the players looking at a steady medium to medium-fast rate when the RMB is held down.

The turret should turn with the tank base realistically.

I think bullets should be affected by gravity. Otherwise it's just a slow moving FPS. The whole skill of fighting in a tank is aiming to compensate for distance.

One of my suggestions in your old thread which is similar to Robs ..



I think you have the configurations covered but ... what I mean by too many options is that you will have a hells-own job balancing the game in conjunction with each configuration e.g. some will be much easier than others. As JustLuke says .. implement 1 good system to fit the current gameplay and don't get bogged down with loads of options which could potentially have a detrimental effect.

Ok, have thought about this a bit more (also, apologies at my earlier snippiness - I was dead tired).

StevieG - you're right - I'm overanalysing this.

In the end, I've just gone with a straight turret moves as mouse pointer moves.

I've had a second look at battletanks2 and it does have a nice set of options, but at this point I'll just release a new demo shortly with this simple control scheme and see how it's recieved.

Thanks again for your suggestions (JustLuke, StevieG, Rob, Chroma, dynaman, nomen)

I think it would be really cool if you could control it like a real tank, using either two analog joysticks, or one joystick with two analog axis'. I also think it would be cool if you could play it cooperatively (one player is the driver, the other is the gunner).