[suggestion] ideas about briefing map and promotion

[ywgATustcbbs]

We currently have a level up system and promotion system. The lvl up system unlocks more weapons while promotion only affwcts promotion medal s visually. In an real army, higher skills allows marines to use more powerful weapons. This is similar to lol up in game. But a marine's promotion usually means he will get more power and resource from command. The game's promotion doesn't show this.

Thus i have an idea to partially mimic the reality. The current briefing minimap is bad. It doesn't have the feeling s of high tech or fiction. So i took the idea of Subnautica's sonar detection and Alien: Prometheuss's cave detection - Lidar's point point cloud and 3d reconstruction in reality.

Since the game can show a 3d model on swarmpedia. Why not show a special mini model of each map on brifing. Imagine we have a high promotion marine and he gets additional support on battle info( like a UAV). Instead of using the original 2d map, he can use the uav to scan the area and get a 3d model and share with his team.

There are 7 promotions. Thus there will be some different levels of details on 3d minimap: 1-3: we can display point cloud with different point density. Like Lidar + colmap (the effect of slam, something like just show vertices)

4-5: something like show triangles without texture

6-7: something like 3d reconstruction with different details

In a lobby, the brifing minimap model will change accroding to the hightest promotion level. And tell all players that (something like): IAF decided to provide a UAV to your team

[WhenTanksFly]

• Why are the usual blue minimaps bad? What exactly is the problem there, why do they need changes? I could agree on bird-view screenshot minimaps being bland, but at least they work.
• In what way are those screenshots an improvement over the current system, especially the 4-5 suggestion? Pure eye strain that's only good at creating alt+f4 urge.
• Why should the minimaps be less functional for newcomers, do they not have enough troubles navigating yet?
• Would 3d reconstructions be more comfortable to use than what we have currently, for all the effort that'd be required to design and implement them?
• High promotion medals are way too long to get to lock features behind them. See also: #508 . BTW, that same page: "We don't want people to play longer and grind for items if they're not having fun".

[ywgATustcbbs]

• Why are the usual blue minimaps bad? What exactly is the problem there, why do they need changes? I could agree on bird-view screenshot minimaps being bland, but at least they work.

Maybe i used a wrong word. Some minimaps are blurry and dark. They are in 700+ X 700+ resolution. Which is definitely too small for a modern monitor

• In what way are those screenshots an improvement over the current system, especially the 4-5 suggestion? Pure eye strain that's only good at creating alt+f4 urge.

My concept is that replace the brifing minimap with an interactive 3d model. Player can control his camera to navigate around, zoom in and out the model. Since the swarmpedia can show a 360 view of a model with a rotating camera, i think it might be possible to render a model with free camera

• Why should the minimaps be less functional for newcomers, do they not have enough troubles navigating yet?

New players should have more help on minimaps. But i think provide a less functional minimap will

1. encourage them to get promoted.
2. Encourage them to join public lobbies and servers that has high promotion level players rather than keep playing solo games
3. Encourage old players to promote if they want to be cool
4. In my opinion. The point cloud type of map is good enough to complete the mission.
5. Anyway, it doesn't change the experience until one get first promotion

• Would 3d reconstructions be more comfortable to use than what we have currently, for all the effort that'd be required to design and implement them?

3d reconstruction is just a real world concept. It is difficult if we don't have the original model. But for a game. We already have its map model all infos are stored including vertices and triangle faces. The key point is whether is it possible to change its rendering style, and is it possible to allow free cam in brifing.

Actually in #316, the game engine did show terrain meshing without textures. It means maybe we can just force the engine to not rendering texture.

• High promotion medals are way too long to get to lock features behind them. See also: Strange + Contracts #508 . BTW, that same page: "We don't want people to play longer and grind for items if they're not having fun".

The 3d maps could be optional, if a player is not interested in being cool or feels they don't need it. They can just stay un-promoted. It doesn't influence anything except to be cool in a lobby