Edge of the map trouble

Splinterbee · April 16, 2014, 09:30:43 PM

One funny thing that happened to me earlier was that there was a gas geyser next to my base and when I tried to place a generator on it and it said to close to edge of the map XD I couldn't build it! Hopefully there will be a fix were geysers only spawn inside of the map (or if there already is... Didn't get the bug update) anyone else have this problem

Tynan · April 16, 2014, 10:44:35 PM

Yeah, this was a bug, it'll be fixed in A4. Geysers won't appear in unbuildable locations.

ousire · April 17, 2014, 12:25:50 AM

Do you have any plans for what to do about the whole edge-of-map issue as a whole? A lot of people seem to get confused by finding out that they can't build right at the edge of the map. Perhaps a colored border, and a popup message from the instructor could help clear things up for the players?

reifnotreef · April 17, 2014, 12:48:36 AM

Quote from: ousire on April 17, 2014, 12:25:50 AM
Do you have any plans for what to do about the whole edge-of-map issue as a whole? A lot of people seem to get confused by finding out that they can't build right at the edge of the map. Perhaps a colored border, and a popup message from the instructor could help clear things up for the players?

I had no idea about this border until a day or so ago during my last playthrough. Totally ruined my base layout plans! Why is there a border for building? I would guess it's coding or balance but I have no idea tbh.

Tynan · April 17, 2014, 12:56:02 AM

I added a visible border for A4. There was a long discussion about it in the Alpha 3 WTF thread.

OpposingForces · April 17, 2014, 02:16:26 AM

@reifnotreef it has to do with a couple of things. firstly Tynan doesn't like people using the edge of the map as a free un-passable wall. kinda breaks the game play. secondly, since visitors/raiders come from the edges of the map in alpha 3 (mostly), it could be very easy to stop the majority of raids by filling the edges of the map with walls, or spamming turrets along the edges to mow them down as they appear. both of these are reasons why you cannot build on the edge of the map. it's a good game design decision even if some don't like it.

Tynan · April 17, 2014, 11:12:50 AM

Well, I may end up reversing it some day, but for now I'd like to try it in A4 with the visible border and some other tuning changes.

ShadowTani · April 18, 2014, 07:38:05 AM

People tend to jump to complain before trying a new approach when the gameplay style they are used to get disrupted a bit, so I'm not surprised about the reactions here. I'm sure most will adapt soon enough, especially when the few annoyances that exist in relation to the border frame at the moment gets addressed in A4. :3

renwold · April 19, 2014, 12:52:02 AM

Yep, people will definitely adapt. I think the biggest issue is just that - without a visible cue - people may invest time building a colony up against the barrier before finding their entire plan is invalid. But even then it's not a huge issue, and with a border on the way all will be well

Tynan · April 19, 2014, 12:54:17 AM

Another useful adaptation may be removing the barrier on sides of the map totally covered by mountain.

renwold · April 19, 2014, 01:15:49 AM

Quote from: Tynan on April 19, 2014, 12:54:17 AM
Another useful adaptation may be removing the barrier on sides of the map totally covered by mountain.

That would be pretty intuitive!

... UNLESS you decided to add some sort of subterranean threat. And maybe give raiders some kind of special gun to quickly blast some rock. JUST BRAINSTORMING HERE COUGH COUGH

CremionisD · April 19, 2014, 02:47:52 PM

Quote from: Tynan on April 17, 2014, 12:56:02 AM
I added a visible border for A4. There was a long discussion about it in the Alpha 3 WTF thread.

Another way to have an "unbuildable" area in the map is to simply have the required edge areas of the map not displayed at all (i.e. waste some memory). Your internal AI stuff will not need to worry so much about the edges etc, and there will be no "special" borders around a map. Granted, the routing can take colonists through these areas. I suspect there can be workarounds for this problem during map generation phase.

I realize that doing this may or may not work depending on how the game works internally.

renwold · April 19, 2014, 03:29:05 PM

I think the problem with having the edges of the map be invisible to players is that you then lose the visual feedback of where the events are beginning. And in the case of attacks, if your base is up against the border of the map, you'll be getting attacked without being able to see the attackers.

daft73 · April 19, 2014, 03:45:32 PM

There are many solutions to this issue. An invisible border(current causes confusion), a visible line (though this ruins immersion), no edge mountains(limiting choices), only one edge with mountains(at map creation), the raiders could have the ability to dig/sap walls out...lots of other ideas can be thought of I'm sure.

It all depends on Tynan's vision of the game and how he would like it to play out.