CA propositions thread

[Whacker]

@ Re Berengario I - Some of this is for your review as well sir.

I'll try to keep it simple, for deeper explaination you can ask your neighbourhood C++ experts.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert, but I've done more than my fair share of coding.

Some hardcoded limits are intrinsic to the engine because fixing limits helps immensely in creating code. It's like knowing if you're building a two storied house or a skycraper.

Partially true. Well written code is going to have logic and boundary checks on input, without them you end up with the usual bugs, buffer overflows, etc. Error/input checking in conjunction with good commenting and documentation renders this point moot for the most part.

So while some limits could be simple to remove others would require a complete rewritring of the game.

That's... a bit overboard. One can replace certain variable declarations with a reference to a setting in a file. Depending on how they wrote the code, it might not be a small task, but unless they write horrid crappy spaghetti code that's got almost no commenting, it's not going to be that much work (is my estimation at least).

And don't think a SDK would remove all the limits, this is a wishful thinking for an imaginary world. Take the HL2 SDK and you'll see it can give you a lot of freedom but within the very strict limits of the HL2 engine, you can't make with it a completely different game with seamless zones or 1000 person multiplaying.

I'd offer that's not the right way to look at it. The point and concept I'm suggesting (very strongly so, and you've touched on a bit) to CA is to move to an open client/server type model, much like ID/Valve/Epic have done. The game is logically split into two parts. First, you have the front end client side that you distribute all the source code to along with an SDK. This is the core logic and mechanics of the game, this would be where we could mess around with charging mechanics, combat mechanics, wall mechanics, campaign map/agent mechanics, you name it. The backend piece, the server side, is basically all the behind the scenes machinery that handles rendering, audio, networking, etc, and provides an API with which the client side interacts with. Your statements about "strict" limits are very misleading and not true, everything you said can be done with the Source engine. If you don't believe me, look at some of the thousands of mods on Moddb for evidence. The ID and Epic engines are fully capable of this as well. This is also one of the reasons that I've suggested a few times that it may be worth CA's while to review these platforms and potentially adapt their game logic and assets to one of these. Theoretically it could accomplish all of the above and save them a ton of time and money, and make all of us happy.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I've said this a dozen times and will keep saying it. CA has been hyping this game as "modders heaven" and promising features to this effect, when reality one only need look at what all is NOT accessible in this game vs what is. In fact if you look at the size of the modding community and the hoops we have to jump through to do what little we can with this game, compared to what others are experiencing with say for example Quake4, Half-life2, Unreal Tournament 2004, Battlefield 2/2142, etc etc, it's no wonder there's so few of us. Look at what happened with the Lordz and a number of talented modders who've left due to lack of support and real features and capabilities. I also firmly believe this has directly translated into the rather stagnant multiplayer community. The last thing I want to see is the TW series die a slow choking death, or fade into obscurity because of bad decisions on where to take the series or how to handle certain "big ticket" items like multiplayer or modding. I have literally been with CA and the TW games since day one (ok, week 2 maybe), but I just cannot in good concious say I am enjoying the current offering, nor do I like where I foresee the series going. M2TW is unfortunately the last TW title I will buy at launch, possibly ever, because of these things.

The point of this thread as I understand it is propositions for future patches for M2TW. My previous suggestions stand firm, whether or not anyone feels they are "realistic". I will keep saying these things until CA makes good on their promises and hype with the current game. If they don't with this game or the next, then I will shut up and get off my soapbox, because that'll be the end of the story for me.

Respectfully