Construction QUEUE build order

[godsvoice]

posted on November 22nd, 2011, 8:12 pm

Last edited by godsvoice on November 22nd, 2011, 8:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I was wondering if, first, it is possible to give the constructor multiple build orders?

In game application: I send my constructor to an expansion, and tell it to build a refinery by di moon, then some way, give it a second build order to build a refiner at the tri moon, then give it a third build order to get a yard up, and then a fourth to finish it off with a turret defending.

Is the idea, so is that possible?

If it is, I would imagine something like the yard queue, except you need slots to select a build order. So you know how when you queue build orders, it fills the slots with like kvort, then kbeajq, then brel. Well, instead of them just filling up... I want to be able to select slots like that. So in the first slot, I say I want you to build this refinery here first. Then in the next built slot, I select a refiner to be built over there. The third slot I decide, yard here. So each build slot as to give your constructor the option to place the build order in the map as well, not just say I want this building... cause you have to put it somewhere to obviously.

So yeah, I'd like a multiple queue build order for my constructors. Send it to the expansion, and maybe with build slots than can be selected and filled no the screen, say build this then this then this.

That would be awesome.

Edit: Oh, and yeah, yard queue build order is ten... so that is more than enough. If this would be possible to create, but difficult with greater number of queue... maybe five slots would be appropriately effective? Two for refineries, 1 for a yard, then some turrets? If I don't have to keep track of that constructor and can just give it a slew of orders... sweet. But at least three... I would think. Refinery, Refinery, Yard. Or, turret, turret, and another turret. Etc.

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 1:28 am

I've maybe thought of this idea before but was probably distracted by a SQUIRAL.......

,,,sorry thought i saw something out the window.

Like this idea

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 3:40 am

i agree and disagree

Agree because factions like the Romulans can concentrate more on their ships since they have to micro manage every single one of their ships...

Disagree because factions like the federation can build up expansions quickly, and as a defensive oriented race this would give them even more power as they no longer have a player "delay" in building defensive structures...

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 5:01 am

A good player is only limited by resources at how fast they can build. "Player delay" is not usually significant for structure-building.
Also, if they decided to queue up things, make them eat their wasted dilithium and attak the platform to make it upgrade then leave and attak elsewhere. When they add things to the queue preemptively, they are taking a risk by counting their chikkens before they hatch.
Now of course for the very early game, the delay can be somewhat significant, but that is usually caused by inattentiveness and really, if you're relying on Boggz to spend five seconds not building his Starfleet Science, you're probably looking in the wrong place for an advantage.

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 6:57 am

Sounds good, itd make it easier to assemble your base quickly early-game without having to scroll back every ten seconds to see if something got built yet. Plus, it would add to the risk later on in the game if you paid for the buildings cued and your construction ship was destroyed. My only problem with this is how easy it becomes to set up huge turret walls, especially for the Federation.

I've maybe thought of this idea before but was probably distracted by a SQUIRAL.......

Same here, but in my case it was food

[godsvoice]

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 7:28 pm

Last edited by godsvoice on November 23rd, 2011, 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It wouldn't take the resources from you until construction actually started. Same with yard queues, putting up 5 kvorts doesn't mean you pay for them up front, its only when construction begins.

Perhaps if it is required, give different factions a different number of queue orders. Fed maybe can only build up to two buildings at a time. Romulan gets 5, Klingon gets 4, Borg 3, Dominion 3 etc. Oh, those were completely random, but just as example.

It is mostly early game. Eventually, you are building lots of ships and not as many stations. So I don't think Multiplayer will suffer at all almost.. but single player, sometimes you do keep building structures.... or at least I do. This isn't some huge request, and it depends on how easy it is to do. Cause really, you only need 1 of each research station per faction. So it's just in going to the expansions and setting up both refineries and a turret... really.

And yes, for feds, they could build turret wall, but they'd still have to go back to make them into phaser or torpedoes or whatever. I dunno, I wasn't thinking this would make a huge difference. I was leaning more to a response of... won't make any difference in late game, and early game, you d still probably get screwed because you'd order it to do 4 things, but after building the second, and going to the third, you have resource shortage so it stops it completely, and then you have to keep going back to fix it.

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 10:32 pm

I like the building queue idea. 

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 10:44 pm

If anything, I think Fleet Ops could use a full order-queue system like Total Annihilation: you just hold down shift and give the orders, and your units will execute them one after another including building structures.

Also, you could order a series of move orders that connects to itself to produce a patrol route.  The code to produce this is surprisingly easy: it's just a linked list and the ability to tell when an order is finished.

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 10:50 pm

If anything, I think Fleet Ops could use a full order-queue system like Total Annihilation: you just hold down shift and give the orders, and your units will execute them one after another including building structures.

such a feature worked well in TA due to cheaper buildings. in fleetops you rarely find yourself spamming buildings. but i guess it could work for single player spamming turrets.

you also have to take into account the resource systems are different. if a constructor tried to start making a building with less res than needed, then it would either have to sit and pause until money is there (which could be indefinite) or give up and move on. either way has disadvantages.

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 11:06 pm

I wonder how many times this has been requested? 

I support it every time.

[Tryptic]

posted on November 23rd, 2011, 11:59 pm

Last edited by Tryptic on November 24th, 2011, 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

you also have to take into account the resource systems are different. if a constructor tried to start making a building with less res than needed, then it would either have to sit and pause until money is there (which could be indefinite) or give up and move on. either way has disadvantages.

I don't think there would be a problem, all the unit does is squawk and cancel all its orders if it can't afford to build the station, just like it does now if you spend the res on something else while it moves into position.

People wouldn't use the queue for construction very often except in the beginning of the game; it's the combination of build and move orders that's useful.  You tell your constructor to go there, build a yard and a refinery, then return home.  It's a small amount of automation that makes the game much more streamlined.  And if your order cancels because there isn't enough res, you're not really any worse off than the way it is now.

Maybe repair orders could be added as well, so you can tell a ship to retreat in a specific direction and THEN go repair.  The process wouldn't require fewer clicks than it does now, but it would allow the player to give them all at once instead of waiting 10 seconds and coming back to complete the order.  That's the worst kind of micro, and should never be required by an RTS game.

posted on November 24th, 2011, 2:44 am

I was trying to remember if this had previously been suggested... but couldn't remember reading about it anywhere. Although, I've been here only for roughly a year, year and a half.

So if it was suggested before... maybe its not possible? Or just not something devs wanted?

I don't think it can be abused, as I put in the last part of that post, it entirely depends on your resource status. If you do have a resource surplus, that will go into ship use more likely than building spam.