Rising Tide Screenshot Discussion

[iki]

So...... are ships going to be able to just... float by without care? WATCH OUT FARM, TITANIC COMING THROUGH....

Or...

But its' graphics, I don't think they matter that much.

That's a point could naval units pillage ocean tiles ?

 

[Barathor]

So...... are ships going to be able to just... float by without care? WATCH OUT FARM, TITANIC COMING THROUGH....

Or...

But its' graphics, I don't think they matter that much.

The same way it's done on land.

 

[Doviello]

Dear God, are we really discussing if the obviously placeholder graphics are permanent? I'm at a loss. Either people on these boards are compulsive posters and can't not discuss something even if it is nothing, or get some strange satisfaction out of being cynical. Shaking their heads in despair over something that cannot be.

You can't say for sure that it "wont be". I remember when starcraft II was in beta, fans moaned a lot about the appearance of the tank unit, that it looked like a toy, until Blizzard changed it. Firaxis officially released a screenshot of a BERT game, showing underwater barns and floating generators, so thats the reason, right there, to believe there's a chance it's final. I'm not being cynical or posting compulsively, i'm just worried about this.. minor annoyance (it won't stop me from buying the game)

Besides, we don't have much material to discuss about right now, so let's point out flaws when we see one.

 

[Karl0413]

You know, I remember when Beyond Earth was first announced back in April of last year, early screenshots showed them still using the road, trade convoy, etc... graphics of Civ V. Those graphics were replaced by the time the game went live in October. Rising Tide is operating on a similar development schedule; we will be seeing graphical changes, of this I am sure.

 

[iki]

You know, I remember when Beyond Earth was first announced back in April of last year, early screenshots showed them still using the road, trade convoy, etc... graphics of Civ V. Those graphics were replaced by the time the game went live in October. Rising Tide is operating on a similar development schedule; we will be seeing graphical changes, of this I am sure.

This is probably true I remember the wolf beetles looking more like the chitin ones. I'm not sure other aliens changing though.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

This is probably true I remember the wolf beetles looking more like the chitin ones. I'm not sure other aliens changing though.

More than probable, it is true. And this is the same conversation from back then.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Although what you say makes sense, I doubt firaxis would go this deep into thinking about this, and implementing it into the game. (if that's what you mean)

I personally think they will just make some sort of a tile improvement for food. Probably like they did in Civ V, build a boat, and send it to a tile. Although a new food gathering mechanic would be very interesting for water cities. I think they need to let their creativity run free with this one.

It's not really that deep or involved an idea. It was done in civ 4. The workshop tile improvement was +1 -1. Improving the tile for production lowered it's food output.
Don't know where I was suggesting a new food gathering mechanic.

 

[Barathor]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about those sea improvements as they're just placeholders.

The whole point of that screenshot was to show off those really cool amphibious aliens.

 

[Halbbruder]

They sure have added some more detail on the depth of coast tiles. Perhaps, like SMAC, you can only build non-resource type improvements on shallow waters.

 

[Lord Tirian]

They sure have added some more detail on the depth of coast tiles. Perhaps, like SMAC, you can only build non-resource type improvements on shallow waters.

Yeah, the coastal shelf effect they used is amazing. It reminds me a lot of Call to Power's underwater graphics but much nicer and modern, it makes me almost hope for underwater tunnels!

Regarding the placeholders... I remember that an early Civ:BE screenshot had Civ5-style ruins. I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[TabeticClown]

I say it's time we talk about a new screenshot.

Spoiler :

 

[iki]

I think Those polyps will be a scientific resource or food?, the blue rocks maybe production.

 

[TabeticClown]

From what I can see there's Floatstone and presumably other strategic resources on the see now, probably only shallow, the purple polyps in the bottom left, and the blue stones in the deep ocean no idea. Three new naval units, two new aquatic aliens, and maybe sea miasma in the bottom right, or a new resource, but probably the former.

 

[Makenshi]

I hope miasma only appears in coastal areas, lest the oceans becomes impossible to navigate. It would be relatively easy for any colony to clear miasma around its borders, and even a bit more far if its orbital coverage is well extended; if all colonies make this effort, even better. But to clean entire oceans? That's a negative, sir.

 

[Barathor]

I hope miasma only appears in coastal areas, lest the oceans becomes impossible to navigate. It would be relatively easy for any colony to clear miasma around its borders, and even a bit more far if its orbital coverage is well extended; if all colonies make this effort, even better. But to clean entire oceans? That's a negative, sir.

I assumed it would be somewhat similar to how it is on land. I don't think it would be too bad. Also, at least there's less obstructions in the ocean (unless there are new features introduced) compared to land, so you have more paths to travel in. Also, it gives Harmony or hybrid-Harmony players an advantage in the seas now instead of just on land. It also introduces a way for naval units to heal at sea (if that aspect remains the same).

It also could potentially give the game a new way of controlling and restricting free ocean travel early on (EDIT: to clarify, I mean distant ocean travel), similar to the harder restriction in Civ5 where early units couldn't enter ocean at all. It would be somewhat like a pseudo-scurvy mechanic, which was used in one of the Civ5 scenarios. You can venture out into it, if you dare, but you're going to take damage every turn. Perhaps it'll also be one of the ways to control ocean city settling early on.

So many unanswered questions... I'm really looking forward to more information and to see how this all works and comes together.

I also just thought of something I haven't considered until now... alien nests over xenomass in the ocean. I wonder what they'll look like. I assume they'll be underwater. Man, so much cool stuff.

 

[AriochIV]

The above shot is not exactly "new", as it was one of the shots released on the 18th with the announcement. The items new to RT in the above shot are the two new underwater resources (the polyps and blue stone), the two types of patrol boat, the submarine, and the purple giant shrimp alien unit. There is also Firaxite, Floatstone, and miasma in the ocean. That's about it. The Marine, Cruiser, Carrier, and Sea Dragon are existing units.

The one point that comes to mind is that the two patrol boat types appear in the same shot, perhaps indicating that they are different units rather than tiers of the same unit. Though that is far from certain, given that these are not actual gameplay shots.

I hope miasma only appears in coastal areas, lest the oceans becomes impossible to navigate. It would be relatively easy for any colony to clear miasma around its borders, and even a bit more far if its orbital coverage is well extended; if all colonies make this effort, even better. But to clean entire oceans? That's a negative, sir.

The miasma in the above shot appears to be in deep water, so it doesn't seem likely that it's restricted to coasts.

 

[TabeticClown]

The point about less obstructions in the ocean is interesting. I really hope that there are new and meaningful terrain features to the oceans, otherwise they'll get bland fast. I don't want just the features to fit the hill/mountain/canyon/river roles either, I want unique features that change gameplay in innovative ways.

The easy part is coming up with terrain features. Atolls, volcanoes/sea mountains, trenches (though those might be hard to illustrate), roaming typhoons. Surely there are more, but that's a start. The hard part is figuring out unique ways that they would affect gameplay while keeping them balanced with land terrain.

 

[TabeticClown]

The above shot is not exactly "new", as it was one of the shots released on the 18th with the announcement. The items new to RT in the above shot are the two new underwater resources (the polyps and blue stone), the two types of patrol boat, the submarine, and the purple giant shrimp alien unit. There is also Firaxite, Floatstone, and miasma in the ocean. That's about it.

The one point that comes to mind is that the two patrol boat types appear in the same shot, perhaps indicating that they are different units rather than tiers of the same unit. Though that is far from certain, given that these are not actual gameplay shots.


The miasma in the above shot appears to be in deep water, so it doesn't seem likely that it's restricted to coasts.

You're such a bummer. The thread title isn't "New Screenshots" it's "Rising Tide Screenshot Discussion".

 

[Barathor]

The point about less obstructions in the ocean is interesting. I really hope that there are new and meaningful terrain features to the oceans, otherwise they'll get bland fast. I don't want just the features to fit the hill/mountain/canyon/river roles either, I want unique features that change gameplay in innovative ways.

The easy part is coming up with terrain features. Atolls, volcanoes/sea mountains, trenches (though those might be hard to illustrate), roaming typhoons. Surely there are more, but that's a start. The hard part is figuring out unique ways that they would affect gameplay while keeping them balanced with land terrain.

I hope so too. Having things which block movement would be great in the oceans and would help break-up boring, endless ocean (it's an alien planet after all, it doesn't have to resemble Earth).

Those are some nice ideas. I was initially thinking of mountainous reefs poking out of the water (with some cool visuals around it underwater), along with maybe regular mountains.

 

[TabeticClown]

Coral is a really good idea. It's already in the game, and it makes sense that it would hinder boat's movement speed, maybe even prevent it entirely until certain technology is researched, like canyons on land.