Power of Law pow wow at RPGVault
Power of Law pow wow at RPGVault
Interview - posted by Saint_Proverbius on Thu 6 May 2004, 21:18:52
Tags: Power of Law: COPS: 2170There's a new interview for the sci-fi dungeon romper Power of Law over at RPGVault, talking about the combat system and other stuff. What's cool in this? Well, feast your eyes on this:
Jonric: What do you regard as the key features and elements of your combat system? What kinds of factors and considerations most influenced you in designing and implementing them?
Vitaly Shutov: For the combat in COPS 2170, we are especially proud that battles in the game take place at what we call tactical distances. It's not a secret, as you know, that many tactical games err by having short shooting ranges combined with huge damage. As a result the combat turns into scuffles, where parties stand only several meters from each other and, for several turns, fire bursts. This type of combat resembles 'Russian roulette' more than it does any real strategy.
We approximated, as fully as we could, a formula for firing precision that is what you'd see in real life. Bullets have specs that affect their trajectory, such as flight stability. Weapons have grouping characteristics, and the characters have their own parameters of precision. By using such elements, we finally got an image that approached real life. Therefore, it becomes rather important to get timely information about an enemy's whereabouts, since the sooner you spot your enemy, the greater advantage you get. You must think before making a turn. Otherwise, you risk finding yourself in an unprotected area by the end of your turn, and if your enemy has snipers, a bullet from the darkness will strike you, and that'll be the end. Those who have played tactical games will understand the reasons for such precise factors. They form one of the basic mechanisms defining the game's tactics.
Yup, that's pretty neat stuff. I hate it when my sniper has to be on the same screen as his target to actually have a good chance at hitting that target.
Jonric: What do you regard as the key features and elements of your combat system? What kinds of factors and considerations most influenced you in designing and implementing them?
Vitaly Shutov: For the combat in COPS 2170, we are especially proud that battles in the game take place at what we call tactical distances. It's not a secret, as you know, that many tactical games err by having short shooting ranges combined with huge damage. As a result the combat turns into scuffles, where parties stand only several meters from each other and, for several turns, fire bursts. This type of combat resembles 'Russian roulette' more than it does any real strategy.
We approximated, as fully as we could, a formula for firing precision that is what you'd see in real life. Bullets have specs that affect their trajectory, such as flight stability. Weapons have grouping characteristics, and the characters have their own parameters of precision. By using such elements, we finally got an image that approached real life. Therefore, it becomes rather important to get timely information about an enemy's whereabouts, since the sooner you spot your enemy, the greater advantage you get. You must think before making a turn. Otherwise, you risk finding yourself in an unprotected area by the end of your turn, and if your enemy has snipers, a bullet from the darkness will strike you, and that'll be the end. Those who have played tactical games will understand the reasons for such precise factors. They form one of the basic mechanisms defining the game's tactics.
Yup, that's pretty neat stuff. I hate it when my sniper has to be on the same screen as his target to actually have a good chance at hitting that target.
