Hi, friends. Today’s diary is about how we see the artillery gameplay and why we are sure that each type of forces should have its own unique gameplay. And do not forget, our dear reader, that this gameplay should be not just another different one, but also interesting in it’s own. If you leave the art in its previous form and bring it to a separate class, then you should admit that it will be a rather boring class. In addition, the big problem of artillery was its "one-off" style of usage. Spawn-shoot-backoff. And when you have more units to play besides artillery, this state of affairs is tolerable. But what to do when it's a whole class and most of the troops in your battalion are just like that? Leave everything as is and put up with the fact that the game for the third part of the units in Soldiers: Arena boils down to a wait-and-see sitting in the bushes? Damn it, no!

… ad astra doloribus itur © Prudentius

We have written many times that we want to strengthen the role-playing component of the game. We can say that we adhered to the classic Warrior-Wizard-Rogue scheme. Tank battalion is obviously a warrior with the best armor and powerful blows. Infantry shall be wizard with a spell/grenade for each enemy, who with due skill, can create real magic on the battlefield. And the rogue is, of course, artillery. So, we gave him invisibility. An attentive reader could have guessed this from a diary about an artillery commander. And no, this is not that invisibility. The artillerymen does not throw smoke bombs under his feet, so that in a moment he shall be vanished with the howitzer in their hands to appear behind the enemy's rear in a moment's notice.

Artillerymen would run away from each other if they knew the true essence of each other © Immanuel Kant

Each weapon that does not fall into enemy viewports is considered hidden, but when fired, creates a noise zone, with the maximum value of noise in the center and smallest - with distance from it. The radius of the noise zone is now ten gaming meters. The noise level increases with each shot, decreases with time and depends on the type and caliber of gun (for example, howitzers and SPGs create more noise, and the handsome one from the cover or Katyusha becomes unmasked for one volley). Each shooting gun adds noise, and the closer to each other they are, the faster they become visible. Moreover, the noise zone is remembered and decays for a long time, so if you do not relocate, then the guns start to give out their position more quickly. The noise level begins to drop right after the shot and decreases from maximum to zero in thirty seconds. We are testing this mechanic and modifying it, so that the interface pieces and icons associated with it are in their "working" form.
The green lamp - the gun starts to pick up noise, but remains invisible to the enemy.
When the lamp changes to red, the cannons will remain invisible for enemy, but the circles-markers will start to spawn, giving an idea of the approximate location of the ‘gods of war’ picnic.
Da Vinci said that "The eye, the window of the soul, is the chief means whereby the understanding can most fully and abundantly appreciate the infinite works of Nature". But if you are appreciating THIS kind of eye, be aware, cause probably your artillerymen already has appreciated their own and their windows of the soul will soon open to pass on to another life unless you act quickly. The gun is unmasked and displayed both on the opponent’s screen and minimap.

What does this give me as a player?

We knew that you would ask! This makes the game for artillery and against it more interesting, but does not make it unbalanced. Counter-battery fights, search raids in the enemy rear and so on. Artillerymen now need to constantly change the position and outsmart the enemy. Appear, destroy and go again into silence mode. No more boring vigils over a pair of guns in anticipation of a worthy goal. Now you need to connect both hands to successfully manage your cannons. We try to display in the behavior of the units their advantages and disadvantages on the real battlefield. Shooting from the “hidden positions” fully meets this goal. And here are some more:

• Artillery guns are a bit more accurate and significantly quicker in comparison with similar tank ones.
• Artillery has become mobile and now each cannon can be called attached to a car if the appropriate perk was earned.
• If you have taken a position, then make it impregnable! AT-hedgehogs, barbed wire, mines and trenches. A good artilleryman always has something to do.
• The right choice of targets. Howitzers and mortars are good for destroying the enemy's manpower and its fortifications, but a wide spread of plunging fire makes the destruction of mobile units a tough task. Using such weapons, you need to knock the ground out from under the enemy's feet, and not try to knock the helmet off his head.
• Battery fire. If you are playing with artillery, then play it right! Selecting, for example, AT-artillery you must do what it is really supposed to do - destroy tanks. So why don’t combine the three guns into a battery? And instead of making three shots from one gun, do one from three and go into silence to enjoy the shredded ruins and look for a new victim.

Artillery went through a lot of suffering to be reborn, and in one diary we can’t tell about it properly. In the next diary we will tell you about shooting modes, types of shells, the correct choice of targets and how to play plunging fire guns. But we need to say that the next diary will be in three weeks too. Do not be angry, friends, it will not become a tradition :) After it we will return to the normal regime. And btw we began to make short training videos for each of the units, which you can watch without leaving the game, to learn its main characteristics, pros and cons. This video is more like a test and will not go "to print." It has a bit more action than we need in the training video, but sometimes one should hold oneself to the good bits :) Wish you all the best! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4UuAUT8Yj4&feature=youtu.be

[ 2017-07-21 02:47:57 CET ] [ Original post ]