The Base Planner
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We want to give players a more streamlined method for designing bases.
We are currently working on early designs for the Base Planner. This interface will allow players to open up a planning grid on which land tiles and buildings can be arranged. When you are finished with your design on the grid, you can save your design, and execute the changes to your base with one click of the mouse.
One of areas of base design that can be the most time consuming is wall placement. There will be a feature, currently dubbed “autowalls”, that will allow users to easily reposition many wall segments at one time. This feature will automatically detect the correct wall segment that visually matches the direction the wall is facing. Once a wall is placed, you can manually change the visual type of an individual wall segment.
The automatic function of “autowalls” will be disabled on existing walls to preserve existing base designs. Newly constructed wall segments (including those placed in the Base Planner) will be automatically oriented by default. We will be removing the 3 different shapes of walls from the Build menu and replacing them with the single, more universal shape.
In addition, we’re making sure to give players control over when their base configuration is saved. Experiment with illegal setups along the way - the tool will validate your changes when ready, as opposed to every single step along the way. This should dramatically speed up the time required to rearrange bases, while also encouraging people to experiment with different base layouts.
As this is a feature being developed heavily on player feedback, we want to make sure that we are giving you as many utilities as possible. Please take the time to answer some of these questions:
We want to give players a more streamlined method for designing bases.
We are currently working on early designs for the Base Planner. This interface will allow players to open up a planning grid on which land tiles and buildings can be arranged. When you are finished with your design on the grid, you can save your design, and execute the changes to your base with one click of the mouse.
One of areas of base design that can be the most time consuming is wall placement. There will be a feature, currently dubbed “autowalls”, that will allow users to easily reposition many wall segments at one time. This feature will automatically detect the correct wall segment that visually matches the direction the wall is facing. Once a wall is placed, you can manually change the visual type of an individual wall segment.
The automatic function of “autowalls” will be disabled on existing walls to preserve existing base designs. Newly constructed wall segments (including those placed in the Base Planner) will be automatically oriented by default. We will be removing the 3 different shapes of walls from the Build menu and replacing them with the single, more universal shape.
In addition, we’re making sure to give players control over when their base configuration is saved. Experiment with illegal setups along the way - the tool will validate your changes when ready, as opposed to every single step along the way. This should dramatically speed up the time required to rearrange bases, while also encouraging people to experiment with different base layouts.
As this is a feature being developed heavily on player feedback, we want to make sure that we are giving you as many utilities as possible. Please take the time to answer some of these questions:
- Aside from the issues already addressed above (building/tile placement & walls), what do you find is currently the most cumbersome aspect of base design?
- Realistically, how many different, saved base layouts would you actually use?
- The default setting for the Base Planner is to always center your base (like centering your text in a Word document). Would you have any need for the Base Planner to allow you to left or right (north/south) justify your base?
- If you were to request one additional feature for the Base Planner, what would it be?
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BP ID: 1038 WC ID: 1476 VC ID: 18589 Tome ID: 3698
Currently, redesigning the base is cumbersome, especially all those walls. However, how often would someone be able to change their base layout? If you give someone the ability to save multiple base layouts, I could easily see someone simply insert new layout on a daily basis just to avoid being farmed. Thus it won't really help them design a better base but just take up server overhead in saving multiple designs.
I would think having one layout that could be instantly brought into the game would be sufficient. If someone wants to redesign their base daily, then they should work for it. As opposed to having multiple designs available which they could potentially switch depending on who they thought was coming to dinner.
Only one other question - how much is this going to be tested before it is implemented? I'd hate to use this to redesign my base only to find that it errantly inserted a back door and I have no way to switch back to my original design. Perhaps a timer before the new layout become permanent?
The "you can not create narrow channels" error. I understand why it's there, but in "rebuild mode" it makes it a lot harder - I've had to delete stretches of land (and try to move the buildings somewhere) only to rebuild it in the exact same way - just in a different order to avoid that message
Realistically, how many different, saved base layouts would you actually use?
I think 3: the previous base, the current base and a layout with the tweaks & ideas for improving the current base.
The default setting for the Base Planner is to always center your base (like centering your text in a Word document). Would you have any need for the Base Planner to allow you to left or right (north/south) justify your base?
Yes, in some cases that would come in very handy!
If you were to request one additional feature for the Base Planner, what would it be?
Use turrets & specials not yet researched. That way, you can 'plan ahead' and check placement for turrets you don't have yet, but will have (shortly after) the design goes live.
Aside from the issues already addressed above (building/tile placement & walls), what do you find is currently the most cumbersome aspect of base design? - Having to create a square off to one side so i can place my buildings out of the way while i construct the outline, then having to squeeze buildings back into a half designed base so i can free up the land i've been storing them on
Realistically, how many different, saved base layouts would you actually use? - I'm lvl 33 so not many right now but all the way from lvl15 to 30 base design was the bane of my BP life. 8,9 or 10 iterations of a base wouldn't be unrealistic to play around with
The default setting for the Base Planner is to always center your base (like centering your text in a Word document). Would you have any need for the Base Planner to allow you to left or right (north/south) justify your base? - Yes - you could either place the entrance to your channel as far away from the entry point of the base map as possible so the attacker has a 30 or 40 second sail to reach your channel (i did this by accident once and it worked well) or you could go the other way and place the entrance as close as possible to the entry point on the base map so your guns open fire before the attacker can organise their ships
If you were to request one additional feature for the Base Planner, what would it be? - Place buildings in storage while you put the land tiles down / re orientate the diamond shaped base boundary so it's a square / (sorry , i know thats two)
I really hope you add this feature as it will make the life of lower levels so much better and easier to defend themselves
Realistically, I don't see myself using more than around five. I'll want one for my current layout, one or two for designs that I would like to move to in the future when I have the proper guard fleets built for it (or for lower levels, when they have the technology) and then maybe a couple for just messing around and experimenting. I can live with three but I think five would be ideal.
Assuming you mean camera view, I don't see any immediate need to have it focus on a particular side by default as long as you can pan around.
I would love the ability to share or import designs from other players. I would also like to see it instantly change the turrets and specials as well (or at least let them all change simultaneously).
EDIT: After reading some other posts, it seems like the centering feature might mean physically moving your land tiles and buildings so that they are in the center or your space. This seems handy but I can then see myself wanting to "back justify" my base so that the entrance is as far away from the nearest edge as possible, adding a few more seconds to the time it takes ships to get there.
I see you nailed the wall problem so far, but I pretty much agree with the previous suggestions of:
-Narrow Channels issue
-Ability to move the entire base (Base center square could be a red tile
-Being able to save base designs.
And then there's my biggest base design pet peeve - having nowhere to put buildings that need AT LEAST four tiles to be put anywhere.
All in all I greatly approve of this feature. No complaints at all.
To help our developers plan for this, can you provide details on one of these cases?
Lvl-54
Alliance- Red Vikings
Won-Cudas, Strike Cruisers, Interdictors, Battle Ships, Triton, Mercury, Javelin
I would probably have 2 maybe 3 designs for use. Maybe another one for experimenting.
I would prefer the ability to move the base to the edges.
I'll second the suggestion to use turrets that you don't currently have to experiment with the "what-ifs."
and also as previously mentioned, allow the user to put buildings aside until the land is in place. no more creating islands.
Hey swag,
The default setting for the Base Planner is to always center your base (like centering your text in a Word document). Would you have any need for the Base Planner to allow you to left or right (north/south) justify your base? - Yes - you could either place the entrance to your channel as far away from the entry point of the base map as possible so the attacker has a 30 or 40 second sail to reach your channel (i did this by accident once and it worked well) or you could go the other way and place the entrance as close as possible to the entry point on the base map so your guns open fire before the attacker can organise their ships
Excellent feedback, thank you!
Yes - but Hitman beat me to it
I'm looking forward to the base planner!
I doubt it. Lags and glitches are mostly the result of the sheer volume of data needing to be sent back and forth between your browser and the server. If you don't have a fast enough machine or internet connection to process and reply to that information at the same speed the server sends it, the pipe clogs and you get lag. This new feature would likely be mostly client-side and only need to interact with the server when you save, load or apply a design so there should be very little lag.
This is a good idea also
Ooh I forgot about that. I currently move around a Sentinel (there's only a range difference of slightly more than a wall between it and SFB Assault Missiles) to gauge the ranges.
Aside from the issues already addressed above (building/tile placement & walls), what do you find is currently the most cumbersome aspect of base design?
Trying to place the land perfectly between the white lines, it's rather annoying when you get almost done placing the land to find out one or two pieces don't fit because of the limitations.
Realistically, how many different, saved base layouts would you actually use?
I would probably use at least 3. I say three because I don't like staying with one design 24/7, and I would have different designs for different types of fleets.
The default setting for the Base Planner is to always center your base (like centering your text in a Word document). Would you have any need for the Base Planner to allow you to left or right (north/south) justify your base?
I like the idea of having the base centered, when you start designing, because it will make it easier to stay within the white line.
If you were to request one additional feature for the Base Planner, what would it be?
Can we get a rotation option? I would like to be able to rotate my buildings. :-)
Level 54:spurtz:
ANSWER: The over sized footprint of some buildings.
Realistically, how many different, saved base layouts would you actually use? ANSWER: 3-5 at most
The default setting for the Base Planner is to always center your base (like centering your text in a Word document). Would you have any need for the Base Planner to allow you to left or right (north/south) justify your base? ANSWER: Absolutely!
If you were to request one additional feature for the Base Planner, what would it be? ANSWER: A calculator of sorts that allows a player to see the strength of the base setup. which in itself is based off of current fleets available.
I also agree with the majority on glitches. Let's get those issues adressed first before adding something else to the mix.
Excitement: HELL YEAH MAN!.
Calm: I think this would help other players (including me) re-arrange our bases faster when copying another's or making a new design.
Corvette, Destroyer, and a few others...