The unofficial Distant Guns 'wish list'

[solops]

Statistics:

1. I would like to see how many hits of what caliber or torpedo each of my ships has taken.

2. I would like to see how many of the above each of my ships has inflicted.

Totally unrealistic, but I don't care...inquiring minds want to know. Medals to hand out and all that. If anyone has a cow over it, make it optional or make it available only post-battle.

 

[Silencer]

A filter on the messages would be nice.
There is much going on, non critical issues, so that more often then not, you miss the really critical ones.

 

[Bender2k]

1) I think that a "gunnery log", much in the way of FS, could be really useful.
2) I couldn't organize a line astern formation at all, nor an echelon... I don't think that the only way to organize fleets and division was the battleline?
3) Ramming. Bring back the ramming... It worked! Victoria and Camperdown showed that it could be really harmful, and if we're dealing also with "what-if" scenario we had to cope also with crazy, stupid or simply tough admirals. As an italian I shouldn't say this, but I always wanted to emulate Tegethoff...
4) Still didn't tried, but... I don't know if ships can engage multiple targets. I mean, most of the ships in that period had broadside main armament (e.g. Russian armoured cruiser) just to engage port and starboard foes int the same time. A "Trafalgar like" tactic has two completely differents meanings if you can engage on both sides or not...

Just as a start... Great work, however!

 

[jethro]

I definitely agree with you Bender2k.

Cheers
J

 

[Mobeer]

There' a hotkey-only command (as in you'll never see it on the pop-up menue) to make a ship fire at a specific other ship. Using that command, you can do all the things you listed, at the cost of micromanagement and frequent game pauses.

Is this not in the menus already? Select a friendly ship, place the cursor over an enemey ship, then right click and there should be a target this ship option. This seems to work for me.

 

[grumbler]

The big wish I guess of many grognards would be for more fog of war - even as an option. That's essentially what naval battles are about aren't they? Spot a puff of smoke on the horizon [not 30 kilometeres away! - see below] go and scout it and as you get closer things get clearer - it's one ship, it's a biggish ship, it seems to be heading this way, it's a cruiser size, oh it's one of ours or whatever etc.] Not EXACT details of the enemy ship, course, plotted course, speed at immense ranges!! There is no way to lead ships on to a battle line for instance or set traps. I agree once it is identified then pull out the Janes details, fair enough.

This fog of war extends to the status screens and the like. In a CG I could see one cruiser and sent my battle line over. Clicked on the staus screen to be told the enemy had 10 ships! So much for tension and surprise !

This game is quite phenomenal and has a great future. I've had my money's worth already. So lets be constructive and incorporate some extra naval flavour to make it even better.

An observer at a height of 20m can see the horizon at only 16km under ideal conditions. Check out.
http://newton.ex.ac.uk/research/qsystems/people/sque/physics/horizon/

cheers
David

 

[sonarman]

I notice that in the DG FAQ Jim and Norm have seen fit to rubbish other naval games by saying that "Most 3D naval simulations are just glorified arcade games and they cheat when it comes time to resolve shell fire..." I submit that DG is also a "glorified arcade game" in terms of its view options.

One thing the DG lacks is any feeling that you are actually onboard a ship, in the ancient Microprose game "Task Force 1942" your view was as in real life from the bridge or observation deck of the lead ship and your manouvers were initiated on a 2d map plot much more realistic than the seagulls eye 3d strategy control of DG.

It would be good if DG had a "realistic view" option where you were located on the bridge / spotting top of the lead ship and plotted your maneuvres on a full screen 2d chart rather than in the 3d world and only had a standard pair of naval 7x50 binoculars. This would eliminate the need for all of the text on screen and all of the arcade like haloing of ships and ugly course lines drawn in the 3d world and give the game a far more realistic feel.

 

[PJJ]

Random battles are fun to play, but it wouldn't hurt to give players some more control over the scenario settings, ie. being able to select what kind of ships take part in the battles. I don't mean a scenario editor (though that would be something!), just a few more variables to fiddle with than the force strength and time of day sliders we now have.

Many people seem to want more micromanagement, but I don't. The game is very enjoyable to play even with all the bugs, and I prefer being the admiral who makes the big decisions rather than some supply clerk who counts the shells and bullets.

 

[Porkchop]

It would be good if DG had a "realistic view" option where you were located on the bridge / spotting top of the lead ship and plotted your maneuvres on a full screen 2d chart rather than in the 3d world and only had a standard pair of naval 7x50 binoculars. This would eliminate the need for all of the text on screen and all of the arcade like haloing of ships and ugly course lines drawn in the 3d world and give the game a far more realistic feel.

This is all well and good, but where do you draw the line between a ship "simulator" and a wargame. Surely DG is a wargame?

 

[sonarman]

Even Norm & Jim themselves seem to be struggling with that distinction...from the DG site:
"The boys have been busy conjuring up a completely new 3D gaming engine, capable of all aspects of PC Wargaming and Simulation on all gaming fronts. "Distant Guns!" culminates a four year effort by Storm Eagle Studios to create the next generation of the strategy and simulation gaming experience!"

I think a mix of both is best of all, like Task Force 1942 which straddled both genres perfectly. Two genres = twice as many customers and twice as many reasons to make a sequel!

Some of the greatest games are those that refuse to be pidgeonholed into a particular genre like the great games of Sid Meier e.g Pirates!

 

[griffitz62]

I agree with what has been posted here. Here's one more.

I don't know how many people are playing multiplayer, but that's a big part of my gaming time. I would like to be able to assign an AI player to one side so I could play co-op with my friends.

Would also like to see a more accurate rendering of ship sinkings. Played last night and watched a ship go from a 15 degree port list to rolling over on it's starboard side. Huh? Wreckage and the like would be a nice addition.

 

[grumbler]

I agree with what has been posted here. Here's one more.

I don't know how many people are playing multiplayer, but that's a big part of my gaming time. I would like to be able to assign an AI player to one side so I could play co-op with my friends.

If you got a 3rd player to take the enemy, then he left, the AI would take over allowing you to cooperate against it?

cheers
David

 

[Harv]

I purchased the game yesterday mostly to show support for the series so that new eras will be added in the future, and I hope to see many of the excellent ideas voiced here added somewhere along the line. Overall I'm having fun with the game, and there are just a few things that I'd like to see changed or improved.

My requests include (sorry about repeating anything already mentioned):

Ability to turn the "tooltips" off.
Statistics tracking.
Hotkeys to be user defined.
Camera controls to be user defined.
An OOB screen.
Remove the flyout panel completely and replace it with user defined hotkeys and/or a standard menu.
Ingame gamma adjustment.
Improve the message list, either by filtering, scrolling or both.
Increased/improved FOW.
The ability to play 2 player LAN with a single copy of the game.
Dynamic visible damage modelling.
More & varied sound effects.
A list of current saves that is visible when saving a game.

My bug list:

Some hotkeys don't seem to work.
The AI gets serious target fixation and will continue pounding an almost dead target when there are more dangerous and closer threats.
Ships will continue to fire even while listing at 90+ degrees (capsizing).
The game doesn't remember that I don't want a sticky flyout panel from game to game.

That's all for now.

 

[WallysWorld]

An OOB screen is my number one wish along with a little more fire graphics and turret damage graphics.

I rather enjoy the interface now that I got used to it.

Oh by the way, Riders suck! :clown:

 

[saddletank]

The AI gets serious target fixation and will continue pounding an almost dead target when there are more dangerous and closer threats.

Quite possibly accurate, ships crews will do odd stuff when they can keep kicking a man when he's down.

Ships will continue to fire even while listing at 90+ degrees (capsizing).

Also probably not a bug. When Blucher sank at Dogger Bank the one gun she had in action as she heeled over was still being worked by some brave but foolhardy soul(s). Some crews were brave to the point of stupidity in extreme cases (e.g. Rurijk at Ulsan). Also there are a number of reports of ship sinkings in various wars of guns firing off as the ship rolled over, this is possibly the ammunition cooking off as fires in the hulk move into new areas as the stresses in the hull force pressure about in odd ways.

 

[Harv]

Oh by the way, Riders suck! :clown:

Riders Suck??!! Why you...you...

Hmmm, you're right actually.

I hate it when eeeeevil Albertians are right about anything related to this sucky province. Especially when they're all from Scratchnwin originally.

 

[Harv]

Quite possibly accurate, ships crews will do odd stuff when they can keep kicking a man when he's down.

Perhaps it's more poor AI targeting choices as opposed to fixation. For example I have a game where 6 Japanese cruisers (3 on each side) are within 1500m of two Russian battleships (Navarin and Vyeliki) and beating them up quite badly, while both BB's are firing on the Chin Yen which is almost 8000m away. If the BB's were "smart" they'd blow away the cruisers with the 305's at short range and then work over the Chin Yen.

As it is now this is an AI exploit where you can bait it with a long range BB type target (or a close range sacrificial lamb) all the while pounding away with impunity with your other ships.

Also probably not a bug. When Blucher sank at Dogger Bank the one gun she had in action as she heeled over was still being worked by some brave but foolhardy soul(s). Some crews were brave to the point of stupidity in extreme cases (e.g. Rurijk at Ulsan). Also there are a number of reports of ship sinkings in various wars of guns firing off as the ship rolled over, this is possibly the ammunition cooking off as fires in the hulk move into new areas as the stresses in the hull force pressure about in odd ways.

I think this is probably tied in with Bullethead's research on incorrect firing arcs, as there is no way that the guns would have the necessary depression to be firing at such extreme angles. Unless of course the target was directly ahead of or behind the sinking ship, which opens up a whole new set of problems...if you ever try to fire a handgun accurately at moderately long range while holding it sideways "gangsta" style you'll see what I mean, as the sights don't work correctly when in that orientation.

 

[Percopius]

Also like to see...

The 'S' key command, show ship data;

1. the type pf ship should be BB, CC, DD, etc. instead of spelled out.
2. Be able to filter the data in this overlay; Division name, ship name, speed, then what it's doing (firing, getting hit, fire, part damged, forming on, etc.)

 

[Vigilante]

There are three additions I would really like to see:

First, I would like to have an additional scenario-builder over which I had complete control in choosing the exact ships, general location, weather, and time of day. Often with miniatures I will set up a specific situation and solo-game it just to see what happens. I've found that to be the best way to learn about a ship's capabilities under various conditions. The random scenario builder is great fun for play, and I would want to keep that, too, but what I suggest would be helpful to me as a learning tool.

Second, I would like to see graphical improvements to the land and sky areas. It need not be spectacular, but what we have now is so rudimentary that it is something of an immersion-killer for me. I would like to see this improved to at least the level present in Fleet Command, but preferably to the level found in IL2/AEP/PF. Those are both older games and that seems to be a realistic goal.

Third, somewhere down the line I would like to see the engine adapted to allow retexturing of the ship models. There are a lot of very talented skinners out there who would be happy to lend their formidable talents to making the ships look utterly spectacular instead of merely very good.

 

[BlackVoid]

Multiplayer campaign PLEASE!

And better multiplayer battles - a buying system with points a la CM and many other games.