megapack: little more upgrades, less units, less lag, more fun?

[uuu]

Hi.

In big map with lot of resources, players produce lot of units, especially if there is more than 2 teams. This simply makes game lag.
My suggestion is, add for each faction generic upgrades (costly), e.g. for:
- speed of all moving units
- defense (armour) of all units
- attack of units that can attack (just strength, not range - thnx to Omega for the idea)
- harvest speed of workers (EDIT - thnx Omega for the idea)
This could make more tactics options in co-op, when one player e.g. creates horses and upgrades speed, other player makes archers and upgrades attack.

Point is, it should cost a lot, so more resources are spent on upgrades, and less resources are spent on units. You could make e.g. two of each 3 upgrades, second one very costly.

What do you think? What does titi (megapack author) think?

[Omega]

I like the idea. However, they'll need to be pretty good upgrades, or else players will simply ignore them as not being worth the high costs. And as far as move speed goes, I can't think of anything besides an unrealistic number that would actually make it worth spending resources on. Attack strength, attack speed, armour, HP, and EP are the prime candidates. Produce and harvest speed would go against the "less units" approach you are trying to create. Move speed isn't all that useful (sure, it's nice to reach the foe quickly, but doesn't really merit the large resources expended. Sight and attack range are a bit iffy, especially since attacking foes while remaining outside of their sight can be problematic. Attack, attack speed, and maximum EP are highly useful on the offense; while armour and max HP are very useful on the defence, making these stats the most likely for players to spend resources on, provided their costs are appropriate (no one wants to spend 500 gold for an extra 5 damage).

Of course, all factions would have to receive similar upgrades to maintain balance.

[uuu]

Thnx for new ideas and approval of the idea. However, I think speed matters:
- workers move faster, so resources are gathered faster
- during attacking defense towers (egypt sphynx, roman ballista) - you need to get near the tower as fast as possible

[Kiko]

Thnx for new ideas and approval of the idea. However, I think speed matters:
- workers move faster, so resources are gathered faster
- during attacking defense towers (egypt sphynx, roman ballista) - you need to get near the tower as fast as possible

Are you editing the XML files to make your own versions of mods? It's simple to do (and fun) and works great for single-player/CPU games.

I'm still working on a smaller Japanese version (mentioned elsewhere) which is reduced to half or less of the unit types, has increasingly costly upgrades as you've suggested, and plays long and absorbing games with multiple CPU teams. It was for GAE, but I've changed to Linux and now use MegaGlest as it runs faster, and the unit multi-animations are fun.

I've also done a modified Magic faction for the Megapack, which is all about dragons and raptor riders. I'll upload them sometime in the next month or so.

[titi]

uuu wants me to comment on this so I do i t 

All these things are good ideas, but I think the megapack itself is good as it is. This is what mods are meant for! Everything is open source and everyone can use everything so, just do it  . I for myself don't want to make big changes to the megapack, as it is already really fun to play and I think a good base techtree which allows people to have several hours of fun and keep in mind it's also meant for single player.

Editing xmls and so on is really easy, so you are welcome to mod it .