P&C BETA first impressions

[unicorn83 2]

the units/buildings/ground could use a little more solid colour other than that its a great game

[jedra 11]

@Zopzodeman - very good synopsis there. I agree with all of it - especially the resource build time - it is waaaay to long at the moment. There is a lot of time spent just sitting and waiting for resources to build - it's a little boring to be honest. You should be able to build some stuff in parallel (maybe allow each resource type to be built in parallel?).

I have so far failed to take an island (occupied that is) in five or six attempts, yet the AI take my islands one after the other. My mantas and walrus' last about 15-20 seconds against the AI and the pathfinding isn't good enough a lot of times to allow them to escape. The reult of this is that I run out of resources and then just have to sit and wait - not very exciting! I have now stopped trying to fly/drive the craft myself and play it more like an RTS - the Walrus is OK to control, but the Manta is impossible.

I still haven't figured out how to re-load the guns in the carrier - the 'auto fire at nothing' bug wipes out my carrier ammo pretty quickly and then it's pretty much defenseless. Also, I found that when I launch my Walrus' to defend the carrier, sometimes they fire at the enemy, through the carrier, causing the carrier damage! It'a almost as if the targetting system is completely ignoring anything in its way.

Thankfully I have not yet encountered the enemy carrier - with my carrier out of ammo and my Mantas and Walrus' all gone I would not last long!

I am actually enjoying the game less and less the more I play, but I think this can be rescued with some tweaks.

[Baraka 10]

Had my first session yesterday and i´m greatly happy with it.

Never played RTS, R.U.S.E. and the old warcraft ones was the only one. So i´m a nOOb at that Genre.

After some figuring out how things work, the gameplay seems very fluid.

After capturing two islands the enemy Carrier attacked my outpost and i moved there. After a hard firefight i was able to destroy it and won the game.

Had no crashes yet.

Graphic and FPS are very smooth. No stuttering between changing the unit and switching from command view to another.

That´s impressive, i have a Phenom II 955-2,8 Gz, an ATI-4870 1Gig, 4 Gig standart RAM with an 32bit version of Win7 so i was a bit worry about FPS :o

Some things i find strange:

-No NV for Mantas and Walrus? Would be really helpfull.

-please add some kind of Zoom for the third person view.

-How does the Fuel for the carrier work? I product some Fuel-Cells, but the Carrier don´t use it, but when i order the fuel, and it comes with the boat it´s fine.

-the zooming at the command map is a bit strange. You get to fast out of the single island view IMO and it feels not right.

In total i´m very happy with it. The fast and straightforward gameplay feels really good. Can´t tell much about details, cuz i played it only for 1-2 h.

Will tell more when played more!

[Wh1sper 0]

In my German Blog, I updated my Article about my first Game impressions.

http://zockertown.de/s9y/index.php?/archives/1546-Play-Contribute!-Carrier-Command-Gaea-Mission.html

[aluinie 1]

So far i have only played 15 mins but from what i have seen i am impressed. The game has the feel of the classic game although i found i killed my mantas off a lot quicker here.

Great start and cant wait to play some more.

[FoxTwo 10]

As I'm nearing an island, I want the ability to launch Mantas or Walruses in preparation for arrival. Further, I want the ability to order the carrier to begin departure while Mantas and Walruses are en route to dock.

The original CC permitted launching and recovering Mantas and Walruses while the carrier was underway. Though I seem to recall the carrier would reduce speed to conduct launching/recovery operations for the Walruses while moving. This was an indispensable tactic for quickly grabbing islands in the original and will be of great value in the remake.

[Wh1sper 0]

The original CC permitted launching and recovering Mantas and Walruses while the carrier was underway. Though I seem to recall the carrier would reduce speed to conduct launching/recovery operations for the Walruses while moving. This was an indispensable tactic for quickly grabbing islands in the original and will be of great value in the remake.

Thats a nice option. But in the current game loosing Manta and walrus because of lost of communication is to expensive.

the long range communication Pack is missing also. But as a plus you now have to do more work before owning a neutral island.

[Guest]

Finally! I destroyed the carrier and the game did not crash for a change :)

I like the game, the beta is already lots of fun (although repetative) but I am surely going to play the full release (and maybe in-between updated beta's).

Actually I have nothing to suggest what could be improved what others did not already suggest. When some (or maybe all) improvements make it into the game and the bugs are ironed out I have the feeling BI has a winner up their sleeves which will generate some well earned cash :D

I hope it will be decided some kind of custom mod development will be possible with the game!

Nice work BI!

[retromann 10]

This Game has great potential. - Indeed!

It Makes allready a lot of fun, even in this "early" and "limited" game-developement state. I'm really looking forward to the multiplayer mode.

Thanks BI!

[Gameqb11 10]

really interested in this game- but maybe im a little misguided. I first thought this was basically a futuristic Arma-style RTS, an instant buy for me-but after reading a few impressions i have some questions...

1. We only control 3 vehicles? aircraft, tank and carrier?

2. Is this purely a capture the island RTS game?

3. no ground troops?

[harbinger 1]

We control the Carrier, 4 aircraft, and 4 tanks simultaneously. So thats 9 units. You can jump on to any AI vehicle / and maybe gun emplacement on your own islands in range.

The Beta is a purely capture the islands RTS/FPS effort. The release will contain some form of story mode.

There are infantry droids, and I'd love for these to be controllable as well.

[maddogx 13]

Overall I'm loving the game so far. Managing resources, upgrading vehicles with cool toys and the whole process of capturing enemy islands is a lot of fun.

What I particularly dislike so far is combat with the enemy carrier. Game crashes aside, it's a little bit too "final", meaning that once you've engaged the carrier, you can be pretty sure it's game over either way. I would like to see the more possibilities for tactical retreats and guerilla style attacks on both sides (without making it impossible to kill the enemy carrier of course):

- Firstly, I find the carrier's armor a little too weak - when the carriers are engaging each other directly, the battle seems to last less than half a minute before one is destroyed. I would rather see somewhat longer battles, meaning better carrier armor and more robust subsystems.

- The ability to deploy sea mines might be a nice touch, because it would allow for one carrier to retreat and temporarily block the other's path (if done correctly, i.e. running away and dropping the mines behind you, forcing the other carrier to spend time going around them). I guess the sea mines should self-destruct after a few minutes and would need to be replenished through a (perhaps rather expensive) production package. Carrier AI should generally be smart enough to steer around the mines.

The enemy carrier AI also has some defects:

1. It will occasionally park right in fron of me (at some distance), allowing me to destroy many of its systems with a plasma-equipped Warthog.

2. Sometimes while I am attacking an enemy island, the enemy carrier will come up to the island, park somewhere off the shore... and do nothing.

3. When attacking my islands it will sometimes simply move on, apparently without actually having done anything. (Buildings still intact.)

[Guest]

Yesterday I destroyed the enemy carrier for the first time without crashing the game but before I destructed it it actually fled our naval battle. It went full speed leaving its manta's and walrusses. So, it is already in game, just not optimized.

I decided to follow it after i docked my units to its nearest island and destroyed it while it was docked trying to repair. I could have choosen to attack one of its other islands of course prolonging the battle.

I am sure its all in there already, just not ready for us to experience to the fullest as beta testers/players ;)

[gssev 1]

Got it loaded and it started automatically with all the settings at their highest. So it was very slow fps . Got the settings down to low for most and a few at medium like texture detail and geometry. The game was quite smooth with a few lags when it probably was loading textures. Only problem I got was when it went into time warp in between islands it froze at 3 sec. I had to get task manager on by ctrl,alt del and had to select the game in it to bring to front. This seemed to resume the game. so I thought my laptop would not handle the game but it did. Looking forward to trying it on my desktop which has a 8800gt which should allow me to up the settings.

Laptop is an Acer aspire 2.1 ghz duel core with ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics card. windows 7 64 bit ( but game runs in 32bit) 4 Gb ram. screen was at 1366 x 768.

I know this is the beta and the mouse movement does feel a bit laggy but I'm sure they will get that sorted. So far the game looks great and plays great even though I'm not great at it yet!

[icechan 1]

some mouse lag but generally very good.

the map is difficult to use.....and the production page is also difficult to use or too time consuming....

[Corporal Ice 0]

Thank you @Zopzodeman for your post #98 wich i agree mostly 100%, but i want to add something:

This is the Manta-LRC Pod, (Long Range Communications Pod),

It is a device that allows a MANTA to go communicate with the Control Tower far away than usual, but more important, it acts as a beacon that allows MANTAS and WALRUSES not equipped with that to keep working in an area around that LRC equipped MANTA.

Basically is just a "far away" pod, but let's get tactical for a moment:

- Which is the main weapon of a carrier? It's ability to launch air strikes at hundreds of miles from the objective.

- Which is their mission?: To act as a projection of power doctrine main elements.

Considering this, I think that having that pod, will increase the range of the Carrier-Strike-Groups attacks.

Well, you all just know how bad my english is so i would love to see some feedback about those LRC pods.

[JM0N 1]

You've made my dream come true ! I've wanted a remake of this game for a long lone time. Thankfully Bohemia interactive had the gumption and expertise to secure this excellent Intellectual Property and re-make it in glorious fashion.

I did get a chance to try the game for about an hour last night and I'm in love ! Totally brought me back to my youth when i was playing Carrier Command on my Amiga 500 well over 20+ years ago. Well done !

Today I'm going to go over the manual thoroughly and print out basic key commands etc. and really get into it tonight.

[Lampoil1 1]

Thank you @Zopzodeman for your post #98 wich i agree mostly 100%, but i want to add something:

This is the Manta-LRC Pod, (Long Range Communications Pod),

http://bayimg.com/lANOIaAdp

It is a device that allows a MANTA to go communicate with the Control Tower far away than usual, but more important, it acts as a beacon that allows MANTAS and WALRUSES not equipped with that to keep working in an area around that LRC equipped MANTA.

Basically is just a "far away" pod, but let's get tactical for a moment:

- Which is the main weapon of a carrier? It's ability to launch air strikes at hundreds of miles from the objective.

- Which is their mission?: To act as a projection of power doctrine main elements.

Considering this, I think that having that pod, will increase the range of the Carrier-Strike-Groups attacks.

Well, you all just know how bad my english is so i would love to see some feedback about those LRC pods.

Mantas having LRC pods is a must along with landing, refueling and repairing at friendly islands, this was a major feature in the old CC.

I recall loading 1 manta with the LRC+couple of missiles and 2 with a full missile load out, send them on their way island hopping (friendly of course), their main aim was to get to islands been attacked and assist with the defence.

The other benefit of the manta-LRC was to travel with a walrus or 2 to neutral islands to convert them to friendly while the carrier head off in a different direction, blowing things up.

Great to see a fantastic game been brought to life again, I agree with what others are saying about the carriers when they meet (game over), after hours of stratagy there needs to be more options.

[harbinger 1]

Given a LRCP and at least one Manta with a laser, you could refuel on Enemy runways by stopping the missile launchers rebuilding.

I'd also set the Mantas to slowest speed, have 3 Walruses following, 2 with ACCB's and one fuel pod. I could take 2 islands with the remote group, and another 2 or 3 with the Carrier by the time they were out of equipment.

Fun times!

[sxp2high 22]

What I particularly dislike so far is combat with the enemy carrier. Game crashes aside, it's a little bit too "final", meaning that once you've engaged the carrier, you can be pretty sure it's game over either way. I would like to see the more possibilities for tactical retreats...

My first and so far only encounter with an enemy carrier, ended with the enemy carrier fleeing. He was trying to capture one of my islands, so I moved there and defended it. After a rather short battle, I lost all my MANTAs and 3 Walrus. My carrier wasn't very damaged. Anyway, the enemy carrier has retreated to his own Island and I haven't seen him since. :D

*Alt-Tabs back into the game*

[Appogee 1]

I am enjoying the Beta immensely.

My input on things to change are:

1. Fix the mouse lag.

2. Fix the vehicle pathing.

3. Make the map zoom levels more granular.

4. Provide a key or tooltips on the map, so that the various symbols are explained.

5. Show the supply barque, and enable us to send it back when we need to.

6. Speed up production, and provide a slider to speed up game time, so there is less waiting for something to be built etc.

7. Enable the main gun to fire downwards (ie. lower than the horizon).

8. Provide a way to lock the carrier engines on, and keep moving forward, even while you're working on the map screen.

9. Make destroyed Mantas explode, rather than just drop from the sky and roll.

I'll post separately on many various ideas and potential enhancements beyond the standard game play.

Thanks again BI for remaking one of my favourite games of yesteryear. I thought I'd never again have the chance to play Carrier Command again.

[Renegrade 1]

My first impression is pretty good, although a thought that occurred to me right away is "everything is very foggy!". The weather effects are beautiful, and the snow islands are majestic. Heat and shell duels on the ground with enemies is both graphically beautiful and fun. I've been awaiting this game to be remade for a long time, and Bis seems to be making good progress.

Just some thoughts though:

- Some of the weapons seem overpowered. Flak{walrus,turret}, heat{walrus}, and rockets{manta} seem to do way too much damage, resulting in battles that are over in an instant. I'd like to see more of a fight, less instagib.

- Resource and production has a weird balance. One factory island can consume the resources of six or seven mining islands. That may be a side effect of the resource multiplier being forced-set to zero though.

- Waypoints are a bit too subtle when flying/driving manually. A waypoint direction arrow wouldn't be amiss. Having an icon for the carrier (when not driving the carrier at least, heh) would be nice too.

- It would be nice to see sensor/visibility ranges on the map for walruses/mantas.

- Walruses seem to lose too much speed when making slight course adjustments. At least with keyboard/mouse driving.

- It would be nice if damage from terrain could flash yellow instead of red or something. Bumping into a small rock that I didn't notice makes me think I'm under attack...

- There seems to be a very tiny artificial limit to the number of saves supported.

- There doesn't seem to be a way to give saves names or labels.

- The strategic mode save system is .. odd. Why only one campaign at once?

(I've left off other things that have been said prior to my post in this thread)

[Klingbeil 10]

almost everything i would suggest to improve the game has been mentioned, however...

this game begs for multiplayer co-op. vehicle/mount based squad combat. a captain is assigned at the beginning and players are able to freely move about the vehicles/turrets to accomplish the captains orders. i can see that some sort of voice chat like Mumble or Ventrilo would be most useful in this situation.

[Gnrl_Grad 1]

A carrier bridge view might add to the immersion when using the carrier. It looks cool from the outside but it would also feel cool being on the bridge of it, looking out windows etc. seeing some crew, maybe have a map table or holo board on the bridge and when you click it it goes to the map. etc.

[DragonRR 1]

After playing the current beta for a couple of hours or so here are my impressions:

WOW It's Carrier Command! and it looks pretty damned good especially for a beta.

Criticisms (some, at least, duplicating comments by others)

PATHFINDING - Sometimes good but sometimes it just breaks in a very bad way, Walruses becoming stuck against walls trees and rocks and sometimes this results in their destruction!

The game looks too foggy most of the time

Low detail textures. I'm assuming this is to keep the beta download footprint low though.

Maximum LOD set too low (imo)

Maximum visibility distance set too low, probably tied in with the fog issue.

Some effects like the laser need a bit of work (imo)

Would like to see a time multiplier and/or speed up the timewarp

Is there a way NOT to use timewarp to sail between the islands? If there isn't I would like to see this being possible. Thanks, Gazzereth, for pointing out my stupidity!

Please, please fix the pathfinding.

For a beta this game is just awesome, I mean really awesome, I can't wait to see the final! Good work Bohemia and thanks for NOT wrecking this long awaited remake! :)

Edited April 14, 2012 by DragonRR
It would seem I have lost the ability to write English.