[T:V] Sensors work, they've just been implemented unimaginitively

R

Rilke

Veteran X
I've been wanting to create my suggestion in the form of a map but I lack coding/scripting ability. Who knows, maybe I'll get dio to pimp it for me. :)

In any event, what if you linked audio dynamically with Sensors. For example, if an enemy showed up in sensors, incoming from the east, an audio event would be triggered, saying "enemies inbound from the east." This would greatly enhance the role of sensors whereby they would both provide an effective defensive measure and require serious, strategic attention from opposition.

In general, linking audio and in-game objects/events would be an incredible step forward for the Tribes franchise. Imagine speaker systems around bases that provide critical information such as if gens were being attacked or if a sensor had been knocked out. Or imagine if a gen was destroyed, an alarm sound was triggered.

There could be many dynamic shapes and forms of this code. It would enhance atmosphere exponetially and make some of the previously superfluous Tribes mainstays valuable.
 
That's a damned excellent idea. However, give it options... having an alarm go off for every Tom, Dick, and Joe to come near your base would get pretty annoying. So make so it goes off on targetted units, like vehicles or cloakers or whatnot.

Also, I think a "tripwire" type of item could get implemented into T:V. Have it so that the team is notified whenever a wire is tripped, and give the location of the wire. So, you would hear "An enemy has tripped a wire near the generator!" or "An enemy has tripped a wire near the flag!" or "An enemy has tripped a wire in the remote base!" If that's too hard to code, just make it so that you have to type in the message that is displayed when you deploy the tripwire.
 
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I don't know about tripwires since that's changing gameplay but if it works then add tripwires :)

I do like the idea of adding sound to the sensors and for when the gens are destroyed. Other things to include might be:

- when a turret/sensor/inventroy is damaged (not destroyed)
- sounds when a player is walking
- deploying of equipment
 
It would be important for each player to be able to mute these sounds tho.
I personally think that there should be just a beep or something like that for each event, not a siren or a commentator/voice telling you what has happened.
Like a certain beep accompanied with an icon flashing or something similar would be a lot more elegant and less annoying.
 
cyclonite said:
...a lot more elegant and less annoying.
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I have complete faith that Irrational could implement this type of technological advancement--or something like it--elegantly and effectively.
 
rilkean panther said:
I've been wanting to create my suggestion in the form of a map but I lack coding/scripting ability. Who knows, maybe I'll get dio to pimp it for me. :)

In any event, what if you linked audio dynamically with Sensors. For example, if an enemy showed up in sensors, incoming from the east, an audio event would be triggered, saying "enemies inbound from the east." This would greatly enhance the role of sensors whereby they would both provide an effective defensive measure and require serious, strategic attention from opposition.

In general, linking audio and in-game objects/events would be an incredible step forward for the Tribes franchise. Imagine speaker systems around bases that provide critical information such as if gens were being attacked or if a sensor had been knocked out. Or imagine if a gen was destroyed, an alarm sound was triggered.

There could be many dynamic shapes and forms of this code. It would enhance atmosphere exponetially and make some of the previously superfluous Tribes mainstays valuable.
Click to expand...

My preliminary thought is I don't like this idea. You are beginning to garner the mentality of making the learning curve easier for everybody. I don't like that. The best defenses in Tribes have the best awareness, no question about it. A team that is aware that they're being attacked from the left doesn't need to be told "BEING ATTACKED FROM LEFT." It'd actually get quite annoying.

Additionally how do you code something like this? How does the algorithm decide you're actually being attacked? What if they're just massing forces but attacking later? The game is so open-ended it would be very difficult to code.

An audible cue as to when major events happen is a step forward, however. cyclonite's "beep and icon" idea is a sound one and would have to be tested and balanced.
 
Kefka said:
Also, I think a "tripwire" type of item could get implemented into T:V. Have it so that the team is notified whenever a wire is tripped, and give the location of the wire.
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No. K.I.S.S.

So, you would hear "An enemy has tripped a wire near the generator!" or "An enemy has tripped a wire near the flag!" or "An enemy has tripped a wire in the remote base!" If that's too hard to code, just make it so that you have to type in the message that is displayed when you deploy the tripwire.
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Even worse.

Sorry.
 
Special,

The example audio trigger for the sensor, "enemy attacking left..." could be anything more or less contextualized to a learning curve that is not necessarily easier, and would not necessarily discourage awareness. Instead, it would simply add an audio component to sensors. If sensors were valuable as such, they would need to be placed properly and intelligently, as opposed to anywhere, such as the case is right now.

The audio in my hypothetical situation would only be operational while the sensors and/or gens were operational, thus increasing the value as both gens and sensors from both offensive and defensive perspectives. I don't think that puts a limit on either the learning curve or player awareness, which are not so simply impacted by one factor as this alone.

Lastly, this is a flexible idea that I'd love to hear more objections about. It's worth exploring, I think.
 
rilkean panther said:
Special,

The example audio trigger for the sensor, "enemy attacking left..." could be anything more or less contextualized to a learning curve that is not necessarily easier, and would not necessarily discourage awareness. Instead, it would simply add an audio component to sensors. If sensors were valuable as such, they would need to be placed properly and intelligently, as opposed to anywhere, such as the case is right now.
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Can you reword this paragraph into laymen's terms? :)
 
I think this could be an outstanding idea provided that the default setting is "off."

For outdoor play, my sense is this would be most valuable for deployed vs. base sensors.

For indoor play, I could see both deployed and base sensors being valuable.

For example...

I could easily see a HoF wanting to hear certain information (i.e. for a sensor covering a backcap), a LD wanting to hear something else (i.e. a LD wanting to know if somebody is setting up in a zone they're covering) etc etc...

As long as its straightforward to turn on/off this would be super cool.
 
Actually, what might be better is to have a sonar system. If someone is much closer to you and is on the radar net then a louder pitch noise would be heard vs someone that is far out on the edge of the net. Also, if someone is behind you, a lower pitch noise would be heard vs someone in front.

So, something like this would happen

An enemy in front of you and closer to you would sound like a loud high pitch noise and an enemy behind you would be a loud deep pitch noise. In addition to that, an enemy on the edge of the sensor netowork that is also in front of you would sound like a softer deeper pitch noise and of course you get the point for someone behind you.
 
rilkean panther said:
Special,

The example audio trigger for the sensor, "enemy attacking left..." could be anything more or less contextualized to a learning curve that is not necessarily easier, and would not necessarily discourage awareness. Instead, it would simply add an audio component to sensors. If sensors were valuable as such, they would need to be placed properly and intelligently, as opposed to anywhere, such as the case is right now.
Click to expand...

How about this, I don't want to be distracted by "THE ENEMY IS ATTACKING LEFT" while I'm playing. You may think it sounds good on paper, but I seriously doubt it'd work in the game. However, if the command screen could be transparently overlayed on the regular screen, or have a section for it in the corner, then sensors would be much more useful. Enemies could simply show up as DOTS, and you don't have to worry about confusing audio cues.

The audio in my hypothetical situation would only be operational while the sensors and/or gens were operational, thus increasing the value as both gens and sensors from both offensive and defensive perspectives. I don't think that puts a limit on either the learning curve or player awareness, which are not so simply impacted by one factor as this alone.
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Gens maybe, whether or not the main sensors are working is moot. Pulse/motion sensors run off batteries, I guess, in T1 and T2, so it may as well stay that way because there will probably be other portables that don't require the gens to be up to work.

If we stick to the three basic sensor types, make each worthwhile, and make a command screen viewable in the normal window, they will be useful. Pulse sensors should have like a 35m range, motions a 55m range, and cameras a 125m range. Cloaked people show up on pulse, jammed people show up on motion and when in sight of a camera (or maybe just the camera), and so on. It makes the sensor network very useful, as long as you actually have the map in front of you at all times.
 
The idea of re-inveting sensors sounds good

But as many have explained it has its cons and pros.
Maybe we can try to find an analogy on things that uses sensors today and see how they are handled.

As far as i know, if a plane shows up on radar in a given airport, it blinks and beeps a few times, then if the planes are handled by the operators shifts color/status/whatever.

On submarines, sonar works a bit different, but also informs the navy officer of new targets appearing on screen.

Perhaps we can suggest the following, a small red arrow on your screen that blips a few times identifying an incoming threat (and its heading) that entered your sensor net, but after that the arrow disapears (making it less annoying).

That way, it could reward those teams that care about sensors and deploy them, but not give a "huge" advantage over anyone with enough skill to use valleys and hills for skiing and "sensor avoidance".

This suggestion of course, shouldnt consider the armor's own Friend/Foe identification system, it would cause an unbalanced game feature.

Regards
BinderAJ
 
Kefka said:
That's a damned excellent idea. However, give it options... having an alarm go off for every Tom, Dick, and Joe to come near your base would get pretty annoying. So make so it goes off on targetted units, like vehicles or cloakers or whatnot.

Also, I think a "tripwire" type of item could get implemented into T:V. Have it so that the team is notified whenever a wire is tripped, and give the location of the wire. So, you would hear "An enemy has tripped a wire near the generator!" or "An enemy has tripped a wire near the flag!" or "An enemy has tripped a wire in the remote base!" If that's too hard to code, just make it so that you have to type in the message that is displayed when you deploy the tripwire.
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sweet ya a tripwire would be tripped and a big holograph would go up in the air kinda like how T2 objectives are taken.....

have it display for like 5 seconds

or shoot a bunch of flares.........

or have it shoot flares and blind the enmy w/ a dose of whiteout.....


ok ok, ill stop know.......
 
What if sensors acted like normal, but gave the armor type and distance of enemies in the sensor net? You'd still have to pay attention to your surroundings, but you'd gain those little bits of information that could be valuable. I think a command map/radar overlay would be a great idea as well.
 
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