Premature Strike Results

[MasterServer]

Thanks AP!  From what I have read here, this sounds like a great game.

[CptWaspLuca]

Hi folks

I'm a new CAW player/old Matrix fan and reviewer

Congrats for a great game.

My 2 cents about this post: I would love an option to make the result unpredictable till I see the animation results.
- If I don't click during th attack the damage bar and the results in terms of aircraft losses are visible only at the end of the animation, or in the instant they drop the ordnance.
- If I click during the animation I see immediately the results.
- If I click at the end of the animation or if I double click I go to the next combat.
Please I would love this!

I have a small question too: it seems that most times the damage bar don't changes even with some hits. I think the bar represents damage seen by the attacking pilot, and not damage after the attack in the animation screen: I'm right? Can you explain this better? If I see a full red bar why are pilots spending their ammo against an already sinking target?
Thank you very much

[Jam_USMC]

I too wish there were an option to turn off the results screen. But that said, my favorite touch of the whole animation screen is watching the torpedoes slither toward their target and waiting to see if they go boom-boom.

[Gregor_SSG]

ORIGINAL: CptWasp

Hi folks

I'm a new CAW player/old Matrix fan and reviewer

Congrats for a great game.

My 2 cents about this post: I would love an option to make the result unpredictable till I see the animation results.
- If I don't click during th attack the damage bar and the results in terms of aircraft losses are visible only at the end of the animation, or in the instant they drop the ordnance.
- If I click during the animation I see immediately the results.
- If I click at the end of the animation or if I double click I go to the next combat.
Please I would love this!

I have a small question too: it seems that most times the damage bar don't changes even with some hits. I think the bar represents damage seen by the attacking pilot, and not damage after the attack in the animation screen: I'm right? Can you explain this better? If I see a full red bar why are pilots spending their ammo against an already sinking target?
Thank you very much

We'll think about all the suggestions on this topic and see what can be done. As for the damage bars, think of the full red bar as a target so damaged that is going to be reported as sunk. It may actually be sunk, it may sink later or it might scrape through, but it looks bad from an aircraft so that's what will be reported.

Gregor

[CptWaspLuca]

Hi, thank you for the answer Gregor.
Can you help me about the meaning of the damage bar? It represents the status of the ship before the attack in the animation screen, or the result of the current attack? If the second is right: why the damage don't change at all during the attack?

[82nd Airborne]

Weird, but on my screen the animations and lower ship profile etc are in sync. the bombs go off simultaneously in both screens.

[CptWaspLuca]

ok... so we my suppose:
when the damage bar remains unchanged the damage/effectiveness of the attack is unknown?
we will discover it in the sequent run?

[Adam Parker]

ORIGINAL: Gregor_SSG

We'll think about all the suggestions on this topic and see what can be done.

After quite a bit of play now - that's a good thing to be said about a game for me - here's my latest thoughts regarding Premature Strikeulation and I think I've developed a bad habit now!

1. Once the strike screen pops up I immediately look at the bottom right of the squadron picture to see if the ordance is lit up (for a hit) or not.

2. If not lit up I click the screen to make the next wave come in.

3. If lit up I let the screen play out and watch/enjoy the explosions.


Have I become lazy or is this now actually a good thing?

1. It speeds up play.

2. It now makes me wonder if it would be better to actually wait for each strike to play out with the strike results delayed until hits are made?

Logic suggests the later. Machiavelli suggests the former.

[jazman]

Adam,

I've found that I'm doing exactly what you're doing.

[e_barkmann]

I look at the results straight away and gloat at the animation if I've managed to hit something.

If nothing but bad news, I click away the animation immediately.

Call me shallow...

[Gregor_SSG]

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker

ORIGINAL: Gregor_SSG

We'll think about all the suggestions on this topic and see what can be done.

After quite a bit of play now - that's a good thing to be said about a game for me - here's my latest thoughts regarding Premature Strikeulation and I think I've developed a bad habit now!

1. Once the strike screen pops up I immediately look at the bottom right of the squadron picture to see if the ordance is lit up (for a hit) or not.

2. If not lit up I click the screen to make the next wave come in.

3. If lit up I let the screen play out and watch/enjoy the explosions.


Have I become lazy or is this now actually a good thing?

1. It speeds up play.

2. It now makes me wonder if it would be better to actually wait for each strike to play out with the strike results delayed until hits are made?

Logic suggests the later. Machiavelli suggests the former.

I have always used the screen in the same way. I don't want to watch a bunch of hopeless incompetents miss with every single bomb/torpedo, when with a single mouse click, a bunch of heroes *might* appear and do a much better job!

Gregor

[AVisme]

In multi-player I use chat for the wave after wave of land based whiffle bombing to *taunt my opponent a second time


* best J.Cleese accent

[CptWaspLuca]

I still don't like this "prescience" ;(

[NefariousKoel]

Yeah, I'd rather it not show up until after the aircraft have made their runs too.  It builds tension.  Now I can't stop myself from staring at the bottom right of the screen and not watching all the action.

[Triarii]

I am also skipping the animations given the result of a quick glance at the bottom of the screen.

Two other points

I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere but the results are also prematurely shown in surface action animations. Clicking on your/enemy vessels will indicate whether or not they will be sunk/collect more damage by the end of the 5 minute phase. I mean you really do just know that those long lance are going to hit.

Examining the report screens for airstrikes from the bottom task bar of the main screen -The damage shown is current - not end of the strike being examined. I mentioned this in my 2nd Coral Sea AAR

None of these affect gameplay but I would suggest the option to turn off the 'bar damage reports' as a greater FOW challenge. I mean the option to watch just the animation and have reported hits but no graphics of damage status bars in either animation or in strike reports. You decide whether or not your glass is half full or half empty vis a vis the damage just inflicted.

I can see this adding another element of frisson - Did we sink that carrier? Can it still fly off? Launch another strike now or await the next search plane report?

I imagine removing the damage bars rather than amending them is a relatively simple fix in the code and one that could be toggled as an FOW option.

What do you think?