Model design preview

[Janekk]

Having extra screen at the end of model design where you're shown approximate statistics for unit you're about to sign off on would help a lot especially for newer players that don't know what each tech/design choice does yet.

One such newbie trap IMO are high velocity guns. One of the first military techs available so makes sense to use it in your first tank design, right? Why not get a better gun if you have it? Well early game especially when you're bound to fight a lot of infantry and little armour it actually isn't better at all. How about rocket artillery, what's the difference between small and medium rockets? Do smaller rockets have shorter/longer/same range as medium rockets? Do they get more but weaker attacks or is bigger weapon simply better but more expensive? You don't find out until after you've already spent your BP's.

[FlashXAron_slith]

But somehow it makes sense, I would even gave that values a very small range of random values ...

so the new gun could do some more damage between + 5-10% every game different and it should depend, how good your researching guy was ...
I hated it always in CIV and even HOI , that I skipped a lot of units , because I have known they are scrap !

But in reality you also don't know HOW GOOD THE NEW DESIGN will be , when you finished it ...
you will see , when it is finished , if it is really that good, how the researcher promised it, or if it will even explode ...
sure a gun, which takes an old one as an example, will be better , BUT how much ?

So that would be a cool design, atm it is somehow that way , because I don't look at google or manual , if it is good, but after some played games, I will know
and that is sad ...

so keep it, and even make it more unpredictable, but as I said, it should depend, on what the designer/researcher has done and a small amount of rng !

[Clux]

ORIGINAL: FlashXAron_slith

But somehow it makes sense, I would even gave that values a very small range of random values ...

so the new gun could do some more damage between + 5-10% every game different and it should depend, how good your researching guy was ...
I hated it always in CIV and even HOI , that I skipped a lot of units , because I have known they are scrap !

But in reality you also don't know HOW GOOD THE NEW DESIGN will be , when you finished it ...
you will see , when it is finished , if it is really that good, how the researcher promised it, or if it will even explode ...
sure a gun, which takes an old one as an example, will be better , BUT how much ?

So that would be a cool design, atm it is somehow that way , because I don't look at google or manual , if it is good, but after some played games, I will know
and that is sad ...

so keep it, and even make it more unpredictable, but as I said, it should depend, on what the designer/researcher has done and a small amount of rng !

While I agree than you should not know the results, it would be really helpful for new players to have an tool-tip over weapon choices like (good hard attack and bad soft attack) or ({+2 range and good against soft targets) and so on, because otherwise you have to check the manual and that ruins the fun.

[eddyvegas]

This new player agrees with the original poster. Even if it's just 'you are about to make a new unit with these specific elements, are you sure?' YES/NO would be better than the way it is now.

[RecliningJohnnyD]

I'd like to at least see what engine I would need in that window, to reach the respective levels.

[GodwinW]

Very much agree. The first time I was designing I was very surprised when it just ended and I had apparently chosen all there was to choose.
Now I make a save before doing it because as I'm looking at what options are there and I happen to click further along than I meant I can reload at least.

Having an extra step: these are the details (with comparison to the current versions!), are you ok with signing this off? would very much be appreciated.

[Munashe]

I definitely agree that the model creation screens need work. You can't even argue this is supposed to be hidden, since I've been skimming through the manual, and it's outlined in tables that Howitzers get a huge penalty in hard atk/def, while High Velocity Guns are the reverse. They get a big penalty in the soft stats. The manual also describes the effects of engine power to weight ratio and the resulting speed modifier. It would be much better if this information was well presented in a model confirmation screen. It could easily show the movement mod of the current model configuration, the soft and hard attack percent mods, and any other modifiers affecting the proposed model. If things aren't too hard coded with the current sequential multiple choice screens, it would be much more usable if it was just a single screen with drop downs for each field, or the ability to click on a field and change it before being taken back to the model design summary window to see the resulting change to the model's modifiers. There's also extremely critical information in the manual, like this: *Foot is mostly defensive* "Soldiers on foot without ranged attacks have their soft and hard attack strength divided by two." While reading the manual would let players know this, manuals are really uncommon for games these days. Most players will never crack it open, and be left confused or unknowing of critical factors. At this point, I'd say that good game design necessitates including information on this level of importance where it's going to directly affect player choices. It should be displayed in a useful manner. Well written tool-tips that aren't just a flavor text description could help with this.

[Malevolence]

Indeed; I keep the manual open on a side monitor while model designing (and playing in general).