I don't know if anyone else has looked at act of war: direct action, but I suggest you guys check it out. I'd like to see a similar interface involving close air support, because it's really good to use in a pinch. It has a button which you just click, and then you select where they are to shoot at, and it's done. They fly in and crash the party.

You really think Petro goes outmto forum and reads?

well, if LA does, maybe then petroglyph does? After all, they are the programmers, right? But LA can always come and read too.

Actually, I don't like that, and hope they don't look at this thread. I want to control my fighters, not point and click. What if it was a moving target? Oops, you missed!

I played the Direct Action demo, and wasn't impressed. It was basically Zero Hour but shiney and polished. Nothing special, but I admit, the story line looked awesome.

Originally posted by StarWarsPhreak
Actually, I don't like that, and hope they don't look at this thread. I want to control my fighters, not point and click. What if it was a moving target? Oops, you missed!

I played the Direct Action demo, and wasn't impressed. It was basically Zero Hour but shiney and polished. Nothing special, but I admit, the story line looked awesome. I didn't look at the story, cuz what matters is the game, and I also thought that the demo was meh

Both LA & petro check out the forums.

Both cant discuss much about the game yet but im sure once the opportunity arises, they will be

DMUK

I guess you could say it resembled zero hour, except zero hour was a hugely unbalanced game and this doesn't look that way... yet. As for not tracking targets, the fighters did track enemies and vehicles moving. They just needed to remain in your LOS.

The demo was really unimpressive and I too prefer to have direct control over my units.

I think that what would be cool would be ordering orbital bombardment on a certain site. There could be different types, like one that's really focused on just one area, which you could use to destroy like an annoying guard tower or something, one that's like a huge carpet bomb, which could be used to clear a large area, etc.


Also one thing that DID impress me in the demo is that I sent some planes to bomb a secondary objective of blowing up fuel tankers, and my plane got shot down right before arriving, and it crashed ON a fuel tanker and it set off a chain reaction of explosions that blew the whole thing up. I think that tainted my opinion.


Also I'll probably buy it for the storyline.

You really think Petro goes outmto forum and reads?
Lots of companies do.

F: Select all on-screen fighters.
B: Select all on-screen bombers.
Shift+F: Select all fighters in the air that aren't low on fuel and returning home.

And so on for different categories of air units like paratrooper transports, etc.

It's a nice feature, and I hope it'll be in EaW.

I think that what would be cool would be ordering orbital bombardment on a certain site. There could be different types, like one that's really focused on just one area, which you could use to destroy like an annoying guard tower or something, one that's like a huge carpet bomb, which could be used to clear a large area, etc.
Not very creative.. At all. Orbital bombardment is Star Wars, but it, and off-screen artillery, have become cliches as it's in every single futuristic RTS game out there by now.

All in all, I don't think it fits with the Total War-style of play that Empire at War is going to be.

F: Select all on-screen fighters.
B: Select all on-screen bombers.
Shift+F: Select all fighters in the air that aren't low on fuel and returning home.OR... We can just have the normal grouping

CTRL + #: Assign group to number #

#: Select group number #

Brilliant idea! Except one thing: Who says we can't have both;) ?

Of course Empires has the Control key grouping thingie, but it doens't help you select fighters that aren't already in such a group. See what I mean?

Empire Earth and Empires have the best system for air units to date: Planes and choppers are produced at airports and, when airborne, consume fuel. When they are out of fuel, they return home to an airport, where they are instantly refuelled. If they are damaged upon landing, Airports slowly repair them to the point where they can take off again (which would be when they are fully healed).

Bombers have only limited ammo (one or two bomb drops) and then return home automatically, but fighters can stay and fight until low on fuel.

I like that much better than the "Call in an air strike" style of play in other games.