Pacific Storm: Allies

Xypher · 01-27-08, 09:26 PM

I have played both Pacific Storm: Allies and Battlestaions Midway recently and while i was bouncing in between them both. After playing them both for a week, Pacific Storm needs some serious work in some areas.

What Pacific Storm has done with overall scale of combat is fantastic, there is no game out there that lets me send 100 planes and 50 ships out to fight against the exact same in a 3-d slug fest. Theres tons of scenarios that you can play out that never happened in the real pacific war. The damage system can make or break some fights with one good shot. Free Camaign is wicked to fool around in.

But were Pacific Storm fails at is the overall speed of combat that i get when im playing Battlestations it feels like everything is moving at a snails pace. divebombing or torpedo runs in both games are compleatly diffrent, Battlestations makes it far more hair raising while Pacific Storm just has me using compression so i can finally release my bombs. Heck i was expecting a little more realisim from Pacific Storm with how the Guns fire. But what i got was BB's firing straight lines at maximum range. I cant even fire the guns myself, and that was extermely dissapointing. Sound is another thing that just dosent quite make the cut the guns sound more like im hearing them from a submarine 300 feet below the ship most of the time. Engine noises cut out on me and sometimes i dont even hear my planes machineguns fire.

Lets not forget Navy Ops and its awesome ship builder!

I wish i could take all three games a fuse them togeather to make Navy Pacific Ops: Battlestations Midway so i can get all the goodness of three games and have them fix all the badness that they have.

NiclDoe · 01-28-08, 06:53 PM

PSA is a more Real time game becuase it takes time to get to the enemy and attack while Midway is just an arcade game becuase i never seen 18 in guns move on a dime with 5 second reload times and have shorter range. i am going to get PSA this weekend and does it need a Pixel Sahder to play at the bare min?

Galanti · 01-29-08, 07:51 AM

Agreed, I loved the gritty post-processing effects in Battlestations Midway, but the gameplay was just ridiculously gamey. And linear. Zzzzzzzzz.

I can see there's a lot of potential for modding PS:A, and the fact that it includes a full strategic mode is vey exciting too. I know it's not going to appeal to the grognards much, because from what I've read, historical accuracy goes out the window when you can research SAMs and bioweapons in 1942. But still, think of it as a tricked-out modern 1942:Pacific Air War, with all the bangles and beads of 21st century gaming technology.

I'd like to see a fleshier ship-set, too, but the models they do have look pretty detailed.

timetraveller · 01-29-08, 08:45 AM

Yeah, PSA sound definitely needs some improvement. I've done a little work at it, a lot of the problem is there are too many units generating too many sounds and it swamps the sound card. They have the sound radius set to 2600 meters for each unit. I've managed to lower the sound radius to under 1000 which has helped immensely with sounds cutting out. Swamping is greatly reduced. Again, lots of room for modding adjustments.

Yes, it's a shame that you can't control the big guns on the ships. I think the devs had plans for this, but it hasn't happened yet. The good thing is you can drive all units, including ships, and at least man the AA, torpedos, on all. The devs have been working on the AI, and with the North American version of PSA coming and the UK patch for the UK version coming in the next few days should bring some good changes and also bring the two games in sync.

BSM and Enigma were the last two games I remember where you could man all ship units. Don't know about Navy Field, haven't tried it (maybe it's just MMO?). BSM had great graphics and ideas, but I found it too arcadish. The game has no mission editor, a major drawback, and it is locked up tighter than a drum. After almost a year, I have managed to crack the game files but have not written an unpacker because I'm not real serious about BSM, and it would be a lot of work.

Enigma is getting pretty old at this point, though I hear they are working on a sequel. My great disappointment is Silent Hunter 4. Great game otherwise, but I had hoped they would allow at least the ability to drive the ship units, but they didn't. My hopes are they make a Destroyer Command like game out of SH4, like they did SH2. SH4 is spectacular, and you can set up amazing ship battles in the mission editor. The trouble is that you can't control anything but the submarine and watch (or torpedo).

TT

Edit: Pixel shaders. PSA requires DirectX9c. It does make use of pixel shaders.

Galanti · 01-29-08, 11:13 AM

Timetraveller, maybe you could answer a couple of questions I can't find on the boards.

What are the ship sinking times like, ie is it like BM where they go down rapidly as soon as I suppose their hitpoints are exhausted?

What is sub combat like in a strategic and tactical sense? My concern is that the game can't really model the element of the surprise if the human player is ambushed on the high seas, as if there are no surface / air contacts about then you as the player will immediately know it's a submarine.

Can subs be used in the strategic sense to interdict sea lanes and strangle the AI by cutting supply routes?

Galanti · 01-29-08, 02:53 PM

Here's a thread to some fairly recent PS:A screenshots:

http://www.pacificstorm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2103

timetraveller · 01-29-08, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galanti

Timetraveller, maybe you could answer a couple of questions I can't find on the boards.

What are the ship sinking times like, ie is it like BM where they go down rapidly as soon as I suppose their hitpoints are exhausted?

Sinking times seem to be better (longer) than BSM, and somewhat more realistic....nothing like in SH4 though. I find SH4 to be very realistic. I pounded away at a heavy cruiser for 30 minutes one time and it was just starting to roll over after that. It should be possible to alter the hit point files and increase the sinking time for PSA, though it might be tedious work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galanti

What is sub combat like in a strategic and tactical sense? My concern is that the game can't really model the element of the surprise if the human player is ambushed on the high seas, as if there are no surface / air contacts about then you as the player will immediately know it's a submarine.

Wow, I'm not really the best person to answer this one. KiloAlpha4 over at the www.pacificstorm.net forums could easily answer this one. I have spent all my time programming for this game and hardly any time with sub combat. In any event, don't expect too much with the sub effort in this game. It is no SH4 for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galanti

Can subs be used in the strategic sense to interdict sea lanes and strangle the AI by cutting supply routes?

In the strategic part, I don't know. KiloAlpha4 would have a better answer for this one too. Tactically, in the 3D action part of the game, subs will indeed interfere.

Sorry to appear such a dunce....unfortunately, I am one of these guys who buys a game and tears it apart trying to figure out how it works and can be modded. hehe

Hope this helps some anyway.

TT

timetraveller · 01-29-08, 03:00 PM

PSA Missions

Just F.Y.I. If anybody wants my 3rd party mission editor for this game (PSA), you can get it here:

http://timetraveller.byethost13.com/

This editor has been a huge effort over the last 18 months and I estimate I have more than 1000 hours in it.

Some details:

PSA Missions is a 2D graphical mission editor/creator for Pacific Storm Allies. It can create complicated missions using all unit combinations for the game. Unit AI pathing can be drawn or specified, carrier air groups created, map points, and much more. It also has its own scripting engine which will allow you to code detailed mission commands, generating the Lesta game scripting code for you.

CHANGES WITH ALLIES
Much of PSA Missions has been rewritten and a lot of code clean up has been done. All new units in Allies are available in the editor. Maps up to 200km square may be built. Camera and AI pathing leg nodes can now be moved at each individual node for fine-tuning. A new Formation Builder window will allow you to easily make unit formations. A new Environment Editor window will allow you to create your own ocean and sky environments. A new Data Converter window will allow you to calculate map distances and transit times, and show you actual gun ranges in meters. A new File Explorer window will allow you to examine .XML-like game files for variables, and will also unpack compressed game files (attribute convert) in a window interface. Finally, the mission editor scripting package had been entirely rewritten and greatly expanded, using a new table driven command system allowing you to write your own command macros.

TT

Designing the Battle of Savo Island (Guadalcanal), August 9, 1942

01-28-08, 06:53 PM	#2
NiclDoe Grey Wolf Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: In the Air or hiding from Black Swans Posts: 760 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	PSA is a more Real time game becuase it takes time to get to the enemy and attack while Midway is just an arcade game becuase i never seen 18 in guns move on a dime with 5 second reload times and have shorter range. i am going to get PSA this weekend and does it need a Pixel Sahder to play at the bare min? __________________ The Crazy Wolf

01-29-08, 08:45 AM	#4
timetraveller Beach Leaf Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Atlantic Shipping Lanes Posts: 287 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Yeah, PSA sound definitely needs some improvement. I've done a little work at it, a lot of the problem is there are too many units generating too many sounds and it swamps the sound card. They have the sound radius set to 2600 meters for each unit. I've managed to lower the sound radius to under 1000 which has helped immensely with sounds cutting out. Swamping is greatly reduced. Again, lots of room for modding adjustments. Yes, it's a shame that you can't control the big guns on the ships. I think the devs had plans for this, but it hasn't happened yet. The good thing is you can drive all units, including ships, and at least man the AA, torpedos, on all. The devs have been working on the AI, and with the North American version of PSA coming and the UK patch for the UK version coming in the next few days should bring some good changes and also bring the two games in sync. BSM and Enigma were the last two games I remember where you could man all ship units. Don't know about Navy Field, haven't tried it (maybe it's just MMO?). BSM had great graphics and ideas, but I found it too arcadish. The game has no mission editor, a major drawback, and it is locked up tighter than a drum. After almost a year, I have managed to crack the game files but have not written an unpacker because I'm not real serious about BSM, and it would be a lot of work. Enigma is getting pretty old at this point, though I hear they are working on a sequel. My great disappointment is Silent Hunter 4. Great game otherwise, but I had hoped they would allow at least the ability to drive the ship units, but they didn't. My hopes are they make a Destroyer Command like game out of SH4, like they did SH2. SH4 is spectacular, and you can set up amazing ship battles in the mission editor. The trouble is that you can't control anything but the submarine and watch (or torpedo). TT Edit: Pixel shaders. PSA requires DirectX9c. It does make use of pixel shaders. Last edited by timetraveller; 01-29-08 at 09:37 AM.

01-29-08, 03:00 PM	#8
timetraveller Beach Leaf Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Atlantic Shipping Lanes Posts: 287 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	PSA Mission Editor PSA Missions Just F.Y.I. If anybody wants my 3rd party mission editor for this game (PSA), you can get it here: http://timetraveller.byethost13.com/ This editor has been a huge effort over the last 18 months and I estimate I have more than 1000 hours in it. Some details: PSA Missions is a 2D graphical mission editor/creator for Pacific Storm Allies. It can create complicated missions using all unit combinations for the game. Unit AI pathing can be drawn or specified, carrier air groups created, map points, and much more. It also has its own scripting engine which will allow you to code detailed mission commands, generating the Lesta game scripting code for you. CHANGES WITH ALLIES Much of PSA Missions has been rewritten and a lot of code clean up has been done. All new units in Allies are available in the editor. Maps up to 200km square may be built. Camera and AI pathing leg nodes can now be moved at each individual node for fine-tuning. A new Formation Builder window will allow you to easily make unit formations. A new Environment Editor window will allow you to create your own ocean and sky environments. A new Data Converter window will allow you to calculate map distances and transit times, and show you actual gun ranges in meters. A new File Explorer window will allow you to examine .XML-like game files for variables, and will also unpack compressed game files (attribute convert) in a window interface. Finally, the mission editor scripting package had been entirely rewritten and greatly expanded, using a new table driven command system allowing you to write your own command macros. TT Designing the Battle of Savo Island (Guadalcanal), August 9, 1942

01-27-08, 09:26 PM	#1
Xypher Watch Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 29 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	I have played both Pacific Storm: Allies and Battlestaions Midway recently and while i was bouncing in between them both. After playing them both for a week, Pacific Storm needs some serious work in some areas. What Pacific Storm has done with overall scale of combat is fantastic, there is no game out there that lets me send 100 planes and 50 ships out to fight against the exact same in a 3-d slug fest. Theres tons of scenarios that you can play out that never happened in the real pacific war. The damage system can make or break some fights with one good shot. Free Camaign is wicked to fool around in. But were Pacific Storm fails at is the overall speed of combat that i get when im playing Battlestations it feels like everything is moving at a snails pace. divebombing or torpedo runs in both games are compleatly diffrent, Battlestations makes it far more hair raising while Pacific Storm just has me using compression so i can finally release my bombs. Heck i was expecting a little more realisim from Pacific Storm with how the Guns fire. But what i got was BB's firing straight lines at maximum range. I cant even fire the guns myself, and that was extermely dissapointing. Sound is another thing that just dosent quite make the cut the guns sound more like im hearing them from a submarine 300 feet below the ship most of the time. Engine noises cut out on me and sometimes i dont even hear my planes machineguns fire. Lets not forget Navy Ops and its awesome ship builder! I wish i could take all three games a fuse them togeather to make Navy Pacific Ops: Battlestations Midway so i can get all the goodness of three games and have them fix all the badness that they have.

01-29-08, 07:51 AM	#3
Galanti Captain Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 536 Downloads: 106 Uploads: 0	Agreed, I loved the gritty post-processing effects in Battlestations Midway, but the gameplay was just ridiculously gamey. And linear. Zzzzzzzzz. I can see there's a lot of potential for modding PS:A, and the fact that it includes a full strategic mode is vey exciting too. I know it's not going to appeal to the grognards much, because from what I've read, historical accuracy goes out the window when you can research SAMs and bioweapons in 1942. But still, think of it as a tricked-out modern 1942:Pacific Air War, with all the bangles and beads of 21st century gaming technology. I'd like to see a fleshier ship-set, too, but the models they do have look pretty detailed.

01-29-08, 11:13 AM	#5
Galanti Captain Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 536 Downloads: 106 Uploads: 0	Timetraveller, maybe you could answer a couple of questions I can't find on the boards. What are the ship sinking times like, ie is it like BM where they go down rapidly as soon as I suppose their hitpoints are exhausted? What is sub combat like in a strategic and tactical sense? My concern is that the game can't really model the element of the surprise if the human player is ambushed on the high seas, as if there are no surface / air contacts about then you as the player will immediately know it's a submarine. Can subs be used in the strategic sense to interdict sea lanes and strangle the AI by cutting supply routes?

01-29-08, 02:53 PM	#6
Galanti Captain Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 536 Downloads: 106 Uploads: 0	Here's a thread to some fairly recent PS:A screenshots: http://www.pacificstorm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2103