same thing again, but different: trajectories

[DaJudge]

Hi,

I know this has been discussed often. And don't get me wrong I love the gameplay as it is.

But It would be some kind of cool if the distances, the speed and trajectories of missiles and planes etc. on the map would simulate the world beeing a sphere (what it actually is).

That meens Missiles fly the shortest way - that's not a straight line at the map, but on the globe. The game can still be on a flat map, but speed and trajectories could be simulated like they'd be on a sphere,

See the examples:


First one is the nearly correct in the game:


The other ones look quite different than the game:

(this one is also to be seen in the movie Wargames)





another example (purple line is longer than the yellow one, even though it looks shorter on the map):


Plase tell me what you think. (I also like the game as it is - but nontheless it's stupid not to make missiles fly the shortest way)

thank you

DaJudge

[Xocrates]

Apart from the pretty pictures, this is exactly what has been discussed over and over again.

A nice way for you to see a con is drawing a line that crosses the equator.

[xander]

This has been discussed ad naseum in the past. The arcs in the game are meant to be artistic, not realistic. We all know what the arcs would look like on a real map, simulated realistically. We ain't stupid.

xander

[zach]

the world beeing a sphere (what it actually is).

All thoughts on the topic aside; no, it actually isn't;

The distance from the center of the Earth to the North Pole is 6,356.752 km, slightly less than the 6,378.137 km from center to equator, which makes Earth an ellipsoid (more specifically an oblate spheroid).

Of course, this is not considering mountains and trenches - as even the highest mountain (Mount Everest, 8.8 km) and the deepest trench (Mariana Trench, 10.9 km) added up wouldn't be enough to make the Earth a regular sphere - but rather assuming Earth is covered by water (which would make it a nearly perfect oblate spheroid).

Don't get me started on gravitational pull ... But, one needs to take everything into account when going for genocide, am I right?

~

DaJudge, your image illustrations were informative; if there was someone here not knowing how "proper arcs" would work, I think you've done a very good job explaining it to them.

But it has been suggested before, as you might've found out. And we don't want it.

[shinygerbil]

I like my nukes to have uniform speeds.

[KingAl]

This example also demonstrates the awkward nature of realism. No doubt people would be complaining that the arcs are stupid, had they been realistic. There are also various gameplay-related implications - for example, in using geodesics, players' nukes can often entirely avoid coming close to any continent's defences other that that of its destination, serving to negate the significance of allegiance.

[DaJudge]

ok guys you're right - I should have spend even more time searching the forums for older threads.

It's just that sometimes it's no fun being a southern continent when playing a genocide-mode game without teams. But that's also no big problem cause it's still possible to win.

[KuKu]

don't listen to them judge. after their 1,000th post they turn to assholes pretty quick but they're knowledgable so they're still important

:::::edit:::::

unless you're weps. then you're just naturally an asshole

[bert_the_turtle]

You're forgetting us nitpickers.

[zach]

after their 1,000th post they turn to assholes pretty quick but they're knowledgable so they're still important

xander's post count is bugged. It is accelerating rapidly, to the point where special relativity has given up limiting the velocity.
Or so it seems :p

Expect xander's post count to reach 1 divided by 0 in the near future.

[Weps]

unless you're weps. then you're just naturally an asshole

I had to work for it you know.

[DaJudge]

it just seems to me, that nobody likes changes in gameplay... even though it's sad somehow.

The first thing I thought when I was playing the first time was: the programmer wanted it to look like the movie wargames but doesn't know how trajectories in the real world would be. (it's harder to simulate the real trajectories than just make the missiles always fly the same curve on the map - so they chose the easier way and not the correct one)

So I posted this. I didn't know that (nearly) nobody would like a realistic gameplay. Somehow nobody seems to like changes.

[Radiant Caligula]

unless you're weps. then you're just naturally an asshole

I had to work for it you know.

weps is the best kind of asshole you could possibly get.

[Radiant Caligula]

it just seems to me, that nobody likes changes in gameplay... even though it's sad somehow.

The first thing I thought when I was playing the first time was: the programmer wanted it to look like the movie wargames but doesn't know how trajectories in the real world would be. (it's harder to simulate the real trajectories than just make the missiles always fly the same curve on the map - so they chose the easier way and not the correct one)

So I posted this. I didn't know that (nearly) nobody would like a realistic gameplay. Somehow nobody seems to like changes.

I dont even care about the trajectories more, in fact I like it the way they are now. But it would indeed be cool to have RL arcs in Defcon. They'd still be arcs, just "real".

[Weps]

There are some people here that do want changes, they posted about it already in a few threads.

If it's about getting more realism, then let's start by removing the silo's from europe (except from the UK). Have subs launch nukes submerged. Remove bombers being able to sink battleships/carriers/subs. Remove silo's being able to shoot at fighters/bombers. Make subs able to detect ships (thats why they got passive sonar...) And so on and so on.

Trajectories wouldnt be the first thing I'ld change although it would be the first visible thing to change.

Realism was hardly an input for this game.


The only thing I would see changed is the fact that silos for some reason know whether a bomber carries a nuke.