IDEA: Reduce tedium with Builders

I partly agree with this. 

It can definitely get tedious to do the same sorts of things game after game.

On the other hand, Ashes is still an RTS, and the trope of managing construction is pretty well established. 

 

And then again...

I have very gradually been changing my mind that making Ashes good means conforming it to the best parts of other games (like Starcraft II).

The more I have played Ashes, the more I am thinking that the game play feels different in its own right.

And I am starting to think that it makes more sense to let it be its own thing, rather than fight against the idea.

 

There are definitely places where I think it should/could diverge from the traditional RTS formula.

And yes, one place is building.

I have, for instance, recommended that the metal/gas mining buildings be reduced to a single construct type.

They can certainly still LOOK different on the screen, but there is really no point to having them be two different construct types -- other than the fact that this is what other RTS games have done.

 

I have likewise contemplated what semi-automation of the building process might look like.

As in, you click a button, and an engineer just automatically goes to build out as many mine/gas thingies as possible.

It's an interesting idea, but definitely poses some problems for me. 

Specifically, I worry that something like this might kill the gaminess of the game.

 

I therefore think the OP is a really interesting question on some level.

I mean, I think that underlying the concern about how to make the game less "samey" are some really interesting questions about what makes a game fun, what is essential to an RTS, and of course, what sort of game Ashes could really become long term.

 

There is something to be said for Ashes "doing what it does best."

More automation? Maybe.

More AI? Definitely. (I am still seeing too many units that act like dumplings)

 

Another idea would be to consider allowing the player to queue all constructs from the get go.

There are currently some breaks for the prerequisites, making this impossible.

Ex. I can't build power regulator without quanta and armory (PHC).

 

This would be interesting, I think.

Just enable the players to queue to their heart's content.

If the prerequisites aren't met when the engineer goes to build, the building could just fail and deliver a warning... and the engineer continues to the next item in the queue.

 

(player could create complex build orders from start, and really good players would memorize timed sequences).

 

 

 

Well my point is that I would personally like less Sim City and more war strategy.  Queuing buildings is an attention hog that could better be used to plan your offense/defense.

Yeah this always bothered me. The seperate structures are good but they should be a single button on the build menu.

Regarding the issue of queueing buildings being tedious, that's only  because we currently lack the click to drag functionality of say Supreme Commander. Fixing interface problems/limitations is a better solution.

 

click to drag is non-competitive. 

for competitive, hotkey is the way.