I guess with me getting on in years doesn't help when it comes to making quick decisions or anything to do with hand to eye, maybe one of the greater reasons for me not liking the battle timer.

I'v voted to leave it as it is, though I would like more advanced tactical options.



Slowing down or speeding up the phases is also a decent idea, but if you know your ships and cards available the current time allocated is more than enough. What I'd prefer is instead of just varying the speed - vary the amount of phases in a battle. This could provide more time over-all, though less time should be added with each phase, so the more micro-management you try to squeeze in the quicker you need to be (e.g. 3-phases=30 seconds, 5-phase=45, 7-phase=60, etc). You could even have the battle cards have the number of phases worked into their calculations so that more phases results in each card having less effect.



Building on that:

Things like making custom battle cards, pre-defined fleet and individual ship tactics, or keep the phase based battle but remove the 'long range', 'medium range' aspects of each phase and make them time windows where the range/etc varies dynamically. I'd like more ship variations (apart from just size), such as ones that that can be stealth and so appear in short range almost immediately, long range missile barges that try to keep far away constantly, flak ships that aim to shoot down all incoming missiles and generally over-see the battles mid-ground, etc etc. These 'behaviour' options with cards that play on these attributes, and battle cards for pre-battle (or 'battle prep') would be awesome and allow for flexible tactics and would keep the same 'phase' system.

Sacru wrote:
I'v voted to leave it as it is, though I would like more advanced tactical options.



Slowing down or speeding up the phases is also a decent idea, but if you know your ships and cards available the current time allocated is more than enough. What I'd prefer is instead of just varying the speed - vary the amount of phases in a battle. This could provide more time over-all, though less time should be added with each phase, so the more micro-management you try to squeeze in the quicker you need to be (e.g. 3-phases=30 seconds, 5-phase=45, 7-phase=60, etc). You could even have the battle cards have the number of phases worked into their calculations so that more phases results in each card having less effect.



Building on that:

Things like making custom battle cards, pre-defined fleet and individual ship tactics, or keep the phase based battle but remove the 'long range', 'medium range' aspects of each phase and make them time windows where the range/etc varies dynamically. I'd like more ship variations (apart from just size), such as ones that that can be stealth and so appear in short range almost immediately, long range missile barges that try to keep far away constantly, flak ships that aim to shoot down all incoming missiles and generally over-see the battles mid-ground, etc etc. These 'behaviour' options with cards that play on these attributes, and battle cards for pre-battle (or 'battle prep') would be awesome and allow for flexible tactics and would keep the same 'phase' system.

Yes. <(^_^)>

I hope those at Amplitude can now see that there is a need to do something with the battle timer, if only to make it a optional toggle. If 50% of people on the forums would like a change to the timer, then you can be sure the numbers will be about the same for all players of ES.



Thank you to all who voted.

I think the timer is just fine the way it is but I would like to see a way to skip to the report and not wait for the timer to finish.

Joote wrote:
It was mainly the timer before the battle I find to be the problem. Then you should have your strategy firmly worked out for the battle itself.

Oops, I thought you meant the in battle timer. For the pre-battle timer, I'd remove it for single player or make it optional. Sometimes I'll hit end turn then go in the other room, and come back to find the computer did an auto battle for me, when I didn't want it to. In a turn based game you should be able to do things at your own pace, at least with single player.

Some want to have a timer, some like me need to have pause between actions. Dyslectic+non English.

Joote wrote:
The battle timer. A problem for some and not for others. What would you do with it if given the choice?

Can you click a phase to skip it? I haven't tried this but it seems like it would be nice to be able to do if you're quick at making decisions.

I hate the pre-battle timer as much as I love the rest of the game. The battle timer somehow feels out of line with the rest of the game, as if it were a mini game within the game.

Sacru wrote:
I'v voted to leave it as it is, though I would like more advanced tactical options.



Slowing down or speeding up the phases is also a decent idea, but if you know your ships and cards available the current time allocated is more than enough. What I'd prefer is instead of just varying the speed - vary the amount of phases in a battle. This could provide more time over-all, though less time should be added with each phase, so the more micro-management you try to squeeze in the quicker you need to be (e.g. 3-phases=30 seconds, 5-phase=45, 7-phase=60, etc). You could even have the battle cards have the number of phases worked into their calculations so that more phases results in each card having less effect.



Building on that:

Things like making custom battle cards, pre-defined fleet and individual ship tactics, or keep the phase based battle but remove the 'long range', 'medium range' aspects of each phase and make them time windows where the range/etc varies dynamically. I'd like more ship variations (apart from just size), such as ones that that can be stealth and so appear in short range almost immediately, long range missile barges that try to keep far away constantly, flak ships that aim to shoot down all incoming missiles and generally over-see the battles mid-ground, etc etc. These 'behaviour' options with cards that play on these attributes, and battle cards for pre-battle (or 'battle prep') would be awesome and allow for flexible tactics and would keep the same 'phase' system.

I completely agree, I think the battle timer is a good idea and for me it simply belongs in the game. However,being new to the game, I couldn't help but notice that sometimes I was scrambling to find + pick the best card to be used for phase one of the battle while at the same time feeling the time pressure to get it done in time before the battle starts without me!



So perhaps some "advanced options" for the timer (for those of us who can at times be a little slower) could be integrated in a panel in the main menu? Maybe that would also "appease" those who would rather have it removed....

Joush wrote:
I'd kind of like a turn based system, more like a collectible card game, where you get to see the stats and match up of your fleet vs theirs, pick a card to play, then have it advance to the next phase instantly.



I can see why it doesn't work like that though.

Yes, something along these lines. The cards should play a larger part in the battles and the battle preparation. I think the cards are a good idea and needs to be built upon at the players own pace.

Hi,



the battle timer was developed for multiplayer so both players have chance to prepare for battle. In single player it should be optional.

Chose none of the options.



I like the battle timer, but an option to speed the phases up manually during encounters would be very welcome.

Sometimes it's fun to watch the whole battle but in fights, which are going to be a clear victory for me, i only jump into battles because i can set up the tactics cards.



Edit: Oh, seems i misunderstood the question too :-D.

Well, don't have a problem with it in SP, altering it for MP could be debatable.

I would just make it less intrusive to the eyes... more like a loading bar in the bottom of the screen, code colored mayber for each phase with a load bar for progress and numbers to be sure of the time left. And (hijacking here... sorry) would make the card display in the corners not so big and maybe collapsalbe(?) so increase the FOV of the battle, sometimes they hide lot of stuff.



Oh sorry for this! I misunderstood the question! Now that I have read page 3 I saw what this is about.



So for the battle timer before the battle, I say optional in SP and something different for MP... specially because of if you have two battles in one turn that were not engaged by you, you can only fight one... (unless this was fixed and I didn't notice)

Please make the pre-battle timer optional in SP.



I hate having it pop up when a turn starts and trying to orient myself to where the battle's happening and the various fleet makeups before choosing what to do. It seems to me that in a game built around considered, non-time based decisions, we should have the option to treat battles the same way.

I would prefer to be able to turn the timer off in SP. I want to think out my options and puzzle out my best strategy. Maybe even have the chance to drag the cards into each phase.



Alternately, it would be nice to predesignate a limited number of strategies for the combat, so you can just execute a command and it would pre-sort the cards for that combat. If you could do this, I wouldn't mind having the timer.

The battle videos are nicely done, but they become boring to watch when fighting several different fleets each turn. They are also a horrific waste of time, extending for minutes the ‘end turn’ waiting time, while not adding anything useful from a tactical point of view. So I just skip them by choosing ‘auto-resolve’ whenever I have little doubt about the battle’s outcome (90-95 out of 100 battles). Conclusion: the timer (manual combat) is one of the game’s features I use the least, almost never, although usually it's one of the things I like the most in 4x space games.



This is unfortunate – it could be such a great combat system with some small adjustments in the begining, when customizing the game, and it’d add a lot of fun to the game (for me):

1. A ‘skip video’ option (show only the result of each stage)

2. A ‘begin stages in a paused state’ option (pause/play before each stage)

That’s it.





Oh, wait, I’ve just asked for a turn-based combat!

The timer isn't a problem for me but I am not against making it an optional feature in the settings menu.

It should be optional in single player in my opinion, along with a feature to skip phases in battle.

Tikigod wrote:
Are you sure you're looking at the right poll?

Just goes to show how selfish some people can be, doesn't it?

FOr me, the battle timer is not a problem. About battles, there are some bugs to fix and later I would like more distinctions between class of ships, and other stuff to have ven more tactical aspects (the 3weapons/3defense modes and the cards are already a part but more is better )

Photon_Ventdesdunes wrote:
FOr me, the battle timer is not a problem. About battles, there are some bugs to fix and later I would like more distinctions between class of ships, and other stuff to have ven more tactical aspects (the 3weapons/3defense modes and the cards are already a part but more is better )

So you agree with making it optional then, so that everyone is happy?

Very happy with it as it is to be honest.



Removing the battle timer (even as an optional choice) I can only see leading to occurrences where battle flow is completely broken with stop gaps throughout.



The current design works at establishing a decent system, keeps combat flowing but still has room for strategy and reaction changes.



It may sound odd, but IMO sometimes it's better not to give certain customisation to players if it will allow them to set up their game experience in such a way that they get an entirely different experience than the one intended through the developers design... some people won't like a developers vision on a game and that's fair enough, but it's better to just accept that than to give customisation options that allow people to judge features and base experiences on behaviour the feature was never intended to follow... it would just feel un-natural and players would pick up on it.

I like the battle timer, it is times out rather nicely.

I said leave it alone. I'd rather have then not have it if those were the only 2 choices.

Looks pretty even at the moment. Goes to show, there are a quite a few people want something if anything done with it. I know I do.

If I had had it my way I would have it removed it completely. BUT, because I respect the wises of those who like the battle timer, I voted to make it optional.

Joote wrote:
Looks pretty even at the moment. Goes to show, there are a quite a few people want something if anything done with it. I know I do.

Are you sure you're looking at the right poll?

The pre-battle timer. A problem for some and not for others. What would you do with it if given the choice?

Tikigod wrote:
Are you sure you're looking at the right poll?

It's looking better for the good guys don't you think?

Tikigod wrote:
Very happy with it as it is to be honest.



Removing the battle timer (even as an optional choice) I can only see leading to occurrences where battle flow is completely broken with stop gaps throughout.



The current design works at establishing a decent system, keeps combat flowing but still has room for strategy and reaction changes.



It may sound odd, but IMO sometimes it's better not to give certain customisation to players if it will allow them to set up their game experience in such a way that they get an entirely different experience than the one intended through the developers design... some people won't like a developers vision on a game and that's fair enough, but it's better to just accept that than to give customisation options that allow people to judge features and base experiences on behaviour the feature was never intended to follow... it would just feel un-natural and players would pick up on it.

I dont see thes as bad thing sometimes players do not want same game exprince as the devlopers wanted, sometimes players want to there game to play way they want it to play not way devlopers wanted it to play, i say give option.



all games that give aiblty to turn off battletimers i usally turn them off, due to fact that i find them annoying, if i dont want to take time to do battle ill auto it if i do want to then ill play it out.



my biggest issue with battletimers in games like this usally happen for example ill use sword of the stars, 30 min battletimer well lets say that my armada size is 30 destorys and he has one capital ship that i am fighting well i can only lets say have so many destorys out at time 3 well the captiral ship will destory those destorys over and over agin till 30 mins is up then run away but if i turn off battle timmer eventual my destory keep flooding in till the captial ship is gone blowen up, making large fleets worth while.



so thats why i always in my games usally turn off battle timmers.



I do not want to be forced into a play still that is going to piss me off just becuase devlopers want game to be played a certain way, that type of stuff makes me want to throw game into a junk pile, personal i love having game be able to be modded changed vaired and to allow diffrent tatics then just what someone wants you to use.

I do the same and usually turn off any timers associated with battles.

Before I bought ES, I done some reading up on it, and seen that it used a card system for the battles, I quite liked this idea, but if I had known that it was on a timer, I think that I would have thought twice about my purchase. They kept that one quiet.

I guess I'd choose "C" out of your choices, but what I'd really like to see is the ability to speed it up, or allow the player to choose their cards before choosing "auto" or "manual".

I took C but I thought you were talking about the one at the start before you push Auto or Manual !!!



I don't have a problem with the in battle one.

I'd kind of like a turn based system, more like a collectible card game, where you get to see the stats and match up of your fleet vs theirs, pick a card to play, then have it advance to the next phase instantly.



I can see why it doesn't work like that though.

LordOfLostSocks wrote:
What timer exactly? The one before you enter the battle or the one during?



The one during is not a problem for me. I just pick the cards within the first few seconds based on enemy weapons/defences and my weapons/defences then look at the show.

It was mainly the timer before the battle I find to be the problem. Then you should have your strategy firmly worked out for the battle itself.

I'd love option with longer battles. Doing so should be extended timer and increasing ships health or decreasing fire power.

I don't like the moment, when battle music goes to full throttle and the battle ends.