Just made a poll for this suggestion, show us some numbers will you



[Poll] Laser Aesthetics

Ohma wrote:
Or at least some of the lasers. I haven't been as impressed by "pew-pew" lasers since Babylon 5 made glowing lines so terrifying.

I like this idea. For me, the Shadow slicer beam has remained the pinnacle of laser beams, even after all these years. And there are plenty of excellent ideas in this thread. A mix of beams and bolt type lasers, having the bolt type be the initial laser tech and then the beam a developed tech.



Perhaps maybe even differentiate the two further by having them excel in different ranges, with beams in long range and bolts in mid or melee range? Or would that by too problematic? If we go down this route, the same would have to be applied to kinetics, I imagine. And then that would just change up the intended battle mechanics a lot. Just an idea.



But I do think that the core of this thread - that lasers be differentiated further from kinetics - is pretty nifty.

Agreed. Beam/realistic lasers would be great.

I'm pretty sure that if this doesn't go in as an official doo-dad, it'll be modded day one

As someone said earlier, Freespace 2 beam cannon would be great as laser weapon

Ohma wrote:
Or at least some of the lasers. I haven't been as impressed by "pew-pew" lasers since Babylon 5 made glowing lines so terrifying.

Thats exactly what I am thinkihng. big beams of glowing light like B5 or Homeworld.

Someone suggested the following thoughts would fit in the discussion here:





What I thought to consider was the question: Could it be a Faction thing?

And I wondered what exactly can the game handle in terms of the visuals, what a given weapon looks like for a particular Faction's ships, and the graphical representation?



Some different styles that occur to me are: simpler beams (thinking sort of Babylon 5, IIRC), beams with a slight "trail" to how they end (I think this describes some of the more nuanced Star Trek phasers, though some are simpler), the current bolts (this seems like Star Wars), and more comet shaped bolts (I think this type of thing is used in some sci fi book cover art and perhaps some comic books for "blasts").



I think if these types can be done, and can be freely allocated to the graphic for a Tech based on Faction, it would very much help establish a unique feel to each. I'll describe what I think would be neat and the type of "story" I think it would tell about each Faction's progression:

• United Empire - early on regular bolts, graduating into beams at the very end.
  
  I think this would establish a sort of Conservatively Militaristic, graduating to Dangerous-through-technical-competence feel that fits a sort of "corporate" and regimented mindset.
  
  
  
  
• Sophons - early on comet bolts, graduating into sort of comet beams, perhaps with some sort of faint 'wake/halo" visual for the more powerful ones. Perhaps even beams at the top end (though earlier than the UE) if they can convey the same sort of comet shape feel at the impact to the ship.
  
  I think this would establish a sort of "soft" feel, along the lines of velvet-covered-gauntlet, and done right could still convey a sort of sci-fi technical feel at the same time.
  
  
  
  
• Horatio - beams, simple and high contrast, appearing and disappearing fairly simply and instantly.
  
  I think this conveys a high level of achievement of simple elegance that remains consistent and repeated throughout progression aside from conveying greater levels of power, which I think fittting, while also conveying a sort of static/fixed aspect of their society.
  
  
  
  
• Hissho - bolts, smoothly graduating into beams at the midpoint, but more jagged and "lightning"/electric looking for and/or around each.
  
  I think this gives a "brash" aggressive feel to the weaponry, and a smoother progression into it indicates a special emphasis on offense and warfare related research.
  
  
  
  
• Cravers - bolts only, closest to existing progression with some consideration given to making more suitable.
  
  I think this maintains a sort of "swarming" feel.
  
  
  
  
• Amoeba - beams from start to finish, like the Horatio, but similar to the Sophon "comet blasts" they achieve at the top tier (toned down in magnitude to fit damage level), but perhaps with a special touch like a unique "ring wake" around the beam to help convey scaling of power.
  
  I think this has a sort of "organic" feel, and also tells a story of an ancient race that has achieved a specific type of weaponry of advanced type, and then refines and improves it under competitive pressure from other races.
  
  
  
  
• Sowers - how to describe...a beam sort of like this: _ __ __ ___ ____ , drawn quickly with some increase in duration and thickness scaling with tier, but maintaining the same basic visual effect.
  
  I think this conveys a technical advancement, but sort of "by rote" and analytical feel.
  
  
  
  

Originally posted in the Lazors! Poll thread

and the colors shoud be diffrerent too

ETank wrote:
Just wanted to quote this for a new page. THIS IS WHAT LASERS DO.

Stretchycheese wrote:
bump*



Devs, any comment on this particular topic?



C'mon, you know it would be very, very cool to have beam weapons in Endless Space that look something like this:

*Bump*



Devs, any comment?

Agreed, on both grounds (more visually distinctive and less scientifically silly).

Or at least some of the lasers. I haven't been as impressed by "pew-pew" lasers since Babylon 5 made glowing lines so terrifying.

The "Beam Cannons" from the Freespace games were very well done and something along those lines would be excellent!

I agree, It would make them more visually distinct from projectile weapons. And significantly cooler.

yes, a continuous beam is more beautiful than small "starwarsish" things. Keeps the tracers for kinetics !

I don't know how difficult this would be to implement and I know aesthetics are high on the priority list atm, but I totally agree with the OP. Beam lasers ftw!

Just started today (so take this with a grain of salt) but I have a lot of trouble visually differentiating the attack types. Two things would probably help, what the OP suggested, and some sort of hero ability or research ability that 'scans' the enemy in the setup phase so I know what is coming at me, and can set up my defense/offense accordingly.

Yeah some more 'beam like' lasers would give a cooler feel to some of the combat sequences. Maybe just for some of the factions? Though I'll accept that that might take altering allot rather than just a few tweaks so isnt worth it at this point; but the Sophon ships would look great with continuous beam lasers.

I like to think the devs are planning a lot of the aesthetic changes for later in the dev cycle, but more visual differentiation between the techs would be splendid. Include me in the "Beam lasers are just plain cooler" camp for posterity though.

now that i think about it, it would be nice to be better able to tell what is what in combat, visually speaking. sometimes, it's the little things. haha.

I'd prefer if all beam weaponry used actual beams instead of bolts, not just some; this would create clear visual distinctions between the three weapon categories. You could do a lot of variation on beams using fire time / fire length; weaker beams could have shorter and more infrequent firing animations; more powerful ones could be continuous, etc; truly powerful ones could be a blinding column of light.



But the point about technical stuff is well made. We in the peanut gallery aren't very good at telling how much dev time various ideas would take. Hopefully this is a simpler one.