Transcedence for other platforms

[Atarlost]

The small ships really are too small to be distinguishable if you scale down the resolution to normal TV levels. HD is adequate, but it's still not universal, or at least the radio adds I hear still make a point of bragging about the number of HD channels even when they're not 100% of the offered package.

[sdw195]

It might work on a Nintendo DSI since it has a touch screen

[Viperion]

I doubt anyone is going to want to regularly play Transcendence as is on a pure touch screen. The mechanics of travel and combat, i.e. 80% of the game, would have to be reworked. If you tried to do this on an iPhone/iPod touch/iPad with the game as is, you'd have to incorporate at least 15 different controls. And I don't think anyone would advocate using the accelerometer too much as part of the control scheme. It might almost work on an iPad. There's no way you have enough screen real estate to run Transcendence as is on an iPhone size screen. 15 controls, the HUD...? No way. Maybe on the iPad, but I can't think of a control scheme that would make it fun to play. Now, if you could come up with some alternate mechanic for combat/travel, that might work.

The Hyper Viper

[Jeoshua]

Menus, my friends... menus.

Instead of all the incidental buttons for quick-access to things, there could be drop-down menu that contains all of the current options - and more!

In addition, a running list along the bottom for things one needs quick access to, like usables or powers, could be added... like the quiver in some other RPGs

[Viperion]

I'm just saying that you can't do a straight port of Transcendence, as is, without making some serious modifications to the basic mechanics of combat/travel in the game, which is about 80% of the current game. At that point, it's not really Transcendence any more.

Maybe we just play in radically different ways. I don't want to have to access a drop down menu to...

- Switch weapons
- Switch missiles
- Bring the ship to rest
- Clear my target
- Target friendlies

... on the list of incidental buttons. So that's 5 for me, plus another drop down menu. Then, you have movement, which I've thought about and I just don't know how to implement, Transcendence-style, on a pure touch screen. Because again, personally, I don't think the accelerometer is going to be a good answer. So there you have 3 keys to implement, two of which have to be able to be depressed simultaneously. Then you have the two firing commands (missiles and primaries)... It's regular when I play to I have 3 keys depressed (propulsion, turn, and fire) and not unusual to have 4 depressed (propulsion, turn, fire primary, fire missile). I don't see how that works.

Hmm. Surely there is an Asteroids game in the App Store. Maybe I'll try to download that and take a look at their control scheme. I bet it will feature the accelerometer....

The Hyper Viper

[Iocrym Destroyer]

Ignoring resolution problems, there actually is a simple way to get all the commands in. You just put a little bar at the bottom of the screen, and put the letters for each command there. In landscape view, you could easily fit 12 or so buttons. Then have it change according to the one you pushed. Switch missiles, weapons and the shooting for both could be out of that, leaving only 2 slots, which with this system, just have it so that if you swipe across it horizontally it would move to reveal the last two. This system I'm borrowing from inethack and islash'em.

[Jeoshua]

... And in portrait view, 2 rows would easilly give you 12 without really demanding too much space.

And movement? There are so many ways to do that, from tilting to simply touching the screen in which direction you want to go, or maybe tilting the device (less a good idea, more an example)

[Atarlost]

Ignoring resolution problems, there actually is a simple way to get all the commands in. You just put a little bar at the bottom of the screen, and put the letters for each command there. In landscape view, you could easily fit 12 or so buttons. Then have it change according to the one you pushed. Switch missiles, weapons and the shooting for both could be out of that, leaving only 2 slots, which with this system, just have it so that if you swipe across it horizontally it would move to reveal the last two. This system I'm borrowing from inethack and islash'em.

That control scheme is only viable for turn based games. If you're in trouble you don't want to have to scroll through the interface to hit sustain.

[Iocrym Destroyer]

[quote]That control scheme is only viable for turn based games. If you're in trouble you don't want to have to scroll through the interface to hit sustain.[/quote]
You wouldn't have to, you would find "i", the hit "a" for sustain. Very simple.

[Atarlost]

That control scheme is only viable for turn based games. If you're in trouble you don't want to have to scroll through the interface to hit sustain.

You wouldn't have to, you would find "i", the hit "a" for sustain. Very simple.

If you have a full keyboard what are you doing with a scrolling button bar?

[Iocrym Destroyer]

There isn't a full keyboard in this plan. the screen would be like this: rrrrrrrrrrrr----------------------------------------00000 Radar
rrrrrrrrrrrr----------------------------------------00000 r= power display -------------------------------------------------------- f= space bar
-------------------------------------------------------- m= shift
------------------------uuu---------------------------- t= targeting system
------------------------uuu----------------------------
---------------------------------------fffff-----HHHHH
tttttttttttttt---------------------------mm------HHHHH Shield and hull display
ttttttttttttttttttttt--------------------------------HHHHH
tttt_a_s_t_r_f_w_i_c_b_._d_g_u_q_m_p_F1_ESC_tab_ aforementioned bar



I think that is how it would look. When "i", "q", or "c" is pushed, the normal window would pop up, show your options. and then the bar at the bottom would change to suit the menu. In the case of "u" or "b", the normal window would pop up and then you would hit the item/device or push ESC. Then when "d" or "s" is pushed, the screen would change according to the button pushed. So it is all relatively simple.

[Viperion]

Again, if you're talking about an iPhone/iPod touch, I suggest you got and get an asteroids clone and try to play that on your device before you suggest a bar like below. It could, possibly, work on the iPad, but it won't work on the smaller screen as-is. The complexity of the control scheme won't permit it. If you re-work the gameplay to simplify it, it could work. I seriously doubt that you can make it work on a small-screen touch-input device.

The Hyper Viper

[Jeoshua]

Most touchpad games work by context. Clicking on a gate should send you through it. Clicking on a friendly station would dock with it. Clicking on an enemy should shoot at them (tho possibly this should work differently so you can shoot at things offscreen). If there is ambiguity in what one is clicking on, the game could pause as a context menu is brought up and a selection is made.

Movement would be simple, clicking on empty space would set your direction and vector to that area. "Holding the click" would let you thrust while turning as you moved the point of clicking around.

All in all, it would be different, but it would not be automatically bad.

[Atarlost]

All in all, it would be different, but it would not be automatically bad.

It would, though, be automatically not Transcendence.