The problem with 2D games and viewing...

News & General Discussion
1

I have thought about this problem for quite awhile now, and am still at a bit of a loss as to how to handle it perfectly.

In a 2.5D or 2D game, the view is nowhere as far viewing as in 3D games. This means that in the battlefield, one can only see what is on their screen, and nothing further. This is unrealistic and hinders gameplay-- especially in a multiplayer game fighting other players, so that you need to view far infront of you.

Obviously, the simple answer is a mini-map to indicate where players are, or handle it like Ultima Online with “incoming names”. Still, I do not feel this alone is adequate enough.

My game design encompasses the possibility of hundreds of players in one battlefield. Sieges on Castles which span far greater than a single screen. Spells, siege weapons, and archery that goes further than the screen will allow.
Obviously, I have some complex solutions for these features-- (A “scout” ability which all ranged players must have, which allows players to zoom out, so that they may see the battlefield further or target their enemies or ground further out. Field of Vision is realistic, so players cannot see other players behind buildings, even if their screen views that far.

The problem remains with players who do not have this zoom-out scouting ability, which I wanted to reserve for only ranged or scout classes. Everyone has the option to take this skill, although it costs them skill points. This skill also requires you to be immobile, unless you purchase “Advanced Scouting” which is a high cost ability.
I wanted players to be able to only have this “scout” feature at a high cost (which doesnt hinder wizards, archers, or siege masters, but does any other role or skill set).
Unfortunately, I don’t know if this is possible given the design, so the skill might be cheap enough where everyone gets the ability (not taking it would gimp you in the game).
Of course, this is a useless feature if the mini-map is too advanced, so would have to be given to everyone for free if this were the case.

Pressing “M” for a big map destroys immersion, so I would rather not do that.

But there is no reason why a small group of warriors cannot see a massive army approaching from the north, until it is too late. And to constantly have to zoom out is rather annoying. And even so-- view is still limited more than in a 3D game.

2

Maybe you could consider having a “big minimap” that shows the entire level. The original lemmings is a good example of that; the minimap is about 1/3 of the screen width and 1/8 of the height. Sure it will come at a cost of having a smaller area for the “main view” but if your gameplay really needs this larger awareness of the world, that sacrifice may be needed.

Update: I forgot to say that of course any feature that makes it possible to see far away for everyone would cheapen your scout ability or maybe even make it useless. It sort of sounds like you want to both let everyone see far away AND reserve it for people with special abilities, but you probably just have to make a choice whether it’s one or the other.

3

If the game is top-down, as it sounds from your explanation, I cannot imagine a solution that would allow a group of warriors to see an approaching army in the distance without rendering your “scouting” ability worthless, unless, like you said, you had off-screen indicators at the edge of the screen like Ultima, and even that would slightly cheapen the value of scouting.

Your game sounds pretty cool, though. Did you ever play Infantry Online? I always thought when I played that that a medieval version of it would be awesome.