Time Compression & You

Well heres my two cents, I made anew topic due to the fact this subject is taking the Poll: Planes, way off topic. So time to have its own for our opinions and ideas.

------From Poll: Planes Topic----

Don't expect to see time compression - at least not silent hunter style.

Time Compression! Bah! Time compression is for people who aren't dedicated enough! Time compression is for people that pause the game to go to the bathroom, or answer the phone, or... eat.
I recall with great fondness the days of the Iron Wolves wars when we would spend close to an hour just sailing into position for the big battles.

I fully support not having time compression. Its a great way to emphasize distance and size in a video game. Plus it gives you a chance to hide and to sneak up on players that are oblvious. Its really hard to sneak up on people when whenever they get close to people, their time compression turns off. If that always happened, you could never suprise them. If time compression suddenly turned off then they automatically know there is trouble around.

Giving people large distances to travel will give them time to relax and get careless. Plus it will make them appreciate having to sail from point A to point B.

Thank you SO MUCH!!  I hate time compression in naval games!! If you have compression, then you can bassically skip to the exciting part of a mission and finish it in half the time it would take normally. If you can skip the waiting, etc. then the mission will be over in no time and you'll eventually get bored of breezing through the campaign so fast:Good Things Come To Those Who Wait.

To be honest with you, I didn't bring up Time Compression earlier (although I almost did), beacuse it really isn't a major issue for me. I like the anticipation leading up to a battle and the tension it brings.
However, given the choice of having it as an option, I'd choose yes.

For some games I love Time Compression, makes the game go quicker and I dont like to sit looking at a screen for hours on end to get to were I want to go. However for somegames it is really nice.

For Enigma, its a Naval Simulation. A Simulation is something that simulates a idea, or naval warfare in this instance. There is nothing saying that EVERY person has to go all around the world.

There maybe somepeople who want to just patrol and operate out of one certain region. Like Pacific Patrol, US Boarder Patrol, etc. This would mean that dont have to spend forever to travel somewere.

For instance in my United State or/and Royal Navy Task Fleet, I will have sub-fleets that operate in differet regions, with there own chain of commands. Then for large scale wars/battles (Say some huge war on the atlantic) all the fleets would be moblized into one area. Then once everyone is at location X we would move to the engagement zone's, attack/defend areas etc. Making things much more relistic.

Personaly in a game like Enigma I wouldnt want to see Time Compression, makes things to unrealistic. Lets face it if im sitting in a Battleship with a small task force as my escort. Going in the middle of the sea, then suddenly a group of sub's pops out of no were because they have a bug (only a example) and there Time Compression only turns off when they are in extreamly close range or something of a enemy.

Well that is going to suck, because we would not have time to detect them and defend ourself is we were running on normal time. So thats another example why I dont think Time Compression is a good option for Enigma.

Also lets take a look at the speed of ships. A Sub for instance is much faster above the water, but much easyer to attack. IF there is Time Compression then a sub can be underwater and still move from target to target as fast, or faster then normal speed on the surface.

In real life subs would be on the surface to get from point A to point B faster. It makes sense to be the same, they are really open to surface ship attack from long ranges. Even worse if it is a clear, claim morning and they get spotted by a battleship or destroyer, etc.

I have been thinking about Time compression and it is a slippery topic.

Con:

• It takes away from the size of the world it makes the world small
• It makes going places too easy, there no reward for investment of effort
• Battles can't happen at compressed time, could serve as a early warning
• In multiplayer, some people with Time compression will be able to travel far faster the they should be able to
• Its difficult to code in varying time compressions compared to a single clock that everyone is on

Pro:

• Keeps the world from being TOO big
• Makes it so people can find battles quickly or come to the rescue of freinds quickly
• Allows users to travel the world insted of plodding around the same area over and over
• It increases the pace of the game

The real question is: What does Enigma want to do? Does it want to be be a more faced paced game? Or does it want to lean more towards a simulation with long periods of inactivity on the user's part.

I think from what East has said is that he wants a fast paced battle game that is as close to a simulation as he can get without scarificing the fun. Its a hard order to fill really... The only way I can think of to be able to do both is to implement some sort of time compression... It may not be as obvious as chaning the passage of time to sail into an area faster. It probably will be being able to change arenas when you are not in action or in your home port.

I have been thinking about Time compression and it is a slippery topic.
Con:

• It takes away from the size of the world it makes the world small
• It makes going places too easy, there no reward for investment of effort
• Battles can't happen at compressed time, could serve as a early warning
• In multiplayer, some people with Time compression will be able to travel far faster the they should be able to
• Its difficult to code in varying time compressions compared to a single clock that everyone is on

That's if you USE it!

I'd just like the option at least....

Pro:

• Keeps the world from being TOO big
• Makes it so people can find battles quickly or come to the rescue of freinds quickly
• Allows users to travel the world insted of plodding around the same area over and over
• It increases the pace of the game

The real question is:  What does Enigma want to do?  Does it want to be be a more faced paced game?  Or does it want to lean more towards a simulation with long periods of inactivity on the user's part.

I think from what East has said is that he wants a fast paced battle game that is as close to a simulation as he can get without scarificing the fun.  Its a hard order to fill really...  The only way I can think of to be able to do both is to implement some sort of time compression...  It may not be as obvious as chaning the passage of time to sail into an area faster.  It probably will be being able to change arenas when you are not in action or in your home port.

In a sense TC is already in effect in that, when starting a ERT mission, you are dropped into the battle area.

I'd just like the choice between leaving port on my own, and zooming across the atlantic. In my opinion, it's currently somewhere in-between.

I just had an idea, what if you want to sail long distance and want to get there without spending a hour moving accross the map.

Well then why not have it you open up a map that is in grids. You select the location you want to go and click sail (engage) etc. Then you move from grid to grid.

However if you sail onto a grid that has enemy on it, you automaticly drop out and onto normal screen (See your ship, able to move around fire etc etc. Normal play) you may chose to try and find & engage the enemy. Or just sail through the map (maybe 10 mins from one side to the other.) and then enter back into sailing from grid to grid (Inless you find another enemy then you would enter into the screen.

This could also allow for fleets to travel from point A to point B quicker, but if they find a enemy they must all stop. Giving the defenders a chance to spot and report back the attacking force. Then they can retreat (Or try) or be blown out of the water by the attacking fleet.

Its a ruff concept but it could work quite well aslong as all the fine tunes are worked out and the details on how it would work. I could likyl write something up that is 6 pages and in full detail but i like to get ideas from people before i write my full proposal to east and such.

In reply to Theta Sigma post, Sorry he posted while I was making mine.

I think there should be a option to use it in single-player. However in MP there needs to be one used at all times. No options. Would get confusing and complacated.'

Yeah, I like the grid idea. You can move out of your port, and sail around in it to dock with repair docks other available ships or time compress out to within 2 squares of enemies or something.

Yea I like it to, now its upto the East and his team if they use or take the idea into consideration.

But it could work quite well, there will always be afew aspects you will have to give up to make another aspect work. Like dropping into normal play when a enemy is in that location, of coruse that will let you know there is someone there, but it will atleast let you engage someone.

Maybe you will get a message like "Sir, Hostial Contact Bearing 1... Sorry Sir We Lost Contact, But Their Still Out There!" etc

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Hmmm... I think I like the idea of dropping out of the 'travel' mode when you are within a large distance of another ship. I like the idea of popping out of traveling and still having a good chance of not being able to find what it was that brought you out of it. Also I think it would be good if it either happened randomly for no reason, or for all non freindly contacts. Such as neutrals thereby the travel mode would drop a lot giving people more chances to get sloppy and to be suprised.