The game selling point here is obviously industrialisation.
That's why it's in the name...

Industrial Annihilation isn't PA2 mate.

Planets are a very cool gimmick, but they make every other conceivable feature harder to implement and for 98% of the gameplay it doesn't matter, it's just TA on a rounded surface. Already in Industrial Annihilation screenshots you can see some actually interesting terrain created in a map editor.

I'm looking forward to it. With the factory stuff I guess this won't compete directly with 8v8s in Beyond All Reason, but like PA it'll be an interesting alteration to the formula that's worth playing for variety.

No, I absolutely hated the Planet type maps. Those absolutely sucked and were not fun at all. I know a lot of people who hated them too. it was a very low point of the game. Glad to see they are going to back to basics.

Originally posted by CULT|icycalm:

Not interested in fighting in tiny squares surrounded by invincible black fog. The devs have misunderstood their original game's selling point. It was always the planets. That's why it's in the name.

I am looking forward to using the Chaos stuff when someone mods it into PA. And the factory stuff. THAT will be PA2. Or rather PA 1.5. Because PA2 needs next-gen planets.

It's worth noting that the developers have stated "nothing is off the table" with regards to a Pa 2 but at the moment there sole focus has to be industrial annihilation. If this game is a runaway success who knows what could come from the team in future.

The planet mechanics are what ruined PA tbh.

I wouldn't mind "planet maps" in the sense of maps with a total wrap-around. But I also thought it was an unnecessary complication. Never once in all my games of any other RTS have I thought "this is ruined because I'm not playing on a sphere". I also thought that PA too often turned into a "rush to the doomsday button" game instead of continuing to be a nonstop strategic battle as TA tended to be.

Originally posted by Slamz:

I wouldn't mind "planet maps" in the sense of maps with a total wrap-around. But I also thought it was an unnecessary complication. Never once in all my games of any other RTS have I thought "this is ruined because I'm not playing on a sphere". I also thought that PA too often turned into a "rush to the doomsday button" game instead of continuing to be a nonstop strategic battle as TA tended to be.

In high level ranked PA games you virtually never see titans, annihilazers or ragnarocks. It most often comes down to map control and good decision making.

Round map were an innovation in a genra that hasn't really evolved that much since the C&C days.

Supreme commander innovated with larger maps longer games and the hallowed "strategic zoom" and Pa pushed that one further with round maps and a whole solar system to play with.

Hopefully Industrial annihilation will also break new ground, and that for me is the main reason i'm exited to try it.

At least as I recall from PA ranked games, they were all done on small maps, which eliminated most of the content of the game. That wasn't ideal either.

We did a **lot** of feedback collection from PA players and one of the major comments was that most players did not at all like the spherical maps. It just broke people's brains (including mine). A good amount of players saw this as a differentiator and loved it but it takes some getting used to that a majority of players did not appreciate. That's the data.

Originally posted by wizardneedsfood:

We did a **lot** of feedback collection from PA players and one of the major comments was that most players did not at all like the spherical maps. It just broke people's brains (including mine). A good amount of players saw this as a differentiator and loved it but it takes some getting used to that a majority of players did not appreciate. That's the data.

And the data is 100 percent correct. Those maps didn't twist my brain, I just didn't like them. They were not fun at all!!

FACTORYSQUARE, from the creators of ICONBALL. A bold new vision in strategy gaming.

Originally posted by wizardneedsfood:

A good amount of players saw this as a differentiator and loved it but it takes some getting used to that a majority of players did not appreciate. That's the data.

coming from a casual player that would not touch PA comp, (PA comp players is what i assume your data stems from, because i cannot fathom anyone of the tens of ppl i played with to ever take that stance)

i dearly hope you take into account that planets ware extremely fun for casual games.
on the chance you have the possibility of re using existing planet code, please make it an option.

EDIT: to be perfectly fair maybe the logistics will make up for it. but there is no way the game that was all about planets, entirely about planets, had a majority of players that hated planets regardless of the data, it just doesn't make sense.

Originally posted by SFort:

Originally posted by wizardneedsfood:

A good amount of players saw this as a differentiator and loved it but it takes some getting used to that a majority of players did not appreciate. That's the data.

coming from a casual player that would not touch PA comp, (PA comp players is what i assume your data stems from, because i cannot fathom anyone of the tens of ppl i played with to ever take that stance)

i dearly hope you take into account that planets ware extremely fun for casual games.
on the chance you have the possibility of re using existing planet code, please make it an option.

EDIT: to be perfectly fair maybe the logistics will make up for it. but there is no way the game that was all about planets, entirely about planets, had a majority of players that hated planets regardless of the data, it just doesn't make sense.

I think the main problem was a lot of people tried it and either found it to hard or just decided they didn't like it and stopped playing.

The people that stayed, worked at it and "found the fun" are still playing now some 15 odd years later. The main divide in Pa as I see it is that many prefer single planet over large orbital maps.

For myself i will play orbital maps but after one or two games, I've had enough. Late game there is to much going on, I loose focus and find it hard to get into the "flow" state,

Tbh with all the logistics and stuff that will be going on with the factory side of the game I think even single planet would be to much for me to keep tabs on everything so even though I love playing on a sphere, I think flat maps was the right choice for Ia.

Actually i found the planets to be the most bothersome and worst part about PA.
It didnt really give the game anything having them, their size was laughable, the interaction with them barely existent and at last their only purpose was to act like 3D/spherical islands.

Its like someone saying that Island Maps are the selling point of Age of Empires Skirmish and everyone wants to play them.
No.
No one wants to play them.
In fact all just want to play Arabia which purpusefully has no water.

And PAs Planets were basically that the equivalent of Island maps in any "flat" strategy game.
Each Planet was an Island and the bad and bothersome part was you having to think about how you get off that planet on to the next to establish a foothold on an area occupied by an enemy, by constantly sending troops with slow transportation methods.
Literally the same as playing an Island Map in any strategy game.

And people hate that.
If people like playing on island maps in strategy games, its because theres fun ships with cannons.
Not because its fun to build ferries/transport ships, to load them with units and send them to an enemy island.

Literally everyone hates using transport ships in any strategy game.
And the same is true with PAs Planet transportation. It sucked hard.


If i had one wish for PA then it would be to scrap the Planets feature entirely and instead provide one gigantic planet to play on.
Im fine with having to play on a ball shaped map, thats cool, but make it huge at least.


I hope that this game focusses on one Planet, makes that planet huge and interesting. With geography, proper shapes, proper generation and interesting conditions.
Not 10 blant planets with laughable size and only one texture layed on top.





Im fine with spherical maps, its actually unique and i like that as a unique aspect of Dyson Sphere.
But hell would i debate having multiple Planets being a positive for PA.

Originally posted by Buntkreuz:

But hell would i debate having multiple Planets being a positive for PA.

obviously a game that's called _planetary_ _annihilation_, could be better if we remove the planets and the annihilation of the planets, i reckon most users actually bought it for the music.

i don't see there being much debate in what is in majority preference in gameplay style.

also how is having multiple planets problem for you? you can always play on a single one, and not dictate what others like.
and when "islands" are movable and destructable, it's not really the same, it adds to the tension and interest. it adds appeal to gathering 10 players on rare occasion just to ♥♥♥♥ around.

point being the game catered to both these play styles, and i don't even think it did so at a determent to either.

i doubt ic will have any kind of map wrap or _destructible_/_movable_ islands anyhow,
reckon the dev is pretty dead set in statistic land
EDIT: (i personally think, this is similar to doing a calling survey that includes "do you answer your phone" in it. you only got anwsers from the most hardcore RTS players)