Day[9] Atlas AMA
Day9
Member, Administrator
Hey guys!
This week, I'll be recording a mid pre-alpha video to try to answer ANY of your questions regarding Atlas past, present, and future. Please post questions here! The more succinct the better (though that isn't appropriate for some! Just wanna make sure I understand it clearly!).
We'll also be doing a post-playtest video / writeup and sending it to all of you. Thank you all so much for helping us test. It means a ton and is CRITICAL to our process!!!
Yaaaay!
Comments
I'd love to hear some of the primary philosophies that Atlas was designed upon.
Things like:
What is the target demographic?
How accessible and player-friendly is the game trying to be?
Where is the game trying to achieve depth and variety in game play?
What areas of the game do you feel generate the most excitement for players/viewers that you want people to zoom in on?
Why did the servers go boom boom at 12pm and won't let me log in so I'm asking questions on the forums?
I think this would help us target our feedback too!
Will Artillery be pushing Atlas to be an e-sport game (eg. heavily sponsoring tournaments)? Or will you let it develop naturally?
(Also: sorry if this is posted in a FAQ, but couldn't find one)
1) Will the game have multiple maps ala SC2 or one map ala LoL / DotA?
2) What's your favorite Squad?
3) What was the silliest / most broken idea you've tested so far?
4) #BELIEVEINSTEVE
Howdy Day[9]!
What are some of the more unique ideas from the past that didn't make it through to this round of play testing?
Thanks!
BELIEVEINSTEVE
First, I wanna say thank you, because I love you guys and this game. Anyway, are there any plans for a map editor? It was a huge appeal for me in other RTS's and I'd love to be able to design maps in Atlas as well.
The POV/Field of View seems a little "tight" when there are two allies in the same area choke points. Is there a reason for this? Will it be "zoomed" out?
Pathing has a large impact on combined attacks in narrow lane. Is there any thought to being able to assign all Melee units to one player and all ranged units to one player to allow for tighter micro? Or am I just going to have to get better?
Larger(?) melee units seem to be penalized by not being able to effectively surround a unit and do damage to a unit while ranged units can better focus a unit by getting a better surround. Comments.
Why does the game not feel like "pre-alpha" technical? It plays like a mid-beta release? Is this a result of the game engine just being better? Thanks and be well!
What do you feel is the weakest part of Atlas right now?
Are there plans for a strong singleplayer component in the form of perhaps a campaign or expanded AI opponents?
Any plans for 1v1 mode? Maybe a smaller map or 1 person controlling 2-3 squads?
What's up with asymmetric game style of making it hard for the team to help the third player, is this wanted? Will it be specific to this map?
The pros and cons of the multiple ways to open, like fast tech, quick explore-rush, ..
Can we expect to see more squads? I like the current number(maybe a few more), and I don't want to see it grow to be out of hand and confusing (especially for new players) like in League of Legends/Dota 2/Smite.
Can you explain in a little more detail what actually happened with the servers when the PvP launched? Was it any more then simply overloading them?
Why are the neutral weapons so powerful (especially the ion cannon)? With long range weapons that can just siege it really makes it tough for the losing side to come back because the winning team just defends, when they should be the ones attacking.
Will the AI be improved?
Thanks for being willing to answer our questions!
Whats was your happiest moment Today?
My favourite question to ask is: Were there any questions you were hoping people would ask that didn't get asked? What are the answers to those questions?
Are there any plans to increase the "macro" side of things? Right now the game feels like a moba where you control a bunch of units rather than an RTS with a team focus. Is that the final plan for the game, or will the other RTS aspects (base management, production, etc) be expanded upon?
You've asked us how we feel about the game currently – I'm wondering how you feel about the game currently? What do you think is good, what do you think needs improvement?
How did you feel throughout the PvP test day? Was it how you expected it to be?
How/why did you decide on neutral weapons instead of squad-specific late-game/siege units?
You've expressed before that you don't like "liquid" pathfinding/collision, and prefer something closer to where Atlas is now. Why is that, when it often just seems frustrating and like you can't control your units (at least to me)?
What is the point of leveling other than just getting your ultimate ability at level 6?
How did the meta of today differ from the meta of the daily playtests?
What are your plans for heroes in the future? Do you think you will be trying to add new heroes regularly to spice up the meta of the game, or would you rather stick to a low amount of heroes and stay more concerned with balancing those few?
As for squads, do you plan on adding more unit tiers, or do you think that too many tiers would be difficult control as most units already have abilities to keep in check?
Which squad(s) do you do the best with? And which the worst?
What are your thoughts on "state" purchases and how they could fit into Atlas? For example, granting a building temporary immunity, increasing the speed of respawn queue for a short period, a global unit buff, scan sweep, etc.
Could you give us some general pointers on when to buy upgrades. It seems like the upgrade and unit purchasing system is meant to be open-ended, so could you provide some examples of when a squad might want to focus on building units or else race to tier two units and upgrades?
Are there plans to add replay watching and chat support for mobile? :D
Other than Starcraft, what other games did you guys draw inspiration from?
Thanks in advance!
Any plans or what is your stance on shared unit control? this is could be detrimental because it would allow one player to play all three squads on their team... but it would be convenient for coordinated teams or for disconnected players.
Can you address how and when you expect players to expand in this game? Specifically, it seems to not be possible to do the classic "expand behind the attack" since you require your hero to plant the expansion. Despite the fact that the hero is core to your attacking group (typically), do you envision that players would split him/her off from the rest of your units, or do they rely on their allies for that window? This seems particularly important in the top/bottom expansions as they're more forward than the rest.
Curious to hear the design ethos behind this - thanks!
1) RTS games typically stick to the races they launch with, while MOBA games tend to release many heroes beyond launch. Where does Atlas stand? Can we expect new squads post launch?
2) Do you have plans to add flying units? cloak?
Any plans to add voice chat at some point in the future?
Which squads are most popular?
What are your plans on marketing and advertisement once Atlas is ready to get going?