Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Sailing simulations are comparatively rare, but they do exist; see Virtual Skipper 4
on the left of Figure 17.4 . Although sailing a boat is a complex and interesting
challenge, such games appeal only to a specialized market. Most people prefer sim-
ulations in which you can point the vehicle in the direction you want to go and
push the gas pedal to get you there.
FIGURE 17.4 Virtual Skipper 4 and Sea Dogs II
Few ship simulations model the ocean in all its complexity, with shoals and cur-
rents, tides and storms. Rather, they tend to treat the water the way driving
simulations treat the ground: simply as an area over which ships move. Pirate
games such as Sea Dogs II ( Figure 17.4 , right side) and Sid Meier's Pirates! are usually
arcade or role-playing games rather than sailing simulations.
Tanks and Mechs
Tank simulations seldom implement the complexit y of tank battles as they really
happened in World War II, the Arab-Israeli wars, or the Gulf War. Real tanks have a
top speed of about 50 MPH, have limited visibility, and carry only a few types of
weapons, so they don't appeal much to the casual gamer. Like military flight simu-
lators, tank simulators are typically about a lone tank operating against other tanks
and a variety of other enemies.
From a gameplay standpoint, the most interesting characteristic of a tank is its
rotating turret, which enables it to shoot in directions other than the one in which
it is facing. (Notice the example in Figure 17.5 .) It can be difficult to design a good
user interface for this. You will need to provide a mechanism for rotating the turret
that is separate from the mechanism that steers the tank and a separate view win-
dow for aiming and firing the gun. Real tanks have a commander and a gun crew
as well as a driver, but as with bombers and other multiseat aircraft, you will have
to find a way to let a single player control everything.
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