Spend all my remaining AP combat button

[grävling]

I know this has been discussed before, and there is a real problem with adding a new button to the top level combat screen and still having the game fit on small screens.

But it occurred to me today that we could stick this button under 'move' Right now we only have 2 buttons there 'abort' and 'finish' we could add a button that would combine finish and expend all your remaining AP. Would 'Spend AP' work as a button label? I am very bad at naming things.

[Swami]

Next round?

[grävling]

I am now favouring Spend (5 AP) where 5 is replaced with however you have to spend.

[Swami]

Mar 8, 2013 14:37:14 GMT -5 grävling said:

I am now favouring Spend (5 AP) where 5 is replaced with however you have to spend.

+1 I like it.

[fallen]

Mar 8, 2013 14:37:14 GMT -5 grävling said:

I am now favouring Spend (5 AP) where 5 is replaced with however you have to spend.

This means you would forfeit 5 AP?

[grävling]

Mar 8, 2013 21:37:03 GMT -5 fallen said:

Mar 8, 2013 14:37:14 GMT -5 grävling said:

I am now favouring Spend (5 AP) where 5 is replaced with however you have to spend.

This means you would forfeit 5 AP?

Yes. Forfeit is a _great_ word. Forfeit (5 AP)

[xdesperado]

grävling why would you want to waste AP?
I can understand wanting a skip to next round button for after you've spent all your AP and don't want to keep clicking through the initiative screen, or a button that lets you give up a set amount of initiative, but not one to just waste AP.

[grävling]

Mar 8, 2013 22:03:23 GMT -5 xdesperado said:

grävling why would you want to waste AP?
I can understand wanting a skip to next round button for after you've spent all your AP and don't want to keep clicking through the initiative screen, or a button that lets you give up a set amount of initiative, but not one to just waste AP.

Spending all the AP will mean that I will be waiting to start the next round. Some of my allies may have things to do this round, so I don't want the round to end, I just want to pass until the next round starts. Spending all my remaining AP seems a good way to get there.

This is for when you like your position, don't have an enemy that you can shoot in range (possibly because you are a cybersword ally who doesn't have a gun at all) and you are stuck with 5 AP that you just want to wait. Hitting move and done gets tedious.

[Swami]

It's all about tactical positioning.

[Cory Trese]

Maybe burn AP should generate Init for the next round.

[xdesperado]

Mar 8, 2013 23:09:25 GMT -5 Swami said:

It's all about tactical positioning.

Which is why I'd like to be able to give up my place in the initiative order without having to use AP.
Currently at start of many encounters I'm effectively penalised for having a high initiative...great if I'm looking to run away/escape from encounter but if instead I wish to engage in combat I either have to waste AP to maintain position waiting for the AI to approach desired combat range or else move and either risk giving the AI first attack on me or that the AI won't react as expected and move to a suitable position.
Just because I have the ability to do something first shouldn't mean I have to actually take an action. Since positioning is such a large part of the combat equation telling me my superior reflexes and ability to think quicker than my oponents means I have to give them the advantage in manuever or else sacrifice some of my limited ability to act is a problem for me.

[Cory Trese]

AP reflects both Action and Non-Action.

[xdesperado]

Mar 8, 2013 23:47:43 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

AP reflects both Action and Non-Action.

Here's the problem with that though.
You've just made the Cybernetic initiative enhancers nearly pointless for me. If I install the top initiative enhancers then I have to not put points in stealth so encounters always occur right in my face if I wish to engage in combat or else have a very high stealth so I can use that initiative to escape all encounters. Otherwise I could end up using most if not all my AP effectively twiddling my thumbs before the AI starts to act. Then the AI gets to move into optimum position to deliver its attacks before I can act again.
Don't think of it as deciding not to take an action but instead as me saying in my mind okay I can't shoot anyone at this moment but I'm primed and ready to pull the trigger as soon as a target presents itself.
Not sure if either of you have been in the military or on a combat shooting range, but they use pop up targets in training/qualification. You don't know when or where targets will appear or if they will even be valid targets in some cases. So your trained to react to their appearance. You've taken up slack on the trigger and are ready to acquire a site picture and fire when a target presents itself.

[xdesperado]

Okay been giving this some thought and how about instead of a Forfeit all AP button you added a Ready button.
The Ready button would use 1 AP but provide a +1 on next attack you made. Make the bonus stacking so if you need to "give up" multiple actions before an opponent was in range the AP wouldn't just go to waste. Also make it reset if you do anything other than Attack or another Ready.

This gives me a good reason to have a high initiative as it adds a viable option other than just forfeiting my AP and not getting anything in return.

[grävling]

I don't want a ready button. I don't have a problem burning 1 AP. I can just reload my guns -- even when I am playing a Cybersword who has no guns. It when I have 5, 6 sometimes even 9 AP and don't want to do anything but wait for the next round that I find tedious.

xdesperado, you are thinking of things a bit oddly.

The round starts. If you have initiative, then for the first tiny slice of time, you and nobody else can take an action in that time. But if you don't want to do anything but wait for the others to approach you, then that's what you do with this slice of time. You wait. Thus low level CyberSwords have to invest in 1AP for waiting at the start of practically every round -- they don't want to finish the round in the attacking range of an enemy, in case they lose initiative and begin with getting hit. They want the enemy to race over beside them, so they can pop them a good one. So they wait 1 AP, having already lined things up so that the enemy will run right up beside them, the enemy does this, and they whack them.

Now _very high level_ Cytberswords -- the sort that can spend the cash on initiative enhancing implants can be dead certain that they are going to have the initiative on _anybody_. This means that the can finish the round beside an enemy and be sure they can kill them first thing next round.

Shooters, of course, tend to like to win the initiative early in their career. They want to end rounds with the enemy lined up in the pink square of their sights, and then first thing next round shoot the enemy, before he can run up beside you thus no longer being in your ideal range, or if the enemy is a shooter as well, shoot you. But later in the game, if you are using a 6AP weapon, you may find that you have 5 AP and nothing to do with it. You don't have another weapon to use (or) nobody is in range. Reload your gun, reload your gun, reload your gun, or Move & Finish, Move & Finish, Move & Finish gets tiresome.