Hi there!
I've been following this game-series for quite some time and have been enjoying the series quite a lot over the years.
While it is a bit cheeky to do this as my first post, I would like to propose the following addition to the game:
A Replay log, where the successful playthrough is stored, based on unit locations and terrain-changes. (Menu changes could be included as well.)
Reason: I enjoy watching replays of how tactics are performed, so that I can improve my own gameplay. While I've done this for myself by using a keylogger software of my own design (where I can replay the sequence), I think that having this option could be a nice way to share replays. An other option is to have the replay be uploaded to the server, if it's in the top 5, and enabling people to look at the replay. (It's a decent way to validate the topscores as well.)
Please forgive me if this have already been suggested and decided against in the past. There is no suggestion subforum for CW3, so I hope I'm in the right place to post this. :)
-E
I agree. I also would have been interested in seeing how others solve some of the more recent puzzle maps. Although a complete replay log may take up too much disk space, it would have been nice if the game took a screenshot during the housekeeping that it does after the final emitter has been nullified and (optionally) uploaded. Clicking on a name in the Scores table could have shown the picture of that player's solution (if available). Anyway, probably too late for CW3, but it might be a useful feature to consider in the future.
It has been discussed during the development of CW3. Because of the many other options for recording gameplay it was decided that it was not worth the effort. Literally every single move the player makes has to stored or rest of the replay won't work. Also after an update all older replays might be broken. A lot of things to take care of, while something more fun could be added in the same development time. The only person coding CW3 and the other games is Virgil.
I'll just keep on using my auto-it keylogger/replay script then. :)
Another popular option is Fraps to record gameplay as a video for sharing.
A keylogger may run into timing race conditions, where someone replaying your steps on a slower computer may be inputting commands before enough gametime has passed, or if your computer runs parts of the game slower than realtime, someone on a faster computer may have delayed actions -- resulting in the game not progressing at all in the same fashion.
That's not the point either. It's simply to see what tactics people have used and if it is at all feasible. :)