Some Thoughts on the Genre

[thorwald]

Bear with me here are just a few of the Crazy Thoughts from Thorwald Skullsplitter. This is my favorite genre and is gettting very close to my concept for the dream game. So...that said heres some of my crazy ideas.


1- Online aspect? I am a huge fan of MMORPG any thoughts of getting something like this that is online based?
2- Developed Character - I have always wanted to 'Develop ' my RPG character in a Warlike setting and become a leader of a group since the 1st Edition DnD.
-Game within a game. Full RPG development and play with dungeons monsters challenges etc which you could use to benefit your commander/s in Battle.
Magic items Quests , Dragon Hordes etc all used to boost your warchest, and in some cases directly help your army. " You find the Banner of MARS" etc
3- Customizeable Armies. Choosing type of equipment changes appearances. So along with the great trianing and upgrade you can actually change the nature of your unit. Spearmen can Use different polearms, Heavy infantry can use different types of armors, Shields or Weapons, Units can be givin distinctive coloring and Maybe even be able to Design your own Banners.

4- Unit Intelligence- If you heavily train a unit then it shows. Mobs charge in in a mob. Disciplined units might even have a setttable AI ( Set by the player)Something like:
VS Cavalry , Set Spears
VS Lt Infantry Form Wedge on 'aggresive'
VS Heavy infantry 'Lock Shields'
VS Pikes Destroy / Block Pike
Orderly Retreat, or fighting retreat
All depending on troop type. These independant actions could be governed by the interface or could occur automatically as the unit gains experience , and an auto setting can be turned off for those situations that demand ingenuity or experiementation.

That's all for now the crazy ideas just perculate all the time in this old warriors brain...not sure if there is a cure for it or not. Ohh n I have lots n lots more if there is any interest in going in any of these directions. These are just snippets of much grander vision. If I posted that ... People would KNOW that am crazy.

[pipfromslitherine]

I shall be suitably enigmatic and say that some of your suggestions are already implemented. But I won't say which...

Cheers

Pip

[thorwald]

Well thanks for the reply, so am I to assume the message is we already got enough crazy Ideas floating around so don't bother...ok I get it if that is the case ;P

[IainMcNeil]

The more crazy ideas the better

[miki]

Have you ever read Stan Nicholls' Bodyguard of Lightning (Volume One of Orcs: First Blood )? It would be great to be able to develop an orcish army/warband, not being the orcs the bad guys at all, but only a desperate band of warriors trying to survive in a cruel world...

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/orc1.htm

[thorwald]

Nope Never Read Bodyguard of lightning.

Glad that Slitherine wants to hear crazy ides if nothing other than an outlet for thier players. Can you give us some idea of the direction you are going with some of them? A sneak peak or a work in progress sorta thing?

Also, since Legion II is on hold, what is a potential time-frame for the release for this game?

[IainMcNeil]

Bizarrely I bought this book at the airport last week and am half way through it and it has got some ideas in common with what we were planning.

I'm not really enjoying the book though as I'm finding it a bit like reading an AAR of someones dungeons & dragons evening. So many fights and after each there are many enemy dead and one of the main characters is wounded, though never seriously. Everyone fights to the death, even a bunch of farmers. It feel like it was written by someone who has no idea what combat would actually be like.

[miki]

Hi Iain,

Well, perhaps the book is what you say, just an AAR, something along the lines of warhammer/W4K novels. I read it some years ago and found it funny but a bit... vacous. Nontheless it had one strong point: originality, because the main characters, the good guys, were the Orcs.

[malthaussen]

The old original D&D rules (the ones that came out in '76, or was it '75) had morale rules, so every fight was not necessarily to the death. Unfortunately, fantasy wargames (and many other wargames as well, now that I think of it) rarely incorporate them, making for incredible body counts.

I think it is true that few authors (or game designers!) know much about actual combat -- and therefore their heroes tend to kill more enemies than the cholera, while never sustaining an incapicating wound (or even being scarred). It reminds me of the old cowboy movies made in the U.S., where the hero's six-gun never needed a reload, and the worst that could happen to him was a little scratch in the arm or leg (ignoring the fact that the impact of a .44 soft-nose bullet in the arm or leg would put said hero down for the count more often than not).

Then again, we can't make our wargames too realistic, or no one would play them; we can't make our war stories too realistic, or no one would want to read (or view) them.

-- Mal

[thorwald]

Yes well the number one advantage that wargames tend to have is the ability to see your opponent at all times where they are and thier heading etc. Wargames tend to have 'SUPER RADAR'. Setting traps and ambushes , which is very common in 'REAL' war is usually just about impossible in most wargames. Or even if it is possible, it lends to some disbelief.

I would love to see a system where your scouting rating determined if you saw a unit at all. And if you did see it determining what kind of unit it was might be difficult depending on the scouting factors. I mean you may know there is cavalry there but not know what type etc. Or you might know that it is Heavy Cavalry, but not tha tit is the Elite Paladins of Rhur ...or whatever. Also you may not see any lt infantry in the pass but, if you fail your scouting roll might have to endure a full round of attack at increased morale dissability before you can begin to respond. This would lend a certain realism that could add excitement.


While I agree that total realism could make for a really boring game, the game that comes a bit closer than the average is more attractive to a lot of gamers. It depends of course on HOW it does that. Along with the depth has to come some corresponding ease of use for that depth and eventual reasonable clarity of understanding.

[kleinemann]

I think it would be a great idea if your army would just be like a band of mercenaries trying to make themselves a living in a cruel fantasy world. Perhaps this game could be like that, you could work for various forces. Perhaps even do missions for people & stuff. You could go into a window where there are some missions & stuff like that, and those forces you've fought against like you less than those you've fought for, like a sympathy system, and if you have alot of sympathy from a faction you can get more missions from that faction & they'll be less likely to send an attack against you, yeah, you could be attacked by factions that don't like you.(Having quite a brainstorm here)And perhaps you could build yourself a little fort overnight or over a few days as you travel the game map, you could heal your men in the fort & stuff like that, and your men would gain a defense bonus while they're in their own fort during battle. (Just an idea if you could possibly put anything like that in the game ) sorry how long this post is

-kleinemann

[kleinemann]

Hah now I notice that the last post was made about a year ago!! (I mean the post that was made before the post I made)

[IainMcNeil]

When it says september you assume it was this year

[kleinemann]

what do you mean? oh nevermind