Strategy Gaming Think-Tank

[Ocito80]

Hello all,

While I was never the most prolific modder around, I always seemed to want more detail and depth from the wargames I played. I dabbled here and there with scenarios, trying to learn and contribute to established games.

I recently decided instead to place that energy into the production of a new game. My post here is with the hope of drawing on the vast wisdom of the community in talking about effective approaches to a game, and the mechanics that lay within.

Project Titanic was thus born. No, it's not the actual game name. It does represent the development stage for a 2D hex, turn-based historical WW2 strategy and operational wargame. Whew, that is a mouthful. It is currently in the early stages of development with an in-house staff of two, along with 3 outsourced artists working on various tasks, and talks to bring onboard two programmers is progressing.

So, for you, the community, what I initially want to inquire about are your insights on battle mechanics, and more specifically how to approach an effective system for Air, naval and ground combat all wrapped up in one game.

We're developing around a WEGO system. Ground hexes will be to 5km scale(think regiment size units), and sea hexes, once finalized, will be between 10-20 nautical miles each.

For those scratching their head right now, let me try and be a little more clear. When you're playing game, say the old Talonsofts Battle of Britain, what mechanics there worked for you, or didn't, or could be improved upon. What else would you have wanted to see in the game to make the experience better, were the battle results accurate, realistic? Or if you prefer naval combat, and given the 2D system, what are some key things to be aware of that would make the battle simulations more realistic and engaging for the player in fleet on fleet actions.

If combat isn't your thing, then mechanics pertaining to Industry, production and economy are also worth discussing. Or you can simply discuss your preferred art style for the game map, or what information should be visible on the unit counters.

Anyway, big or small, I'm interested in hearing your views on game mechanics in general, based on the games you've played, what you like, what you don't like, what's generally missing etc.. Feel free to post here to start discussions, or I've created a discord channel for the project, you can simply PM me for the link.

I appreciate your time and thanks for reading
Atheory

[geoff]

Simultaneous execution is a good start. Kampfgruppe by Grigsby was a masterpiece at the tactical level. Operational might require a threat zone that automatically attacks units within the zone at some fraction of the formations strength. The large formations would need to be containers for their personnel and weapondry on the order of Kroger's TOAW. Hexagons might be overly constraining for a TacAI during WEGO phasing since the resolution is pre-ordered. Basically, I envision Command OPs with a flawed set of dimensions. I might suggest doing a lower tech era theme as WW2 and later require alot more fluidity in control and execution.

[Ocito80]

Hi Geoff, thanks for the response, and you make good points. However, not entirely what I'm after. I'm not looking for how to best design a game, but rather get some perspective on game mechanics players have enjoyed through the various games they've played, or even those they haven't enjoyed, or even find missing from games.

For instance, WitP is one of my favorite games, and I enjoy the little battle resolution scenes that play out, especially during ship vs ship combat. At the same time, I'm not a fan of watching a large surface task force landing 40-50 hits on a single yacht size ship task force either, even if the first time doing so is rather comical.

And

War in the east, I like that the Soviets can build certain unit types, however I wish the Axis could do the same. I know its this way for game purposes, and I say that to stress that I'm not looking to quibble over game design features, but gain insight on the mechanics themselves that people enjoy or don't.

Or

I've played Panzer Campaign games and I quite like the detail of their OOBs, but I wish there was a system that could handle damaged or mechanically failed vehicles and later send them back to the units.


I hope this helps, and I understand answers by each person will be different as it is opinion based. However, one might be surprised what insights can be achieved by such a random collection of examples.

Thanks again for your time
Atheory

[geoff]

I'm trying to be helpful. I've already mentioned some great game mechanics. Operational grid level, best maps goto Kroger as well. A plethora of different terrain types that can be interspersed and the hell with hexside features. Kampfgruppe, Combat Mission, and Command OPs feature seemless combat events that are overwhelmingly immersive in comparison to any turn based strategy game. PBEM is not a dead standard and every turn based strategy deserves emailable multiplayer turns. A simple concept that hasn't be commericially developed yet is uploading WEGO turn orders to a database that renders the resolution for players to download and continue the game ala MMO style.