Future games

ScottWAR · #1 January 29th, 2009, 09:56 AM

Just compiling ideas for what games people would like to see next made with this type game engine.

Mediterranean- an idea is to have 2 kinds of convoys. The same as now used to build up bases, but a second for a victory condition similiar to bombing points. Both the Axis and the allies have to get supplies to Africa, so convoy points become a victory condition. Each Convoy(need a name for the new convoy) that makes it to its destination base adds a a victory pooint to the respective side.

Atlantic- Would probably need to be a 1980's Nato vs Warsaw. Would require new elements to model modern warfare.

WW1- not sure about what theaters would be good. I know much less about WW1 than I do ww2.

Land Based- Civil War, Revolutionary War, Napoleonic,.....more WW2

Fantasy- settings similiar to Middle Earth or D&D, settings such as Star Wars (particualr interested in a SCI FI version of this game) or Star Trek.

Alternate History- What if's- 2nd US Civil War, WW3, etc,..

Feel free to add any others.

Folgore · #2 January 29th, 2009, 08:00 PM

I'd like to see a War Plan Orange variant, set in the 1920s and 1930s. War Plan Orange (the game, based on War in the Pacific) has a great "feel" and lots of detail... but it's just too complex for my tired brain. Combine War Plan Pacific's ease of gameplay with War Plan Orange's setting, and you've got yourself a winner, IMHO.

S.R. Krol · #3 January 29th, 2009, 09:46 PM

Folgore, actually with some scenario tinkering you can pretty much make a War Plan Orange scenario with War Plan Pacific.

ScottWAR, funny you should mention WWI and Cold War Gone Hot, both of those were hopes I also expressed to John. For World War One you can actually do quite a bit, especially if you want to focus on Germany's cruisers sailing the world hunting down merchant vessels. Just check out Avalanche Press' Great War At Sea series, there are scores of WWI scenarios that can be dug up from there.

A modern naval game (by that, NATO versus Warsaw Pact) would be awesome. No one has really done a strategic modern naval game on the PC, although I suppose some of the larger Harpoon scenarios might qualify. There is an old board game from Simulations Canada called Seapower and the State which is a global naval WW3 game that also deals with merchant shipping that would translate well for WPP.

If you're doing a land based game with the system I'd think you'd need another layer. The majority of point-to-point based board games all are derived from Mark Herman's We The People and use cards. Having a card driven computer digital board game could be cool.

Oh, and speaking of focusing on convoys let's not forget the Murmansk run. Lots of fun to be had there.

JMHawkins · #4 January 30th, 2009, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.R. Krol

Folgore, actually with some scenario tinkering you can pretty much make a War Plan Orange scenario with War Plan Pacific.

Yes, but I think to really do justice to pre-carrier naval war, WPP would need to beef up the surface combat a little. There are old parts of the WPP design that do this which I am dusting off and reviewing... But this is interesting because it's a pre-requisite to a game idea I have rattling around my head that I really want to do. "Operation Mahan" is all I'll say about it right now (WPP, by the way, was "Operation Bywater").

Quote:

A modern naval game (by that, NATO versus Warsaw Pact) would be awesome. No one has really done a strategic modern naval game on the PC, although I suppose some of the larger Harpoon scenarios might qualify.

How excited are people about hypothetical cold-war games? I mean now that it's relegated to the "Alt-History" realm instead of the "possible-very-near-future" realm? The gaming possibilities are pretty cool - is this something that would hold people's interest given that now it's neither history nor speculative future?

Quote:

Oh, and speaking of focusing on convoys let's not forget the Murmansk run. Lots of fun to be had there.

Wasn't this part of the victory conditions in War At Sea? I'll have to dig out my box and check (if you don't hear from me for a while, that means I was buried in the avalance of old games while on expedition in The Game Closet...).

MarkL · #5 January 30th, 2009, 04:33 AM

[/quote]
How excited are people about hypothetical cold-war games? I mean now that it's relegated to the "Alt-History" realm instead of the "possible-very-near-future" realm? The gaming possibilities are pretty cool - is this something that would hold people's interest given that now it's neither history nor speculative future?

[quote]

To me game play is more important than history, so the above could be good, but I think the winning conditions would have to be somewhat random due to uncertain nature of the conflicts.

possibility to see unexpected allies helping out in some cases depending on perhaps what counties bases are captured triggering other nations to panick and jump in.

Cheers MarkL

Folgore · #6 January 31st, 2009, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMHawkins

Yes, but I think to really do justice to pre-carrier naval war, WPP would need to beef up the surface combat a little. There are old parts of the WPP design that do this which I am dusting off and reviewing... But this is interesting because it's a pre-requisite to a game idea I have rattling around my head that I really want to do. "Operation Mahan" is all I'll say about it right now (WPP, by the way, was "Operation Bywater").

Oooo... "Operation Mahan," eh? There's a lot that could be done in the pre-WWI/Great White Fleet dreadnought era: an "early WWI" Anglo-German clash, an American-whoever clash. A game with a few A vs. B variants might be interesting...

ScottWAR · #7 January 30th, 2009, 01:49 PM

Honsestly, ANY modern naval wagame will be in a class by itself. There are NO modern naval wargames out there. At least none made in the last 10 years worth anything. So I think a mpodern naval wargame would do extremely well. It would be new and have no competition at all. Similiar to WPP.

S.R. Krol · #8 January 31st, 2009, 05:59 PM

Yeah, even though it's "alt-hist" now I think the 3N maxim still applies to what folks are interested in gaming. And it can be more than the standard tropes. You could include future US/China scenarios, or what may be interesting is doing WW3 in the '50s and '60s. I can't think of *any* naval wargame that is set in the '50s.

JMHawkins · #9 January 31st, 2009, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.R. Krol

Yeah, even though it's "alt-hist" now I think the 3N maxim still applies to what folks are interested in gaming. And it can be more than the standard tropes. You could include future US/China scenarios, or what may be interesting is doing WW3 in the '50s and '60s. I can't think of *any* naval wargame that is set in the '50s.

Or near-future... I was doing some research on railguns and rediscovered the Navy's railgun prototypes and DD(X) program. The railgun project is interesting. A 200+ nm range, which the 40 lb projectile covers in about six minutes, hitting the target at Mach 7 and delivering Kinetic Energy damage equivalent to almost 10 2,000 lb bombs exploding on target. Hmmm, choosing the "air" option to stay out of gunnery range isn't going to work very well in that game.

S.R. Krol · #10 February 1st, 2009, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMHawkins

Or near-future... I was doing some research on railguns and rediscovered the Navy's railgun prototypes and DD(X) program. The railgun project is interesting.

Yeah, that's the danger of near future or future games. Realistically you're going to be looking at a technologically advanced USN and a PLAN that may finally be more than a shore defense organization. But the RN is a shadow of itself and the Russians have most of their ships rusting in dock, and beyond that there's no one really left to challenge the open water.

Obviously then the answer is to make a game where rail gun equipped ships fight the minions of Cthuluh!