Wishful thinking....my idea on the game

[hitech]

Gruppy: Just want you to realize there is nothing in the AH arcathecture to support your concept of the war win.

[Hap]

Originally posted by FALCONWING
real strat targets please (yes i mean LA7, spit 16 factories) etc that give the strat guys other interesting trgts besides base taking...(i.e. further you hit a trgt behind enemy lines ..more points for the damage!)

[...snip ... snip]

and..if im not out of line...raise the caps please?

hap

[Edbert]

Originally posted by Dichotomy
Can't wait to see what some of the old timers have to say about it.  [/SIZE]

Grabbing my cane and stepping to the podium...

Overall layout reminds me of beta arena. It looks like it will force some heads-up fighting, other than that I don't care too much about the other details.

In other words, I like it.

[Hap]

Originally posted by Edbert
Grabbing my cane and stepping to the podium...

Overall layout reminds me of beta arena. It looks like it will force some heads-up fighting, other than that I don't care too much about the other details.

In other words, I like it.

Ed, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the changes have a 30 to 90 day "evaluation period" attached to them.  Your "beta arena" comment prompts me to suppose.

hap

[richard_rd]

Originally posted by Raptor
Only problem is, as of right now we can't have neutral fields

   If the central N-Island had 3 bases, and the outer three N-Islands had 2 bases each, then this would not be an issue.  At the game re-start each country would   occupy one base on the central Island, and one base on 2 of the 3 outer islands.  

    Just have to change the concept from neutral bases to neutral islands/territorries (a territorry is considered neutral untill all bases in it are controlled by the same country).  The reset win objective would be the same, Have complete control of all bases on the central island, and the 4 bases (2 each) on your 2 outer islands.

   HiTech would just have to code a custum win/reset rule into the game for this map that would look at who controls the Neutral Territories.

 P.S. - I like this alot, should improve strategic game play and give a reason for furballers and toolsheaders to play nice and interact in and around the neutral territories.
    Also whenever a country gains control of the central Island (owns all 3 bases on it) the other 2 countries should double team the heck out of them.  This could be just the thing we need for side balancing. Probably the country with the highest number of players online will control the central island, and it would only make sence for the other 2 countries to concentrate their efforts on the country that controls the central island.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by hitech
Gruppy: Just want you to realize there is nothing in the AH arcathecture to support your concept of the war win.

Ahh well, so it goes   I was just throwing the idea out there to see if it could stick.

There has to be a way within the current framework of AH to drive the different styles of play together

[richard_rd]

Originally posted by Guppy35
Ahh well, so it goes   I was just throwing the idea out there to see if it could stick.

There has to be a way within the current framework of AH to drive the different styles of play together

     The Hitech team would just need to modify the lines of coad that award a reset win.  This shouldn't be that hard to do, especially for the talented programers that Dale has!!!!!    

[NoBaddy]

Originally posted by Guppy35
Ahh well, so it goes   I was just throwing the idea out there to see if it could stick.

There has to be a way within the current framework of AH to drive the different styles of play together

I like it. It kind of reminds me of a large scale version of the old AW PAC terrain. The fields in the center were capturable, the outer fields weren't. It channeled much of the action to the center.

[Tilt]

Originally posted by hitech
Gruppy: Just want you to realize there is nothing in the AH arcathecture to support your concept of the war win.

At the risk of correcting a cod I think there is although we would have to change the means a little.............

1) take the extreme islands and actually make them part of the land mass however they must be accessable from water. (OK thats cosmetic)

2) dont put fields on the these 4 area but put towns and map rooms for air fields that are alternately  placed on the main land masses

3) lets call these concentrations of towns Battle zones. We have one big battle zone (3 way war) in the middle and 3 smaller battle zones (2 way wars) we can mix in some capturable vehicle fields and may be the odd port per start country in each battle zone.

4) the alternate air fields which do not have towns and maprooms in the battle zones have them located in the rear with the HQ strat. The HQ strat area would have an additional layer of air fields  that would ring the HQ area as guppy's map.

5) each country will have 4 strat zones 1 x HQ, 1 x central, 2 x outer  .

6) cities and some other strats would be mixed in with the other stuff in the central and outer battle zones.

7) So when a side captures a town in a battle zone it aquires a field inside enemy territory


HOWEVER


8)That field only has rides enabled for the original owners By capturing it you get local radar and some AA. You deny the opposing side use of it. To get it back thay have to recapture the town in the battle zone that they just lost.

9) some air fields in the first layer have towns and map rooms in the HQ zone. Providing a constant access to the battle zones.


10) some vehicle fields  and ports could be placed along the coastal regions with spawns between them and to the first layer of inland air fields. These ports and vehicle fields would be with their own map rooms and capturable to provide  land based porkage of those inland fields.

11) equally the first layer of inland fields would have gv spawns to the coastal ports and vehicle fields.

12) except for these coastal skirmish areas Air conflict therefore never moves far away from the battle zones.

13) When a side loses the equivilent of 2 battle zones worth of air fields plus some ports/vehicle fields then the threshold for end of war kicks in and the side with the greatest number of fields wins. ( as now)

All this can be done with existing architecture...............

It forces the main conflict for each country over 3 areas (one of which is a 3 way fight) of focus.

It allows skirmish conflict on the coastal regions plus a sea based war out of the ports.

It provides for sustained Gv conflict.

It provides for deep and short range bombing agin strat and towns and fields.

It removes the main conflicts away from the air fields.

It removes the need to vulch in order to capture.

It allows some airfields to always remain close to the battle zones.

Any country losing two of the three battle  zones forces a reset

[Tilt]

Having said all the above  I must say that it returns game play to  a type found in AW4W.

It would be quite different from standard arena moving front game play we have now.

In this model sides are weakend as they lose fields but their front line (once past the coastal regions) remains....... albeit thinner than before.

Placement of at least one virtually uncapturable field (one with its town and map room deep in the HQ area )close to each battle zone is critical to allow a side to still fight over a zone if it has lost all of it and begin to re capture some of it back


Some of the aspects of deep bombing still remain and give incentive to squad operations.

Strikes on the HQ will have to have travelled a long way and will be rare but a feat non the less.

Actually capturing a field with a town/ map room in the HQ area would be a squad mission "par excellence" it could be easily re taken but would be an exhibition of squad skill and organisation none the less or indeed it could be a horde activity but not one that could be sustained.

[Simaril]

HT, you're the guy who has seen what alternate configurations do to game play, so you've seen the effects of uncapturable fields, etc.

IF the mechanics would allow AH to do this kind of thing -- capture the flag wins, uncapturable deep bases, bombers only at some, etc -- would you anticipate negative gameplay problems? Or, is programming the only barrier to an otherwise good idea?

PS Not that programming is a small deal by any means...just exploring the limits of our creativity....

[Mugzeee]

Originally posted by Guppy35
It's what one does while mowing the lawn and thinking about nothing.  It's just another variation on ideas thrown out before I believe.  The map is rough and not to scale but I think it will help illustrate the plan.


-Red fields are capturable and have fighters/medium bombers and VH.
-Yellow fields have all enabled exept jets and are the heavy bomber bases
-Purple are jet enabled bases
-the N on the map represents neutral fields.
-270 person cap in the arena.  90 person cap on each country

For the 'win the reset" crowd.  Your job is to capture and hold the center isle fields and the other two N fields on your country's coast.  Gotta hold all three to win the reset.  Rolling the map via undefended bases isn't an issue but you've gotta work to take and hold the 3 Ns, in particular the center Isle as all three countries are after it.

There are tank corridors shown for the GV crowd.  It would lead to some hopefully wide open "Kursk" style tank warfare and allows for the tankers to 'flank' the other guys capturable fields if they want to.

The heavy bomber guys in this scenario at least have to up further back and fly it hopefully a bit more realistically.  Personally I'd do away with the 3 plane formations too and make it so if you want to run a mission you need more folks to do it.   Deep in 'enemy' territory would be strat fuel and supply targets as well as country wide dar for the heavies to go after.  Obviously with jet fields protecting them, the bombers would have more of a challenge

I'd have local dar too that can be knocked out to create blind corridors for fighters etc.  I kept thinking about the set up during the B of B with the chain of radars on the coast.

Hopefully there'd be enough water for carriers and PT spawns too.

For the fighter/furballers there would be enough close fields, plus this, at least theoretically would funnel the fights to certain places on the map.  I would like to believe the N fields would be constantly contested, in particular the center isle where you'd get everyone there.

Yeah I know it's goofy, but it seems like to please both the guys who like to 'win the war' and the guys who like to fly and fight, we need to funnel them into the same hot spots to have it out.

rip away

OK...how in the heck did you draw that map on your lawn mower?

Secondly i like the idea. It what games like BF2 and AA and several other conquest games have been doing to some extent.
Nice idea...For the 'win the reset" crowd.
"Your job is to capture and hold the center isle fields and the other two N fields on your country's coast. Gotta hold all three to win the reset."

how long woulds said country have to hold possesion? Other games have "Tickets" or spawn alotments of sorts. Or is it intant win?

I do think it would be fun...But only if you like a massive battle. i.e.  Most will see it the same as old MA. (Picks, Gangs and so on)

If you pour something into a "Funel" where does it all end up?

[hitech]

Simaril: Havn't realy given this map much thought.

But with drastic play changes like this map, it very rairly turns out like the designer expects.

But you guys should be able to come up with some of what will happen, just start thinking like below.

If I wish to win this war what would I do.

If I wish to go screw with a country what would I do.

If I wish to furball what would I do.

If one country is out numbered will it be difficult capturing the N fields?

What will happen once all the red fields of 1 country are taken, and one country is split from other.

[BlueJ1]

Which ever team gets the top left corner will be lucky. Seems to me reset teams only come from the bottom and the right side. Never the left.

[Furball]

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