I’ve been working on a RTS for the past few months and during breaks I’ve been playing Empire (a turn based strategy game) and Transportation Tycoon (TT). Both of these games are quite old and have lousy graphics compared to today’s games. But the game-play is amazing! Empire sucks me in and before I know it it’s mid-night and I’ve lost a few hours of sleep – the same goes for TT. So as I’ve been playing each of these games and designing my RTS, I’ve started to get this ideal for a different kind of RTS. I’ve been thinking that an RTS that mixes elements from the two games might just be an interesting game. Here are some random thoughts about how the game might be played and what makes it interesting: All the elements from TT would be part of the logistical test of the game. Say I find an oil well (in TT the natural resources such as oil, ore and coal already have mines) and start a supply line from that well to a refinery by laying train tracks. I will need to be able to protect the oil well, the trains, the tracks and the refinery – adds a ton of meaning to owning a resource. Maybe I would build some fighter/bombers that would fly Combat Air Patrol (CAP) (or in the terms of Empire I have set the fighter/bombers to patrol from one end of the tracks to the other) over the tracks. Gone are the rally points that you set for your tanks after they are pumped out of your factories – now you must find a way to move them to the battle zone or the front line. Do you build a rail system or do you build an airport/airbase and airlift them? Ok, so, I know that it’s a bit vague… I’ve been working too hard, taking a summer course and staying up way too late. But I wanted to get some feedback on this. Do you think it would be fun? Would it be too realistic? Etc… Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser

Sounds like something I might play depending on the final product, but just wondering, are you basically thinking of making a Tycoon type of game where you control a transportation company, and you protect yourself with top-notch military units?

quote:Original post by bigwiger
are you basically thinking of making a Tycoon type of game where you control a transportation company, and you protect yourself with top-notch military units?

I had typed up a really long philosophical discussion of what I like and dislike about RTSes and why I’m hellbent on changing them in my designs… but I’ll forgo the flamebait and just say – “Yes, in a way”

I’m thinking that you could win the game in more than one way, possibly through logistics and warfare or economically. Sheesh, maybe I’ve been reading to much of Chris Crawford’s new book.

Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser

sign me up.

i wouldn''t say that it is just a tycoon game with military units for protection. it seems that one benefits the other. you need resources for military units, and you need military units to protect the resources. this is something i''ve been thinking about a little bit lately, but i haven''t yet gotten a clear idea of how to handle things like this.

and i wouldn''t worry about it being ''too realistic'', as long as the gameplay doesn''t suffer. personally, i want realism in my games in the form of logic. this doesn''t mean that things must be like they are in real life, but it just means that things happen for a reason and that there are real cause and effect relationships between events. this is why i don''t like RPG elements like summons, where a wizard will just create a creature out of thin air. unless there is a logical reason for that to happen, it shouldn''t. even magic must be limited by physics.

quote:Original post by nickwinters
I think this would especially have potential as a multiplayer game that allows teams.

Yes, you are correct - that does sound fun. But, I''ve been focusing on SPGs (Single Player Games) as of late - especially after two years working on an MMO



Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser