I have an idea that I think could make an amazing game (As if you haven''t heard that before). Think of a game like Shogun Total War or Medieval Total War where you mass troops and engage in epic battles. And not battles like Age Of Empires or Warcraft, I mean like battles where thousands of units clash and the ground is littered with bodies and you can see the individual unit battling and then zoom out and see the destruction on a broader scale. I''m not sure I''m describing it right. If you haven''t seen the Total War games in action (I feel sorry for you) think of the battle in the prologue of "The Fellowship Of The Ring". The kind of battle where troops get all mixed up and everyone''s fighting in extremely close quarters. Now even if you haven''t seen the Total War games or "FOTR" (I feel very sorry for you) I think you get the point by now. Now take all that and eliminate the bystander point-of-view and imagine that you are an individual unit in a first-person view. Wouldn''t it be breathtaking to just turn around and see 2 opposing soldiers clash right in front of your eyes. Not only that but to see 2 whole armies engaged in a battle that stretches in all directions. Then suddenly you hear a scream and turn around to find yourself being charged by a soldier with his sword in the air. You engage in a swordfight and once victorious, you charge a mass group of the enemy and start hacking and slashing left and right with your own army by your side. Ah, another good example, Gauntlet Legends, except on a much larger scale. Do you think a first-person mass war game would be interesting and fun? Of course it would have other things like the option to have a sword or an axe or a bow etc. and other nifty features, but what do you think of the core idea? Good? Bad? Needs improvement?

muhaha.. im already developing a game like that. Im glad someone else is too though. Its such an awesome idea.

Really? Do you have a site for it? Screenshots? I''d really love to see how an idea like this could look al fleshed out.

Close quarters combat is rather difficult in first person. I would prefer third person myself. Then you don''t have problems with no side vision. Having a number of troops on both sides can be a lot of fun and add a lot of ''feel'' to the game. Just look at the Omaha beach mission of Medal of Honor. Or Tie Fighter having dozens of ships in a battle added to the feel.

Now as to the actual game play, if you are just one of thousands, you are virtually irrelevant to the result of the battle.

For practical concerns, you''d need some serious graphics and AI level of detail to have a prayer of pulling it off.

I think it is a good idea, but massive melees would not by themselves make a good game.

Jack

Well, im still working on the 3d engine. plus, Im having a hard time finding good 3d artists. the website doesnt really say anything and its just temporary. But, I might post some screenshots in a week or so to show off the terrain and stuff. dont hold me to this though, because school is starting for me on friday and i dont know how that will affect my time to work on this.
the site is:
joust.kaanestudios.com
but, if i do release anything I''ll post it in the announcements.

quote: Original post by JackNathan
Close quarters combat is rather difficult in first person. I would prefer third person myself. Then you don''t have problems with no side vision.

That''s a good idea, but you would kinda lose the feel of actually being "in" the battle.

quote: Original post by JackNathan
if you are just one of thousands, you are virtually irrelevant to the result of the battle.

Naturally you would have an advantage over other units such as much higher health and armor. The point is that you are a hero of the battlefield, and (traditionally) heroes tend to wipe out many enemies with relative ease. The challenge in the game would be the sheer numbers.

quote: Original post by JackNathan For practical concerns, you''d need some serious graphics and AI level of detail to have a prayer of pulling it off.

Damn.

quote: Original post by JackNathan I think it is a good idea, but massive melees would not by themselves make a good game.

Obviously. There would be a story and other regular things that form the backbone of most half-decent games.

Thanks for the feedback on my idea.

Now as to the actual game play, if you are just one of thousands, you are virtually irrelevant to the result of the battle.
One man can make the difference between victory or defeat.
-chinese saying(i think)


I think thousands of people would be fun, but im actually concentrating on making my game muliplayer, so im not hosting thousands. when you are actually killing other players, you just get that good feeling that you are better. I will host as manny as i can. AI characters could be added in too to make it bigger but they are less important for me. In the game you might be insignificant sometimes and just be a human shield, but if you have good strategy you could kill many people. Its part of the fun. kind of like on CS, you have good and bad rounds.

First person is better for simulating the realism and immersion. I guess thats opinon though.

I have seen a game before where you are on a large battlefield and you are a hero. It looked pretty fun when i watched people play it. I cant remember the name though. It was on PS2.

Look into Kessen 2, Dynasty Warriors seris, uh... lemme think... there are more exactly like this (go to www.koei.com to see all their games, DW3 is amazing, Kessen 2 was alright, and they are all based on the greatest historical novel of all time, Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Ghuanzhong