The consume command looks to be a bit unrealistic. When soldiers are hungry they aren't going to wait for orders to eat. Maybe have the soldiers automatically consume their supplies? While I like the idea of capturing supplies to improve your base, micromanaging when your soldiers are eating seems a bit tedious.

Quote:

Original post by jColton The consume command looks to be a bit unrealistic. When soldiers are hungry they aren't going to wait for orders to eat. Maybe have the soldiers automatically consume their supplies? While I like the idea of capturing supplies to improve your base, micromanaging when your soldiers are eating seems a bit tedious.

Nothings set in stone. I guess instead of consume, it could be "refill canteen/ration pack".

Quote:

Original post by Hairein Hi again, thanks for the additional information. A more technical game design query this time: - What are you planning to release as part of this design? Is there going to be a design document of sorts. Mock-ups? Wiki or web site? - How are you planning to validate your design against your target audience? How gather feedback on the games' ideas, ergonomics, accessability, playability, mechanisms and such things? - How far are you taking the design? Are you designing the whole game until ready for active pre-production or just up to a specific 'level of detail'? - Do you have any designs/ideas for related game elements distribution model, target user age limits, support infrastructure and patches, online support, DLC? As a tip here: -You need to produce a design document preferably on a Wiki or web site, although it doesn't need to be coded and could use placeholder art or rough sketches. Although I know the game you reference, i'd prefer to see your design skill and what unique ideas above the available you would bring to the game. It's easier to get constructive critism if there is something there to critisize. - Get some books on Game Design, or read things to that effect on the Net. It will show you the steps required to design a game, as well as how to document your design correctly. Keep going!

I'll be completely honest with you, this game's all in my head at this sage. I'm optimistic that I can make it more than an idea, though.

Very optimistic.

I don't think your idea is really realistic if realism is what you are going for.

Where does the commander find funding to pay his troops, maintain the building, buy fuel/equipment and pay for the operation of that satellite? You will also need doctors and medicine to handle illnesses and give regular check ups. And dentists too. And the people you recruit have to be outlaws because a normal person with a family would rather join the army of the current govt instead of an outlaw army. Very tough to find outlaws who are medically trained or engineers who are good enough to build a base. Also, what is stopping the current govt from firing rockets, drop bombs or shoot artillery at your base once they know the location? And that satellite in space is one big target for anti-satellite weapons. Also, I read that you plan to have washing machines in the game? So do we have to micro manage the daily washing of clothes, drying and ironing? We'll need to organize stores and set up proper procedures to draw expendables, training equipment and serve meals. You will need to arrange for off-passes to give your soldiers a break now and then. And a public relations crew to handle the media who will no doubt brand you a terrorist.

Actually, I think it would benefit you if you spend some time in the army to see the insane amount of logistics that has to be handled in real life.

Realistically, a former government official who withdraw to the wilderness with loyal troops will become terrorists who use guerrilla tactics and buy arms off the black market. It is highly unlikely he will be able to build up from an abandoned warehouse building to an established country.

Quote:

Original post by Girsanov I don't think your idea is really realistic if realism is what you are going for. Where does the commander find funding to pay his troops, maintain the building, buy fuel/equipment and pay for the operation of that satellite? You will also need doctors and medicine to handle illnesses and give regular check ups. And dentists too. And the people you recruit have to be outlaws because a normal person with a family would rather join the army of the current govt instead of an outlaw army. Very tough to find outlaws who are medically trained or engineers who are good enough to build a base. Also, what is stopping the current govt from firing rockets, drop bombs or shoot artillery at your base once they know the location? And that satellite in space is one big target for anti-satellite weapons. Also, I read that you plan to have washing machines in the game? So do we have to micro manage the daily washing of clothes, drying and ironing? We'll need to organize stores and set up proper procedures to draw expendables, training equipment and serve meals. You will need to arrange for off-passes to give your soldiers a break now and then. And a public relations crew to handle the media who will no doubt brand you a terrorist. Actually, I think it would benefit you if you spend some time in the army to see the insane amount of logistics that has to be handled in real life. Realistically, a former government official who withdraw to the wilderness with loyal troops will become terrorists who use guerrilla tactics and buy arms off the black market. It is highly unlikely he will be able to build up from an abandoned warehouse building to an established country.

Hey, those wacky Cuban revolutionaries did it for real... anyway, a lot of actions are automated (in my plan). You fill the base up with stuff and the soldiers their manage it on their own.

Quote:

Original post by Booze Zombie Well, that is how I had imagined you selecting what your squad does with items. You'd have a "consume" button (for eating and drinking in the field), a "take ammo" button, a "take weapon/s" button, a "pick up items" button (when you select an item to pick up, you get a pop-up menu asking if you want to take all items of that type within a short distance or not), along with the basic "attack move", "crawl" "sneak" and other assorted options you would have.

I would suggest axing most of these. Have units automatically replenish their food, water and ammo from nearby supplies, but provide the option to have them pick up all available supplies for transport.

Quote:

The basic set of event that I have planned for the game is: You get trained as an officer (tutorial), you invade a town with 350 men armed with various weapons (a simplified battle against militia, to ease the player into the game) and the player gets a feel for handling moderately sized groups of soldiers and how to manage them, then his country is invaded, his forces decimated and he is forced to retreat with only 30 of his 350 men still alive and he spends the rest of the game trying to retake his country and repel a hostile force.

350 is a lot of units for an in-depth simulation. A lot of modern RTS have fairly tight unit caps, and with that amount, you will be pushing your minimum specs pretty high.

Quote:

Original post by swiftcoder Quote: Original post by Booze Zombie Well, that is how I had imagined you selecting what your squad does with items. You'd have a "consume" button (for eating and drinking in the field), a "take ammo" button, a "take weapon/s" button, a "pick up items" button (when you select an item to pick up, you get a pop-up menu asking if you want to take all items of that type within a short distance or not), along with the basic "attack move", "crawl" "sneak" and other assorted options you would have. I would suggest axing most of these. Have units automatically replenish their food, water and ammo from nearby supplies, but provide the option to have them pick up all available supplies for transport. Quote: The basic set of event that I have planned for the game is: You get trained as an officer (tutorial), you invade a town with 350 men armed with various weapons (a simplified battle against militia, to ease the player into the game) and the player gets a feel for handling moderately sized groups of soldiers and how to manage them, then his country is invaded, his forces decimated and he is forced to retreat with only 30 of his 350 men still alive and he spends the rest of the game trying to retake his country and repel a hostile force. 350 is a lot of units for an in-depth simulation. A lot of modern RTS have fairly tight unit caps, and with that amount, you will be pushing your minimum specs pretty high.

What's the normal cap on units for modern RTS games?

Quote:

Original post by Booze Zombie Quote: Original post by swiftcoder 350 is a lot of units for an in-depth simulation. A lot of modern RTS have fairly tight unit caps, and with that amount, you will be pushing your minimum specs pretty high. What's the normal cap on units for modern RTS games?

Warcraft 3 reduced the StarCraft supply limit of 200 back down to 70, and the Frozen Throne expansion pushed it back up to 90. However, since your basic fighting unit consumes 2 supply, it is rare for a player to field more then 50 units.

Halo Wars just launched with a unit cap of 40, though this may in part be due to limited resources on the 360.

These numbers may not be terribly representative however, as I haven't been keeping up with the RTS genre lately.

Quote:

Original post by swiftcoder Quote: Original post by Booze Zombie Quote: Original post by swiftcoder 350 is a lot of units for an in-depth simulation. A lot of modern RTS have fairly tight unit caps, and with that amount, you will be pushing your minimum specs pretty high. What's the normal cap on units for modern RTS games? Warcraft 3 reduced the StarCraft supply limit of 200 back down to 70, and the Frozen Throne expansion pushed it back up to 90. However, since your basic fighting unit consumes 2 supply, it is rare for a player to field more then 50 units. Halo Wars just launched with a unit cap of 40, though this may in part be due to limited resources on the 360. These numbers may not be terribly representative however, as I haven't been keeping up with the RTS genre lately.

The default unit cap in Supreme Commander is 500.

There are some good ideas here. I like the idea of starting out with nothing but a few soldiers and having to explore the map and find a suitable building to transform into a headquarters (Upgrades like barbwire, board up and sniper positions would be cool). I could see this working on a smaller scale, such as your the leader of one of several post apocalyptic gangs, scavaging and struggling to survive.
On the other hand, trying to create a 'realistic' RTS is not realistic. You'd have to factor in everything from moral to disease and lazy soldiers. I think it would become more like Sims 19: Sims go to war.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Dwarf fortress http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

It has even more things to micromanage than what has been described here :)