some ideas I have here: 1) When the game is produced, you could provide referances to books that are about the same war so people could read about the battle and get an idea of what the fbattle fields look like 2) It would be cool if the south one instead of the north and then have a quick story of how history was changed do to the outcome of the battle. 3) A subset of the game could be a one to one shooter and after you beet that you go up to commander. In this way you could build from easier to more advanced projects, keeping the end goal (a strategy based game in mind always). 4) I am not a good programmer, but a good coder. I would be willing to help out on story line, proof reading script, constructive building (organizing ideas in to a logical pattern). If you are interested, I would be willing to help out were ever I can. Contact me off list if you are interested.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Christopher Bartlett Sent: Monday, June 26, 2006 5:46 PM To: gamers-audyssey.org Subject: [Audyssey] Noodling a new game concept. I am going to start work on creating a tactical/strategic land battle simulation game that is accessible to the blind gaming community. I'm doing this for myself, and if others enjoy it, so much the better. Here are some initial thoughts and I'd-like-tos that should give the rest of you an idea of the sort of thing I'm considering, along with solicitations for ideas how to solve the major problems. 1. Scalability. I want the player to be able to operate at command levels from small units (platoons and companies) up through corps and army command. The game would be played as a series of scenarios featuring various levels of command, each of which would have different time and space scaling parameters. With the battle at Gettysburg as my first intended scenario pack, there could be scenarios for Meade and Lee as army commanders, Longstreet, Reynolds and Hancock among others as corps commanders who played significant parts in the battle, down to regimental scenarios, such as Chamberlain and the 20th Maine's defense of the Little Roundtop on the second day, or the battles across the Wheat Field. 2. Command&Control. There are many simulations that allow you to maneuver units around directly. What I'd like to create is something where the player issues orders to units, based on information reported to him/her, and then the game shows the results of the imperfect execution of the orders based on the unit's morale and effectiveness. (green units, even with high spirit are less effective than veteran units.) Different levels of complexity or skill levels could incorporate different amounts of variation from the expected order execution. 3. Fog of War. Information given to the commanders should be of varying quality dependent upon the measures he/she takes to gather it. At Gettysburg, Lee had less than his accustomed high quality intelligence about Meade's dispositions because JEB Stuart's cavalry was off joy-riding rather than performing their screening/intelligence function. There should be a premium on gathering tactical intelligence, and the commander who fails to do this should be punished when he/she guesses wrong. The skill levels modify how imperfect intelligence is. 4. Terrain effects. Here is my first significant conceptual problem and I'd welcome input. How does one convey terrain information audibly on a large scale? This is not simply putting a player into a three-dimensional soundscape, this is conveying details of a large map to the player so he/she may maneuver units around on it. How do I convey the shape of Meade's defensive line to the Confederate player? How do I convey the terrain that leads up to the line on Cemetery Ridge? 5. Scenario generation. I'd like to make it possible for players to contribute scenarios, complete with user-created maps, forces etc. My primary interest is Civil War, but others might be more interested in ancient battles or more modern ones. Before anyone gets overly excited, my programming skills are fifteen years out of date, and I never did any Windows programming. I haven't the faintest idea where to begin to learn all that stuff. I have the desire to learn and the will to put some time into this project, since I expect no one else will do it. I'd appreciate suggestions for resources/offers of encouragement/much patience. Christopher Bartlett _______________________________________________ Gamers mailing list .. [email protected] To unsubscribe send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can visit http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org to make any subscription changes via the web. _______________________________________________ Gamers mailing list .. [email protected] To unsubscribe send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can visit http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org to make any subscription changes via the web.
