Sim Inspired Suggestions

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OddjobXL

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I've never played a game that pulled off mounted combat so well (as far as I know - not much of an equestrian in real life). One constant analogy that occurs to me is dogfighting in a flight sim. Constantly moving, circling, trying to hit a cornering speed in a turn, speeding off to regain momentum so as not to "stall", looking for altitude to build up potential energy that can be spent in a damage dealing charge downhill elsewhere (zoom and boom), keeping an eye on squadronmates and helping them out when they get in a jam, and I even recall reading an article that refered to two missile armed craft flying towards each other as jousting because the velocity (and relative attitude towards the ground thus gravity) would impart into the launched weapon giving the faster plane a faster travelling missile.

Maybe that's why I'm inordinately hooked here. Because however original the gameplay is, and it is, it's also very familiar to me.

When I read in the Suggestions forums folks talking about grouping units under heroic NPCs, giving them standards and seperate commands (within or seperate from one's own army), that also rings true. You'd do the same thing in flight sims with dynamic campaigns. Organize your flights, assign leaders and wingmen, put together your strike package which might have different points of origin and rendezvous.

One thing that helps bring the roleplaying aspect of this to life in a flight sim (though I doubt many simmers think of it in these terms) is ambient radio chatter. You get a sense of things going on all around you and hear the stress, excitement and panic in the voices of other NPC pilots. While this isn't so practical in a strategic sense for M&B I wonder if, along with others suggestions of incorporating banners and livery for sub-units, one couldn't use hunting horns or the like to sound commands and indicate what changing orders where going on for your subunits (if they're incorporated) as well as the enemy. Also warcries, chants, taunts (not necessarily intelligible but with some intent in the tone), or shouts as the enemy is spotted would bring a bit more aural drama into things.

Another aspect of one sim in particular, Red Baron 3D (also known as Red Baron II), was the inclusion of named aces and named enemy squadrons in uniquely painted up aircraft. They'd be going about their business on patrol or escorting or attacking targets just like more generic units. But over time you'd certainly develop feelings about them and a sense of identity as to who they were whether friends or foes. If The Flying Circus showed up you'd have a much different feeling than if it was the local boys in their outdated machines. I wonder how possible it would be to do that in M&B. Generate recurring, within a particular game, NPC leaders with their own coats of arms and forces similarly attired.

This creates a story potential around rivalries and revenge which could be furthered with other elements.
 
Yes, there are many parallels that can be drawn. I've suggested many a time that the command system be overhauled into something resembling the one found in IL-2 Sturmovik, with a tiered number system (press '1' for infantry only, then '1' again to tell infantry to hold position, etc).

If we take the best from all sorts of games then we can't go wrong. :razz:
 
I hadn't thought about an analogy with flight sims before. It's certainly an interesting idea. And red baron was one of my favorite games too.

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions.
 
You're welcome. It's really a bad habit of mine. I can't shut up when I'm excited about an idea. Thanks for giving us such a fun game to play around with. :smile:
 
I really like this idea, despite being difficult to perhaps realize, it would add in that 'personal' element to the game.


I'd like to see it :grin:
 
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