Mr Mystery
04-01-2014, 01:52 PM
Evening all.
Well, I've just had a customer service complaint ding-dong with my supermarket, and I'm in the mood for some hobby happiness to balance out the negatives of the day.
Missions, and designing them. That's what I want to do. See at the moment, we're somewhat spoilt for gaming choice. From Kill Team to Apocalypse, with numerous stops in between, we've never had choice like it. Stronghold Assault is a particular favourite of mine, and Escalation can be fun too, though I find it helps to be forewarned you'll be facing a honking great war machine or indomitable redoubt!
With all the expansions in mind, I want to do something new with mission design. I'm envisaging a map of a warzone, ala Planetary Empires, with each hexagon informing force selection for the attacker and defender.
Add in a hit of Dawn of War, Dark Crusade, and when conquered, the owning player can raise a Bastion or other defensive position permanently. Well, until some spoilsport comes along and blows it up in the process of taking that hex off you.
It's big, it's ambitious, and it's very, very me :p
Here's some opening thoughts for how things could work.....
1. As above, the owner of a Hexagon can spend some sort of campaign points to raise permanent fortifications on a given hex. The more campaign points sunk into it, the bigger the points allowance granted with which to fortify. This could include a garrison force (say along the lines of the usual allies allowance, so 1 HQ, 1-2 Troops, 0-1 Fast Attack (maybe none at all), 0-1 Elites, and 0-1 Heavy Support.
2. Super Heavies and other big stuff are allowed, but are either irreplaceable once lost, or will require severe campaign point expenditure to repair/replace. Points allowing you can field them whenever. The risk of losing them should be serious enough to curtail overly frequent usage. (say needs 1 campaign point per hundred (or part thereof) points the unit costs? So lose something worth 650 points, and you'll need 7 campaign points to ressurrect it?
3. Optional, but potentially good fun.....got no airfields left? Then no fliers (not counting Flying Monstrous Creatures on account of narrative and common sense) for you chum! Taking a sneak from the Red Alert C&C games, number of fliers available restricted by the number of airfields in some way. Player capitals will always contain an airfield, so invading forces can field Fliers without the need to go capture one! Lose your capital, and it's associated airfield goes with it. If you have no other airfields, then back to no fliers!
4. Fortified hexes can be attacked via a Kill Team game. Essentially, Kill Team v Garrison and any emplaced weapons (including the really big nasty stuff). Kill Team could be equipped with equipment of an advantageous nature via expenditure of Campaign Points. Kill Team raids can be launched prior to your main assault, so it's possible that the Kill Team might be able to take out say, the Macro Cannon prior to the main game, denying it's use to your opponent, or perhaps sabotaging the VSG, meaning your opponent must fight without their benefit. As long as the games are conducted one after the other (not necessarily same gaming session, but same campaign turn), no attempt to repair the defenses can be made until the main assault is resolved.
Now then....those campaign points. Yeah, pretty much just a concept at the moment! Perhaps one for every VP you score in a game in excess of your opponent score? So if I bag 4 VPs, and you bag 3 VPs, at the end of the game, I gain 1 campaign point, which can be spent on pretty things.
So, thoughts, critique, additions, that sort of thing please! Feel free to weigh in with ideas on possible mission parameters etc.
Well, I've just had a customer service complaint ding-dong with my supermarket, and I'm in the mood for some hobby happiness to balance out the negatives of the day.
Missions, and designing them. That's what I want to do. See at the moment, we're somewhat spoilt for gaming choice. From Kill Team to Apocalypse, with numerous stops in between, we've never had choice like it. Stronghold Assault is a particular favourite of mine, and Escalation can be fun too, though I find it helps to be forewarned you'll be facing a honking great war machine or indomitable redoubt!
With all the expansions in mind, I want to do something new with mission design. I'm envisaging a map of a warzone, ala Planetary Empires, with each hexagon informing force selection for the attacker and defender.
Add in a hit of Dawn of War, Dark Crusade, and when conquered, the owning player can raise a Bastion or other defensive position permanently. Well, until some spoilsport comes along and blows it up in the process of taking that hex off you.
It's big, it's ambitious, and it's very, very me :p
Here's some opening thoughts for how things could work.....
1. As above, the owner of a Hexagon can spend some sort of campaign points to raise permanent fortifications on a given hex. The more campaign points sunk into it, the bigger the points allowance granted with which to fortify. This could include a garrison force (say along the lines of the usual allies allowance, so 1 HQ, 1-2 Troops, 0-1 Fast Attack (maybe none at all), 0-1 Elites, and 0-1 Heavy Support.
2. Super Heavies and other big stuff are allowed, but are either irreplaceable once lost, or will require severe campaign point expenditure to repair/replace. Points allowing you can field them whenever. The risk of losing them should be serious enough to curtail overly frequent usage. (say needs 1 campaign point per hundred (or part thereof) points the unit costs? So lose something worth 650 points, and you'll need 7 campaign points to ressurrect it?
3. Optional, but potentially good fun.....got no airfields left? Then no fliers (not counting Flying Monstrous Creatures on account of narrative and common sense) for you chum! Taking a sneak from the Red Alert C&C games, number of fliers available restricted by the number of airfields in some way. Player capitals will always contain an airfield, so invading forces can field Fliers without the need to go capture one! Lose your capital, and it's associated airfield goes with it. If you have no other airfields, then back to no fliers!
4. Fortified hexes can be attacked via a Kill Team game. Essentially, Kill Team v Garrison and any emplaced weapons (including the really big nasty stuff). Kill Team could be equipped with equipment of an advantageous nature via expenditure of Campaign Points. Kill Team raids can be launched prior to your main assault, so it's possible that the Kill Team might be able to take out say, the Macro Cannon prior to the main game, denying it's use to your opponent, or perhaps sabotaging the VSG, meaning your opponent must fight without their benefit. As long as the games are conducted one after the other (not necessarily same gaming session, but same campaign turn), no attempt to repair the defenses can be made until the main assault is resolved.
Now then....those campaign points. Yeah, pretty much just a concept at the moment! Perhaps one for every VP you score in a game in excess of your opponent score? So if I bag 4 VPs, and you bag 3 VPs, at the end of the game, I gain 1 campaign point, which can be spent on pretty things.
So, thoughts, critique, additions, that sort of thing please! Feel free to weigh in with ideas on possible mission parameters etc.