Hi i really like the GSB and how it look, and how it is played.
As this game is really great it could also use different type of mission, than just elimination and survival.
My suggestion is to create Convoy escort mission, where should be difference between attacker and defender, Defender should construct special type ship “Transport”, in size similar to cruiser, with only support systems and relatively high weight, so it would be slow in any case.
Defender then place transports, and assign them ships for protection.
Transport would have order to get to opposite side of the battlefield.
Attacker would set up his ships on top and bottom of the screen, and its ships would have acces to a new order “attack transports”.
Victory would be calculated based on how many ships get to the safety or was destroyed.
A “standard” transport would be sufficient; then the mission just has an additional condition: Convoy Size (if you’re on the defending side anyway). And you’d need slightly more detailed conditions for victory, e.g.:
Defender: At least one transport (and the standard 10% of assault ships) escapes/survives attack, you are penalized for each transport that was destroyed.
Attacker: Standard victory conditions, you get a bonus for each transport that was destroyed (and/or a penalty for those that escaped?).
Yes, the standard transport could be enough, only problem i see that attacker could easily find best possible counter against transports, if the player could customize the transports a little, like balancing speed, shields and armour, it would prevent form attacker, from designing perfect transport hunters.
But yes the ships could be predefined
Another possible way is to include cargo bay module, which would fit into hard points of cruisers, or frigates. And victory could be calculated based on value of cargo bays transported.
And as for scoring, hard to say haw to best score points, it could largely depend on the playability.
How about a budget of transports you have to deploy, and two or three stock transport types? That could give you enough variability to customize your transport deployment without making things too wild.
This look like the easiest way to do it, ant to siple things out, the visual design could be same for all races, maybe transports could display the color asociated with the race, like federation blue, or order red.
this sounds like survival, only the player has to protect a particular ship as well.
in my humble opinion, it just sounds frustrating. I’ve been loath to ever escort mission i’ve ever played in any game, ever. Recently, Halo Wars captured my anger on the 4th mission, protecting the transports…that somehow blew up even with their health over half…
I am sorry I’m ranting. I just do not think escort missions are gratuitous enough.
you could alway have it so you are escorting a big capital ship thats a background image (im talking half-1/3 the screen) that you have to protect all the turrets (just kinda floting over the background image looking like there part of it) and the power genorators.
There is only one reason I haven’t already done this, and that is that there is a lot of work involved in adding (and testing and balacning) any new identifiable ship types. There are 3 (fighter, frigate, cruiser) and I’d have to add a new ‘objective ship’ category to allow missions like this to work. I’d also need some sort of code to check on when those ships had left the screen,which means a new game over condition etc.
It’s an obvious future possibility for the game, and something I’d love to do. I imagine vast hordes of missiles hurtling towards the convoy as the escorting ships frantically shoot them down with PD lasers
thats sounds great and is just the sort of stuff that will make and expand the game with a good storyline that revolve around identifyable mission types, rather than the generic, build ships defeat fleet x y z
Then i’m happy that you are interested, as more variability in mission types would by great.
Also the scenario could be modified, that the objective could be static piece which would have to be defended from enemy assault, sort like defend space station from attacking forces, that would leave out problem with ships leaving screen.
If these where made in a future game, the idea could be to have given quantity of goods/objects/persons to cross the screen. Then the player could build its own tranport.
Actually, it would not necessarily need a different type of ship. But rather some new types of equipment : Storage (or cabins), with all sorts of related equipement :
various scans for the enemy to know what the ship has in stock. They could have different penetration, range an speed of scan
Jammer to try to cover from the ennemies’ scans
This would allow different games strategies, such as a diplomatic transport : there is actually 1 person to transport. The game is to make that it will not be killed. You could either build super big transport, or lots of small one with good jammers so it is difficult for the ennemie to know which ship to attack.
The new orders would be for the faction trying to attack the convoy. What I see would be :
Scan ships
Kill ship with given type of good
I had thought too about “attack ships convoying that given ship”. However, it would be difficult without cheating (the computer knowing given by the other player). And I suppose that it could be done with existing orders
I can see some scenarion extansions in the direction, such as reaching a starbae : viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4472
