Re: Campaign Story

[Dave Fancella <davidfancella@davefancella.com>]

On Sunday 15 August 2004 01:33 pm, Jens Granseuer wrote:
> I like it. But I'm not quite sure how you intend the setbacks to look like.
> Do the Nexians really lose a map (if so, the campaign system doesn't
> support that, yet) or do they win the map, but the greater story later
> tells them that this battle wasn't that important after all and the Empire
> made advances on a different battlefield?

Hmm, not sure about the setbacks, but you probably don't want to have the 
story later on tell the player that battle wasn't important after all.  ;)  
Better to have the player start the map knowing what he's up against then 
tell him later on "Oh yeah, that map you did such a job on?  Doesn't matter 
at all, don't know why you even played it".  ;)

I'm not really sure how to make setbacks happen for a player that has to 
literally win each map to play the next.  On the other hand, allowing for one 
side or the other to win each map either takes us back into branching 
campaign stories, or finds us with some maps that just plain don't make sense 
in the story.

So, I don't have an easy resolution for this right now.  ;)  Lemme drink some 
tea and smoke a few cigarettes first... ;)

Dave

> As for units, I'd say no aircraft until act 3 (or maybe the end of act 2),
> and few heavy units (artillery, heavy tanks, AA guns, trains) until about
> the same time, and preferably only in the main body. Factories should not
> be available until after act 3. Those restrictions mainly apply to FNA, of
> course.
>
> I'd place Marcus' map around the end of act 2. The intel obtained from the
> general could result in 1) aircraft and 2) a cunning plan to outflank the
> corridor (for which the Sarph rift seems to be a natural choice).
> Omyar Gorge is probably somewhere near the end of act 3, then.
>
> > Also, how many maps do you guys want in this
> > thing?  I've written for 3+ maps per act, making 15+ maps total.  There
> > aren't even that many maps in the game right now!  ;)
>
> I was hoping for about the same number of maps. Reasoning is that once we
> have a proper storyline established this will allow us to churn out the
> corresponding maps much faster. We'll see how much of that is true.
>
> Jens

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