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[Nachlader]

Imagine if you will, in 2015, me making piles of money after inventing the X. This X is a product that I produce hundreds of and make millions in profit. What to do with this startling quantity of cash? Fund an dream RTS game!

Without straying off the point, I get bored during lessons of maths and business studies at school and so I start to make ideas up in my head of a game. I get enough kicks out of a game where you have different stategies for different factions, simply send off some villies to mine this, build that, chop there then you just build a tank or cavarly army of 13 units to wander off to the enemy and beat him up til he loses by playing Empires. So I tried to think of 'out of the box' ideas.

Just how unorthodox are the ideas of warfare in games these days? The UK didn't beat the Nazis by rushing their villies with commandos, the Koreans didn't create monks to create a volcano to smash up the Chinese a bit (or is it the other way round?) and the Russians didn't use St. Basils to ressurect their troops which only cost like 1 gold to reproduce in seconds anyway. So I thought of realistic ideas, other ways to beat your enemy and play your game rather than beating them up a bit.

These ideas included a revised defence system (more than just a wall), a revised war machine (with 'personality' units and officers), a revised resources engine (resource businesses are privatised and money will be the only important resource left), espionage (infomation surpasses combat), historically accurate factions, the use of non-human units (robots and clones), nuclear and biological weapons (these would be planned to be hard to get), the use of elaborated military strategy (low on military? try guerilla warfare!) and the future, among other ideas.

For some reason I felt like doing a collague of ideas in a MS paint file. I'm doing these in volumes, the first one (below) contains Enochs (pronounced 'epics'), factions info and a starter idea on 'personality' differ each soldier of the same unit type.

Asteriks mark undecided parts.

Vol. 1



Enochs, Factions and basic idea for soldier detail.

*Gunpowder. This is only a contemporary name for the 17th century period as gunpowder doesn't really sum up the age in recogniseable name. Suggestions will help.
*GMD/KMT. These stand for Guomindang and Kuomintang, effectively they are the same thing, although I am not sure what is more recogniseable. Again suggestions please.

Vol. 2



Defence, espionage and their contradictions. (note, typo error found in the defence column where it should read '(where walls aren't necerssary)' instead of '(where walls are necerssary)' and in 'Radio' in sentry research. Where it says 'to same time' it should actually read 'to save time').

Vol. 3 to be shown soon.

[Angry Sheepdog]

Dude, these games take large teams of programmers many years to do. Its nice that you can think of this kind of stuff, but if you plan on making use of it, learn C++ and start making games. Of course you won't be able to make this game until several years but if you plan on doing this I'd suggest getting started right now.

[Nachlader]

Dude, these games take large teams of programmers many years to do. Its nice that you can think of this kind of stuff, but if you plan on making use of it, learn C++ and start making games. Of course you won't be able to make this game until several years but if you plan on doing this I'd suggest getting started right now.

That's why I made up a far, far away date. 2015. Also, I'm like most game creators, I simply write the ideas.

Anyway this is just total imagination. For now anyway...

[Ninja Jedi]

*Gunpowder. This is only a contemporary name for the 17th century period as gunpowder doesn't really sum up the age in recogniseable name. Suggestions will help.

Make the imperial age the 1600s and turn 1700s into the enlightenment or science age. Or Simply make the industrial age span 1700 - 1899.

[Nachlader]

Make the imperial age the 1600s and turn 1700s into the enlightenment or science age. Or Simply make the industrial age span 1700 - 1899.

Only two contradictions, 1. 'Imperial' is related to the 1700s because this was the century the empires of Europe expanded to colonisation abroad began to materialise (also Napolean led the French to Empire status just at the end of the century). 2. 'Industrial' is related only to the 1800s because the first proper use of steam started in the beginning of the 19th century.

Most philosophers that you can think of lived in some period ofthe 1600s, so 'Science' age or 'Philosopher' age (or 'Philosophy') might be good. However I do suppose that the colonisation of the Americas began in the 1600s so 'Imperial' may be swapped with 'Enlightenment' for the 1700s with 'Imp' going to the 1600s. Need more thinking.

Vol. 2. This looks at basic defence and espionage ideas. Next vol will be on detail of military, the devaluation of the common soldier.

[Angry Sheepdog]

Well its nice that you have a good imagination, but it would be a lot betting if you actually tried doing this. Maybe make a simple version of this game with only 2 ages and a couple units for each civ. You could work your way up from there.

[Nachlader]

Well its nice that you have a good imagination, but it would be a lot betting if you actually tried doing this. Maybe make a simple version of this game with only 2 ages and a couple units for each civ. You could work your way up from there.

I wouldn't know how to do that.

[Angry Sheepdog]

www.gamemaker.nl should get you started

[Nachlader]

It didn't mention codes so I'm already hankering myself to give this a go. Thanks Angry.

[Angry Sheepdog]

Yup, it's got a drag-and-drop interface so it's sorta like a "powerpoint" for games. It's got a very active forums which will help you if you get stuck. When posting a topic don't go overboard with smileys, give a descriptive title, and don't double-post. Don't be surprised if your topic does down to the 3rd page by the end of the day.

[Nachlader]

Right I've already done the first tutorial (I made 'Catch the Infidel' only with a picture of me instead of a clown in front of a bullet hole wall), will start on the next one soon. My ultimate aim is to create an isometric RTS.

Meanwhile, in my latest Vol (due next Wednesday at least) I have included a quiery on how to stop players from nuking each other out of the game after the Atomic Age. If you want a tidbit then I am simply just saying that I need suggestions on how to encourage a Cold War style nuclear deterence in MP games.

[Angry Sheepdog]

Hmmm. Try making nukes cost a lot more than the area they would be destroying, making people want to use them strategically instead of launching them 24/7. Or make them be inaccurate so sometimes they would hit nearby fields instead of cities. Just give them a major disability making it good to just own a lot but not fire them unless you need to.

Isometric can be hard, and so are RTSs. I suggest making a top-down RTS first, just to get started and an isometric shooter, and then combine them. It is easier that way, like splitting up the enemy army and fighting 1/2 first and the other 1/2 latter.

[Nachlader]

Hmmm. Try making nukes cost a lot more than the area they would be destroying, making people want to use them strategically instead of launching them 24/7. Or make them be inaccurate so sometimes they would hit nearby fields instead of cities. Just give them a major disability making it good to just own a lot but not fire them unless you need to.

I've been looking at more examples of other games who try to avoid this problem. EE2 has IBCMs that are not as powerful as the nukes in Empires (as well as a smaller yeild) however, these nukes fail to destroy halff of a Iron Age city centre (which is made of wood, evidently). So I think I more realistic approach to nuclear warfare is necerssary, of course with a MUCH smaller yield, but it has to be at least effective.

Isometric can be hard, and so are RTSs. I suggest making a top-down RTS first, just to get started and an isometric shooter, and then combine them. It is easier that way, like splitting up the enemy army and fighting 1/2 first and the other 1/2 latter.

I'm reading this after I found that the isosmetrical tutorial revealed itself to be a intermediate level. I'm going to have to learn all the easy ones first.

[Angry Sheepdog]

Yes, you might want to learn to make simple games first. Isometric and RTSs involve variables which newer users would not understand. Have you registered on the forums yet? They are quite helpful. Just don't release your first game, or second game, or even your third one to them. They have all been making games for a while now and are happy to have you in the forum, but their view is "if your game isn't good, then it doesn't need to be here". They are mainly helpful for help only, not constructive criticism.