Here's my ideas for the RTS command aspect:
Equipment is assigned to the players. They mostlikely will not 'own' much of anything, it will all be provided.
The immediate problem I see with this is lack of customizability. One of the things that makes MMOGs successful (IMO) is the ability for Players to customize their characters as much as they want. This goes beyond simple changes like hair and eye color - they will want to modify their equipment loadout as much as possible. If Players aren't given that option, then they will all become mercs, and few if any will join the factions' militaries.
The reason Players like to customize their equipment is twofold: 1) They may be naturally good at something (e.g., sniping); and 2) The status symbol. If you see somebody walking around, toting the DeadEye sniper rifle (one of the best ones out there of both legal and black-market rifles), then you know that Player is
good to be able to afford it.
However, we have to mix this with the military-style control aspect. The Commander may want or need a particular kind of soldier on the battlefield. If we have everybody running around as snipers, then we're in trouble. Thus, here's what I would propose for the military-based aspect:
Let's say our Player trains as a sniper. When they finish the training, he (or she, of course) is given the basic sniper rifle and other entry-level equipment. The Player is then sent into the battlefield as a sniper with this basic equipment. As they gain experience (in general, not talking about Exp here) and skill (again, in general), they will gain access to higher-level equipment (e.g,. the DeadEye rifle) for their particular faction. They will essentially "own" this equipment - it will be in their inventory. However, they don't "buy" it, since it's part of the military's equipment. They simply choose what they want out of the equipment list they can access.
Now, when a Commander is given our Player, the Commander has to decide what to do with them. If they don't have any need for a sniper, then the Commander can put our Player to use in another area, though the Player is obiously not going to perform as well in the area, since it's outside of his expertise. If the Commander wants a sniper, but needs for the Player to use a different weapon, then the Commander can give the Player that weapon. If necessary, the Commander can override the clearance for the Player to give him access to a higher-level weapon. At the end of the battle, the Commander can make this change permanent, or can revoke it and place the Player back at their original equipment clearence. In any event, thought, the Commander should have a good reason for changing the Player's equipment loadout. If the Player is part of a particular squad, then the Commander might have to clear it with the Player's Squad Leader first, or something like that.
Alternately, the Commander could request certain soldier types for the coming battle, and they receive that exact set. If they don't request a sniper, then our Player gets assigned somewhere else. The Commander might alternately request certain squads, and receive all the soldiers in that particular squad.
As far as the AI is concerned, if the Commander is using an NPC soldier, then the NPC is given the default loadout for the current choice; the Commander can customize this equipment as much as is needed.
So how does this differ from the setup that Chris is proposing? Well, it differs in the following ways:
- Players can choose their loadout from the equipment available, based on faction and equipment clearance, rather than having it always be assigned by the current Commander.
- Commanders should stick with the Player's current loadout except in exceptional cases. If we can find some way to enforce this, all the better.
Now, resorces are another thing to think about.. having tones of money doesn't mean you have a ton of guns... you *could* if you buy them. What you outfit your people with will be dependant on what's available, and what can be bought. However, ammunition, guns, and other weapons aren't unlimited like in most RTS.
Agreed. However, the Commander might be able to mine resources from the current planet and refine them at the base. Then, s/he could take those refined resources and manufacture weapons on-site. If the Commander can't build a particular weapon (either due to lack of resources or due to lack of manufacturing capability - the plant can't build everything), then they can send for it.
One major difference in the two systems would be this: the military would require a lot more planning, since they can't just buy whatever they need. They have to manufacture it somewhere, either at their base or on another planet. Thus, the better they plan it out, the more stuff they have when the battle starts, rather than having to wait for the equipment to come from somewhere else. Furthermore, the supply line would be important as well - if conditions change, then the Commander needs to be able to send for more or different equipment and soldiers. Thus, space battles could play a tremendous role in a battle on the surface of a planet - if the Commander loses his supply line through space, then he's on his own until those lines re-open (or he loses the battle).
Mercs, on the other hand, depend more on money and buying equipment from suppliers. They have to plan, but their organizations are too small to really maintain manufacturing plants on multiple planets. Thus, they are useful in small situations, where they can buy equipment to suit their needs, and can do so readily and on-the-fly. There's nothing to say that the supplier couldn't be the military the merc is working with, or whoever else they're working for, but they are more concerned with buying stuff when situations change than with having to plan out the battle beforehand and keep supplies coming.
Anyways, those are my ideas for right now.
~Brian
