Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.games:1060 rec.games.board:5421 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!clyde.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!jcoper From: jcoper@ccu.umanitoba.ca (D. Joseph Creighton) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games,rec.games.board Subject: Re: What would you like in a port from a boardgame? Message-ID: <1990Aug14.133704.4472@ccu.umanitoba.ca> Date: 14 Aug 90 13:37:04 GMT References: <106478@tiger.oxy.edu> <4c2f90e6.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada Lines: 137 In article <4c2f90e6.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> carlton@apollo.hp.com writes: >hammersslammers1@oxy.edu (David J. Harr) writes: >>I am considering doing a port to the Macintosh of a tactical simulation >>board game. What features would YOU like to see the computer handle for you >>in a game that was adapted from a board game? > >o First, I want to win. But, I don't want a cakewalk. There should > be a range of settings, from blow-em-away, to nigh-impossible, to > you-lose. Make the computer opponent smarter, not faster. This > isn't an arcade game. Agreed. Too many games either allow you to win no matter what the settings, or see you die at low level settings, since it was designed with a CRAY as a player... >o I want to know what the rules are. Sure, go ahead and make a > continuous CRT, instead of the more standard 1-1 2-1 3-1 columns. > Have the computer calculate morale, supply, and elan on the fly. > But, I want to know the algorithms its using. Hmmm... Here, knowing the algorithms for your *own* side is fine, since you are controlling strategy and placement of the units. But I think that the enemy algorithms should be 100% secretive. No real army knows the others' weakness *that* well. If you want an inside edge, make the game with a limited supply of scout-type units that can travel fast and far, but cannot defend themselves very well. Good for recon and advance scouting! >o I want a wide selection of starting unit types, with an option to > create my own. I like the Falcon weapons selection: You can have what's available at your supply depot. Sometimes the frustrations of war - even if you're winning - can make the game more of a challenge. >o I want to be able to make my own senarios. (So I can see how my > newly created unit types hold up against the standards...) Excellent. Also, maybe a training level, with dummy units and an evaluator at the end. >o They human will be observing the computer's tactics, for use in > later games. Clearly document any tactics the computer will use, but > the player can't. Describe what extra advantages the computer gets > at the harder skill levels. No, no, no. No documentation on computer tactics! You do that, and it's back to arcade action. Make the difficulty settings run with a lesser number of "tacticle" mistakes on the computer's part. Arcade: the enemy unit can barely coordinate itself. True-to-Life: you've got a tacticle genius on your tail! List all available human tactics, but leave the ememy behind that veil of mystery. Again, maybe some high-flying spy plane has found them and has possible strength evaluations, but no hard facts. >Second, comments on the user interface: > >o I want the counter to indicate the type of unit. This was my major > complaint with the Ancient Art of War. Although you could > differentiate your units with different formations, they all looked > the same in the senario map. Yes, some kind of letter for computer available formations. If you customize, maybe make the indicator a number (or vice versa). >o Yes, the Mac is a mouse machine. But I want complete keyboard > functionality. All frequently-used menu options should have keyboard > equivalents. Individual units should be selectable by cycling > through with the TAB or some other key. Agreed. >o Let me make graphic decisions, like whether I have a hex grid, or > want units to flash when killed. More like a grid on or off when looking at a map, and possible a notification from someone on a communication link to the destroyed unit: "Sir, unit x is gone!" or "We've lost unit x!" >o If you must copy protect, use a manual lookup. KeyDisks break. > Make the lookup interesting. Be prepared to have it broken by > someone with a disassembler, and the patch publicised. Hmmm... True, locked disks can be broken, but thhen again, I haven't found a single manual look-up format that wasn't either also easy to copy or a pain in the butt to do. Your choice. >o Don't use graphics that have no effect on game play. If there is no > terrain or combat difference between a river and a canal, have them > look the same. My experience with Falcon again suggests something akin to "scenery off" or a mode when the scenery is disabled to allow for better responce. Here, you could cut out all but simple vector graphics in a battle, since filling in of patterns and detail will only slow things down. Don't get rid of the scenery entirely - it could provide a necessary reference point to orient yourself. >o Allow easy saving and restoring. Natch! :) >o Consider using standard Mac PICT and " snd" resources, to allow > customization. I don't know what kind of customization you would need here. To go and change the images *in* the game itself would not be something I would see as necessary. Same for the sounds. I can't see why you would want, for example, a "boom" to go "quack." >o Let me scale the map from individual units, to grand overview. Perfect (as with Ancient Art of War at Sea). >o Two-player would be nice, but not necessary. Yes, but over either a network or a smiple Imagewriter cable through the phone ports. No two-people-on-one-machine format like you see with Strategy Conquest. >I'd be able to make more comments, but I'd need more information about >what you're looking for. Same here. But I'm sure you've just gotten an earload as it is. :) >Carl Hommel >carlton@apollo.hp.com ___--- +------__--~~~ _~--------------------------------------------------------+ | __-~~ _~ "You could feel the wind at your back in those days... | _-~ ~_ the sound of the sea beneath you...even if you take | ~-_ ~_ away the wind and the water, it's still the same. The | |~--_ ~_ ship is yours, you can feel her, and the stars are | | ~~--__ ~_ still there, Bones." - Kirk, The Ultimate Computer | +----------~~~---_~_-------------------------------------------------------+ | Hailing Frequencies Closed. "Captain" D. Joseph Creighton | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+