new mod idea = Real Time Wargame

based on games like Sudden Strike or Blitzkrieg

Information and discussion for custom maps and mods.
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bladum
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:57 pm

new mod idea = Real Time Wargame

Post by bladum »

Hi Folks,

I am trying to make real time war-game mod like Sudden Strike / Blitzkrieg games. Initial version of mod looks promising but i wonder if you guys would be interested in such unusual approach

Current progress of the mod:
- mod is based on RA but with use of TD units too
- most infa units have sight of 12-16 while most vehicles have sight of 4-6 to force combined arms
- units have smaller range of sight while moving
- most units have range of 5-15 with artillery up to 25
- infa is cheaper, more fragile and slower, usual hit by anything to soldier is crippled / death
- all weapons divided into AP / HE class. AP have high damage, small spread and must direct hit enemy to score damage.
- all units have inaccuracy, long range artillery even 8c0 at range of 28c0. Combined with above gives
- experience impact inaccuracy (up to 20% on Elite) and reload time (up to 50% on Elite)
- all vehicles use power to simulate fuel consumption, light tanks 1, heavy tanks 3, planes 2-5, heli 3-8, ships 4-10
- many new units, including deployable artillery (heavy machine gun, mortar, light & heavy AT gun, light & heavy field artillery, interceptor / fighter, tactical bomber, strategic bomber)
- fuly featured air dogfight including guarding bomber with fighters. Tactical bombers + tanks are critical for blitzkrieg tactics. Its especial cool if compared minor difference between planes from sides (spitfire vs yak vs fockewulf). Thanks openRA engine !!
- all factions have access to all units, but they have their own unique version (standard heavy tank and axis soviet tank)
- game contains 3 factions: axis, allies and soviets. Special faction are neutrals that contains all standard units and is basicaly used for all minor countries like Spain or Poland. For example USA have strategic bomber based on B29, expensive with MG on boards to fight enemy planes.
- technology tree like upgrade system from Dune2000. Technology structure is expensive to build in $, expensive to maintain in power and technology cost little $ but long time (aprox 3 minutes per tech). Aprox 30 techs are available.
- all vehicles leaves trunks, waiting for next release to allow full plane trunks and ships hulls too
- special Europe map designed for WW2 mod. Quite large but 4 factions (US / France / UK as allies, Germany and minors as axis, and soviets as ... soviets).
- supply truck removed, now VIP soldier have same usage. Supply truck image used for Transporter. Basically mechanized warfare is critical for success as with many towed new units (artillery e.g)
- structures are slower to build, more expensive but harder to kill as most buildings on Europe map is already placed. Its critical for USA now to sent supplied to allies via transporters, as they cannot build their building on Europe. Same for soviets, they have some time to build up their ecomony before axis will get them. Axis on the other hand are forced for conquer from the start.
- terrain change speed of unit dramatically, this is especial important for wheeled vehicles, difference between road and rough is 125% to 25%.
- ability to place roads to create supply lines with reinforcements (as map is bigger there fore faster supplies wins)
- cannot use auto repair, engineer is used for repair buildings, mechanic for vehicles and medic for soldier. Any soldier can capture building but must be damaged first.
- all thief, spy features merged into one special unit. As europe map is big its more important to control front line so espionage actions are more important then usual.
- new officer infantry unit with huge range of sight like in original Sudden strike game
- defensive structures need soldier inside to be operational. Pillbox is for 4 people and turret is rather shore battery.
- multilevel Armour and penetration system. Rifle cannot penetrate anything more then 20mm Armour, while 88mm AT Gun can kill light tank with one shot... still need to hit it first.
- deployable guns are fragile, slow, cheap but powerful. They are best for defenses and with use of trucks can be moved as offensive to, but its very micro.
- naval warfare redesigned: destroyer, cruiser, battleship, submarine, transporter, carrier (to repair and reload both heli and planes), missile sub
- all units have their weapons fired with projectile visible and their speed is related to actual bullet speed. So no more instant damage.
- planes moves slower once damaged, ships will stop once damaged enough, vehicles too.
- all larger units, bigger then infantry blocks projectiles for further realism
- Shipyard build all ships, and sub pen is renamed as Dry Dock to repair naval units in same fashion as service depot for land units.
- all units once killed have special anti morale spread type damage, that forces infantry to prone once something is killed nearby. This is to simulate suppression fire from Machine Guns which works completely different in this mod.
- infa proning gives 50% reduction to speed and damage taken, but also increase of accuracy. Would be nice to have option to force soldier to prone for better protection / accuracy but reduced speed. Keep in mind that
- removed GAP GENERATOR, now its radar jammer + missile jammer,
- original Radar jammer change into command car, special car with large range of sight that boost all units nearby by 1 level of experience (effect of close HQ)
- most post war techs are removed. No Chrono tank but instead there are partisants which may be teleported ONCE on the enemy land.
- no super weapons, standard units are used instead. For example there is spy plane that can be build instead of super weapon spyPlane. Same with transport plane that can take paratroopers and drop them somewhere. Chinook still exist but its vertical speed is limited so its rather used to transport troops between own bases not on enemy land.
- some tanks have big gun to kill another tanks, some have medium gun + small MG, some have universal small caliber gun.
- in general all units have their turret rotation and hull rotation speeds reduce to somehow simulate lack of front / back armour.
- high experienced units are killers now. Elite Rifleman can work as Recruit Sniper. Elite AT Gun can kill many tanks due to high reload and accuracy. Experience level does not impact speed, damage neither hit points of units.

This is more or less concept. There many smaller features not mentioned here.

Please let me know if such approach to make a openRA mod would find a good ground on the forum :)

PS: openRA engine is better to make Sudden Strike like game then actually Sudden Strike it self.

Regards
Tom

flamewh33l
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2016 4:54 pm
Location: Chester, England

concerns

Post by flamewh33l »

hi Bladum,

this all looks promising, and if works out well i'm sure it'll be to people's interest; but that is a lot of promises that you've pretty much have made now and must keep to it, and with all of that i worry that it may not live up to the expectations of players who mod.

if all goes well and you can keep to everything 'pen and paper' then my concern can be overlooked, but what you seem to be asking for may come in custom code (meaning you'll have to make your own 'bleed'), or just isn't implemented into the engine as of yet (of course: if you have your own bleed you can phaff about with the .DLL files at any time but that's more download time for another ORA and then your mod); if you can overcome that: it should be a singe

well, i give you good luck for this, as that's a lot to fore fill in one mod; if it goes well, i'd be happy to test it out with you.

bladum
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:57 pm

Post by bladum »

Hello,

I cannot publish mod at the moment as still some things are not working properly but basically most of features are already implemented.

I dont want to use custom code, all is done on vanila engine.

Purpose of this post was to find if non RTS approach would be likable on the community. Current gameplay is considerable different then classic RA gameplay. Game is much more slowpaced and tactical. On the other hand map is bigger and force player to control many checkpoints and create frontline. Its so different that some may even say its heresy :)

Tom

camundahl
Posts: 154
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:36 am
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas

Post by camundahl »

Likeable by me for sure!

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KOYK_GR
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:46 pm

Post by KOYK_GR »

Any thing that is sudden strike related is interesting to me! in fact it was on my plans to try make it in the future if no one would. not that i could do a professional work, sudden strike mod or "clone" will demand skill.So please do it!!!! and if you manage to add units from the original game even better! (i think is a freeware now? not sure)

NOTE openra can generate shroud but not fog of war, in sudden strike you could use trees to hide your units because of the fog of war (trees blocking line of view) i think you can modify the shroud to work like fog of war with the palettes and staff, and have trees and other objects generate it like the gap generator. but it wont be the same any way because you will be able to still see behind the object.

Mike_
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:44 pm

Post by Mike_ »

Hi all !
Some time ago i planned to create slow and strategic mod:
http://www.sleipnirstuff.com/forum/view ... torder=asc

But first working test shwoed me, that it is impossible to do it using only LUA scripts and traits, without changing C# code of the engine.

So i droped this mod and now i'm crateing (with other programmer) similar turn based startegy ))) on the web & mobile devices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i64lQUKU5qQ
Working title is "HexAlert" )))


About you mod - many years ago i played Sudden Strike 2. The only idea i had - how good it would be to have automatically acting big unit groups. Player must only give rare orders for big group - where to defend or attack. All other decisions must resolve group ai. Player not needed to control each tank or soldier. No microcontrol - only strategic decisions for big groups of units.

At example, artillery must automatically keep in the rear positions of its army group and automatically find best targets. One part of army group must not stand still when other part is engaged in combat.

OpenRa graphic style and core engine is very good for wargame mod like this.
This wargame mod can be very popular for people who are tired of microcontrol in rts.
But mod like this needs very good C# programmer to extend game engine to add good group ai.
I don’t think any good programmer will spend his time in community project like OpenRa for free (((

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Graion Dilach
Posts: 277
Joined: Fri May 15, 2015 5:57 pm

Post by Graion Dilach »

@Mike_: the engine has evolved a lot since your impression, most of the stuff what OP listed is possible to do these days without requiring to do any engine changes- this even includes what you would have listed (and tbh, you weren't really trying to find a middle ground, what you had was a demand list back then.).

@bladum: If you give this a go, I'm on the ORA Discord these adys to give people ideas how to achieve these kind of stuff. Nolt or MustaphaTR can also help, I think.
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AS Discord server: https://discord.gg/7aM7Hm2

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