DSL_Aus wrote: Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:42 am
Hi Jim,
Been a huge fan of C&C and Dune II, still have the original game cds (except they don't work anymore), such an amazing time for RTS games. But when EA took over, it just felt like RTS games died right then and there.
I'll try and look at the whole upcoming project from a top-level perspective and give you some advice on the development of the remasters.
Stick to the story:
• The original story should be kept the same as much as possible.
• If you're going to add more to the story, you need to make sure it's memorable, with a good balance of serious and comedic. Just don't go the Marvel or Destiny 2 route of cringe comedy.
No political or moral agendas:
• We don't need gender/race issues or political likeness to the current real world.
• We don't need any kind of sexual preference and/or orientation in any way part of the story.
• My reasoning is that these do not add to the "fun" of the game's experience, it just creates
controversy and problems for your game. Make the game's focus about entertaining the player,
you do not have to be "deep" to make your game memorable.
Keep it simple (game mechanics):
• Economy:
- Keep the whole ore mining converting to money system; we don't need multiple types of ore or multiple types of resources to build things.
- Electricity powering buildings and defenses should also be kept the same, we shouldn't need multiple ways to power certain buildings.
- In short, the economy needs to be as simple as possible so the player can focus on the battle (unit/object placement, scout, defense, attack etc.)
- Don't get me wrong, base building is still EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, but I just want to make sure after all the feedback from C&C 4 that you guys don't go in the complete opposite direction and make a Civilzation game.
• Combat:
- Don't go the Starcraft route and give us units with loads of different abilities.
- We don't need any kind of scissors, paper, rock mechanics; each unit should have it's purpose.
- The shoot and move tactic should still be a viable strategy to do damage and avoid damage.
- Attacking one enemy at a time to maximize damage output should still be a viable strategy.
- Don't have some system where my attack orders are overridden because a unit wants to attack the closest enemy instead. I want full control of my units.
- Ensure the maps/terrain and units available will enable players to pull off common tactics such as flanking, pincers and ambushes.
- Make sure unit limit is not too low, we want to be able to have large vast armies if we want to. Perhaps for performance reasons you can make that limit scale to how many players are in that particular map. When a player is defeated, that limit increases.
- Try to avoid making certain units extremely powerful where they have insanely long range (cruisers) or a lot of armor/HP (mammoth tanks).
• Difficulty (AI):
- Don't make it a kids game, make it difficult, push the boundaries of the AI so they don't seem so robotic and predictable.
- However do also try to keep the old mechanics of how the AI reacts to attacks, they're great tools for victory. For example attacking an ore mining truck is a great way of luring out enemy units when the AI is turtling.
• Game Modes:
- Would love to play the campaign with a friend, a co-op mode? I know it's a stretch but it would be great for less experienced players too.
- PvP multiplayer is great and all, but balancing can be a pain and I really don't want you guys spending all your time/resources focusing on it. Please focus more on the Campaign and AI.
- Balance the PvP after release based on player feedback and make it clear that's what you're doing for transparency.
Music:
• Keep the original songs in the game, but don't set them as the default music, have them as an option.
• Make remixes/remasters of the original songs, or just some of the more memorable ones.
• I know you have the great Frank Klepacki so I'm sure he'll come up with some great music, but please tell him to not focus on making anything too new age - try to stick to the old genre and style as much as possible.
Quality Assurance:
• Test test test test test! I can't say this enough. Players notice when you skip your QA testing or hire people who have no clue what they're doing.
• Optimization is a HUGE deal - if it's not running at peak performance at launch, you're sales are going to tank day one.
As a final note, try to remember, you are not marketing your game to the new generation. You're marketing it to the old. This may sound silly from a business perspective, but try to understand, if you appease the experienced older generation, they're going to give it a lot of attention and good reviews. That will give it all the marketing it needs to get the younger generations to buy it and give it a go. Don't do the opposite and market the game to a younger generation, the older generation won't touch it and that is a huge chunk of your C&C fan base you can't afford to lose.
Thanks for reading and good luck!
