Just thought I'd post a gaming idea I came up with off the top of my head. Although, I suppose it isn't really my own thoughts since it's based off of games already made, but...well, here we go.
It'll be a combination of three civilization-building games: the Civilization series (duh), Total War series, and Mount & Blade. I'll list the elements taken from each below this.
Civilization: This game has a lot of potential to shine for most RTS fans, but for people like me who enjoy the combat just as much as the world-building, it can be a little slow and monotonous. So, my idea is to take only a portion of it, the most important and elaborate part: The building up of an economically viable empire. Where you can buy upgrades for your cities, your troops, and to expand on 'inventing' things by divvying up your resources towards Human Resources, Military, and Science (Citizen Happiness/Security, Armed forces, and inventions respectively).
Total War: This game's strategy battles are unbelievably intense and a real workout for any strategist's mind so long as people don't follow the 'broken' strategies, such as Shock & Awe and Shot'n'Pike. What would be taken from this game would be just that, the fact that you can order a massive number of troops and tell them what to do; set up in special formations, tell them to be aggressive or passive, whether or not to run or stand your ground when under fire, when to charge, and so on. Not to mention the use and strategy revolving around siege equipment, fortress assaults, and territory control via capturing a settlement.
Mount&Blade: The thing I like most about this game is that, while the strategy element is fairly light, what makes this game shine is the fact that you can command your troops to do what you want while you're right there with them in the middle of the fray. You can be a commander, sitting back and letting your troops duke it out for you, or the heroic officer who prefers to be right with his men in the middle of a firefight, dishing it out just as much as his troops. Being able to cut and get right into the chaos as the force's commander would be absolutely awesome, especially when you consider the scale of battles that Total War is famous for. It could take a fight that's especially difficult, where the odds are against you...and turn them around in your favor, perhaps. And of course your commanders will level up via this method, where-upon you will be able to give them special skills and abilities to help them (and in turn, you) in combat.
So, yes, combining these three elements I think would be a good game, if the people who make it take their time and don't have a time-constraint so that they are forced to rush everything. If they rush it, it'll just come out as a mishmash of horrible gameplay elements that look hashed together, and that's not what I'd like to see. The closest I've come to playing a game like this was Kingdom Under Fire, and that game was an absolute blast. But, this sort of game would be like taking that...and adding an overworld, Empire building element to it. I like the fact that I can make my own viable empire, and yet when I feel like getting down and dirty with some actual combat, I can look around for a territory battle that involves one of my armies and jump right into the fray, then jump out again if I feel like it.
The combat would function much like a trio of working elements. You can have the overworld map, where you let the AI control your troops if you don't feel like getting into the battle or it's one-sided in your favor....or hopeless, against you. Or, you can zoom in a bit more and take control of your forces in Total War style, directing platoons to do your bidding, telling them what to do and so on. Then you can also jump into the fray itself as the force's commander, ordering your troops directly for more pinpoint accuracy and maneuvers. The nice thing about this is, you can pause and swap between all three perspective modes at any one time, giving you an unbelievable amount of strategical flexibility when it comes to the actual battles unfolding.
Empire Building will be much like it is in Civilization: You economically stabilize each and every city, town, or village under your control, you make your scientists research an upgrade that can be anything from the use of a new form of Alphabet, or a new form of government (just like in the Civilization games). You can also tell them to enter a more war-time research, where they will automatically research things more directed towards warfare, discovering ways to upgrade your weapons or discover new ones entirely. You will advance through different ages, just as many as in, say...Empire Earth. Where the combat, theme, music, and setting will evolve from a primitive stone age, to the medieval times, renaissance, modern times, and futuristic combat...with all the little stepping stones along the way, of course. You will pick a real-life civilization that's been established, and even have the option of making your own, allowing you to customize the ethnicity, troop style, national flag and colors, and architecture design of your faction.
Will there be multi-player? Doubtful beyond just quick-match battles. The Empire building will be turn-based, allowing you to take turns with the AI as to what you do during your turn. So, multi-player wouldn't be much fun if everyone is forced to twiddle their thumbs while everyone takes their own turn, would it? ...unless each turn was put on a timer, but that wouldn't be fun for those who like to nitpick at their civilization to make it perfect, in their eyes.
This is, what you might say, my dream game. Yes, I realize it's one of those tl;dr dealies, but...meh. ._. Something I'd be up for days on end playing, just to get that 'maybe after this...' thing done. If you guys wanna critique or comment on it, or heck, even make up your own game ideas, and post them on this thread, go right ahead! It's what I made it for.
It'll be a combination of three civilization-building games: the Civilization series (duh), Total War series, and Mount & Blade. I'll list the elements taken from each below this.
Civilization: This game has a lot of potential to shine for most RTS fans, but for people like me who enjoy the combat just as much as the world-building, it can be a little slow and monotonous. So, my idea is to take only a portion of it, the most important and elaborate part: The building up of an economically viable empire. Where you can buy upgrades for your cities, your troops, and to expand on 'inventing' things by divvying up your resources towards Human Resources, Military, and Science (Citizen Happiness/Security, Armed forces, and inventions respectively).
Total War: This game's strategy battles are unbelievably intense and a real workout for any strategist's mind so long as people don't follow the 'broken' strategies, such as Shock & Awe and Shot'n'Pike. What would be taken from this game would be just that, the fact that you can order a massive number of troops and tell them what to do; set up in special formations, tell them to be aggressive or passive, whether or not to run or stand your ground when under fire, when to charge, and so on. Not to mention the use and strategy revolving around siege equipment, fortress assaults, and territory control via capturing a settlement.
Mount&Blade: The thing I like most about this game is that, while the strategy element is fairly light, what makes this game shine is the fact that you can command your troops to do what you want while you're right there with them in the middle of the fray. You can be a commander, sitting back and letting your troops duke it out for you, or the heroic officer who prefers to be right with his men in the middle of a firefight, dishing it out just as much as his troops. Being able to cut and get right into the chaos as the force's commander would be absolutely awesome, especially when you consider the scale of battles that Total War is famous for. It could take a fight that's especially difficult, where the odds are against you...and turn them around in your favor, perhaps. And of course your commanders will level up via this method, where-upon you will be able to give them special skills and abilities to help them (and in turn, you) in combat.
So, yes, combining these three elements I think would be a good game, if the people who make it take their time and don't have a time-constraint so that they are forced to rush everything. If they rush it, it'll just come out as a mishmash of horrible gameplay elements that look hashed together, and that's not what I'd like to see. The closest I've come to playing a game like this was Kingdom Under Fire, and that game was an absolute blast. But, this sort of game would be like taking that...and adding an overworld, Empire building element to it. I like the fact that I can make my own viable empire, and yet when I feel like getting down and dirty with some actual combat, I can look around for a territory battle that involves one of my armies and jump right into the fray, then jump out again if I feel like it.
The combat would function much like a trio of working elements. You can have the overworld map, where you let the AI control your troops if you don't feel like getting into the battle or it's one-sided in your favor....or hopeless, against you. Or, you can zoom in a bit more and take control of your forces in Total War style, directing platoons to do your bidding, telling them what to do and so on. Then you can also jump into the fray itself as the force's commander, ordering your troops directly for more pinpoint accuracy and maneuvers. The nice thing about this is, you can pause and swap between all three perspective modes at any one time, giving you an unbelievable amount of strategical flexibility when it comes to the actual battles unfolding.
Empire Building will be much like it is in Civilization: You economically stabilize each and every city, town, or village under your control, you make your scientists research an upgrade that can be anything from the use of a new form of Alphabet, or a new form of government (just like in the Civilization games). You can also tell them to enter a more war-time research, where they will automatically research things more directed towards warfare, discovering ways to upgrade your weapons or discover new ones entirely. You will advance through different ages, just as many as in, say...Empire Earth. Where the combat, theme, music, and setting will evolve from a primitive stone age, to the medieval times, renaissance, modern times, and futuristic combat...with all the little stepping stones along the way, of course. You will pick a real-life civilization that's been established, and even have the option of making your own, allowing you to customize the ethnicity, troop style, national flag and colors, and architecture design of your faction.
Will there be multi-player? Doubtful beyond just quick-match battles. The Empire building will be turn-based, allowing you to take turns with the AI as to what you do during your turn. So, multi-player wouldn't be much fun if everyone is forced to twiddle their thumbs while everyone takes their own turn, would it? ...unless each turn was put on a timer, but that wouldn't be fun for those who like to nitpick at their civilization to make it perfect, in their eyes.
This is, what you might say, my dream game. Yes, I realize it's one of those tl;dr dealies, but...meh. ._. Something I'd be up for days on end playing, just to get that 'maybe after this...' thing done. If you guys wanna critique or comment on it, or heck, even make up your own game ideas, and post them on this thread, go right ahead! It's what I made it for.
