BFC - BattleField Chess

[kobayashi]

I am to have another scenario project after all, thanks to the thread by captain lo-rez. Its going to be a completely generic scenario base-pack for two player PBEM. There aren't going to be any specific units or countries and the objective will be to overrun the enemy HQ. There won't be cities, research or building of units either.

Features:

there will be a control panel where you can trigger additional reinforcements. These will be set off to one side and consist of a few cities. The cities will each have one 'trigger' unit (a la merchant in TRON) which can kill 'button' units which appear next to the cities at certain turn increments. Obviously the longer you wait the more goodies the later button provide.

There will be two sets of rules. The intial set is for setting up the game. Units will have very high movement and this will allow you to place them in their starting positions. After both sides have done this, the actual rules file will be used.

After the Map size is defined, players can remake the map in any fashion they like and play different maps as long as the control panel part is left alone. They can also change the goodies which arrive from triggering buttons to give variations for maps.

p.s. does anyone know how big the unit shield can get?

 

[Cleveland]

Sounds quite interesting...

 

[Morten Blaabjerg]

Sounds very strange...

 

[kobayashi]

I'm trying to make a scenario where each side has the same forces, something like this (blue units are actual units in the game)...

 

[EmuGod]

Are you still creating this scenario, kobayashi?

 

[Noldodan]

all I can say is "GO KOBA!"

 

[kobayashi]

Originally posted by EmuGod
Are you still creating this scenario, kobayashi?

I am sorta giving up since nobody seemed to like (or even understand) the idea.

 

[The ANZAC]

I'd be interested, and I think I mostly understand what you are saying.

Just on the units: how come you are choosing different sized detachments? ie regiments and batallions

 

[kobayashi]

Unlike the smaller formations, there is no fixed rule for regiments as far as I know. Some regiments consist of only 1 batallion while others consist of 2 or 3. In my case, regiments are just oversized or elite battalions which are more powerful than the standard batallions.

 

[kobayashi]

Everything is going to be lo-res to get the right feel. Besides every unit being a rectangle with some markings, grass is just going to be plain green tiles, mountain a triangle and rivers a blue line etc. Maybe I'll have special terrain to add a compass and scale etc.

Still want me to make it?

 

[The ANZAC]

I'd be interested in it. And nothing like it has been made, so It'll be very unique.

 

[EmuGod]

Ya it would be. If you want some inspiration, try "The Operational Art of War" by Talonsoft. There's a demo of it on download.com of the Korean War. I think I understood that you are creating a Civ2 version of that style of gaming.

 

[kobayashi]

just checking on opinions

1. If the terrain was monochrome (either shades of grey or brown) with the units in full colour, would that make it more like a situation map at some faraway HQ? Maybe I can use bits of aeiral photos as the background. There will be AI cities in the right odd-even coordinates to give place names (in colour) like ABC plains or Hill 123.

2. I'm almost done with the first map. So far terrain I have are

water (i.e. ocean = river and lakes)
plains
forest
built-up area (this is actually using the default forest to give each town/city a different look)
hill
mountain
beach
marsh
farms

there is room for one more type....???

3. What about the idea of 'Queening'. When you break through to the opposite edge, you will be rewarded with bonus units. This will help eliminate stalemate situations where both sides don't have enough offensive units to capture the enemy division HQ.

4. Should I make the same type of units of either side occupy different unit slots? This will allow them to have different colours. Or make units from the same arm the same colour. Black with silver lines for armour, grey with black lines for motorised and olive with gold lines for infantry, blue with white lines for support etc.

5. What about making the tile borders permanently black? This will give a map grid and maybe I can shape them a bit to make them octogonal instead of diamond shaped.

 

[kobayashi]

what about these units?

Tank Destroyers, Infantry, Tank (Battalion), APC Infantry, SP AA
AT Guns, Motor Infantry, Heli Cavalry, SP Artillery, Gun Emplacement
Marines, LST, Paras, Scout Coy, Commandoes
Engineers, Minefield, Artillery, Arty Ammo, Tank (Regiment)
x, x, Div HQ, Ground support Aviation, Strategic Aviation.

 

[CivPartisan]

Very interesting concept Koby! I'm glad you are working on this. I was wondering what you were going to use for the people.gif? Are they going to be more like the heads of chess pieces? Or maybe it can serve another purpose since I am thinking that there would be no cities-

JV
Captain of the Starship "Civilize"

 

[EmuGod]

I suggest making them different but at the same time still creating the most number of units possible. The term is promotion, not queeneing but that would be a good idea. It's possible to win in chess with only a rook and a king left over so maybe pieces like that in your BFC should have certain advantages in order to allow them to be used when all the others are gone just like in real chess.

 

[kobayashi]

I am going ahead full steam on this one. As emu suggests, both sides will occupy different unit slots. All the unit graphics are done and one side is red while the other side is blue. Any fortified unit will simply have its border changed to red.

The first cut of the terrain is done too. The grassland is plain green while hillls are the same green but with concentric circles indicating altitude. Mountains also have the same pattern. I've used forest to represent urban areas so that different areas of cities are differenciated. Certain parts of the coast diamonds have been altered to allow bridges across rivers which water-borne units can cross under.

Plains = beaches and other sandy areas
Swamp = muddy areas
Tundra = farmland
Desert = control panel terrain
Arctic = any ideas?

Cities = primary bases (very limited number to generate artillery ammo and minefields)
Airbase = field bases
Forts = red lines in the ground to denote hedgehogs.
Roads = thick black lines

 

[kobayashi]

what I put together so far

 

[Ohwell]

Actually? That looks great! The idea turned me off at first but I understand the concept now; I look forward to it.

 

[The ANZAC]

this is going to be cool