Utterly Mad

I edited my above post and fleshed it out a little more. I like the commissar and huge map thing over smaller maps where people are forced to fight or die. Maybe I'm just dreaming, but so far this sound slike one of the coolest games I've never played.

I actually have played a game where it shifts between RTS and FPS depending on rank. Think it's set in a fictional semi-futuristic cold war. Really, really cool concept, but in practice, the FPS guys do not ever do what the RTS guys tell them to. We'd have to find a way to counteract that. Autoshot for desertion seems plausible, but might be a little frustrating. Maybe the RTS guys control a grand overview, where they can say unit 1, 2, and 3 go fight at vimy, which then leads to them having a realtime FPS battle there, while unit 5 and 6 go fight over a nameless hill with offmap artillery support. They'd have to fight, because otherwise they'd have nothing to do.

It would make sense to have the strategic point in real time too, though maybe not to be able to see the outcome of battles until after a timer has run out (which would also make sense in this setting). Thus, you could be pounding a now friendly trench with arty in which all the enemies are already dead if you do it without being requested to by the guys "on the ground", or you could accidentally send some reinforcements into a battle long lost. My issue with RTS games is that most of them require more macro usage than actual thought and tactics, this sort of thing would require a commander to actually be a commander. Could really get into it with logistical choices (stick these new players in squad 1 or squad 5? who has better "soldiers" and can still achieve the objective without backup? More ammo for the frontlines, or save some for the machineguns in reserve incase that line actually broke two minutes ago and the survivors haven't regrouped for redeployment yet?) too.

Just an idea.

Engine questions

I don't know what unity costs, but it might be overkill. I think realistically what would be the best option would depend on what this game will be.

If it's a FPS, then to me the big appeal is being able to have 200 guys charge out of a trench with fixed bayonets. I'd maybe suggest the mount and blade engine in that case since it doesn't have much trouble doing this when those bayonets are on muskets rather than rifles. Not pretty stuff, but realistically, how many of you besides myself have ridiculous AAA gaming rigs*? When you have that much shit going on (gas and horses and mortars and machine guns and CHARGE! and stuff), do you really pay much attention to how things look? They have also made everything from a standalone GS/FPS pirate game to a marching band simulator out of this.

If it's an RTS, then I don't really care about how it looks or amount of people in MP as long as there is no unit cap beyond what you can produce.

A grand strategy/RTS hybrid has always struck me as something WWI would be suited to - this is why I suggested modding Xenonauts. Unfortunately, I don't think whatever they built that on is at all capable of MP support, and is probably proprietary. Might be worth looking at whatever Running With Rifles is built on in this case - engine has MP and strategic elements could be introduced.

*Don't buy one. It's a waste of money when 90% you play is ascii games or games built to run on Pentium 3s.

I have a spare Steam copy I was gonna give to a RL buddy before he made it clear it's not his sort of game, but my real gaming computer is on the fritz. Something could maybe be arranged once I get that sorted out.

I don't think the requirements are too high as it plays reasonably well on the girlfriend's crappy laptop. I have no idea what the specs on this are, but if you can run X-Com EU without much frustration you should be able to play Verdun.

Honestly if it were in the style or Gods Will Be Watching or This War Of Mine, I could see it working perfectly. You control your squad and everyday something terrible could happen to them, when you head out to secure a trench it goes into RTS X-Com mode. You move from cover to cover, trying to avoid being shelled, taking potshots at the enemy. And if you're lucky enough and RNGesus smiled at you. The trench will be taken and the enemy won't notice that its gone. Then you'll be stuck in that trench until back up arrives.

Hell you could even have a base building mechanic to make the best trench ever. Setting up traps, digging out rooms and tunnels, and setting up guard positions like DF.

I missed this on my first readthrough.

Just as a thought:

If anyone here can code, Xenonauts could probably be modded into something very much like this much more easily than a new game could be built. The combat system and stuff would be a simple re-texture, and I'm pretty sure most of that other stuff could be put into the worldmap somehow.

Yay! This is back up. Can still count me in once people start dying.