[Abandoned] - Trench Warfare

[TaCktiX]

Taking the suggestions into account, I decided a complete re-do was in order. Here's the new version 2:

Most of the unique elements are on the image itself. I'm also adding an Objective.

Basic Statistics:
- 78 Territories
- 11 Continents
- Objective: Hold all Headquarters and Advance the Front.

Special Features not on the map:
- No Man's Land (the Sectors and the Hill), Headquarters, Artillery, Tanks, and Biplanes start neutral.

Tentative Bonuses:
West or East Trenches: +6
North or South Command: +2
North or South Support: +5
Northeast or Southwest Frontline: +3
Northwest or Southeast Frontline: +4
The Hill: +10 (4 territories that can be attacked 12 different ways, in the middle of a decay zone)

Gameplay Questions:
- Should the West and East Trenches also start Neutral?
- Should the Objective include The Hill too?
- What default/killer neutrals should there be for No Man's Land, HQ, Artillery, the Tanks, and the Biplanes?

Graphics Concerns:
- Convincing Trenches those are not.
- Mustard Gas should look like...a gas.
- Tanks, Biplanes, and Artillery should be more detailed (at least some color).
- Making The Hill look like it.
- Good connectors between Trenches.
- A wasteland background (dust, blood/gore/barbed wire, something) for the entire thing.

If you can help with the graphics, I will be beyond thankful. Send a PM if you can.

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Original Post:
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Looking around the Foundry of late, I've noticed people wanting a WWI-themed map, and also an interest in using the XML's capability of killer neutrals. So here's my take on it: Trench Warfare.



It's a very very rough beta.

Basic Stats:
51 Territories
10 Continents

Special Features:
- The No Man's Land starts neutral, and at the beginning (or end) of EVERY PLAYER'S TURN, all non-neutrals are annihilated and replaced with neutrals.
- The Artilleries (West and East) can bombard both Frontline Trenches, and start neutral.
- Headquarters start neutral, and grant a +2 autodeploy when held.

Tentative Bonuses:
West or East Support Trench +2
North or South Frontline Trench +5
North or South Support Trench +3
North or South Communication Trench +3
North or South Command Bunker +1 or 2 (undecided)

Current Questions:
- My graphical ability sucks. Would anybody be willing to supply trench/no man's land textures for me to use?
- What should starting (and replacing) neutrals be on the 9 No Man's Land territories?
- What should starting neutrals be on the Artillery? On Headquarters?
- Should the West and East Support Trenches start neutral or not? If so, how many starting?

EDIT: Put Support twice instead Frontline, oops?

[CatfishJohnson]

hmm very interesting idea tacktix very interesting

[bryguy]

suggestions:


expand it out aways and put it over a battlefield-like-area
add a mustard field
for it you could have in no mans land random killer neutrals

[yeti_c]

Killer Neutrals revert at the beginning of the holding players turn.

C.

[bryguy]

how about there be 8 HQ and they are starting points? N, S, E, W, N.W, N.E, S.W, S.E? and they could still be +2

[TaCktiX]

Is there any way that Killer Neutrals can be edited to take effect before any person's turn? A powerful player could shove 15 armies on the No Man's territories in front of another's Frontline, and screw them over (note, I don't want NML neutrals to be more powerful than 3 each). Perhaps an advanced option or additional trigger.

[InkL0sed]

If you're serious about this, you have to include some of the technological advances that occurred in WWI.

WWI saw the beginning of chemical warfare, of planes, tanks, machine guns, the whole bonanza.

This article here is good: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology ... orld_War_I

I think you should have some killer neutrals in the no man's land, maybe some decay for mustard gas, bombarding artillery (as you have). Machine guns could one-way attack some nearby NML terr's. If you make the majority of the territories (probably around 20 or 30 terr's) in No Man's land and limit the number of territories in the trenches themselves, this could become quite an interesting map.

I think it would simulate trench warfare quite well. Most of the time, you have to build armies in the trenches to avoid slaughter. But eventually, you have to emerge. And then you'll get slaughtered anyway.

I can just see the craziness a No Cards game would have if you did this.

[bryguy]

Is there any way that Killer Neutrals can be edited to take effect before any person's turn? A powerful player could shove 15 armies on the No Man's territories in front of another's Frontline, and screw them over (note, I don't want NML neutrals to be more powerful than 3 each). Perhaps an advanced option or additional trigger.

they could put 15 there.... then lose them when they start their next turn, thats the thing, they could have like 100,000,000,000 guys in one killer neutral spot and lose them all when they start their turn

[TaCktiX]

But if a person can't cross the No Man's Land to break a firmly held bonus...

I think you should have some killer neutrals in the no man's land, maybe some decay for mustard gas, bombarding artillery (as you have).

If you make the majority of the territories (probably around 20 or 30 terr's) in No Man's land and limit the number of territories in the trenches themselves, this could become quite an interesting map.

I'll see if I can make No Man's Land a little bigger and alter the effects some (say, 25 territories, with mustard gas decay, tank advances), but the reason I had it as only 3x3 is I wanted people to make dashing rushes across NML, slaughter as many they could in an opposing trench, and then see their supply line slaughtered by killer neutral machine guns. More than 3, and that's not as do-able.

Machine guns could one-way attack some nearby NML terr's.

The killer neutral part of NML is intended to simulate the slaughtering fire of machine guns, hence why I want them to happen at the start of every turn.

[AndyDufresne]

A map of something like this must look like a battlefield...anything else would be a disservice.


--Andy

[TaCktiX]

Current Questions:
- My graphical ability sucks. Would anybody be willing to supply trench/no man's land textures for me to use?

[bryguy]

Current Questions:
- My graphical ability sucks. Would anybody be willing to supply trench/no man's land textures for me to use?

working on it (actually i have grass and trenches done if u would have 8 HQs and they be starting points )

[TaCktiX]

This is not meant to be a build-up map, so having 8 HQ's and them as starting points would defeat the purpose.

[bryguy]

This is not meant to be a build-up map, so having 8 HQ's and them as starting points would defeat the purpose.

oh well ill send u the background image i made for the battlefield (actually ill post it here)


edit: 800x800:

[bryguy]

this might help also http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/trenches.htm

[bryguy]

how about like this:




(drew it up omaha beach style)

[TaCktiX]

Taking the suggestions into account, I decided a complete re-do was in order. Here's the new version 2:

Most of the unique elements are on the image itself. I'm also adding an Objective.

Basic Statistics:
- 78 Territories
- 11 Continents
- Objective: Hold all Headquarters and Advance the Front.

Special Features not on the map:
- No Man's Land (the Sectors and the Hill), Headquarters, Artillery, Tanks, and Biplanes start neutral.

Tentative Bonuses:
West or East Trenches: +6
North or South Command: +2
North or South Support: +5
Northeast or Southwest Frontline: +3
Northwest or Southeast Frontline: +4
The Hill: +10 (4 territories that can be attacked 12 different ways, in the middle of a decay zone)

Gameplay Questions:
- Should the West and East Trenches also start Neutral?
- Should the Objective include The Hill too?
- What default/killer neutrals should there be for No Man's Land, Artillery, HQ, the Tanks, and the Biplanes?

Graphics Concerns:
- Convincing Trenches those are not.
- Mustard Gas should look like...a gas.
- Tanks, Biplanes, and Artillery should be more detailed (at least some color).
- Making The Hill look like it.
- Good connectors between Trenches.
- A wasteland background (dust, blood/gore/barbed wire, something) for the entire thing.

If you can help with the graphics, I will be beyond thankful. Send a PM if you can.

[bryguy]

im taking it that u completely ignored my last few posts.....

[TaCktiX]

I changed 90% of the setup, make comments on the significant changes, not whether or not I immediately made use of backgrounds. You'll also notice that I changed the Trench look to be in accordance with what that Trench article noted, just without supply storerooms.

[bryguy]

what are you using to make this????

[TaCktiX]

The original image was hand-drawn on a sheet of notebook paper. I moused over it in PhotoShop so it showed up better. Putting in images for the specific pieces shouldn't be that hard considering the state of the map as it is.

[bryguy]

why dont u do something that looks like mine?

[Balsiefen]

I think gameplaywise your pretty much there. What is your situation with graphics?

[Skittles!]

why dont u do something that looks like mine?

I like his better, it makes more sense then two guns shooting at landmarks.

[TaCktiX]

I'm going to hand-draw all the set pieces (artillery, HQ, tanks, biplanes, machine guns), then put mini-versions on the map. Trenches will be combination of dust texture, wood, and concrete (and much cleaner). I've also plotted where army circles will go and they all fit rather nicely.

Cairns is going to help me with the process on some of the harder things, like mustard gas, hilly terrain, and a background that looks like "stalemate war."