A small game I started as a hobby project...

[5./JG27.Farber]

This is very interesting. I wonder if this could be used to enhance a multiplayer campaign. How accurate would the data the commander from one side sees be? Would there be a fog of war? Also would the battle area grid be shown in the commander GUI?

[mazex]

Originally Posted by 5./JG27.Farber

This is very interesting. I wonder if this could be used to enhance a multiplayer campaign.

Thats the thought

Originally Posted by 5./JG27.Farber

How accurate would the data the commander from one side sees be?

The problem is that I have not done any server side scripting in CloD so I'm only guessing... From what I understand you have access to a collection of all aircraft in the C# script. The though is that the server side script then saves them every second or so to a Redis key/value storage (very fast). Then the ACF Server component exposes methods that the AFC client reads from via the Redis structures...

So the answer is that the AFC game should have updated positions of all planes every second if that does not load the server too much. Then AFC can depending on the Radar coverage, ground WAF:s in watch towers etc decide what to show to the commander! So it's up to AFC to do the fog of war which is a very important success factor for the game...

Originally Posted by 5./JG27.Farber

lso would the battle area grid be shown in the commander GUI?

Should be no problem...

[5./JG27.Farber]

Wow sounds great. 5./JG27 would be pleased to help you with this if you need it, we have a dedi server and missions etc... How far away do you think you are from releasing something stable?

We are planning a 7 part multisquad campaign after the "grail patch" much of it is done. However we are really unsure how to coordinate each team (red/blue). Something like this could solve this problem. It sounds great.

[mazex]

Originally Posted by 5./JG27.Farber

Wow sounds great. 5./JG27 would be pleased to help you with this if you need it, we have a dedi server and missions etc... How far away do you think you are from releasing something stable?

Unfortunately I think that it's a long path to a stable version... I work full time as a development manager with a team about the same size as Maddox games and have two kids etc at home so it's not that much time over This is more to get to program some stuff myself and not only manage others doing fun programming

So - as it is now I just have the map with some 3D objects to move around. Now I have stepped back and focus on getting the design ready "on the drawing table", and I will not start developing until all the think work is ready - then I will plan some sprints of work that gradually will get me somewhere... But I also have to become acquainted with Unity 3D while thinking so I can have a proof of concept that it can do all I want it to do - and that part seems positive, it's very easy to work with!

[mazex]

Another interesting thought is that if the server side AFC component is flexible enough there could be multiple commanders for each side. One for each sector, one only responsible for naval units etc. It would really be no problem if many AFC clients connect to the same server session if one is the master that splits the responsibility at startup. I someone logs out it would be nice to be able to let another commander join an in progress game... To be able to have an "ongoing war server" that is naturally a must...

[mazex]

Originally Posted by salmo

Ideas:

SUPPLY
Based on the amount of oil a side has.

Increase supplies
1. Ships arriving at a port increase oil supply. Truck convoys arriving at airfields increase oil supply at airfield (oil is anaogist for fuel)
2. Amount of oil held by the side infuences aircraft production rate (at factory objects) & amount of fuel for planes (fuel storage object) at each airbase.

Decrease supplies
1. Destroying factory objects reduces aircraft production rate. Destroying fuel objects at airfields reduces available fuel at that field.

Aircraft

Production rate
1. Affected by number of factory objects & amount of oil side has supplied.
2. Factory production consumes X amount of oil to produce a product (aircrfat/ship/tank).
2. Need a methodology to distribute new aircraft to airfields. (a) AI fly from rear airfield to operational airfield? (b) some type of truck convoy delivers them to operational airfields? (c) they just 'automatically' appear at operation airfields?
3. Do factories produce new ships as well as aircraft? remember in time we'll have the Russian front, so do factories produce tanks as well (future option)?

Fuel
1. Fuel objects at airfields resupplied by truck convoys. Affects how much fuel aircraft can take. Fuel loadouts reduce fuel at that airfield.
2. Fuel tank objects could regenate over time, maybe at a rate proportional to amount of oil the side has &/ number of workshop objects at the airfield?

Damage/wear
1. 'Persistent' aircraft states. Aircraft spawn in previously worn state from previous missions. Workshop objects at airfields affect the rate of 'repair' of worn aircraft?
2. Crash landed aircraft, with minimal damage, returned to game after a short period of being repaired.
3. Aircraft assigned to an airfield, but not on a mission, appear as static (or Ai aircraft with no fuel) at that airfield & thus can be destroyed.
4. Damaged (crash landed) aircraft appear as static (or Ai aircraft with no fuel) at home airfield until repair by the workshop.

Aircraft losses
1. Both static/stationary aircraft at an airfield & airborn AI or player aircraft destroyed count as lost aircraft.

Thanks for the ideas!

I like almost all of them and will add them to the wishlist, even though I think the more advanced "economic" stuff may have to wait for version 2.0 I was thinking in the way that the supplies delivered by ships would be used to sustain production, but maybe in a rather crude way - like that you need x amount of oil and steel each week to maintain 100% production with some generic formula how it decreases if you can not accomplish that?

And regarding the distribution of new planes I thought about some overall menu listing all squadron at the end of a day where you see red numbers behind the squadrons thar need replacements of both planes and pilots. Then a total of produced planes that day and two buttons behind each squadron in need with "fully resupply", and just a plus to "add one plane to this squadron". It should naturally automatically add the type of plane type the squadron uses. That way it would only be one screen to handle this part.

I really like the damage/wear section as that was an important supply of repaired planes that the german intelligence did not realize the importance of! Maybe as a summary in top of the resupply page with the number of new planes and the number of planes repaired at central facilities that the base mechanics could not fix?

It's so much one could add, and really not that hard for many of those ideas if the game is designed with it from start...

/mazex

[Osprey]

Depends if you want it historical or to win a war as blue. Only about 5% of oil was lost to ship sinking and the fuel supply increased throughout the BoB rather than decreased. Oil was also supplied by pipelines to airfields (much like later after the invasion with the pipelines laid through the channel).

In terms of accuracy the real pressure for both sides was on lost pilots, not equipment.

[salmo]

Originally Posted by Osprey

Depends if you want it historical or to win a war as blue. Only about 5% of oil was lost to ship sinking and the fuel supply increased throughout the BoB rather than decreased. Oil was also supplied by pipelines to airfields (much like later after the invasion with the pipelines laid through the channel).

In terms of accuracy the real pressure for both sides was on lost pilots, not equipment.

My ideas were not to create a historically accurate representation of the war, but rather based around creating equal gameplay where both sides could target "resources" to win the war. Those resources being pilots, planes, suply & production. That way, there is gameplay for fighter jocks & mud-movers

[5./JG27.Farber]

So, any movement on this? Sounds good either way.

[mazex]

Originally Posted by 5./JG27.Farber

So, any movement on this? Sounds good either way.

I have it on the shelf for while now - gardening work on my spare time now unfortunately accept for a silly app I wrote last week to poll for CloD patches

Anyway - you offer for help is appreciated and when I get down to business I will post the progress and help needed requests!

My plan is to get the design document and object model all done before I begin, so I don't end up with stuff like "o crap, it's not possible to save while in a mission" etc