Campaign Styles

[LoBlo]

Which campaign style do people perfer the most...

The problem with the SC sytle is that you must go through every mission from the other sides viewpoint to get to the missions that are really interesting, then again, it allows more flexibility in mission setup and tasking IMHO. The DW sytle lets you complete the missions (to make them available) from whatever's side seems most interesting to you (you don't HAVE to play each mission from each side), the drawback is the stories plot is less flexible (it has to be sorta ambigous where the next mission doesn't depend on whether or not one side won the last).

Then there's always the linear mission that are simpler and just tell a story however the author chooses... creating the story as one sees fit is probably the strong point to this mission type.

Or there may be suggestions that haven't been considered.

[LuftWolf]

And the choices are...?

[LoBlo]

Originally Posted by LuftWolf

And the choices are...?

See attached poll

[LuftWolf]

There was a poll there...?

[LoBlo]

Originally Posted by LuftWolf

There was a poll there...?

*waves his hands jedi-mindtrick sytle*
*the poll magically appears before your eyes*

[LuftWolf]

You definately got me...

Cheers,
David

[FERdeBOER]

I prefer SC style, not because is the best, but because the DW style gives you sometimes too much information about the others... I mean, You decide to play as 688i, but before choosing, fisrt you have red all the platforms avaiable, so you have more info that the one you would have had in normal conditions.

But I would add the "Bill Nichols" touch: no critical goals, or at least "easy completing" critical goals (like exit areas or so). As a result, if you get stucked on a mission, you can pass it... of course with drawbacks if you don't complete the goals...

EDIT: Ah! And DW style sometimes forces you to play a platform you don't like... or a side you don't like...

[SeaQueen]

I don't really have a preference. As long as the missions are interesting, then the campaign will be fun.

[LoBlo]

Originally Posted by SeaQueen

I don't really have a preference. As long as the missions are interesting, then the campaign will be fun.

heh. "Interesting" is relative. I'm trying to think of a few twist to make them different, challenging, but not stupid.

[SeaQueen]

Originally Posted by LoBlo

heh. "Interesting" is relative. I'm trying to think of a few twist to make them different, challenging, but not stupid.

I can understand wanting to be different. Often the most creative scenarios are the simplest.

My experience is that in order to make a fun scenario you have to really understand what influences the outcome, and then leave it up to some combination of chance and the player's decision making in the face of uncertainty.

[FERdeBOER]

Originally Posted by SeaQueen

I can understand wanting to be different. Often the most creative scenarios are the simplest.

It's easier to say than to make...
In my experience, the more simple the mission you want to be, the more "background things" you have to make... The AI is no smart enought (yet very improved with LWAmi mod) and the scenario editor tools don't allways work as they have to... so you have to use tricks to make those "simple things" to run properly.

And there's also another thing... THE PLAYERS!!
All have to be checked and controlled because if not, you receive an email saying: "I destroyed the lighthouse and in the next mission it was there again..." Why the f..x&¬# You destroyed the lighthouse?? Was that in the mission orders?

And things like that.

[LoBlo]

Yep.

And I think the hardest part of the mission design is telling "the story" so that it feels that you are doing something interesting. Framing the plot and presenting it so that the story unfolds nicely is sometimes hard to do:hmm:

[SeaQueen]

Originally Posted by FERdeBOER

It's easier to say than to make...
In my experience, the more simple the mission you want to be, the more "background things" you have to make... The AI is no smart enought (yet very improved with LWAmi mod) and the scenario editor tools don't allways work as they have to... so you have to use tricks to make those "simple things" to run properly.

I haven't experienced that. My sense of things is that you don't want to ask the AI to do anything too complicated because if you do, you're bound to be disappointed.