What would be the perfect WITP III?

[fbs]

We all know that there are some limits about what can be done with the current/near future game. That's ok - all computer programs have these limits - that doesn't take away from the game.

But, if you could have a WITP-style, brand new game designed from the ground upon your ideas, which ideas would they be? That is, if your dream WITP game could be built (it certainly can't), what would you incorporate to it?

The purpose of this thread is just to have fun with blue-sky ideas, so a cookie will go out for the most interesting (albeit realistic) idea coming out there.


Cheers [:D]
fbs

[Alikchi2]

OOB of AE++, zoomable map like Google Earth down to, say, a 30 square mile/hex scale, an extremely complicated air combat resolution engine with more order options, naval surface combat again, quite detailed indeed.. more data to take into account re weather, leader stats, positioning, radar, blah blah blah. Naval combat would not be the current interface but rather a top down view 2D of the hex in which you saw combat play out with fast forward and rewind buttons.. before the turn began you could set 'battle settings' ie attack in line, defensive/aggressive posture, protect transports/seek out enemy/scatter on contact, etc etc.

Japanese (and American) industrial stuff would have a lot more flexibility. You'd be able to prioritize certain research areas over others, and build custom-designed (or at least pre-selected) ship classes, or go fully historical if preferable.. but say you're contemplating an invasion of New Zealand in late 1942 and want LSDs. You could add them to the build queue. Or hey, what if you want to build the Montanas, or accelerate Vanguard (at a huuuge expense in PPs/VPs or whatever point system exists)? In WitP III (and AE for that matter), you're Roosevelt, Marshall, Nimitz, Spruance, and John Thatch all at once. You should be able to build the ships you need.

Ground combat.. god knows how you'd remodel that.

WitP IV would break from the shackles of hex-based combat..

[fbs]

My take: 1-minute continuous steps like Hearts of Iron; event system like TOAW III; weapon purchase/reorganization like Steel Panthers; a ship designer; mission designer like BOB/BTR; storylines.

As you see, not many original ideas from here, but a bunch of reusing of great ideas from some excellent games [:D]

What to _not_ add: 3D graphics (blergh) -- once games go in that way, it becomes all about 3D and nothing about gameplay.


Cheers [:D]
fbs

[freeboy]

OK, what do you mean by WITP style, the units and game engine?
I would love a prewar diplomacy and research oriented start, with perhaps turns in months.. followed by a witp style game with player designed production, including setbacks. IE no guarenty your b 17s research is successful.
World wide or theatre wide works  
 

[The Gnome]

UI Improvements are on my wishlist. As we include more and more data with each version and the level of housekeeping goes up for every player, we need a modern UI to help us sift through the data, and be as efficient as possible when entering our turns.

Every task should be completable with the minimum number of clicks and keystrokes possible.


Some ideas for a nicer UI:
- Hi-Res support for modern monitors, including widescreen (16:9/16:10)

- Clean, clear, sizable fonts, larger standard sized buttons that appear in the same places on each window (ie ok, cancel always in the bottom right of the window)

- Standard window behavior on most in game windows: Resizable, movable

- all tabular data should allow column resizing, column moving, sorting.

- moving data between lists (eg Task Force Creation) should allow multi-select(lassoing data, ctrl-clicking, shift-clicking) and drag-and-drop.

- Printable lists could be a nice little add.

Just a few ideas

[Djordje]

Map that you could zoom in/out from the satellite view to individual ship view. Those who played Supreme Commander could get an idea.
It would still have to be turn based, but once turn resolution starts player would be able to go through 24h turn at the speed he likes, back and forth. So the turn starts at 00:00 and goes on, and as things happen on the map you can zoom in and watch actual naval / air battles in nice shiny 3d engine...

Oh let me dream some more!

[Mike Scholl]

Redesign the entire program from the ground up to do away with the "it's hard coded" problem.  Seperate scenarios for play against the AI/play against humans..., so that one doesn't interfere with the other.   And a designed-in capacity for multi-player games and commands.

[m10bob]

I always liked Talonsoft games and the videos which popped up in some of them. For me, it lended visual flavor to the game, and was a nice break from the sometimes monotonous pushing around of little "cardboard counters"..

It's not like there is a shortage of suitable film clips, or anything, its' just a matter of pandering to those of us who like that kind of "chrome"..

[Miller]

Although AE is not the finished article, it seems to be playing well despite only having one patch done to date.

I think the level of detail is about right, some people want to be able to micromanage everything down to the last supply point, but that is just total overkill in my opinion. Fancy graphics add nothing to long term playability.

Besides, if (And its a big if!) there ever is a WITP 3 I dont think it will be released this side of 2014......

[JohnDillworth]

a surface combat resolution system just like Storm Eagles Jutland tactical naval simulation.

[m10bob]

A pop up 40's style jukebox loaded with a bunch of period songs, kinda like the radio room in "Aces Of The Deep"..

[Zacktar]

A few quick ideas:

Complete tear-down and replacement of the user interface.

Treat the Earth as a sphere, not a plane.

Start with the world at peace and simulate the pre-war period. The more aggressive Japan gets, the greater the chance that the Allies detect what's coming. Turn 1 surprise can be lost, or the Allies can even get the chance to give a full set of orders for turn 1.

Much better intelligence simulation.

Proper organizational structure of sea, land and air units. Ships are grouped into divisions and squadrons. Land units into divisions, Corps, Field Armies and Theaters. Reorganizing them takes time, using them piecemeal without reorganizing should have some penalties.

Fleet headquarters (especially the US numbered fleets) should serve their historical planning role -- the availability of Third and Fifth Fleets should significantly accelerate US operations.

[m10bob]

A small numbered pennant on the map which would tell me the intended (historical) destination of some of the HQ units, so I don't need to look them up. Once the game starts, I could drag/drop those penants to suit my needs.

Oh,yeah, the enemy can not see them.

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: Zacktar

Start with the world at peace and simulate the pre-war period. The more aggressive Japan gets, the greater the chance that the Allies detect what's coming. Turn 1 surprise can be lost, or the Allies can even get the chance to give a full set of orders for turn 1.

I like this notion. On game turn one as the Allies, I simply embargo all trade with Japan (on the basis of whatever she's already done) and pass the "Three Ocean Navy" Bill ( to provide jobs in the shipyards). Japan collapses economically, and I save billions of bucks and thousands of lives by not having to fight the War in the Pacific! [:D]

[Graymane]

More organizational capabilities. For a start, admin versus tactical organizations. I'd like to assign some destroyers to a destroyer squadron and say a tender to it as well. Then I'd like to base it somewhere as a whole and then assign the squadron to a surface or air combat task force and have the game manage rotating destroyers in and out. I'd like the same level of admin control for LCU and Air Groups as well.

I'd like better GUI support for operations. Say I create an operation called Cartwheel. I'd like to assign units/groupings of units to Cartwheel and be able to examine all the units assigned to Cartwheel.

More and better "spreadsheets" since this is a spreadsheet game.

[gladiatt]

Priority targets for planes !!
-attack the transport
-attack the escort
-attack the BB
-attack the CV

- aim at fighters
-aim at bombers

That would be great. But i like the game anyway !

[Panther Bait]

1.  I think my biggest wish for a redesigned game would be more of a mission-based gui rather than a strictly unit-based gui.  By mission-based gui, I mean that if I want to bomb Rabaul, I don't find a bunch of bomber units that have the right range and click them individually to bomb Rabaul, and then do the same for a bunch of fighter units to escort them.  Instead, I right-click on the Rabaul base and choose Bombing Mission in a drop down.  That brings up a screen where all my fighter and bomber air units that can reach Rabaul are listed.  I add a check mark next to the ones I want to assign to the mission and hit go.  And for even more effective control, it would be great if I could set options like: repeat until canceled; repeat every ## days; max pilot/air unit fatigue level; minimum morale level; minimum sortie number (i.e. only launch mission if ## bombers will fly); minimum escort #; etc.  That way I set the mission up once and it continues without my constant input without driving my air units into the ground either.
 
2.  Better TF design.  It would be nice if you could design a TF with a little more of a formation aspect.  Not literally laying out the formation so much as assigning different ships different duties/roles.  So, rather than have an ASW TF following a transport TF, you'd assign the escort to different "boxes" on the TF setup screen.  You'd have screening/picket destroyers that are primarily providing ASW and close in destroyer's providing mostly AA.  In surface combat TF's you could setup a very general battle line setup and decide if you want your DD's in close or detached.  In support of this, it would be great to have more of a command structure for naval units with destroyer squadrons and divisions, submarine squadrons/flotillas, carrier divisions, etc.  The TF setup screen would include options to assign these groupings in addition to single ships, and the groupings would have their own leaders. That way 31-knot Burke can be commanding your DD's in a surface combat TF overall led by Tip Merrill.
 
3.  Another layer of organzation/planner above TF (call it an Operation) that can include all branches of the armed forces.  I designate a target base(s) and then start assigning forces.  HQ's and LCU's assigned begin training/prepping for the combat.  As time goes on, I can designate ships/TFs to haul the units to the target (if necesarry).  I can add air groups that will support the operation.  It would probably be more of an organizational/planning tool rather than a command tool, but I could see specific commands that would be useful.  For example, if I assign some APA's to haul a division, the planner allow me to give orders to have those APA's rendevous at the division's current location.  Ideally the tool could give me some idea of time necessary to load up and move to the target, so that I could set a D-Day and a rendevous point for various Operational components (e.g. multiple LCUs coming from different ports).  It would also be a one-stop place to check the status and condition of all the various components of the operation.
 
Anyway, those are some of my big dream items.
 
Mike
 

[Nikademus]

ORIGINAL: fbs

The purpose of this thread is just to have fun with blue-sky ideas, so a cookie will go out for the most interesting (albeit realistic) idea coming out there.

Non manipulable production unless a toggle is flipped. [:)]

[scott64]

Real Life, to be able to transport us back in time. [:'(]

[rockmedic109]

I'd love for WITP III to pay me.  That way I wouldn't have to work and could devote more time to it.
 
Not going to happen?  Oh well.....
 
How about having LCU and Air units named down to the Regiment/Squadron.  When combined, they take on the name/designation of the higher unit and when divided, they get their smaller unit designation.  No more 519th Fighter Group/A.