Cheers Tophat [:D]
I typed this up for the Wargamer forums:
Geoscape is a multiplayer campaign plugin for Command. You set up a Geoscape game by importing 100s of Command scenarios, which then exist entirely in Geoscape. In Geoscape you can give simple orders to formations of your units, for example you could tell Carrier Strike Group 7 and a Convoy to move to a waypoint in the Northern Atlantic. Your opponents would tell their soviet submarines to move to waypoints as well, using recon assets to try to set up an interception on your CARSTRKGRU. When Geoscape detects that these units would pass within (say) 100nm of each other then Geoscape would generate a Joint Command multiplayer scenario which has the position of all the Units near this interception from Geoscape. The multiplayer scenario would have a duration of 1hr or 6hrs (or something). Then the battle is fought in Joint Command which creates Command scenarios to play multiplayer. After the multiplayer battle is over Geoscape will read back in the status of the units, the amount of munitions expended, who died, etc.
Then, if the battle isn't over, Geoscape will move time forward 6 hours (or however long the mutliplayer battles are set to last for) and generate additional Joint Command scenarios wherever it detects BLUFOR and REDFOR units in close proximity. Plus during these Joint Command scenarios time also passes in Geoscape so you can direct reinforcements to scenarios under way.
Geoscape will also keep track of logisitics and things like "6th Marine Regiment is stored aboard this amphibious assualt ship". I also plan to have a land combat component as well.
The inspiration for Geoscape came from MBX (mail battle experience) games run about a decade ago. Essentially Geoscape and Joint Command are plugins designed to make running an MBX game much less painful; as well as allow the players to take charge of their own units during combat.
I also take inspiration for Geoscape from War in the Pacific.
I wrote a singleplayer version of this about 4 months ago called "Baloogan Campaign" which I've kept a few screenshots of here:
http://baloogancampaign.com/baloogan-campaign/ Geoscape is a multiplayer rewrite of Baloogan Campaign.
Myself and a few other guys are working on researching Orders of Battle for Geoscape campaigns; there are two campaigns planned one set in the western pacific 2008 which takes quite a few ques from a Tom Clancy book. And then next one (4-5 months down the line) set in Europe, 1988!
Ultimately I want to simulate a multiplayer World War 3 with full attention to detail and logistics. I shall achieve this via creating a multiplayer plugin for Command (already done
) and then creating a multiplayer campaign plugin for Command. Geoscape sits firmly on top of Joint Command, the only way munitions are spent will be via Command. Geoscape will move units around and detect when they might get close to each other, then send the resulting possible interceptions to Joint Command who then creates Command scenarios in a way which facilitates multiplayer gameplay. Then Command simulates the actual combat! After a Joint Command match is complete the surviving units and their states (munitions expended, fuel expended, damage, etc) is read back into Geoscape!
