What I'd really like to see in CMX2 (or even in CMAK 1.02)

[Folbec]

... is a way for the players to extend the time limit of a scenarion, while playing it, if they can agree on the idea.

Many scenarios are ballanced as a race against time, with the underlying idea that both players had a look at the map, the setup, and the OOB. This is a byproduct of the design test process : you play the same scenario many times, and end up knowing it by heart, knowing where to attack, where to scout.

When played blind, this translate to unrealistics tactics : select a likely place (counting on luck) and charge ahead without scouting, since you do not have time to do anything else at a normal speed (I'm currently playing one where my infantry came as reinforcement at turn 10, and took 17 turns crossing at walk speed (not even taking many precautions) to the middle of the map, and it is (obviously) a 30 turn fixed scenario.

When i saw that I would not be able to play my infantry, I was forced to charge ahead with my tanks and the few men that I could load on them, and predictably met disaster.

This kind of design is all too common, and a major reason why I play more QB than scenario.

I would be great to be able to extend the duration, when both players agree, during the course of the game (On the defender side, there is nothing more boring than looking at infantry slogging through snow for 30 turns, and not even having a fight at the end :mad: ).

Many players are fair play enough to accept this kind of agreement (and ammo loads usually do not last long enough for it to be a real problem).

[Lucho]

Maybe you should choose scenarios, which have overlenght in turns, like Kamienka (ScenarioDepot; 120 minutes for 2000+points) or others.

[junk2drive]

Or come over to the proving grounds and try some testing. You will find some too long, some too short, give your input and test the final results.

The best way to get good scenarios is to cultivate good designers. They can't do it alone.

[Hans]

Use editor and just change the time to what ever you want!

[Folbec]

Originally posted by Hans:

Use editor and just change the time to what ever you want!

1) This spoils the double blind.

2) you notice this when you are already playing the game, I'm not asking for removing time limits, I'm asking for a way to correct them "on the fly", if a consensus can be reached by the players.

I've had scenario where I knew from the 15th - 20th turn that my opponent had not a chance to win, and never had.

Practically now I do not even give a glance to anything shorter than 40 turns, but this is not enough. I'm playing a 52 turn scenario now, it is turn 20, and I'm beginning to fear that my opponent may have the choice between charging my guns head on, bogging down and loosing (quite a choice). The map is that big, and the soil is damp. And this is something you cannot know beforehand, simply by looking at the description and the turn length.

Much too many scenario are built on the assumption that players won't play them blind.

[junk2drive]

Still just my opinion, but you are lumping all designers into one pot. I could go on and on with good examples but I wont. There are good scenarios with variable endings that can go +5 or +10 or more turns. You just haven't found them.

[Brent Pollock]

So, you don't just want a "CEASEFIRE" button, you also want an "INCREASE FIRE" button...

[Redwolf]

Another suggestion I have seen (from Jason C. IIRC) is that you do an "endless" battle, as in you give maximum turns.

But both players are required to hit the "ceasefire" button when their global morale drops below 50%. That'll teach you not to take needless casualties.

And it also means that a player who lands a decisive blow will win and the games ends, as opposed to dragging it out endlessly.

[Philippe]

I think that an "Extend Scenario by 5 Turns" button would probably be a good thing. I would rather see designers automatically add about ten turns more than necessary (in addition to the variable ending) to prevent end of game flag rushes. But a voluntary extending of the scenario would act as a good safety valve, because not all scenarios will be well designed, and the players may not realize that until they're thirty or forty turns into it.

Someone should suggest this in the wish-list thread in the CMAK forum.