John DiFool the 2nd

I think Hubert implied somewhere [reading between the lines on the SC2 splash page] that oceanic supply lines would be present and subject to interdiction, in much the same manner that convoy lines will be [and hopefully more or less as I outlined in an old post of mine several months back]. John DiFool

One of the screenies definitely shows a Russian paratrooper (with his deflated chute billowing out behind him). Interesting. I know some here have pooh-poohed the concept of paras in SC2, saying that the scale is too large. Well, that may be true, but certainly the fun/surprise factor might make them worthwhile? John DiFool [ April 18, 2004, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: John DiFool the 2nd ]

Playing Devil's Advocate... I agree that the limited beach concept looks good in theory, but it may not fit in with how Hubert and company are coding ground combat. It may make the job of the defense MUCH easier, with most every invasion pushed into the sea. Therefore I think a simple binary "can land/can't land" system probably wouldn't work. But, as a few people have intimated, a variable "suitability" scheme for each coastal hex might work well-sure you can land in the Le Havre area of France, but your supply might suck. John DiFool

Hmm...perhaps the declared-upon country will get a turn where it can set up, but not move or attack or anything. I.E.: 1. Attacking country Declares War... 2. Defending country gets free setup with no moves/attacks allowed, pre-war MPPs if it is a major country... 3. Attacking country then invades. The only problem I see is that other nations not involved in the war can use the extra turn to make preparations of their own. Wait! I got it: the DoW becomes known to the defender only AFTER he hits his end turn button, THEN he gets the free setup before he is attacked (can't do anything else, including new build orders), THEN he ends his turn for real, and the other guy can then perform his invasion. Perfect. :cool: John DiFool

Well, I've been a long advocate of "soft" limits (i.e. law of diminishing returns kicks in if you build too much of one unit), but I can understand how it can be heck to figure out exactly how to get soft limits to put a brake on say the endless air units we saw in SC1, so hard limits is a viable, if inferior, alternative. John DiFool

Two conflicting ideas here: 1. Avoiding the Perfect Plans which often plague games such as SC, 3R, WiF, vs... 2. Avoiding having luck (in its various SC forms) becoming the main arbiter of victory. Trying to balance these two is probably a task of Solomonesque proportions. SC1 probably had the worst of both worlds in that respect: early on the Perfect Plans held sway, but eventually Tech Luck kicked in and became the prime determinant of success or failure. A good strategist could hang in there during the middle and end game despite bad tech rolls, but only to a point. Bill 101 already posted a compromise (which everyone promptly ignored)-I'd imagine Hubert will institute similar compromises. I don't want luck as the be-all and end-all, but neither do I want perfect plans to become refined to the point that gameplay is highly stereotyped and dull. John DiFool

I think we had an old thread where we discussed lowering readiness as a consequence of air attacks: this seems to be the most sensible yet simple option to me... John DiFool Squared

[Couldn't find my old login-grrrr] :mad: Well, the actual movement along the diagonal would be equivalent to the square root of two. I've seen some games where it is rounded to 1.5 for simplicity's sake-other option then is to double movement points (a tank now has 8 instead of 4 for example, and expends 2 across an edge and 3 along a diagonal) so that there aren't any fractional movement points floating around. I am assuming that ZOCs prevent movement through the gaps in that one N/S frontline? John DiFool the 2nd