I propse a project of epic proportions

[P-51]

I think that a great way of keeping the EE community active and motivated would be if we collaborated on a major project involving the scenario editor to expand our own gaming experience while fully maximizing the potential of what features the game allows us to access. We should create a mult-iplayer campaign. If we can get a team of 5-10 people that are willing to work together using the scenario editor then we should be able to make something truly epic.

I propose that we create a series of scenarios that will chronologically reenact a war. Each scenario would represent a major battle that would allow either side to win within terms of historical plausibility. This would mean we cannot pick battles that are totally one sided so the winner is not decided before the game begins. For example if we decide to create a World War II campaign we would not make scenarios for the Battle of Pearl Harbor or the invasions of Czechoslovakia. I think six players for each scenario would be the best idea.

For example if we choose to make a campaign on the American Civil War:

Scenario I: Battle of First Manassas
Scenario II: Battle of Shiloh
Scenario III: Battle of Fredricksburg
Scenario IV: Battle of Vicksburg
Scenario V: Battle of Ghettysburg
Scenario VI: Battle of the Wilderness/Spotsylvania
Scenario VII: Miscellaneous Southern Campaigns

For us to get each scenario to have six players we would have three players on each side. Each player would represent a division, corp, or army that was heavily involved in the battle and has a large chance of influencing the final outcome. I am going to assume that we won't actually do the American Civil War because I have a feeling that people would prefer to play as countries rather than units.

So for that reason we need to come up with a war that would fit the parameters of what we are trying to achieve. There are plenty of options so the most difficult part would probably be agreeing on one. I would prefer to do something between the bronze age and the industrial age. So options within that time frame could be the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire, the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, and the Napoleonic Wars.

Once we decide on which campaign we would like to build. Each one of us could begin by figuring out what each of us are best in so we can specialize in some part of the development. We would need historical researchers, terrain builders, trigger builders, civ builders, etc.

I think this would be an excellent way of preserving and expanding the legacy of EE. It would be fun and interesting for all who are involved and it would add another dimension to the game because it would give us more options instead of just playing pre-space and mid sh games all the time. This project could work very well with enough people involved so I hope that some of you are willing to do this because it is definitely possible and will be a great benefit for EE in general, its just too big to be a one-man project.

[lightnessking.]

count me in as trigger creator, i really hate making a map... i like the idea we really should get more people in this kind of projects.

[Elite]

Penguini tried something like this with 1776 - it was a complex and in my opinion very well made scenario of the American Revolution. Unfortunately it seemed to crash or drop players at such a high rate that it was almost impossible to finish a game, leading me to believe that the game engine just can't handle scenarios that really push the limits on triggers. Maybe someone with more scenario experience has an opinion.

[lightnessking.]

I don't know that scenario, if it's possible could you send it? If the scen has like 500 triggers which are all active, then yes that'll be instant crash.

[P-51]

Well because it is going to be a factual scenario I don't think that should be a problem. We're not going to try to make crazy things happen with triggers, they will mostly just diplomatic and economic events to help the game flow and then some unit/object triggers to differentiate the armies of different players. That would be great if we can get this to work, now we must find somebody who is good at making maps.

[LacRimoSa]

hi, i really like this idea. If u have decided where the scenario should take place, pls tell me. I'll try and make a map. I dont know if I can be considered as a good map builder, so that's yours to decide.

Anyway, I would love to help you with this projekt.

[lightnessking.]

hi, i really like this idea. If u have decided where the scenario should take place, pls tell me. I'll try and make a map. I dont know if I can be considered as a good map builder, so that's yours to decide.

Anyway, I would love to help you with this projekt.

The micro trainer map looked pretty good .

[P-51]

Excellent, now we can decide what war would like to base our campaign off of. I'll make a list of the ones I mentioned in the OP and if you guys have any suggestions that might be better we can consider them as well.

Wars of Alexander the Great - I know very little about this time period so unless somebody else is an expert about this then we probably should skip this idea.

Barbarian Invasions of Rome - This might be difficult to make because of the size of the maps. It would work well with the amount of players we need though. The Roman side would consist of three Roman armies. In certain scenarios it may be two Roman armies and an allied barbarian army. The barbarian side would also have three armies and vary between different tribes, the same tribes, and mixed tribes depending on the scenario.

The Crusades - This would be a huge project but would be awesome if we could get it to work. Economy probably won't play a major role in this campaign and it will mostly rely on military tactics so maybe some people won't like that. But it would be very easy to get three different countries to represent the Christian and the Islam side of each of the major Crusades and we could also probably include a couple scenarios of minor Crusades like the Swedish Crusade against Finland and Livonia.

The Hundred Years War - Once again I don't know much about this one. I only mentioned it because it should give us alot of stuff to work with if anyone here knows about it.

The Thirty Years War - This one should work very well because of the number of countries involved. We would have enough available for some computer players if Lightness wants to make triggers for them so they aren't totally useless. The Wikipedia Page actually outlines it nicely for us. We could make a scenario for each of the five sections under the "Origins of the War" tab. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirty_Years_War

The War of Spanish Succession - This one would probably work very similarly to the Thirty Years War. The sides are well defined so the countries involved would probably be constant throughout the campaign. I think I would prefer the Thirty Years War but if we have anybody here who is an expert on the War of Spanish Succession then this would be a good choice as well.

The Napoleonic Wars - If we want to go with an industrial age campaign then this will probably be the only one that would work. Once again there are many countries involved and trigger-influenced computers would give the scenarios. The main problem here is that it will be so centered on France that people may fight over who gets to be France.

I suggest that we eliminate Alexander and the Hundred Years War from consideration unless we have somebody here that knows an uber lot about them and will be dedicated to do most of the research and writing for the campaign. To Lightness and Lacrimosa, thanks for showing your interest and hopefully this is a sign that we will be able to start this project in the next couple of weeks. Do you confirm these two eliminations? Which of the remaining choices do you guys think we should eliminate from the list? Are there any that we should consider adding? If anyone else out there is interested and wants to get involved then your suggestions are wanted as well.

[lightnessking.]

my vote goes to the barbarian invasion, i will write why in 9 hours. im on an ipod now.

[lightnessking.]

my vote goes to the barbarian invasion, i will write why in 9 hours. im on an ipod now.

Barbarian Invasions of Rome - This might be difficult to make because of the size of the maps. It would work well with the amount of players we need though. The Roman side would consist of three Roman armies. In certain scenarios it may be two Roman armies and an allied barbarian army. The barbarian side would also have three armies and vary between different tribes, the same tribes, and mixed tribes depending on the scenario.

The size of the maps shouldn't matter, I can do a little mapping myself tho I really dislike doing it.
As for barbarian invasions, there could be a few cool things we can add. For example there are 2 teams, the barbarian team, and the roman team. Once the barbarians conquered Rome, meaning the roman empire have lost, the attack/defender role will be swapped. In the same scenario, the romans will have to reconquer Rome while the barbarians are rebuilding it for their own use.

But what exactly do you mean by

The barbarian side would also have three armies and vary between different tribes, the same tribes, and mixed tribes depending on the scenario.

??

[P-51]

But what exactly do you mean by

The barbarian side would also have three armies and vary between different tribes, the same tribes, and mixed tribes depending on the scenario.

??

For example: the Battle of Adrianople would be 3 Roman armies vs 3 Gothic armies because those were the only ones involved in the fighting. But a later battle may be 3 Roman armies vs 3 allied barbarian tribes. There's no change in the structure of the game, just in the names. This sounds like a good choice though, I'll start making an outline for the scenarios.

[Arntzen]

This sounds awesome! Question: what units would the barbarian/rome teams have? Just curious.

[Jushe]

I'm in. I can help build the terrain of the map...I haven't done this in awhile though so I may be rusty at first. xD

[Nicoly]

For what its worth, i support this project.. seems pretty legit. I can't really help in anyway though, reasons remain unknown. kthxbai.

[lightnessking.]

This sounds awesome! Question: what units would the barbarian/rome teams have? Just curious.

I do say:

Romans

- Bronze cavalry (Stable)
- Stone throwers (Siege factory)
- Charioteers (Archery range)
- Short sword (Barracks)
- Legionaries (Scenario Editor Unit.)

Maybe some more. (Like javelins / bowman.)

Barbarians

- Horseman (Stable)
- Barbarian / Viking (Barracks)
- Composite Bowman (Archery Range)
- Rams, Siege towers & Catapults (Siege Factory)

There are also several Scenario Editor Units which could fit in the scenario perfectly.