Multiple Micromanagment levels
Elemental Forums
One thing i've been thinking about for a TBS game is the possibiltiy of having mulitple levels of micromanagment avalible.
When you start a new game you choose things, in GC it was random events on or off, how large the galaxy is, difficulty /skill levels of the opponents. . . ect.
I am thinking it should be possible, and benificial to have multiple avalible levels of micromanagement, as a choise when you start a map. The important thing would be that different levels of micromangment wouldn't make the game easier or harder. there would be no 'bonus score' for playing a game of the highest micromanagment. Some player are microphiles and some microphobes; no game can truely satify both if it only has one micromangment model.
So I suggest letting elemental have 3 - 4 micromanagment levels, each additional level opens up new mining options, or reasearch trees.
For example the lowest micromangment would have all minerals be collected automatically at a central bank, and distributed automatical (and instantaniously) to all cities that need them. No alloys would exist, an iron sword is an iron sword. Fog of war would be automaticly reveiled out to X distance from towns/mines armies
add a level of micromanagement and caravans's come into existance, minerals are made in one place and shipped, cities have individual store houses with stock which gets used and compleated. possibly simple alloy reasearch to make iron + adimantium bonused swords. Fog of war needs troops stationed to maintain, troops are there to patrol, troops on a mine also 'see' the full caravan route from the mine, since they are 'deployed' along it protecting it.
The top highest level of micromangment would have users worrying about how many caravans there are on which routes, protecting those caravans from raid/attack. cities would have standing demand for certain resourse as they grow, (just maintaining size requires so much iron/gold/silver per turn, cities that loose these minimums would shrink or pay less taxes till supply was re-established) Fog of war communicaton delayed, Troops far from your city send back fog of war data the next turn, unless you dedicate resourse to fast communication's for that troop, armies must be given orders on what to do if they encounter enemies and can't be given orders because they are out of communication, troops must be set to partrolling both caravane routes and mines, Spoiles of War must be carried with the army back to your civilization before they become avalible. whatever.
The higher the micromanagement level the more bonuses you can squeese out of if, and the more statifaction microphiles can get out of handleing every peice. lower levels take less thought and make for easier fun games for winding down after work mindlessly.
what do people think, would it be interesting/worth while to be able to choose when starting a game just how much micromanagment that map will expect of the user?
Best wishes all,
Robbie price
EDIT, Quick note, At lower levels of micromangment it's not the case that the AI is 'doing the complex stuff for you' the complex stuff just wouldn't exist, you wouldn't get the benifits or complexity for free. Like playing Civilizations Revolutions for the DS, vs Civilization 4 for the PC, differnt expieriances, but in this case one game.
I suppose some aspects of it would be fairly doable, like having a simplified model where resources hook to everywhere at once and produce infinite supplies.
.
