What's next for BG?

[ozmono2005]

Hi, it's been awhile since my last visit. I was just wondering what is next for BG. Sorry if it has been asked before, I only visit the forums every few months these days.

[dust off]

I guess you want to hear something from the horses mouth. However, while you wait this is what I've gathered:

1. Repeatedly stated that they'll visit WW11
2. Last 6 months or so said yes WW11 eventually but hinted that not the next project.

BG you're very tight lipped since the good old days. Come on give us some bones so we can start our rants about what features should be in.

Like you really should have hierarchy in next time or expansion. Check what HoI 3 did. And please put AI country change of government and liberation in to give some of us long-game players new goals. Couldn't resist that

[czert]

Is planed another expansion to 2020 ?

[Amashi]

I guess you want to hear something from the horses mouth. However, while you wait this is what I've gathered:

1. Repeatedly stated that they'll visit WW11
2. Last 6 months or so said yes WW11 eventually but hinted that not the next project.

BG you're very tight lipped since the good old days. Come on give us some bones so we can start our rants about what features should be in.

Like you really should have hierarchy in next time or expansion. Check what HoI 3 did. And please put AI country change of government and liberation in to give some of us long-game players new goals. Couldn't resist that

OMG!!! N000000000! not ANOTHER of those WW2 game, the past is sooooo boring and the technologies so primitive, give us the future, not the past! you have Google of those games, while i don't see any SR type around, they just need some good marketing to dominate the strategic games scene.

PS I hate HoI

[Porcupine1981]

Actually, I really love building SU-100 assault guns in SR2020. The only WW2 unit that is still moderately useful at the start of the game.

[Amashi]

Actually, I really love building SU-100 assault guns in SR2020. The only WW2 unit that is still moderately useful at the start of the game.

I'll give it a try but Oh Lord! please no WW2 crap games, it's like returning to the stone age, building arrows and swords! oh! you sword is made from steel!!! WOW!!!

PS - Hate HOI

[dust off]

Amashi, by the way have you ever played HoI?

[Amashi]

Amashi, by the way have you ever played HoI?

...well, tried to play, it was so boring... maybe because i played SR, I'm telling you people who played SR first can't stand HOI! reenacting this, reenacting that, the "glorious past" and all... who cares... WW2 is out! WW3 is in! 1 modern tactical unit + support can take down the entire allied forces of WW2.

[nickcvader]

I just had an idea.

Have another expansion for SR 2020, make it a WWII expansion, with all of the leaders, and politics, as well as borders of the time, and unit graphics.

[Balthagor]

For the work involved in a WWII game, it's not something that would be done as an expansion. There are some important engine changes that would have to be considered. The development costs would be much more than what the income of an expansion would cover.

[Porcupine1981]

I'm sure it doesn't make financial/business sense to release a WW2 version of SR as an expansion, and I'm also sure that a lot of graphics changes etc. would be needed, but I am not so sure what engine changes I would do if I were lead designer... In particular because combat operations in 1945 or hypothetical 1946-1950 would play out much the same way as SR warfare does (and in a few cases would even use the same units! ).

Submarines might need to be reworked, granted, but the late ones would function just like the SR submarines. Satellites would not be necessary, at least not in their SR form, although communications satellites could still be useful.

Nothing would change from SR2020 about how rockets are handled. The V-2 was a mobile system. Fritz X and the Hagelkorn were mounted on aircraft the same way you would put Harpoons on a P-3C Orion.

Trade might need some retouching, ok, but in all honesty, it would be quite nice to do trade properly in SR2020 as well (no more magical transfer of goods and units from one country to another, but need for railroads, roads or merchant ships and the ability to destroy these on-map).

So I have no doubts that a WW2 expansion could be simply "bolted on" to SR2020, just by expanding the tech tree downwards (there are nearly a hundred levels that are completely unnused so far!) and adding units and creating one more map... ah... and here I see the problem with the engine now. You would need an extra "base map" for the unit models, right?

[Saarud]

All I can say is please NO WW2 game. IMO you are on the right track with the Supreme Ruler games. I would very much like to see SR 3 (or SR 2030 or whatever) that focus on the modern or near future conflicts.

Besides WW2 is so boooooooring.

[Amashi]

All I can say is please NO WW2 game. IMO you are on the right track with the Supreme Ruler games. I would very much like to see SR 3 (or SR 2030 or whatever) that focus on the modern or near future conflicts.

Besides WW2 is so boooooooring.

Right On! let's open an internet petition "no more WW2 games!" hey even Infinity ward latest games are called Modern Warfare anyway i will not spend a cent on a WW2 game and that's it!


PS - Hate HOI

[Saarud]

What I dislike most with WW2 games is that for the game to be WW2ish it has to be more or less deterministic. You pretty much know what is going to happen. Also there are not that many nations that makes sence to play in a WW2 game. I like the plethora of nations (regions) that you can chose from in SR 2020.

BG made a major leap from SR 2010 to SR 2020 but there is still alot to do. We all have different opinions on what we think is most important to improve but I bet most of us really would like some improvements to Supreme Ruler. (My pet peeve is that I would very very much like to organize my forces in real stacks as it is hard to control so many individual units, and no the existing groups is no good option instead of stacks.)

They have a winner game concept in Supreme Ruler... let's hope they stick with it.

[vorius]

How about some hints now at what may be coming down the pipe?

Personally I like the current scope of the game so I hope it stays like that - modern scenario.

Some of the most important features I can think of for the next title would actually be easy but help someone like me immensely - more visibility into whats going on in your game.

I mean screens that are just filled with data.

For example, a breakdown of all your facilities with columns of data including:

• sector (petrol/agriculture/etc... the commodity the facility produces)
• status (normal/damaged/inactivated/being scrapped)
• # of workers
• production efficiency (which takes into account if the hex has foreign loyalty)
• supply level of hex it is in
• button to close this screen and zoom in on the facility
• button to scrap the facility

and a total line on the bottom

then you can sort by each column or you can filter the whole list by sector, status, efficiency, supply level.

A military unit breakdown screen which prints out all your units with columns including:

• name of unit
• type of unit (infantry/tank)
• Current order
• deployed/in reserve
• Efficiency level
• Supply level
• maintenance cost
• a column that shows its most relevant attributes (the same way it is shown in any other list in the game - for example for a missile it will show icons for what type of missile it is and the attack value of its relevant targets)
• button to close this screen and zoom in on the unit
• button to scrap the unit

and a total line on the bottom

with sortable columns and filter options to filter the list by type of unit, current order, efficiency, supply, deployed or in reserve status

and finally a diplomacy breakdown screen which shows:

• country name
• current diplomatic relation
• current civilian relation
• casus belli
• active trades between you and them
• button to initiate diplomacy

Also I desperately need a good interface for comparing unit designs.

A screen which could also be a table but it needs ot have different columns depending on unit type. So say for infantry table it lists all the stats that are important to infantry- speed, combat time, soft attack, hard attack, range, personel, cost, etc... All the factors which you consider when deciding what to build.

And each row is a different unit and you can filter and sort the records so it will be a breeze to research what unit design you want to build. The way it is now it is absolutely impossible unless you only have a few unit designs - but who has that after a few trades and a little research you're swamped with designs.

In fact I have to open the actual unit data file and use excel features to help me decide what unit to build