09-28-2016, 06:39 PM
(09-28-2016, 05:07 PM)ixnay Wrote: One thing I do know. There is a vast mine of game content sitting out there for intrepid game designers to explore and learn from. Vast archives of games from the ancient days of the 70s and 80s, filled with people confronting many of the same issues we find ourselves facing today. I came across an enormous archive of Avalon Hill's "The General" magazine, scanned to PDF, with tons of articles on game design, theme, tempo, and yes, play-by-mail topics. It's a pool almost too deep to dare dive into!
Do you have a link to this PDF? I for one would be very happy to read it.
One of the things I've been trying to do with the design of Cohorts is to make the general math in the reasonably understandable. That way people can understand the cause/effect of what choices they make. Some are technically simple, yet a bit complicated for some people to grasp at game-time. For example, trying to figure out how far a wagon can travel across a grassland roads. Wagons have a speed of 20 but get a 100% bonus when travelling along roads. Grassland costs 5 movement points to move into, but that is reduced by 50% because of the road. Based on these things, the wagon moves at speed 40 on roads across grasslands that effectively cost 2.5 movement points each - allowing for up to 16 provinces (hexes). Whereas the same wagons crossing grassland without roads would only be able to move 4 hexes.