Re: [DS2, SG2] Sci-Fi Flavor in Games

At 08:30 AM 1/25/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Greetings,
>  One of the things that I have noticed in DS2 games is a distinct lack
of
>Sci-Fi flavor to most of the games (I suspect the same would hold true
for
>SG2). Most of the DS2 games could just as easily be accomplished by WW2
>tanks and troops. 
>  Yes there are differences. But most of them are not different enough
to
>add a SF flavor. Hover & Grav units are just faster (unless near open
>water). HELs, DFFGs, etc. could just as easily be different types of
>conventional shells. Power Armor is just infantry with body armor.
>  SG2 may not have this problem as Power Armor is much tougher in SG2.
(I
>have not played enough to tell).
>  Ogre and Battletech do not have this problem because they step
outside
>what would be considered possible (Indestructible Tank/Giant Robots).
>  And I am not saying it is the entirely the problem of the DS2 game
design.
>It was designed to be generic, and therefore it conforms to known ideas
and
>stretches belief less than some other games.
>  I am also not saying that it was entirely the fault of the scenario
>designer either. I have played games where there was a good SF flavor.
>However, these games usually involved aliens or an exotic environment
>(Moonbase Xi).
>  I would like some input on how to create a greater SF flavor to these
>games other than by using aliens or exotic environments.

I've been thinking about this for most of the day, and I haven't come up
with much.  A few thoughts, though....

Get rid of grav as a mode of movement.	Instead, give your grav tanks
VTOL
as their movement style.  Flying tanks aren't uncommon in the
literature,
and it's certainly not something that you see these days.

Use a lot of Class 1 and 2 walkers.  Again, not something that you see
on
any modern battlefields.

Let certain troops move by jumping where appropriate -- representing
jetpacks, or personal anti-gravity units.

Robot troops.  You can't go wrong with robots.	Ever.

And that's all that I could come up with.

John X Crimmins
johncrim@voicenet.com
  "...is one of the secret masters of the world: a librarian.
They control information.  Don't ever piss one off."
  --Spider Robinson, The Callahan Touch.