[Talenn]

Evan and Coldsteel:

IMO, that would still not work. Dont get me wrong, I'd LIKE to see retreat be an option, but not at the cost of no longer being able to fight decisive battles. And that systems for retreats still doesnt solve that problem IMO.

Its nearly impossible to cross the tactical map in 10 turns (or whatever) let alone actually inflict meaningful damage. Even if you lengthened the time required to 15 or so, it still wouldnt be enough to stop someone from simply refusing to give battle if that was their intention (and it would be every time they felt outgunned). I think ColdSteel summed it up well if you interpret the 30 turn limit as the 'auto-retreat'. Maybe it should only end the combat in 30 turns if one side has pushed a 'retreat button'? If that was done, I'm sure that it would FEEL different and that retreat was possible.

No, something far more complex would be required I'm afraid. IMO it would require an actual 'inertia' movement system so you cant simply reverse direction at will etc. Then you could require a player to enter with 'x' base velocity (maybe based on their movement strategically beforehand?). If they could overcome or convert their velocity and then still be able to turn around and run, then fine. That would also give the enemy time to build velocity for pursuit etc. But that is adding whole new layers of complexity to the game--turn modes or whatnot and thrust capacity etc. It would be neat, but prolly aint gonna happen any time soon.

Given the current 'abstract' movement system, any form of retreat will be far too easy to accomplish before the enemy can prevent it and we are left with the strategic impasse that I mentioned below. Trust me, I've worked on many a turn based game system and its a difficult problem to solve. Even games like Age of Wonders (fantasy turn based) eventually had to adopt a system in which only the attacker could retreat.

The ability to force a decisive conflict MUST be present or the game falls apart. As of yet, I dont see how a system that allows the weaker force an easy escape to be able to still have decisive battles.

Talenn

[This message has been edited by Talenn (edited 01 January 2001).]