Massive Strategic/Challenge Map Library

[Geogun]

Subject:
One of the things I enjoyed most about C&C Generals was its single player replay-ablility. I loved spending hours navigating through the General's challenges or custom maps, and coming up with unique (open-ended) ways to accomplish the mission the way I desire. Re-focusing on this aspect of the game and creating an online, massive, constantly updated, designer/user created, and user available library of challenge maps would be a great addition to the next C&C game.

Description:
The first goal of the massive challange map library, would be compelling challenge map design (greatly expanding on the Generals: Zero Hour/Uprising design); that sticks to the Generals/C&C3 gameplay (re-focusing on base/defense building and larger unit counts). The maps should be massive to give the user a lot of room to be creative and expand. The map challenges should have varying levels of difficulty, with some specifically for singer-player, and some specifically for co-op (so as not to force single players to have to run with an AI ally for ALL the maps). The focus here is replay-ability, and user creativity vs an AI opponent, so linear story driven missions such as the ones in C&C4, SC2, Red Alert 3, World in Conflict, and Company of Heroes, should be avoided. There definitly needs to be an achievement system based on certain styles of gameplay, to compel the player to replay the map with different units than before (armor, air, infantry, etc), or what they are use to with different tactics. The key here is open-ended gameplay in a RTS (think Battlefield or GTA concept, but for an RTS); not linear "train track" like gameplay. The library for these challenge maps should be huge! Since there is no real need to stick with a storyline, or pvp balance; the sky is the limit with the amount of creativity the designers and/or users can come up with focusing on player vs. AI.

Positive Effect:
This idea would cater to the casual player; which I believe most RTS fans tend to be. I personally know a lot of people (and I am sure there are more who would agree) who play through single player campaigns and then call it quits (C&C4, SC2, Red Alert 3, World in Conflict, and Company of Heroes for me). This Challenge Library would entice gamers to stick with the game, play it for years, and tell their friends to check it out (like what I did with Generals).

Negative Effect:
There are some who would disagree with me, and say that online player vs. player is the most important aspect in which you have to design an RTS game around. If this is true statistically; then this would be a bad idea and many people wouldn't care, or contribute to it.

Media:
Bring it Back! Make it Online! And Make it MASSIVE!!

[Lauren]

C&C Generals [...] single player replay-ablility.

Did I miss something? Was Generals 2 released? The Generals Challenge was nice but boring after the first time you'd beaten it. You know how the AI does stuff and exploit it...

[Geogun]

Did I miss something? Was Generals 2 released?

No, but it had the best example of single player replay-ability in my opinion. So, that is where I think a challenge map library should be expanded from.

The Generals Challenge was nice but boring after the first time you'd beaten it. You know how the AI does stuff and exploit it...

Well...it never really got boring for me, and for my friends who played it for a long time. Making the library massive, and open to user generated maps could possibly quell the bordom with constantly updated new takes on the challenge map design. Also, I am sure the programmers could advance the AI now-a-days, more so than the Generals era. "There is more than one way to skin a cat"; and that is why achievements should be included to promote variety in strategy; an example would be, "Complete X Challenge while not taking any casualties", or "Only use air units", or "Only build structures and infantry" (This was the only reason I replayed the SC2 single-player campaign; minus the timed achievements). One of the things that was great about Generals was the variety of styles each General had, and this could definitly be expanded upon by adding more Generals and unit compositions.

[GeneralSGJist]

uhh, so, this idea is to have a lod of AIs and maps for the playerthat vary in terms of challenges?

[Geogun]

uhh, so, this idea is to have a lod of AIs and maps for the playerthat vary in terms of challenges?

Pretty much; but it would be online and users could develope their own challenge maps via a simple map editor (I didn't want to make my original post to long); get voted on by the community, add custom achivements to their maps that players can keep track of, and pretty much have a community of people screaming "beat my map!!" (look at Minecraft for example), etc, etc. The potential for user input, and user development greatly increases the life and fanbase of a game. Starcraft 2 is doing a great job of maintaining a custom map library; but most of the games on there are gimmick palor games that give you no real sense of accomplishment. I wouldn't even consider most of them RTS for that matter.

Pvp players are content with just sticking with balanced maps made by the devs, so pvp maps don't need to make it into the massive library, or be customized for that matter; whereas the vs. AI "challenge" catagory has a lot of potential to work for C&C (So long as they return to their roots with regards to gameplay), as it has in the past. This could greatly be expanded on with a massive library that incorporates user generated maps. Multiplayer potential would come in the form of co-op; but (for me personally) I would enjoy more single player challenges in the next C&C.

[WeedWhacker92]

I'd enjoy this, having a "Generals challenge" mode for a new C&C game, whatever universe it happens to be. It would just add on play time and replay time to the game, especially if there are multiple levels of difficulty, multiple different factions & subfactions to play as and against, and unlockable achievements/unit skins/avatars/faction logos as incentives for completing this challenge mode over and over again.