[amdahlj]

Hey guys,
Remember my "My mod idea:"" thread? Maybe not, so let me refresh your memory on the concept:

Conflict Somalia for Battle for Middle Earth:

Setting: Somalia in the year 2006
Storyline: Already done, but this will be leaked in bits and pieces leading up to the release of BF:ME and the mod
Factions: Habr Gedir Militia, United States Armed Forces
Major Themes:
-Gameplay Realism: This isn't your average base-building mod. While it is impossible to say excactly how the system would work (given that I'd need to get my hands on BFME) here's the general idea. You build your base out of existing buildings. You capture civilian buildings and use them for your own purposes rather than build your own base in the middle of nowhere.
-Asymmetrical Gameplay: In generals, or nearly any RTS for that matter, every side is essentially the same. You gather the same resources (usually in the same way), build everything with the same system, and win or loose by huge mass of units. So how do you make Somalia and the US play like two completely different sides but preserve balance? To answer that I draw inspiration from real life.
The US has to live by the consequences of it's actions because it is always in the spotlight. So when you're playing as the US you are going to HAVE TO look after your own. If you lose a soldier, it is LITERALLY going to cost you. Public opinion has proven to be effective at curbing war efforts. Not only will you have to look after your own, you'll have to look after civilians. Causing civilian casualties will also directly penalize the US player.
For a somalian, the game is entirely differnt. You shouldn't expect to win any engagement with US soldiers in the open. You shouldn't expect to win any open engagements with enemies in the beginning of the game at all. What you can do, however, is cause casualites. You aren't bound to public opinion, so you can be a bit more reckless. You also have the ability for your buildings to blend in more with the surroundings, hindering the US player's ability to locate you. As a somalian player, you win by burdening the US player with the cost of casualties, then going for the jugular once they are crippled.

All we really need at the moment is modellers, skinners (Where the hell did they go, anyway?) and someone to do the web page. For the release of BFME, however, we will be looking for anyone with modding related skills (coding, mapping, ect...)

Contact Info:
AIM: YourSource4Evil
MSN: Amdahlj@msn.com

[ComradeJ]

Are you sure making it for BFME is a good idea? It was said that the hardest thing to do on it was making aircraft, and I couldn't imagine your mod without them...

[amdahlj]

Originally Posted by ComradeJ

Are you sure making it for BFME is a good idea? It was said that the hardest thing to do on it was making aircraft, and I couldn't imagine your mod without them...

I've looked into this and I've decided that the risk is minimal. Aircraft via scripted OCL sequences will very likely be possible, Even if regular jetAI isn't. Helos should be possible, and they will make up the vast majority of the aircraft. Furthermore, EA is showing signs of yielding to the modding community with recent comments, such as the one suggesting that Generals could be redone in BFME with a talented group. With that in mind, there are too many tools in BFME to take advantage of for me to pass up. Granted, there will be challenges and sacrifices, but in many of these challenges we'll be working alongside the Blitzkrieg: 3 team. Thats some pretty damn good company if I may say so myself.

[smurfbizkit]

Yea helicopters would be very possible to do, the only major problem is the lack of airfield logic.

Oh, and please don't get your hopes up on any sort of support from EA...since it is much more likely that you die from a freak spoon incident sometime in the next 12 hours than that happening within our lifetime.

[amdahlj]

Originally Posted by smurfbizkit

Yea helicopters would be very possible to do, the only major problem is the lack of airfield logic.

Oh, and please don't get your hopes up on any sort of support from EA...since it is much more likely that you die from a freak spoon incident sometime in the next 12 hours than that happening within our lifetime.

You misunderstand, I don't expect EA to be helpful, I only believe it is probable that they are going to keep some of the module tags that apply to modern games.

[smurfbizkit]

Ah yea, that is what I feel as well...since the way they set up the engine for Gen is to leave it open for much of the actual coding to be done via ini's. It would seem kinda silly for them to cut back on their flexibility.

[Hostile]

Never made sense to me anyway to remove some tags. They don't take up that much space in the Engine. They should understand modding extends the shelf life of a game 3 fold over. To remove airfield logic limits the game so much, while the space saved is so minimal. There must be more info than we know on why a company would continuously not keep modding in mind. They can't be that dumb!