How would you improve the combat of Wasteland, if it remained technically the same?

[Kohno]

So Wasteland fans ahoy!

I’m still slowly but surely - worklife has its limits - trying to make a cyberpunk-style RPG with the first Wasteland as a base template (obviously with extensions and improvements, but there will be a ”wastelandy area”).

Like the header says: How would you improve the combat of Wasteland, if it remained technically the same?

I have my own ideas about cover, party formation, day/night- and weather effects and such, but if someone has a yearning to give a design speech or otherwise do some lightweight brainstorming, I’m all ears because I know I most likely have missed some nice ideas.

So, if you have anything to share. Do it now!

 

[Gizmojunk]

Party actions that boobytrap or otherwise make dangerous ground of the terrain that enemies must cross to advance.

IE. Claymores, flame throwers, caltdrops, naphtha, proximity mines (not unlike FO3's).

Given Wasteland's destructible nature, cave-in demolitions, and pit traps using a shovel...though these couldn't (or probably shouldn't) be combat actions.

Spoiler: Thoughts on a modern Bard's Tale

 

[Mr Fish]

Since it isn't basing its combat in the actual game world but rather an encounter world I would probably add in some sort of a grid based on the map, So like a chess board but with stuff on it like in HOMM3 that can be used as cover or barriers of movement then just allow the player to take an action with each of their members and when you hit end round all your units move and act at once against the enemy, the enemy thereafter (if their overall sequence is lower than yours) get to move (vice versa otherwise). Without a representation on the screen for who is where it makes distance modifiers (especially for melee units) a chore to figure out and play. Which is why a grid-based board should be used of some kind. But the entire team should move at once.

When you have all the team members visualized on a board it'd be a lot easier to figure out what other mechanics to add in.

 

[Kohno]

Since it isn't basing its combat in the actual game world but rather an encounter world I would probably add in some sort of a grid based on the map, So like a chess board but with stuff on it like in HOMM3 that can be used as cover or barriers of movement then just allow the player to take an action with each of their members and when you hit end round all your units move and act at once against the enemy, the enemy thereafter (if their overall sequence is lower than yours) get to move (vice versa otherwise). Without a representation on the screen for who is where it makes distance modifiers (especially for melee units) a chore to figure out and play. Which is why a grid-based board should be used of some kind. But the entire team should move at once.

When you have all the team members visualized on a board it'd be a lot easier to figure out what other mechanics to add in.

It’s kind of funny thing how much one notices his own limits only when he starts doing something.

At first I aimed for a crude lookalike of GTA 1, noticed that hoooly shit that’s a lot of art and other considerations (combat included) I’m totally incapable of at the moment.
I then downgraded to Dreamweb-like style, which is much more doable, but still has a lot of similiar considerations out of my current league.
So I ended up with Wasteland 1 as a starting point.

I’m still thinkin about how to clearly provide distances in combat.

Full on HoMM3 is out of the question. But I was thinkin about two options (or a mix of the two, if feasible).

1. Something like combat in B.A.T.2 and Albion mixed with the Wasteland style ”choices”, where there is a crude grid with icons representing the combatants and the battlefield structure. Movement based on Combat Tactics skill.

2. A party icon that shows ”danger” around them in North, South, East and West (all of those at once or just one depending on the encounter) - kind of like the party icon in Wizardry 8 - and distances like ”close combat”, ”near”, ”medium distance” and ”long distance”. And movement success based on combat tactics skill.

I kinda prefer the latter one, but hovering over icons to see their distances, might not be as intuitive as it could.

I should at some point make test setup for the combat scenario with pen and paper to test out some of the ideas. It’s all still very raw.