MidEast Crisis 2

[Quadhelix]

Apparently, MidEast Crisis 2 got its official website up and running recently, and I have to say that the mod looks extremely good.

Of particular interest is the "Occupational Warfare" feature of the mod; the main method of acquiring resources is expanding your control of the battlefield. Each side can capture the Town Hall, a Radio Transmitter, or a News Van in order to gain even more money. Furthermore, fuel appears to have taken the place of power, with each unit and structure requiring a certain amount of fuel, and various Tech Buildings increasing the fuel supply.

[SgtRicko]

I guess you missed the pics that Lion posted on the DEN's front page then, Quad, cause we already know about the mod (hell, I've even saved some of the pics on my comp!)

As for the new resource model... well, it sounds somewhat like CoH, sans territory and 'ammo' resources. Not a bad economic system to borrow ideas from.

[Cylon Crusader]

Wish I had CNC 3 for my comp, this mod looks amazing!

[Quadhelix]

Originally Posted by SgtRicko

As for the new resource model... well, it sounds somewhat like CoH, sans territory and 'ammo' resources. Not a bad economic system to borrow ideas from.

Some elements that I really like are the faction-specific income sources and the "Mobile Tech Buildings."

An additional element that I would really like to see-whether in MEC2 or in another mod-is the ability for each side to make some sort of use of the local civilian populations (ex: GoI and IDF could conscript civilians as cannon-fodder level infantry, whereas the UN could evacuate civilians for money). It would be a nice change of pace from the ghost cities of CnC3 and a return to the good old days of Yuri's Revenge and the Genetic Mutator.

Originally Posted by smurfbizkit

The Requiem is NOT a normal bomber by any standards, in fact I can't remember there being an aircraft as versatile as it in an RTS before. All of this is purely due to how its nanoseeds function...which we aren't explaining yet.

The odd thing about the Requiem is that it is a UN bomber armed with some sort of nanite weapon; however, the UN is supposed to be humane, but anything involving "nanite" and "weapon" in the same sentence would be anything but.

[Thumper]

yep, this mod is truely going to rock. and im not just saying that because im part of the team. I just cant wait to play it. In my opinion its going to be better than generals and cnc3 combined. everyone with cnc3 has to play this at least once.

[SgtRicko]

Originally Posted by Quadhelix

An additional element that I would really like to see-whether in MEC2 or in another mod-is the ability for each side to make some sort of use of the local civilian populations (ex: GoI and IDF could conscript civilians as cannon-fodder level infantry, whereas the UN could evacuate civilians for money). It would be a nice change of pace from the ghost cities of CnC3 and a return to the good old days of Yuri's Revenge and the Genetic Mutator.

There actually was a game that did exactly what you just said... problem was, it sucked horribly due to a myriad of things, one thing being the fact that the good guys constantly had to watch and rescue civilians from the settlements in the area while the bad guys could not only recruit them but disguise them as civilians which no effective means to tell who the hell was who. And GOD FORBID if the bad guys ever researched the civilian suicide bomber upgrade...

BTW, if you wanna know more about the game (it was called Conflict Zone), then you can check this link here.

[Quadhelix]

Originally Posted by Thumper

yep, this mod is truely going to rock. and im not just saying that because im part of the team. I just cant wait to play it. In my opinion its going to be better than generals and cnc3 combined. everyone with cnc3 has to play this at least once.

Familiarity breed contempt; if you like it that much while being that familiar with it, it must be good.

Also, primary sources (those with first hand knowledge) tend to be more accurate than secondary sources (those with knowledge acquired from other sources).

Originally Posted by SgtRicko

There actually was a game that did exactly what you just said... problem was, it sucked horribly due to a myriad of things, one thing being the fact that the good guys constantly had to watch and rescue civilians from the settlements in the area while the bad guys could not only recruit them but disguise them as civilians which no effective means to tell who the hell was who. And GOD FORBID if the bad guys ever researched the civilian suicide bomber upgrade...

Sounds like real life.

Originally Posted by SgtRicko

BTW, if you wanna know more about the game (it was called Conflict Zone), then you can check this link here.

Thanks for the info!

I guess that any implementation of a civilian conscription/evacuation system would have to be done in such a way as to avoid not only the problem that you mentioned but also to avoid a situation that encourages one player or another to target civilians (unless one of those players is Nod/GLA/Scrin/etc., but I don't think MEC2 is trying to portray any one side as "evil"). Maybe players could simply be prohibited from actually firing upon civilians (no targeting cursor), but are also unable to disguise militia as civilians.

Also, depending on the map, different players could have a "home field advantage" (i.e., IDF can raise local militia in Israel, but not in Saudi Arabia or Syria; similarly, GoI can recruit militia from its own citizens but not from Isreali citizens) while the other side doesn't have to worry as much about collateral damage (i.e., when IDF fire kills Isreali civilians, the IDF suffers a [rather large] cash penalty that it would not suffer if the civilians were GoI; similarly, GoI faces a cash penalty for any of its own civilians that it kills that it would not face if the civilians were Isreali). In short, the "home team" would be able to recruit militia from the map's populace while the "visiting team" would be able to use high collateral damage weaponry; the UN would never have the "visitor's advantage" nor the "home field advantage" but might have other advantages instead to compensate.

Of course, a different mod would have different civilian mechanics, but I hope that I have at least made a case that the idea of making civilians an important strategic asset is not fundamentally flawed.

[SgtRicko]

Originally Posted by Quadhelix

Also, depending on the map, different players could have a "home field advantage" (i.e., IDF can raise local militia in Israel, but not in Saudi Arabia or Syria; similarly, GoI can recruit militia from its own citizens but not from Isreali citizens) while the other side doesn't have to worry as much about collateral damage (i.e., when IDF fire kills Isreali civilians, the IDF suffers a [rather large] cash penalty that it would not suffer if the civilians were GoI; similarly, GoI faces a cash penalty for any of its own civilians that it kills that it would not face if the civilians were Isreali). In short, the "home team" would be able to recruit militia from the map's populace while the "visiting team" would be able to use high collateral damage weaponry; the UN would never have the "visitor's advantage" nor the "home field advantage" but might have other advantages instead to compensate.

Hmm... sounds like what EAW tried, though the morale/cash penalty is a nice touch!

[Thumper]

no, no one side in mec is evil. its all perspective.