Blogs - Baryonyx

The Gustav Line, Monte Cassino, Italy 1944.
This is a preview demonstration of the battlefield. An experiment which is currently being worked on for a Singleplayer/coop mission. Map inspiration and eliments of the Men of War (Vanilla) "Crete" map are used as a basis for a heavily modified section of the map. All other areas are entirely custom.

Scripting is ongoing with no formal deadline for completion. Units and deployment represented here are not necessarily in the final mission. The map and eventual mission are an interpretation of the battle for Monte Cassino and not accurate to the final grain of dust, but hopefully it follows some strong historic cues. Effort has been made to find a balance between historic representation and creative (gameplay) choices including limitations and suitability for the game engine. The focus has been on historic events and setting rather than unit appearance at this point as that can be modified at a later date, for example Polish and Indian units are represented by the current units of the Commonwealth at the present time and are suitable with regards to the level of detail required at this stage.

Design objectives and ideas that are to be implemented include a focus on multiplayer coop and extensive use of both allied and axis scripting. Designed for multiple plays with no two battles being the same (which requires extensive scripting). For example each attempt at the mission could result in a different series of events and battles depending on both the enemy/allied AI and the players choices/achivements during play. Variable weather is also in the pipeline. The hope is that each attempt will result in a new experience brought about by a level of unpredictability.

The map has been designed with the AI in mind. Hopefully the theory behind it will show through that the battlefield notably width and size overall is inherrently important for the ability to create greater veriation and improve the implementation of both player and AI tactics and stratagems.