Role-Player said:
True, and hence why I agreed with suleo and Crichton. I'm trying to incorporate a more Hidden and Dangerousesque approach: players choose equipment before each campaign and are stuck with it - and anything else they find on missions - until they can return to base at the end of the campaign. It just seems more credible and natural to me.
This to me is a good approach, seeing as I liked H&D (hence I used it as an example). I am also perplexed, like others, as to why you want to stick to the storyline of SS and SSS which is, basically, retarded and for 5-year olds.
I am really interested in an H&D-style game but using the tactical turn-based engine of SS. But of course, that means NO panzerkleins, laser weapons or any other sci-fi junk. Just focus on special ops, like sabotaging heavy water plants, stealing documents, killing high-ranking generals, whatever. WW2 has ample material to draw from when it comes to special ops. Oh, and just for kicks, I'd like to see an evil (i.e. Axis) storyline as well.
Now as for tanks, frankly I don't think tanks fit into the setting of the game, because the scope of the tactical map is too small for tanks to be of any actual tactical use. They are probably going to be more of a liability (as it should be, tanks sucked in urban warfare and in close encounters with infantry in anything but an open field). H&D had tanks, but it also had a much larger playing field (e.g. the mission where you drive the half-truck trying to escape).
I think the best implementation of tank warfare in conjunction with infantry action was done in the combat mission series, but the maps there spanned several kilometers. Consequently, you can actually use some decent tactics concerning tanks (i.e positioning, overwatch, smoke etc). But combat mission focuses on companies and batallions, not just 5 dudes...
In squad-based games, tanks have always been a problem at least for me. X-Com had them but I rarely used them for anything else than expendable scouts. JA has them being static pillboxes, which makes sense as the maps in JA are about the size of the SS maps, but still, their use was pretty limited (plus, the player couldn't use them). All those design choices stem from the basic fact that tanks are just not suitable for the scope of these games.
Consequently, I think it's best if tanks are actually left OUT of squad-based games that focus on small maps. If you try to put them in and try to overcome their shortcomings in terms of urban warfare (but still try to have a heavily armored beast moving around blasting things), you end up with PKs. So it's not so much a matter of implementation, as it is a matter of messing up the tactical aspect of the game.
