Quote from: Theory of Games on July 21, 2023, 03:17:34 PM
Just do YOUR game - and make it complex enough to be engaging.

I spent 10 years in the Navy, 4 years on a Nimitz class carrier.  I have no desire to do a simulationist version of modern air warfare.  Hell, I don't even want to do a beer and pretzels level RP of military life.  I definitely see how a war game that uses the multilayered command and control of modern warfare could be fun, that would be way outside of the scope of what I want to do here.  (I would even be willing to consult if there was a game developer that was interested in this.)

If someone wanted to take what I make and do a military campaign of a USN anti submarine patrol squadron, I want my game to be done well enough that the GM just needs a BMR and a EAWS study guide and they can get rolling.  (BMR is Basic Military Requirements and EAWS is Enlisted Air Warfare Specialist for those with no US Navy knowledge.)

I want to capture the Indiana Jones or Doc Savage adventure feel with Post WW1 pilots and aircraft.  I want just enough crunch to give the players the feel of excitement of being in an aerial predicament.  Think arcade dog fighting, not flight sim dog fighting.  I want a smart tactical player to be able to look at the pieces on the board and be able to come up with a 3-5 turn strategy to tail the enemy fighter but a normal player can just take it turn by turn and have fun.

Ultimately, the aerial combat/action part of the game is only a part of the over all RP experience I want to create.  I would like to see a campaign done with this where it's literally Traveller set in 1920s SE Asia using a sea plane.  I'd like to see another where the party is a small group of mercenary fighter pilots in Algeria.  A third campaign would be fun if they were a team of search and rescue pilots in the Caribbean.   Bar fights, shady offers, spies, criminals on the run, damsels in distress, challenges to air races to entertain the rich and influential are all how I see the game going.  I want the players to feel like the main characters in a 1930s adventure film.

Quote from: BadApple on July 21, 2023, 05:15:00 PM

Quote from: Theory of Games on July 21, 2023, 03:17:34 PM
Just do YOUR game - and make it complex enough to be engaging.

I spent 10 years in the Navy, 4 years on a Nimitz class carrier.  I have no desire to do a simulationist version of modern air warfare.  Hell, I don't even want to do a beer and pretzels level RP of military life.  I definitely see how a war game that uses the multilayered command and control of modern warfare could be fun, that would be way outside of the scope of what I want to do here.  (I would even be willing to consult if there was a game developer that was interested in this.)

If someone wanted to take what I make and do a military campaign of a USN anti submarine patrol squadron, I want my game to be done well enough that the GM just needs a BMR and a EAWS study guide and they can get rolling.  (BMR is Basic Military Requirements and EAWS is Enlisted Air Warfare Specialist for those with no US Navy knowledge.)

I want to capture the Indiana Jones or Doc Savage adventure feel with Post WW1 pilots and aircraft.  I want just enough crunch to give the players the feel of excitement of being in an aerial predicament.  Think arcade dog fighting, not flight sim dog fighting.  I want a smart tactical player to be able to look at the pieces on the board and be able to come up with a 3-5 turn strategy to tail the enemy fighter but a normal player can just take it turn by turn and have fun.

Ultimately, the aerial combat/action part of the game is only a part of the over all RP experience I want to create.  I would like to see a campaign done with this where it's literally Traveller set in 1920s SE Asia using a sea plane.  I'd like to see another where the party is a small group of mercenary fighter pilots in Algeria.  A third campaign would be fun if they were a team of search and rescue pilots in the Caribbean.   Bar fights, shady offers, spies, criminals on the run, damsels in distress, challenges to air races to entertain the rich and influential are all how I see the game going.  I want the players to feel like the main characters in a 1930s adventure film.

Sounds fun. I'll agree that the most important part of your game will always be the tone and milieu.  If you have that down, and know exactly how you want the players to feel while playing, the greatest challenge at that point is to find mechanics that help create that feeling (as opposed to contradicting it).  Good luck!  I'd think a game with the tone you've described would be really cool.