Must... resist... urge... to... download... GameMaker...!!!
Studio is a free version, just so you know.
However in the past I have dabbled in the tabletop game B5Wars (which I tried to migrate to an underwater setting) and also have worked with a few people who do professional level wargaming, so I'll be here if you want someone to bounce ideas off of mechanics wise.
My current idea is a kind of mix between Carrier Command and Hostile Waters, with a couple other ideas. You direct the carrier through an archipelago (which will eventually be randomly generated to some degree) and try to take control of the islands. The outer islands are not very well defended, but the deeper you go, the more resistance you face.
The carrier itself can field up to 14 units at a time: 6 hovercraft, 4 attack helicopters, 2 tanks, 1 lifting helicopter, and 1 harvester.
- Attack Helicopters sit on helipads on the carrier. When selected, you give them a target, they fly near it, fire a couple missiles, and return to the carrier to resupply. They do a single attack and need to be assigned a new mission before they will leave the carrier again. Helicopters are fast, unimpeded by terrain, and fragile. Since they are flying units, only some enemies can target them. They have a limited operational range; any targets must be within a certain radius of the carrier when assigned.
- Hovercraft are free-roaming. They can move on both water and open ground and have no limit to how far they can be from the carrier. They are sturdier than a helicopter and can target flying units, but have the weakest guns. This will form the bulk of your combat forces
- Tanks start on pads on the carrier and must be air-lifted to an island. Once on an island, they are limited to open ground. Tanks are slow, but otherwise very powerful, with the best range, damage, and health of your units. Too bad you can only have two of them at a time. Tanks can also be lifted back to the carrier for storage.
- The Lifting Helicopter has a single purpose: air-lift tanks back and forth between the carrier and the islands. Like the attack helicopter, the lifter has limited operational range; no leaving your tanks on the other side of the archipelago and then sending the lifter for them. If the lifter dies, your tanks are stranded until you can build a new one.
- The Harvester is a special hovercraft that gathers resources instead of killing things. For coding and AI simplicity, the harvester follows a move command, then starts collecting resources, starting with whatever is closest. It will only look within a certain radius of itself, though, so it's not too likely to wander into a battlefield or leave the island. Gathered resources are instantly added to your pool; the harvester does not need to return to the carrier. This is almost exactly the way that the equivalent unit in Hostile Waters works, but that one is a treaded vehicle. It might become more complex in the future, but right now I just need something that works for the final.
- The Carrier itself is a slow, water-bound unit that can build new units with the resources gathered by the harvester. It is armed with a weak defensive gun capable of hitting surface and air units and an artillery piece that can hit targets over long distance for high damage. The artillery has limited ammo, but new shells can be bought, up to a limit of four at a time. If the carrier is sunk, you lose the game.
The enemy has more stuff due to having buildings, but the same number of combat units. Enemy units include recon helicopters, light tanks, and patrol boats. Enemy structures include, surface-to-surface turrets, surface-to-air turrets, factories, airfields, and shipyards.
- Recon Helicopters are light flying units that can attack both surface and air targets. For the sake of my sanity, they will hover and function like a standard unit rather than trying to get the computer to understand how to work them like your own helicopters. At least some of them will patrol their island or the surrounding waters.
- Light Tanks are limited to open ground. They're like your tanks, but, well, lighter.
- Patrol Boats circle some islands on pre-determined paths. These will generally be the most direct threat to your carrier and you'll want to clear them before beginning your assault on the island.
- Surface-to-surface and surface-to-air turrets are exactly what they sound like: simple stationary defenses against your units.
- Factories will replace lost light tanks on islands where they are present. They do require some time to build the tanks and can only do one at a time.
- Airfields are like factories for recon helicopters and shipyards are the same for patrol boats.
Comments, questions, or concerns?
As for a name... it'd be helpful if you could tell us some more background. However if it's water based, Aquarius, Atlantis, Poseidon and Trident are always good words to throw around.
I was only really thinking of the gameplay and not so much the plot. It is water based. I might just give the game and the carrier the same name. I like Poseidon, so maybe something with that?
Considering the implementation side of things, any idea what language and framework you will be using?
