Ah! The advantage of old age, Ice... I can create a mission and forget my options even before I'm finished with it..!
I have been thinking, and reminiscing, about the whole scripted vs. dynamic campaign thing. I do believe I prefer a scripted campaign, but with replayability options and open endings. Because a true dynamic campaign can be boring. Realistically boring, perhaps, but non the less. A good mission and campaign designer can create missions and campaigns with diversity, that keep me entertained. However, one thing I do miss is resource management. That has always appealed to me. Simulating leading a squadron. Pairing pilots, assigning airframes and keeping track of supplies and resupplies.
I guess what I'm saying is that my perfect sim has a scripted career campaign, with dynamic elements. I want the missions that mattered, not the ones spent on station in a racetrack pattern, waiting for something to happen...
Does that make sense to anyone?
Oh, don't get me wrong, I see the point of scripted missions. They are great for testing tactics and stuff --- you can do things differently and see how your new tactic has affected the outcome. It is very good for training. However, I guess I've progressed past that stage and I relish the "unknown" element that is inherent in Falcon's DC.
As for "missions that mattered," yeah, that's one of the shortcomings of the Falcon DC. It can make silly missions at the start and as you start winning the game, you may very well end up with CAP flights with nothing happening. Not really a bad thing -- it just means there's not much enemy air power anymore and really, it's YOUR fault for being so awesome! I'd rather deal with the DC's smaller flaws and be able to fly a mission rather than having to make one on ED's mission creator.
Originally Posted By: Exorcet
Yes, that became a problem for me at some point. My way around was to create a massive library and trying to build in such a way that all I could know for sure would be the kind of thing you would expect in a briefing. Example, you'd know that enemy fighters would try to intercept you, so I'd put something like 10 different enemy flights, give them random groupings with different triggers to simulate different tactics, and put them at different airfields with different timings. Very time intensive though.
True, and I hate it when the RNG gods turn evil and then I end up with a super-massive force that I cannot fight against. Also quite a pain to test. I don't have that time nor patience.
I'd rather deal with the DC's smaller flaws and be able to fly a mission rather than having to make one on ED's mission creator.
