[UMC] Random Campaign generator

[Providence]

Hi All,
I would propose a random campaign option besides the user generated campaigns.
This option should let choose the era and the faction playing with, as in the multiplayer local games, generating random maps and opponent(s) for each scenario.
I know user made campaigns are really wonderful, with their unique stories, but a random campaign generator (obviously without any story) would make longer the life of the game.

Thanks
Stefano

[pauxlo]

You could write a campaign made of a single scenario, which basically randomly generates everything (and has itself as a "next" scenario). Maybe add another scenario as a first one for selecting your own faction. CABD.

[thespaceinvader]

Why not just play the AI on random maps? It amounts to the same thing.

[Ken_Oh]

Maybe you would be satisfied with World Conquest NM? Look for it on the add-on server.

[Captain_Wrathbow]

Didn't there used to be (a very long time ago, though) something like this, called "Never-ending Campaign", or "Mystery Campaign"...?
I seem to recall seeing its (again, very very old) wiki page...

[pauxlo]

Why not just play the AI on random maps? It amounts to the same thing.

I think the difference is that in a campaign you can keep (and develop) your army, on individual scenarios not.

[Ken_Oh]

Didn't there used to be (a very long time ago, though) something like this, called "Never-ending Campaign", or "Mystery Campaign"...?
I seem to recall seeing its (again, very very old) wiki page...

There was Endless War (one of those halted projects), which mainly pit 2 armies together in multiple battles, with the twist that dead units can be recalled in the next scenario. Mystery Campaign used the random map generator and some other random settings to make a campaign unique each time to play it. I don't remember, however, if the campaign was endless or not.

The last version of each can be found on http://addons.wesnoth.org/1.2/

[SigurdFireDragon]

Had this idea on my own a 3-4 weeks back, saw this thread & seen that it hadn't been done, & checked out World Conquest. WC, while interesting, was not quite what I was looking for. Mystery Campaign, I haven't checked out since it was for way back in 1.2; so I went and wrote a campaign. Random Campaign 0.5.0 now available. http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=32922

[Atz]

There was Endless War (one of those halted projects), which mainly pit 2 armies together in multiple battles, with the twist that dead units can be recalled in the next scenario.

This makes me want to create a campaign where every second scenario allows you to recall only units that have died. Armageddon has rolled around, and now all the fallen heroes have to battle to protect Valhalla, or something like that. It would be either awesome or horrible. I can't decide which.

[bigkahuna]

It would be either awesome or horrible. I can't decide which.

More or less horrible, most likely. The idea sounds great at first, but it would be an awful tomato surprise.

A. Before you Know - try to keep all units alive.
B. After you Know - try to kill units ASAP.

You COULD make it so that you have to keep units alive to make it to the Armaggeddon in the first place, but people who knew would have to try to balance this (or kill all their units in the pre-Armaggeddon scenario) so it would be VERY difficult to balance and keep tomato-free.

[Atz]

Well, I don't think the tomato-ness would be much of a problem because, as I said, it would alternate between scenarios, rather than having a whole big campaign and then suddenly switching to the Corpse Brigade. I'd probably hand out a few pre-killed units you can recruit to get through the first dead scenario, and after that you'd know about it. Also, if I was going to do this, I would 1. make sure there were bucketloads of enemies in the living scenarios, so you're almost required to at least sacrifice a few level 1 units, and 2. probably make it so that you can repeatedly recall killed (re-killed?) units in the dead scenarios, so that your corpse count is a limit on concurrent units of a given type rather than total units for the whole scenario. I agree that trying to balance it would be horrible, though, which is why I don't plan to actually do it. That and I don't think I'd ever finish it. I don't even know how to make proper scenarios.