Post by williammiller on Feb 12, 2016 11:02:00 GMT -6
Scenario Design:
The below sequence of questions are the typical steps I use to design a scenario from scratch for a modern naval war-game like MNC, I post it here in case anyone may consider it useful for MNC scenario design:
1. What sort of action am I looking for: A purely "surface" and/or "sub-surface" scenario, a mixed "surface and aerial" scenario, or a predominately "aerial" scenario?
2. Size - what size do I want scenario to be, i.e. roughly how many units involved and what area the scenario will cover? The answer to this may also depend upon the goals of the scenario...see the next section...
3. Overall Goals - What sort of overall goal do I want for each side in the scenario? Occupy a location/deny access to a location? Defeat a certain force/defend a certain force? Transit a certain location? Escort merchant ships/convoy or destroy merchant ships? Bombard or destroy certain land targets/defend land targets?...etc...etc...
4. Nations involved: What nations are going to be involved in the scenario? Is it going to include any neutral nations?
5. Motivations: Why is each nation involved? Why is this scenario occurring at this time in the conflict? What does each nation want/expect from its involvement? What are the political reasons (if any) for the action, and what might be the political 'fallout' from the action for each side? What special rules may be needed based on the answers to these questions?
6. Location: Where is the scenario taking place? Why is it taking place at this particular location? Any special rules needed for the location/geography? Any locations/territory that units are not allowed to enter/cross?
7. Units involved: Which units are involved from each side (and from neutrals)? What is the crew quality for each unit? Where does each unit/group start at?
8. Specific Goals: What is the specific purpose/use/goal for each group (or individual unit if required) involved in the scenario? Are there any 'fallback' or alternate purposes/goals for any group or side?
9. Locations: Where does each unit/group start the game at? Any off-map starting points or time required to reach a map-edge?
10. Orders: What are the specific orders for each side (or for each group/unit if needed)? Any time limits or requirements related to time?
11. Victory Conditions: What are the victory conditions for each level of victory/loss? Is there a single condition, or are there multiple conditions - for example, can you can win "part" of the scenario but "lose" another part of it? Are any victory conditions tied into time limits or time frames?
12. Final questions; Is nuclear release allowed...if so under that conditions (if any)? What is the weather/environment like, and will it change at some point? What game turns do Day and Night fall upon? If there is a time limit on which game turn does this occur? Anything else I have forgot to think of at this point?
After you answer the above 12 questions you should have a very rough draft of the scenario for testing purposes.
At this point it might help to do a mental 'walk through' of the scenario, basically playing out the scenario in your mind and just assigning damage results and such as you see fit. You may find issues with your setup, missing elements, or other problems at this point - adjust those as needed.
Now you are ready for the first playtest of the scenario...setup the scenario on the map and play it out by yourself (i.e. play all sides), as this way you can appreciate the scenario from all sides (use the dice and rules for this). Play it again if you find issues.
Full playtest - Play the scenario with your gaming group, let them know it is new and may need some adjustments/change though. After you are happy with the scenario (this may require more than one full playtest) then the scenario is finally ready!
The below sequence of questions are the typical steps I use to design a scenario from scratch for a modern naval war-game like MNC, I post it here in case anyone may consider it useful for MNC scenario design:
1. What sort of action am I looking for: A purely "surface" and/or "sub-surface" scenario, a mixed "surface and aerial" scenario, or a predominately "aerial" scenario?
2. Size - what size do I want scenario to be, i.e. roughly how many units involved and what area the scenario will cover? The answer to this may also depend upon the goals of the scenario...see the next section...
3. Overall Goals - What sort of overall goal do I want for each side in the scenario? Occupy a location/deny access to a location? Defeat a certain force/defend a certain force? Transit a certain location? Escort merchant ships/convoy or destroy merchant ships? Bombard or destroy certain land targets/defend land targets?...etc...etc...
4. Nations involved: What nations are going to be involved in the scenario? Is it going to include any neutral nations?
5. Motivations: Why is each nation involved? Why is this scenario occurring at this time in the conflict? What does each nation want/expect from its involvement? What are the political reasons (if any) for the action, and what might be the political 'fallout' from the action for each side? What special rules may be needed based on the answers to these questions?
6. Location: Where is the scenario taking place? Why is it taking place at this particular location? Any special rules needed for the location/geography? Any locations/territory that units are not allowed to enter/cross?
7. Units involved: Which units are involved from each side (and from neutrals)? What is the crew quality for each unit? Where does each unit/group start at?
8. Specific Goals: What is the specific purpose/use/goal for each group (or individual unit if required) involved in the scenario? Are there any 'fallback' or alternate purposes/goals for any group or side?
9. Locations: Where does each unit/group start the game at? Any off-map starting points or time required to reach a map-edge?
10. Orders: What are the specific orders for each side (or for each group/unit if needed)? Any time limits or requirements related to time?
11. Victory Conditions: What are the victory conditions for each level of victory/loss? Is there a single condition, or are there multiple conditions - for example, can you can win "part" of the scenario but "lose" another part of it? Are any victory conditions tied into time limits or time frames?
12. Final questions; Is nuclear release allowed...if so under that conditions (if any)? What is the weather/environment like, and will it change at some point? What game turns do Day and Night fall upon? If there is a time limit on which game turn does this occur? Anything else I have forgot to think of at this point?
After you answer the above 12 questions you should have a very rough draft of the scenario for testing purposes.
At this point it might help to do a mental 'walk through' of the scenario, basically playing out the scenario in your mind and just assigning damage results and such as you see fit. You may find issues with your setup, missing elements, or other problems at this point - adjust those as needed.
Now you are ready for the first playtest of the scenario...setup the scenario on the map and play it out by yourself (i.e. play all sides), as this way you can appreciate the scenario from all sides (use the dice and rules for this). Play it again if you find issues.
Full playtest - Play the scenario with your gaming group, let them know it is new and may need some adjustments/change though. After you are happy with the scenario (this may require more than one full playtest) then the scenario is finally ready!