Turn based strategy concepts

[scorpafied]

so im currently in the process of doing a turn based strategy game. originally i was inspired by "advance wars"

but i didnt want to merely copy it, and so ive spent the past 48 hours brain storming some ideas that would be an interesting twist on the concept.

i thought of something where u select what units u eant and u can build a certain amount and then match starts. but without a way to build more i thought games wouldnt be long enough to be interesting.

so i thought maybe having 1 building for a hq. capture that and its game over. and then each turn u get a certain amount of points. a standard rate for the start of turn. and a bonus for each killed unit. points allow u to make new units from hq.

i quite liked that idea. and thoight given that theres no buildings to capture that might help seperate it from merely being a clone.

interested to see what u guys are thinking

 

[YanBG]

For your first game try to make very simple, so that you get fast to a good demo. I myself had issues with bad coding and mechanics not playing as i imagined in my mind, so it was very broken.
I you make even a clone would be great, you'll find more ideas later.

 

[Yal]

Some ideas:

• Have a lot of stage variety... e.g. not just normal ground/mountain terrain, but also islands in a sea, a bridge connecting two places, ships that move around up and down (and any units on them follows), indoor levels without clear sightlines, etc. Making the player have to try EVERYTHING in their toolbox helps keeping the game fresh.
• Give each faction some unique units so their playstyle is different. Maybe China has a special "double infantry" unit which starts with twice as many soldiers as normal, so they can easily overwhelm standard forces but are just as weak to vehicle weapons as normal infantry, Germany can build labor camps that increase the number of resources gained each turn (but they're immobile sitting ducks once constructed), North Korea can build inaccurate nukes that attack random parts of the board as a desperate measure to turn the tide in battle, USA gets fighter jets that can move twice as far each turn etc.
• Some maps could have reinforcements that arrive every X turns and join whichever team has the weakest army, rubber banding style. This could be a part of your tactics, having to think about whether it's worth weakening your enemy now and MAYBE get an advantage that the extra troops won't fix, or if it's just gonna be bad for you.

 

[Setteduetto]

One idea I had that you're free to run with would be to have every unit be unique, like the Fire Emblem games, but still infinitely spawnable like Advance Wars.

So, when you buy a unit, like an archer, they'd have random stats, come with a random weapon, etc. And you'd be encouraged to prioritize keeping your high rolls alive, but ultimately your units would still be expendable.

As for more general advice, I'd recommend looking at other tactical RPGs you like and ripping off them as well. If you create a game solely based on one thing it's derivative, but if you have a lot of inspirations you'll end up with something wholly your own.

Some TRPGs I'd reccomend:

-Into the Breach
-Fire Emblem: Three Houses
-Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (This one surprised me with how good it is!)
-Wargroove (Although this one is very similar to Advance Wars, it is also a very good example of how to do a 'spiritual successor' well)