Recreating A Mission, Insurrection Style!

[blue banana]

Yes, Insurrection is still a project and is still in development. As some of us may know, the missions featured in Insurrection and its Demo will kinda "sway" from standard campaign and custom mission style. I'd like to show the community what this style has to offer, and why I know it can be better. To start, I have decided to recreate a campaign mission that will follow these guidelines- but first I need to decide what mission.

Vote for a mission in the poll above, and for nothing else. These select missions are ones that are not only favorites (I do my research ) but are also ones that will best fit the style. Keep in mind that the mission chosen will have three traits applied to it:

1. Randomized enemy attacks and base layout
When a scripted attack occurs, the attacking units will be randomized in attacker count, type, and location. One replay of the mission may have a Tank army from the North, while another may have a few Bombers from the East- it is random. Enemy buildings that are part of a base will be the same, and the location of the base may change altogether.

2. Unexpected events and encounters
If the mission allows it (for example, Total Destruction), there may be scripted events that can happen at a random moment, such as a sneak attack or sniped pilots. Missions that are a bit more in-depth or have significant story reliance will not have this.

3. Heightmap and mission outline changes
If I find parts of a heightmap unrealistic or artificial, I will change it and make it seem more "natural". Player control is also taken seriously- if the player is given orders to do something that is optional to complete the mission, it may or may not be taken out (such as "build a Tug"). This allows the player to use their brain for once, and figure out what to do in an RTS game.

There will be a few other changes taken into effect, but for the purpose of this topic and poll, I don't need to say them. Again, vote for a mission in the poll that you not only like, but also you think would fit the three traits above nicely (you can pick two). The poll ends in a week, which is the absolute deadline for starting developing the mission.

[blue banana]

Also, if you cannot vote for whatever reason (not logged in, no account, etc) you can contact me on Skype or in-game. Please don't have someone else pass your vote along, and please don't try cheating the system for a mission. I want to maintain the authenticity of players and their votes.

People who post along with their vote(s) may also get the mission(s) they chose some bonus points. If you choose to do so, it'd be nice if you could add some reasons why and some expectations you have, if any.

[Red Spot]

I'd kinda like to vote 'none of the above'. 'Personally' I find tweaking a broken mission or making it a bit more difficult perfectly fine, however feel like your throwing your time away doing this sort of tweaking on vanilla missions.
Just my 2 cents btw, I'd be happy to see either of the options.
Seeing some fresh and dynamic mission probably tickles me a bit more though.

[blue banana]

I've decided to do a campaign mission because players are familiar with them and can compare the mission styles. Plus it'll garner more attention.

[blue banana]

I will be closing the poll in a couple of hours. There is currently one vote, which is for Reclaim our Base.

As of this post, here are the current standings from all sources:

• A Nasty Surprise - 8
  Reclaim our Base - 4
  Precious Cargo - 4
  Total Destruction - 3
  Clear the Path - 2
  The Three Beacons - 1

A Nasty Surprise is the current mission to be recreated!

[blue banana]

A Nasty Surprise is finally ending development and will be available for invitational testing! If you're awesome and want to test, please shoot me a PM or an email and I will send you the latest map build (and update you as developments go on). You will need 1.5.2.27 Update 1.

Expect to play a significantly harder and more realistic mission. Some examples include:

• The CCA is now a legitimate "main base"
  The Colorado is legitimately attacked, allied with the player, and builds as the mission progresses
  The CCA attack waves are more frequent and powerful, and increase as such later on
  Styx spawns in one of three locations to maintain replayability

I need lots of balance testing to ensure the mission isn't too hard or too easy in all respects. Any last-minute suggestions are welcome as well.