Very hopeful and optimistic that this will be the true successor to JA2!

[DougS2K]

I have very fond memories of the JA's when they released many moons ago and I still play JA2 1.13 every once in awhile. The more info I see and read about JA3, the more optimistic I am that this really could be a game worthy of the JA3 name. So far it looks to be shaping up very well and I hope you keep up the great work! And remember, don't fuck this up! 😁 

[Ruebezahl]

As I'm myself a developer (and a fan of JA2) I can only advice the developers of JA3 and the publisher: take your time, play your pre alpha game state, think about what is fun and why the original JA2 was so successful. If you do it right, the community will buy and love this game. The other "successors" picked some good aspects of the game and missed most of the rest.

For me the following things are most important (and made the gameplay in depth and immersive):

+ characters, their comments, their interactions, their accent

+ role playing aspect: storys and quests, cutcenes (that depends on players actions), rewards that are useful for recruiting /equipping militia / morr soldiers 

+ sound effects, situational music, ambient effects fitting the current map 

+ sneak to enemies, your heart beating they will not detect you, position tactically the other soldiers (for interruptions, attacks from the side...) 

+ you don't know the position of the enemies, but your soldiers tell you where they here a noise. Especially at night you can use silenced weapons and knifes to kill silently single enemies and then retreat from enemy attention, or even distract them by throwing a grenade in another direction 

+ micromanagement aspect: as this is often part of critics of complex turn based games, exactly this aspect (managing soldiers one by one, actionpoint by actionpoint) in JA2 of optimizing the turn outcome with all strategic depth is what makes the tactics part so satisfying. Example: you can use TNT to "open" a wall and change completly the odds hitting an enemy without cover. Or you be on the roof, shoot and spend the remaining ap to lay on the roof to not get hit

[Taurean]

Really hoping, myself. Ja2 is one of the best games ever made, in my opinion. The reason for that is that it teaches the importance of logistics and leadership very effectively, it has the time aspect too which makes it more challenging. And the more effort you put into the preparation, the more success you usually have in the field. Careful planning and a systematic approach heightens chances for success. This is why the JA 1+2 games are so successful and has so much potential.

Of course the personality interaction is a huge part of it too. It's just a lot of elements done so correctly. The realistic sound effects. The music is great.

What JA3 needs is a continuation of JA 1+2, ironing out the bugs, not trying to reinvent the wheel. It's already been invented. Better graphics is good, but it does not guarantee a good sequel.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Taurean

[Solaris_Wave]

I'm still hoping for more realistic combat, which I believe can be done without complicating everything.

[Solaris_Wave]

There are different grades of realism and I think that JA3 can go further than JA2 in terms of realism and still be just as fun. There are always people that criticise realism as if it is some kind of stuffy, rigid and old fashioned premise that gets in the way of enjoyment.

In realism, you can't run? I don't know where you got that from. You must be living in a different world if you believe that, and I am suspecting that you mean running while carrying weapons and gear.

The 1 Hit Point opinion you have is equally suspect. It depends on the bullet, where it hits, what is the mass of the person it has hit, what was the quality of the bullet and the speed it hit, was the person it hit under the influence of drugs, and so on. There are lots of factors and all of that doesn't have to be in a realism-focused game. As I said, there are various grades of realism that can be achieved. It is far from all or nothing.

[Taurean]

18 minutes ago, anon474 said:

Oh my god I'm arguing with children

1 "In realism, you can't run?" No you can't. Do you know how much a weapon + ammo + clothing + vest weighs?

this soldier has 100 pounds of gear on him. HUNDRED POUNDS. Try strapping 100 pounds on and running, make a video of it, we would all love to see it.

Here's another video:

These guys are out of breath CRAWLING through a tunnel or running TEN FEET BRO. Do you see how small the room is and how slow they walk and "run" when they do run? Do you see how short each exercise is? Lol.

"You must be living in a different world if you believe that, and I am suspecting that you mean running while carrying weapons and gear." Uh...are you ok? Why would you assume I didn't mean "while wearing weapon + plate + ammo"?

2 "The 1 Hit Point opinion you have is equally suspect." It's really not, and you literally didn't even try to explain how it's not you just deflected into making JA unrealistic. All those things you mentioned don't matter, no merc would survive being hit in the chest with a 10mm or above if JA3 has realism. And I'm being generous too, even 32ACP which is a very weak pistol bullet that's usually not used would still probably put most perps out of commission. How realistic do you want JA3 to be? If you want to keep talking about realism, I can show you what happens in reality, but you already don't seem to like it.

You say "it's not all or nothing" but then why do you claim to worship realism when you're already ok with making JA3 wildly unrealistic? JA has bullets, those bullets come from guns. That's the level of realism I'm happy with, anything above that is up for discussion, and that discussion is governed by what's fun, and what makes for a fun complex in depth system.

 

I have 0 experience .. just read a lot of things .. i thought that being hit by a bullet varies a hell of a lot in terms of how you end up after being hit. You are probably right about most of what you write, but i have read that it depends a lot on the angle of how the bullet hits, and as you mention, the velocity and caliber. All of these are things that JA3 can implement to a greater degree than JA2 had, even if that was good as it was.

In real life, i imagine that it is so much down to random. Even a stray pistol bullet that hits an artery can mean death, and even an aimed sniper bullet that just misses an artery means someone lives. Of course protective gear would play into this. But i also think that implementing too much of this into a game, means it becomes so much to take into account that it may take a lot of fun out of the game. That would be a delicate balance. Spending a lot of time preparing for a battle, making super slow and steaady progress, and then have 1-2 mercs killed on very small odds shots by the enemy. That would feel very unrewarding. That could happen in JA2 as well, but if you played the game right, it could be something you could accept and advance with the game, because again, if you planned and approached the battle ground correctly, that didn't happen often. So that is a perfect blend of realism and fiction. That is where the JA games has something unique. I guess it's an overall balance thing - you can't expect a gamer to spend a whole year to finish a game. I can finish JA2 on expert, iron man in about 60 in-game days, and estimated, about 150 gaming hours, playing conventionally. I feel that is very balanced.

Back to the point: Most of the time, in JA2, what happened was mercs getting hit in the shoulder or head and losing dexterity or wisdom points. Which i found somewhat in line with realism. This area could be developed.

Lol, making a long post here but i have a lot of thoughts about this game since it is so great... One thing i felt could be improved on the point system in JA2, was that, if you didn't use a skill, trait or expertise over a certain period of time, it could start to deteriorate. Meaning it would be beneficial to keep certain experts on a team and keep them in practice. In JA2, i would make it a point, at least at a certain point in the game, to have everyone equipped with repair and med kits and have everyone take part in routine activity. This would increase their dexterity and wisdom too. I don't quite know if this would make a huge difference... but it is more in line with real life. The nature of the mission length in JA2, probably doesn't make this a huge issue, because it usually takes weeks or months to start forgetting innate skills one knows a lot about, or has practiced a lot. And at least in JA2, the mission lasts at the most 3-4 months. But it would be a realistic feature.