Wishing for an Intellivision Game Refresh - Sea Battle

[First Spear]

 

IIRC my brother and I got Sea Battle for the Christmas of 1980, and break it out every few years to repeat the brotherly butt-whippin with my navy. I think there is very little room for improvement in the core of the game, but I would love to see

 

1. 1-player mode. I know this was mentioned in the Intellivisionaries in-depth coverage recently. I think it might be fun but I am not sure from a programmer's perspective how to make it winnable by a human. I think any AI would be merciless and precise in laying mines and unerring with targeting in battle mode. Anyway, I tried to explain the game to my 10-year-old, and in her he middle of things I realized "this game is really complex". So unless I get 1-player satisfaction to game has to sit on the shelf.

 

 

2. Random maps. I understand it couldn't me done cleanly with the memory/storage of a cart when the game was made originally, but something like a 16k+, bank-switched scheme might make it possible to make either a series of maps or base maps with random arrangements of pre-generated island pieces.

 

3. Artillery batteries. Maybe a troop transport could go to any island and player presses the troop transport button again (kind of like how laying mines is done) and after 30 seconds an immovable gun is setup on the island. Maybe limit the gun creation to 2 emplacements, or 1 every 10 minutes of game time. It would be visible on the map as a different-colored square on the island. When an enemy ship gets near, just go to the battle mode like ship-ship combat. The emplacement would be close to the water's edge but not moveable, and hit with the power of a destroyer with range 3x a battleship. The gun would otherwise participate like any other ship in battle mode. Subs and PT boats would not be able to destroy it, only ships with guns could take it out.

 

4. Add an alternate strategy and map for winning. Instead of taking over the enemy island or sinking all ships, add a different option where some islands in the middle ned to be taken over. This option would require more aircraft carriers and more troop transports and more destroyers, but no PT boats and no battleships. Take over and hold n islands in the middle with troops fods to win. So player #1 could take over an island and in a few minutes player #2 touches the same island with a troop transport and then there is a naval fight. The winner gets to touch that island after battle mode and keep/take control.

 

5. Add air support. When an aircraft carrier is in strategy mode, pressing the "aircraft carrier" button would make a visible set of planes fly to the nearest enemy flotilla and do a small % of damage to the enemy ships, then the planes return. Maybe that would only work 1-2 times (planes have limited fuel to do limited sorties) per carrier. Maybe add many carriers and drop battleships from the fleet for this option.

 

 

What would *you* want to see in a Sea Batlle refresh?

 

Thanks.

[TrickyMoon]

This was one of my favorites and I like the ideas!

 

There has been talk of this over at Intellivision.us

Edited August 29, 2014 by TrickyMoon

[+nurmix]

Agreed. Great ideas. I can forward this to [original programmer] Ken Smith to see what he thinks of them. Perhaps it would convince him to 'dive back into' Intellivision game development?

 

In a sense, you're describing a variation on the Odyssey 2 'Master Strategy Series' game "Conquest Of The World", but focusing mostly on the navel aspects. Add in network (Internet) play via the upcoming LTO Flash cart, and I see real potential here!