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Re:Ask HN: What game do you wish existed? by denton-scratch on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @11:38AM (#31506076)
I would like a rather simple real-time war-game, as played from the POV of a field commander. You don't have a real-time view of the battle; all you have is signals, which are rather stylised, and a 2D map, with unit symbols on it. The map is always a bit out-of-date, except when a signal has just been received from a unit. Think something like a battalion HQ tent, with staff.

Commands are also stylised; I'm not a military person, and I don't know how to compose field orders, so there would need to be some kind of UI that allows you to construct orders visually. But in the end, the order that you send consists of text. You can't order-around squads; you can only issue orders to subordinate commanders.

You also receive orders from above. You start with a mission briefing, with objectives. But your orders can be updated mid-mission.

So this would be essentially not a video game; there's no motion video. It's a text game, with a graphical map. For added entertainment, you could have a retrospective video playback; but you wouldn't have realtime video from the frontline that you could act on.

I once had a game a bit like this; it was for military use, and I didn't really understand the format of the orders. Also, commands were issued by dragging on the map, rather than by text.

Something like: "You will advance to grid square X. You are to avoid engagement. You will report enemy positions."

I'm thinking of modern warfare, with radios/telegraphs, air power and integrated air defence, armour, and intelligence staff. But you could maybe take it back as far as the Napoleonic wars, with dispatch riders instead of telegraphs.

Re:Ask HN: What game do you wish existed? by j-wags on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @12:01PM (#31506435)
There were a few scenarios in the RTS Cossacks that had this - Two armies would be facing off, and the general (you) would just be a single horseman. You were surrounded by messengers that you could dispatch to various units, but you had to take into account that they wouldn't get there immediately, and that sometimes the messengers would get shot en route to delivering their commands.
Re:Ask HN: What game do you wish existed? by zehaeva on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @11:59AM (#31506395)
There's Radio Commander https://store.steampowered.com/app/871530/Radio_Commander/

And I think the Ultimate General series of games also does some of this, but that's second hand.

Re:Ask HN: What game do you wish existed? by impune on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @11:44AM (#31506168)
There is a game called radio commander on steam, which seems very close to your description. https://store.steampowered.com/app/871530/Radio_Commander/