Legend of Zelda RTS

So, I'm an aspiring game designer, and the idea of a Zelda Real-Time Strategy game really excites me.

If we could ask and answer all these questions (and more) in this topic, that would be nice.

Do you want a Zelda Real Time Strategy Game in the vein of games such as Command and Conquer, StarCraft, WarCraft, and Age of Empires?

What would you like to see in a Zelda RTS? How could Zelda be translated into a different genre?

Would you play a Zelda RTS if it didn't have Link or Princess Zelda in it?

What games would you like to see an Zelda RTS modeled after (such as StarCraft or Ogre Battle or Total War)?

What would you imagine be the scale of a Zelda RTS (the sizes of armies, the sizes of towns, etc)?

Are there any specific mechanics that you think would be cool?

So, here's my idea:

LEGEND OF ZELDA: IMPRISONING WARS
Big emphasis on the "s"

-My idea is highly influenced by Four Swords Adventure and Age of Empires.

PREMISE
-Take Four Swords Adventure, except only the one-player part. Make it so that each Link doesn't have THAT MANY abilities, maybe an attack and a secondary attack. Now, make those Links into regular soldiers, and make it so that you control, let's say, 15 of them at once. That's the premise.

-Now, make it so that you have 7 races who have different, regular troops. And make it so that they can terraform their environment, or change their environment, to fit their traits.

-Place the game over several time periods: Pre-OoT, 7 Years (OoT), Post-OoT (Child), Post-OoT (Adult), hence the title: Imprisoning Wars.

GAMEPLAY

-Exploration is rewarded, like in Zelda, by having randomly placed treasure chests guarded by monsters that give you bonuses when you open them.

-A huge emphasis is on terraforming. The Hylians build walls and stuff, the Gorons dig caves, the Zoras use magic to expand their waters, the Gerudos build up one large fortress, the Dekus plant trees, the Sheikah can create their buildings underneath other walls and houses, while the Bulblins are super nomadic and build shoddy structures. The Hylians can do every other terraforming to an extent (like building digging ditches and building moats), but not nearly as well as the other Tribes.

-Economy is managed by building stores, and choosing goods to sell at those stores. Then, Rupees are generated automatically (taxes by the King). You can then use the Rupees at the stores to buy stuff yourself. By "researching" different goods, you can increase the number of Rupees generated. The economy is affected by the Tribes that are being played on the current map.

-The focus is on small war parties; armies usually number over 30. Only the Dekus and Blins, who focus on rushing, have armies in the 30's. Hylians usually get into the 20's, while the Gorons are good if they have about 18 soldiers.

-Combat would begin almost immediately (let's say, 10 minutes into the game), and one-on-one games would last about 30 minutes, instead of the typical 1 hour for most RTS games. If there are more players, it would be an extra 15 minutes or so.

-Your "town" is more of a war camp, so most of the time you're not quite building Hyrule Castletown (although it's possible to build a town like that if you're given long enough); instead, you're building something more like the Bublin camps seen around Twilight Princess. Your war camp will have things such as tents, but houses and stuff are available.

-You can customize your soldiers. When you select a Training Center, you are given the default troops you can train there, and there are extra slots, allowing you to create customized soldiers (for an extra cost). As an example, a Hylian Knight is default armed with a Sword, but you can tack on a few extra Rupees to their cost by creating a Hylian Knight armed with a better Sword, or a Ball and Chain.

-Depending on what Tribes are on the map, you can buy new equipment from the Tribes who are not on the map (basically, pretend you are buying stuff from them). If you are allied with a Tribe on the map, you both get discounts for buying each other's stuff. If you are enemies, then you can't buy their stuff. For example, a Hylian can buy Goron-made Bombs from the Gorons if they are not their enemy.

-Magic is very interesting in this game. To learn magic, a unit must visit a Great Fairy Fountain on the map, and one is randomly generated for each Tribe except the Dekus, Bulbins, and Sheikah. A Deku Shaman gets a couple of magic spells automatically, Bulblins just don't get any, while Sheikah are born with magic ability and each Sheikah can learn one spell at a Shadow School. You will only ever have a handful of units armed with magic at a time, so they must be protected. Magic spells range from generic things like fireballs, to actual in-game spells (like Nayru's Love), to "Water Expansion (a critical spell for the Zoras."

-There is a Day and Night system. During the Night, most units have decrease line of sight, and there are more monsters around at night. Shops also do not produce Rupees at night. So, when night falls, you are encouraged to go out and kill some monsters or at least count on the monsters to halt early warfare for a bit so you can use your considerable defenses to build up another round.

RACES

Hylians (offense: 4, defense: 4)
-Inhabit towns
-Build walls and houses, which are fairly easy to defend
-Use well-rounded, "standard" medieval troops, such as Knights and Archers. Their units are mostly based off of LttP, especially the Sword, Spear, and Bow wielding Knights
-Use Food to create soldiers, use Rupees to arm them and create buildings
-"Sell" goods at their stores to get (slowly generate) Rupees, and buy Food

Gorons (offense: 5, defense: 3)
-Inhabit caves
-Dig into the ground to create caves that are difficult to navigate
-Use small groups of strong, surprisingly mobile (but still somewhat slow) soldiers. They can roll around quickly, and use Bombs and Fists. Their units are based on Gorons from Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess.
-Use Rocks to buy soldiers, Rupees to make buildings
-Sell goods at their stores for Rupees. When they expand their caves, they get Rocks.

Zoras (offense: 1, defense 7)
-Inhabit waters
-Can slowly expand waters, where other soldiers move slower and more susceptible to ranged attacks.
-Use soldiers who are fast in the water, but slightly slow on land. Use fin Boomerangs, Martial Arts, and Spears. These soldiers are based on the Zoras in Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask
-Use Food to buy soldiers, Rupees to equip them
-Can sell goods at stores for Rupees, fish for Food in waters

Gerudos (offense: 2, defense: 6)
-Inhabit their fortress
-Build up a singular fortress with prisons and stuff
-Use soldiers who are speedy with range, but somewhat frail. Use Swords, Bladestaffs, Bows, and Horses. Based on Gerudoes from OoT.
-Use Food to buy soldiers, Rupees to equip and build stuff
-Extra money from killing units, can siphon Rupees from enemy stores, and can buy Food from Stores.

Sheikah (offense: 6, defense: 2)
-Inhabit "shadows"
-Build their structures underground and under OTHER tribe's buildings
-Use small number of flexible troops who hit enemy weak points for efficiency. Their soldiers are based on Sheik as depicted in Super Smash Brothers, as well as Sheikah in OoT.
-Use Food to buy soldiers, Rupees to equip and build stuff
-Can build stores for Rupees, buy Food

Deku (offense: 3, defense: 5)
-Inhabit forests
-Plant trees as barriers and build underground caves for training troops
-Use large numbers of frail troops with range. Their troops usually spit Deku Nuts and some of them can fly, and thus are based on Dekus in OoT and Majora's Mask
-Use Food to build soldiers, use Rupees to equip them.
-Can create Business Dekus who go to other factions for Rupees, harvest Food from trees and use Food to make more trees

Blins (offense: 7, defense: 1)
-Inhabit nothing; they are nomads
-Build shoddy buildings that are easily destroyed, and constantly move
-Use large numbers of troops of varying quality, varying from massed Bokoblins to Bulblins to stronger Moblins and Bulbo Riders. Their troops are based mostly on Twilight Princess and Minish Cap.
-Don't use Rupees, use Food for everything
-Can kill anything for Food, enemy or cannibalize own units.

What are Blins. Plus the I think the stats of the races could change.

What would you like to see in a Zelda RTS? How could Zelda be translated into a different genre?

- It would be kind of meh. I think RTS's have great potential on the DS or Wii! But Zelda? It would be Ok. I mean Zelda is Zelda because of its Zelda-like gameplay. It didnt work too well for halo. This would also fill in some major timeline holes. Maybe you could choose the good sideeku Goron Zora Hylian Sheikah Gerudo or the Bad and have like 6-7 races of common Zelda Enemies. For some reason I feel like this would be better as a Battlefont type of game. Like 3rd person shooter. But still have you command your races in RTS. Its confusing. Say it was like an RTS but when you get into a major battle or enter an unknown forest to explore, you go into 3rd person mode.

What games would you like to see an Zelda RTS modeled after (such as StarCraft or Ogre Battle or Total War)?

-I already answered this. Battlefront 2 and Age of Empires to be specific.


What would you imagine be the scale of a Zelda RTS (the sizes of armies, the sizes of towns, etc)?



-Huge. Like Really Huge. The over world RTS map would be about the same as AoE but the 3rd person battle maps would be 4 times the size of Battlefronts. There will also be endless combinations of 3rd person maps since you never know where you will battle. Armies would be around 90's. There will be about 40 towns.

Are there any specific mechanics that you think would be cool?


-A couple:
Multiple endings, Online multiplayer, DLC (Termina?!?!?) OST, Sometimesyou army will be lead by a "hero' LINK, ZELDA, IMPA, DEKU King, Zora King, Ruto, Daurnina, The rest of the sages for the good side. For the bad side Vaaiti, Ganon, Ganondorf, Twinrova, Veran, Onox, and a bunch of Zeldas greatest bosses.


But id rater nintendo work on real Zelda

Originally Posted by farore-rocks333

What are Blins. Plus the I think the stats of the races could change.

The Blins are the collective group of Moblins, Bulblins, and Bokoblins, especially based on the ones in Twilight Princess.

I should probably add some extra explanations to the Tribes.

And if you want to add to my personal idea or ask me about it, feel free to do so. What do you think should change.

Why did you repost this?

I decided to repost this in Spinoffs and Cameos because some people here expressed interested in a game like this.

I supposed you saw the topic in Future Zelda, and you were also among those who paid almost no attention to it. My main goal was to just get some input on a Zelda Real-Time Strategy game, but no one seemed interested over there.

I'm interested, it's just that I doubt anyone would make this game.

Apparently may of OoTs bosses were part of the Imprisoning Wars. http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Imprisoning_War Not sure if its cannon but who cares.

Originally Posted by Hawke

I doubt anyone would make this game.

Who cares?

Originally Posted by farore-rocks333

Apparently may of OoTs bosses were part of the Imprisoning Wars. http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Imprisoning_War Not sure if its cannon but who cares.

If OoT's adult events are THE Imprisoning War, then yes.

However, my game title is called "Imprisoning Wars" with an "s." >_>

The bosses wouldn't really fit in any specific time period, although they would be perfect for some "ancient" scenarios.

It sounds interesting. But I'll be honest, your offenses and defenses sound a tad bit off. I think that some of the races can probably be stronger, like the Gorons, while the Zoras would probably be more defensive (hence the shield from MM). Something like that.

I'm been working on a makeshift Zelda D&D for about a year now, so I've been doing a whole lotta replaying, studying characters and races and terrain and whatnot to get a feel for it all. And some of these races are capable of so, so much more than they let off.

Originally Posted by romanomnomnom

It sounds interesting. But I'll be honest, your offenses and defenses sound a tad bit off. I think that some of the races can probably be stronger, like the Gorons, while the Zoras would probably be more defensive (hence the shield from MM). Something like that.

I'm been working on a makeshift Zelda D&D for about a year now, so I've been doing a whole lotta replaying, studying characters and races and terrain and whatnot to get a feel for it all. And some of these races are capable of so, so much more than they let off.

Let me give you the rationale for the Tribes and their playstyles.

The Hylians are in the middle because, well, it's a cliche for the Humans to be jacks of all trades, but it's a decent cliche for the Hylians.

The Blins are the most offensive race in my idea because you'll notice in Twilight Princess, they served as raiders for Zant's army, and ravaged both Kakariko Villages and generally had an advantage when they were on the offense. They're the weakest defensively because their two war camps in TP, the one in the Gerudo Desert and the one in Hyrule Castle, are shoddily built.

The Gorons are fairly well-rounded and better on offense than defense because they were outright conquered and captured in Ocarina of Time, and got wrecked in TP. I would have liked to make them more defensive, but they haven't quite proved to be good defenders.

The Dekus are one of the two Tribes I took creative liberties with. They are more defensive than offensive because they are always playing defense in any conflict (such as those with Link) and don't really count as a full on civilized Tribe in Hyrule. I'm imagining them as similar to Scottish, Vietnamese, and Bengali guerillas; they defend their homeland from threats (the British, Americans, and Pakistans), but can't exactly beat the threats.

The Zora are highly defensive because they were never conquered in OoT; they were frozen, but not conquered. They were beaten in TP, for sure, so I am pondering their placement on the offensive vs defensive scale.

The Gerudoes are highly defensive, and I think I might switch them with the Zora. The Gerudoes were never conquered, and the entire Gerudo Tribe might have been starved to extinction by the time TP occurs, which is fitting for a group focused on their singular fortress.

The Sheikah are the other Tribe I took liberty with. There's nothing to really base them off of besides what other people say about them, so I imagined their warfare as relying heavily on agents who kidnap their enemies and interrogate them. They are near extinction by OoT and are again near extinction in TP, so I made them terrible defensively.

that would be great. but i would like it to be based on the Hyulean Civil War and have the armies have a limit of 1000. and instead of blins you could have dark interlopers.

Originally Posted by Zeldaguru23

that would be great. but i would like it to be based on the Hyulean Civil War and have the armies have a limit of 1000. and instead of blins you could have dark interlopers.

Yeah, actually, the main focus of my idea is the Hyrulean Civil War (Pre-OoT).

And I really don't know about 1000 soldiers in an army to be honest. Think about it; the Zelda games seem sparsely populated as is, and can as ingle player really manage 1000 troops, let alone some workers who build stuff for you?

And I like the idea of the Moblin race, but I do have the Dark Interlopers in the game's story. The Dark Interlopers are principally Sheikahs, but they have magically attuned members of every race in their ranks.

And I really don't know about 1000 soldiers in an army to be honest. Think about it; the Zelda games seem sparsely populated as is, and can as ingle player really manage 1000 troops, let alone some workers who build stuff for you?

1) if you think about it the reason zelda games are sparsely populated is because its impossible to make a world with millions of people in a game.
2) what if most of Hyrule's population was killed during the civil war
3) if you look at the OoT Manga you see that Hyrule is much bigger place then in the games and can easly hold about 100 thousand people.

Originally Posted by Zeldaguru23

1) if you think about it the reason zelda games are sparsely populated is because its impossible to make a world with millions of people in a game.

Grand Theft Auto and various other similar games would like a word with you.

Games like that can at least give you the illusion that there are millions of people inhabiting their singular city, which is often bigger than the entirety of Hyrule and it's "provinces." Twilight Princess attempted to emulate those games by having a ton of people who you can't talk to in Hyrule Castle Town, but it wasn't nearly enough.

2) what if most of Hyrule's population was killed during the civil war

I dunno man. If we're trying to add a touch of realism to the series, I see Hyrule as a city-state centered on several settlements, and the reasons for their quick advancement in spite of having such small populations is through their use of magic and magical artifacts.

3) if you look at the OoT Manga you see that Hyrule is much bigger place then in the games and can easly hold about 100 thousand people.

>_> The OoT Manga is far from canon, man.

With my idea, I'm trying to keep to the Zelda series the way it's been presented as best as I can.

1000 soldiers is going to look ridiculous for Hyrule, considering that we haven't even seen that many characters and people in all the games total.

My scale is around 30, which is accurate for the games. Bumping a population cap up to 100 wouldn't be a ridiculous stretch, I suppose.

And besides, the most important thing is gameplay, and managing 1000 soldier is too much for a player, unless most of those soldiers were very similar and served very similar functions. Especially when I'm trying to make the game's visuals look like Four Swords Adventure (I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my description) and Link to the Past.

This is a pretty good idea. Very well thought out as well. But it seems to me that it would fit better as a "Tactics" sort of game.

*roll my eyes* fine