With the suggestion and implication that it may yet be possible on the devlog, I set about trying to find working examples of such a thing - and how it would feel in Cortex Command's gameplay style.

Now, one of the most important things is the furious and fun, chaotic action, so Worms-style Turn-Based gameplay isn't going to be the most fun to play. That is, Worms-style is when each player takes their turn, using one of their units and performing one significant action per turn. It also may lead to a player being obliterated completely on the first turn, given the way collateral damage from rocket-ship gibs works.

So I thought to myself, hey. Why not use a tactic similar to that in Laser Squad Nemesis?

Laser Squad Nemesis, or LSN is a turn-based game played in a way that resembles an RTS game - that is, you see all your units, there is fog of war, mostly mouse-controlled, but the real important part is the turn-based combat.

Each player has a set amount of time per turn, default 10 seconds. Each unit can do 10 seconds-worth of actions, and so multiple units can move at a single time (hence making it more exciting than Worms-style).

Each player takes his or her turn independently from the other player, at the same time. The player can simulate his actions, and see what would happen if the enemy stayed still, or were not there (this is the case when an enemy is around a corner, but hidden from you - the simulation does not allow you to sneak a peek at the unit, it shows empty space). This leads to forward planning, where the player can set points for the unit to shoot on sight, halt on seeing enemies, or take potshots just in case an enemy may be there.

After the players take their turns, the game then combines the two turns together and plays it back for both players, so they can see what really happened.

A lot of fun can be had seeing the best-laid plans go horribly wrong when one of the enemy small scout units attempts to dart down a wide corridor that he didn't know was full of your tanks.

This gameplay model works best for Cortex Command in my opinion - multiple movements happen in one turn, each player has no advantage time-wise over the other, the end result is fairly chaotic and leads to you planning your shots to catch the enemy unawares (for example, he is jetpacking above you... so on this turn, you fire in front of him, and under him - wherever he goes, he's probably going to be hit when the turns happen. However, he might have dropped a bomb on this turn, and turned mid-air and flown away). This planning element gives us a very tactical aspect to the game, and provides a nice difference to the normal method of combat - but in my mind's eye, it is still as fun.

So, what do you think?

TL;DR: Go and play Laser Squad Nemesis, and see if you think that combat system would work in Cortex.

I always liked LSN. I never bought the game, just played the demo, but still.

There is never going to be online play. Plain and simple. The amount of work and effort, plus the lack of technology means that online multplayer will never happen.

And the topics keep coming...
Look. It's not a problem of how to make gameplay work, it's a problem of how to make the game itself work.
I will not go into all the reasons, because frankly I'm tired of saying them over and over again.
The most multiplayer you're likely to have is a Lua-based AI controlled remotely spawned thing, where each player spawns enemies to attack the other players and defends against enemies spawned by said other players.

Before some of you leapt down my throat and discarded my idea, probably before even reading it, did you happen to look at the devlog?



There is a possibility. I was postulating that if it were possible, did you think that would be the best way?

Not "HAY I WANT MULTIPLAR NAOW", it was speculation. You know, for a discussion board, not a lot gets discussed via speculation.

Alright. Turn based means not real time. What you were describing sounded like real time taken in turns. What they mean is likely something like "You conquer this territory and it is filled with AI defenders. Next turn, someone can attack your territory and fight your AI'd minions to gain control. If they win, the territory is converted to their control. If they lose, the territory remains yours. Gold income is dependent on how many gold-rich areas you conquer".
I have not played LSN, and the videos are not very clear, but if that is what you were saying, my apologies.

You'll notice the key word 'online' is never actually mentioned in the Question or Answer.

WHAT? WE MIGHT GET HOTSEAT MULTIPLAYER? AMAZING.

I KNOW, ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?
I CAN'T WAIT OT PLAY WITH MY NO OTHER FRIENDS THAT PLAY CORTEX COMMAND.