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Comment by leksak | Hacker News Reader

This reminds me of an idea, has there ever been any multi-tiered games such that,

1. Each tier is its own game, 2. The games are not independent

As a simple, two-game, example. Imagine a strategy game such as Shogun (turn-based strategy). When the players kn that game start conflicts that opens up a match for FPS-type players to join. The outcome of the battle will depend on the FPS-player performance while the match-up is skewed depending on the relative forces deployed by the generals.

Maybe cities are maintained by more Minecraft-esque players, while the eye in the sky can submit tasks down below for resources, certain buildings, etcetera.

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I doubt that "each tier is it's own game" could ever really work: what about the different time scales? It's bad enough already in the Total War series where the strategy and battle compete more than complement.

What would be in it for the player extras on the tactical level? It's hard enough for level design and matchmaking to compose a match of random internet players when there are no further constraints, forcing the parameters of one players strategy session on top of that problem can only make it worse.

"RPG sim" would aim for the opposite, creating a uniform UX with consistent interaction pacing (even if on wildly different timescales) for all the off-screen sim layers.

There was a multiplayer RTS called arkaron or something that featured time travelling. The gameplay was built around building up your forces to fight at a particular point in time. As you built up you sent units back in time to battle opposing forces in waves with a limited amount of energy. The game ran on a constantly ticking timeline that implemented changes in the timeline (spawned units) at the end of each timeline section. The original idea was to be more expansive with the implementation but it had to be cut down.

Well, there are games like Nuclear Dawn or Natural Selection 2 which feature both an FPS and an RTS in the same game, with one player acting as the commander plopping down research/buff/harvest buildings and issuing orders, and everyone else playing the (often disobedient) units.

There was Dust 514, which was directly connected to EVE Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_514

Yes! Rowans Battle of Britain had both a flight simulator, and a high level strategic overview. It was possible to play the game entirely strategically, changing the outcome of the Battle of Britain through effective resource management (like making Germany win by focusing on airfields instead of city bombing), but for every combat encounter you could also jump into a cockpit and get your hands dirty. Truly a tour de force of atmospheric gaming.

Mount and Blade series. (I've played 'Fire and Sword' but you can try the others as well).

Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf was a turn-based game that was tactical and strategic.

Squadron 42 + Star Citizen

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