Originally posted by WMCoolmon
Warning! Warning! Warning!
Obviously there's a risk of having something like that. However, many of the problems cited in that article can be solved with skilled mission design, and having two Destroyers, a few Cruisers and the Destroyers' fighter and bomber complement duke it out is quite different than what the writer was talking about.
The main risk is that a newbie designer will create a big fight and assume it's good enough for release.
Problem: Too much strain on system resources.
Solution: Computers nowadays are much too powerful for FS2 anyway. In addition, the source code is available so any problems with the total number of ships exceeding the max amount (or something similar) can be fixed.
Problem: Capital ship AI focuses on fighters too much.
Solution: Not with beams they don't. Anyway, clever AI orders can fix this.
Problem: Capital ships don't inflict enough damage on eachother.
Solution: Beams.
Problem: Capital ships sit hovering in space because they weren't given AI orders.
Solution: Give them AI orders.
Problem: Capital ships ram eachother because of poor movement orders.
Solution: Make better movement orders.
Problem: Fighters will either be too sparse or too numerous.
Solution: Test and tweak the mission until this works out. Although the number of fighters per destroyer is known, the rate at which they are issued forth is changeable.
Problem: Mission is too hard or too easy.
Solution: Test and tweak.
Problem: Too few events to make the mission interesting.
Solution: Put in more events.
Problem: Too few missiles to arm friendly fighters and bombers.
Solution: Put in more missiles.
Problem: Volition Inc. never created a Battle of Endor-style mission.
Solution: All the more reason to break the mold.
Problem: Space should be empty.
Solution: Says who?
Problem: Battle of Endor-style missions have never been good.
Solution: This doesn't mean they can't be done well.
Problem: Too many targets.
Solution: Test and tweak.
Problem: Player has too little influence.
Solution: This is a very real problem, but it can be overcome by having only one or two large battles in a campaign, and keeping the rest in an ordinary style. It can be fun to be slightly less influencial every once in a while. Ideally, the mission should be balanced so that if the player isn't there, the bad guys win by a little bit. That way, the player's presence is necessary.
---EDIT---
Problem: Mission is too two-dimensional.
Solution: This is a mistake newbie mission designers make anyway. It has very little to do with the Battle of Endor-style difficulties.
