Outwitters 2!

[CombatEX]

Outwitters 2, how different should it be?
I do agree with you to some extent Mag!cGuy. However, I don't really think Outwitters needs a sequel in the conventional sense. I don't want Outwitters changed in a major way. I see it kind of like chess. Chess 2 with a new unit or "team" isn't going to be an improvement over the original chess. It would be a different game, maybe worth playing, but not a substitute for chess. Outwitters is already great as it is and I don't want to see it die and replaced by a new game just as I wouldn't want chess replaced by things like "3D Chess" or "Battle Chess".

I just want the out-of-game features (profile interactivity, ranking improvement, etc) and balance (through things like veto system and seasonal map pool rotation) to be improved. This can all be done in patches to Outwitters 1. However, it's not a viable monetary strategy to keep updating Outwitters 1 indefinitely. This is why I want a sequel, not because I really want a new game, but because it's the only way to really bring in more money for OML while keeping Outwitters alive.

Custom Game Editor
I feel like it would be enough to simply add the kinds of things I suggested in this post and the previous one without compromising the core gameplay (we don't need new teams, although perhaps we can rework the heavy as a second special to make it more useful to spawn and appease people who want to alter the gameplay somewhat - Heavies, The Second Special?).

Simply adding a comprehensive map editor in the vein of Blizzard's editor with StarCraft 2 and WarCraft 3 should be enough of an addition to make Outwitters 2 (combined with the improved core game features). Why? A huge fraction of players who purchase SC2 and especially WC3 only play custom game modes. Just look at customs like DotA which is now a whole genre. I don't expect things to be quite as drastic in the case of Outwitters, but we do have a thread even for the current Outwitters where people play games with special rules (like medic spawns only, win by killing a heavy instead of the base, etc). If OML took this idea and expanded it, allowing users to customize game rules and unit behaviors, I think it could be more than enough of a new feature to sell the game as Outwitters 2 (in addition to the basic improvements to competitive play).

Editor Features
Some features of a custom editor could be:

- Complete Map Design: Like Harti's Outwitters Map Creator (OMC). Maps well received by high level players could even be considered by OML to enter the official map rotation for the next season
- Unit Stats: The ability to change things like Soldier attack to 4, Heavy movement to 1, Sniper range to 5, adding splash damage to runner attacks, and so on. You could get more creative too and add things like "X unit can move to any visible, open space" or "X unit can attack all surrounding units". This would allow people to really customize their game modes, test balance changes, and even create a completely different TBS.
- Bases: Base health adjustment, adding an attack to the base, etc
- Spawns: Changing number of units that can be spawned on a turn for example
- Victory Conditions: Win by killing a specific unit instead of a base, win by killing two bases instead of 1, win by reaching X wits before your opponent without letting your base die, control a special "wit space" for X turns, and so on. Lots of room for ideas here.

New Map Features and Teams?
Also yes, I'm in favor of new map features as long as all the basic gameplay is the same. Runners, soldiers, snipers, medics, specials, wit system (movement, attacks, and spawns are all tied to the same resource), kill the base to win, etc.

If you want new teams, you could always design as many unique teams as you want and play them in custom games with the addition of the kind of editor I mentioned above. You could even set up your own league with a new set of 3 or 4 teams designed by yourself and other players without compromising the official league teams, Scallywags, Adorables, Veggienauts, and Feedback.

Alternative to Outwitters 2?
A potential alternative to a sequel that would probably be more boring for OML, but which would accomplish the same things I would want from a sequel is to port Outwitters to PC. The thing about patching an iOS game over and over is that you get marginal returns. Every time you patch the game it doesn't magically get a ton of exposure (this is the main reason I think a sequel makes more sense than updates even though updates could add most of what I want in Outwitters). A sequel isn't the only way to get exposure though, porting a game and selling it as an upgraded deluxe version would both provide exposure and allow OML to make improvements without having to make a full sequel (and potentially have to change the core game more than is necessary just to sell it as a new game). I don't know how much work a port from iOS to PC is compared to a new iOS game sequel, but if it is significantly easier to simply port the game I could see it working instead of making a completely new one. Having Outwitters on steam would be amazing and I know many people who would love to play but don't have an iDevice.

- The potential audience would be larger
- Exposure would be better (something like Steam instead of being lost in the appstore beneath tons of pay-to-win microtransaction "strategy" games)
- Price point could be higher (people are willing to pay more for the exact same thing on PC compared to iOS)

The only downside I see is that it would probably be 10x less fun for Alex and Adam than making a new game... which unfortunately is a pretty big downside

Sorry for the lengthy post and relative lack of eloquence. Outwitters is just something I've become passionate about. It's not even about playing the game anymore. I do still play, but even if I stopped completely, I wouldn't feel any differently about the potential of the game and my desire to see it succeed in the long term. I believe Outwitters could become far more than "just another TBS". The basic concept is just so brilliant. I could write an essay on why exactly I feel the competitive scene of Outwitters could grow into something significantly larger than that of any other modern TBS, but I have something else I should be attending to at the moment so I think I better stop here.