[cgutzmer]

OK - this is important. I dont know if my vision will work or not.

I envision all three phases as relating to one another when played all at once. each phase can also be a standalone game with a set scenario or objective.

Phase one deep space combat - big ships and squadrons duke it out.

Phase 2 - atmospheric combat and bringing resources to ground - establish bases

phase 3 - ground battle and conquest of planet

when played as a campaign (all three together) you need to plan well. If you lose a freighter in phase one you will have fewer resources/units in phase 3. If you lose a cruiser you might have fewer fighters/dropships in phase 2.

I see it that if one phase does not affect the other phases then whats the point of the overall game? Sure a player might get smeared in the opening phase but that would make for a quick game that would start over again. maybe. This approach might not work at all for two player as I look at it more closely. It might only be feasible for 3 or more players, that way players that are weakened might have to team up or something - more strategy! If its just two player then whowever did better in the opening phase would likely be much stronger later making it nearly impossible for the other to win.... hmmmmm

another option would be that each phase starts mostly new. If players survive the previous phase then they start the next phase fresh. Seems kinda bogus to me but for two player it might be needed. This could (or could not) be seen as three different games that work together or three phases of one game.

option three is that they are not interlinked at all. This doesnt sound too fun to me. Each phase is simply a different game. This would lead to us developing three different games to market to different groups.

Help me out here guys - I know you all have valuable input and most likely you all have more experience in this than I do. I will keep an open mind as I hope everyone does.
Chris