Haha, I wasn't exaggerating about me playing atleast once a day. It's hard to say exactly what pulls me back in. I'd say a combination of the atmosphere (nothing quite like seeing a glowing red mortar shell descend slowly onto a massive landscape!) and the general feeling of being apart of something 'bigger'. I've played far too many games where I felt as if I was controlling everything and my AI friends were little more than cannon fodder.
I noticed the 'mortar shell sticks to stuff' bug as well. Never mentioned it because it was kind of interesting getting to see the mortar shells up close. ;)
I agree that there seems to be a lack of well done tank games (especially in the indie world). For TU there's the added bonus of relatively few 'Tron' style games so the red and blue/digital world scheme is still unique.
As for the ideas, very interesting! Every idea mentioned would add to the atmosphere of an ongoing war in which the player isn't the only deciding factor (as I mentioned above, I quite like this). Having a commander who essentially controls the flow of the game would certainly give the game more depth. The player would actually have a reason (other than to aid his/her AI teammates) for fighting the opposing 'team'. I'm also fond of the use of the FPS view. Having to scale walls, besides being just plain cool, would give forts a reason for being around (no reason to have walls if the entrance is wide open!).
I noticed the 'mortar shell sticks to stuff' bug as well. Never mentioned it because it was kind of interesting getting to see the mortar shells up close. ;)
I agree that there seems to be a lack of well done tank games (especially in the indie world). For TU there's the added bonus of relatively few 'Tron' style games so the red and blue/digital world scheme is still unique.
As for the ideas, very interesting! Every idea mentioned would add to the atmosphere of an ongoing war in which the player isn't the only deciding factor (as I mentioned above, I quite like this). Having a commander who essentially controls the flow of the game would certainly give the game more depth. The player would actually have a reason (other than to aid his/her AI teammates) for fighting the opposing 'team'. I'm also fond of the use of the FPS view. Having to scale walls, besides being just plain cool, would give forts a reason for being around (no reason to have walls if the entrance is wide open!).