Other nations

[ayearepee 0]

Of course, other NATO nations (and France) should be in the game. Assuming that the voice-overs remain in AmericEnglish and that the various weapon types have analogues across nations - given the fact that the AK-74 and M16 are essentially identical, it shouldn't be too much work to have a 'mock-SLR' or 'mock-FAMAS' - there's no reason why the player couldn't choose from the outset to be British, Dutch, French perhaps even German, although due to our late hostilities with that nation I believe they were restricted to their own borders (which was a shame, as they were really good at fighting).

Having said that, who'd want to play as the French?

As for participants in the Vietnam War, Britain did not play an official role (there's a website called 'Britain's Small Wars' - excellent, go there now - which deals with this). SAS liaison members probably assisted American special forces but we'll never know for sure, whilst there were some RAF and support units stationed in Thailand, which was semi-sort-of part of the Vietnam theatre. The French fought and lost in the 1950s.

'VC' means 'Viet Cong' the northern-backed guerilla force; I believe you mean 'NVA' for North Vietnamese Army and 'ARVN' for the Army of the Republic of (South) Viet Nam.

[Drakkhen 0]

who'd want to play as the French?

A french maybe...

Anyway... why focusing on Vietnam? No one went victorious of this war (if some did, the border wouldn't be where it is). There were so many other "little" wars all over the world, the point is to let as many doors open as it is possible to allow the widest mission creation freedom. It sure did the success of OFP.

[PainDealer 0]

I'd say yugoslavia could be an interesting theatre...

[The Frenchman 0]

who'd want to play as the French?

Who wouldn't?    

[ayearepee 0]

>>>>

Who wouldn't? [want to play as the French]

<<<<

The game would be boring; five minutes into every mission your superiors would tell you to pull back, and twenty missions later your government would negotiate a withdrawal, and that would be the end of the game. Historically, very few of the NATO members had 'good wars' during the 1945-1989 period, with only the Falklands springing to mind, and that was exclusively British and another topic entirely (given the dearth of scenery on the islands an 'OPF: Falklands' would be feasible as an official product were it not for the Argentine market, or indeed the lack of realistic sheep models).

>>>>

Anyway... why focusing on Vietnam? No one went victorious of this war (if some did, the border wouldn't be where it is).

<<<<

I think you're getting confused with Korea, which has a big border running along the middle. Vietnam's only border - and it's a long and indefensible one - is with the countries around it.

It's worth bearing in mind that political issues reduce the amount of possible theatres; missions set in Africa, which was full of nasty war and mercenary fighters during the 1970s, would be a definite no-no for a variety of obvious reasons, unless you were fighting against Rhodesian or South African troops. In contrast Vietnam is far enough in the past, nobody in the west cared much about Vietnamese deaths, and the conflict has been put in the 'public domain', so it's a likely theatre.

Furthermore it would have to be a theatre involving troops that wouldn't offend potential markets, which might be why the East Timor version of OPF has been so delayed, or why there are unlikely to be 'Operation Flashpoint: Armagh Assault' or even for that matter 'OPF: Northern Alliance'. This is why so many games and films are set either in WW2 or in imaginary ex-Soviet republics.