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[rivon]

It's 2D DotA without heroes as I look at it...

[kavs]

Alright, original post updated to include my first released 'build' (if you can call it that). It isn't much for now and is more of a gameflow shell, but I wanted to post it just to prove I'm working on stuff and to motivate myself. I'm going to track my changes in a .txt and record everything until the project is done, as well as track my development time. I'll show everyone what I'm attempting to work on for my next builds, too.

Also, I'm struggling with picking a name. I started off with Lanes of Pain, then moved to Fortifight, and now I'm at Battle Lanes. Fortifight is a good name but it doesn't quite fit the game I'm creating here. Battle Lanes is much more descriptive, but I don't feel it flows quite well enough. So, if you have an idea and I like it, I'll make it the name and add you to the credits! Woo! (Also I will love you forever) EDIT: How about Battle Line or Battle Lines? Since if I go with stickmen it'll be a bit of a play on words. OHOSOCLEVER.  

oooh Kavs. I <3 this. Good to see you're bringing this idea to life now  

Thanks Pirate! :D Hopefully I actually finish it this time...

That looks pretty cool!

I think the genre is called "sidescrolling RTS" (though I guess yours won't scroll?) - the most mainstream release was Swords & Soldiers. You're obviously taking a very different approach to the genre than it, though.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the definition! I've updated my thread title to better reflect that as I love that description. I've heard of Swords and Soldiers but I haven't yet played it. Oh, and your assumption that it won't scroll is correct. I want to focus on having the local multiplayer be a lot of fun and I had a hard time imagining how I'd do that with scrolling. Maybe if I ever get online working I'll see if I can implement something like that on larger maps over online.

It's 2D DotA without heroes as I look at it...

I think by having the focus more on map control and unit composition it varies greatly from something like DOTA. I promise it'll be more than simple creep wars.   The goal is to create an epic battle filled with emergent combat goodness.

[Inanimate]

The title keeps changing... I think I'm getting dizzy! 


Also, this game looks really fun. I love oryx' little charming characters, too <3

[Pirate]

I can't wait to see them fight!!

[davidp]

whoooa, this looks awesome, great idea

can't wait to see more

[chumez]

Looks like it will be loads of fun! Great little characters

[kavs]

New build posted! Next one will be playable, I swear.

By tomorrow I should have a 'game', although I can't imagine it'll be much fun or complex. I've finally gotten the hang of AS3/Flashpunk so I'm at the point where I can think of a feature and code it.

The title keeps changing... I think I'm getting dizzy! 


Also, this game looks really fun. I love oryx' little charming characters, too <3

I've changed it for the last time, I promise! Well... until launch anyway. :D

I can't wait to see them fight!!

SOON!

whoooa, this looks awesome, great idea

can't wait to see more

Thanks! I should have a playable build on my next update...

Looks like it will be loads of fun! Great little characters

Thanks! Hopefully I can make my style work...

[kavs]

Updated build! It's technically a proper game now as there are win conditions and simple gameplay, but right now its more of a stupid button masher and tug game than what I want it to be.

Let me know if you have any crashes! Good update coming tomorrow.

[kavs]

Updated again! Buildnotes are in the first post.

The game is really pulling together now; let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions. I won't be getting in too much development time this weekend unfortunately, but I'll try and get a few little things in before Monday.  

EDIT: Just played a few games with my wife and noticed 2 bugs.

• Text stays red if you go over 200; I didn't add a check to change it back to black. Will fix next time I can.
• Sometimes for an unknown reason, people are able to spawn 4 - 6 top tier units at once. I'm not sure why this happens, so if you get a repro please let me know! I'll look at it when I can.\.

[Inanimate]

I'll try to test this later with my sister, and be sure to edit this post with how it goes.

[Izzimach]

I played it for several games, and tried out some strategies.  It seemed like spamming low level guys worked out better than trying to build higher-tier soldiers, but that may be because my timing sucks.

Text displaying money and "next unit with cost $X" display changes really fast it is hard to keep track of amounts sometimes.  It would work loads better if those were graphical bars, so I could easily deduce when to release the key to produce (for example) a unit with a cost just below the amount of money in the treasury.

Also, the "War Mode" test was kind of mesmerizing with all the little guys running around. Do you think you could add an "extreme mode" where each key press/release produces like, 10 guys instead of 1?  I know it would be less strategic, but I love having buttloads of guys running around the screen.

[kavs]

New build! Buildnotes in the top post, but the tl;dr version is that I've fixed the spawn bugs, added a timer/killcount, added tutorial/strategy text, and made high-tier units more desireable. Woop!

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Also, I'm having problems thinking of a good name. Battle Lines will be ok once I get my stickart in there but it doesn't strike me as an awesome name. Suggestions?


Responses in red below. Thanks so much for your feedback Izzimach! This is so great.

I played it for several games, and tried out some strategies.  It seemed like spamming low level guys worked out better than trying to build higher-tier soldiers, but that may be because my timing sucks.

I found the problem and addressed it in this new build; I had added soldier damaged based off of it's tier, but in the combat functions I was still doing health--. Now, the higher tier units will deal more damage to make them more worth-while than their spammy counterparts.

Text displaying money and "next unit with cost $X" display changes really fast it is hard to keep track of amounts sometimes.  It would work loads better if those were graphical bars, so I could easily deduce when to release the key to produce (for example) a unit with a cost just below the amount of money in the treasury.

Agreed that text is less-than-ideal. Graphical bars are actually exactly where I was hoping to take this, and ideally I can have something working for the next build. I see it being a 5-bar gauge that fills up as the spacebar is held. Each 'bar' signifies a tier of unit. When you let go, it spawns a unit based off of where you are on the progress bar. I think I am going to add zones in the spawn bar that give the unit extra properties if it is landed on (like 'elite' status or something if you get it on the exact frame).

Also, the "War Mode" test was kind of mesmerizing with all the little guys running around. Do you think you could add an "extreme mode" where each key press/release produces like, 10 guys instead of 1?  I know it would be less strategic, but I love having buttloads of guys running around the screen.

I have another idea for a War Mode, but I'm only going to sneak it in if I can finish up the main mode first. I've actually cut it entirely from the build for now so I don't get distracted.   I plan on having multiple game modes for the standard mode, and I think it'd be great to add in a 'spawn multiplier' game setting so when you spawn a unit, 5 - 10 pop out instead of just 1. :D Great idea! Hopefully I can sneak in a proper War Mode though.

[Izzimach]

Oh yeah, the higher-rank guys cut through spammy minions like a knife through butter now.

The "sweet spot" idea to grant extra properties sounds excellent.  You could move them around and have certain properties be undesirable if you really want to mix it up.  The game might seem too random at that point though.

[Accidental Rebel]

Checked out the newest version. I have no one to play with since everyone's asleep so I'll just wait for them to wake up before I kick their asses. 

[kavs]

New build is up! All it really adds is capture points but it changes the gameplay a lot to have those as objectives to fight over. Holding the majority of the flags is the key to victory! Let me know what strategies you enjoy and find effective; I'd love to hear how people are playing the game. I'm improving the UI and the combat for the next build.


And the replies...

Oh yeah, the higher-rank guys cut through spammy minions like a knife through butter now.

The "sweet spot" idea to grant extra properties sounds excellent.  You could move them around and have certain properties be undesirable if you really want to mix it up.  The game might seem too random at that point though.

I like how the high-tier guys feel right now; watching a reaper slay 20 spammy units is great. The sweet spot idea is something I'll implement with the UI overhaul (or the build after), but I'm not entirely sure I like it yet. I think it'll make things more complex and skill based, which could be a good thing.

Checked out the newest version. I have no one to play with since everyone's asleep so I'll just wait for them to wake up before I kick their asses. 

If you didn't get a chance to play with your sleeping roommates yet, try it now with the capture points and let me know how it feels! :D