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[JustRadek]

Thanks! There are still a bunch of features for the level itself -- nevermind the game -- but we're trying to be consistent with pushing ahead.

[danieru]

You're speed is pretty impressive, as is how experimental you've been.

My only comment is that adding a conditional to the movement range will be confusing for players. Making it harder for them to estimate next turn's moves. Granted for a tactics game that sounds fine.

[kruxus]

I'm facing the same questions about interface in my own project so that was interesting. However I don't really see the point of colour-coding the movement range in team colour. I got the impression that this will be a single player game, and then you would probably only see your own movement anyway. If you're planning to include a hot-seat mode I could see the point, but I'd personally solve it by indicating the active team in another way, like a team banner on the UI or something.

The game looks cool though, I really like that you're not using an established fantasy setting.

[HellaciousPuppy]

Looks great. I love tactics games.
I hope it's going to have a comprehensive single player campaign. 

[JustRadek]

You're speed is pretty impressive, as is how experimental you've been.

My only comment is that adding a conditional to the movement range will be confusing for players. Making it harder for them to estimate next turn's moves. Granted for a tactics game that sounds fine.

We're not too worried about this element as it has worked rather well for various turn-based combat games in recent years. One of the benefits of this approach is that it's not quite as complicated as an action-point system, but it does allow for more flexibility than typical SRPGs.

One thing I'm not a huge fan of that's common to tactics games is the gradual inching-forward of each army, and having a secondary movement range does help to get the units into the fray much quicker while allowing for strategic retreat. To further compensate for potential downtime, we're also trying to give each unit a special defense ability when there's no target in range. In addition to raising def% and being able to pick a facing direction, defending can potentially also reload weapons, summon allies, heal, set down a projectile-deflecting shield, etc.

[JustRadek]

I'm facing the same questions about interface in my own project so that was interesting. However I don't really see the point of colour-coding the movement range in team colour. I got the impression that this will be a single player game, and then you would probably only see your own movement anyway. If you're planning to include a hot-seat mode I could see the point, but I'd personally solve it by indicating the active team in another way, like a team banner on the UI or something.

The game looks cool though, I really like that you're not using an established fantasy setting.

The movement indicator of the opposition is there for potential preview options/range estimates, but it's also used to indicate the team itself. Underneath each unit, the tile is filled with the team colour. Since we're not palette swapping the characters as in a typical 2D game, and a single unit type can exist in both teams, it's very easy to mix them up without colour-coding. 

[JustRadek]

Looks great. I love tactics games.
I hope it's going to have a comprehensive single player campaign. 

Yup, we're definitely aiming for one. It's a lot more resource-intensive than making a multiplayer-only title, but creating a (hopefully) cool campaign in a cool setting was always one of the driving points.

[JustRadek]

More concepts:


A mood piece for the Sleepless Forge.


Level sketch of the Aerie's Lyceum. Inside are housed various punchcard-libraries and technology blueprints of yore.


Miscellaneous prop sketches. Yeah, we couldn't resist putting in an explosive barrel.


Concepts for the creepy, diminutive, and artificial Homunculi.


Coloured variations of a Homunculus.

[JustRadek]

Initial mockup of the forge arena.

One of the first gameplay elements we'd like to iterate on is the concept of an arena battle where the crowd and/or a "battle master" can have an impact on the fight itself. These modifiers range from items being tossed down by the crowd in the rafters, to the layout of the map itself changing based on in-battle events.

To prototype this gameplay, we've decided to mock up an arena in Trudy's "Sleepless Forge" district.


Destructible barrels can cause a fiery explosion or shower units in oil making them more vulnerable to heat-based attacks.

The arena battlefield is asymmetric with a giant furnace leaning against one wall. In the center rests a rough hill of terminals and crates, while the opposite end of the furnace is used as storage for various carts and hazardous materials.


The mine carts can be pushed to knock around enemies, while the terminals activate the conveyors leading up to the furnace.

Various pipework and heat grates also present dangerous areas that can be activated based on each team's performance. There's no real safe spot in the arena, but plenty of points of interest that can either provide an advantage or backfire in spectacular fashion.


Conveyors above the arena can be activated to feed the giant furnace.

The furnace itself was designed to look demonic with twisted metal at its top forming downcast eyes illuminated by the inner heat, and a front-side grill tapering into jagged teeth. The whole front plate can be raised and lowered with a pair of chains to imitate biting and chewing.


As the furnace is fed, molten metal drips from the sides of its mouth.

It's possible to stay at the edges of the arena, blowing up barrels from afar and pushing carts into oncoming foes. However, reaching the center allows the activation of the terminals that feed the beastly furnace causing fire and steam to explode from the pipework spread throughout the arena.

Furthermore, feeding the furnace will eventually cause molten metal to drip out and cover the lower sections of the map making the central hill the only spot where units can survive.


3D mockup of the forge arena.

Hopefully this variety of options will encourage players to explore various strategies, including shoving their enemies -- and perhaps even allies? -- into the gaping maw of the furnace in order to gain instant favour of the forge. 

[Fat Bard]

The visual style in this game is fantastic. You've got some great concept artists! A tactics game that has real interactivity with the environment would be great, forcing the player to change tactics in order to survive. Looking forward to watching this progress.

[JustRadek]

Appreciate it! We're definitely going for a more kinetic, interactive vibe. The idea is to make the battles feel a something like a turn-based moba rather than an abstract board game.

[JustRadek]

Even more concepts!


The feathered gentry of Trudy.


Forgotten machines.


Marketplace concepts.


Map layout for the Aerie's Lyceum.


A few UI concepts.

[Amatobahn]

I am impressed at the level building. So cool to see that.

[JustRadek]

Thanks, soon enough I'll be able to model those for in-game using our editor!

[Jabberwocky]

Gorgeous concept art.

I noticed from your company's website you have unity experience.  Why did you choose to create your own 3D engine?  Are you building it on top of SDL, or was that only for the tech demo?

Networked multiplayer is a huge amount of work - are you guys using any middleware?  Although being a strategy/tactics game, you will probably avoid some of the headaches around latency.  Is it turn based?

Thanks for the detailed updates, it was a fun read.

[JustRadek]

Gorgeous concept art.

I noticed from your company's website you have unity experience.  Why did you choose to create your own 3D engine?  Are you building it on top of SDL, or was that only for the tech demo?

Networked multiplayer is a huge amount of work - are you guys using any middleware?  Although being a strategy/tactics game, you will probably avoid some of the headaches around latency.  Is it turn based?

Thanks for the detailed updates, it was a fun read.

Glad you're enjoying the devlog so far!

Yup, we're still building on top of SDL for porting purposes. One of the reasons we went with a custom engine was just the fun of developing the tech itself, but there were practical considerations as well.  Being able to scale and implement whatever middleware we want is a big plus, as are potential costs. Unity might be great, but outfitting the whole team and keeping it up to date can get quite pricey in the long run.

We've also actually worked on both real-time and turn-based multiplayer games in the past, so we have some tech we can use here. For Trudy, it's more an issue of keeping things deterministic enough to prevent cheating. Granted multiplayer is much more of a wish list item at this point, but we're trying not to shoot ourselves in the foot.

[JustRadek]

Another batch of concepts.


More feathered outfits (on account of the game taking place on an airship).


Scrap-bot sketch, and a more insidious sentinel automaton.


Rotating cannon-mace and a statue concept that serves as a lamp.


Crumbled level sketch with houses dotting the faces of the pillar.


Mechanized walls of the Clockwork Labyrinth.

[JustRadek]

Our editor got some colour-coding!



Any selected area can be applied a single colour. This is not actually for in-game purposes, but rather an initial step for further level processing. Blue indicates standard walkable areas, dark blue impassable fences, yellow interactive elements, purple automated props, orange destructible objects, green doorways, and the rest are mostly for aesthetic cues, e.g., what sort of prop/texture should appear there in the final version.

Here are a couple snapshots from our maps:


The Forge Arena -- the purple bits represent floor grates and mounted pipes through which fire and/or steam can shoot out.


The Aerie's Lyceum. The bottom-left part will be a cable-car station.


The sprawling, ramshackle Warrens. Lots of verticality in these stages.

[JustRadek]

Back from our break with more concept art!


The four-armed, pantsless version of the Bulter Bot, and the finished base one in a tuxedo.


The electrified ram structure at the front of the ship.


Ravagers, the deranged cousins of the Homunculi.


Bridge overpass concepts for the sewer-like bottom of the ship.


Various plants and coral that has sprouted in the above sewers.

[JustRadek]

Quick update with some in-game screenshots from our original tech demo:


Zoomed-out view on the sewer-like Underworld.


Flooding a room with water to limit traversal options.


Extending a bridge over a chasm -- these can be a variable length and collide with rain particles.


Blowing up some pipes/barrels and lighting an oil slick on fire.


Destroying a coal station from inside a cannon turret.