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[Chris Z]

Finally got to play this as well along with a bunch of the other entries I couldn't play that used OpenGL.  Ended up having to install the version of the ATI driver with all the extra crap that somehow included the OpenGL ICD.

Anyway, I really like the way the cockpit moved with the mech walking.  Reminded me a lot of Mechwarrior 2.  This game and Vessel IV really made that aspect of the game really immersive and it added to the atmosphere.

[Ivan]

Here's a short and shtty quality video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wqOj60cHFw

[Farbs]

"This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."
 

[Captain_404]

"This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."

I also get this error, have since the beginning, and still do even with the newest version. At this point I'm thinking it's most likely some hardware issue on my end, but I really have no idea how any of that stuff works anyway.

[Alex May]

I found the sounds to be quite abrasive. Also the collision seems to be a bit sketchy - when rubbing against a slope that can't be walked up the mech seems to judder back and forth, and in normal walking seems to jump up and down erratically beyond what one would expect of footfall shaking. I don't mind not being able to strafe as long as I can point my gun some other direction to where I'm facing, or maybe jump/jetpack, otherwise the battle just becomes "walk toward enemy while firing".

But the visuals and style are so awesome, and if you're happy with the netcode you wrote then that's a great thing

[Ivan]

Yeah, that's a good point.

Collision is kind of sketchy because it's networked. So it has to reset player position based on server data and so even when it's local, it's a bit funky right now.

[Alex May]

Really looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[Will Vale]

The latest version works well here - the stuttering is gone and it looks really nice. I like the MG impact squibs a lot - they capture the motion of dirt kicking up without adding too much particle clutter so they sit well within the low-poly style.

I think the cockpit animation/camera shake is still my favourite - maybe you could also drive a little fritz animation on the holomap (or just scale it randomly a few percent) to really sell this?

I may have found a minor bug: I played two games in a row (menu -> start game during the first game) and one team seemed to start with rather fewer than 50 tickets - it might have been the state of play at the end of the previous game.

Look forward to seeing what comes next. Are you going to add different chassis and weapon choices so you get some more tactical variety? (e.g. slow/fast, weak/strong, mg/missiles/beams) At the moment it's a bit of a race to the flag.

Cheers,

Will

[Ivan]

Hey thanks, Will!!

And yes that is definitely a bug. It doesn't seem to unload the other level correctly, so I think it might actually be running the old server when you start the new game. I really gotta fix that 

And yes, the plan is to add two more game modes, a few levels, two other chassis(es?), a couple of different weapons and work on the movement so you can maneuver better.

Farbs: I'm gonna include an MSVC redistributable in the next build, so hopefully that will fix your problem.

[Farbs]

Farbs: I'm gonna include an MSVC redistributable in the next build, so hopefully that will fix your problem.

Awesome, thanks dude.

I snuck in some play time on my work machine earlier in the day, but only against 1 bot with negligible intelligence. I loved the radio chatter, and like everyone says the lowpoly grit is very appealing.

Have you prototyped many other control schemes for the machines? I spent some time doing similar stuff a few years ago, and we found it cool to have A and D turn your walker rather than strafe, and limit the mouse to moving the torso/head in a fixed range on top of that motion. The fixed rate of turn added a whole bunch of positional play, since anyone who snuck up behind you would be able to get a few shots in before you could retaliate. Unlike normal fixed turning systems though this didn't destroy your accuracy, as that was still handled by the mouse.

I also tried using LMB to turn left and RMB to turn right, with mousewheel setting the throttle. I thought it was really cool loading all the movement controls onto one hand, leaving the other hand free for funky weapon/shield/energy management. Sadly the idea did not catch on.

[Ivan]

Yeah, I've been thinking about some different ways of control. I think I'm leaning towards A+D to turn + torso controlled with mouse. I haven't tested it yet though as it will require rewriting both the network packet structure and the bot AI. But as Alex said before, the current control scheme really is too simplistic, so I think I'm gonna do it.

[Melly]

You could always have different bots with different types of control schemes, like basically different versions of cockpit controls for each. A pilot that used one robot and then exchanged for another would feel that controlling the other is very different.

[salade]

hmmm... I keep on getting one of those "THIS PROGRAM ENCOUNTERED AN ERROR! SEND ERROR REPORT?" whenever I try to start a game. maybye it's just me? I don't know right now.

it's a shame, cause this looks superawesome

[Ivan]

What's your computer configuration, salade? Operating system and video card primarily.

[astrofra]

It works, it just works.
The UI design is excellent, very "designer republic"-ish, excellence in the influences
The audio makes it works, for sure, as for the deep foggy atmosphere.

There is something, might be involuntary, that reminds me that old Terrorpods game from Psygnosis.

And as someone said, some closeness with Midwinter too !

Love it !