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[Craig Stern]

Yesterday's exhibition at Tech Week went well. As per usual, it uncovered several bugs and issues, most of which I fixed this morning:

--I had been using CPU vs. CPU matches as a sort of impromptu "demo mode" for the game when no one was playing. However, because the game doesn't let you interfere during CPU turns, there was no way to end these demo matches without quitting the game. No more of that! I've added a force quit hotkey combo (ctrl + shift + Q) that is usable when only CPU players are detected on the battlefield. The game checks to see if human players remain at the start of each turn, so you can also use this after being eliminated in normal matches against multiple CPU opponents.

--It is no longer possible for multiple players to select the same team color. (I thought I'd addressed this long ago, but apparently I had not.)

--Fixed a really weird bug where you could "Undo" yourself back onto land the turn after a character was shoved into water or lava. (Kudos to the guy that caught that one!)

--Fixed a graphical glitch affecting Solid State Shields.

I'd do more, but I have to get back to Merchandise Mart to man the Sinister Design booth. More later!

[Craig Stern]

I had a really good day today: met quite a few tactics fans who were excited after playing the game, and even met someone who recognized "Sinister Design" from playing Telepath RPG Chapter 2 years ago! (I love it when that happens.)

Notably, there were a few epic matches against the computer today that went down to the wire. In one, the player had only a single Engineer left, but had dutifully gathered so many healing items that she was able to use him to whack the remaining enemies to death with a wrench while healing wounds once a turn.

My two favorites, though, both involved the player with a single Cavalry unit left, using it to kite around the computer's characters while angling for healing items dropped around the battlefield. In one case, it worked--in a second, bad positioning resulted in the computer having (and taking) a last-minute opportunity to Shove the cavalry into lava.

I'm gratified that the item drops are having such a significant impact on play, and I am especially excited to see the expanding universe of possibilities here for advanced tactics in head-to-head matches between experienced human players. I would love to see a Telepath Tactics tournament someday! But I'm getting ahead of myself--I have to finish the thing first.

[ANtY]

The last video is awesome,  I lol'd when the AI pulled your unit into the lava ^^

Hope you're counting me in for some closed tests :D

[Craig Stern]

Heh, thanks!

When it's time for closed tests, I'll probably be announcing it on the Sinister Design forums.

[ANtY]

Heh, thanks!

When it's time for closed tests, I'll probably be announcing it on the Sinister Design forums.

So you say that you need to have an account there to participate? Eventually I'll try to find some time to register there then.

[Craig Stern]

I've been assiduously fixing bugs uncovered during the Tech Week show. Tonight I fixed three of them; I'm pretty sure there are two left to fix that I know of, but I have work in the morning. Those two will have to wait for tomorrow evening!

I've been putting off working on major new features until I've removed most of the bugs in the current game, so you can imagine my annoyance at continually uncovering more of the things. Still, it's easier to fix these things early on--I know I'm saving myself a lot of headaches later by fixing all of this now, even if it does make for rather unexciting devlog updates.

[Craig Stern]

I am adding a new game type to Telepath Tactics! Generals is a variation on Last Man Standing where every player gets one additional unit to their army: the General. Generals are basically Swordsmen with more health, no resistances, no counterattacks, and only two abilities (Defensive Stance and Sprint). Killing off a player's General eliminates the player. The last player left on the battlefield wins.

[Craig Stern]

Update: the Generals game type is now in-game and working as designed.

[Craig Stern]

I fixed some AI snafus and am testing to ensure that there aren't any other I've missed.

To aid me in testing, I've added a pause function (hotkey 'P') that overrides the main loop, instantly freezing every aspect of the game until you unpause. A cool side benefit of this is that you can now pause the game in the middle of attacks in order to capture cooler screenshots. (Obviously, though, this will have to be disabled during timed matches.)

[Craig Stern]

New animations continue to be produced slowly but surely! Here are a couple of the Mentalist. The first is her using a mental attack, while the second is her using her Levitate skill:

   

In slightly less exciting news, I've fixed a few oversights in the new match menu: the game now remembers each player's color choice, as well as whether you last set any given player to be Human or CPU. Moreover, it now applies your last settings even when switching between maps with varying numbers of maximum players. (Previously, switching to a 2-player map would wipe out most of your previously selected options for players 3-6.)

[Seiseki]

Looking good. Although the animation is a bit stiff, needs some anticipation (build up) and also more flexibility with momentum instead of stopping dead in the air.

The mental attack looks a bit like she's grabbing onto something quickly, "give me those cookies!".
Having her freeze in position for a short while with her hand outstretched would make it look far more dramatic, also there's no reason for her to move her hand back so quickly.
Having her hand move quick -> palm open -> slowly move back, would give it more effect.

 

[Craig Stern]

I've been laying the groundwork for the single player campaign. So far, it's mostly just taking existing classes and making minor tweaks based on whether a map is labeled "Single Player." (For instance: in single player maps, players and spawn locations are not shuffled at the start of the match.)

Right now, I'm updating the map editor so you can designate a map either multiplayer or single player when saving it.

[Craig Stern]

Campaign mode is up and running! You can now create a new campaign, name your character, and play through a single player map. There's a lot more to be done, but the foundation has been laid.

Also, the map editor now gives you a drop-down when you save a map, allowing you to save it as either a single player or multiplayer map. Based on your selection, it then formats the resulting XML file accordingly.

[Craig Stern]

Phew! All right, folks: the game now supports unique, pre-named characters with custom stats. Players can't select these sorts of unique characters in the army building screen--they have to be either (1) be part of the player's roster already (as they will be in Campaign mode), or (2) they have to be added to the battle maps themselves.

[Craig Stern]

I finally got around the adding proper inventory management! Clicking an item no longer auto-uses it; instead, it drops down a couple of options (currently, Use and Drop). Selecting Use uses the item as normal; selecting drop removes the item from your inventory and spawns it on the battlefield in an item sack next to the character.

[Craig Stern]

Telepath Tactics now has a working dialog system for the single player campaign! I even created a training map that uses the new dialog system to introduce you to two of the game's characters. I'll be uploading a video showing that off pretty soon.

[Craig Stern]

Here's that video, showing the very basic dialog system:



Since uploading this, I've improved the system in numerous ways (the camera now auto-pans to whatever character is speaking; line breaks are now supported; dialog can now be triggered in one of four different ways) that have allowed me to turn the training map into a proper tutorial level walking you through the basics of controlling the game.

[Craig Stern]

I've been updating the game over the last few days with single player campaign features:

--the game now supports text-scrolling cut scenes; holding down the left mouse button fast-forwards through the text.

--custom enemies are now supported in the game, so you'll get to start off fighting enemies that aren't quite as tough as your own characters.

--I've worked some more on experience gain/leveling up for characters; characters now gain levels and experience, both for themselves and their individual attacks, but I have yet to implement any stat bonuses accruing from leveling up.

--the campaign mode now has an introductory cut scene; a working tutorial battle; a dialog-driven cut scene further establishing some of the characters and the circumstances behind the first real battles of the game; and one of the first battles of the game, taking place in the woodland village of Dawbry.

There is still a lot of work left to do, but I'm making good progress on the single player campaign mode!

[Craig Stern]

I've improved the map editor for single player map creation support! It now supports loading and saving custom character classes, as well as loading and saving any dialog that you may have typed into your map files. (It does not yet support adding custom classes or dialog within the editor itself, however.)

[Craig Stern]

Single player campaign update! I've added another short cut scene after the initial briefing to better introduce you to the characters and start building their relationships. That cut scene is now followed immediately by a short, very easy battle where you can get the hang of using all six characters on your team.

The game then proceeds to Battle at Dawbry, the first Big Battle of the game. Battle at Dawbry now features (1) some dialog at the start of the battle and (2) enemy reinforcements (not respawning like I had in TSoG--I mean actual reinforcements).

I'll try to record a video tomorrow showing the current state of the campaign.



...oh, also: I made some small improvements to the dialog system. For instance, the game now highlights whatever character is talking on the battlefield. (This makes conversations between the characters much easier to follow.)