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[TeeGee]

Well, remember that my screenie is only a simple GIMP edit made in 5 minutes. It's made to show few ideas I had, not to make the whole game according to it . Shadows could be tweaked, wall colours and "jagedness" either. What I wanted to show is that removing the grid and adding more rich palette makes the game more professional lookin'.

Tr00jg, it's not that hard to replace the current wall tiles with something similiar to those. It's just a matter of drawing some nice bricks and adding little alpha on edges. Technically they would work exaclty the same as squares, but they would look better. IMHO of course - you and others may disagree .   

[Guert]

Eh he, quite frankly, as long as the ground grid is clearly visible and the player knows exactly where he can position his units, I'm happy! After everything is subjective... The more ideas and picture example the better!

[Tr00jg]

Thank ye for the replies...

I currently like the look as it is. I agree with Guert. I'll have to make a greater contrast to where you can place your units, and where not.

The current look gives that clinical/office look (which I did not plan for), but it feels way more polished.

Anyhow, I'd rather spend my time finishing the game than fishing around with graphics.

[Tr00jg]

Here is the latest screenie. It now shows clearly where you can place your units and where not. (+ the awesome ring in action)



And?

[handCraftedRadio]

Looks a lot better now.

[Tr00jg]

I thought I'd give some feedback on how RT2 is progressing.

After having had time to play the game thoroughly since setting out with the initial design, I am going to change the following.

I want to go back to what made RT1 "great". It was simplistic and the pace of the game was controlled (ie linear).

So, I am scrapping enhancements and the whole "Big City" ideal, ie breeding, teams, etc.

This was not an easy choice since I am scrapping about 3 months of work. I can now easily sleep better at night too, knowing that I will control my player's experience. I know what he/she will experience when playing the game.

[Tr00jg]

Well well... V0.75 is here! It has tons of changes from the previous version!

v0.75 help

-The tutorial is not in this version.
-Only the first 5 units are in this version.
-Only the first few levels (4-5) are considered decently playable.
-The Menu art still has to be edited. (ie the name).

Useful cheats:

-"A" will give you all the units.
-"Q" to end the level.

Screenies:

Menu:


A level:


DOWNLOAD HERE:
2mb
http://www.shotbeakgames.za.net/RTL2.zip



P.S. I wouldn't say this version is totally ready for grinding, as not all the units are present, as well as more levels and a tutorial. But play it anyway.

[Tr00jg]

Hey guys! v0.8 is out!

Changes:

-UI Polishes.
-Added more units to the UI.
-Unit polishes.
-Lowered the alpha of the grid.
-Fixed a bug with the RING mechanic where units did not shoot.
-Changed resolution for crispness.

Now, the only thing that is mostly left ahead of me is polishing. ALL the levels are there (albeit half-heartedly), all the units are there (1 or 2 still need sprites) and the metal roach still needs his sprite redone.

I am happy, since I am really getting close to finishing it. I wont post new screenies, so without further ado:

2mb
http://www.shotbeakgames.za.net/RT208.zip

LATEST VIDEO:




P.S. Should I submit RT2 to IGF student compo? Or should I do it when it is complete, ie next year?

P.S.S. Ready for grind-age.

-Grinding Notes:
>All the levels ARE there, but I still have to polish and balance them.
>3/4 of speech still have to get filled in.
>Some sprites still need to be done.
>Music + more sound effects are needed.
>General bug fixes and polishes.
>Boss Levels are still to come.

[Tr00jg]

I already have glaring mistakes in this version that I forgot to include. If this game gets grinded you will probably pick it up.

-Add Tutorial
-Add the menu, so that you can restart the level (d'oh).
-Game does not save properly.

[Guert]

I strongly suggest that you fix the saving games because it's a very important feature. And if I can't pick up and play for a while, save and then come back later, it'll really piss me off... You don't want that!

Anyway, I'm still busy with devastation so you got at least 2 weeks.
Later!

[Tr00jg]

I strongly suggest that you fix the saving games because it's a very important feature. And if I can't pick up and play for a while, save and then come back later, it'll really piss me off... You don't want that!

Anyway, I'm still busy with devastation so you got at least 2 weeks.
Later!

Ah okay thanks! The thing is... I did not think "saving" would actually matter that much since not all levels are in proper "working" order. I guess I just have to polish about 2-4 levels a day for 2 weeks.

[Guert]

Cool, I want it sparkling before I get my hands on it! :D

Seriously, do what you can but don't over-work yourself either

Later!

[Tr00jg]

New version! This is probably the best version before any form of balance and polish sets in.

v0.81
-Placing the repeater is now more innovative.
-Re-added saving and loading.
-Added a menu for while playing.
-Bug/Error Fixes.
-Re-added tutorial.
-Added a flash.
-Added the new Armoured roach sprite.
-Added Music.

The Music is a protoype. Do you like the concept? I would appreciate any feedback!

link:
http://www.shotbeakgames.za.net/RT2081.zip

[Tr00jg]

I would like to note that I still have to do the following:

-Bouncer sprite.
-More feedback, ie camera shakes, unit's get "eaten", etc.
-Range Roach sprite.
-Polish/balance all levels (MOST IMPORTANT)!
-Redo Melee into Quaker?
-Proper Music.
-Boss Levels.
-Level Editor.
-Fading Music.

Someone else also playtested this version and there is some bizarre errors. Hopefully someone doesn't pick them up. I'll get to fixing that ASAP.

[Tr00jg]

Last Public Version release. This is probably one of the last public releases that I will have for Roach Toaster 2. So play it while you still can!

v0.83 aka Last Public Test (and Guert's Grind) version - 2007/11/02

-Solved several bugs.
>There was a bug where your units sometimes did not fire.
>A Save game bug.
-Increased the range where the tiles are cleared when placing a unit.
-Other Polishments.
-The 1st 20 levels is considered 80% polished.
-Removed "Old Big City" talk from previous versions.
-Replaced Melee with Quaker unit.
-Added a new secret.
-Made UI nifty-ier.
-Removed "emanating" ring effect. slows down game.
-Made Big City show more rewarding progress.
-Added a Icon-thingy!

Download:

4.2mb
http://www.shotbeakgames.za.net/RT2083.zip

[Tr00jg]

So, thanks to Guert's awesome grind, I am steadily busy with a proper storyline campaign like in Roach Toaster 1.

I actually want to ask a question to you international peeps, since I am not sure if what I am using is colloquial.

During the talking I use the term "leads", which means "cables".

ie, do you guys use terms like, "I have an auxillary lead"?

[Soulliard]

Okay... I've played through a good portion of the game, and I have quite a few suggestions. The concept is pretty good; I'm always up for a unique strategy game. And, for an hour or so, I had quite a bit of fun. After that, it got a bit too repetitive, but it was still a good experience. However, there were a number of issues that prevented the game from becoming great:

-First of all, the link in the first post is to an older version of the game, which, IMO, stunk. It's a good thing I searched through the rest of the thread, because the latest version was pretty good.

-When I moused over the Grenadier and Kamikaze, the unit's name went off the side of the tool bar.

-Sometimes, I had trouble selecting the unit I wanted to place. If I selected a Quaker, and then decided to buy a Ranger instead, I would click on the Ranger button on the toolbar... but the Quaker would still be selected.

-The Bouncer looks exactly like the Ranger. I hope you plan on changing this.

-I found this error in the earlier version, so you may have fixed this already. When I selected a unit and tried to place it, but didn't have enough money, a message box came up. I refused to quit and ended my turn, but an error message came up. I ignored it and it worked fine, fortunately.

-The van's sprite (is it a van?) looks awful. I'm not usually too picky about graphics, but that is in definite need of improvement.

-In one of the dialogs, Cancune should be changed to Cancun.

-I'd rename the Quaker. A Quaker is a member of the Religious Society of Friends, or a manufacturer of oatmeal.

-Once, the circle moved over a ranger, and he had a clear shot at an enemy, but he didn't shoot.

-The dialogs between the two guys repeat each time you restart the level. It's annoying to skip through it several times.

-When using an Electro against the armored roaches, there was an error message each time the roach was hit.

-When certain units (such as the Quakers) are killed, the red circle beneath them remains behind.

-Balance could be improved quite a bit. Quakers are far too powerful, for example, and grenadiers are far too weak.

The best strategy I could find was buying a few rangers too scout out the area, and then creating a bunch of Quakers right next to the roaches. They had enough health to take one round's worth of damage, and after that, no roach could get close enough to touch them. By creating enough Quakers right in the thick of combat, I could easily deal with the enemy, because there would be no safe place for the roaches to spawn. They're dirt cheap as well. They're great at taking out the regular roaches and the shooting ones; the only opponent I had trouble with was the armored roach. In any case, I'd tone them down a bit.

PS: Here in the Northeastern US, we use the term "cable" more, but I've heard "lead" used as well.

[Tr00jg]

-First of all, the link in the first post is to an older version of the game, which, IMO, stunk. It's a good thing I searched through the rest of the thread, because the latest version was pretty good.

My bad.

-When I moused over the Grenadier and Kamikaze, the unit's name went off the side of the tool bar.

Fixed already.

-Sometimes, I had trouble selecting the unit I wanted to place. If I selected a Quaker, and then decided to buy a Ranger instead, I would click on the Ranger button on the toolbar... but the Quaker would still be selected.

Okay, thanks for that.

-The Bouncer looks exactly like the Ranger. I hope you plan on changing this.

Busy with that.

-I found this error in the earlier version, so you may have fixed this already. When I selected a unit and tried to place it, but didn't have enough money, a message box came up. I refused to quit and ended my turn, but an error message came up. I ignored it and it worked fine, fortunately.

Hopefully fixed already.

-The van's sprite (is it a van?) looks awful. I'm not usually too picky about graphics, but that is in definite need of improvement.

Busy with that.

-In one of the dialogs, Cancune should be changed to Cancun.

>_<

-I'd rename the Quaker. A Quaker is a member of the Religious Society of Friends, or a manufacturer of oatmeal.

Stomper?

-Once, the circle moved over a ranger, and he had a clear shot at an enemy, but he didn't shoot.

Fixed.

-The dialogs between the two guys repeat each time you restart the level. It's annoying to skip through it several times.

Ah okay...

-When using an Electro against the armored roaches, there was an error message each time the roach was hit.

Fixed already.

-When certain units (such as the Quakers) are killed, the red circle beneath them remains behind.

Fixed already.

-Balance could be improved quite a bit. Quakers are far too powerful, for example, and grenadiers are far too weak.

The best strategy I could find was buying a few rangers too scout out the area, and then creating a bunch of Quakers right next to the roaches. They had enough health to take one round's worth of damage, and after that, no roach could get close enough to touch them. By creating enough Quakers right in the thick of combat, I could easily deal with the enemy, because there would be no safe place for the roaches to spawn. They're dirt cheap as well. They're great at taking out the regular roaches and the shooting ones; the only opponent I had trouble with was the armored roach. In any case, I'd tone them down a bit.

Yep... I realised that too. Perhaps if he got killed and did not have "life"?

PS: Here in the Northeastern US, we use the term "cable" more, but I've heard "lead" used as well.

k, thanks for that.

----------------------

NOTE:

I am bust with the campaign/storyline of RT2. I scrapped the whole Big City idea following Guert's GRIND (kudos). My intention is to go back to what keeped people in RT1 playing.

I am up to lvl 7 (a boss level). I will most likely release a new version of it soon (after the boss is done).

[Soulliard]

The way I see it, there are a few ways to fix the Quaker.

-Increase the cost. The easy way out.

-Reduce its health so that it can only take two hits. I wouldn't recommend reducing its health entirely, however, since that's a big part of what makes Quakers unique.

-Reduce the area of the quake so that it only affects the four directly adjacent squares, and not the four diagonally adjacent squares. Like this:
 X
XOX
 X
Not this:
XXX
XOX
XXX
This is the solution I'd recommend, because it retains the elements that make the Quaker unique (able to take multiple hits, area attack, cheap to produce) while making it much less abusable.

[Tr00jg]

Hmmm... yeah. Great suggestion. I am going to reduce hits taken to 2 and increase cost slightly, and let it only attack adjacent squares.

btw, I've renamed him to Stomper.