next »

[Data]

Well, here goes! Always looking for useful feedback on my first game project, Cortex Command:







Download the latest win32 test build here (macosx port is planned): http://www.datarealms.com/downloads/ccsetup.exe

Official site here : http://www.cortexcommand.com/
Development log here: http://www.datarealms.com/devlog/
Fan Forums here: http://www.datarealms.com/forum/

Please note that what you can download and play is deliberately called a 'Test Build', as opposed to a beta. It does not represent the general gameplay that we're shooting for.. what's in there is literally just thrown together so we can test out the different systems and see how they work. There is practically no balancing or pacing or really proper game rules in there, so please keep that in mind and set your expectations accordingly.

One simple example of this is that it's far too easy to rush the other team's brain and kill it quickly, while in the finished game there will be operational bulkhead doors that will need some serious tools or explosives to get through.

Known technical and design problems, roughly listed by severity:

• Locomotion has a general sense of being too sticky and clumsy; it's very frustrating for new (and experienced) players. This is mostly due to that part of the code being literally five years old, done while still early in my game programming learning curve. Needs a bunch of TLC to polish out.
• Part of the physics engine responsible for the actors' feet pressing down into the terrain etc is not performance independent yet. So, on slower machines, things tend to sink into the ground more. Related to above problem.
• Actors keep shaking and vibrating graphically when they stand still. This is due to rounding errors in the limb attachment points.
• Since the game design doesn't neatly fit into an existing familiar niche, it is very confusing for first time players as to what to do. I don't have a problem with things being un-obvious, as long as they're not un-intuitive once you learn about em. Tutorials and story narrative will address this.
• Gold collection is too tedious and distracting to do while you also have to tend to base defense and offense. This is going to be helped by future AI modes where you can order your guys to automatically dig for gold while you tend to more pressing (and fun) matters.
• The movement and game play doesn't seem "fast" enough. This is partially by design; Cortex Command was not supposed to be a high twitch action game, but much more tactical and strategic. Some people have a hard time getting used to the idea of needing to manage several actors on your team, as opposed to just running and gunning with a single one.
  
• Rockets and other larger craft don't gib or display damage yet, other than bullet holes. It's a bit of a challenge to make larger objects tear apart convincingly on all different kinds of impacts. Will be done though.
• There's obviously much more, and I'll add it as I remember..

Other than the above, fire away with what you think we can improve!

[BMcC]

Awesome, man!  Glad to see you here. 

I've been itching to get a proper Cortex Command discussion/analysis going.  I think a lot of enlightening conversation could be had over it -- more so than most games.  Maybe this thread is the place to do it?

By the way, I've been playing the game whenever I can recently, dissecting it as I go.  Hopefully I'll be able to present you with some interesting perspectives, at the least.

In the meantime, these are my initial thoughts about the game's current state:  It's like raw, unharnessed power.  The technology is undeniable and a bunch of the core gameplay elements already in place are top notch.  On the other hand, the ambitious goals for some of the mechanics put a big damper on the fun at this stage.  At least, at first.  The way I play CC now (I was thinking about making a front page post detailing this) is I ignore the "real" goals and just guard my base, blocking the entrances with wreckage.  This has allowed for some extremely fun, lengthy matches.

Ah, I'll post (much) more in this thread later.  Until then keep up the great work, OK? 

[ravuya]

Yay! A Mac OS X port!

[basara]

Data, Will CC have any kind of netplay?
I want to know if that is in your plans

If you are able to make it deterministic you could just sync everything by locking the simulation each frame until the server gets the input from all players. This would slow down the game when players lag but would work quite fine in lan games. CC would be such a frigging awesome game for lan parties!

[Prospero]

I've been playing CC a whole lot since I first got wind of the latest test build, and I'm really very hyped about the possibilities. Even at this stage it's a very enjoyable game, although like BMcC I've found it is more fun to just crank the difficulty up to "Death", dig in and shoot anything that comes near your brain, and see how long you can last

The realistic physics really shine through. Taking out one of the engines on a Dropship and seeing it cause devastation to the enemy as it spirals to ground is brilliant, and some of the other disasters you can cause with Rockets are bloody hilarious :D

To be honest I don't find the locomotive quirks much of a problem, though it would of course be nice to see them improved in the future. You can pretty much get wherever you need to be with the jetpack (provided you aren't weighed down carrying a huge arsenal of equipment, as I discovered fatally).

My only gripe is that the enemy AI can eventually win by literally pacing a hole in the ceiling of your base, which seems... odd But it's a small thing, and I'm sure will be addressed at some stage. Most of the time I still lose way before that even happens

[DrDerekDoctors]

I'm with Prospero on pretty much all of his points (espesh the one about wearing a hole in your ceiling). And again the spongey walking isn't so much of a problem because I tend to use a mix of jetpack and the heavy-digger to get around (due to the latter's huge recoil).

Can't wait to see some more weapons or bigger walking enemies. And, in fact, the main single player game.

[Inane]

I didn't read all of this thread, so I don't know if it was mentioned, but a great fix for slow computers and the sinking issue is to go into settings.ini in base.rte (Located in the Cortex Command folder) and setting FrameDelay = 25 to 13 or 12. This fixes sinking on every computer it's been used on of my knowledge.


Hmm... I think we need a place for high quality mods, with things that aren't just reskinned SMGs made in 10 minutes with MSPaint.

[BMcC]

Hmm... I think we need a place for high quality mods, with things that aren't just reskinned SMGs made in 10 minutes with MSPaint.

Yeah, go for it!  I don't know anything about the mods out there.

I'd say post in Player --> Indie Games.

[Kornel Kisielewicz]

The game needs a Tutorial mode. BADLY. I like how it looks but I realy don't have time experimenting with it until I get a grasp of what it's about. I gave it 15 minutes of tries, and failed to kill even a single enemy... Yet, it looks and behaves awsome, and I believe it's real fun once you get a grip of how to play it .

[Inane]

I think people need to read the readme.
Explains all the controls and how to play there.

[eobet]

Another yay for the OS X port!

Also, the clouds in that animated gif doesn't seem up to the standards of the rest of the graphics, but I guess its a WIP...

I'll try to fire up the old PC and test it later.

[Data]

haha guess why the background looks like crap compared to all the other graphics?!

A: It's because that's the only stuff remaining of what I originally made... everyhting else has Prom's magic all over it. 

[axel]

The background looks fine to me. Cortex Command is one of my absolute favourite indie games at the moment. Keeps me playing for hours ^_^

[increpare]

Hah.  I finally finished the cortex command tutorial.  It's all still a little overwhelming, though!

[___]

Wow, you revived Data's first forum post.  Congrats, increpare.

[undertech]

Man I did a double take seeing this post!

[Eclipse]

  fukka you increpare, i was all like "OMG Cortex Command release!!!!1111ooneone"

now i'm sad 

[increpare]

Cortex command is waaaaaaaaaaaaay off being released (but, it's still rather nice indeed!)

[Hempuli‽]

haha, this got me confused for some time!

[hyperduck]

Can I just ask, did Robert from Machinae Supremacy do the music for this game? It sounds awfully like his style. In which case, grats, but either way, grats, since the music is terrific

And the game is insanely awesome, I've played it and plan on buying it. It's excellent!