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[Zoltam]

CHESS WITH BLOOD: Old rules are over!

Inspired by:

If you don't like blood, this is not a game for you.

The inspiration is from this web: http://fx.worth1000.com/contests/13634/beta-busts-6/4

I am making this isometric game, powered by FlashPunk. There are chess pieces and of course there is some blood, but it is not a chess game.
Basically you have to crash with the enemy pieces as strong as you can, and this is how the gfx look like:

And this is a link for the DEMO:
Play here the New Version      Controls:  Mouse

Old Version Controls:  arrows or Mouse

Any FEEDBACK will be appreciated!

[increpare]

I died : (

[rhope]

Love the interface stats, although unbalanced at the moment, as I can be beaten as a King by a Rook in just 2 hits  

I have a gameplay suggestion -

Instead of sliding around trying to bash into one another, how about a point-and-click type control system:

 Click a target position
 Hold the mouse to charge your power
 Release the mouse to go flying in that direction

Different pieces could be faster at charging, or have higher damage.

Edit

Seems there are no draws!

[h_double]

I really like the concept and the graphics, though the controls aren't doing much for me, there's too much of pieces zooming past one another trying to land a hit.

[Zoltam]

Thank you guys for all your comments. You were right, the game was not very playable, so I changed the concept of the game.

http://zoltamweb.webcindario.com/chesswithblood.html

I had no time to add all I wanted to do, but the deadline is there so I post it now.

[Dugan]

this is pretty cool - but i found it hard to tell one piece from another, as some look very similar.

[Soulliard]

This concept worked surprisingly well. I'm surprised this thread hasn't gotten more replies.

I liked the combination of chess rules with turn-based tactical combat. Much of the strategy came down to attacking your opponent from squares where they couldn't attack you back. This made for some interesting strategies that wouldn't show up in standard chess. Knights, for example, can attack anyone without fear of being counterattacked (but any other piece can do the same to them). Bishops and Rooks are ideal for taking each other out. Delivering the first strike is also very important, which makes the Queen especially useful.

Of course, as in most TBT games, the tried and true strategy of focusing fire is usually all that is needed for victory. Usually, the optimal strategy is using the Queen to chase every enemy piece on the board while ignoring your other pieces entirely.

Sadly, the AI isn't as good as it could be, which removes some of the depth of the game. If you can win by mindlessly beating on your opponent, advanced strategies aren't really necessary. The mediocre AI is understandable given the competition's time constraints, though, and in fact is quite good, considering.

The power-ups add a nice twist by encouraging movement rather than just beating on each other. Though it was a bit annoying to have my Queen demoted to a Bishop unexpectedly. Why not give the Queen an attack boost (or something similar) when acquiring the item?

I notice that, unlike normal chess, killing the king is not the key to victory. I wonder if changing this would make the game more interesting. Stalling (by constantly running away) is incredibly easy in this game, with the right pieces, and unless one player is dominating the other, the game could easily reach a stale-mate. At least, it would, if the AI knew what was good for it.

Thankfully, the AI spends most of its time defending. Defending is a worthless option, since running away can usually prevent being hit at all. Even if running away is impossible, defending will only delay the inevitable, and will never put you in a superior position.

The game's graphics are a major weak point. The colors choices are really poor, and hurt the eyes after a while.

The game's other problem is becoming too repetitive. There's no real variation to differentiate between battles, and the game gets boring a bit too quickly.

I liked the quotes between battles. A few made me laugh out loud. Made me wonder what happened to all those pawns, though.

All in all, though, this was a unique and enjoyable tactical game. I'd like to see more games like this get made. 

[Melly]

I played it for a while, and I echo many of the feelings of Soulliard. Also, that ad that pops up on the left side of the screen on the game's page is excessively annoying and even cover a bit of the game window while it's up. The game's graphics would need the biggest overhaul, but the lack of sound is also an issue.

[deathtotheweird]

you should really remove the links to the old version because I was very confused which one is the real version so I just went to the finished game thread and clicked that version.

Really cool concept, much better than your original one. Not knowing much about chess though, would wonder if that had any impact on my strategy..Because I haven't won yet 

[György Straub]

Fun concept! It wasn't really favoured by the design of the pieces combined with an isometric view, though. Also, the AI has consistently been moving his pieces to fields I can instantly attack with my Knights.

(I guess I would've done the UI differently:
- the difference between moves/attacks can be determined from what's on the field you're moving to -> one button rather than two.
- multi-attacks can only target adjacent units -> single button click without having to target.)

[Jonathan Whiting]

Interesting concept.  Surprisingly reasonable gameplay, as per just about anything based on chess though it comes out as feeling a little weak compared to the classic (as per anything based on tetris etc.)

[Zoltam]

Thank you all for the good and bad comments, and thank you Soulliard for your large review. I was aware of most of the weak points:
-Lack of music.
-The game should be controlled with less buttons and clicks.
-The AI is not very clever.
-Stalemate happens too often.
-Not difference between levels.

I was not really aware of the graphics and colours were really so bad! I did not spent a lot of time, but I was very proud about my pieces! I first tried with white and black, but that contrast made strange visual effects.

I changed the concept, abandoned the game for several weeks, and remade it again too fast... so I finally had no time to improve all that weak points. However I think you can play several matches and enjoy.

I love someone has laughed with the quotes between battles! I had fun writing them!

[Zaphos]

The old version and new version links at the top of the thread are the same link, aren't they?  They both appear to go to the old version ...

[Zoltam]

Oops... fixed!! The links are good now!

[Oddball]

Interesting concept. I didn't feel there was much strategy though. I would just overpower my opponent by attacking with my strongest pieces first. I played about 20 games and won every single one of them. I think more use could have been made of the power-ups. You should check out Tempête sur l'échiquier or Knightmare Chess for chess based power-up ideas. It's a good start and could be turned into something quite good given a bit more time.

[Curseman]

I think the original version of this might've been cool if instead of having 1 on 1 battles, both sides had their full armies, and the first one to lose their king lost.

There'd be zero strategy involved, but I bet it'd be entertaining.