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[chumez]

Looks like it will be loads of fun! Great little characters

[kavs]

New build posted! Next one will be playable, I swear.

By tomorrow I should have a 'game', although I can't imagine it'll be much fun or complex. I've finally gotten the hang of AS3/Flashpunk so I'm at the point where I can think of a feature and code it.

The title keeps changing... I think I'm getting dizzy! 


Also, this game looks really fun. I love oryx' little charming characters, too <3

I've changed it for the last time, I promise! Well... until launch anyway. :D

I can't wait to see them fight!!

SOON!

whoooa, this looks awesome, great idea

can't wait to see more

Thanks! I should have a playable build on my next update...

Looks like it will be loads of fun! Great little characters

Thanks! Hopefully I can make my style work...

[kavs]

Updated build! It's technically a proper game now as there are win conditions and simple gameplay, but right now its more of a stupid button masher and tug game than what I want it to be.

Let me know if you have any crashes! Good update coming tomorrow.

[kavs]

Updated again! Buildnotes are in the first post.

The game is really pulling together now; let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions. I won't be getting in too much development time this weekend unfortunately, but I'll try and get a few little things in before Monday.  

EDIT: Just played a few games with my wife and noticed 2 bugs.

• Text stays red if you go over 200; I didn't add a check to change it back to black. Will fix next time I can.
• Sometimes for an unknown reason, people are able to spawn 4 - 6 top tier units at once. I'm not sure why this happens, so if you get a repro please let me know! I'll look at it when I can.\.

[Inanimate]

I'll try to test this later with my sister, and be sure to edit this post with how it goes.

[Izzimach]

I played it for several games, and tried out some strategies.  It seemed like spamming low level guys worked out better than trying to build higher-tier soldiers, but that may be because my timing sucks.

Text displaying money and "next unit with cost $X" display changes really fast it is hard to keep track of amounts sometimes.  It would work loads better if those were graphical bars, so I could easily deduce when to release the key to produce (for example) a unit with a cost just below the amount of money in the treasury.

Also, the "War Mode" test was kind of mesmerizing with all the little guys running around. Do you think you could add an "extreme mode" where each key press/release produces like, 10 guys instead of 1?  I know it would be less strategic, but I love having buttloads of guys running around the screen.

[kavs]

New build! Buildnotes in the top post, but the tl;dr version is that I've fixed the spawn bugs, added a timer/killcount, added tutorial/strategy text, and made high-tier units more desireable. Woop!

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Also, I'm having problems thinking of a good name. Battle Lines will be ok once I get my stickart in there but it doesn't strike me as an awesome name. Suggestions?


Responses in red below. Thanks so much for your feedback Izzimach! This is so great.

I played it for several games, and tried out some strategies.  It seemed like spamming low level guys worked out better than trying to build higher-tier soldiers, but that may be because my timing sucks.

I found the problem and addressed it in this new build; I had added soldier damaged based off of it's tier, but in the combat functions I was still doing health--. Now, the higher tier units will deal more damage to make them more worth-while than their spammy counterparts.

Text displaying money and "next unit with cost $X" display changes really fast it is hard to keep track of amounts sometimes.  It would work loads better if those were graphical bars, so I could easily deduce when to release the key to produce (for example) a unit with a cost just below the amount of money in the treasury.

Agreed that text is less-than-ideal. Graphical bars are actually exactly where I was hoping to take this, and ideally I can have something working for the next build. I see it being a 5-bar gauge that fills up as the spacebar is held. Each 'bar' signifies a tier of unit. When you let go, it spawns a unit based off of where you are on the progress bar. I think I am going to add zones in the spawn bar that give the unit extra properties if it is landed on (like 'elite' status or something if you get it on the exact frame).

Also, the "War Mode" test was kind of mesmerizing with all the little guys running around. Do you think you could add an "extreme mode" where each key press/release produces like, 10 guys instead of 1?  I know it would be less strategic, but I love having buttloads of guys running around the screen.

I have another idea for a War Mode, but I'm only going to sneak it in if I can finish up the main mode first. I've actually cut it entirely from the build for now so I don't get distracted.   I plan on having multiple game modes for the standard mode, and I think it'd be great to add in a 'spawn multiplier' game setting so when you spawn a unit, 5 - 10 pop out instead of just 1. :D Great idea! Hopefully I can sneak in a proper War Mode though.

[Izzimach]

Oh yeah, the higher-rank guys cut through spammy minions like a knife through butter now.

The "sweet spot" idea to grant extra properties sounds excellent.  You could move them around and have certain properties be undesirable if you really want to mix it up.  The game might seem too random at that point though.

[namre]

Checked out the newest version. I have no one to play with since everyone's asleep so I'll just wait for them to wake up before I kick their asses. 

[kavs]

New build is up! All it really adds is capture points but it changes the gameplay a lot to have those as objectives to fight over. Holding the majority of the flags is the key to victory! Let me know what strategies you enjoy and find effective; I'd love to hear how people are playing the game. I'm improving the UI and the combat for the next build.


And the replies...

Oh yeah, the higher-rank guys cut through spammy minions like a knife through butter now.

The "sweet spot" idea to grant extra properties sounds excellent.  You could move them around and have certain properties be undesirable if you really want to mix it up.  The game might seem too random at that point though.

I like how the high-tier guys feel right now; watching a reaper slay 20 spammy units is great. The sweet spot idea is something I'll implement with the UI overhaul (or the build after), but I'm not entirely sure I like it yet. I think it'll make things more complex and skill based, which could be a good thing.

Checked out the newest version. I have no one to play with since everyone's asleep so I'll just wait for them to wake up before I kick their asses. 

If you didn't get a chance to play with your sleeping roommates yet, try it now with the capture points and let me know how it feels! :D

[LiquidAsh]

Very charming game; simple and charming.  I only played a few rounds against myself, but it appears that expensive units are quite a bit better than cheaper ones(?).  I'm not sure how things are balanced right now, but was thinking that speed might be an interesting factor to incorporate: maybe cheaper units could move faster.  I was thinking this might increase the back and forth a bit with players racing to open capture points, and then being crushed by more powerful opponents(?). 

This also made me think about having different stats fluctuating along side the increasing money.  Or environmental effects that change the value of weak and strong units.  I guess the truth of the matter is that all of these ideas might just rob your game of its simple charm .  So keep up the good work!

[capn.lee]

i just played two rounds with a guy at work, the first was over in a minute and a half and the second one went on for ages. Once we both figured out that the winning strategy was a 200 point guy with a shit ton of little dudes as packed as close to him as we could get it was largely a stalemate until fingers started getting numb.

I'm not sure how to best mix it up, possibly by giving you permanent stat upgrades to buy instead of just troops, maybe healer units to throw in there or archers/magic users(they have a greater striking range that does less damage and they have less health)to follow up the back of your gangs. maybe a spell or two to cast on the enemy or your own guys.

some kind of freeze/guard spell so that you can make some troops stand and wait around to allow more to catch up, that seems like a good trade-off, you lose ground but you get a stronger forward force

in rocket slime, there were two trajectories you could fire at the enemy, either straight across or the much longer high arcing shot, maybe adding a second front would aspice things up a bit?

Still awesome game while it lasted, it just needs something in to mix up the winning startegy

[kavs]

The game is finished, at least for my compo entry to honor the midnight deadline.

I've added a bunch of new features and improved feedback given to the player; hopefully that helps clear up what is going on.

I wish I had more time to add music, effects (exploding people on death) and more strategy. I might work on a 2-lane version from this, but for the compo this is it unfortunately.

It still manages to be fun if you play with another local player, though. I think my UI improvements will help make the game more enjoyable, too.

Anyway, thanks to the people who gave me feedback along the way. I'm just happy I 'finished' something for a compo for once. I neglected it toward the end, but this is my best attempt so far. :D

I'm not sure how to best mix it up, possibly by giving you permanent stat upgrades to buy instead of just troops, maybe healer units to throw in there or archers/magic users(they have a greater striking range that does less damage and they have less health)to follow up the back of your gangs. maybe a spell or two to cast on the enemy or your own guys.

some kind of freeze/guard spell so that you can make some troops stand and wait around to allow more to catch up, that seems like a good trade-off, you lose ground but you get a stronger forward force

in rocket slime, there were two trajectories you could fire at the enemy, either straight across or the much longer high arcing shot, maybe adding a second front would aspice things up a bit?

All very good ideas. I love the upgrade idea and it's something I wanted to try and get in, but I dropped the ball this last month.

Let me know what you think, and what you'd like to see if I continue to work on things.

[goshki]

Surprisingly fun for such a simple idea. Great job!  :handthumbsupR:

Also a very wise usage of a one-button control scheme (although under Ubuntu SPACE goes into key-repeat mode and humans cannot build stronger units - just a zerg-rush mode).

[Reiss]

Hey, I like this a lot! It's charming and simple, but the key-holding and the capture points give it some strategic oomph. A two-lane version would allow for some really interesting deception... Especially if you could switch lanes at the last second. Hope you do keep working on this, it's got potential.

[kavs]

Surprisingly fun for such a simple idea. Great job!  :handthumbsupR:

Also a very wise usage of a one-button control scheme (although under Ubuntu SPACE goes into key-repeat mode and humans cannot build stronger units - just a zerg-rush mode).

P1 is able to press 'Enter' as well; hopefully that doesn't create something weird in Unbuntu. Can you let me know if that patches things? I can easily add more keybindings.

I feel like I should push forward a bit and add a 2nd lane for a post-compo release. One button to spawn units, and another to switch to a different lane. Or I can put it on a timer that switches lanes every 10 seconds... hm.

[goshki]

P1 is able to press 'Enter' as well; hopefully that doesn't create something weird in Unbuntu. Can you let me know if that patches things? I can easily add more keybindings.

Nope, it's still the same. Maybe SHIFT or something? Or else I can see what to do in FlashPunk to overcome key-repeats under Linux.

EDIT: Hm... I've done a quick test and as far as I can see (I'm no FlashPunk expert), a simple Input.check( Key.SPACE ) (if you do it that way) cannot generate key-repeats by itself, so I guess the problem lays somewhere else.

EDIT2: If you want, I'd be glad to PM you a simple test class that doesn't generate key-repeats so you could see if you can incorporate it into your key handling code.

[kavs]

Sure! If you have something working, I'll definitely try and incorporate it if it'd allow Unbuntu users to play it the way it was designed. For reference, here is how I do my input:

Code:

private function definePlayer1Input():void
		{
			Input.define("1P_R", Key.D);
			Input.define("1P_L", Key.A);
			Input.define("1P_D", Key.S);
			Input.define("1P_U", Key.W);
			Input.define("1P_ACCEPT", Key.SPACE, Key.ENTER);
		}

1P_ACCEPT covers the keys that player 1 uses to spawn units (and accept menus). Input.define() allows me to do stuff like this:

Code:

private function checkInputP1():void
{
    if (Input.check("1P_ACCEPT"))
    {
	gameData.IncreaseUnitProgress(0, 2);
    }
    ...
}

[goshki]

1P_ACCEPT covers the keys that player 1 uses to spawn units (and accept menus). Input.define() allows me to do stuff like this:

Code:

private function checkInputP1():void
{
    if (Input.check("1P_ACCEPT"))
    {
	gameData.IncreaseUnitProgress(0, 2);
    }
    ...
}

Okay, and how do you handle a unit dispatch? I mean - how do you check if the button was released?

[kavs]

Okay, and how do you handle a unit dispatch? I mean - how do you check if the button was released?

I'll copy and paste the entire code for checking input. Basically, on the Input.released() command, it throws a new unit on the screen after adding it to an army array.

Code:

private function checkInputP1():void
{
    if (Input.check("1P_ACCEPT"))
    {
	gameData.IncreaseUnitProgress(0, 2);
    }

    if (Input.released("1P_ACCEPT"))
    {		
        if (gameData.GetUnitProgress(0))
	{
	    var unit:Unit = new Unit(fort0.x + 64, fort0.y + 80, 0, gameData.GetUnitProgress(0));
	    army0.push(unit);
	    add(unit);
					
	    gameData.ResetUnitProgress(0);
	}
    }
}