Simple Rts

[Wite_Noiz]

I'm a proficient coder (it's my day job), but I haven't done a great deal with the GP2X yet.
I'm working on a few personal projects to get the hang of SDL and general performance issues (never worked in a tight environment before), but working on a project is the only way to learn.

I have done some AI work in the past on closed state systems (board games, basically), but that was/is hobby work and I don't consider myself any good at it

As for unit selection: Why bother? If we're keeping it simple, why not have "squads".
L/R could cycle the selection through squads and you can create new units to add them to the current squad.
Larger units (if we add tanks or whatnot) can work singularly.

Perhaps not the best option in the end, but to start with it might work.
I'm assuming you weren't thinking of a huge scrolling playing area to being with? If not, having more than a few squads would be difficult anyway.

 

[Vynx]

I'm a proficient coder (it's my day job), but I haven't done a great deal with the GP2X yet.
I'm working on a few personal projects to get the hang of SDL and general performance issues (never worked in a tight environment before), but working on a project is the only way to learn.

I have done some AI work in the past on closed state systems (board games, basically), but that was/is hobby work and I don't consider myself any good at it

As for unit selection: Why bother? If we're keeping it simple, why not have "squads".
L/R could cycle the selection through squads and you can create new units to add them to the current squad.
Larger units (if we add tanks or whatnot) can work singularly.

Perhaps not the best option in the end, but to start with it might work.
I'm assuming you weren't thinking of a huge scrolling playing area to being with? If not, having more than a few squads would be difficult anyway.

I agree that a quick way to access units would be great, but L/R clicking through them might get a little tedious, I'd much prefer to be able to select units myself, or select a whole type of unit - yes, I think keeping the playing area to 320x240 would be best.

 

[michaeljustman]

What about actions for units or groups of units. Once they are selected, I'm seeing pressing a button for a small pop-up to appear above the unit(s) w/ things like Move/Attack/Gather(resources)/etc.


Damn... Need to sleep... It's 0100 here. Duty at 0630.

 

[Wite_Noiz]

With the large map issue:
The best solution I can think of is a key or combo (L+R, for example) that would zoom out from the normal view to display the entire map.
In map mode, the stick will guide a rectangle around symbolising the area you want to view in normal mode.
The same key/combo would need to get you back to normal mode.

If possible, the map view will show a lot of detail - but it only really needs to show the map and any structures.

I agree that a quick way to access units would be great, but L/R clicking through them might get a little tedious, I'd much prefer to be able to select units myself, or select a whole type of unit - yes, I think keeping the playing area to 320x240 would be best.

True. I was thinking the L/R would cycle through them from left to right on the screen, but perhaps being able to click on the squads is better (or both)?
I just think using squads instead of units would be easier than having to drag to select who needs to attack.

What about actions for units or groups of units. Once they are selected, I'm seeing pressing a button for a small pop-up to appear above the unit(s) w/ things like Move/Attack/Gather(resources)/etc.

Good idea. If you aren't already paused, it could do so until you've choose the action and a location (if applicable).

 

[JaqMs]

- Some decent war-like music to set the mood (Seems unlikely, but it'd be nice to have)

I know some great war MODs. Are you looking for an ambient war song or one with plenty of action?

 

[Vynx]

Good idea White Noiz, that sounds like a plan regarding the map. And instead of using L + R (which I think should be reserved for the box/mouse control method, we could unit scroll via -/+ - either by group or by type, whichever is best - it can also be used to scroll through buildings as well.

What about actions for units or groups of units. Once they are selected, I'm seeing pressing a button for a small pop-up to appear above the unit(s) w/ things like Move/Attack/Gather(resources)/etc.


Damn... Need to sleep... It's 0100 here. Duty at 0630.

Once units are selected, the face buttons could give different actions, one for attack, one for stand and defend, another for scout, and so on.

JaqMs; action based probably - is the music free to use for non-commercial use?

 

[JaqMs]

: (

 

[Wite_Noiz]

- Some decent war-like music to set the mood (Seems unlikely, but it'd be nice to have)

I know some great war MODs. Are you looking for an ambient war song or one with plenty of action?

Perhaps not the first version, but it'd be great to have contextual music.
A tense MOD for the build-up and switch to an active MOD when fighting starts (would also be an extra indicator if you're not looking at that area)

Good idea White Noiz, that sounds like a plan regarding the map. And instead of using L + R (which I think should be reserved for the box/mouse control method, we could unit scroll via -/+ - either by group or by type, whichever is best - it can also be used to scroll through buildings as well.

That'd be pretty good; a nice logical use for the volume buttons

 

[Dzz]

It's from The Mod Archive, so it's free.

Untrue.

http://www.modarchive.com/db/boards2/viewtopic.php?t=57

Frankly, I'm surprised that the guy who is continually ragging on everybody else for lack of originality is now advocating using other people's music.

 

[Vynx]

It's from The Mod Archive, so it's free.

Untrue.

http://www.modarchive.com/db/boards2/viewtopic.php?t=57

Frankly, I'm surprised that the guy who is continually ragging on everybody else for lack of originality is now advocating using other people's music.

Thanks for spotting that Dzz. If the music is that good, I guess we could ask the creators directlly, if that's possible, but we can worry about music when we get to it.

I guess it should be near the bottom of our priorities though anyway, nice to have, but not essential right now

 

[Tobriand]

I personally like the idea of squads of some desciption, possibly with a menu (maybe this is getting too complex) to set squad size or what have you.

I've sort of got an inkling of an idea that you could get around assigning squadsd in the first place, though, but keeping a directory of when last orders were given to each unit. The idea would be that you hold, say, L, and a spiffy little box turns up in the corner with a number in it... you scroll up and down to select how many troops you need, left/right to select types. It then automatically grabs any troops that aren't doing anything - or those whose orders were given the longest time ago, and assigns them to a squad which you can toggle through using volume keys.

Then, when you assign them an order, you can "lock" them to the squad, if you want that order prioritized (say, hold the button rather than press it, or use a combo or something) so that next time you need a squad, troops from that one won't be taken.

The whole process might be moving a bit away from simplicity in terms of coding it, but in terms of gameplay, it'd probably work quite well. And it would move away from the drag-box kind of idea.

The only issue would be whether that would actually play better... I doubt it somehow, though...

 

[lintsniffer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_%28computer_game%29

an AWESOME dos RTS called Z (zed). It would be awesome to have a system like this with regions instead of mining. Z had no mining. You had to capture regions to get income from the regions automatically. It is more action packed and leads to a more fun war-centered game, in my opinion.

 

[hackgrid]

Indeed Z ruled.

 

[Vynx]

This isn't a request thread for RTS ports, sorry

While we appreciate the help and feedback, we're not interested in porting games that have already developed - what's the fun in that? The GP2X needs new games, original games.

It'd be like....someone saying they were going to develop a game called Sonic on the GP2X, but then told that Mario should be ported instead - the two games are vastly different and it would deviate from the goal, and the same can be said here.

 

[Magnulus]

Here's a novel idea:

What if the units could be modified by the user with weapons, etc. Let's say that the price of a unit is proportional to an amount of "upgrade points" that you can give it. Then, you can make it faster, stronger, bigger, etc as you please, but also making them more expensive the more bad-arse they are. You can create an arsenal of different units and then choose a few different ones to use before a battle, or you could have a full team of ten different units that you can choose among in-game.
This would give you some strategic choices other than how to attack and when, and would allow for a great amount of diversity in the game.

Actually, this idea isn't such a new one. C-Evo uses something very similar to it, now that I think about it. It's also one of my very favourite things about C-Evo.

To make it quick and simple for those who don't want to spend ages creating troops, you can give them a few different choices like "agile, weak unit", "strong, slow unit." etc, giving both the instant-satisfaction gamers and the anal retentive ones something to have fun with.

(I'd also love to help make graphics for this, but I've already sort of promised to do a tilemap for Dzz's Nethack besides my own game, Bork. These units really shouldn't be much more than 8x8 and maybe 16x16 in size, though, so I guess it wouldn't be THAT taxing. Especially if we went with two-three colours for each.)

EDIT: Actually, the smallest units like regular footsoldiers could be 2x4s, like the ones in Dune 2. The resolution on a GP2X is such that they'd still be quite visible if given strong enough contrast to the background.

YET ANOTHER EDIT: The graphics of the units would change according to the stats you give them. The game would interpret the stats and see that this is a quick unit, and then give you a suitable picture.

 

[JaqMs]

This isn't a request thread for RTS ports, sorry

While we appreciate the help and feedback, we're not interested in porting games that have already developed - what's the fun in that? The GP2X needs new games, original games.

It'd be like....someone saying they were going to develop a game called Sonic on the GP2X, but then told that Mario should be ported instead - the two games are vastly different and it would deviate from the goal, and the same can be said here.

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Anyway, if you are going for the -very- simple approach, maybe you can make a "block war" type game. There are simply a block making building (capturable), a wall block, and a fighter block. As the block making building continuously makes blocks, you can press a button to select one of the unused blocks. Then you can choose whether it will be a wall or a fighter (maybe the fighter should be made up of two blocks).

-Wall: A short countdown timer starts. You have that much time to move the wall block anywhere in the playing field that you choose. After the timer expires, the wall becomes idle, and you have no control over it.

-Fighter: These are the blocks that you can select and control at any time. They are able to shoot projectiles over your own wall blocks, but they have to hit enemy walls many times before they destroy.

Then that's pretty much it. There could be some interesting strategies such as walling off a chokepoint in the middle of the map, forming a large fortress between two block making buildings.

EDIT: Oh! You should also have the option to make "checkpoint" blocks. Since you have limited time to position a wall, you might not be able to put walls very far from the block making building. With these, you can move the wall blocks on it, giving you additional time to position the wall block. And yes, enemy fighters can easily destroy these.

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Oh and by the way, don't forget hotkeys!

 

[Dzz]

(I'd also love to help make graphics for this, but I've already sort of promised to do a tilemap for Dzz's Nethack besides my own game, Bork. These units really shouldn't be much more than 8x8 and maybe 16x16 in size, though, so I guess it wouldn't be THAT taxing. Especially if we went with two-three colours for each.)

I'd say that some nice tiles for a new game would be more important than another Nethack tileset, but I think you should work on whatever you think is the most fun!

 

[Magnulus]

I'd say that some nice tiles for a new game would be more important than another Nethack tileset, but I think you should work on whatever you think is the most fun!

Right-o! I'll try my hand at this thing first, then, since you're the one I'm doing the nethack thingies for. Shouldn't be too taxing in any case.

 

[Vynx]

Magnulus - the key is to keep the design looking pixelated, yet proffesional - which is tricky to do with such a low-res screen. Can't wait to see what you come up with

I think with the right shading, you could give them a "chunky" sort of look which would fit in rather nicely too

Just a suggestion though

 

[Magnulus]

I'm thinking somewhat of a mix between Dune 2 and Heroes of Might and Magic 1, but with a less "pillowy" look to the shading, of which there will be a very sparing amount. I'll try to whip up some small and simple ones before I go to bed this evening. Have to finish watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first, though.

To keep with the idea of simplicity, I'll stick with the 4x4 sprites for the smallest ones and build up from there. The biggest units could maybe even be 32x32!! AHMAGAWD!!1one

Anyway, I'll stop talking about it and rather show up again when I actually have something to show you.