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XMark
Guitar playin' black mage


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 870
Location: New Westminster, BC, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:16 am    Post subject: Skirmish [quote]

I've recently started working on a turn-based strategy game with the working title Skirmish. My aim is to make a simple combat-based strategy game that you can learn in 5 minutes, but has all sorts of strategic possibilities that can emerge from the simple set of rules.

Basically, you and your enemy each have a bunch of units with different amounts of movement points, range, hit points, and attack power. And each turn you can move and attack an enemy unit within its range (attacking ends that unit's turn). And that's it.

The other thing about it, is I'm not making it tile- or hex- based. There's a background bitmap, plus 3 other bitmaps for collision, height, and cover. It's 2-d, but the height of you vs. your enemy will determine bonuses, as well as any cover that the defending unit is standing in.

The hardest part I'm anticipating with this is programming the AI. Though it will have a two-player option as well.

And of course I'll be doing some nice orchestral music for this one :)
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
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js71
Wandering DJ


Joined: 22 Nov 2002
Posts: 815

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:42 am    Post subject: [quote]

Background bitmap... Height-based bonuses... Orchestral music... Reminds me of Total Annihilation. :)
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Nephilim
Mage


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 5:39 am    Post subject: [quote]

Sounds cool. I'm a sucker for a good turn-based strategy game. Cross-platform, please!

What's the setting? Swords and sorcery, sci-fi, historical combat, what?
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XMark
Guitar playin' black mage


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 870
Location: New Westminster, BC, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 5:49 am    Post subject: [quote]

Total Annhilation? I haven't played it, but I think I'll look it up.

As for the setting, each scenario can have its own set of tiles, so I'm thinking I'll have like one medieval castle siege map, a world war II map, et cetera.
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
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Jon Alma
Monkey-Butler


Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 50
Location: The Sunny South of France

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:07 am    Post subject: Re: Skirmish [quote]

XMark wrote:
There's a background bitmap, plus 3 other bitmaps for collision, height, and cover. It's 2-d, but the height of you vs. your enemy will determine bonuses, as well as any cover that the defending unit is standing in.

The hardest part I'm anticipating with this is programming the AI. Though it will have a two-player option as well.


If you're using background bitmaps etc then the maps are predefined which would help with the AI - it would be possible to create several scripts as the basis for the AI that would make use of the best cover, height ground etc and could emply pincer tactics etc. A similar approach was used in the old ZX Spectrum game Lords of Midnight, although only one 'script' existed making the first few games a challenge and the rest predictable. Drawback is that too much use of scripting leaves the AI unable to react to the player, but as a starting strategy for a game its hard to beat. If you're interested check out http://icemark.com/tower/ai.htm for more info.

Jon.
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LeoDraco
Demon Hunter


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 584
Location: Riverside, South Cali

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:03 am    Post subject: [quote]

XMark wrote:
Total Annhilation? I haven't played it, but I think I'll look it up.


TA is one of the seminal works in RTS games, and still has quite a following, which is amazing considering when the game was released. The game was great for two reasons: first, it was fully customizable (the main reason for its continued popularity): whole modding communities sprang up to design and develop unit packages; second, while there still is the resource allocation problem that plagues many RTS games, actual collection of resources was not too much of a problem, as resources were infinite. (The game utilized two forms of resources: metal and energy; each unit in the game had a price in both, and, for certain weapons, like the Vulcan cannon, a continuous use price.)

A somewhat less popular addition to the series, TA: Kingdoms was released a few years later; unlike the original TA, which had a SciFi setting, Kingdoms had a more medieval flare. While I was not terribly impressed with it, it was still an interesting game to play.

Interestingly, the creater of the series is working on a new RTS project which is not connected to the series. (When Cavedog was bought out, they lost the rights to the series, which is most unfortunate.) Supreme Commander, from what I have read of it, and seen from screenshots, seems to be a very nice addition to the genre, and will possibly be the reason for many nights of lost sleep for me, heh.
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tcaudilllg
Dragonmaster


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 1731
Location: Cedar Bluff, VA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 10:04 pm    Post subject: [quote]

XMark, you might want to consider implementing some of that AI idea I talked about a few weeks back. Maybe, I'm not sure.
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RuneLancer
Mage


Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 441

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:11 pm    Post subject: [quote]

You mean the one that basically boiled down to brute force by testing every possible condition?
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XMark
Guitar playin' black mage


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 870
Location: New Westminster, BC, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:16 pm    Post subject: [quote]

I'll think about it.

EDIT:
BTW, let's not turn this into another LordGalbalan theory-debunking thread. I'm getting a bit tired of it.
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
I PLAYS THE MUSIC THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!
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DeveloperX
202192397


Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 1626
Location: Decatur, IL, USA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:47 pm    Post subject: [quote]

XMark wrote:

BTW, let's not turn this into another LordGalbalan theory-debunking thread. I'm getting a bit tired of it.

I agree.


and.....I want to play your game when its done. :D
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XMark
Guitar playin' black mage


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 870
Location: New Westminster, BC, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 12:16 am    Post subject: [quote]

I should have a small 2-player demo done in a couple of weeks.
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
I PLAYS THE MUSIC THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!
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DeveloperX
202192397


Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 1626
Location: Decatur, IL, USA

PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:22 am    Post subject: [quote]

XMark wrote:
I should have a small 2-player demo done in a couple of weeks.
awesome. I wait patiently. :D
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