Customisable RTS Development Thread

[Switch33]

Seems silly people can't just search for these things:
http://www.wc3c.net/showthread.php?t=103071

 

[diosilva16]

posting to follow this blatant theft of my own idea, and to try and bump it back into activity

 

[Wazzz]

yayy
well after a long period of doing nothing, i feel as though it is time to come back and work on this project again

so i've decided to change how the town system works

basically, what i originally had in mind was a system where a single building would represent a town and it would produce one unit at a time and all that good stuff

now i'm changing it so that the size of the town dictates how many construction sites you get for that town. this way, a large town can produce multiple units at once, making large towns even more desirable than small towns if you can get them

in most maps, large towns will either be what you start with or a central point that will be heavily contested. it all depends on the scenario, really.

which of course brings the point of how i want the scenarios to work
i am inspired heavily by age of wonders for this particular type of gameplay style, but i want the start of each map to have the potential to be unique

in most rtses, for example, like starcraft, warcraft and the likes, you start off with the same deal. you have a gold mine and trees to harvest, the map offers options such as natural expansions in most cases, a lot of it is the same in the very beginning. the finer subtleties of the map, of course

with age of wonders, and my project too, you will have custom styles of play on different maps. for example, in one map you could start with a small town, in another you could start with a large town. in some a player may start with a couple of large towns, but be ganged up on by a team of players starting with a small town each.

 

[RED BARON]

Posting to say that if you need some random help I'll be willing given that I have the time.. and to subscribe and due to being asked by you to post in it

Also it does sound interesting.

 

[GhostThruster]

Ok so this is alive still.

 

[Wazzz]

yes, been working on the unit creation system, which i think is complete, maybe needs some more tweaking at most

which means i can probably move on to implementing the system in a terrain, putting in towns down to create their system, and then it should be playable for humans

also pyramidhe@d has been doing some nice work for the project, too

 

[Skycraft]

i have some advice for this project

you should try making it enjoyable for people
remember that - it might help you in the future

 

[Wazzz]

something for the thread to discuss:

I have many ideas for what I want to include as playable races, but I only want to tackle them one at a time. So, I want to know what people would generally like to see first.

Some race selections are:

- Elves
- Dark Elves
- Orcs
- Demons
- Undead
- Lizardmen
- Any other race you can suggest

when choosing a race, do not fear too much of the cliche. For example, the Demons will be themed as aliens (an idea i've done more than once) that use genetic mutations instead of equipment.

 

[GhostThruster]

-Vampires
-Werewolves
-Rat people
-Bird people
-Dwarves
-Insect people
-Wood elves/tree people

 

[diosilva16]

you're supposed to pick one from the given list to be worked on first, not suggest a ton of new ones.

i kinda would like to see the lizardmen. do you have a modeler working on those? i think i might still have that lizard i was making for your older project a couple of years ago, if you're interested

 

[Skycraft]

cool dio, stop being a lame dio.
he said you could add suggestions and never said about working on his idea's first - but rather what people would like to see first, silly lame dio.

anyhow i think it would be a fun idea to have a golem or ogre race, because they are strong and mighty.

 

[Wazzz]

Concept of Insect people gives me some good ideas

So does the concept of Golems

Had an idea for how a Golem unit would work a while ago, actually, where the type of armor would be displayed as what material was used to create the Golem

@Diosilva: yeah i'd like to check out what happened to it if that's okay, although it's probably not a necessity for this project due to the nature of this project and not having decided on the aesthetics of the lizardmen as of yet :3

 

[diosilva16]

^i still got it. it's not really polished, but it's got a perfectly usable texture, and the basic model is pretty decent. i don't have access to it on the computer i'm using currently, as i'm at my parents home, but i'll put some screenshots up later today

cool dio, stop being a lame dio.
he said you could add suggestions and never said about working on his idea's first - but rather what people would like to see first, silly lame dio.

didn't you hear? being fashionably lame is now considered cool. it's a hipster thing

 

[Dionesiist]

So, like, I gots this beavertastic idea guys! For them insectoids, as you call 'em. I was thinking, as a twist, you could make them elegant and noble, as opposed to z0mgZergRushTyranids like everyone else does. Think elves, except not pretty.
Gameplay wise I thought up this weird unit training system where you start with a basic team (say, 3 tier 1 melee units and 2 different spellcasters). The queen spews out larvae constantly and you can then assign these to a unit. After a while, the larva will develop into another of that unit, having been "trained" by it. The number of larvae each unit could bear might as well be dependent on how many you'd need on a regular basis. Therefore, tier 1 units can have up to, for example, 4 larvae assigned to them.

 

[The Reborn Devil]

I totally think like, you need like, some shiny boots and makeup, you know?

 

[diosilva16]

So, like, I gots this beavertastic idea guys! For them insectoids, as you call 'em. I was thinking, as a twist, you could make them elegant and noble, as opposed to z0mgZergRushTyranids like everyone else does. Think elves, except not pretty.
Gameplay wise I thought up this weird unit training system where you start with a basic team (say, 3 tier 1 melee units and 2 different spellcasters). The queen spews out larvae constantly and you can then assign these to a unit. After a while, the larva will develop into another of that unit, having been "trained" by it. The number of larvae each unit could bear might as well be dependent on how many you'd need on a regular basis. Therefore, tier 1 units can have up to, for example, 4 larvae assigned to them.

i digg that. they'd be obsessed with order and obedience to the hive mother to the point of megalomania, but otherwise have a very lawful and righteous aura abut them.

 

[Wazzz]

dionesiist's take on the insectoid race could work, although i do wonder if i'll get around to doing a race that doesn't end up being humanoid in its own way

could be potentially interesting though

the aspect i was going to take from the zerg, though, was the evolution factor
the race itself is inspired by Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic's Shadow Demons race, where the key factor is that they are a hive mind that evolves into various forms

 

[GhostThruster]

Nope boring and cliched. Noble Team insectoids sound better.

EDIT:
Fish people (nagaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)
Dragon people (fus ro dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
Evil faceless pyramidhead hplovecraft people (cthuluaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)
*I realise there is no 'a' behind the name 'c'thulu'. I merely insterted it there for comedic purposes. Halo is good*

 

[Wazzz]

Okay, so some changes have been to the Humans.

Instead of having the Steam Tank and the Cannon as units, the Cannon has been replaced by a second Steam Tank.

The Steam Tanks will be customisable, hence why you get two options for them.

There are going to be 9 possible combinations for the Steam Tank.

Options for the steam tank are:

Weapons:
- Machine Gun (light damage, rapid fire, good against infantry)
- Heavy Cannon (heavy damage, slow fire, good against structures, artillery)
- Flamethrower (magic damage, rapid fire, damage over time on ground)

Bonuses:
- Heavy Armour (increases armour of the tank)
- Cargo Space (allows the steam tank to transport units)
- Increased Speed (increases speed of the tank)

You can use 2 of 9 possible combinations for the Steam Tank. Soon there will be models for the Steam Tank.

 

[Wazzz]

UPDATE:

Progress of the Steam Tank

Credits to Pyramidhe@d

 

[GhostThruster]

Nice. Seems like it can receive multiple upgrades to its cannon. Will it also receive armor upgrades?

 

[Wazzz]

it will get visual additions for the bonuses mentioned above, one of which being bonus armour (either increasing the health or just decreasing the damage it takes from hits)

i have concepts for what could be the next race we'll be working on, too, but they shall remain a secret until things are more final with the humans

 

[Wazzz]

UPDATE: Steam Tank has a driver

 

[Pyramidhe@d]

what a crap model. i could model something better.

 

[Wazzz]

Question regarding the Seraph and Pegasus:

At the moment they are planned to be ground units with a 'leap' capability, which basically lets them fly across a small bit of terrain and stun enemies where they land.

An alternative idea is that they are flying units capable of operating on the ground as well.

Which would be more practical? Keeping in mind, of course, that to have these units as flyers they would require the necessary animations to allow them to do so.

 

[Wraithling]

I think a playable alpha would speed up the feedback process trololol

 

[Mechanical Man]

holy shit, that tank is awesome

 

[GhostThruster]

Well with the squad system, it would be hard to implement a 'leap spell'.

 

[Wazzz]

not at all, i know how it would work and everything, it's pretty simple

question is, do i want it?

 

[Deolrin]

I think the leap ability is best, and less overused.

 

[Wazzz]

hmm yeah, that is true

thankyou for the feedback, deolrin =D


Also, thinking about which race I should do next, I have concepts for the Undead in mind, as well as the Dark Elves and Orcs

Elves are still a blur, I have some ideas for the Demons and Insectoids are still a mystery to me atm

Anyway, I will release some information about one of the races soon, my personal preference at the moment is the Undead due to the ideas I have for them being on my mind atm, but I will do which ever race you choose excluding Elves due to not really having a clue as to what I want to do with them, if anything

 

[Vengeancekael]

That steam tank model looks amazing D: Is it only using in-game textures? Or custom textures?

 

[Wazzz]

pyramidhe@d is using ingame textures ^^

 

[Pyramidhe@d]

wazzz is not important enough for me to make custom textures

 

[Vengeancekael]

So y u no make more progress and screenshoteru

 

[Wazzz]

well, i've been working on the town system, which has SOME issues but is working better than it was

as for screenshots, i'm really lazy with screenshots

i'll try and put some together when i actually have things to take shots of, though

 

[Wazzz]

Update:

I was thinking about including some stealth units with the capacity to be invisible, but didn't like the idea of having certain units or items give True Sight.

So I decided that a new invisibility system would be better, and figured that I'll just make it every unit has a hidden, short range 'True Sight' ability where the stealth unit's selection circle will allow them to determine how close they are to being detected.


Discuss your thoughts on this gentlemen

 

[GhostThruster]

Smart idea, though the selection circles could look ugly and distracting. My only problem is with the aesthetic, but you could easily use attachments instead of selection circles to show detection range.

But then again, having that system would kind of nerf invisible units too much (it would be like making a DT visible as soon as it gets within 2 range of a unit in Sc2). I guess it could probably still give them freedom to set up their positions so long as they maneuvre around the enemy. Also, this system will only work if all units have the same range of detection.


I however think there should still be items that give indirect true sight (such as summoning a scout like Sentry or revealing an area like Far Sight).

 

[Wazzz]

well i wanted to go with selection circles to avoid using auras, but at the same time perhaps an aura would be best

i guess the original issue i had with an aura was that if the unit was detected, the enemy would see it. but of course, the enemy will also see a selection circle, so that issue is kind of null

the idea of invisible units in this game won't be purely for attacking, of course, and they will generally be able to slip by an do the damage where it is required, be it assassinating stray units or hindering base production.

i do like the idea of indirect true sight, i will keep that one in mind

 

[takakenji]

Where Can I Download This?

 

[Wazzz]

from here soon enough, with any luck

once the humans are complete, i will probably upload to hive

just need to get working on it again, got sidetracked with the techtree contest and writing for kas

he's such a terrible boss

 

[Crayons]

writing for kas?

wat?

what did he do to make you do so?

 

[Wazzz]

making progress on this map for fixing errors, should have this map playable soon

 

[Kas]

so, its a tech tree with customizions

 

[Wazzz]

essentially, yes

i got a little sick of the standard rts gameplay style where you have preset units with preset roles

although it is generally fun, a lot of rts games end up resulting in players using the same sorts of strategies because they are the 'best' options available

hopefully with complete unit customisation, players will be able to create counters for just about any situation, and while there may end up being a stronger 'opening' strategy, there may still be a suitable counter to said strategy ^^

btw i have 3 races other than the Humans planned out, and the map is just about in the alpha stage, so i will upload it soon

 

[GhostThruster]

Your points concering classic RTS gameplay w/o unit customising is invalid, and the bit that is valid also applies to your map.

So long as there are different units (ie. so long as you don't just have a techtree of footmen and all your items have the same stats and cost as claws of attack 3) there will always be a 'better' or 'best' option. Just because players use a good strategy more often in a game, it does not mean the game lacks strategic choice.

Also, I hope you realise that whilst unit customisation is unique, it is not so different from normal gameplay in terms of the choice players are given in employing different strategies. Notice that though you have 6 or so units for one race (which you can customise and pimp all you like), a game like Sc2 has like 15-20 units. This basically means your map will have the same strategic variety and options as a map w/o individual unit customisation (maybe even less so due to the squad-based nature).

 

[Kas]

Its this idea i kinda like, the only problem is is that the trigger editor may be away before it can be use in Warcraft.
I can see this happening, just not in Warcraft.

 

[GhostThruster]

Its this idea i kinda like, the only problem is is that the trigger editor may be away before it can be use in Warcraft.

What....?

 

[Kas]

i mean; the trigger editor makes it difficult for anyone to make to out. If anyone can provide a code, ill give rep.

 

[Deolrin]

You still make no sense. ._.