|
Post by joe130794 on Aug 6, 2014 3:21:08 GMT -5
Good that it will work on old ios. The mini daedalus idea sounds good. Making smaller ships.
Has work on the game began yet or are we making suggestions for the future.
|
|
|
Post by Space Borders on Aug 8, 2014 16:47:39 GMT -5
Well, everything is ready. Just waiting for some more input before starting, but hopefully soon work on the game will begin.  It's just that I'm working on several things right now (including a new game for ios), so I have to divide my time carefully. Starting without a good plan could unnecessarily waste a lot of it.
|
|
|
Post by Clinkzbone on Aug 8, 2014 20:19:17 GMT -5
Disagree with being able to construct Centaurs.
Centaurs provide quite a bit of firepower, especially when there's a few at once. If you're going for the more strategic feel, I don't think getting to build a bunch of Centaurs is the way to go.
Not sure about Gladiators.
|
|
|
Post by Space Borders on Aug 9, 2014 5:45:14 GMT -5
Hm, I know what you mean. But what if it would cost a lot of resources? Let's say you would have to harvest 33% of the entire map to afford just one of them and when you lose it, it's gone. Wouldn't that add to the strategic feel, i.e. making choices with limited resources?
|
|
|
Post by Clinkzbone on Aug 9, 2014 8:02:56 GMT -5
Hmm that could work I guess, if the amount of resources needed is large enough. 33% sounds like a lot, then again there isn't really that much else to spend resources on... Well I guess that's what testing is for 
|
|
|
Post by Space Borders on Aug 9, 2014 12:15:39 GMT -5
OK, great. So you can spend resources in-mission on things like support powers from the "Mini Daedalus", repairs etc., but you will have less resources left over for purchasing those upgrades, like the more advanced Cerberus modules. That should make you consider if and which support powers you are really going to use, rather than saving up for major upgrades.  In my opinion there shouldn't be a mothership, so no upgrades, no ships and no turrets for that. Leaves only the special powers which are not related to the mothership, namely: scan, weapons platform, diversion (flares), mines, black hole. The suppression fire power was also linked to the motherships artillery system, but we could assume it would come from somewhere else.  So any ideas for upgrades of the following (or perhaps something completely different)? - Centaur - Cerberus - Hydra - Mini Daedalus (will pick a name for that soon)  It would be preferable if we would have upgrade levels, e.g. Cerberus weapons L1 could start with 8x plasma, L2 could have 4x plasma + 4x laser, etc. Then there could be something similar for its armor and drive. Mini Daedalus could have more of its special support powers unlocked and possibly more radar range, for every new level. Another consideration is a new game mode, rather than DSM and survival, since you don't technically have a fleet. I thought about having a mode where you can select a certain difficulty from easy to extreme. A random game would then be generated, where you have to defeat the enemy with what you get according to the difficulty level, e.g. on extreme you could get a couple of Centaurs and a repair ship to take out a battlecruiser or two. This mode would also motivate players to continue upgrading their gear, even after completing the missions. Thanks Clinkzbone, testing would of course and as usual help a lot. 
|
|
|
Post by Clinkzbone on Aug 9, 2014 21:03:22 GMT -5
Mini Daedalus - Icarus? 
|
|
|
Post by joe130794 on Aug 10, 2014 5:39:06 GMT -5
the icarus is a good name for the mini daedalus. also maybe have editable turrets for all capital ships because that way you can vary them from level to level depending on whats in it. like more battlecruisers and not many carriers. or if more carriers then you can put more lasers on it. also upgradeable modules like a permanent rechargeable shield. so if your shield goes down then you have to take no damage for 20 seconds or so for it to start recharging and then you could upgrade it so it has a higher capacity or recharge faster. maybe upgradeable turrets on ships too.
maybe add a smaller faction of humans too that could be trying to combat the alien menace without the rest of humanity knowing about it and then they could call for help and you show up. or the aliens could get past them and then go for the player.
|
|
|
Post by joe130794 on Aug 12, 2014 7:28:49 GMT -5
and actually the ships could have a lower health because it is when the war started and it was not expected. that could even out the centaurs. and also i would love to beta test it when its nearly ready. i have a laptop now so i can do it.
|
|
|
Post by Space Borders on Aug 12, 2014 11:28:41 GMT -5
Icarus is perfect!  As for all the detailed customization options, let's leave those for the sequel. The prequel shouldn't be much richer in features than Alien Encounter. Adding another Terran faction to the story on the other hand, would be acceptable. They could be traders who actually offer you the tech, since the EDF is not prepared at this point. There could also be missions where you need to help them and the other way around. Keep the good ideas coming. Once enough info has been gathered, I'll start putting the individual pieces together. Any testing is of course highly appreciated. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by Clinkzbone on Aug 13, 2014 9:32:27 GMT -5
I would like a Defence/Evacuation kind of game mode, actually. The player gets a predetermined fleet, and has to survive & protect a structure (maybe the scenario is the evacuation of a planet? So protect a spaceport, maybe) against waves of progressively more difficult enemies that come maybe every minute or so.
Basically Survival on steroids. With a fixed defense element so the player can't just kite enemies indefinitely.
The player can jump out after a minimum of 10(?) mins survived, and will be awarded credits based on score. Score builds up the longer the player can keep the objective protected, and the more enemies killed. If the protected structure is destroyed, the player is forced to jump out. If the player fails to protect the structure for the minimum time alloted, then they get nothing.
A leaderboard on GameCentre would be nice, if this game mode was implemented. One leaderboard for time survived, one for score.
|
|
|
Post by joe130794 on Aug 15, 2014 7:48:30 GMT -5
The evac mode sounds good.
|
|
|
Post by Space Borders on Aug 15, 2014 15:24:45 GMT -5
Yeah, sounds like a great idea for an extra mode. Will look into the Game Center idea, don't have much experience with that yet, but from what I understand it shouldn't be too difficult to implement, so why not...  Any ideas for possible tech trees of the main ships that will be included in the prequel (Centaur, Cerberus, Hydra & Icarus)? So basically the idea is that all ships that are assigned to you, will spawn with the tech you have unlocked from the main menu. PS: Sorry if I don't immediately respond to your posts. The app I'm currently working on is using up most of my spare time.
|
|
|
Post by Clinkzbone on Aug 15, 2014 20:00:00 GMT -5
One issue: Laser turrets.
Too weak to be the primary weapon of a ship, but invaluable in fending off Drones and Purple Suns/Green Flabbers.
How can we design the weapon upgrade system in such a way that Lasers are still present at maximum level?
Maybe have the Icarus have a few turrets that can be customized like the mothership in AE? But that's a stopgap measure at best, because the Icarus can't be everywhere at once, and a few lasers isn't enough to fend off large swarms.
|
|
|
Post by joe130794 on Aug 16, 2014 12:22:31 GMT -5
maybe have all the capital ships as customizable because since we would only have maybe 3-5 including the icarus it wouldnt be that cpu intensive or require many changes to the gui.
maybe have upgradeable turrets so that when you upgrade them you get a double barreled version of the weapon or something.
|
|