I’ve been playing with different fractal functions, among other things for the past few days. All to help spice up procedural maps in game 3. This weeks screen shot comes from one of these worlds.
Massive waves of Creeper were forming as I dropped three Command Nodes from orbit to the south east corner of the map. It was a struggle to defend the uneven terrain and to take out some initial emitters. But I survived and I thrived… Once I established my footing, I set about reforming my humble starting pit into the base for vengeance that you see in this shot. Why spend the resources building this? Because I could….
Looks pretty darn cool. i have a question: are there subcells for the creeper, as in cw2, or is the cell system based off cw1?
Good question…. things are sort of a hybrid of the two. A cell in game 3 is 8×8 pixels (at default zoom). That is the same size as a _subcell_ in CW2. Small units take up a 3×3 cell area, similar to CW2. But, you can place the units centered on any cell, like in CW1.
In other words, there are only cells and they are as small as subcells in CW2.
And then I presume you’ve used your magic to make it look smoother? The creeper looks really good in this game.
Yeah, the Creeper also gets some geometric treatment so that is isn’t always a ‘square’ in a cell. There’s all kinds of logic for determining what shape to show in a cell.
Overkill for the win!
This looks awesome!
I noticed you put all 3 command nodes next to each other, is there a benefit to that over spreading them out?
Not really… I just started the map with three Command Nodes. After building my mega base I decided to park them together. It would have been better to evacuate two of them back to orbit, though.
Are those 9 Bertha cannons?! Man you have some firepower.
Just realized, what’s that thing in the top left corner? It looks like a portal.
The thing in the upper left hand corner is just just very beginning of a Bertha shell explosion. I caught it in the screen shot right as it hit.
Yes, yes it is 🙂
Looks awsome! 🙂 Hows the creeper pipeline system comin. 😉
Not much progress since last week… been working on other fundamentals. But I’ll be working on this soon.
Well youre doing well:)
Or dear, it seems almost bad that I only realized how good of an economy terraforming allows.
I don’t suppose you have a level that requires you to terraform a plateau in the late game after establishing an economy that just support its construction before the creep over runs your starting location?
I don’t have any hand designed levels yet…. but that sounds like and interesting concept.
Picture looks AWESOME! I can’t wait.
Hey! You’re building like me! 😛
The new maps is very fun to play, I just spent 2 hours on one map. Very good balance right now.
What is the purpose of the 3 Command nodes? WHy place them together? Do they perform additive or alternate functions in the game? IOW, are they complementary or independent? Do each store packets, so you have (for instance) 60 packets of energy with 3CNs and only 20 with one? Assuming previous limits and not the new ones.
They are each independent and each has its own internal storage for packets. Each also has its own internal reactor. In this mission, when I started I originally had three Command Nodes. They weren’t all next to each other initially. I soon realized I only had one defensible position so they all ended up near each other. The advantage to having three on the map initially is that you get three Command Node’s energy production. This makes a difference in the start of the game. Later, once I established myself and made the base, I just flew them there to park them. Later in the mission, I moved one of them forward so that it could supply packets to forward units.
As for packet limits, there aren’t any right now. Packets will be produced from the nearest CN… and whatever rate is necessary and there is energy for. The additional CN’s don’t affect this.
I’ve got to say, even though I don’t play as much as I use to, as a rule of thumb, I usually find myself going to CW1 more than CW2.
CW2 was a fun game (and like CW1 I do plan to review it eventually). CW2’s had a lot of good ideas, but I always enjoyed the top down, battles over large amounts of terrain in CW1. I”m not sure how to put it into words other than ‘it’s what i preferred’.
Judging by the direction you’ve taken I’m assuming most people feel the same way? Regardless I’m very happy for this return, as well as some of the things you’re bringing back from CW1 and keeping from CW2, and of course the brand new elements unique to CW3. You’ve got me VERY excited for CW3
I like both CW1 and CW2…. they are very different games but both feature Creeper. That was sort of what I was going for.
But for game 3 I wanted to explore a deeper and wider version of a games similar to CW1. Top down views in general offer a more natural interface for strategy games. Plus, game 3 returns to a more strategic and over arching story line.
You mention procedurally generated maps, are random maps /seed generated maps an included feature like cw2?
Yes, there will be many maps that are created by fancy functions that operate from pseudo random number generators that are seed based.
I always disliked how the creeper looked so cubey
this looks great!
I just hope the command nodes dont interfere with the others. for example, 1 node is building something and another node sends packets to that structure while it was already finished by the other one
Packets always come from the nearest CN. CN’s on the same network also share an energy pool, so you don’t have to worry about cases where one CN is out of energy for a moment and a packet gets dispatched from a far away CN.
Will anti-creeper make a return and will we be able to build out own anti-creeper emitters?
Yes, AC makes a return. And you will be able to produce plenty of it and use it in different ways.
sweet 🙂
Looks great, I’ve always preferred cw1 to cw2 and this looks like it will blend the best of both.
One question: do you have a more specific eta? Can’t wait!
It’s hard to nail down… I work as fast as I can, but I also leave open the door to pursuing good ideas as they come up. I also don’t like to release things before they are very stable and have been tested a bunch. But in any case I’m working hard to have it ready before the end of the year.
Hmm. If there’s going to be terrain that changes how fast the Creeper can move across it, will the player also be able to change the terrain type? And will there be types that affect Anti-Creeper but not Creeper and vice versa?
Possibilities…. though, I don’t want to make this too complex at run time. I could perhaps imagine a weapon that would temporarily turn terrain into ‘slow’ terrain.
You’ve mentioned quite a few different units so far, any guesses as to the total amount of units there will be?
I don’t really think of them that way… even though there will of course be a final number. I think of them more along the lines of what roles or capabilities they provide. Symmetry is also important. For instance, there is a unit for handling spread Creeper efficiently (the Pulse Cannon). There is a unit for handling denser creeper efficiently (the Mortar). There will be deep strike weapons (Strafe Drone, and Bomber Drone). There are Titan weapons (Ex. Bertha).
These things are definite units. There will be more, but everything else is subject to experimentation and ‘coolness’.
me like. sorry for taking so long for chiping in
(a lot of questions and ideas)
will having more then one terraforming unit cost more to build like tech centers?
will creeper be able to launch into space,triggering a space defense battle?
ideas: command upgrade: makes commands nodes link and share energy. using CW2 cost rates, it would cost 60-80 tech packets to make it a very late game idea.
ACB: anti-creeper bomber: expansive mid to late game unit and/or upgrade that dropes bombs that explode (damages creeper only)like a mortar then leave a small to medium amount of AC. costs AC from your system.
side idea for ACB: possible secondary upgrades to increase explosion radius and/or AC drop amount.
sorry for the big post but you are making my head explode with ideas. expect many more ideas to come.
I am almost positive that, given what I have read, every Command Node will instantly link the energy network if near one another or connecting to another Command Node’s network. I would like the Anti-Creeper-Bomber… That would be a very useful weapon once obtained, and I would love to deploy an enormous bomb of Anti-Creeper into the heart of a dense Creeper lake.
Yes, CN’s on the same network instantly link energy. You can think of it like electricity.
i see i failed to make you understand my point. prehaps this will shine the light on what the command upgrade is, and even come up with a reason behind it.
“thanks to modern tech, we have been able to create a form of micro wormhole. combined with our energy systems and we are able to transport energy to anywhere we please. but due to the space needed for this new tech, we can only place it in command pods.”
– Progressive pricing may be applied to some units… not sure which ones just yet.
– Anti Creeper will be used in new ways… most are still under experimentation.
Will you physically be able upgrade structures. eg.Mortars can be upraded so they have a bigger blast radius.
Numerous things will be upgrade-able. The exact mechanisms are still being worked out. But most things are being coded so they are flexible.
Questions, comments, and suggestions inbound in a massive wall of text!
First off, those are a LOT of Berthas. How do their fire rates, energy consumption, and range compare to the Mortars? Also, are all of the weapons (except maybe the wave-killer, i. e. the new SAM or Phantom Coil) getting a Titan weapon “upgrade” or equivalent? Second, how does the terrain modification work? Is it one packet per level change (so level 5 to level 8 costs 3 packets), or does one packet change it instantly (so X to Y always costs one packet, unless X=Y of course)? Third, will we still be able to send Anticreeper “bombs” into the blue mass of terribleness? In CW2, if you fully charged a Maker and sent it behind enemy lines, it would be destroyed and drop its payload. Finally, are speed and storage upgrades going to be separate structures or just upgrades?
Now suggestions. One: if there needs to be an energy per second cap, can you make it so it can be toggled on or off, or allow the user to change it from the minimum to infinity? One of the worst things in CW2 is losing all of your crystal energy. The code map “run toy tree” on large/high has an emitter of 115.3 MILLION and NO experimental weapons available. It IS possible to complete, but you need more than 60 energy per second. On a less essential note, please keep the laser machine gun’s name “Blaster”. It and the Reactor are the only two units to not change names between CW1 and 2. I would also like it if the packets kept their bright colors. Gaudy candy red is far easier to track than a muddy pink color. The last I think would be cool (if it works) is a bridge terrain type. Essentially, it gets “painted” on top of a different terrain type and Creeper moves under it (over the original terrain) and structures can be placed on top (on the bridge level). So Terrain A is level 3. A level 5 bridge is painted over it. Instead of forming a wall that stops the Creeper, it allows it to flow under, leaving structures unharmed until the Creeper pool/river below it rises to above level 5 (where it flows over the bridge and destroys everything in its path).
– A Bertha is expensive to build and operate. Very expensive. It’s fire range is huge (can cover most maps). It’s punch is also very powerful. It punched as deep as a mortar, but over a wider area.
– Titan weapons (like the Bertha) are their own weapon. Other standard weapons will have their own separate upgrades.
– Terrain modification works by tagging terrain with the level you want it to be. The Terp unit then goes to work (if in range). It consumes energy as it raises or lowers terrain. It takes more energy to raise or lower a greater distance.
– Yes, you will be able to deploy AC behind enemy lines.
– There is no packet per second limit in game 3. Each CN can push out whatever is required… assuming you have the energy stockpile to do it.
I have a question about command nodes. You’ve said in the past that energy is dispatched from the nearest command node. Makes sense.
Does this mean that Command Nodes on the same network instantly pool their energy, or is their storage separate? For instance, if I have two command nodes producing energy on opposite sides of the map, am I going to get 100% production from the nearest node, or will packets be transmitted from the far node when the closer node’s production of energy is overwhelmed?
I would prefer the latter. Frankly, I’d like to see more intricacies in how energy and packets are handled. Intricacies like that are the kind of thing that won’t necessarily remove the semi-casual element of the game for newcomers and casual gamers.
A single detailed intricacy can also provide the basis, concept, and challenge of an entire map for an expert-level player, if a mapmaker focuses on particular intricacies that a player needs to manage at an expert level to succeed.
I should add that a player can easily mitigate this issue by adding on-the-map storage – requiring energy from a far-off source is effectively the player’s own fault in this case.
There are issues with whether far-off sources of energy will arrive before a closer node can dispatch energy. Including some pathfinding logic that compares the time until energy can be dispatched to the time energy will take to traverse the network can also solve this problem.
There are two concepts to keep in mind:
Energy and Packets. They are separate things and move around in different ways.
Energy is produced by collectors and reactors and gets stored in pods and inside the internal storage of Command Nodes. You can think of energy like electricity and pods like capacitors.
Packets are ‘mass’. They are made by Command Nodes and then dispatched to travel to their destination. They can’t move around ‘instantly’ like energy can because they have mass.
So, Command Nodes on the same network share energy ‘instantly’. It is like one large electrical grid. The Command Nodes produce packets from where it makes the most sense (the place that minimizes the distance the packet has to travel).
This is a good explanation of the lore, with only minor logic holes, but I’m not really interested in whether the lore makes sense or doesn’t make sense.
I’m more interested in the gameplay that results. Lore should be molded to serve gameplay, in my opinion, not vice versa.
Do you think it might be feasible to have an alternative ‘expert’ mode (as some games have a ‘nightmare’ mode with slightly altered mechanics beyond the normal difficulty multipliers) where nodes don’t share an energy grid in this manner?
I know I’m coming across as pushy here, but I can’t help but feel that a lot of potential is being lost in giving the player the ability to ‘teleport’ production capacity across the map like this.
Hmm… You said something about “Strafe Drones”,how do they work
If I make good progress, I should have a new post up tomorrow where I talk more about air power.
Strafers are flying units that fire at the ground in front of themselves. They fire fairly rapidly and can be useful for clearing out a line of advancing Creeper.
Bombers are also flying units, but act more like the drones of CW1. They flow slowly over a target dropping their bombs.
Strafers and Bombers are roughly the air equivalents of Pulse Cannons and Mortars . Each is good for different purposes.
Cant wait but I an idea how ’bout delivery drones to deliver packets to other areas so you can make seperate areas but would need to make “stations” first, 2 to be exact more to come later.
On a note less related to mechanics, I like the new RNG-based levels. Looks like all the tinkering with fractal algorithms is really paying off. That level looks much more detailed, more interesting, and it looks like the level seed is much more influential in generating levels that require a certain kind of handling, rather than 101 levels that can be effectively played the same way.
The RNG levels is very fun to play, you have to think more strategic with placement of Collectors and Relays + you might have to terraform terrain to get where you need.
Is it possible that strafers or bombers can crash into each other?? Becouse in this screenshot i see that ( theese must be strafers) are like ” bumping ” into each other. Also are you planning to return aerial creeper spores , i had loads of fun by building SAMs destroying them.
*If you do return them is it possible that they may hit one of your strafer or bombers and they fall into the blue ocean of death….
when will it be out? Cuz i am so looking forward to it
i also have an idea.
can you make it so you can create a temporary force field and any creeper thats inside it is pulverised so you can move units into it then you can blast it in massave power groups
No really how do we change pictures