It’s very common that I get messages each week asking for more screen shots, more details, etc. So this week, I decided to post over 27000 screen shots all at once… Over 15 minutes of me playing the middle of a mission in an Alpha build. This video was something I did for private review, but I figured it would be just fine for general release. The CW audience is technical minded, so technical is what you get.
The main emphasis of this video is a new unit called the “Packet Guppy“. This aerial unit is new to the series and opens up some interesting strategic possibilities. Guppies basically charge up with packets, compress them internally, then fly off to a remote site and deliver those packets to hungry recipients.
A few other notes about this map;
- This map is taller than wide. Maps can vary greatly in their width and height…. and they don’t even have to be rectangular (more or that later).
- I’m playing in a 1024×768 window in this video. But the game supports full screen and any resolution (down to 800×600).
- I pause the game several times so I can either explain things or make careful decisions.
- At one point I speed up the game to 2X normal speed. Most of the time the game is playing at 1X.
- Yes, that is an actual thunder clap in the middle of the video. A thunder storm blew threw as I was making this video.
One last note…. don’t get too hung up or attached to anything you see. Graphics, explosions, sounds… all are still subject to tweaking.
First comment on vid AND on the blog? Dang, this is too good to be true.
Really, first comment?
Anyway, loving how the guppies are developing. Tons of potential for strategy and speeding up the endgame, as well.
Damn you, 42ah42, damn you forever. 🙂
Nice 😀 Can’t wait to see more on Guppies and the strategies that develop from them. I can not wait for beta!
LOL. love the progress 😀
I love the fact that you’ve finally posted a video. It was rather difficult to see how everything would work in actual gameplay until now and perhaps still is until a beta is released (by the way, I’d love to join if that ever becomes available.) That being said, this is awesome; the way guppies allow you to take remote bases and ex-creeper emitters allow for more powerful units seems like a nice way to give the sense of improvement while increasing momentum as the campaign goes on.
I’m curious as to why you made the decision to remove single layer flow of creep. How much does it affect it the game now that you need to clear out the annoyingly small amount of creep from spores?
Have you yet implemented a simple display of how much energy and minerals you’ve collected? As well, the video didn’t give a clear idea on just how terraforming worked, could you explain that in greater detail? (Or if you already have, just tell me to look for it myself.) I like idea of using a brush, though it was too quickly gone over in this video for me to comment further.
There’s a number of tweaks to both graphics and gamplay I think could make the game flow better, but I believe you already know what they are so I won’t bother unless asked.
Thanks for the video!
Do you mean how very thin creeper ‘evaporates’? That happens at a few points in this video, and was a mechanic that persisted through CW1 and 2.
Creeper is based on a cellular automata sim, so when it thins too much, it can’t sustain itself.
Not sure what you mean about the Creeper flow. It is very similar to the CW1 model. I do some different rendering, but it works mostly the same way.
Display wise, there will be ways to see numeric totals of energy, packets, ore, AC, etc.
Terraforming works by clicking the Terraform button, selecting a level, then painting on the terrain. This will paint little numbers on the terrain. Any Terp in range of these numbers will go to work raising or lowering the terrain. I do this in the video on one tiny little cell.
At about 6:00, there remains creeper on the hills where the spore landed. I thought creeper would pool down to the lowest elevation, though it’s been a while since the last time I played and I may be wrong.
Thanks for the response.
It will, that spore just had a healthy amount of Creeper in it. I also got to it with the strafers before it had a chance to all run down. Some of it does run down, though, since the Spore hit at the top of the ridge. All the rest that spread out ran down the hill. And it also helped that the top of the ridge was higher than the surrounding ground. As it ran down it got really thin on top.
Keep in mind that creeper’s like a thick syrup – the things you expect water to do, creeper will do, but it will take a bit more time.
1. Can guppies be used to fill up storage units, and create a “mini-base” that would not need to be constantly charged?
2. Do guppies deliver packets at the same speed as the command center or a different speed, because they are compressed?
Thanks for the video!
I believe that currently storage pods act like extensions of the main base storage like they did in cw1, the only difference being that they each have a charge level rather than simply raising the max; so in that case storage won’t really help. I’m not sure though, you’ll have to ask Virgil.
Storage units store the energy produced by by Collectors and Reactors. Think of this energy like electricity. That makes Storage Pods like capacitors. Guppies actually store packets. Packets you can think of like physical goods. Guppies load up on packets and can then dispense those packets.
Guppies will also deliver packets at the same speed as a Command Node (no limit).
Guppies ARE storage units. 🙂
All right, more stuff to look at means more questions:
Well, I like the idea of the guppies. Does it matter what kind of packet they are loaded with? Or are they just given ammo and they can make any type when they land?
How intelligent is the AI of the spore towers/spores? Do they specifically target areas that have no anti-air defenses? Are there certain buildings they will prefer to aim for?
I’ve been looking at the air power you had in this video, and it seems to be very powerful, and I have to wonder: How long did it take to set up? I see that at the beginning of the video it says your map time is about 30 minutes, though this being alpha I’m not sure how accurate that might be. Also, will the creeper have any kind of anti-air attacks?
Guppies are loaded with ‘regular’ packets (white ones). They can later dispense any type. I’ve always thought of packets as being little pods filled with nanites. These nanites are programmed for a purpose when they are manufactured. So a guppy just stores loads of nanites and then reprograms them just before being dispensed.
Currently spore towers lock onto a ‘random’ part of your network. They prefer collectors, relays, reactors, and storage pods.
That time is correct, though I didn’t play the first part as efficiently as I could have. I was working for a screen shot and to demonstrate a specific principle in those 30 minutes. I could have probably gotten to this point of the mission in 10 minutes or so if I had been trying.
Air power can be powerful, but it is not energy efficient. So it can be a mistake to build and use it too quickly. It can make great sense to use tactically, but overbuilding air power too soon is a quick way to prolong your struggle.
The Creeper doesn’t currently have a way to directly defend against your air assaults… but something may soon be added.
Wow, I am amazed at how well CW3 has progressed and I love how everything has been implemented. Btw thanks for giving nullifiers health because I hated when in CW2 when a tiny amount of creeper touched one and i had to rebuild it and everything. I cannot wait for the release so I can try out the guppies and the power fields. 1 question though: does the power field affect the guppies? I think it would be epic if they got increased speed & storage.
With all of that said thanks for the awesome video and your voice is epic! 😀
Yes, the power zones left over after an enemy is destroyed upgrade anything that you can park or build on them. For Guppies, it makes them fly faster, carry more packets, and charge up faster (watch out for energy drain!).
Guppies are cool. I’m really glad that they’re automated, because otherwise they would be almost impossible to use.
Are those blue rings upgraders? Can they be moved?
I tentatively call those Power Zones. I’ll probably change the name… They are left over after an enemy is destroyed. The upgrade the abilities of anything that is built or parked on them. Everything. A collector gets a giant green area and double range. Relays get double range. Reactors become 10x reactors, Bertha’s become 6 times as powerful…
This is just awesome! Also Virgilw, can you check previos blog,and take a look at my ideas? I cant wait for this to come out!!!!
I read over all ideas… I just don’t always have a chance to respond on each topic. But I do read them!
Yeah,i know but…what do you think of’em? Aerial drone that teleports creeper out of the level (not all creeper of course :D) would be pretty good.
Which means that this will be the third time he’s read this idea. Give the man a break – there are a lot of players clamoring for his attention, and if he’s anything like the last developer I worked for, probably too busy to reply to every post he wants to reply to.
Teleporting creeper out of the level and destroying Creeper can be viewed as the same thing, right? In both cases, the Creeper goes away.
do the tiles with ore have a finite amount in them, or are they infinite and give AC at different rates
They currently are unlimited. But they do have a finite production rate. I prefer this being the default mode of operation since it supports overbuilders and OCD play style the best.
Woohoo!
I’m looking forward to completely flooding maps in anticreeper. 🙂
Love it, love it, love it!
Quick question: We could see at several times aircraft going off the side of the map. Is this a “feature” or “bug”? (IE: Will we see this in the final version or not?)
Matthew
Aircraft have finite turning rates and they can’t hover. So to be able to hit every cell on the map this means flying out past the edge (like in CW1). This is ok in my book since it maintains consistency with flight physics. It also is true on maps that aren’t rectangular (image a round map, or a map broken up into pieces).
Wait a second a map can be broken into several pieces? Im imagining something like Odyssey from the bonus missions in CW2 and if that is so I cannot wait to see how that would work.
Sorry, wasn’t clear. What I was asking about is not just them going off the map but us literally seeing them go off the map. In the final game will we see them off the map or will you mask that out?
Matthew
What about VTOL aircraft? I mean, we’ve only had flying machines for around 100 years, and humanity in the game has had them for 10000. I think we’d have a mastery of fluid- and aerodynamics by then.
Speaking of flying machines, do the anticreeper bombers only use anticreeper bombs, or can they drop energy bombs too (i.e. a flying mortar)? I’m assuming no since you used strafers instead of bombers at several points over deep(ish) pools. And how much energy can a powerzoned guppy carry?
Finally, how would a bertha sit on a powerzone? Would she be centered on it, or just covering the 4 (?) cells?
Part of the dynamic of aerial units is that they be different in their movement mechanics from ground units… which do act like VTOL craft.
Bombers only carry AC. Think of each unit loosely like a chess piece, each has its own purpose.
You just need to park the Bertha centered over the power zone.
Aww, so we can’t get normal bombers like in cw1? Or are those coming under a different name?
Also, since you said “park” instead of “build”… you can move Berthas? Sounds a tiny bit overpowered…
By the time you build a Bertha, you’re probably already in an endgame.
One of the things that detracts from some CW maps is the point where the balance tips – a player knows he’s won, but he still has a lot of grind to finish before he can get there. By the time you’ve built a titan, you should already be at or beyond that point of balance.
No, Bertha’s can’t move. But they don’t need to…. They can target anything on the map.
Never really though about ground units as VTOL… It makes the most sense in CW2, since everything hovers in place. Thor is VTOL though (but it’s less helicopter and more micro anti-every battleship).
I guess anticreeper bombs only makes sense from a balance standpoint. One, you don’t have two too similar units, and two, it slows emitters when they have to clear the AC out after the initial bombing run. I finished replaying CW1’s campaign, and AC bombs on Ix and Pyxis would have made life far easier.
Another thing about Berthas: has the range and splash radius been changed since the updates on 5/11, 5/17, and 6/02? I checked my archive and I don’t see any pictures of them in action since then. They do appear in one from July 8, but I see no conspicuous large explosions…
Final question and then I promise I will leave you alone until next week’s post: are there any more planned or experimental titan units?
All mobile units minus drones are VTOL in CW1 as well, quite clearly. They take off vertically, fly to position, and land vertically as well.
Prolonged hovering is not necessary for a VTOL, and in fact, many modern VTOLs are not capable of prolonged hovering due to issues with overheating.
Absolutely loving how smooth the animations are, its looking fantastic.
Does the power of the upgrade scale with the strength of the emitter destroyed? Also what about using anticreeper as packet conductors?
Upgrades are much more granular in nature than emitter output values. It is also better from a game play perspective if you can know intuitively what you will get when putting something on an emitter. So currently, a power zone is a power zone… regardless of it’s origin.
from 12:38 to 13:33,the upgraded strafer DESTROYED the creeper.. 55 seconds alot of time in this game, that needed to be alittle less overpowered 🙂
The strafer is on a PZ – PZ located items are meant to be powerful.
However . . . . . . . . strafers are mobile despite having their pads fixed to a PZ, while most units on a PZ are fixed in place, lest they lose their bonuses.
Perhaps you’re right that flying units should not have so powerful a bonus.
Something that kind of annoys me is that Power Zones are only useful for a short time, unless they have aircraft parked on them.
Speaking of, how do Power Zones effect bombers?
Keep in mind that you can use PZ’s for long-range relay links, super storages, super reactors, etc. They aren’t just weapon zones.
alright i have a question, when you made the second forward post to take down the creeper emitter, the collectors were only serving as a network right?
also, could a upgraded packet speeder(i’m sorry, i hate the name.) be able to create packet of it’s own? granted, it should be a very slow rate if any.
Packet speeder? I don’t see any reason why speed upgrade units (such as CW1?) should ever create a packet. If not that, I have no idea what you’re talking about, since the guppies are named in the post and the way they handle packets (as storage, not as generators) is quite clear.
Ah, missed a critical word. “Upgraded”.
My opinion on that is that they shouldn’t – it takes a step towards eliminating what makes them so interesting to use in connecting networks at disparate points.
But, as always, my opinion on the matter isn’t the important opinion.
yeah that’s why i said it should be slow, if any.
now i just need to know if the collectors did anything other then be a network…
*new idea* perhaps packet speeders(aka guppies, man i hate that name) could use the empty space where packets were to store extra energy that could be sent to holders or the command nodes
Just google the term “super guppy” and you will see the inspiration for the name. It will also make you feel a little bit better about it and think less about a little fish.
Collectors are only useful when connected to a network.
Since guppies do not generate power, as demonstrated by the video, a node’s only use on a remote network would be to link elements of the network.
*Only useful when connected to a COMMAND NODE.
Oopsie.
WOWOWOWOWOW!!!
just a question… why the shield was suddendly destroyed?
I think a spore hit it
I watched that part again, and the spore crashed into a collector within the shield radius. So does that mean if a spore crashes somewhere within the shield, it blows up. He should probably fix that
A spore hit the perimeter of the shield. In that build I forgot I even had that code in place. It also did 100% damage to the shield tower. I’ve since changed a spore to do 25% damage to the shield tower (which immediately begins to heal), to create a big ball of mist where it hits, and the flash the shield bubble red.
I want to play this game…
Everyone does….: /
Hey Virgilw,what if creeper spores could hit strafer? (guppy,bomber or any other aircraft)
It would probably become frustrating to lose aerial units. In general, the play style of the CW games is biased towards not losing units (each of which is an investment). Instead, it is about control of the landscape, resource, logistics, tactical maneuvers, and strategic target priorities.
I think you need something that can hurt air units, maybe even just give air units a height they can go at, and if the hit creeper at that height, they take damage. or if the hit a wall, they take damage and stop.
And how to take part to the beta test?
Do terps have a limited range?
Yes, they have a limited radius of operation. You have to move them around to work in very different areas.
In “The Good Stuff,” you say that ore packets are sent to an AC refinery to convert the ore into AntiCreeper (AC) itself. I see how ore mines extract ore and putit in to the network as ore packets in the clip.
However, instead of going to an AC refinery, the packets are going directly to the command node (CN) and appear to be converted to AC there instead.
Plus, even though there are moments in the clip that AC doesn’t seem to be in active use, the ore mines still look like they are mining ore and sending the ore packets to the CN only too not come out of the CN until later. Although in “The Good Stuff,” it seems to be hinted that there is no “off screen stash” of AC.
Question 1: Why does there not seem to be a refinery in the clip or has that idea been canceled?
Question 2: What happens to the extra AC when it is being mined but not actively deployed?
The Refinery has been merged into the Command Node. If you look at the Command Node you’ll see a pump like mechanism on the right hand side. That all came from the Refinery. Each Command Node can process ore and store up to 1000 units inside.
This works the same as the previous system, it just streamlines the flow since you don’t have to build the refinery (one is inside each command node).
Once a Command Node is full (1000). Ore mines will stop and not send any more ore.
Would it also be possible to build extra refineries? Kinda like how the city in CW1 had “built in” storage of 20 energy units but you could build extra storage units to increase this amount?
In “The Good Stuff,” you say that ore packets are sent to an AC refinery to convert the ore into AntiCreeper (AC) itself. I see how ore mines extract ore and putit in to the network as ore packets in the clip.
However, instead of going to an AC refinery, the packets are going directly to the command node (CN) and appear to be converted to AC there instead.
Plus, even though there are moments in the clip that AC doesn’t seem to be in active use, the ore mines still look like they are mining ore and sending the ore packets to the CN only too not come out of the CN until later. Although in “The Good Stuff,” it seems to be hinted that there is no “off screen stash” of AC.
Question 1: Why does there not seem to be a refinery in the clip or has that idea been canceled?
Question 2: What happens to the extra AC when it is being mined but not actively deployed
Otherwise, the clip was an all CAPS GREAT demonstration of an new aspeact of the new CW installment
another questions and possibly a big topic, what would happen if a CN(command node) is placed on a power center? i think maybe the following:
packet speed increase
packet value increase(weapon pakcets hold more,you need less build packets etc…..)
relays receive a range increase
Currently it just gets a range upgrade…. but some of the other ideas are interesting.
I think a % increase in power production across-the-grid would be easier to balance and avoid many bugs. Also, it would have the exact same effect. 30% more “stuff” packed into each packet would translate into 30% more energy-efficiency. 30% more energy across the network segment would probably have a similar effect on your build capacity, and have less potential to fill weapons with fractional ammo ammounts that prevent the last packet from being dispatched.
when the shield was distrotyed i think it was a bug watch the video one more time and you will see the spore hit no where near the shield and hit in the middle of a AC pool looks to me as if the shield just blow up
It was a half implemented feature. I’ve since made a spore do less damage (25% rather than 100%) to a shield tower when it hits the bubble. The shield also flashes red and a bunch of mist is created. The idea is that shields can be used as a defense from spores (though, a more expensive one than Particle Beams).
In this video, that shield actually saved me from a complete disaster. If the spore had hit, I might have lost that middle base and my north-western offensive would have collapsed.
What would happen if it hits a collector inside the shield? Would it get destoryed since in cw1 they die when it gets touched by creep
That spore DID hit a collector inside the shield, but destroyed the shield instead.
TAKE MY MONEY!!!
Just throwing this out there. From the photos and video I’m still having problems seeing a complete color/visual difference in creeper and anti. The blues are so similar.
I know you said you had problems using the white because of the color in the maps/textures but maybe anticreeper could have a more green/teal ish tint to it?? so it’s still similar to what you have but a bit easier to differentiate!?
Or just purpleize the creeper a little bit, while adding a little greenization to the creeper – a smidge of each, maybe.
I’ll no doubt be tweaking the colors a bit before the release.
First off, The answers to the questions I have asked make sense to me.
Second off, since the video clip made it easier to understand how the Guppies work than a bunch of typed words and screen shots probably would have, I would suggest that maybe some, most, or all, of the future changes, additions, modifications, and units etc. be cliped like the Guppy demonstration was?
The previous posts and pics were pretty good, but the unit demonstration clip was a lot more attention-grabbing and fun to watch.
It is, and I will likely do more videos. But, they take time to put together so there will still be weeks where I just post screenshots.
When Command Nodes are dropped from orbit, are they able to change locations like Odin City from CW1 and the Liberation Ship in CW2?
Also, considering that you send the guppies to the upper left plateu in the clip one at a time, would it be bad to send in multiple guppies to the same location at the same time?
BTW, I am extremely impressed with the graphics and current ideas.
You can relocate Command Nodes just like the city in CW1.
Yes, you can send in multiple guppies at the same time. Sometimes that would be a good idea…
I believe if two guppies are connected to the same network, only one at a time dispenses packets.
Packets are pulled from whichever is closest, from the appearance of things. Or a CN, if there’s also one of those on the network. (For instance, he could have provided the isolated CN in a previous screenshot with more backup.)
sweet video but could you do one from very beginning of a level to the very end?
I may do a whole mission (a short one).
do we have a eta on release? month? year? anything?and do we have a price range? maybe you could presale on kickstarter?
Sometime before the end of the year in 2525. Zager and Evans will be at the launch ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic )
I’m also thinking it will cost 6 million dollars a copy (US dollars). I could then invest in creating an army of bionic men (one for every copy I sell). I won’t mess around… BOTH arms will be bionic in my master creations. I’m thinking I can still do this for 6 million dollars per individual because costs have come down since the 70s.
Seriously, I’m shooting to have it out this year and it will be priced like other indie games.
I have a suggestion (sorry if already suggested):
Maybe you could group two guppies together into “stagger” groups, such that one only heads off when the other is about to come back? This way you wouldn’t get situations where a network is left without power because the guppies happened to go at the same time.
I may have something like this…. I’m exploring ideas currently on how to set up schedules without introducing lots of complexity.
Maybe have them linked? So when Guppy A takes off, it lands at the destination and releases packets until it’s empty. After 25% or so are remaining Guppy B takes off to its destination. Repeat and swap A’s and B’s roles on the even numbered journeys only.
Will you sell all CW-games bundled when CW3 comes?
Not sure about that… All of the games will still be available, but pricing and packaging I save to the last minute.
Have you ever considered implementing some sort of PvP?
Yep…. it’s all about time to market, sales, development costs, etc. If Game 3 hits it big, I may extend or create a special follow on that has form of active multiplayer.
I was thinking about that and i had an idea for pvp multiplayer type stuff: what if instead of you vs someone controlling the creeper, which wouldnt really be very * balanced * (sounds like a good word for it because if the creeper had any direction to it the game would be impossibly hard and therefore not much fun) it is one base vs another base, so basically each of you controll a command center (or whatever it is called now) and have to destroy eachother with the same weapons you would use against creeper and along with that i had a cool idea to add the creeper into it – one base makes anti creeper from the ore the same way in the normal game but the other instead of making anti creeper it makes creeper from the ore (which of course wouldn’t damage that player’s structures). sorry if that didnt make the most sense 😀
sounds good to me, though I like this way:
player 1 makes anti-creeper and normal weapons
player 2 makes creeper and normal weapons
the weapons cant attack each other, but they can attack the other persons creeper/anti-creeper, and the creeper/anti-creeper can destroy the other persons stuff
Why did you name the site “Knuckle Cracker”?
http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=8908.msg60097#msg60097
What if you made a VARY evil unit. what it would do is it would act like a spore tower, but it would drop emitters. and to kill it, you have to kill all the emitters on the map.
that answer is simple, why not? 🙂
One question: At about 5:30 you realocate one of your guppies to provide energy to the area you lost the supply line to, but you couldn’t use one of those guppies that already was there?
If I told you I watched this video 3 times in its entirety so far, would you think I’m crazy? 🙂
I’m VERY excited about the new game. I always liked the game concept of CW1 better than CW2 so I’m EXTREMELY happy to see an ‘improved remake’.
Can’t wait to play this game.
will there be human units
what do you suppose a upgraded Terp would do? maybe build 2×2 or 3×3 blocks? I’d like to put one down and make an island for myself.