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Heroes of Myridas: A Turn Based Strategy Game

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Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

Tinkering with a tool kit I bought from the UE4 market, debating whether I actually want to make this into a full game or not.


No longer debating, it's going to be a full game.


https://youtu.be/faOJWHiyPPc

The idea at present is basing this game off my books, with Shenku, Sarah, and Aykra (three characters from the series) currently the only playable characters.

There's a single Shadowmist model in there two for an enemy to wail on, but given their "Star Craft Zergling Rush" style of fighting by swarming an opponent, it would be rather broken to let a player wield those kinds of numbers...

Edit:
Link to the newly made website: http://heroesofmyridas.theblackdawnwars.com/

Eagle The Purpose View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

It is very... Hexagonal! Razz

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

Wh1t34Gl3(SAS) wrote : It is very... Hexagonal! Razz



Kind of want it to feel like an actual table top strategy game, kind of like Heroscape. (Which I've played before, and own a set of, it's pretty fun if you actually know people who would want to play it...)

Definitely going to change out the tiles eventually, right now they're basically the default place holder meshes that came with the tool kit.

Eagle The Purpose View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

I see. I know some peoples who love this kind of games. Very Happy

Which I've played before, and own a set of, it's pretty fun if you actually know people who would want to play it...



Yeah, irl, it's not the same thing. :'D

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

Wh1t34Gl3(SAS) wrote :

Which I've played before, and own a set of, it's pretty fun if you actually know people who would want to play it...



Yeah, irl, it's not the same thing. :'D



The problem is three fold.

Firstly, the game, when playing with specific scenarios for the map layout, or even just winging it and making up the map as you go, setup can take quite a while. Add on top of that the fact that every player has to "draft" their characters/creatures that they're going to use, which takes even more time, just "starting" the game can take an hour or two easy. And that's all before actually considering how long the game takes to actually "play" it, which can easily be hours. Then of course, putting it all away when you're done.... Yeah, just playing a single round of the game is a huge time sink between setup and break down...

Secondly, the rules are somewhat confusing and sophisticated for such a simple style of game. Some characters have bonuses that others don't, some completely ignore terrain, while others have to go the long way around mountainous terrain, and some tiles can actually hinder movement or prevent certain troops from passing through(normal ground troops don't like walking through lava apparently, for example). Learning all these rules can take a while, and if you're learning them all while playing, well that goes back to the first point about how time consuming the game is and just makes it a little worse.

Thirdly, the game is freaking' expensive as heck. To buy the one playset I have cost me $120ish for just the one set, an there's about a dozen different sets out there. Throw in the fact that the game's since been discontinued, and getting your hands on one is going to become increasingly pricier as time goes on. Collecting all the sets could take years to be able to buy them unless you happen to make a freakish amount of money every paycheck. Bill Gates I ain't...

The main issue was initially just the cost of the game itself, but since I have a set now, that's not as much of a factor. The real problem is none of my friends is willing to commit to a potential 8+ hour game... Never mind we've played other, in some cases even more complex, games that have taken just as long if not longer... Suffice to say, my friends don't really give me a vote on our semi-monthly game night...

Eagle The Purpose View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015


Firstly, the game, when playing with specific scenarios for the map layout, or even just winging it and making up the map as you go, setup can take quite a while. Add on top of that the fact that every player has to "draft" their characters/creatures that they're going to use, which takes even more time, just "starting" the game can take an hour or two easy. And that's all before actually considering how long the game takes to actually "play" it, which can easily be hours. Then of course, putting it all away when you're done.... Yeah, just playing a single round of the game is a huge time sink between setup and break down...

Secondly, the rules are somewhat confusing and sophisticated for such a simple style of game. Some characters have bonuses that others don't, some completely ignore terrain, while others have to go the long way around mountainous terrain, and some tiles can actually hinder movement or prevent certain troops from passing through(normal ground troops don't like walking through lava apparently, for example). Learning all these rules can take a while, and if you're learning them all while playing, well that goes back to the first point about how time consuming the game is and just makes it a little worse.



A kind of Famicom Wars in fact ? (that reference Laughing )

Well, 120$... Yes, that's frikn' expensive for an asset.. At least, it seems to be a good base. Waiting for a first release/demo. Smile

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

The set I got...

If you look at the prices on Amazon at least, they vary wildly, but some of the sets go for $200+ easy...

My first purchase into the series was actually a lucky break at my previous job(Goodwill), where I found one of the expansion sets(basically it was just the tiles) for $4(the dummy who priced it didn't know what it was, and I was off the clock and didn't feel like correcting them...) when that expansion normally goes for about $30-$40 depending on where you look. Then I bought a new version of the same expansion($30 from a local game shop) and compared the two to see if anything was missing(that, and it gives me more tiles to work with).

It wasn't missing anything except the rulebook basically, so I got some expansion figures too, ordered the above linked master set, played a brief "miniaturized" game against a friend to work out some of the rules, then I was never able to convince him or anyone else to play it after that... Still makes me a little sad, I thought it was a great game...

Eagle The Purpose View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

Over 200... :S

A 3ds would be more profitable depending on some criteria. *laughing out loud*

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Thursday, June 11, 2015

Personally, given the quality of the figures, and the quantity that come in a master set, I think it's worth it if you have the money to spend on such things... Yeah, I might not play it much, but the figures are still pretty impressive for what's basically a glorified kids game.

Honestly, between the price and the complex rules, it's not even meant for kids...

Anyways, this is getting a wee bit off track... I'm not sure how long before I can have a demo of this ready, but I'd like to get some sound, music, menus, and attack effects added before I release one, so it may be a while...

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Friday, June 26, 2015

So I'm still working on this, and I'm just about finished building the base systems for the game. Once I'm done, which shouldn't be much longer than a week or so, I'm going to start making some levels to play through, thinking 3 scenarios (death match style) maps, and 1 story level for an early demo, then I think I'll start putting together a Kickstarter for it, cause why not.

I've also decided that the game is definitely being based on my in-progress book series, and will feature a mini-story arc that takes place following the events of the second book leading into the third (still being written) book. This way, even if the Kickstarter doesn't get the funding I'd need to do a full game, it'd still get my name and word of my books out there, and will hopefully help, if only slightly, with book sales(I've sold only 3 copies of book 2 since I released it last month, and 2 of them were for the Kindle..........)...

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Saturday, July 18, 2015

Okay, so it's been a little longer than a week, but I've almost got a demo ready to go. In the mean time, here's an updated gameplay video:

https://youtu.be/bK7JoJj-Tqw

Updated features include:


*Added in a "Magic" and "Skill" menu system, configured per character.

*Reconfigured the pawns to not automatically go through their move/attack phases based on clicking tiles on the map anymore, but instead be limited to specific instructions from a "combat menu" as is typical of most Tactics style games.

*Added support for AP (Ability Points), so that characters can perform multiple actions per turn in any order so long as they still have AP remaining.

*Added a "Spell Structure" Blueprint that acts as the basis for all attack types, and contains all information regarding a specific attack's target type (Friend or Foe, allowing an ability to be used on friendly targets), Damage/Healing min/max values, range, Attack Type (Singe Target, Age of Empires, Cone, Line), exc. More details to come!

*Added support for multiple AI factions, allowing there to be up to 3 AI factions on screen at a time that. This allows the AI to fight other AI in addition to the player, needed for future story related campaign missions, although not shown in the above video.

*Groundwork laid for support of saving Game progress, and unlocking "Scenario" levels as you progress through the main campaign.

*Other stuff that no one cares about because you probably all stopped reading by this point cause ZOMG so many wordz!





And for those who are still reading this post, this is my current "To do list" as it stands presently (Subject to change) :


*Fix the "End Turn" button to actually end the character's turn. Oops...

*Add Experience (Exp) and levels, and add in the ability to learn new skills and magic spells.

*Add an Item option, and add in a "store" function from which items can be purchased between levels.

*Add in support for an "Over World Map" from which the character can travel to the campaign levels or towns to purchase Items, rest, advance the story, exc. to make it more RPG like.

*New character models and animations for the existing characters so everything doesn't seem so "stiff". Probably won't happen for every character until after I can secure some funding for this project though...

*Replace the "premade" music (From the UE4 Market place) with "custom" music that better fits the world and game flow. More of a "want" than a "must" though...

*Finish filling out the roster with all main characters from the books, including but not limited to: Jenia, Tettas, Saluren, Adalyn, Elless, Tes, Lunar and Sunar(As twins, they're kind of inseparable...), Dakrem, Simtoo, Shadow Knights, and a yet-to-be-named Tainted One(You'd understand the references to these characters if you read my books... Go buy them, the Kindle version at least isn't very expensive...). Again, some of these may not be made until after I get funding, as I don't want to have to remake EVERY character...

*Add the ability to choose your group of characters for Scenario battles, including some "unlockable" characters from progressing through the story.

*Add a menu for viewing and keeping track of unlocked achievements and unlocked characters.

*Add achievements. Everyone loves achievements...

*Bunch of other random stuff I'm not thinking of at present...

Eagle The Purpose View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Sunday, July 19, 2015

Ahhh, I love these changelog and todo lists. Progress.. o/

Shenku RiO Incarnate View user's profile Send private message

Reply with quote Sunday, September 06, 2015

Not really an update on the game itself, but put together a subdomain for this game off my book's website...

http://heroesofmyridas.theblackdawnwars.com/

Also, I have an early demo compiled, I just need to do some general testing for bugs, and add in some more things that it's currently missing, and then I'll end up releasing a future version of it hopefully sometime this month, along with an accompanying Kickstarter campaign...

But since I'm here...

Most recent changes(Albeit from a couple weeks ago):


*Added Loading Screen between main menu and changing levels, currently just a static image, but I hope to change out for an animated loading screen at some point down the line.

*Fixed "End Turn" button. Characters will now properly end their current turn. Bug: If a character ends their turn while at full or >1 AP(Action Points), they reduce their AP by 1 and continue with their remaining actions instead of forfeiting all AP.



New items on the Known Issues and To Do lists:


*As mentioned, AP does not get reduced to 0 when "End Turn" is clicked

*Dialogue Sequences freeze Camera movements, which sometimes results in the currently talking characters and their positions not actually being shown on screen due to a turn order based initial camera placement on an inactive AI. Need to override the camera to not be "paused" with everything else during these instances

*Player Character health regeneration too high, making it very difficult for the AI to actually KO a Player Character

*Aykra's Spells too powerful, often one-shotting most enemies. Need to lower damage to bring in line with other characters

*Shenku's Attack is incorrectly still a "cone" type attack, should be Single Target only

*Various VFX particles fired from spells and skills are incorrectly rendering, or very difficult to see

*Various Spells custom VFX particles still need to be made, most are reusing color-swapped versions of the base fire explosion particles which is less than ideal

*Music needs more cowbell... But seriously, need to add a more customized musical score to individualize and identify the game and its series as a unique quasi-cinematic experience, particularly for planned cutscenes and opening cinematics, without just recycling the pre-made music tracks from the UE4 Marketplace

*Stop messing with ZOPU and start focusing more on this, since this is a serious project, and ZOPU was suppose to be for fun or testing ONLY, not for developing a full game despite the potential that it might do so anyways

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