[SA Game Jam 2016] Turn Based Strategy Game

Tightrope

Jam: SAGameJam2016
Title of game: TBA
Category: Hobbyist
Time: 72 hours
Designer: Regardt Visagie


It has been a productive night and morning so here is a slice of what I have thus far:

It is a local (couch) multiplayer turn based strategy games in which a player has to out manoeuvre and flank the opponent. The extent of one's turn is determined by time so each unit only has a limited time to move during its turn. Because attacking happens automatically, the unit will attack even while it's not his/her turn. Forward thinking is therefore required. Attacking not only damages the health pool of enemy units but also reduces the efficiency of the specific part that is targeted (speed,attack,shield). However, by targeting one's own units it will have the opposite effect and some attributes can therefore be buffed.
Movement happens relative to a unit. In other words, pressing forward will always result in moving directly towards the unit that is being targeted and vice versa. Pressing left or right will result in the unit moving around the target. This is done so that time is not lost in moving inefficiently. Lastly, there will be some upgrades that will spawn from time to time that gives the player the freedom to 'express' a strategy.

Next, I will have to implement a camera system so that players don't become confused with left and right when moving.

Please post your thoughts

Regardt

Here it is in the meantime:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/404cikl7yofwkc8/Space_Chess.zip?dl=0

Final submission (17:47):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g4sn9hso1pc3qsv/SpaceChessFinal.zip?dl=0

Please let me know if it is unplayable or if download link doesn't work.

Controls:

Two players required.
Player 1: WASD move/start turn; Q, E target select.
Player 2: UP LEFT DOWN RIGHT move/start turn; SHIFT, CTRL target select.
Tip: Targeting own units provides a function boost.

Playing the build after taking a break, I came across a couple of game breaking bugs. This build (not submission build) contains some fixes:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ctb60cp9dexonod/SpaceChessFix.zip?dl=0

* Fixed shield powerup that causes crash.
* Fixed turn rotation issue. This was a quick fix and far from ideal. Now even destroyed units get a turn although it can't do anything.

Planned features that did not make it into the submission build aside from obvious visual elements and balancing (lots of balancing).

* A more interesting and diverse upgrade system. Temporary but more powerful upgrades. Special gun stations. Mine tiles.
* Missile based weapons that is charged when a unit's turn is active. At the moment there isn't much difference in benefit between speed and turn duration upgrades.
* Rudimentary cover system (asteroids).

Edit: I forgot to disclose that I reused the shield "push" code from an older project.

The following build fixes the issue with the damage values for players not being the same.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2ioladkxckh0vb/SpaceChessFix1.zip?dl=0

Update:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8elpk73a7qaubki/SpaceChessUpdate.zip?dl=0

This build fixes the turn rotation issue properly. More upgrades have also been added.

Stray_Train

This is looking really cool! At first I thought the red dots were the players and they were being shot out of a base. I think you should make the bullets a more neutral colour so that they don't attract the eye as much and make the players themselves more prominent so that the game becomes more readable when the screen gets filled with stuff.

Tightrope

@Stray_train Thank you for taking the time to comment. I agree with you about the bullets and with the screen not being that clear to read. The idea here was more to showcase the mechanics. The bullets will probably later become lasers (so that the direction of their movement is immediately readable) and the units/circle will be shaped around more grounded units, spaceships, robots for example. I'll update the post if touch upon these. Thanks again.

CandyflossKid

I'm sure it's obvious, but bullet colour differentiation will also help quite a bit. I like the laser idea, you could play with something a bit brighter and more techy that way.

Just to clarify, the top orange unit's range beam thingy moves as the top blue unit moves down. Will this tracking be a feature of any of the units?

Tightrope

@CandyflossKid Thank you for the advice. I'm not a hundred percent sure what colour differentiation mean but I take it that adding different layers of colours to the lasers or different levels of opacity (for example, adding a 'glow' effect) might make it pop more and add to the futuristic element. I'm not very confident when it comes to the visual aspect but I will try my best. This also made me think that there should be two different colour lasers for each team.

Tracking will be a feature of the game. Each unit locks onto another and fires on it automatically whether it is that unit's turn or not. The beam thingy represents the range of the unit, like you stated, but also its accuracy.

CandyflossKid

Tightrope said:

This also made me think that there should be two different colour lasers for each team.

This is what I meant, basically. Just a different laser colour for each team to make things a bit clearer. :)

Looking forward to seeing this further along!

Tightrope

Cool, then your comment did have the intended effect :)

Tightrope

Rotating screen in place. plus segment damage mechanic. Apologies for the gif.

Tightrope

Unfortunately,my entry won't make the 48 hour category

Tightrope

Done, phew!

Tightrope

I have added a couple of updated builds for those interested

EvanGreenwood

We played this 2 player. Definitely better with the balanced primary fire damage :)

There seemed to be some clever strategies with facing away from opponents to charge shields, although given that shields don't absorb all damage it feels like just focusing down opponents is the best approach. In any case, the game seems to have quite a bit of strategic depth.

Tightrope

Thanks @EvanGreenwood, I appreciate the feedback. It's nice to know that someone other than me also recognizes the strategic depth the game could potentially have. I still haven't actually played a game against anyone so I'm not sure how much of this potential is realized.

Many of the problems I've identified with the game revolves around the fact that even though 99% of the time your units will have a direct influence on the game (due to automatic fire, tracking and generous range), it is difficult to gauge just how big or small that influence is. I think this tempts players into focusing on chipping away at the opponent's hp instead of focusing on boosting friendly units because then at least they know they are progressing towards the end goal.

Your concern regarding the viability of boosting friendly shields ties in with this. Although there are situations where it would be more beneficial to focus on friendly units, it is more often than not seen as a safer route to just focus down the opponent. In its current state the game is missing something that chess has. In chess, if you play well, you might find yourself in a position to take a piece of the opponent without losing one in return. In this game, if you play well, you might find yourself in a position to take down the opponent but only slightly faster than he is taking you down at the same time. The game feels more like a war of attrition than one of elegant strategies.

I don't think all is lost however. Implementing a cover system (the way destroyed units function now) might create more absolute situations where some units are nullified because of obstruction making flanking strategies all that more important. Another thing might be to shorten the firing range of units so that they are not always within range of one another. Both of these changes will give rise to situations where the player might choose to rather focus on friendly units than that of the opponent's.

Another (more serious) problem with the game, is that it feels akin to a game of Hearthstone where both players use the same hero and and exactly the same deck of cards. The same starting setup and upgrades that are truly random doesn't give the player a lot of strategic freedom, especially at the start of the game. The game needs the strategic equivalent of choosing your own hero and assembling your own deck of cards, the two elements that ultimately gives Hearthstone its depth. Although a more refined and nuanced upgrade system might alleviate some of this I can't help but feel this game might lend itself well to a single player experience not dissimilar to FTL. Constructing your fleet around a specific strategy through the course of a play-through and seeing it pay off in the end might lead to a very satisfying experience.

Tightrope

The reference to Hearthstone was by way of analogy, I didn't mean to imply my game even closely resembles it in terms of quality :)