Lets make a rouge-like tactics game

[grieck]

Good! Final Fantasy Tactics for PS1 is one of my all time favorite games.  But I don't see Turn Based Strategy (I THINK that's what these are called) games that could lack a story. But who knows.

[marsgreekgod]

Good! Final Fantasy Tactics for PS1 is one of my all time favorite games.  But I don't see Turn Based Strategy (I THINK that's what these are called) games that could lack a story. But who knows.

Yes final fantasy tactics is a tactics game, so yeah.

I thought we agreed on a party of 4.
Are you changing things behind our backs Mars?

Um.. no no we didn't. We said 4 was to small and you said that yourself, I thought 6 might be right. 4 is WAY to small for a tactics game. this isn't just a rpg remember? large maps and all that?

[Darkness3313]

I meant at the start. Not just 3.

[marsgreekgod]

OH at the start it was just 3 wasn't it? you and male female weakest class we haven't named?

[Dudemaster]

Umm... actually, I'd prefer a party of four. Let me give you some examples of tactical games that are pretty awesome:

• Rainbow Six (the games, not the book)
• Hidden & Dangerous 2
• Commandos (in the classic you have a max of 4 on every mission, although you don't pick em)
• Star Wars: Republic Commando

And probably lots more...

[marsgreekgod]

Umm... actually, I'd prefer a party of four. Let me give you some examples of tactical games that are pretty awesome:

• Rainbow Six (the games, not the book)
• Hidden & Dangerous 2
• Commandos (in the classic you have a max of 4 on every mission, although you don't pick em)
• Star Wars: Republic Commando

And probably lots more...

Aren't those tactical shooters not  "tactics" games? not really the same thing

[Dudemaster]

Aren't those tactical shooters not  "tactics" games? not really the same thing

Yes...
I am aware of that...

BUT THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[marsgreekgod]

Aren't those tactical shooters not  "tactics" games? not really the same thing

Yes...
I am aware of that...

BUT THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

please stop , you being really rude.

"I know you talking about this, but I don't like you or what you talking about and want to talk about shooters"

is basicly what you said.

As for update?
Still working on battles

[Arucard]

Still working on the M-vania one? And have you any shots of this one (or either), I haven't been following too closely, but I am interested in seeing how it looks.

[marsgreekgod]

Still working on the M-vania one? And have you any shots of this one (or either), I haven't been following too closely, but I am interested in seeing how it looks.

1) no.
2) I could get a mock up screen shot, but nothing right now is coded in a way that would make a good screen shot right now.

[Arucard]

Oh well, in time I suppose. And I hope the other is just put on hold, not abandoned.

[marsgreekgod]

It is just put on hold, as this game should help with figuring out more of what that needs to get it done... you know right.

[Dudemaster]

OK, some serious questions now, I won't mess around any more. Sorry.

1. What kind of universe are you aiming at? Something completely original(hard), or something e.g. similar to Tolkien, Final Fantasy or perhaps based on real events/historical battles/is realistic? Remember, kingdoms can have guns. Like the noble but very Christian Knights of Malta, who protected Malta from many Turkish and Barbary Pirate invasions.

2. Is it based on traditional games? For example, it the battle layout hexagonal? If so, will position and things matter?

3. Is it going to be fast paced? A fairly straightforward question.

4. (More of a request) Exactly how 'epic' is it going to be? Man, I want battles that support upwards 100 that I can micro-manage to absolutely annihilate the enemy. I want to  use overpowered cannons to take down their stupid, clunky knights. OK, that is a bit of imagination right there, but yeah, I'd like to know how big the maps are going to be. Ever played a game called Final Fantasy XII(12): Revenant Wings? Yeah, I know it is real-time, but it has many creative ideas and was somehow, generally overlooked by buyers and reviewers alike. I highly recommend getting a copy if you own a DS. It literally is one of the best crafted RTSs in a long time. (got it for a tenner at Dixons - Pretty much made the '08 holidays a blast for me).

5. Is it very tile based? For example, Wesnoth is extremely tile based, since there are all sorts of different tiles that have different effects on different units, e.g. horse riding unit X is better in the woods than the similar horse riding unit Y.

6. Are planes going to be randomly generated?

6. Will it have a Z-axis? Can you go up through different levels in a castle or something?

7. Just wondering, what is it coded in?

BTW, If you want a README or something, I do know some basic X/HTML (up to 3, which is ooold) and have dabbled with many CSSheets. So yeah, 'drop me a line' if you wish.

(What follows is a request)

Please do release the source code & images if you give up on these games. You never know, someone might pick it up and turn it into the next Nethack. Only that it will have nothing to do with rogue-likes(which you often seem to spell wrong - rouge is the word for the colour red in French) or anything similar to Nethack. Your few-medium hours of work can make a difference.

[marsgreekgod]

1) A basic, but rather vague universe. A fairly basic fantasy world built more around the story then the other way round, I am going to throw in some deeper stuff, here and there, but it's not really that much of a plot

2) The grid would be square based, not hexagonal. Position will matter from a, who is around you stand point, but not so much a, attack the guy in the back to do 6 extra damage point.

3) I wouldn't call many tactics game fast pasted, but there won't be any hurry to make you pick moves, but it shouldn't take much time to make them when you do. It's not real time, so I am afraid you question isn't so straightforward as it first seems to be. Do you mean for any game? or for other tactics game?

4)Revenant wings? I played it for like 15 mins as a demo, and it didn't seem that great to me. As for how epic it is, you are going to deal with a lot of foes ( I can't say if it well be anywhere near a 100) with a fairly small force, but I am focusing on making each bad guy a test in and of themselves, rather then just a little splatter of blood for you to kill in one hit. So more epic-ness well come from the fact that the bad guys can do everything you can do (and then some) and your figuring out the tricks to beating each type of foe (in more then one way)

5) It will be tile based, but nothing crazy, the effects well be small, but needed, unless something changes.

6) I.. haven't thought of that to be honest. An interesting idea I'll look into.

7) Game maker

This game is still very early, but all sprites/code/music well be open if I give up, so don't worry about that. (not that I plan to give up)

This game is still VERY early, I just want to make sure you know that.

[Dudemaster]

Revenant Wings has many creative elements which I believe can be used very well in tactics games. One of them is the esper system.

The thing I want to focus on with espers is that there are heroes, and each hero controls an esper. They are assigned to different heroes in a battle, and so they then follow the heroes they are assigned to. Few of them, mostly the level 3 espers actually are very powerful. Espers can be called in at any moment, assuming you control the spawn points. Much like a barracks in traditional RTSs. Here, you can also level up your espers. Not individually, but instead depending on their race.

Another concept one could pull from an RTS is (if you've played Age Of Empires III) the minutemen. They are really weak, and actually lose power with time, as their name suggests, but they are ridiculously cheap and quick to train. They also need no upgrades whatsoever.

So, how can one put these concepts into a TBS game?
                                            ^Could make for a very interesting & original game

Well, this is how the average game would go if all these RTS elements were to be combined:

• Heroes start out at their side of the battlefield. The other side may just have lots of lesser foes if you wish, which kind of makes up for the really strong foes.
• Both sides make their moves. You quickly move your forces to capture points in the battlefield, while your foe targets different units of yours.
• You build up an army of something like espers or whatever you wanna call them. A twist could be that if a hero is unconscious (unless the game is permadeath), you cannot assign espers to them.
• Once the espers have spawned, they will protect the hero they are assigned to, and, when their hero is near them, the espers shall gain boosts in some stats, assuming they are near the hero's "area of influence". And when the hero goes unconscious/dies, they in turn lose their bonuses, maybe even have negative ones. If it is permadeath (since I know you like rogue-likes), maybe all the espers disappear because they are magical beings and all that.
• Finally, the game can end either depending on objectives e.g. kill the general or kill all the foes, or by failing the objective, e.g. by getting your army annhilated.

I am not sure if all of the above can easily be done within GameMaker, but they are probably within your abilities (and the community's). They would make for a fresh change of pace, and some very innovative features, if they were used well.