I would like to introduce my current project, Planet Kansas, by sharing a quick little gameplay video in order to gain some valuable feedback on how I should progress in its development. It's not yet published.
Description
Planet Kansas is a mod (designed to be played on different maps similar to the base game) in which you only directly control one unit but still raise and command a swarm through your abilities, like a herder commanding a flock a sheep. I'll go through the basics and a few abilities.
You gather the sole resource, mana, by simply right-clicking a node to summon a worker, who will then proceed to mine that same node until he dies. Summon enough workers, and you can eventually maintain a steady flow of energy as your workers, like ants in a row, run back and forth between you and the node. This presents a number of strategic options. You may stay close to your nodes, requiring fewer workers to "saturate" or use more workers, allowing you to venture farther without sacrificing energy flow. A mana well can also be summoned that acts as a temporary supply depot, allowing you to keep just a few workers while you move away for a little bit.
Staying close has its dangers, though. For one, each player is equipped with a fireball that can kill up to five units in close proximity. If your workers are all bunched up, they will be easy pickings for an opponent. Secondly, the objective requires you to leave your base. Each player must breed enough mana "nymphs", little guys that closely follow the herder that can be tossed (think Nintendo's Pikmin), to push the enemy's cart back to your base. Mana nymphs can be obtained by sacrificing other units through the "Violent Devolution" ability (instant but not efficient) or by summoning a drone to mate with a nearby queen.
Speaking of which, Mana Queens may be summoned to corrupt a single mana node. This node is then unharvestable by workers (and slowly kills any who remain there after corruption) and provides energy solely to the queen. She has two modes that can be altered by clicking on her. Offensive mode has her lay soldier eggs, while defensive mode has her lay royal guard eggs.
Soldiers may be commanded by placing a pheromone beacon on the ground that attracts them to attack-move to its location. Royal guards will remain near the queen, protecting their immediate area with ranged attacks.
I think that's enough to give you a general idea of what's going on in the video. It's nothing flashy, just a straight-up match against an AI opponent on a duel-sized map. The AI is still a work-in-progress of course, so forgive him for his slight, er, idiocy, at points.
The Movie
Please bring on the criticism! Is this something you would play? Too simple? Too Complex? Is the map design retarded?
I have plans to create a 1v1v1 and a 2v2 map as well. A smaller size is just more conducive to working out the basic mechanics and AI, which are still being developed. The pace of the game can change dramatically just by altering the resource gathering rate or worker run speed; it's a bit overwhelming. So, should I get the point where I feel good about publishing it, I would still have a good deal of balancing to do as playing against my own AI is only so good.
Hello all,
I would like to introduce my current project, Planet Kansas, by sharing a quick little gameplay video in order to gain some valuable feedback on how I should progress in its development. It's not yet published.
Description
Planet Kansas is a mod (designed to be played on different maps similar to the base game) in which you only directly control one unit but still raise and command a swarm through your abilities, like a herder commanding a flock a sheep. I'll go through the basics and a few abilities.
You gather the sole resource, mana, by simply right-clicking a node to summon a worker, who will then proceed to mine that same node until he dies. Summon enough workers, and you can eventually maintain a steady flow of energy as your workers, like ants in a row, run back and forth between you and the node. This presents a number of strategic options. You may stay close to your nodes, requiring fewer workers to "saturate" or use more workers, allowing you to venture farther without sacrificing energy flow. A mana well can also be summoned that acts as a temporary supply depot, allowing you to keep just a few workers while you move away for a little bit.
Staying close has its dangers, though. For one, each player is equipped with a fireball that can kill up to five units in close proximity. If your workers are all bunched up, they will be easy pickings for an opponent. Secondly, the objective requires you to leave your base. Each player must breed enough mana "nymphs", little guys that closely follow the herder that can be tossed (think Nintendo's Pikmin), to push the enemy's cart back to your base. Mana nymphs can be obtained by sacrificing other units through the "Violent Devolution" ability (instant but not efficient) or by summoning a drone to mate with a nearby queen.
Speaking of which, Mana Queens may be summoned to corrupt a single mana node. This node is then unharvestable by workers (and slowly kills any who remain there after corruption) and provides energy solely to the queen. She has two modes that can be altered by clicking on her. Offensive mode has her lay soldier eggs, while defensive mode has her lay royal guard eggs.
Soldiers may be commanded by placing a pheromone beacon on the ground that attracts them to attack-move to its location. Royal guards will remain near the queen, protecting their immediate area with ranged attacks.
I think that's enough to give you a general idea of what's going on in the video. It's nothing flashy, just a straight-up match against an AI opponent on a duel-sized map. The AI is still a work-in-progress of course, so forgive him for his slight, er, idiocy, at points.
The Movie
Please bring on the criticism! Is this something you would play? Too simple? Too Complex? Is the map design retarded?
I have plans to create a 1v1v1 and a 2v2 map as well. A smaller size is just more conducive to working out the basic mechanics and AI, which are still being developed. The pace of the game can change dramatically just by altering the resource gathering rate or worker run speed; it's a bit overwhelming. So, should I get the point where I feel good about publishing it, I would still have a good deal of balancing to do as playing against my own AI is only so good.
I really like the concept! You should go ahead and add those multiplayer mode, because personally I wouldn't want to play an AI.
Thanks! Technically, it is already multiplayer-capable (AI joins if there's no player 2)... it's just a small 1v1 map.