X-Com type turn based strategy game in development

[JSeuss]

Hi everyone,

A little while ago I posted that I was putting together an X-Com type turn based strategy game for the iPhone. I put it in the wrong forum ( :o ) so I'm starting again here where it's more appropriate.

Thanks to everyone who has given input so far - there have been some great ideas. I'm still trying to figure out a name for the thing, so if you think you could help then please head on over to our blog: http://game.jseuss.com

I've also got a couple of screenshots posted of the work in progress and some other info there too, so check it out.

As always, any feedback and ideas are greatly appreciated!

Josh

[antonioj]

looks cool!

[icepulse]

Rebelstar: Tactical Command for GBA

http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/image/927210.html

[JSeuss]

I just got some basic squad movement happening in the game with path finding, lighting and some other stuff. Check out the video at http://game.jseuss.com.

Of course, feedback and comments are more than welcome.

[Aeroflux]

It looks looks interesting...the following is just an opinion.

The walking animation needs a bit of work; the soldiers look like crabs strafing across the room. Try strafing across the room without bending your knees and tell me if that makes any sense in a tactical way. :D

Story seems pretty good at this stage, but please go beyond text and static imagery. Voice acting/Animation would be nice for the introduction and scripting between missions. As important as the gameplay is many developers on the iphone seem to underestimate the value of piecing it all together with a coherant story.

As for a name...hmm....depends on what style the game as a whole reflects. As it will be split up into three games the titles should have a direct tie to the evolution of gameplay and story, yet enough character to inspire on it's own.

It could be about the soldiers: Interplanetary Defense Corp.

It could be about the planet: Echo23 - The Silence, Outpost13 - Contact, M14 - Dead Silence

It could be about the alien invasion: The (insert alien name here) War, Invasion of the (insert alien name here)

It really depends on what the game represents as a whole. I would complete the gameplay and flesh out the story first. Write the story based on successful missions and write it ALL out. Name your squad, develop personalities for both sides. What history does the outpost have? Then step back and take a look at it...what stands out? That's the basis for your name.


Look forward to seeing more of it!

[JSeuss]

It looks looks interesting...the following is just an opinion.

The walking animation needs a bit of work; the soldiers look like crabs strafing across the room. Try strafing across the room without bending your knees and tell me if that makes any sense in a tactical way. :D

Story seems pretty good at this stage, but please go beyond text and static imagery. Voice acting/Animation would be nice for the introduction and scripting between missions. As important as the gameplay is many developers on the iphone seem to underestimate the value of piecing it all together with a coherant story.

As for a name...hmm....depends on what style the game as a whole reflects. As it will be split up into three games the titles should have a direct tie to the evolution of gameplay and story, yet enough character to inspire on it's own.

It could be about the soldiers: Interplanetary Defense Corp.

It could be about the planet: Echo23 - The Silence, Outpost13 - Contact, M14 - Dead Silence

It could be about the alien invasion: The (insert alien name here) War, Invasion of the (insert alien name here)

It really depends on what the game represents as a whole. I would complete the gameplay and flesh out the story first. Write the story based on successful missions and write it ALL out. Name your squad, develop personalities for both sides. What history does the outpost have? Then step back and take a look at it...what stands out? That's the basis for your name.


Look forward to seeing more of it!
Wow, thanks for all your input. I *really* want to end up with a game that includes everything you mentioned including polished cut scenes between levels, in depth story lines etc, etc. Truly an engaging experience - more than just a casual combat simulator (but I have to get that done first!)

As a small time developer it's hard to justify the returns on all that polishing, so that's the catch. That being said, I'm happy to put the extra yards in as long as I've got support from people like you who want to see a game like this out there. So I guess the more input and encouragement I get, the more likely you'll get a great gaming experience! :)

I'll definitely put a lot more effort into the story lines though for the single player campaign and try to make it engaging.

Thanks and keep up the input everyone!

[JSeuss]

I've now added unit placement into the engine, so at the start of each turn your reserves can be placed on any entry point. I've put a video up of the latest features at: http://game.jseuss.com

Feedback encouraged!

[mm22176]

This type of turn-based system frees you to play the game at your leisure .... and destructable environments, my favorite thing about X-Com was the .... Kris Jones on 'Sparta': Success with Grassroots Support and Incremental Development
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[JSeuss]

I've just put up another post showing a video of the firing system, destructible walls, and the new tile size. You can see it here: http://game.jseuss.com

The firing system works like X-Com. A slightly randomized bullet moves along a path until something gets in its way. If that something happens to be a wall then the wall is removed. The final game will have much stronger walls, but the demo video shows one-hit-kills paper walls.

I've also changed the tile size slightly. Although that means the walking animation needs tweaking again..

If you could take a look and leave comments, that'd be great!

[Saucepolicy]

It's looking very nice...amazing how quickly it has evolved.

An earlier poster mentioned Rebelstar Tactical Command on the GBA, which was built by some of the original X-com development team. While I liked the game, they omitted the research of new technologies mechanic from X-com. If you're so inclined, I'd love to see that feature show up in your project.

[Brazilian Rider]

I personally think this game isn't getting enough attention!

It looks fantastic and if you can get some of the tweaks mentioned above down, I will definitely buy this game!

[JSeuss]

I personally think this game isn't getting enough attention!

Thanks! As you can see I'm putting a lot of my effort into putting the game together so I'm counting on you guys a little to rally up the attention :) .

But seriously, this is only one of a number of projects that I'm working on. While the attention and support so far has been great, more support means I can justify putting more and more of my effort towards this game.

So any effort to spread the word would be greatly appreciated!

[JSeuss]

It's looking very nice...amazing how quickly it has evolved.

An earlier poster mentioned Rebelstar Tactical Command on the GBA, which was built by some of the original X-com development team. While I liked the game, they omitted the research of new technologies mechanic from X-com. If you're so inclined, I'd love to see that feature show up in your project.

Thanks for the support! I'm really happy with progress so far. Only a month ago this was just an idea and now I've got something I can demo.

I'm very keen to expand the game into research and management that goes beyond the tactical part of the game. But as a single dev, the scope is just too big (and risky) to do all at once. That's why I've split the project into three parts. The first will be a somewhat basic tactical game, the second will add advanced tactics and the intial parts of management, and the third will flesh out the research and management.

If you look around the place you'll find lots of vaporware projects where the devs try to do too much too soon. My focus is releasing working products even if the 'dream features' are still yet to come. The best thing you can do as a player is to support the games as they are developed and as they are released - so thanks again for your comments, they are really helping me along.

[AClockworkSausage]

How about having a random 'Hero'?
When you start, one of the crew has a better stat than everyone else.
The hero could have a more powerful shot, or more health, or better accuracy?
Only one stat or a mixture. Not to make the hero invincible, just to have them as the war veteran or mysterious new crew member :)

[Isilel]

This looks very interesting. I never played X-com, only heard of it as one the classics and it would be great to experience similargame mechanics. I love turn-based tactics games.

[JSeuss]

How about having a random 'Hero'?
When you start, one of the crew has a better stat than everyone else.
The hero could have a more powerful shot, or more health, or better accuracy?
Only one stat or a mixture. Not to make the hero invincible, just to have them as the war veteran or mysterious new crew member :)

Yeah, Incubation did this and also added the requirement that the 'hero' didn't die during the mission (They were usually the pivotal story character).

Not sure whether to do that, or just have ranks where at the start of the game you have a clear high ranking 'hero' but as the levels progress, you may promote other characters beyond them.

But good to hear that someone likes the idea of a stand out character on your team. Thanks.

[JSeuss]

I had a spare 20 mins today so I put in the beginnings of map revealing. Now most of the map is hidden until you walk around and look at it. Still not perfect as each unit can 'see' 360 degrees all the time, but as always, head on over to http://game.jseuss.com to check out the video and get more info.

[davagorn]

Loved X-Com, so I'd definitely give this game a try.

One of the things that made X-Com great, in my opinion, was the sound...eerie and atmospheric. Many people will prefer their iTunes of course, but still.

I also liked the variety of doors...that cut down the line of sight and made for some nasty surprises, like opening a door with no movement points left and confronting a plasma rifle! :D

[davagorn]

One other quick comment: in your reveal demo, the upcoming hallway is revealed even when he's facing the wrong way. I assume in the future, the direction you're facing will matter for gun use and for revealing what's ahead--otherwise the facing direction would be for aesthetics only, right?

[JSeuss]

One other quick comment: in your reveal demo, the upcoming hallway is revealed even when he's facing the wrong way. I assume in the future, the direction you're facing will matter for gun use and for revealing what's ahead--otherwise the facing direction would be for aesthetics only, right?
Yeah, like I said on the blog, the direction will be used in the future rather the full 360 like it is now. The light radius will continue to emit in 360, but firing and sight will only update in the direction you're facing. It was just easier for a quick demo to hook into the light radius for now.

[Shocked]

That new video looks great. I think you need to work on walking naturrally a little more.

I'm glad you use YouTube videos, many people don't, which is dumb because a video about an app should be seeable on it's intended device..

[JSeuss]

Hey everyone,

I've just added turns and multiple teams to the game. There's a quick demo of two teams walking around in what might end up being a hotseat multiplayer mode on one device. I've also made a few tweaks to the sight logic, so the units have to turn to look around corners.

Head on over to http://game.jseuss.com to check it out.

[G0tsk1llz]

Hey! Your game looks great! I agree that you should work on the movement. Anyways, is it just me, or is your latest demo private?

[JSeuss]

Hey! Your game looks great! I agree that you should work on the movement. Anyways, is it just me, or is your latest demo private?

Sorry, it was private. Should be fixed now.

[JSeuss]

Hey everyone. Once again, I've updated the progress at http://game.jseuss.com .

I've added the first of many monthly reports to keep track of progress (It's amazing to think it was just a concept just one month ago) and I've just started thinking about team selection / configuration so I've put up a screenshot of where I'm at.

The units probably wont be as configurable as x-com for the first game, but the plan is to have fine customization in the second game along with more in depth tactical elements.

Oh, and you'll have to excuse the placeholder graphics everywhere :)

Again, feedback and comments are welcome!

[icepulse]

The units probably wont be as configurable as x-com for the first game, but the plan is to have fine customization in the second game along with more in depth tactical elements...

My only suggestion (more of a notion, really), is that you forgo the "3 Games", wherein the first one w/ be shy on features, and focus your energy on creating one FULL FEATURED and COMPLEX title, once you work out all the details.

If there's one thing the App Store is short on, it's a truly full-featured and complex tactical strategy title. "Bellum Tactics" is a good example of a game that should have spent more time in the bullpen.

When you make a great one, it'll show. Then word will spread about a GREAT game, instead of one with "potential" and a 2.5 star rating.

Oh, and I hope you go with D.T.O.X as the title!

Thanks for listening.

:o

[JSeuss]

My only suggestion (more of a notion, really), is that you forgo the "3 Games", wherein the first one w/ be shy on features, and focus your energy on creating one FULL FEATURED and COMPLEX title, once you work out all the details.

If there's one thing the App Store is short on, it's a truly full-featured and complex tactical strategy title. "Bellum Tactics" is a good example of a game that should have spent more time in the bullpen.

When you make a great one, it'll show. Then word will spread about a GREAT game, instead of one with "potential" and a 2.5 star rating.

Oh, and I hope you go with D.T.O.X as the title!

Thanks for listening.

:o
Hey,

Thanks for the input. I know what you mean, but the plan wasn't to make a half done app and call it game 1, then add some more features, call it app 2 etc. I've been part of projects like that in the past and you're right - it just doesn't work.

I was actually going to bring out a number of full featured games that share story and artwork, but appeal to different audiences. Game 1 was a story mode game with simplified tactics for easier setup and gameplay, while game 2 is the type that will take longer to play, and is more of a micromanagement tactical game which would scare some players off.

After much consideration though, I think you're absolutely right. Rather than bringing out multiple titles I'm going to try to find a way to appeal to multiple audiences in the one game. I'll go back to the drawing board and start combining things into one title. I'll keep up the tactics engine progress though so people can see where that's up to as well.

And as for the name D.T.O.X, I like it a lot, but I'm waiting to flesh out the story a little before I commit to a name.

Oh, and thanks again for your input!

[JSeuss]

Ok, it's been a little while, but I've done a bit more and I now have a neat tileset to use, another player unit (An armored unit), and the environment is a bit more interactive (doors for example).

You can catch up over here: http://game.jseuss.com

or for those who can't wait to see the new look, here's a screenie:
http://game.jseuss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/isoscreen.jpg

And as always comments are more than welcome!

The funds for this project are running a tad low, forcing me to spend more time on other projects. So if you'd like to help make this project my full focus then you could always check out my other products: http://www.jseuss.com/Products.html

Thanks!