Sounds good. If the background info you want to put on the website isn't too voluminous, I would integrate it into the game. Having everything in one place is always nicer. And the idea with the cutscenes in the main menu is a very good one, I like that. If you want to go overboard, don't use classic cutscenes, but graphic novel style.
The only real text info in the game is going to be in the short write ups about each unit type. This will likely just be a few sentences each. In these, however, you can sneak in some references to people (like Colonel Stormtough Ironwedge) and places and events in the game world, to sort of give this little peak at the world. Basically this is flavour text, but good flavour text can evoke an image of the world in one sentence! A graphic novel style cutscene is definitely something I'd go for, as the graphic novel Carbon Grey is one of my big visual inspirations for the game. And thanks, Threadbareconnor, the artists over here always appreciate it when I tell them people like their work!
Colonel Stormtough Ironwedge: Learned something again Looked up what the "Har(d)t" in German names means. And it is not contemporary "hart", as in "tough", but "stark" -> "strong" But then, "Stormtough" sounds much better to me than "Stormstrong", so I will just leave the wrong translation. --- Added Carbon Gray to my shopping list, will see if I can find it somewhere. And tell your art folks I like their style, too
Development Status Update Hey everyone, I wanted to give you guys an update on how things are progressing with Diesel Tactics, and let you know why we're running a bit behind schedule. We've had some internal issues (which I think is sort of inevitable with any studio, but can be particularly bad with an indie developer) which have caused us to have to redo some work that we thought was done. The end result is that we're running about two and a half months behind schedule. We were hoping to be in alpha right now, but it looks like that will happen closer to sometime in September. We should know relatively soon as to what our new milestone dates are (for things like gameplay videos, trailers, alpha, beta, etc) and I'll update everyone here as soon as possible. On a more positive note, our artist Nadia Fernandez has done some awesome work on the logo for Diesel Tactics and I'd like to show it off to you guys in its current form, so here it is! To see more images of the new logo check out the Diesel Tactics menu sub gallery here! Thanks for understanding guys and I'll update you all again soon!
No worries, stuff like this happens. Logo looks good, but too clean: It needs stains, rust, grease, and oil
Thanks, appreciate that! We're hoping to have the logo animated with some steam effects coming off of it, so that should dirty it up a little! I'll pass your stains, rust, grease, and oil thoughts on to the artist as well!
We've come up with a name for the German themed nation and I wanted to get some feedback on them, particularly from you Sheinfell! Here's what we're thinking: Kaiserreich Mechanika Kaiserreich von Mechanika Mechanika Kaiserreich Any preferences? General thoughts? Thanks!
"Kaiserreich Mechanika" is correct and sounds good. "Kaiserreich von Mechanika" is also correct, but is a less common format. E.g. the Sultanate of Brunei is called exactly that in German - "Sultanat von Brunei", not "Sultanat Brunei" which is the format of the first idea. But I have no idea of the language rules for that. "Mechanika Kaiserreich" is the wrong word order in German. I immediately thought about the Austrian "k&k Monarchie", as opposed to the Prussian-ruled German empire. "k&k" is "kaiserlich & koeniglich" - "imperial & kingly". Analogous to that if you also have sorcery in the game, it could be "mechanical & magical" - M&Ms What feeling do you want for them? Strict discipline, efficiency and lots of "Jawoll, mein Herr! Zackzack, on the double!" ? Then Prussia is the right inspiration. For more flair - and outlandish&flamboyant titles, think "3rd subordinate gearmaster and personal attendant to His Imperial Personage's Steamroller Tank" for a high-ranking engineer - the Austrian empire is the better choice.
Kaiserreich Mechanika is my favourite, so I'm glad it's correct! Would Kaiserlich Mechanika make sense? I also like the sound of that. I really like your description of both the Prussian and the Austrian concepts, so a mix is really what I'm going for. Prussian was the original inspiration though. Thanks for the info!
Always welcome! This brainstorming is a lot of fun for me. "Kaiserlich Mechanika": "Kaiserlich" means "imperial", as in e.g. the "imperial guard". And that brings a problem up with the name. I cannot come up with the adjective for the country name, the Mechanika equivalent of "American". You could always use "mechanisch", though. And it has a nice double meaning if you use it like this: mechanical (as in gears and levers) and Mechanikal (as in "of the country of Mechanika").
So, we could call the nation Kaiserreich Mechanika and we could call the troops Kaiserlich Mechanisch?
First one works, second one not really: If you only call them "Kaiserlich Mechanisch" it is like calling them "Canadian Mounted". Mounted what? There the word "police" is missing. E.g. "Kaiserlich Mechanische Armee" (army) works.
Cool. Thanks for the clarification on that! I'm working with the name right now and am trying to take the Mechanika part out as my girlfriend says it makes it sound like I'm trying too hard! People seem to quite like the term 'Kaiserreich' though, so I'd definitely like to keep that if possible.
Animation video for Rocket Soldier! Hey everyone, I've put together a little animation reel for the GA6 Grasshopper Rocket Troopers from Diesel Tactics! Check it out!
Diesel Tactics update Hey all, It's been a while since I've given any updates about the status of Diesel Tactics, but I've just posted on my blog explaining where we're at as far as development goes as well as giving a little more information on how the game will play. Check it out here! And since everyone has been so patient, here's a couple new pics of some units from Diesel Tactics showing off the Steampunk skin!
Welcome back, nice to hear from you again! I actually went back and read through the complete thread, getting a few good laughs out of our exchanges about German names and such Just read your blogpost, great to see you are making good progress. If you have a betatest build ready by end of November, Oberst Sturmhardt Eisenkeil will be most pleased with his birthday present (translation: if my time allows, I am in) . I really like it that you took a points concept for the Armies, that should allow for some interesting gameplay variety. One thought on that: offer a few premade armies, or teams for each mission. To make it easier to get into the game in general; to allow for easier "pick up and play" , so you don't have to spend hours on finetuning your army when all you want to do is *really* finish that next scenario. And last, to allow players not experienced with the concept an easier approach to the game. About the artwork you posted: Looks great, only a few minor quibbles: 1) Not enough rust, dirt, grease and oil; just like I commented on your game logo a good while back 2) The arms look weird on all models, most on the 1st and 3rd. In part it is the posture, with the arms spread. But mainly they look like Gorillas, with arms seemingly appearing too long for normal human proportions. I am quite tall with long arms myself, but even mine do not reach to my knees (or further). 3) The lower legs: way too thin. Especially on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd model. The last two are somewhat okay. Looks way too comical in style, like from some odd kind of slapstick comic. If you went for that look on purpose, that's another story First model looks great all in all, flamethrower I guess? You might want to add a few scorchmarks and patched-up areas to his uniform then. The jetpack lady shouldn't wear a tight skirt like this. Great for parades, but definitely not something you'd wear in the field: not enough freedom of movement, you see? Either make it wider, more like a kilt; or give her trousers, too. The third guy is awesome, gives a really brutish vibe, very much along the lines of "construct" and "Frankenstein's Monster". For him, the apelike look I mentioned above actually fits perfectly. The last two look great, too. But what is that odd tube on the 4th guy's arm supposed to be? I suppose it is meant as some kind of biomechanical enhancement, but it does not look like it at all. Seems more like one of those medal ribbons, which went astray. For a biomech look, I'd augment the whole arm (hide it under the uniform, sure, but give more visual clues), and add some distinctive outlets/connections for the tube, similar to pressure cuffs/seals. Something similar to this maybe: http://www.tooled-up.com/artwork/ProdImage/68431.jpg Or look at that guy: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs29/f/2008/151/8/9/ss_soldier_by_d1sk1ss.jpg Lo behold, found your machinegun guy http://s-layer.deviantart.com/art/Emperor-Sardaukar-227520 And found what I was first thinking about for inspiration, these two guys from the original Dune movie: http://www.davidlynch.de/prevuedune2.jpg and http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs8/i/2005/352/7/8/Harkonnen_Costume_2_by_PhoenixFeatherDesign.jpg (yes, I know, the second one isn't from the movie, but looks extremely faithful to the orignal Iakin Nefud, of whom I couldn't find a picture) . Keep up the good work, really looking forward to seeing more!
Great to hear from you, Nullzone/Sheinfell! We are planning on giving players some pre-made armies to start with, as I think it's tough to make an army before you know how the game really plays! Having pre-made armies give players a decent army composition to start figuring out the game mechanics with. I actually wanted the models to be grimier and more realistic originally as well; however, we had to go with our current look due to the fact that the models really didn't stand out on the battlefield otherwise, especially on smaller phone screens. I've ended up liking the current look, but I had the exact same reservations as you initially. It's probably a little late to make many changes to the models looks at this point, but I'm hoping that some of the little issues won't really be noticeable at the scale they are at in the game. It is meant to be a bio-mechanical enhancement, by the way! In my next two blog posts I'm going to be giving a rundown of all the units available in the game and you'll be able to see just how much influence you've had in naming everyone! Hint: it's a lot! Thanks again!
Diesel Tactics update Hey guys, I've posted on my blog a a list of all the units that are going to be available for 'The Republic' nation (working name! suggestions welcome!) in Diesel Tactics along with a quick description of them. Soon I'll post the unit list for 'The Kaiserreich' nation (also a working name!), so stay tuned for that as well! Check out the Republic units from Diesel Tactics here! Cheers!
