[Release] Order Order

[Lama Himself]

Game is done: https://nicmagnier.itch.io/order-order

 

____________________

 

 

 

My theme is based on the Three Moves Ahead

https://www.idlethumbs.net/3ma/episodes/order-order

 

The concept I want to develop is a minimalist RTS where you command small groups. Basically you draw lines to direct your little groups on a play field.

The idea will be that you can also sort them by size and if they hit an enemy and their size is in the correct order (gradual) it creates combos and bigger attacks.

In short you give orders and order your little soldiers.

 

I usually work on game jams alone and since I'm not an artist and tend to make the game visually abstract or simplistic.

However if some musician wants to pitch in, that would be very welcome.

 

Good luck everyone!

[Travis]

I like this concept a lot! 

 

Be sure to check the team seeking thread for music help. I saw badatstuff offering his work and he did a great job on music for my game last jam. There are probably others too.

[infamous space turtle]

Really solid concept. Cant wait to play it

[Lama Himself]

So I just started implementing the very basic controls:

- Units follow the line with their group

- player can change the direction at any time

- player can reorder their unit in a group

 

 

Next task is to be able to split a group, merge them and the ability to get new unit in a group

[Lama Himself]

 

Progress is slow but at least I'm checking boxes in the To Do List

 

Basic enemy is there and I can attack it using the units

There is a combo system based on the size of the units (if you order them properly)

 

Next time I will focus on basic system to feel nicer (controls, speed, camera, adding some effect etc.)

When these foundation ar in place I will start to make a game out of it

[JTerry]

Oh wow! The unit switching and pathfinding look really tight. Nice work so far!

[Lama Himself]

Thanks.

The path finding was relatively easy since the units just follow a path draw by the player. So the "finding" part is very straightforward

[Thermaldetonator]

I'm very into this. I'm excited to see where this goes and to try it. 

[Lama Himself]

I didn't work so much on the feel of the controls today. As usual it's a bit the chicken and egg problem. I'm not sure yet what I will build because I don't know how the control should feel and I don't know how the control should feel because I don't know what I will build.

 

But I've added the first visual elements. It will be always simplistic because I am not an artist but I just want the game to be readable.

I also added obstacles, a camera system, sorting properly the object for rendering etc.

 

 

Next step will be to start to add new enemies with new behaviours so that I could start after making some basic levels.

[Lama Himself]

 

Yesterday when I was laying in my bed I suddenly thought that I could use the scroll wheel to control the units along their path.

Right now they just follow the path you draw.

Could be interesting to quick backtrack to avoid an attack or rush toward an enemy.

 

I will probably try it out to see how it feels.

[Lama Himself]

That's been a while since the last update.

Between E3 and unexpected family matters I was not able to work much on the project.

I mainly implemented some basic system, enemies and try to spend some time here and there to make it visually better.

 

 

If everything goes as expected I should be able to finish most game element by tomorrow and can actually start building proper levels, try to find sounds and music. That is way tighter than I was planning but we will do.

[Lama Himself]

Instead of adding more game elements I thought it would be safer just to start building the real game, i.e. having levels, tutorials etc.

So now, I just create levels and add new stuff is needed.

I do not have a level editor which make it a bit more complicated but I have also much more freedom since I can add custom code to fit the need of each level and not to have to build generic systems

 

 

[BigJKO]

Oh wow, this is looking slick! Can't wait to try it out!

[Lama Himself]

ok I'm done for today.

 

https://nicmagnier.itch.io/order-order

[Ben X]

This is very slick and satisfying! Nice tutorial, clean graphics, and intuitive, tactile controls. I really liked the gradual layering of puzzle elements too.

I would have liked to have the option to go even faster so I could experiment with new elements a bit more, and perhaps some way of making it easier to figure out what damage each action or enemy is going to give/require.

I got stuck on the lasers level! Thinking about it, I wonder if you have to

do it all in one long go so enough of your peeps make it through

I, uh, don't suppose there are level codes or anything..?

[Lama Himself]

Thanks Ben.

 

You actually exactly pinpointed the issues I noticed yesterday when I started to play it for balancing.

It's not great to have an enemy a screen away and wonder if two or three guys will be enough. I agree that a fast mode (with the whole world would speeding up) could be nice to encourage to try again but I like the game being slow (ok it's probably way too slow). Having better tools (i.e. feedback) to plan a run (knowing enemy health points, units damage etc.) would alleviate some issue with the slowness.

 

There is no cheat code, no.

But to appease you (or enrage you) this was basically the last level.

[Henke]

Yup, I'm gonna agree with Ben and BigJKO on the choice of adjective for this: Slick!

[Lama Himself]

I've updated the game with the feedback of @Ben X

 

Now you can fast forward the time (with the F key) and you can check how many ordered units are required to kill an enemy (with a mouse hover)

 

 

Now that it's out of the way there is other stuff that bother me. For example it's difficult to see when a combo is broken. The sound helps but it goes too fast to really realise. But let's put that on the side for the moment.

[getinthedamnbox]

This is wildly well-engineered. At one point, I started running groups into each other in weird ways just to see if the system could handle it, and it could. This game already looks and sounds like something you'd see on the premium shelf on iOS. Concisely tutorialized with solid feedback throughout.

 

I almost had to admit defeat at the turret level, but eventually I made it through. Getting many different groups all moving simultaneously to execute a plan was challenging. I also kept accidentally dumping half my troops off the map whenever I tried to split a group (because the line straightens out when you do that), and I gave up on a run once or twice when my eggs spawned only slow troops. I couldn't find a "restart level" command, so I just ran my troops off the edge whenever I needed to start over.

 

All in all, very impressive!

[Lama Himself]

Thank you so much for the feedback.

 

That's true that you can end up dumping a lot of unit by mistake which is frustrating. And a restart button would be convenient. Good call.

What's interesting is that there is actually no slow units. The idea is that the bigger (longer) a group is slower overall. A single unit is simply faster that a whole group. I am not explicit about this game mechanic on purpose since I want the player to find that out themselves. But it's true that the player can have the same conclusion than you, that some units are simply slower and slow down the group.

[ryanfb]

23 hours ago, getinthedamnbox said:

This game already looks and sounds like something you'd see on the premium shelf on iOS.

 

This is exactly what I thought as well. Great concept and artistic style!

[getinthedamnbox]

7 hours ago, Lama Himself said:

What's interesting is that there is actually no slow units.

 

Ha, wow. I definitely picked up on the fact that groups are slower than individuals, but I guess something in my animal brain also assumed that bigger = slower. It didn't affect how I played most of the time, though.

[Lama Himself]

1 hour ago, getinthedamnbox said:

 

Ha, wow. I definitely picked up on the fact that groups are slower than individuals, but I guess something in my animal brain also assumed that bigger = slower. It didn't affect how I played most of the time, though.

 

Actually that make a lot of sense. That would have made the bigger=slower mechanic much more consistent.

[zerofiftyone]

The polished feel and visual design in this game are both really coherent and nice. I can totally imagine seeing a version of this as a premium iOS game. 

[badatstuff]

On 6/23/2017 at 3:49 PM, getinthedamnbox said:

This game already looks and sounds like something you'd see on the premium shelf on iOS.

 

On 6/24/2017 at 3:12 PM, ryanfb said:

 

This is exactly what I thought as well. Great concept and artistic style!

I'm taking this as a compliment and there's no way you can stop me!