Gundam 1.1

Gundam 1.1

All game release threads should be posted here

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
smoth
Posts: 22309
Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Gundam 1.1

Post by smoth »

Gundam RTS 1.1

THE REPORTS OF GUNDAM'S DEATH ARE LARGELY EXAGERATED!


Gundam 1.0 marked the removal of OTA content such as sounds, graphics and many script pieces. It also marked the completion of my original design that was limited to the total annihilation game constraints. Gundam version 1.1 is my first step away from the Total annihilation game head lock.

Part of this change was removing annihilation as this game is not total annihilation, so I renamed the modification to Gundam RTS. Another step was to begin adding things that were only available in spring. Things like: s3o units, custom explosions, giant commander units, limited arcs, unit limits and several others I am sure I forgot. There are more and the change log is eleven pages and that is where I stopped recording changes.

Short version of what is new:
Epic commander mutator, unified cost system!, New units, unit limits, new S3Oed models, ground decals, new effects!
  • ___________________________________________________________________________
New Units!

Epic Commanders:

Instead of no weapons or a passive commander, gundam features "epic commanders," Large slow moving hulks that travel slowly. Gundam always features a story revolving around a main base that is often a large mobile ship. In Total Annihilation I was not able to represent this, large units have major issues in that game. Spring allows me to use these large commanders.
  • Image
    White base
    Federation "Epic" Commander
    weapons: frontal anti air missiles, 2 large cannons on it's sides and a large one located on the top of the ships front!
    Strength: Frontal anti-air missiles
    Weakness: slow turn rate and has lower hit-points then the gaw

    Image
    GAW
    Zeon "Epic" Commander
    weapons: 2 large cannons stowed in the wings and a large one located on the top of the ships front!
    Strength: higher hit-points and a fast turn rate
    Weakness: all weapons are located in the front of the ship.
There are a few things to know:
  1. They are slow moving:
    which means that once you commit your commander to an attack, it will either be lost or victorious. If you lose your commander you lose a great defensive asset. Commanders provide great protection against early rushes and in general, can be one of the hardest things to kill when an enemy makes a final attack on you.

    They are repairable:
    This has a high cost, it is best to never allow your commander to suffer damage when you do not have to.

    They are vulnerable:
    Getting behind or directly under an enemy commander can be a way to destroy it with impunity. The same goes for your commander.

    They are huge:
    "NO DUH!" Yeah, well it bears repeating, the commanders are HUGE LIKE PS3! Which means for small maps you will still need the "tiny" commander mutator. Maps that are 16X16 or large can house these monsters, otherwise stick to the "tiny commander." Most people never go back to him though.
New Zeon units:
Zeon has expanded their level one factory build selection:
  • Zaku high mobility
    This mech flies around on jets giving it a hover type movement. This means it can traverse water and it packs a powerful machine gun!

    zakuII Rocket plus
    This is the zaku2 rocket launcher version with extra missiles for some extra damage!

    zakuII machinegun plus
    This zaku carries a spiked sheild that it can punch enemy mechs with. It is quite powerful!
Federation:
  • Jet core booster
    This aircraft is powerful with two large cannons mounted in it's frame, it can be quite devastating!
  • ___________________________________________________________________________
Image
NEW S3O MODELS!


The following units have been converted to S3O:
White base(new unit!)
GAW(new unit!)
ACGUY
JetBooster
Gunperry
Jetcorebooster
T61 tank
Federation machine shop
  • ___________________________________________________________________________
New effects!

Image
Image

In the interest of continuing the visual development of the mod I created many new special fx!

Muzzle flashes, custom explosions, dust trails and thruster flares are all awaiting you!
  • ___________________________________________________________________________
Unit limits!

I have also begun the process of giving each side units which can be produced in limited quantity! These units are more powerful then most other units at their level. However, as strong as they are, they are not unbeatable.

The following units are now limited to 1 in number:

The units listed as limit: 1 unts are hero units, meant to serve as a power house unit in a certain aspect of the mod:
  1. Kampfer:
    Description: Heavy rusher, it's shotgun tears buildings and squads of units to pieces. Turn the unit off for a missile launcher that is great for taking out single obstacles!
    Weakness: low hit points means this unit is not great for front-line combat.
    Strengths: It is a base destroying monster with high maneuverability!
    Built in: Zeon bunker

    Goufb
    Description: Squad destruction specialist. Norris Packard is an ace of the Zeon forces, his gouf has been upgraded for extreme levels of destruction!
    Weakness: Moderate hit-points, it is easy to get in over your head!
    Strengths: GIANT MINIGUN, think a-10 warthog strapped on the arm of a mech!
    Built in: Zeon bunker

    NT-1(alex)
    Description: Heavily armored assault mech, powerful, armored and a beast to see greeting you with the front of it's gun. Once it's armor is shatter, beat a hasty retreat while it is at half of it's life!
    Weakness: LARGE SQUADS
    Strengths: This is a monster, high hit points, high damage!
    Built in: Anaheim Electronics

    RX-78(gundam)
    Description: Heavy assault mech, exceptionally powerful, able to defeat squads of five mechs with ease!
    Weakness: slow fire rate
    Strengths: high damage beam rifle with long range and head vulcans for medium range
    Built in: Anaheim Electronics

    Ez-8
    Description: Early game fast attack unit, Shiro Amada always put his squad above himself dashing headlong into battle. This unit is no different!
    Weakness: Low fire power and moderate hit-points make this glorified rx79 a favorite target as stands out solid white is a sea of grey!
    Strengths: It has both head and chest vulcans, a beam rifle and is highly mobile.
    Built in: hanger
The following units are now limited to six in number:
  • Xamel
    Built in: Zeon experimental factory

    GMSniper
    Built in: Light mech hanger
  • ___________________________________________________________________________
Unified Cost system!

In order to reduce the learning curve of gundam, I have made each item built by a construction unit or factory have a set energy and metal cost per second. For example, construction units use 12 metal and 12 energy per second when they build. Now, this can be overridden if you con assist, at which point things begin to raise the amount of metal and energy they consume a second to build. However, what this means is that at a glance you can tell what amount of resource output you will need.

Workers use: 12 energy 12 metal
Commanders use: 24 energy 24 metal

Exceptions, these cost less then the factory or work unified cost:
Walls, gouf
  • ___________________________________________________________________________
Aquatic units that GO FASTER IN WATER!!

The aquaGM, ACguy and zgok all move faster when in water. Thanks to the setmaxspeed code..

Finaly aquatic units that do not suck!

  • ___________________________________________________________________________
A brief note about gameplay and economy:

Thoughts on TA-styled mods:
This mod is not TA, it will not be TA. To a TA based mod player this mod will feel very spam fest. In TA the resource system severely slows the players ability to produce significant numbers of units by making resources hard to get. That was not my goal in gundam, the base is easy to build and easy to destroy. In the time I played TA I noticed that many things played slow and it all culminated in a large final push that either wins or loses the match. This gave the game a very black and white play style as for the most part it is just who can build enough of the right unitX to win.

What I thought about:
I did not feel this was a good way to handle battles, we have infinite resources and drawn out battles were always more fun to me. So I created many counters to many units. Each unit has an individual strength and there is no single unit that will win a game for you. In reality, the game needs a variety of units in use for a player to win. This sort of balance means that unless a player thinks on a tactical and strategic level, the match will never end. You have to understand your units and how to use them. Unit spam will have little value as players can quickly rebuild and counter attack.

Different thoughts on economy:
Building levelX unit requires levelX resource structure always felt hokey to me. Instead, I felt this would be a bit better. For war you need many things, raw material, refined parts and power for all your production. So I decided the metal extractors did not need to be the main point of focus. Instead I wanted the players to use the metal extractors as a beginning game boost. Now at the moment, I cannot execute the system as I want but I did the closest thing I could to it. What you as a player need to do is build the "machine shops" which are in essence metal makers. As a player your main economy concern is balancing the amount of power your base needs to produce materials(metal) and machines(units). So why is this not very easily spammable? In short form answer, all buildings in your base are destroyed with relative ease, some buildings being stronger then others.

So how do you win?
Answer, attack their troops and economy at the same time. You will need large fleets of bombers and other aircraft to drive in the enemy base and destroy their economy. This is the best way to crush another player. What is to keep me from just crushing them with tanks? In two words, the epic commander. It is powerful, resilient and above all else can rebuild a base in a short time. Without a commander the enemy player is dead in the water. So in short, take out that commander, get rid of the enemy resources and you will easily crush them. If only that was so easy.

All the units look and play the same!
As some of you may say, at a glance many units look and seem to function in a similar manner, they do not. They each have a niche to fill and all are necessary for certain specific situations. The mod requires a bit of learning as many of the units are quirky and all have weaknesses. A level 2 unit IS NOT always better then a level 1 unit and you will need to use all levels, level 1, 2, experimental and special operations to win!

What about commander rushing?
It will happen. However, it takes a substantial amount of time to move a commander. They are weak against anti-air turrets and many units can destroy them IF they can get directly under a commander.


As a final note:
The animations are not perfect, the game-play is not perfect, there is always something to improve and some players will never be happy with anything. However, I think if people open their minds to this mod they will find it very fun. In general many beginning players have a difficult time and may feel that the game is too spam oriented.


HAVE FUN AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Last edited by smoth on 11 Jan 2007, 19:14, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
AF
AI Developer
Posts: 20687
Joined: 14 Sep 2004, 11:32

Post by AF »

Image

THUNDER COOKIE OF DOOM
User avatar
Guessmyname
Posts: 3301
Joined: 28 Apr 2005, 21:07

Post by Guessmyname »

hurrah!
User avatar
smoth
Posts: 22309
Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Post by smoth »

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND legal stuff....
This is a free mod and is what one would classify as fan art. The designs, story and concept are all property of Bandai and as such I have no copyright on this work. However, the fan art that is this mod does belong to me, as any other fan art would belong to it's author. Which means, that unless I give permission the artwork, models, sounds, scripts, unit files and game design are not for use in other projects. You may play the mod all you want but I ask that you not modify it, disassemble it or take parts from it, this is my only request.
At this point noone has permision to modify or use(you can play it but do not use parts of it in your mod) any part of my mod because I am going to properly put specific parts of the mod out as creative commons. Right now, I am tired and too tired to correctly release said chosen content. The content will be released as a seperate pakage, organized for your ease of use.

I want make very certain that we avoid another situation like what happened with argh. So to be absolutely clear, no part of this mod should be dissasembled, modified or extracted for your use untill such time that I have designated what material is available for public consumption. At that time you would have the materials made available to you in another format.

So, please give me some time to rest and make a proper content release to you my fellow moders.


Also, Erom is credited for his cursors on my site :).

those cursors were already creative commoned somewhere here on the forum.

Also, unit guide on site!

If you do not want to read it all at least look at the squads at the bottom! CLIFF NOTES! PEOPLE! HAVE FUN SMOTHIS TIRED NIGHTY NGIH.. ER MORNING!
User avatar
Erom
Posts: 1115
Joined: 25 Apr 2006, 05:08

Post by Erom »

So awesome...
User avatar
Felix the Cat
Posts: 2383
Joined: 15 Jun 2005, 17:30

Post by Felix the Cat »

From the main chat.
[12:50:12 PM] <[FLCL]rcdraco[CoTBT]> well his mod is brokw
[12:50:21 PM] <[FLCL]rcdraco[CoTBT]> can't load texture test 2
Since Draco said he didn't feel like posting here, thought I'd pass it along.
User avatar
smoth
Posts: 22309
Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Post by smoth »

*sighs* is that goofball trying to run.. yeah he is runing the old version that was leaked....*sighs*

that is not an error in the current release, I just double checked and I do not reference test anywhere.

I was about to go to sleep and was suddenly hit with worry because of that...


I am going to my compfy blankets and sleeping now. Thanks felix for the message..

rcdraco, at least make an attempt.......... I am tired... I know noone is going to play the mod but at least give me some respect people.
User avatar
Noruas
XTA Developer
Posts: 1269
Joined: 24 Feb 2005, 02:58

Post by Noruas »

this mod is great, not broke play it now before i chew on your head and spit into a can and roll it up as toilet paper.
User avatar
Pxtl
Posts: 6112
Joined: 23 Oct 2004, 01:43

I'm curious

Post by Pxtl »

I've only played Gundam a few times.... how do you keep the game from spiralling out of control? I know there are unit-caps on the most critical units, but with the powerful machine-shops, instead of extraction, how do you keep the game from sprawling to superscalar numbers of (non-limited) troops and resourcing units?

Is there a limit on the number of machine-shops or something?
User avatar
smoth
Posts: 22309
Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Post by smoth »

I am very tired but here goes...

Buildings die easy and the necesary mm or energy farms are huge and vunerable. Units move fast and can easily dispatch enemy buildings. This means killing those farms is easy. The base easy to destroy..all experienced gundam players use bombing runs to devatstate economy. I am very tired and need some rest bbl.

*edited to translate sleepy incoherent post*
Last edited by smoth on 23 Dec 2006, 01:47, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Guessmyname
Posts: 3301
Joined: 28 Apr 2005, 21:07

Post by Guessmyname »

Now this is a christmas present!
User avatar
Pxtl
Posts: 6112
Joined: 23 Oct 2004, 01:43

Post by Pxtl »

smoth wrote:SMOTH ais tireds...

builds die easy mm farms are huge.. units move fast BOOM! kill mm farn. Look text about base easy to destroy..all experienced gundam players are bombing econ. Sleep now warm blanket.
Ah. Thanks for that - very insightful. Was curious about how it worked since my lack of competency at Gundam resulted in me getting wiped out promptly, so I never saw how the late-game worked. Good to know. Will adjust tactics accordingly.

In retrospect: why even include the mexx at all then? Seems like the "early jumpstart" could be sacrificed in exchange for being able to lop off a big chunk of conceptual complexity (never have to hit F4 in Gundam).

But quite obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about.
User avatar
Gundam
Posts: 18
Joined: 30 Nov 2006, 19:09

Post by Gundam »

Good Job !

:o
User avatar
Fanger
Expand & Exterminate Developer
Posts: 1509
Joined: 22 Nov 2005, 22:58

Post by Fanger »

Gundam? NO THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAA!
User avatar
smoth
Posts: 22309
Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Post by smoth »

Pxtl wrote: In retrospect: why even include the mexx at all then? Seems like the "early jumpstart" could be sacrificed in exchange for being able to lop off a big chunk of conceptual complexity (never have to hit F4 in Gundam).

But quite obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Ah, the reason why was that I needed a hard initial surge for the first base part of the economy with a drop in the way metal production rises. Basically your initial economy gets a jumpstart and it also gives a slight bonus for expanding across the map. the bonus is needed becuase a spread out base is really hard to defend in gundam. Metal extractors take up less area and are easy to defend. Machine shops take up large areas of the map. Depending on what side you play you could need hundreds of them. Which is hard to defend

I hope that clears it up. As far as know what you are talking about, at the moment you are new to this economy but I assure you it works out. No reason to fret. It is a weird economy, I know but it does work I assure you.

Also pxtl, were you not the gent who made the repricer? If so, I need to add a thank you on my site, that is a spiffy tool.
User avatar
PicassoCT
Journeywar Developer & Mapper
Posts: 10450
Joined: 24 Jan 2006, 21:12

Post by PicassoCT »

Man that Epic Coms are BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGG
Would be cool if they could go "down" with this size, even just the wreckage would flatten whole bases :D
I also like how the Buildings (Energy-Metallcon) now form Citylikestructures if built close together..

Great work Smoth. Thats what i call a X-Mass Present :lol: :wink:
[KnoX]ElementalGizmo
XTA Developer
Posts: 266
Joined: 24 Aug 2006, 01:33

Post by [KnoX]ElementalGizmo »

+1 what Noruas said; but in a more polite knoxian fashion 8)
User avatar
smoth
Posts: 22309
Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Post by smoth »

It seems some people have confusion about base building.. and what/how to build it. This is a shot of one of my bases durring a game:

Image

The metal makers and energy are what most people do wrong. Your economy does not run off of metal extractors in this mod, they boost you but you will find your efforts are better spent consolidating your base into one area. In gundam units move quickly and have large ranges. This means your base if spread out too far is hard to defend!

Also note the 3 level 2s and level1s. This mod is designed so you can get tech2 quick, so build them, supporting them will be easier then you think. It is the experimental and special operations buildings that will kill your resources.

Also, this base lacked air units, air defences and walls. BUILD WALLS PEOPLE! That is bad, given an attack of 20-30 bombers I would have lost my base, no walls means that things like doms or other fast attack options can work right into my base with ease. The central island of defenses is handy though, as it will stop most level 1 raids.

AT this point you would begin building as many level 1 units as you can and pepper their ranks with level 2 units, like gelgoogs or zakuIIFZs. This will make a capable assault force. Again, this does not cover air though, and the base would be in severe disarray should the enemy decided to attack me with air.

However, after observing how many players try to play, I notice that you guys are too used to a few behaviors:

Comm pushing. This is stupid in gundam, push into my base and the enemy will weaken your comm, that is all they need to take it out. Also, while the comm is faster at building it is SLOWER then level 1 units! Come into my base shoot my stuff, lose your comm and then watch your ground forces die also. you cannot retreat because you move too slow. This is too dicey a gamble
lvl 1 con move speed: 2.4
comm move speed: 1

Mexes are not that spiffy you trek across the map claim resources that you cannot defend and later you will watch it die!

You do not consolidate your power base If your base is too spread out, it will get bombed, hit with fast rush units and torn apart piece by piece! You base is the central area that you will drive attacks from. Be carefull to have your base well protected with your defending units well away from your base to help buy time if you need it. See defense line.

Please consider these things when playing gundam.
User avatar
Forboding Angel
Evolution RTS Developer
Posts: 14673
Joined: 17 Nov 2005, 02:43

Post by Forboding Angel »

Gundam 1.1 is serious pwn. It is one heck of a cool game, and honestly, if you have issues with the "Gundam" part of it, simply think of it as a "Huge Mechs" battle. For that is a good discription.


Another note. This has to be the most structured and best done release of any mod I have ever seen in spring. Damn nice job smoth.
User avatar
Zoombie
Posts: 6149
Joined: 15 Mar 2005, 07:08

Post by Zoombie »

The only thing I have against Gundam is the voice overs I saw on Cartoon Network, but that is because Cartoon Network is just another word for saying "The Devil"

I'm going to start spamming this link!

Play Gundam! PLAY THE WORLD!
Post Reply

Return to “Game Releases”