Spring RTS Engine

Could you make byte more strong when it is not opened? DamageModifier is the key, if i remember correctly...

I think changing the script to support that is my job. But why exactly does it need a strength boost for that? Is there any situation where it's closed and taking fire?

Well, you could make tactics with it, if many bits comes to one lonely byte, you could just close it, and bits would kill it slower, this game is all about time, right?

You'd have to give it an on/off feature for that. And to be honest I think that kind of micro is not something that would make KP better.

You could use hold fire but still, I don't think it's useful.

Well, i think its useful, because the time is only value in this game... if you lose some unit, its like losing last 28.1 seconds for building it, and you can build them only one by one...

Well yes but they take long enough to kill already. It's not like bytes need to be even stronger to justify building them.

Hm, one thought I had about damage modifiers would be making units invincible while they are under construction and possibly a short period afterwards, of course coupled with lower building HP. That way the fight wouldn't be completely over when one player lost all defenders as the factory could still make units that would do a few seconds worth of damage. Not enough to break a real assault (and of course the building should fall quicker than it does now) but keeps it interesting.

Meanwhile a large damage multiplier could be given to sockets under construction so it's viable to kill the construction instead of aiming only for the builder.

Good idea KDR, thats always bothered me that once a unit attacks a building the building cant build aslong as the units still attacking.

You could put a small shield on the Kernel - small enough that units can't get inside and attack the units under-contruction. Then the player wouldn't be completely screwed until the shield was broken.

Alternately, allow the Kernel to build an "emergency defense" unit... a big immobile turret that builds instantly, self destructs harmlessly, but blocks the exit of the Kernel.

I don't think a shield would be a good idea, that'd protect the Kernel, too.

I've uploaded a test version here that includes corpses and a few other changes I've suggested here. I think only the corpses will change the fundamental gameplay and I wonder how that change will be?

I hope you can walk through corpses?

Some test runs with those changes seem good but bits stand little chance against bytes with corpses in the game as dead bits no longer leave an opening for other bits to shoot through. Letting bits shoot through each other is very useful but I don't know how to make them shoot through features. Collidefeature=0 prevents the projectile from hitting features but the aiming code doesn't know that.

Trademark: No, you can't I think it was like that in the original Madness so I've made these corpses impassable (they'd be of no value otherwise, it's not like there's any metal to reclaim).

Pxtl wrote:Alternately, allow the Kernel to build an "emergency defense" unit... a big immobile turret that builds instantly, self destructs harmlessly, but blocks the exit of the Kernel.

I like this idea. The player can protect if they need to, but they can't build units while it's up.

Candleman wrote:

Pxtl wrote:Alternately, allow the Kernel to build an "emergency defense" unit... a big immobile turret that builds instantly, self destructs harmlessly, but blocks the exit of the Kernel.

I like this idea. The player can protect if they need to, but they can't build units while it's up.

But that would be your defeat since it would put you on defensive position and a good player would keep attacking you all time after that to keep you from making units.

After helping KDR test a bit today,
i think that even such a defencive weapon is no use,
only if it was build able by the sockets as well,
because if you have lots of enemies next to your kernel you lost no matter what.
Its just to slippery slope for that to help.

The radar dots could need a work over, the squares are all the same size (buildings/pointer) and the circles are opposite proportional (mine is the biggest/byte the smallest)
And if you zoom far out pointers vanish to a grey square.

The only idea against slippery slope i have would be:
the more units you have the slower your kernel produces,
but your sockets keep there speed.
Would also nerf porcing (at least collecting loads of bits)

But might also create infinite games...

manored wrote: But that would be your defeat since it would put you on defensive position and a good player would keep attacking you all time after that to keep you from making units.

Good point, I hadn't thought of it that way.

I don't think a shield would be a good idea, that'd protect the Kernel, too.

The point is that the kernels HP would be replaced by the shield. When the shield goes down, the kernel dies very quickly.

The only real difference this makes is that whatever is inside the kernel is protected from attack as long as the kernel is alive (IE as long as its shield is up).

Of course it means a bunch of other stuff can be done- you can make the kernel's HP essentially be your energy bar, and increase the regen rate depending on how many sockets there are (Make sockets produce e), or even reduce it (Make something drain e) as well as a bunch of other stuff- of course you dont have to, but you can.

There is probably a way to protect the unit being built by using the model itself (Or those nifty custom build fx, but i dont know what is possible with them) if you want to go that route.

The kernel is a factory, you could always just drive into it and attack it from there. Shields can't prevent enemies from moving into them.

And as I said, units are now invulnerable during construction. No need for further shields or other nonsense.

Could you fix that one unitpic "logic_bomb.jpg", which is really BMP, but named as JPG.