Messages

1

Skyward Collapse / Re: First expansion discussion (split from other thread)

« on: June 14, 2013, 12:31:18 PM »

I really doubt it, but I guess you never know.  I listed a lot of problems above, which I feel like are pretty intractible.  Remember that the interface has to fit in 1024x720 pixels of space.  Right now there is no room to do more factions at once without either changing the top bar GUI heavily or breaking that rule.

Yeah, I meant it mostly tongue in cheek. But, I thought it was interesting that you said you would need new "big" features in the future, and then listed a giant one! 

Maybe they would be configurable, yet uncontrollable, factions similar to bandits?

Sorry! Getting too far ahead. I have barely scratched the surface of what you have given us already to be asking for more. 

2

Skyward Collapse / Re: First expansion discussion (split from other thread)

« on: June 14, 2013, 12:11:49 PM »

. . . there also needs to be another "anchor feature" . . .

. . . Regarding the civilizations, bear in mind that you're only ever seeing two at once . . .

For far in the future... potential new expansion feature? 

3

Skyward Collapse / Re: Skyward Collapse 1.005 "Player's Choice" Released!

« on: May 28, 2013, 12:36:19 PM »

  "Human energy" or something. 

Prayers? Faith?  The myths can't exist without there being people to believe in them!

4

Skyward Collapse / Re: Skyward Collapse 1.005 "Player's Choice" Released!

« on: May 28, 2013, 10:06:01 AM »

I see. Well there are enough uncrossable tiles in the game. Why not just make it such that mountains can only ever be crossed one tile at a time (without the flying/mountain crosser ability)?

What about the "standard" tower defense trope of "mountains are impassable if there is a path, and crossable if there is not."

5

Skyward Collapse / Re: Skyward Collapse 1.005 "Player's Choice" Released!

« on: May 28, 2013, 09:56:03 AM »

What if, for every turn that a town center is cut off from any other, a point penalty is applied. Then, iwalling off a town could actually turn into a risky, short turn maneuver instead of cheese. A player would have to weigh the pros and cons to weather an attack with such a trick.

6

Skyward Collapse / Re: Release Time?

« on: May 23, 2013, 02:08:42 PM »

Would our purchases on steam help you the most the first day, or would you want some to wait till the weekend?

7

Skyward Collapse / Re: Skyward Collapse Alpha 0.907

« on: May 20, 2013, 11:55:03 AM »

What sort of bindings do you mean, precisely?  "open various sidebar categories?"  "directly go into placement mode for x building?"

I would like a binding per "sidebar category" and then, with a category open, a separate binding for each item. Kind of like most RTS games, actually.

Mantis here.

8

Skyward Collapse / Re: Skyward Collapse Alpha 0.907

« on: May 20, 2013, 11:36:49 AM »

I know I'm probably an outlier in playing this game with a net book, but I would really love more keyboard shortcuts. Just the bindings, even. I'll come up with the mapping. I actually already started with Auto Hotkey.

9

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 03:36:48 PM »

  I mean, I don't need stuff that can't fit in that timeframe at the moment

From a gameplay perspective, I think aligning the goals is a really good idea. Turning turn count into a turn limit to achieve "X" sounds, in my completely unknowledgeable opinion, "not too hard" (please don't hit me  )

This is a little offtopic for this thread, but from a marketing/theme perspective, I also think bringing more of the "middle management" aspect to the forefront would help give the game an identity. You had said earlier that it really made Skyward unique, and I think it needs to be seen. This would be just in flavor text thrown around, no real "changes" to gameplay.

The tutorial says "Your job as The Creator" could actually reference "your job." Instead of "This tutorial" it could say this "new-hire orientation". It would give the game a true, unique, identity that other sites could use as a tagline. If the one sentence description of your game is both accurate, catchy and funny, it could only help.

10

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 02:30:05 PM »

. . .you are correct that the goal of the game was originally "cause as much carnage as possible while still living."  I mean, that's what was in our original design doc, and was always our intent.  And it's an idea that I like... but I'm not sure if the game has moved on from that.  I think some of the players who talked about the game getting too impossibly hard if we combined woes with a score cap have a really good point.

Totally last minute ideas, yes. Sorry about that. But, to continue what Mick said. The rounds could have a time limit, say. If, not enough carnage is caused by turn 40 (or whatever the turn option is set to) then you lose. So the phases go by as is, but you might get some more feedback earlier that you aren't doing well. Then the phases could be used as checkpoints.

we're expected to deliver a press build tomorrow, so I'm flipping the heck out.

With that, then, I am going to stop. Best of luck, we're all rooting for you.

11

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 01:10:01 PM »

No, you're right, I got carried away

I'll just say: Middle Management needs to be emphasized, score should be bonus pay.

12

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 01:02:20 PM »

Yeah, I was wrong about the meteors.

But I really think the middle management thing should be shown off more. All the other players are our co-workers. Maybe we are vying for a promotion? Instead of an "account level" we could have a job title!

By encouraging the correct behavior with score also limits your need to stop exploits (for victory that is).

The middle management could also be increased by putting the unlocks in an upgrade shop. Even if each win were to give enough money to buy the next rank, it wouldn't change the balance. Then, the player who really "gets" the game might unlock things a little faster.  A player who is still struggling with it might win a game, but only get, say, 80% progress to the next unlock. That person might not be ready for new tiles just yet.

Also, I want to see the backstory you come up with for this! Your tutorials become training sessions. Much more room for snark, too I think the attitude and tone of the writing would fit really, really well as coming from HR. 

_{Edit: Remove functional change suggestions}

13

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 12:47:32 PM »

Actually, new idea. This game is starting to remind me of that downhill snowboarding game from the PS2, SSX. I bet you weren't expecting that!

In that game, you have to win a race against a clock. The only thing that mattered is if you could reach each checkpoint before the timer went down. You could just go straight through the whole thing, seeing the sites and "win".  Or, you could take the long way, go over jumps and do all sorts of tricks. Then, you would get a huge score, but a score that wouldn't matter at all if you couldn't finish the race.

That's what Skyward is like. The goal is to simply "beat the clock" of everyone killing themselves. The tricks are all the carnage that occurs.

I say really pump up the "middle management" angle on the game. Your "boss" wants carnage, that's you whole purpose. Maybe it's because the boss likes testing humans? Creating an army of souls? Looking for someone? Whatever, but it's your job. Instead of a goal, it could be a bonus!

It takes energy beyond your abilities to start from scratch, so if you fully "break" your toy of a world, you get fired. If you can make it to the end of a "work shift" without destroying everything, you get paid. If you play it safe and the boss doesn't get what he wants, no bonus! However, the more death and war and destruction that occurs increases your bonus.

Really doesn't change anything beyond story points, but might make the player want to play "right" more with a better connection to the scoring system. 

14

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 12:33:57 PM »

Well, the rule is now 16, so it's unlike to come up very often.  But it's one of those things that prevents you from just building super-stacks way out into nowhere.  It's more of a "total board size" sort of thing in this regard, and I think it feels a lot more natural and certainly prevents cheese.

I still think I would like a meteor to hit towns that are isolated or, really, anything in the game over the UI just not letting me click there.

15

Skyward Collapse / Re: Developers requesting feedback: Warfare Points (Return of Points)?

« on: May 19, 2013, 12:22:46 PM »

Any point system also goes to show that a "cheesy" victory is undesirable. Without actually failing, you can just win poorly. Scores can be used to direct players to play a certain way.

Requiring town buildings to be near centers makes sense. The new rule of "keep towns 8 spaces from the enemy" seems strange from a restriction standpoint. Arbitrary even. If, however, close towns gave a score boost, and maybe isolated towns reduced the score, you could influence player behavior in a more subtle way. And, let people who want to play "cheesy" just win with a negative score.