Class Listing (So Far)

Subject: Project RTS Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:54 pm

The game's an RTS (real time strategy), there are three primary teams: bugs, dragonoids, and humaoids. It's based in a kind of cratter where a chunk of meteor hit the planet and awaked the dragonoids from within the planet's crust, caused the bugs to form one really big colony, and the humanoids to become curios and launch explorations into the cratter. something inside of the meteor chunk has caused the cratter to be alive with vegitation and new mystical creature (centaurs, werewolves, vampires, ect.). The mystical creatures are thus far called "convincibles" because they can be convinced to aid a player's (or computer's) team in skirmishes and missions.

Each team has it's own story built around a central plot. However, the Bugs group has two seperate sub-groups, each with its own story at the start. These two groups are the two land-based colony bugs, Ants and Termites.

The ants and termites do eventially come together, but only after a civil war of sorts. They first go through a series of "diplomatic" scenarios of getting larger bugs on their side.

Out of the three, the bugs have the cheapest, most quicky produced, and weakest units. They're basically for swarming. The dragonoids have the strongest and most costly units, but the slowest unit production. The humanoids are somwhere inbetween, I haven't really given them much thought.

The landscape is mostly forested with hills and mountains, I originally pictured the whole thing taking place in a massive crater where almost everything is downhill, with clifflike protrutions around , and a lake in the basin fed by streams that have erupted from the sides.

The unit advancement is similar to that of Final Fantasy Tactics, where a certain unit must advance to a certain level in one class before it can become stronger (example: sqires have to get to lvl2 to become a Night or Archer, the Night needs to be lvl2 to become a Monk which needs to be lvl4 to become a geomancer, ect.). The diference being that the player gets way more units so we'll have a bar to the side that tells the player how many can be advanced and a button will be next to it for the player to select all those ready for training. Also I don't think we'll have near as many job classes (maybe 7 or 8 total instead of FFT's 20-some), but we could just plan make it REALLY complex and have an available 20 classes with selectable special abilities for each the can be set to be used a certain percnt of the time.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:38 pm

I'm trying to avoid flight in this game, but I supose that they could just hover. Who knows maybe I'll throw in flight, we'll see. for now all the units I have are ground oriented. Lots of tunneling stuff so ant and/or termites or some equivelent are a necessity.

On the bug subject: lucky for us we have a couple hundred insect families to choose from, each with a couple dozen sub-species. I would lke everyone to send me a list of bugs they would like to see in the game and try to avoid genralities like "beetles" or "crickets". There are half a dozen or so species of crickets and over six hundred types of beetles.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:47 am

How about crickets, they might not seem that interesting or have different types, but check out this site.

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/crickets.html

Subject: And here it is: Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:17 pm

Menus:

Units:
Humanoids, Dragonoids/Lizardmen, and Goblin/Orcs produce a multipurpose unit from their Starting garrison/Command Center. This unit is an unarmed, basically trained soldier; he can gather resources or be sent to an armory to be equipped with weapons and armor, then a stable to receive a mount.
Mounts are whatever creature the player or A.I. has on hand; this can range greatly:

Capturing and breeding open the doors for capturing bugs, trolls, and dragons and breeding chimeras and the like.
Bugs don't get mounts. They also cannot get armor except in a to-be-explained circumstance.
Other units are to come (feel free to suggest something)

Base construction: Give players the option of selecting a type of build they would like to have and letting the computer build it for them or they can micromanage. Also give players the ability to tell the computer how many of a type of unit they want and let the computer produce them. Also, players will be able to build castles/fortresses by building structure close together and attaching them with certain defensive structure. Castles can be built stand alone, between, against, and inside mountains, in valleys, along crater walls, or even underground. This means that players get to storm castles.
When storming a castle one must first get inside, this can be achieved by employing one of several methods. The invader may construct various siege weapons to pound away at the gates and walls, but may consider the lengthy approach of starving the castle inhabitants to death. Beware of counter siege weapons. Once an invader has managed to get inside of a castle, the camera follows the units into the castle and a new window opens on the screen to show what's going on in the rest of the world. The new screen may be scrolled with use if onscreen buttons or assigned keys, and the two screens are interchangeable with the click of a button.

Group assignments and unit commands: Pretty much like any other rts game the player can set units into groups, but expand its potential allow for specific or general group instructions.
Instructions? Ever wished in an rts you could have a group/squad of one type of unit attack the front lines to draw out the defense and send another just outside range to attack the undefended base without having to go back and forth between the two groups? This is that. Give a unit or group movement orders and then set radial waypoints so the unit or group will avoid a certain area of map or terrain.

Special modes: Co-op (A.K.A. teams) and Underling mode.
Co-op is teaming up with another player or an AI. As a team, players can request resources, construct team castles, and equip allies with armor. For example, it would be to no avail for a human to give armor to another human, their stuff's all the same, but say if a goblin and bug were teamed, the goblin could equip the bug units with armor. So picture a two-ton rhinoceros beetle charging the gates of your castle. Got It? Now picture a two-ton rhinoceros beetle with an iron plated horn. Now picture said iron platted horn bristling with spikes. Got that one? Now picture three, two ton rhinoceros beetles with an iron plated horns bristling with spikes charging your castle gates and pulling a siege tower full of goblins and trolls and crawling with 500 pound spiders and 100 pound fire ants.
Underling mode is similar to co-op mode, but instead of allies you have AI slaves. A player’s maximum population is cut in half and underlings' max populations are cut into quarters or tenths. The player sets the underlings to operate in certain manners by giving them specific commands. These commands are as follows:

Resources and what they're for:
Resources are used to feed your units; meaning a constant drain on food stores. Making armor, weapons, siege machines, and buildings. And paying for special units. The resources of this game are food, water, wood, ores and raw metals, and precious stones and gems. Food and water are used to maintain units; the more units a player has the bigger the drain on his food and water stores. If a player were ever to run out of food or water his units would start to lose health points. Wood is used in construction of buildings and siege machines. Ores and metals are refined and used for armor, weapons, siege machines, and some buildings. Precious metals and gems are used to pay for certain units; for example: high level dragons don't come cheap, they always want some sort of payment and have a natural obsession with all things shiny; goblin sorcerers will want payment for their services, whether they are summoning some otherworldly being, sucking a castle wall into an event horizon, or cursing a high level dragon; and human super-units always want reimbursement for every enemy they kill.

Spending the resources is easy; it's getting them that is difficult. Food can be hunted or harvested. Water can be collected from rain, streams, and ponds or lakes. Ores, raw metals, and precious metals and gems must be mined and then refined/purified. Or the player could just steal it from other players or AI's. Yes, I said "steal". Specially trained units and sneak into an enemy base and steal resources, or open castle gates, or assonate enemy units. Lots of fun.

Subject: i like Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:27 pm

ben u have put some time into this i like it.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:05 pm

actually it only took a maximum of about two hours. I was impressed.

guidlines for anyone wanting to take a crack at writing a story for this:

MASSIVE

I'll add more if and when I think of something.

Guest

Oh wow...yeah, this is definitely our main focus. Gonna take a heckuva lot of time and effort. I understand the setup ok, just got some questions. In battle mode, does it show a battle screen like the default system, or will they attack each other on the map?

I really like the freedom with this...importing your own music sounds like an incredible idea. Everything sounds great. Here are some bug suggestions:

Stag Beetle
Wolf Spider
Hornet / Wasp
Cicada
Preying Mantis
Grasshopper
Moth / Butterfly
Orb Web Weaver
Dragonfly

Just a few ideas. I think we're already using some of them.

Guest

---OASIS---

(This is just a brief description of the game. If I got anything wrong or you don't like my ideas, then please tell me. You'll have to read the earlier posts if you want the fine details).

The humanoids have recently discovered a lone asteroid cruising through space which they intend to explore, due to an enigmatic crater (roughly the size of Japan) on its surface. They have named their discovery Oasis. This crater somehow sprouts life...forests, jungles, and a giant lake at the bottom. A recent collision of celestial bodies has awakened the dragonoids on the surface, which hold the secret to this source of life. They will die to protect it from invaders. The insectovoids have also been awakened, and they have come to the crust from beneath to devour the rich supplies in the crater.

Each class has human intelligence, and there are creatures called "convincibles" that have come from a portal in the planet's core. There are many mythical creatures, as well as earth-like mammals, which can be used for almost any purpose for any side. The player decides everything...whether to band the humanoids together with the dragonoids and fight off the insects, or vice-versa, or even more combinations. Everything is left up to choice. Now watch and see as worlds collide in...Oasis.

>>>On a side note, in the class system there are the three divisions of species. Then there are types of each species. Then there are seven levels of each type. And on each level, the characters advance by decimals (for example, a Soldier...Level 1 Footsoldier of the Humanoids, by the way...could be an individual character at level 5 out of 7. They would be listed as Level 1.5 Footsoldier). Confusing? Maybe there's a better way, but for now I'll incorporate this idea.

(Humanoid Story)

>>>There is a beginning description similar to the first story, only mainly from the humanoids' perspective and what they know. An image of Oasis is shown in the background during all this. Then, it fades to show a barren landscape. Suddenly, a squad of Moonsoldiers (Level 2 Humanoid Footsoldiers) dash up from the bottom. They scan the area, then move forward and stop. From downscreen comes a Colonel (Level 3 Humanoid Leader) named Marx.

Col. Marx: Any signs of danger?

Hawthorne (Moonsoldier): No sir. The place is dead silent.

Bennett (Moonsoldier): As if we could hear anything in space.

Stone (Technician): We're kinda freaked out here, Bennett. It's not everyday you find an asteroid with a JUNGLE on it.
(Technicians are Level 1 Humanoid Operators)

Col. Marx: Anything could be over this ridge. We have to take maximum precautions.

Hawthorne: I'm getting enormous bio-signals. The only thing is, these scanners confuse vegetation with actual beings. Sucks for us, huh?

Bennett: Hey, as long as we don't get eaten by giant bugs or something.

>>>Right here, you can make the colonel's decision on who to send over the ridge first. You choose two soldiers from the following menu of units:

Col. Marx: Hmmm, I'll have to send two soldiers...

Hawthorne - Moonsoldier, Level 2.4 - White male, age 24, skills are Stealth and Firearms
Bennett - Moonsoldier, Level 2.5 - Black male, age 32, skills are Warrior and Firearms
Richardson - Moonsoldier, Level 2.4 - White female, age 26, skills are Firearms and Hand-to-Hand
Jiro - Moonsoldier, Level 2.5 - Asian male, age 30, skills are Sniper and Blade
Darkhart - Moonsoldier, Level 2.5 - White female, age 41, skills are Blade and Explosives

>>>Once you select which two to send, the units will automatically walk up to the cliff face and fire their cables.

Hawthorne (If selected): We'll report once we reach the other side, Colonel.

Bennett (If selected): All right, we'll let you know what's up.

Richardson (If selected): Thank you, Colonel. We'll get back to you when we arrive.

Jiro (If selected): It is an honor, sir. We will inform you of our status.

Darkhart (If selected): We'll give you the lowdown once we're there, sir.

>>>The two units ascend on their cables out of camera view.

Col. Marx: All right, let's wait for their update. Giovanni, get the supplies set up. We don't know what's out there.

>>>The scene ends for now.

Guest

There are three races, each with 5 specifications of type, each with 7 classes, and each individual character can level up 7 times before advancing.

...Humanoids...

>>>Leaders>>>
(They make decisions on the field, as well as fighting)
1---Captain
2---Corporal
3---Colonel
4---Commando
5---Regional
6---Admiral
7---General

>>>Spies>>>
(They can get information or carry out dirty jobs away from the fighting)
1---Scout
2---Raider
3---Informant
4---Assassin
5---Edge
6---Ninja
7---Shadow

>>>Footsoldiers>>>
(These are the fighters on the battlefield)
1---Soldier
2---Moonsoldier
3---Trooper
4---Frontliner
5---Halberdier
6---Elite
7---Titan

>>>Operators>>>
(They operate most of the technical equipment from backfield, storing items and secret weapons)
1---Technician
2---Communicator
3---Filer
4---Coder
5---Hacker
6---Systemator
7---Monitor

>>>Workers>>>
(Not divided into classes, simply based on a skill level of 1-7. They transport goods on the field)

...Dragonoids...

>>>Leaders>>>
(Like the humans, Dragonoid Leaders make the decisions and also fight)
1---Head
2---Lieutenant
3---Veteran
4---Guardian
5---Overseer
6---Right Claw
7---Dragonlord

>>>Spies>>>
(Again like humans, spies can sneak into enemy ground to carry out missions)
1---Hunter
2---Seeker
3---Destroyer
4---Apprehender
5---Tormentor
6---Vague
7---Umbra

>>>Warriors>>>
(These are the footsoldiers of the dragonoids. They do all the fighting)
1---Buccaneer
2---Mercenary
3---Knight
4---Swordbearer
5---Cavalry
6---Elemental
7---Warlord

>>>Sorcerers>>>
(These are dragons that use magic from backfield)
1---Mage
2---Conjurer
3---Magician
4---Wizard
5---Sage
6---Seer
7---Master

>>>Transporters>>>
(These aren't divided into classes, there are simply 7 levels of skill for transporting goods)

...Insectovoids...

>>>Leaders>>>
(There is always a leader of the colony. They control the unit)
1---Sergeant
2---Lieutenant
3---Commadeur
4---Keepholder
5---Father
6---Queen's Aide
7---Hive Queen

>>>Drones>>>
(These are used to make pathways. They can dig, build bridges, etc)
1---Digger
2---Worker
3---Burrower
4---Tunneler
5---Explorer
6---Opener
7---Pathfinder

>>>Fighters>>>
(These take care of the enemies encountered in battle)
1---Biter
2---Stinger
3---Slasher
4---Killer
5---Devourer
6---Parasite
7---Malevolent

>>>Aerials>>>
(These fly up in the air near the back and strike from the skies)
1---Hoverer
2---Flyer
3---Diver
4---Striker
5---Bolter
6---Screamer
7---Death From The Sky

>>>Movers>>>
(These are only divided into 7 skill levels. They transport items and other things)

...Abominable Conclave... ((Goblins, Orcs, Trolls)
>>>Leaders>>>
1---
2---
3---
4---
5---
6---
7---

>>>Infantry>>>
1---Grunt
2---Minion
3---Toad
4---Raider
5---Smasher
6---Heavy
7---Crasher

>>>Shamans>>>
1---Caller
2---Breaker
3---Stormwrit
4---Destroyer
5---Explosion
6---Summoner
7---High Shaman

>>>Trustees>>>
(These aren't divided into classes, there are simply 7 levels of skill for transporting goods)
The leader classes haven’t been filled in yet. These are still open for discussion.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Thu May 17, 2007 1:35 pm

For the Goblins:
Leaders:
1- Taskmaster
2- Blight
3- Feurer
4- Viscount
5- Bitter Lord
6- Terror
7- Catastrophy

Guest

Thanks, Ben. Ok, we have all the class listings now. Refer to this thread if you are confused or have questions. Heck, if you want to, you can even print it out for future reference. I guess this is it for now.

Guest

So let me get this straight... You have a solider, and it can level up 7 times. On the next level up, it becomes a MoonSoldier?

Guest

Yeah, I think you got it right. But did we change something about the level-up/class-system when we had that one meeting a long time ago(I'm not sure if those things were ever posted here)...? Does anyone remember? I checked my message history, and there was some talk about 7 levels being too much and instead there should be upgrades, which would affect all units. These can be obtained when a certain amount of experience is gained. But at that point we thought the game would be an RTS and the whole idea with the upgrades was based on the fact that units in RTS:s die quickly and cannot be restored.

But since we're back to making it a TBS, the 7 level-system should be fine in my opinion...? Sigh. I guess I'm still a bit confused about this, hehe. Laughing

Guest

And how units are gained, and how they go up a class, and what are the benefits, and... there's a lot.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:59 pm

First off, thank you for asking these questions. These are issues we have yet to pay enough attention to.

Here're the answers I've formulated-
Question 1: Soldiers level up 7 times and at lvl 8 become lvl 1 Moonsoldiers?
Answer: Yep that's the idea, but it'll be optional to make them Moonsoldiers, a player could just keep their lvl 7 Soldier.

Question 2: How are units gained?
Answer: Simple, you buy them. Each race has its own methods of producing units but in some way or another they are bought. Humans send up food valuable materials to a mothership of sorts on a shuttle and the shuttle brings back new units; the Goblins and Dragonoids take food and resources to a central hive or lair which then produces a new unit(s) over a set period of time. Also, since later in the game fresh Soldier-level units would be eaten alive (very literally in some cases), Upper lvl units will be available at higher prices.

Question 3: What are the benefits of leveling up and gaining new classes?
Answer: They get better at what they do as they lvl up and move up the ranks.

Question 4: How do units gain experience points?
Answer: By doing what they do. Examples-- soldiers get points for participating in battle, attacking and defeating opponents; workers get points for working, moving stuff, building stuff ect.; leaders get points for combat and directing troop movements.

Guest

Wow, there's so many ranks. Shouldn't we do like you have two optionas at each "class change", and maybe that happens 3 times? That allows for making the game less linear.

Also, are we planning on having "heroes" in this game?

Also, (I'm assuming this is a yes), do characters carry over from battle to battle. If so, are they stored in a building or something, or do they all start on the field. I'd recomend they start in the main base or something, so the field isn't over crowded.

Another question, with scenery in the game, how would we stop units ffrom being covered. Would we simply make them semitransparent?

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:26 pm

I don't know much about toolkit, but is it possible to rotate the screen to a different angle in-game?

Guest

That was what I thought. Anything is possible, its a question of how practical it would be. There's no rotate function, we'd have to make something that erases and redraws the screen. We can try it, but no gaurantees.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:33 pm

erases and redraws the screen, but what timespan are we looking at for redrawing the screen? we don't want to lag the experience. Perhaps a function that will render terrain objects semi-transparent when a character goes behind it.

Guest

When a character moves behind something, it automatically semitransparentizes it (I think). SO I advise we just go with that.

Guest

In the TK that I use, if a sprite goes onto an "Under" tile, it becomes transparent all over. I don't know what the new TK does, but I'm assuming the same thing.

Guest

Lookin at all this stuff here, a lot of it is impossible, such as the popup window castle seige, and possibly the "select music from your compuer" thing.

But here are some gameplay ideas of mine:

Leaders: The more of these you have, the more turns you may take per "segmen". A segment is the time before both player's turn counters are renewed. You start with a generic leader, and may furth specialize them in different way, such as being an amazing leader, but useless in combat, or a great fighter but a so-so leader, etc.

Footsoldiers: They eventually develop different types of specialization, from snipers to machine gunners to beam sabermen to mortarmen.

Operators: Maybe you can start by choosing between Builder, Destoyer, Stabalizer. Stabalizers and their branches focus on upgrades. Builders... build. Destoyers can hack other systems and such, and maybe they could build units, wheras Builders build buildings. Not too much thought put into it.

Spies: Not quite sure about this one yet.

Workers: Maybe you can have generic ones that can "mine" anything, or specialized onesthat can only "mine" one resource, but are very good at it?

Draganoid:
Possibly combining the DRaganoid Sorcerer class with the Dragonoid Footsoldier class, and making some kin of "drone" class?

Goblinoid:

I'm thinkining these guys lack the technology or magic (although they dabble, and possibly reverse engineer both), they are naturally the most competent. A simple goblinoid fighter may lack a human's armor, but compensates by a thick skin and stamina.

Maybe they also have special skills related to the crater, such as access to naturally occurring poisons and explosives. In addition to shamans, who I'm assuming use a goblinoid form of magic, consider including some kind of eerie cycborg goblin, and a goblin who has "stolen" dragon magic.

Convincibles:

Peraps you an take side-missions in attempts to get certain unis. Like, before attacking the main Goblinoid camp, you could stop at a local lake and attempt to capture some local creatures.

"Native" Convincibles:

Special convincibles that aren't unlocked in the usual way, but aren't part of the typical units. Humans could have mechs, and possibly other aliens, another race could have Golems, etc.

Buildings: At the end of each segment, you get to build new buildings. These come in various sizes and purposes, and some have certain restrictions, but for the most part are all built by builders on flate, clear ground. Each team starts every battle with a ome base, unless it is a special mission. This home base can produce the harvester units, and builder units. From there, build more buildings to make more units. At the end o every battle, the player's leftover units are taken away, and stored in the homebase, to be used again in the next battle.

Resources: Either every segment/turn a harvester spends at a resource spot, more is gained, or they walk up to the hotspot, use "mine" as an action, and hen possibly have to carry it back.

That's about all for now. I love some of Ben's ideas, and I think a lot of our ixdeas are similar/identicle, but I'm presenting an alternate idea of gameplay. f you have any questions on my ideas, or suggestions, feel free to share.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:53 pm

I'm rather liking these ideas of yours, with your toolkit experience they're assumably all workable.
I'm glad you like my ideas as well; the reason why many seem to be unworkable is because I was thinking on a full blown computer game level (which I still hope to reach eventually).

Guest

It's perfectly understandable. Everything I wrote is definately possible to do in Toolkit, and I don't think of it as a DIFFERENT idea from yours, I think of it as an extension of yours.

And we MUST have beam swordsmen. It wouldn't be a scifi game without it. Haveing a Draganoid Unit named Sharmandra wouldn't hurt too.

BY THE WAY: Eveeryone go on Toolkit and go to the toipic: Board Game submissions. My Stratego is there. It's bug ridden and stuff, but it works. Try it, please.

Subject: Re: Class Listing (So Far) Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:04 pm

We'll see. who said anything about your idea being a different one than mine? not me. The swordsman may be workably as a late game hero for the humanoids.

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