Troopers (Real-Time Strategy) - UPDATED: 03-27-05!

[DoorKnobHandle]

T R O O P E R S

Updated on: 03-27-05

Welcome to the 'Troopers' project.
'Troopers' is a real-time strategy game just like Westwoods 'Command&Conquer', Blizzards 'StarCraft' or Microsofts 'Age Of Empires'... It combines elements of all those great and unique games to create something new...
It is entirely written in AGS and does not even use any plug-ins at all...

This is the most current screenshot:



Thanks to 'Neutron' for most of the new visuals!

To find out more, check the official website...

Featurelist:

- Real-time action!
- Create new units, build new structures and develop new techniques to improve your strength!
- Enjoy a very intuitive and comfortable way of controlling your units!
- Atmospheric story in 'Campaign Mode'!
- Tons of new challenges in 'Battle Mode' (You can also create your own levels using the available 'Troopers Level Editor' - Make sure to share your levels with all the other players online and to download additional battle scenarions as well)!
- Great MP3-Soundtrack!
- Video cutscenes!

[Redwall]

In Command & Conquer it's left click to move/attack and right click to deselect. So not just like Command & Conquer.

Great job, though! I was working on something like this a while back. I'm curious, how did you handle unit creating?

[DoorKnobHandle]

I write all my functions that handle units very open so they dont go only for one character
but for every existing unit and then I set a limit (for example right now you can have a maximum
of 20 soldiers at the same time) and I export one soldier character and import it 19 times to get
the 20 units. Then I read from the map file with how many soldiers you start at what x,y place
they start...

This is how it works right now...

ANd thanks for pointing that out for me with the C&C Controls. Well, my way is very easy and
actually similar to how you select files in Windows, so it should be very intuitive for everybody!

[foz]

Looks like MIA has some competition........

Looks good so far....

Since starting MIA i have now thought of better ways of making the code for this sort of game.....

Be prepared for lots of bugs and problems....i was`nt.....but  i`m getting used to it.

I decided on just an action game as the strategy would have been harder to make......

GOOD LUCK.....hope you can finish it.

[Darth Mandarb]

Please add 1 more screenshot (as per the forum rules).

[DoorKnobHandle]

ok. I'll add the screenshot in a second...

it is really hard to create this kind of games using AGS and it requires a lot of scripting skills.

I hope I can finish it...

EDIT: There goes the screenshot...


What we see here is the "Create Unit" Menu, that opens up when you
select one of your facility buildings and press the "Create..." Button.
Right now it only features the soldier for 200$ and 1 Energy Point...

Oh yes and you can see my approach to a rawdraw radar screen on the
left top corner of the screen, but I'm still working on it.

Sorry for the prealpha or placeholder gfx.

I'll release a alpha pretty soon I hope, but it is just going to include very
little gameplay, it's more for people to see the technical abilities of the game.

Thanks for the attention...

EDIT:

THere are three tanks and several soldiers. I don't show the
jeep yet because his sprite is just too ugly...

[DoorKnobHandle]

Ok, progress is going good so far.


We see a different scenerio here with the tank, several turrets
and apaches. Also new is the radar map.

You can build those turrets just like in C&C now, you create them,
then you can place 'em with your cursor and there is this red/green
tint over them wether you can build 'em there or not and then you
place them. Pretty cool, but the new apaches rock as well.

Also useful is the new radar map, it works with raw draw but only
updates every fifteenth game cycle right now, so it does not
slow down the game at all (The FPS count is still at 39 FPS...)

Just thought I should show you guys that progress...

[Ishmael]

Looks cool

I'd want to help out with the unit handling, since I have some faint visions about how to get a 200 men army roaming the scape... But my schedules are a bit questionable around this time. Just thought if you want any help... (I don't know if I actually can help, but I've been thinking of making a strategy game with AGS too, thus I have some visions about how things would work, but that projects been on ice for some time...)

[DoorKnobHandle]

Ok, a playable demo is coming really soon.

I am not going to give you more screenshots but I
can tell you that the game now features a new
graphical interface, more gameplay features (like
a nuclear bomb, an airport which is required
in order to create apaches etc...) and less bugs.

Also, it is going to include single/ multiplayer games
with several different game modes, like "Deathmatch"
(You have to kill every enemy unit to win), "VIP"
(The player loses, who first loses his VIP unit and
"King of the Hill" (A game takes either 15, 30, 45 or
60 minutes and you gain points every second you are
controlling the hill in the middle of the map with same
distance to every players base. After that amount of
time the player with the most points/who controlled
that hill the longest time wins...).

If you have any more ideas or suggestions on other
game modes or anything else in the game, make sure
to let me now, because now is the time I'm building
it in...

Thanks!

EDIT: Oh and now we got an announcer who announces
things like 'Nuclear Bomb in development' or 'Nuclear Air
Strike ahead' with a really cool voice!

[Gregjazz]

Looks like MIA has some competition........

Just what I was thinking...

Looks good so far!

[DoorKnobHandle]

Hey,

Thank you for all the comments and interest...

Since it is going to take me atleast one more week with that playable demo-version
of "Troopers", I decided to show you more screenshots out of the current version,
so you can make sure my progress is doing good...


The Main Menu


The new interface design, the airport building and a better radar map...


The new "Create Unit"-Interface and the african scenario...

Keep me up to date with your thoughts about this project...

[Pizzaman]

So how is multiplayer going to work?  Are you making it TCP/IP?  This should be interesting.

-Pizzaman

[DoorKnobHandle]

Are you making it TCP/IP?

That is exactly what I am planning to do, I already have the plug-in and will start
learning everything about it right after I released that playable demo (which is not
going to include multiplayer, but it is going to be available in the full-version)...

The things left to for me are Attack Code, AI, Level Editor, Complete Visuals, Adding ways to gain money (maybe just that you get a special amount of money every xth seconds). Thats it.

Of course, the demo will only feature two levels, no multiplayer and no level editor.

The rest is comming with the full version.

[Ishmael]

Adding ways to gain money (maybe just that you get a special amount of money every xth seconds). Thats it.

I think the easies way around to make it decent would be what was used in Battle For Middle Earth: You need to construct certain structures, like a slaugherhouse (but that probably wouldn't fit into a modern setting...) that produces certain amount of money at a set interval, like one structure gives you 10 credits every 5 seconds or something...

[DoorKnobHandle]

That is exactly how I have it set up right now...

You have to build an oil raffinery structure, and this oil raffinery gives you 5000 $ every minute, of course if you need more money, you can always build up to three oil raffineries, which will give you a 5000 $ plus every minute, so up to 15.000 $ right now, although I am not done with the balancing process...

And you can built more powerplants as well if you need more energy, since every unit is not only taking away money but also energy... (just like in C&C...)

[DoorKnobHandle]

A DEMO IS RELEASED...

LINK: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=503

Please try it out and give me your opinion about the game.

Keep in mind that some of the sprites are still placeholders and that not all
features are entirely implemented yet. Read game description or readme.txt
for details.

Have fun with it!

[foz]

Hi

I like a lot of what you have done...it is obviously still very early in devolopment but has some good ideas...

I think you should put your area scanner inside a gui and over lay it...as when the screen is scrolled the dots move...udating a bit behind...i think the gui should sort this..

Also the selection square is great and something i wanted to add in MIA ....but it doesnt update properly leaving a trail of squares as you open it...

I think this is good work so far....i predict that you have a hell of a lot still to do...

[DoorKnobHandle]

i predict that you have a hell of a lot still to do...

that sure is true...

I know that the selection rectangle and the radar map unit dots are a little bit behind,
that is because they are only updated every tenth game cycle instead of every one.

If you put it to every game cycle, the game would be very slow since both features are using
raw draw. But there is going to be an option in the full version where you can actually adjust
that value (Update Rate from every 25th frame to every frame...). Users with faster CPUs can
go lower and users with older computers can go higher when adjusting this option and it is
going to be perfect for everyone...

[DoorKnobHandle]

I'm warming up this thread because there has been a major update for "Troopers"...


New are the visuals (units, buildings, guis etc.), now the radar map shows you where your screen is at and it shows you if an object is friendly or not, if it is a building or a unit and if it is selected or not using red and green color code combined with different shades (so selected and friendly units are bright green, friendly units not selected are medium green and not selected buildings are dark... Same goes for enemy objects using red), also new are the smaller and nicer cursors. What you cannot see on the pictures is that I've been fixing major bugs in the game. It is starting to get bigger.

Please tell me what you think especially concerning the new visuals, so I can really make this project/game good...

Thanks!

[Moox]

I like the new look, the iso is really nice, whens the demo due out man?