Thursday, January 14, 2016

Team Tactics

Team Tactics is a new realtime action multiplayer tactical strategy game that I'm currently developing.  You could probably label it as a MOBA or an ARTS.  Whatever the label, the game works like this: each player controls a single unit, which is on one of two sides (although in the future I might expand this to 3 or 4).  Depending on the mission (or "game mode"), each side has an objective, and the winner is the first to complete this is the winner.


ANOTHER MOBA-STYLE GAME?

Technically yes, but you could probably say something similar about any game since the 1980's.  This is how games progress; almost all games are very similar to what came out before.  But hey, let's not argue about that here - I'm developing this game for several reasons:-

* I like multiplayer games more than single player games.  It's far more fun to play against someone else where you can see their reaction and gain pleasure from their pain (and vice versa of course).

* I like to add new features to games, and this game will have features that no other MOBA has.  Whenever I'm playing a game I always wish I could tweak this or that.  If I have my own MOBA, I can do that.  In addition, if any players request a feature, it's always a pleasure to be able to do that.

* I think true "tactical" MOBA's are a bit thin.  I'm not a gamer, but I can't actually think of another multiplayer tactical game where working as a team is paramount.

* I like developing games, and the best way for me to maintain interest in whatever game I'm currently developing is to have something to aim for, i.e. similar game(s) that I want to reproduce and hopefully improve upon.


WHAT FEATURES WILL IT HAVE?

This is just a brief summary of the main features.  I'll blog about new ideas as I have them:-

* Multiple unit types - this is a no-brainer of course.  They will be different in that some move faster than others or shoot more accurately, but some will have specific skills required for missions.

* Multiple missions - There are currently two missions, The Assassins and Moonbase Assault, more about which I'll do another post.  I might also transpose some of the more interesting missions from Stellar Forces.

* Map editor and easy customisation - I want people to be able to easily customize this game (in so far without affecting balance), e.g. adding their own graphics and sounds, maps etc...

* Different weapons and equipment as well as the usual guns - smoke grenades, nerve gas, ammo packs, gas masks, incendiary grenades.  Grenades mean destructable maps!

* All the usual features like fog of war, line of sight, unit stats, chat, voting etc...


SUMMARY

I'm really excited about this, and really looking forward to playing it.  I enjoy a game of TF2 as much as the next person, but sometimes it lacks enough depth for me.  This should address that, and also be fun to write.  I've never written a realtime multiplayer game before (more than 2 players, anyway), so looking into all the technical aspects will be very interesting.

UPDATE:

Wiki: http://team-tactics.wikia.com/
Blog: http://team-tactics.blogspot.co.uk
Download:  http://teamtactics.penultimateapps.com/teamtactics.zip

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