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[Feedback Friday #53] - Apr 14, 2017

Discussion in 'Game Design' started by Gigiwoo, Apr 14, 2017.

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  1. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
    FF #53 is CLOSED. Next FF begins on Friday, May 12th.

    ---

    Want design feedback for your new game? Then you've found the right thread! Post here to get precious player feedback. Discuss until we lock the thread to start the two week break.

    How To Ask For Feedback?
    • Show - Pics, videos, or best of all, a playable game!
    • Be Concise - Who's got time for Wall 'O Text? Less is more
    How To Give Feedback?
    • Be Positive - Finding redeeming qualities in the worst of games, is in itself a game
    • Focus On The Design - Not the designer
    • Be Specific - "Your game sucks!" is for nubs
    What To Show?
    • Minimally Viable Product (MVP) - Core game play >>> everything else
    • How To Scope Small (Unity tutorial)
    Gigi

    [PS - Feedback Friday #52 is here]
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2017
  2. Billy4184

    Billy4184

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2014
    Posts:
    6,009
    I made a prototype of something I like but, which for reasons I describe below, I'm not going to continue at the moment (but would like to work on later on).

    It's basically an attempt to merge third-person space combat with a tactical element. Basically you start off inside a frigate, which is slow but powerful, and you can remote-control some drones which are relatively fast and maneuvrable, but weak. The idea is that the player would use the combination of the drones and the powerful frigate to attack enemy convoys or bases in a much more flexible way.

    WebGL Demo

    CONTROLS

    Accelerate/Decelerate: Z/X
    Control Frigate: Right click anywhere in scene and frigate will turn toward there (locked to XZ plane)
    Fire: Mouse 0
    (Tactical Mode) Set target for drone: Click on target after clicking on drone (or drone select button)
    (Tactical Mode) Panning: Mouse 1 and drag

    GameMode.png

    TacticalMode.png

    So the main elements are:
    • Third person combat with the frigate;
    • 'Tactical Mode' where player has an overhead view of the scene, and can command drones to attack targets etc;
    • Third person combat with drones (player can enter and exit the drones remotely);
    The main reason I'm not continuing with it right now, is that I find that the third-person fighter (drone) combat is too fast-paced compared to the tactical element, and it makes it feel tedious by comparison (it would already be a difficult proposition on mobile, which is what I'm targeting). It also I think would compel players to override the AI all the time and not depend on it at all.

    What I would do to fix it is to remove the ability to fly the drones and just have the third-person frigate combat, which is relatively slow-paced, as well as the tactical part for commanding the drones. I feel like this would be a good balance of pace, and would make the tactical AI element essentual. But the problem is that I want the mobile space game I'm making right now to be primarily about the third person fighter combat mechanics, which I think are pretty solid, so I'm going to revisit this project at some other time.

    However I'm very interested to see (although it's pretty basic right now) what anyone thinks of this prototype.
     
    Gigiwoo and Philip-Rowlands like this.
  3. Philip-Rowlands

    Philip-Rowlands

    Joined:
    May 13, 2013
    Posts:
    353
    I just gave that a try now, @Billy4184. I like the concept, in particular sending the drones after smaller craft while I focus on the base. It's a basic prototype, but I have a few suggestions for if you continue this some day:
    • I didn't expect the frigate to stop when I entered tactical mode. I think it would add some urgency to your tactical decisions if a collision is looming...that, and standing still in the middle of a battle just seems like a Very Bad Idea :D
    • It would be nice to scroll the tactical map on the X-Z plane (i.e. forwards/backwards and left/right) in addition to rotating around the centre or zooming in or out.
    • Some way of knowing if an enemy is in range before I start shooting would be handy; I kept spamming bullets into the base, and it looked like they were hitting it, but there was no damage dealt until I got within my ship's maximum shooting range. Having unlimited ammo does offset that.
    • The ability to give your drones different loadouts. One drone type might act as a decoy, luring missiles away from your ship or by just trolling the enemy; another might act as a radar jammer, etc.
    Apart from those, I like it.
     
    Gigiwoo likes this.
  4. Billy4184

    Billy4184

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2014
    Posts:
    6,009
    Hey, thanks for trying it out!
    • I stopped the frigate mainly because it felt weird to return to it and find it in a totally different position, so it was more about the sense of retaining control. The plan was for it to defend itself with its weapons when going into the tactical mode, but not to move anywhere, but I didn't get to that point.
    • Scrolling the map is definitely something I was going to do, it sometimes got awkward trying to focus on particular areas.
    • Good point about the range - although there was an energy shield shader (that would flash on impact) that didn't end up compiling because I hadn't cleaned it up properly of warnings, so that would have been a good tell-tale. I probably should update the demo then.
    • The ability to give drones loadouts is one of the central mechanics for this idea! I just decided to work on my pure fighter combat game before I got there. But the idea was to give drones special abilities such as scanning, cloaking, megabomb vehicle, marine dropship and other context specific abilities, as well as different handling, speed and armament carrying capacity.
    I realize it's not really representative of what it could be, but I had already decided to put it on the backburner and thought it might be good to get some general feedback anyway on the third-person vs tactical mode mechanic. Thanks for your feedback, it's very helpful!
     
    Gigiwoo likes this.
  5. Gigiwoo

    Gigiwoo

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    Posts:
    2,981
    Thanks for sharing. Bringing this one to a close. See you next time!

    Gigi
     
    Billy4184 likes this.
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