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Author Topic: Stellar Monarch - 4X, turn based, space empire builder with no micromanagement  (Read 44789 times)

LoSboccacc

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Yeah I meant that one, the playtime limited 48h steam like stint
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LordArchibald

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OK, I will do a demo (disabled load/save, limited to 80 turns and the 1st scenario/game mode only). I suppose with those restrictions EA backers won't be offended and feel cheated? Plus backers would get it first.

I will toss the demo together in a few days (so EA backers can get the newest version first) and post the link here.

Is a captivating trailer in?
Not really, unles you count these :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ejxb_r54M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koyGvDYyD38
BTW, I could also use some comments how should I make this awesome captivating trailer.
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Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - classic RPG (topic)
Stellar Monarch - 4X, no micromanagement, turn based (topic)
Homepage: http://www.silverlemurgames.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverLemur

LordArchibald

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Hi, I'm an inide game dev and in a typically game dev manner I make games :) The newest of them being a 4X strategy for PC.
I look for feedback, comments, etc.


Basics
Name: Pocket Space Empire
Platform: PC (planned release late 2015)
Theme & Genre: Space empire builder, 4X, Grand strategy
Mechanics: turn based, singleplayer

EDIT: PreOrder & Early Access (please read the disclaimer, that version is not very playable yet!) http://www.PocketSpaceEmpire.com

First some screens (prototype, some gfx is temporary programmer's art):






And now a wall of text :D
(the design goals)


1) Feel like the Emperor, not like a logistics officer

I find it annoying that, while I have played so many strategies,
I never felt like a real Emperor, sure there are cool decisions to make and everything but...
Where are audiences? As an Emperor I surely should grant audiences!
Where are the assassination attempts (does everyone love me?),
where are the true rebels that want to overthrow me
(not just people who rebel because they are unhappy and starving, I mean real rebels,
usurpers to the throne and other scum I should crush).
Why can't I appoint governors and admirals (and I don't mean
"having mere 4 heroes that can be governors/admirals", I mean selecting
governors for *each* planet and commanders for *each* military formation).
Instead I'm presented with choices like "what building to construct on planet X"...

My first goal is to "fix" these.


2) Fast paced, no micomanagement yet an epic scale

I know many people would disagree, I guess it is a personal feeling, but I HATE micomanagement :)
And no, I don't find "automated AI governors" a viable solution.
Also I don't want to limit the game to a dozen of planets.

So, I'm making a game where you are the Emperor of hundreds of planets
(during testing I always start with 50 planets to get the feel of the bigger empire)
and yet the game does not drag on. I made some controversial choices to achieve this,
like you can't build any infrastructure on planets directly (with minor exceptions)
also you can't move around individual ships (you operate with formations: fleets and squadrons).


3) Asymmetic gameplay, truly alien aliens and challenging non cheating AI

I don't intend the AI and aliens to simulate the human player. Aliens are aliens.
They have different goals, they do not "play the game" nor try to "prevent the player from winning".
They just live in the galaxy and do their stuff (which frequently is an obstacle to the player, but not always).
They also play by different rules (like some alien races having no ships at all and just use big rocks
launched from their worlds as a transporter carrying insanely strong warriors that take the enemy planet
from the ground - if these are not shot down upon approach).
And so on, so on (think of these aliens more like of
"forces of nature that prevents you to establish the galactic Empire".
Note: you don't need to wipe out the whole galaxy to win the game.

There are also some special scenarios, for example one
where you start with 200-300 planets and try to crush the rebellion.



EDIT (added obligatory links):
* Homepage: http://www.pocketspaceempire.com/
* Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverLemur
* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PocketSpaceEmpire
* YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCps-DZqxTNj7vrTMvSfml1A
* Steam group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pocketspaceempire/discussions
* Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/blcMDr (only announcement about release/greenlit, etc - best for people mildly interested who don't want to forget about the project)
Geez, I hate that nowadays a poor dev has to create so many of weird thingies like thatr instead of focusing on making the game...
EDIT: LOL, I quoted myself instead of editing the post. Oh, well, I will let it stay (it has nice pictures).

Demo available, check the first post.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2015, 03:50:36 am by LordArchibald »
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Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - classic RPG (topic)
Stellar Monarch - 4X, no micromanagement, turn based (topic)
Homepage: http://www.silverlemurgames.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverLemur

xaritscin

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dem goals are sweet..... PTW, also, the graphic style is cool.
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LordArchibald

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OK, I have tossed together the demo, under restrictions we discussed (turn limit, scenario limit, no load/save). I think it's a fair arrangement.
I'm looking for gameplay feedback (ignore unfinished things, small bugs, etc).

Check the very first post of this topic for the download link.
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Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - classic RPG (topic)
Stellar Monarch - 4X, no micromanagement, turn based (topic)
Homepage: http://www.silverlemurgames.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverLemur

Ghazkull

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found the first bug: The Demo does not work...at least not for me...it opens a process but thats it. Nothing happens beyond that.

EDIT: nvm i am stupid, problem wasnt with the game...
« Last Edit: December 29, 2015, 05:44:47 pm by Ghazkull »
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puke

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I like the look and style.  I'm enthusiastic about a 'grand management' game, and hope to watch more awesome progress here!

I know it gets a lot of hate, but I always liked the style of MOO3, especially with Chocolate.  Made you feel like you were actually running an empire.  This makes a similar promise, so I'm happy about that.
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LoSboccacc

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here are some thoughts from my first playthrough, I only got to half the second era:

first of all, I like the overall feel. races are interestingly different, and have distinct enough attack patterns. their attacks are a bit ineffective, but I think it's needed - one neighbor had triple the planets, the hive had hundreds, anyone of them could had me killed instantly - until a better reason for people not killing you can be found. Interface is clunky as hell, but won't comment unless you want me to, since you asked for gameplay feedback. I liked the fleet management tho, very nice after I got the hang of it.

the major gripe I have is that there is not much direction. even if the scenario is start of an empire, you get dozen of planets and everyone around you is screaming murder. It seems the game is set up this way because of the way maintenance and other empire soft limit works, which is mainly by planets, which would make impossibly hard to play a single planet start. But this way you start surrounded by races you don't know and don't care: there aren't enemies you grow to hate, there aren't friendlies you grown to trust, and council don't really offer any advice. even a 'x is preparing an attack' instead of raw diplomacy numbers would go a great way in helping reading the situation, more than the 'friend enemy' map display, as everything there is red.

now, random gameplay thoughts:

I colonized a planet one off from my empire, got credits deducted but I preferred a warning message: cannot colonize this planet because it's not connected before I paid, as I didn't know at that point.

repairing ship is incredibly slower compared to building new ones. I had plenty minerals so I am unsure by what's causing that, it can be work around easily by disbanding squadrons with loads damage and creating them anew, but that'd be micromanaging. also repairs seems to limit new ship production, is that intended?

the way combat is resolved allow you to send reinforcements, don't know if it's intended but if you get a neighbouring planet fleet to move into an attacked planet it is taken in account in battle from turn one. that seem a little op. I'd prefer to see the 'x is attacking message' one turn before they arrive, and then I have to decide. especially if the system on the other end was in full visibility condition (close to an empyre system with a garrison fleet)

I'd like to see some bonus for squadron of the same fleet operating together. just to have an incentive to keep fleet organized. also, why isn't there any fleet automation? like, defend border planets or prepare to attack planet x

stormtrooper are quite slow to capture planets. one enemy required more than 50 turns to conquer. that seem excessive, as it also binds your fleet to the planet for that long and make the whole game feel like trench warfare. orbiting fleet size should matter more and conquering needs to be tuned down a little imho. but the real problem is that I have very little control on how fast/slow the process goes.



I'll take time to dig more into the game and into research, for more detailed considerations. I have plenty about the ux tho, so let me know.

I'll leave one more consideration: the game needs some more drama. you lose and build hundreds ships, auditions never pose hard questions, there aren't much to do overall in combat, management(duh) or diplomacy so the game needs something to break 'auto' 'auto 'auto' 'end turn' cycle monotony.



all in all, 7/10 would back again - it kept me interested for a lots of turns, and wanting for more.



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LordArchibald

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I know it gets a lot of hate, but I always liked the style of MOO3, especially with Chocolate.  Made you feel like you were actually running an empire.  This makes a similar promise, so I'm happy about that.
MOO3 had "onion layers" system which allows the player to decide on which level of detail to operate. It was a mistake in my opinion since it means you have to operate on the lowest detail level if you want to optimize (and win), which leads to insane micromanagement (especially on hard levels since you could not ewin without it there). In my game I went for the highest level only, the lower levels are not available to deal with directly by the player (automated or abstracted).

So, it has a similar feel, in terms of managing a grand empire, but without an option for the player to descent to the micromanagement hell. It's imposed on the player to play on the grand empire level only.

Interface is clunky as hell, but won't comment unless you want me to, since you asked for gameplay feedback. I liked the fleet management tho, very nice after I got the hang of it.
Maybe send these to me via PM? I don't want to water down the discussion and lose focus, which is how to make it playable and releaseable. What I really strive for now is things like "change/make these 5 things and the game can be released/be playable" then I could deal with the smaller things and polish later. Definitely, I want the big things done as soon as possible. Like "the major gripe I have is that there is not much direction" or "the game needs some more drama". I feel I need to solve these first and probably I would benefit from ideas for these the most (unless there are other major things that needs to be adressed).


"cannot colonize this planet because it's not connected before I paid" - will be more clear next version (sometimes you want to strat colonization even if you can't, due to claims system for example)

"repairing ship is incredibly slower compared to building new ones" - yes... the source of this is travel time. When a ship is damaged it needs to travel to the shipyard (1-5 turns) then be repaired, then travel back. Building new ships require the new ship to travel one way only (shipyard to squadron) plus build time. So if a squadron is stationed at the farthest (comm range 5) planet it's faster to build new ones... Maybe I should just teleport damaged ships to the shipyard?

"I'd like to see some bonus for squadron of the same fleet operating together" - Heh, I had same though but was not sure. Something like this: a specialisation system, each fleet can specialise on beating 2 enemies types (alien races). When there are squadrons from multiple fleets in combat only the lowest shared bonus is applied.

"stormtrooper are quite slow to capture planets. one enemy required more than 50 turns to conquer" - 50 turns? Maybe some conditions were not met (you can't conquer a planet unless you neighbour it)? Overall max 20 turns (+5% per turn is almost guaranteed).

"but the real problem is that I have very little control on how fast/slow the process [ground combat] goes" - yeah... Ideas maybe? I would prefer if this was handled on the Army page (since there is a lot of interface space and there are not many/any decisions in that section).


« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 06:09:24 am by LordArchibald »
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Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - classic RPG (topic)
Stellar Monarch - 4X, no micromanagement, turn based (topic)
Homepage: http://www.silverlemurgames.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverLemur

10ebbor10

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Maybe I should just teleport damaged ships to the shipyard?

How about instead having the option to send the old ship to be salvaged while the factory constructs a new vessel. Or designate a minor fleet as a reserve, where a ship is sent from the reserve to the fleet that needs it, while the other ship is repaired and then assigned to the reserve.

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LoSboccacc

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Ok, ideas (I'm away from the pc sorry for not quoting)

I like the reserve fleet idea. Should collect refurbished ship while shypyard sends new ship to fill up, player should control min/max reserves and when you have more than x ships are scrapped

To speed up conquest I'd suggest a way to concentrate stormtrooper reserves but also an option to make more aggressive orbital bombardment, a heavy one damaging infrastructure and an heavier one damaging diplomatic relations

About colonizing, I understand the need but at least a warning should be needed.

The fleet specialization is interesting. Also capitain bonuses could add up, like those in europa universalis. Some bonuses could make better use pf a ship type, other could give a % in defense attach while operating with other squadrons. In general, I'd like people traits to play a greater role.

Random ideas for more content, these are less grounded in the game and just speculation:
Managing the emperor succession. Everyone is dying but me, could be interesting to have children each with bonus in specific area. They should have some degree of independence (maybe acting like vassals or having a fleet of their own?) and an history so you can nominate the worthy successor. Infighting and rebellion could happen out of this, before and after the children ascension to the throne.

People management could be something needed to spice up things. Not too much, just enough to get conflict going. I'd suggest looking at the two personality trait of Software Inc. everyone has two, all give bonuses, so you don't just do eugenetics, but it coud cause infighting and make better use for audiences.

There is not enough social classes to give person a goal. In aurora you have a starfleet command operating the fleet, so people can have career goal and promotions become political money. That'd be interesting, this game has plenty planets and fleets, so it could be even better. Genrals for the defence forces and planet defense fleet could fight for becoming governors or to become ship capitain etc.
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Ghazkull

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Okay after playing it for quite a while, i have to say the overall feel is nice. But it lacks, i don't know something to actually do.

I hate micromanagement but there is maybe too much automation in this. Slightly more control over your Armed Forces (Regulars and Stormtroopers) on the same level as you manage your fleets would really go a long way.

Also while there was information that it would not be okay (or okay) to use chem/atomic/bio WMDs on some people i couldn't find anything regarding orbital bombardement. Would be interesting to be able to order just that
and otherwise determine Integration/Extermination/Enslavement of other Alien Races within your Empire.

Maybe a bit more diplomacy beyond Truce, Weapons Deliveries and Embargo would be nice too.
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QuakeIV

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Really enjoy the lack of micro in some areas (not having to manually replace ships, seriously fuck that).  I also like the feel of managing the empire, handling the audience events and such.  The lack of implemented features there really shows, but it looks pretty promising from where I sit.

I agree with some of the dudes above who were mentioning the lack of control over the storm troopers.  Given how few of them you get, I'd like to have specific control over which alien planets they get deployed to when I'm invading.  Sometimes I want an invasion to go quickly and would like to send in all of the troopers, other times I'd be content to let the fleets slowly whittle down the defenses from orbit.  On that note, it seems unreasonable to me how long it takes to recall the troopers.  Seems like it takes ages.

I'd also like the ability to type numbers in when setting the shipyard settings for fleets, and the ability to copy shipyard layouts to new fleets.  My biggest issue right now is I don't want to click fifty thousand times to expand my fleet enough to continue growing my empire.  e: watch this actually be a thing i could have been doing all along
« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 07:53:05 pm by QuakeIV »
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nate9090

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Maybe I should just teleport damaged ships to the shipyard?

How about instead having the option to send the old ship to be salvaged while the factory constructs a new vessel. Or designate a minor fleet as a reserve, where a ship is sent from the reserve to the fleet that needs it, while the other ship is repaired and then assigned to the reserve.

I like this idea. You will have to balance having a sizable reserve vs stronger front lines. In the event you lose a lot of ships on a front you could decide to send the entire reserve fleet leaving you vulnerable to another defeat elsewhere.
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