Blades Converted To A Strategy Game
| Author | Topic: Blades Converted To A Strategy Game |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 14:44
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I was looking at how Blades of Avernum is put together. I noticed that it used a hex map system. I also noticed that you could move a around a group of monsters within a hex system. Maps in Blades of Avernum do not seem that different from the old time tabletop strategy games where you could move little paper stacks of units around a map. There are already different graphics for parties of creatures which move around the terrain in a standard Avernum map. Thus with a bit of fiddling you could design an interface to move around units of monsters to attack each other in an avernum map. In the scenario Lost Bahssikava, a group of sliths attacked the main slith temple followed by a cut scene. Put in a few cut scenes and your characters could watch large scale battles. I am hoping in Avernum 4 a front end like this could be put in to add a bit of a strategic element. Thus when you jumped into fights it would look like you were in a larger war, less of a small guerrilla war. Or possibly, you could design a strategy function or game based on Avernum using the same map as the RPG. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 14:56
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Agh, two things I must nitpick because I have some sort of OCD with this sort of thing: 1) BoA uses a square tile system, not a hex system, although that doesn't change your point at all, and 2) The scenario's name is Bahssikava, not Lost Bahssikava, because the assumption is that "Lost" was a term that was appended by the sliths of Gnass after they had forgotten the location of the town. On a related note, it would be interesting to design creature scripts such that allied creatures ask for orders from turn to turn and complete tasks (kill X, defend position Y) as the battle progresses. Interesting, but probably damn hard to program, especially since getting them to target something specific would be tricky -- unless you used a special wand to give them orders or something. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 148
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 17:04
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Actaully, you create an "officer" script/node for creatures/terrian/town script and send messages. These messages are stroed in the appropiate memory cell or SDF and when a creature reads that memory cell, it executes a specific state which may be how to behave. Hmm. I'll have to try this. Doing this over and over might be a problem, but for a major battle...? [ Wednesday, March 02, 2005 17:05: Message edited by: Dahak ] -------------------- My ego is bigger than yours. Posts: 480 | Registered: Thursday, October 11 2001 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 17:23
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Storing it in a variable might be preferable to storing it in a memory cell or SDF. But I meant taking orders from the player, not from some sort of scripted commander, although that might be interesting to try to pull off also. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 247
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 18:17
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Is A4 going to use a whole new interface engine whatever? Does anybody now just what Jeff plans on improving in A4? -------------------- The Knight Between Posts. Posts: 2395 | Registered: Friday, November 2 2001 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 148
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 18:47
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quote:Ah, but to give orders you need to talk to someone. That someone could be a messenger or an officer, or your could even be the advisor to a general. You might not be able to micromanage (what leader is?) a battle, but you can control the flow. Choices ARE limited, but there is room for control. -------------------- My ego is bigger than yours. Posts: 480 | Registered: Thursday, October 11 2001 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 18:57
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I meant at the level of, say, shouting commands across a few dozen yards. I was thinking of the vahnatai attack outside of the Ziggurat in A2, for instance: you have a small space with many allies and many enemies, and if you were the leader (which you're not there, but if you were), you could tell different people what to do via yelling. [ Wednesday, March 02, 2005 19:08: Message edited by: Kelandon ] -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 148
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 19:26
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Hm. I don't wish to seem too nitpicking, but realisitically, you would use a messenger. Leaders should not wear themselves out by attempting to shouts orders to a group of people over the sounds of battle. That is what underlings are for. Leaders give Strategic Goals, the next tier formulates the Tactical goals, and the last tier forms the Operational goals. Strategic is broad goals, Tactial is the plans, and Operational is the little details to do the tactic that follows the strategy. Operational Goal soldiers do not give orders. Strategic Goals soldiers do not yell and scream (except to motivate ;) ). They assess and order. The middle tier do the yelling. Think of these as the low level officers. Edit: Thus this is why you could easily use go-between. It also simplifies the problem. I'd say you want to be at the middle tier, but bleh. Not very fun. Trust me. Be the leader or the heroic soldier. Top or bottom. [ Wednesday, March 02, 2005 19:29: Message edited by: Dahak ] -------------------- My ego is bigger than yours. Posts: 480 | Registered: Thursday, October 11 2001 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 19:31
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Well, except that the point of this is that you could have direct magical communication with your forces anyway. You each carry wands that allow mental communication over short distances, say. It could be justified in plot terms. I'm saying that the tactical challenge would be interesting and the technical programming would be an achievement, not that I have the right way to justify it in-character. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 148
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written Wednesday, March 2 2005 19:41
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Ooooooh. Magic speak. :D I've been in manager mode. Sorry. -------------------- My ego is bigger than yours. Posts: 480 | Registered: Thursday, October 11 2001 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 3610
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written Thursday, March 3 2005 14:22
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Sorry to nitpick, but traditionally commanders work strategically, while leaders work tactically. Posts: 129 | Registered: Tuesday, October 28 2003 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 5520
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written Thursday, March 3 2005 14:33
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quote:Didn't people use Trumpeteers and Drummers, flags and so on, as well as yelling for this purpose? Oh, I cannot wait to see a scenario with this kind of element. Imagine, battle of the league of the living - sliths, nephils, giants, troglos . . . - against demon-led undeads marching through the valley. [ Thursday, March 03, 2005 14:35: Message edited by: whitenightever ] Posts: 53 | Registered: Saturday, February 19 2005 08:00 |