Update: 4th August 2015
So after the last play test, we identified a few flat spots in the game play that need addressing. In the video it becomes apparent that players are able to predict the detonation of the bombs quite effectively and thus it becomes a game of who can whittle down the opposing player the quickest. So during the video you will hear us discuss some options and try to come up with something that will work, the discussion eventually went offline and we came up with the following game mechanic changes.
Random Fuses:
Currently the bomb initiates its fuse on first bounce and then runs for a set time before exploding. We are however dealing with Goblin explosives here, so it is only natural that their fuses would not be so predictable. The fuses are now randomly set on first bounce to a minimum of 0.25 seconds and up to the maximum fuse length set for the weapon in question. The same mechanic applies to to dynamite which is activated when a player exits the arming area.
Radial Damage and Damage Radius:
At one point during the game test, I was able to run through a chain of about 8 bombs going off without getting hurt once, we have since changed the damage radius and added radial damage. The damage radius has been increased to a more acceptable level and we have also now implemented radial damage which means you take less damage the further away you are from the center of the explosion.
Lob and Loft:
Currently the game uses a loft mechanic where the player can throw a bomb in to the air in a nice arc, we realized we needed another way of delivering the bomb. We have now introduced the lob mechanic, this basically drops the bomb close to the players feet in front of them which now makes the bomb predictably even less likely.
Some Power-Ups are now Items:
During the game, it became apparent that certain power-ups were a little useless on their own, the smoke bomb being the primary example. The idea behind the smoke bomb is to hide yourself or to hide all manner or nasty explosives in it, the current mechanic makes your dynamite turn in to a smoke bomb when you pick it up and therefore limits you to only being able to use your bombs in the smoke. We have now decided to move some power-ups to items and implement the item mechanic (see next point).
Item/Inventory:
This mechanic was always on the cards and was a way for the player to spend the gold they earned in game on items that they could bring in to the next match. These included items like Bear Traps, and Turrets, and these were only ever able to be bought in the shop. We have now decided to make some Power-Ups (see above item) to become items that spawn in the arena and this can be added to one of your 5 slots, you can then trigger these items and still have access to your normal weapons. A list of the changes of Power-Ups and Items is added to the bottom of this post.
Stamina Potion Drops:
Initially the game only dropped a Stamina potion on a player death if they had full Stamina, during the play test this became apparent that this was not practical. The dead player will now always drop a Stamina potion (and a Health potion) regardless of the Stamina value of the player. Initially we toyed with the idea of allowing Stamina to replenish over time, but we have decided to go this route first and see how the next play test goes.
Arena Sizes:
The current arena being used is a 10x10 arena with 8 spawn points and we realized that this can be a little big for smaller amounts of players. We have now added different sized arenas: Tiny (3x3 with 2 spawn points), Small (4x4 with 4 spawn points), Medium (6x6 with 4 spawn points), Large (8x8 with 6 spawn points), and Extra Large (10x10 with 8 spawn points). By selecting your number of players in the Host game menu, the game will automatically select the size of the Arena for you.
Arena Design:
We are also looking at changing the arena design a little and will also be introducing different themed arenas in the near future. For the next release we are going to focus on just changing the current arena design and once we have nailed the game play we will start looking at different types of arenas.
So we are now working our way through this list and have nailed about 80% of the items already (the power of Unreal Engine) and are aiming to have another release ready for the next play test on Sunday 9th July 2015. I personally think these new changes are going to definitely add the depth to the game and I am looking forward to our next play test. I will provide more information about the Play Test and the server details closer to the time for those that might be interested in joining us.
Here are the list of Items and Power-Ups that was mentioned in an earlier point.
Power-Ups:
- Bouncy Bombs (makes bombs bounce more)
- Bag’o’Bombs (replenish bombs quickly)
- Short Fuses (shorten bomb / dynamite maximum fuse time but not the minimum time)
- Incendiary (bombs detonate and leave a fire in their wake)
Items:
- Smoke Bombs
- Trip Mine (not implemented yet)
- Battle Sheep (not implemented yet)
- Barrel ‘o’ Orc (not implemented yet but is basically a poison smoke bomb that effects your health and stamina)
** More items and Power Ups will be added once we have the base mechanics nailed and are ready to move on to the final stages for the game.*
Anyway, thanks for your time and I will keep updating here as we make more progress and move forward to our final release.
TL;DR; Basically we identified mechanics that need changing and we are changing them. 8-}