Arcen Games

General Category => Bionic Dues => : x4000 August 22, 2013, 11:46:03 PM

: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 22, 2013, 11:46:03 PM
Original: http://christophermpark.blogspot.com/2013/08/bionic-dues-first-10-screenshots.html

In my last post about Bionic, which was actually earlier today, I said that I would soon be posting some actual in-game screenshots of Bionic Dues.  I bet you didn't think it would be this soon!  Anyway, I'm really excited to share these with you.

Click for the full-size versions of all of these, and bear in mind that these are jpegs so there is a little bit of lossiness to the images (but not much).


Above: The title menu.  It's pretty much what you will see in the final 1.0 version of the game, I think.  The exo portrait on the right is different every time you start the game (out of the pool of 6 epic exos).


Above: The "start new game" window.  This is definitely final in terms of what you will see for the 1.0 version of the game.  You choose your city map type, your team of four Exos, your commander, your difficulty, and if multiplayer is enabled or not.  And you're off to the races!

- The city map type gives you a different visual, as well as different node positions and connections.  In even a single city, however, the placement of all the nodes is completely random, as is where you start in the city.

- Your team of four exos really determines the feel of your entire game.  If you choose four Science exos... well, that's going to be a really tough game!  That's like the "four white mages" run in Final Fantasy 1, I'd say.  But going without any science guy at all is also probably not the best plan.  One tank, one science, and two of anything else is usually wisest.

- Your commander gives you some sort of large single bonus throughout the game (and that's all they do, to be clear).  In this case, Meg is selected, and she gets 50% better loot than usual, as she was formerly a mechanic.  There are six commanders, and they all have abilities that are hard to choose between because they are all so desirable.

- The difficulty level determines three things: 1) how much health your home command has before it blows up and you lose the game (ie, how many missions you can fail); 2) the starting amount of and rate of growth of enemy robot manufacturing (higher is bad); 3) the starting amount of and rate of growth of your scavenging prowess (higher is good).


Above: Both the city map and the mission map can be zoomed in and out to a huge degree.  Here we are all the way zoomed out, and we can see most of the city in one view.  That said, we've only just started this game, so very few of the nodes are visible at all (just 5 out of 125 are visible, and then a further four are noted as "potential missions" that you will uncover if you complete a mission adjacent to them).


Above: And here we are now completely zoomed in.  Also I hovered over the home command health indicator so you can read that tooltip if you want.


Above:"DumBots" are the basic foot soldiers of the game, and they have, shall we say, "Storm Trooper Aim."  They always miss their first shot, and their shots don't hit for much anyhow.  But the thing is, unlike in the movies, when you walk into a room full of 20 of these, you are actually in pretty decent peril.

You'll want to draw them out for single combat if you can.  If only there were a way to attract their attention without going into their direct sight range!


Above: Further down the same hall from above, we find a BlunderBot.  These guys have rocket launchers, which this one just used to destroy my Epic Assault Exo.  This is the second robot I've met this mission, incidentally, and I was stupid in how I approached him and so am down an Exo already.

The BlunderBots are an interesting breed, because they only have one rocket, and then they become a nice doorstop that fouls up the travel lanes of other bots.  Useful!  Also, their tooltip description, thanks to Keith, is hilarious:

BlunderBot: A Siege bot that often gets a bit distracted.  This is at least as bad as it sounds.


Above: Different mission, same city.  This time I lost my Science bot, mainly because I was stupid and did not pay attention.  So I'm using my Siege Exo at the moment.  You'll notice that he isn't lit (and also not animated) yet, unlike the other Exos.  That bit is still a work in progress.

You can also see the fog of war as well as the sensor range.  There are four levels of perception: never-seen-before, seen-but-in-fog-of-war, in-sensor-range (lit up and visible), and line-of-sight (can shoot at and be shot by).   You'll notice that the sensor range extends in a "flood fill" style behind me, rather than being a Cartesian area.  You'll also notice that most types of doors (glass doors and automatic doors excepted) block sensors.

There is also the purple crosshair thing in both this image and the one below -- that's marking where the boundary between the never-seen-before areas of the map and any other status.  That way it's super clear where to go (and those crosshairs are actually nicely animated color-wise in the game).


Above: Third mission, same city.  Everyone is alive!  I haven't done anything stupid here.  In fact, since these are just DumBots, I'm using my Science Exo to whistle and draw them out for easy smashing.  If I were just a little smarter and stayed back two tiles, I could do this without taking any damage.  But whistling here is a good move at least.

If I kill the top guy (who is alerted already) first, then back up and then whistle, then I can probably still come out of this with no damage taken.


Above: The three major components of this game are the city view (where you make your long-range decisions by choosing which missions to undertake), the mission view (where the direct gameplay is undertaken), and this -- the Exo customization view.  You'll spend a goodly bit of time here.


Above: On the prior image we were looking at a Tank Exo, and you can see how its slots vary from the Epic Assault Exo (this is the upgraded version of the regular Assault Exo; there is an Epic version of every Exo type).  The Epic versions usually have more guns and other customization slots.

In the center area you have the shields (left), reactor (center), propulsion (right), and then the computer (below).  Normally the number of slots on those would vary by the type of Exo, but that isn't being coded until tomorrow.


Anyway, this gives a pretty good sense of where the game is at at the moment, I think.  Thanks for reading! :)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Penumbra August 23, 2013, 12:32:07 AM
Oh man! Even more exciting! And that Exo customization view? That gives me a warm, fuzzy Mechwarrior load-out vibe.

Maybe you said this already, but how is the ranged combat targeting handled? Mouse clicks?
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 12:34:55 AM
Wasd for movement, mouse for actions. :)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Penumbra August 23, 2013, 12:38:23 AM
And, now to pepper you with more questions! Any tab targeting for those of us with netbooks? Are there actions that target empty space? Like an AoE rocket into a corner, or grenades around a corner, or missiles attacking the darkness?

The screenshot that says "wait a moment and let the dastardly foe fall into your trap." Does this reference letting them moving into range so you can attack first?
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 12:42:44 AM
"So why'd you have to cast magic missile?" I caught that reference. ;)

Tab targeting is not there now, and I'm not sure it will be. In general this game can't really be played without a mouse. Too many menus, hovers, things to click other than enemies, etc. I don't think it would work out, honestly; it's not like the valley games or shattered haven.

I'm terms of aoe damage, yes that is there and yes you can fire it against the ground. The BlunderBot actually did just hit me with one.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 12:45:37 AM
In that screenshot I was hovered over the wait button, which is pretty traditional for roguelikes. Whistle is pretty unique to my knowledge, but wait is a genre staple. It is generally useful when you want to let them round a corner so you can blast them. :)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: LaughingThesaurus August 23, 2013, 01:07:58 AM
I don't think whistling is a mechanic in most rogue-like roguelikes, but I think you can deliberately make sound with nearby supplies. Throw a rock, throw a corpse you're carrying, stuff like that. Then again, those kinds of roguelikes are more tactical out of battle, rather than relying on smart moves in battle.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Histidine August 23, 2013, 01:20:11 AM
Oooh, interesting stuff. I was expecting it to be something "outdoors" rather than dungeon-crawly, but I'm not complaining.

Only thing that bothers me is the customization UI, with its large areas of empty space with nothing but a plain background (probably looks better in non-widescreen). The original XCOM had thematic backgrounds for UI screens, e.g. as a drawing of a hangar in the aircraft customization screen; are you planning on something similar?
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: nas1m August 23, 2013, 02:15:09 AM
Oh man! Even more exciting! And that Exo customization view? That gives me a warm, fuzzy Mechwarrior load-out vibe.
+1 :D

Oooh, interesting stuff. I was expecting it to be something "outdoors" rather than dungeon-crawly, but I'm not complaining.

Only thing that bothers me is the customization UI, with its large areas of empty space with nothing but a plain background (probably looks better in non-widescreen). The original XCOM had thematic backgrounds for UI screens, e.g. as a drawing of a hangar in the aircraft customization screen; are you planning on something similar?
+1 again ;).
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Misery August 23, 2013, 03:08:23 AM
This looks pretty darn good to me.  I generally love roguelikes of most any type, even if they are likely to get very long strings of four-letter words out of me.

I doubt I even have to say so at this point, but you can consider me as a guaranteed pre-order as well as an applicant for the alpha as soon as that starts.   

Everything I've read about the game so far sounds pretty good.

I'd ask a pile of questions here but I'm stuck typing on the iPad at the moment and the damn touchscreen typing drives me crazy.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 07:23:48 AM
I don't think whistling is a mechanic in most rogue-like roguelikes, but I think you can deliberately make sound with nearby supplies. Throw a rock, throw a corpse you're carrying, stuff like that. Then again, those kinds of roguelikes are more tactical out of battle, rather than relying on smart moves in battle.

Good to know!

Only thing that bothers me is the customization UI, with its large areas of empty space with nothing but a plain background (probably looks better in non-widescreen). The original XCOM had thematic backgrounds for UI screens, e.g. as a drawing of a hangar in the aircraft customization screen; are you planning on something similar?

The visuals on that screen are considered to be pretty close to final, the small text aside.  It's channeling historic games like Final Fantasy, not games like XCOM (the former of which I have a lot of fondness for, the latter of which I've never played so can't speak to).

The large amount of empty space is due to different monitor sizes: we have to fit our UI in the smallest possible space that will work for 1024x720 resolution, the smallest horizontal and vertical sizes we support.  So everything packs into there, and anything beyond that is just emptiness of some sort or another.  I thought the attractive pattern was a lot better than being literally black and empty, you know?  And again it channels FF.

Oh man! Even more exciting! And that Exo customization view? That gives me a warm, fuzzy Mechwarrior load-out vibe.
+1 :D

Oooh, interesting stuff. I was expecting it to be something "outdoors" rather than dungeon-crawly, but I'm not complaining.

Only thing that bothers me is the customization UI, with its large areas of empty space with nothing but a plain background (probably looks better in non-widescreen). The original XCOM had thematic backgrounds for UI screens, e.g. as a drawing of a hangar in the aircraft customization screen; are you planning on something similar?
+1 again ;).

Wait, which thing are we talking about here?  Right below the customization UI you mention getting bothered by it after getting a warm fuzzy.  Are folks meaning two different screens?

This looks pretty darn good to me.  I generally love roguelikes of most any type, even if they are likely to get very long strings of four-letter words out of me.

I doubt I even have to say so at this point, but you can consider me as a guaranteed pre-order as well as an applicant for the alpha as soon as that starts.   

Awesome, we will hit you up in just a few weeks I think.  :)  Probably those two want to be in the alpha would get an invitation in around two weeks, thereabouts.  Public beta might start two weeks after that.  This is one of those games where it is kind of all or nothing: either it is done or close, or it can't really be played with too much enjoyment.  At this point it's pretty close to done, all things considered.  Still tons of balance and content work to do, but most of the screens (all that you are looking at) are pretty much final except for some flavor stuff.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: nas1m August 23, 2013, 07:30:18 AM
Oh man! Even more exciting! And that Exo customization view? That gives me a warm, fuzzy Mechwarrior load-out vibe.
+1 :D

Oooh, interesting stuff. I was expecting it to be something "outdoors" rather than dungeon-crawly, but I'm not complaining.

Only thing that bothers me is the customization UI, with its large areas of empty space with nothing but a plain background (probably looks better in non-widescreen). The original XCOM had thematic backgrounds for UI screens, e.g. as a drawing of a hangar in the aircraft customization screen; are you planning on something similar?
+1 again ;).

Wait, which thing are we talking about here?  Right below the customization UI you mention getting bothered by it after getting a warm fuzzy.  Are folks meaning two different screens?
Nevermind. I meant to say I really like the overall look and style of the customization UI, but also that a background that has a little more flavor would be an improvement - I got warm and fuzzy due to the boxes and layout, not due to the background ;). But again - nevermind. All is well. Looking forward to play this baby :D!
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 07:47:42 AM
Okay, well, perhaps we can do something along the sides, in this sort of space.  I'll see what we can work up there.  A lot of people will have that horizontal empty space and it will look kind of odd, so, yeah.  Thought son the attached?
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 08:06:01 AM
This is a less busy mockup.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: nas1m August 23, 2013, 08:31:06 AM
Nice :D! I like them both, although I like the first one better ;).
Simply go with what integrates better with the rest of the UI elements (or make this selectable in the options), I would say...
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 08:38:05 AM
Possibly the first one for the inventory screen, second one for this screen.  Though with edits on the second on in particular, that was just laid out quickly.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Tridus August 23, 2013, 10:27:10 AM
Awesome, we will hit you up in just a few weeks I think.  :)  Probably those two want to be in the alpha would get an invitation in around two weeks, thereabouts.  Public beta might start two weeks after that.  This is one of those games where it is kind of all or nothing: either it is done or close, or it can't really be played with too much enjoyment.  At this point it's pretty close to done, all things considered.  Still tons of balance and content work to do, but most of the screens (all that you are looking at) are pretty much final except for some flavor stuff.

Oh it's volunteer based? Pick me, pick me!  :D
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 10:29:23 AM
When it gets a bit closer to the time, we'll have a thread noting it and people can PM Josh (tigersfan) to submit to be part of it.  We have a whole process we go through with multiple waves of players (since you can only get someone's first impression once, etc) that we will explain at that time.  But you can go ahead and hit up Josh now if you want to be sure you're on the list.

The main thing that we ask is that volunteers actually have time to devote to this, so that we're actually getting the much-needed feedback and not just giving away copies of the game for no response, heh.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Aklyon August 23, 2013, 11:29:17 AM
Click for the full-size versions of all of these, and bear in mind that these are jpegs so there is a little bit of lossiness to the images (but not much).
Why you no png?

Otherwise, this looks pretty great  :D
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 11:29:48 AM
Filesize -- blogger resizes images that are too large in filesize, and I didn't want it to do that.

EDIT: Oh, also.  If some other site comes in and finds a PNG that they want to repost, they'll convert it to JPEG often in a really cruddy way.  So if I do it first, it will look much better than they would do.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: tigersfan August 23, 2013, 01:06:10 PM
I've already had someone ask about how much of a time commitment we're looking for for the alpha... Enough to spend a few hours on the game, I'd say. We're certainly not going to ask anyone to spend 40 hours/week testing this thing (that's my job :) ). But, we really do need someone to play it enough to get a good feel for balance and such.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: PokerChen August 23, 2013, 03:02:55 PM
Interesting... the Deep Blue background has been commented on - I'm generally in favour of somewhat more faded palettes so that your Bots and interactive parts will stand out better.

 = = =
 I also appreciate the optimism that led to the countryside being pristine green in a future mega-city setting. :P Since it seems like all of the missions will be in-doors, it doesn't really matter what the weather is like on the outside view of Port City, and sunny looks good. Although if I was given user choice, I would actually prefer a night view or more dawn/dusk - maybe I'm subconsciously thinking too much about Satellite Reign.

 There's some flavours of Space Hulk to the mission layout here. How versatile is the map generator? (In gameplay terms, how easy is it to make/find alternative entrances if you don't feel like taking the front door?) I don't expect military compounds to be porous (these exos don't look like they'll fit through ventilation ducts, Splinter-Cell style), although one might like to approach sabotaging robot production factories in a creative manner. Hiding a goodie in a hallway under a bit of time-pressure might also be a good way to spice up things.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Tridus August 23, 2013, 10:31:19 PM
When it gets a bit closer to the time, we'll have a thread noting it and people can PM Josh (tigersfan) to submit to be part of it.  We have a whole process we go through with multiple waves of players (since you can only get someone's first impression once, etc) that we will explain at that time.  But you can go ahead and hit up Josh now if you want to be sure you're on the list.

The main thing that we ask is that volunteers actually have time to devote to this, so that we're actually getting the much-needed feedback and not just giving away copies of the game for no response, heh.

Cool, thanks. :) It's a good time of year for me in terms of that kind of time committment actually, as Age of Wonders 3 isn't out yet. :D
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 10:51:46 PM
These two are real screenshots, not mockups.  Which do people prefer?  Darker or lighter?

(http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=13728.0;attach=7762)

(http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=13728.0;attach=7764)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 10:52:30 PM
And while I'm sharing more screenshots. :)

(http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=13728.0;attach=7766)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: mrhanman August 23, 2013, 11:02:15 PM
I like the lighter one.  Just my personal preference.  What I find really striking about the image is the parts graphics.  Did Blue do these?   Whoever did deserves very high praise!

The overworld map looks absolutely fantastic!  :o

I'm liking the "Customize" button, too.  It looks pretty highfalutin. :D

It seems so from what's been released so far, but will this game have the almost signature roguelike sense of humor?
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 11:06:40 PM
I like the lighter one.  Just my personal preference.

Me too, in the end.  I am going to make it not crowd in so much from the sides, though, as that gets overwhelming.  Then I think it's about perfect.  Attached that.

The overworld map looks absolutely fantastic!  :o

I'm liking the "Customize" button, too.  It looks pretty highfalutin. :D

Thanks on both!  That button shows up when you have not yet customized since coming to the world map.  If you're not doing that between each mission, you're doing something wrong! ;)

It seems so from what's been released so far, but will this game have the almost signature roguelike sense of humor?

Yes, it has a mix of both Keith's and my senses of humor.  I tend to have more dry/black humor, as noted in the images about being welcome in the city and all that.  He tends to have more laugh-out-loud hilarious humor, like the BlunderBot.  That one still gets me every time.  :P

(http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=13728.0;attach=7768)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 11:10:52 PM
Just saw your edit:

I like the lighter one.  Just my personal preference.  What I find really striking about the image is the parts graphics.  Did Blue do these?   Whoever did deserves very high praise!

The parts graphics were drawn by Charity, then inked by Blue concocted by Blue from pieces of some other sketches, then inked by Blue, then colored by Catherine, then had a final layer of texturing by myself to give them that gritty look.  It takes a village!  That's true of most of the art in this game, actually!

And incidentally, Catherine has now joined our staff on a fulltime basis, at least temporarily for the rest of the year.  Two artists, woo!  Look at us now. ;)  I think the results speak for themselves.  Pretty much every screenshot has some touches from those two and me in terms of art, and then a lot of times some various other artists.  Raynaldo on icons, Holly and Charity and Genna on line art, as well as another wishes-to-remain-anonymous fellow on lineart.  And I think that's everyone.  Having pretty much everything final-colored by Catherine is what makes it all look so consistent though.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: mrhanman August 23, 2013, 11:26:15 PM
Consistency certainly goes a long way.  It's all coming together beautifully. 

It just occured to me, but I've been watching Super Dimension Fortress Macross (http://ghostlightning.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/sdf-1-macross.jpg) here lately, and some of the Bionic Dues art reminds me of that.  Only shinier.  8)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 23, 2013, 11:29:29 PM
Oh wow, that's really pretty art!
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: nas1m August 24, 2013, 01:05:39 AM
I like the lighter one.  Just my personal preference.

Me too, in the end.  I am going to make it not crowd in so much from the sides, though, as that gets overwhelming.  Then I think it's about perfect.  Attached that.
I was going to say I preferred the darker one as a stand-alone, but could see that the lighter one would likely integrate better with the rest of the UI. The screenshot you posted last is a perfect combination of the two, though :D!
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 24, 2013, 06:12:55 AM
Great!
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Cyborg August 25, 2013, 04:39:46 PM
Seems very forgiving if it lets you repair your headquarters. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, just a comment.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 25, 2013, 04:46:52 PM
Seems very forgiving if it lets you repair your headquarters. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, just a comment.

It's forgiving in some senses, but not in others I guess.  It depends on what you're comparing it to: to a strategy game, this is fairly brutal.  To a roguelike, yeah, it's totally forgiving. :)

To clarify a bit on how this works:

1. Your HQ has some low amount of health, varying by difficulty level.  I think on normal it's 5, IIRC.

2. Every time you fail a mission, HQ health goes down by 1.  If it hits 0, you lose.

3. There are 8 salvage missions spread across the map.  You can repair 1 HP on your HQ by winning one of these.  These are a huge opportunity cost not just because you lose one of these finite repair spots, but also because your number of days is limited and thus doing something useless on one day is really bad: the robots start getting ahead of you.  It's like taking a planet and incurring AIP for no real benefit.

4. At the end of the game, the robot waves start crashing over your HQ and you have to do defense missions.  You are unlikely to win the first time, most likely (it varies by how you focused your efforts during the game, really).  The army is too big for you to take out all at once, probably, so you'll put a big dent in it and then lose.  Your HQ's HP then goes down by one, and you then get another crack at the remaining part of the army.

5. #4 repeats until your HQ is at zero or you win.  At this point you can do no missions other than the HQ defense, so forget about salvage missions.  If your HP was too low when you reached this point, that's just it for you if you don't win these key missions.  But if you spend time doing a lot of salvage missions earlier in the game, these final missions wind up being harder compared to your exo quality than they otherwise would be.


So there's a few different subsystems in play, really, if that makes sense.  It's pretty different.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Cyborg August 25, 2013, 06:20:46 PM
Fascinating. Sounds like Faster Than Light in the sense of being unprepared for the end boss. Or I guess any rogue-like.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 25, 2013, 06:22:04 PM
Cheers!  Glad it's sounding good. :)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Tridus August 25, 2013, 10:01:04 PM
These two are real screenshots, not mockups.  Which do people prefer?  Darker or lighter?

If you're still looking for feedback on this, the lighter one for sure. The darker one is sufficiently dark that the outside areas have a LOT of black in them, and some of the detail is missing.

Just how dark that really is depends on things like your monitor and it's configuration of course, but in my case it's too dark.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 25, 2013, 10:19:31 PM
Yep, the third one is the lighter one, and that's what I did wind up going with.  Thanks!
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Winge August 26, 2013, 05:24:01 PM
The visuals on that screen are considered to be pretty close to final, the small text aside.  It's channeling historic games like Final Fantasy, not games like XCOM (the former of which I have a lot of fondness for, the latter of which I've never played so can't speak to).

I find this interesting, as it looks like it the gameplay would be a mix between FTL and X-Com: Enemy Unknown (not a bad thing at all, mind you!).  I'm definitely interested.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: tigersfan August 26, 2013, 09:11:34 PM
The visuals on that screen are considered to be pretty close to final, the small text aside.  It's channeling historic games like Final Fantasy, not games like XCOM (the former of which I have a lot of fondness for, the latter of which I've never played so can't speak to).

I find this interesting, as it looks like it the gameplay would be a mix between FTL and X-Com: Enemy Unknown (not a bad thing at all, mind you!).  I'm definitely interested.

That's not quite right... The in-mission gameplay is much more like a traditional rougelike, but with out so much melee combat.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 26, 2013, 09:21:43 PM
but without so much melee combat.

Aka, with none. ;)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Breach August 27, 2013, 09:40:50 AM
From a purely fluff standpoint, might something more technological be more suitable for the 'whistle' ability? Something like 'ping' akin to modern day ping commands which would send out a signal intentionally alerting other robots in the area to its location.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Penumbra August 27, 2013, 10:17:16 AM
I assume it is actually W.H.I.S.T.L.E. also know as Wind Handling and Internal Sound Tactical Location Electronics
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: nas1m August 27, 2013, 10:20:41 AM
I assume it is actually W.H.I.S.T.L.E. also know as Wind Handling and Internal Sound Tactical Location Electronics
This one really made me laugh quite loud. Thanks, sir *tips the hat and wipes a tear* ;).
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Breach August 27, 2013, 11:12:10 AM
I assume it is actually W.H.I.S.T.L.E. also know as Wind Handling and Internal Sound Tactical Location Electronics

Ohh, yes. That's delightful!
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 27, 2013, 11:15:33 AM
From a purely fluff standpoint, might something more technological be more suitable for the 'whistle' ability? Something like 'ping' akin to modern day ping commands which would send out a signal intentionally alerting other robots in the area to its location.

The whistle is actually a really freaky robot noise, which is funny when you pair it with "whistle."  The game plays up a lot of humor in parts, so the idea of a whistling robot is as funny to me as a robot called "BlunderBot" which says "Oops!" as it fries its friends on the first shot. ;)

There's a mix of being thematic and dark and being funny.  The levels themselves can be creepy, and the ambient noises in the background are definitely unsettling (and can be turned off or down if you don't like that).  In retrospect I guess it has kind of a similar mix of tone of something vaguely like Portal -- vaguely vaguely -- though in general I'm not comfortable at all with that comparison.  Our writing isn't nearly as funny and isn't trying to be, and the games are nothing alike in general at all.  But the mix of funny plus thematic is similar in some very vague respects.  Mainly I bring that up because Portal shows that it can be done, versus really to say that our game is anything like Portal.  Can you tell I don't like comparing my stuff to Portal? ;)
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Teal_Blue August 27, 2013, 03:00:20 PM
From a purely fluff standpoint, might something more technological be more suitable for the 'whistle' ability? Something like 'ping' akin to modern day ping commands which would send out a signal intentionally alerting other robots in the area to its location.

The whistle is actually a really freaky robot noise, which is funny when you pair it with "whistle."  The game plays up a lot of humor in parts, so the idea of a whistling robot is as funny to me as a robot called "BlunderBot" which says "Oops!" as it fries its friends on the first shot. ;)

There's a mix of being thematic and dark and being funny.  The levels themselves can be creepy, and the ambient noises in the background are definitely unsettling (and can be turned off or down if you don't like that).  In retrospect I guess it has kind of a similar mix of tone of something vaguely like Portal -- vaguely vaguely -- though in general I'm not comfortable at all with that comparison.  Our writing isn't nearly as funny and isn't trying to be, and the games are nothing alike in general at all.  But the mix of funny plus thematic is similar in some very vague respects.  Mainly I bring that up because Portal shows that it can be done, versus really to say that our game is anything like Portal.  Can you tell I don't like comparing my stuff to Portal? ;)


Although Portal is an awesome game,  :)  Maybe because instead of shooting stuff, it was figuring out how to get through alive.  :)  Bionic sounds super cool, and different than anything i have heard of, and i am looking forward to getting it.
Though i still go back to Portal every year or so. Its doesn't explain itself, it doesn't play like other shoot em ups and its atmosphere was right on the nail.  :)

Just remembering...   :)

-Teal

: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: Breach August 27, 2013, 03:18:04 PM

The whistle is actually a really freaky robot noise, which is funny when you pair it with "whistle."  The game plays up a lot of humor in parts, so the idea of a whistling robot is as funny to me as a robot called "BlunderBot" which says "Oops!" as it fries its friends on the first shot. ;)

There's a mix of being thematic and dark and being funny.  The levels themselves can be creepy, and the ambient noises in the background are definitely unsettling (and can be turned off or down if you don't like that).  In retrospect I guess it has kind of a similar mix of tone of something vaguely like Portal -- vaguely vaguely -- though in general I'm not comfortable at all with that comparison.  Our writing isn't nearly as funny and isn't trying to be, and the games are nothing alike in general at all.  But the mix of funny plus thematic is similar in some very vague respects.  Mainly I bring that up because Portal shows that it can be done, versus really to say that our game is anything like Portal.  Can you tell I don't like comparing my stuff to Portal? ;)

Fair enough, I think I understand what you're trying to say and it is a hard atmosphere to describe. I'd say it's darker than Portal but with a light sprinkling of humour in there just to bring the player a bit out of the gloom every now and then. I'm not sure there's any comparison really - most games go full on grit or silliness.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 27, 2013, 03:19:55 PM
Though i still go back to Portal every year or so. Its doesn't explain itself, it doesn't play like other shoot em ups and its atmosphere was right on the nail.  :)

Just remembering...   :)

Oh yes, me too. :)

I'd say it's darker than Portal but with a light sprinkling of humour in there just to bring the player a bit out of the gloom every now and then. I'm not sure there's any comparison really - most games go full on grit or silliness.

Yes to all of that.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: keith.lamothe August 27, 2013, 07:08:42 PM
It feels far less sinister than portal to me.  The early levels of portal were really funny to me, but then it turns pretty vicious/eery.  I haven't had anything like that feel here ;)

Of course, I haven't seen the MurderBot in action.
: Re: Bionic Dues: First 10 Screenshots!
: x4000 August 27, 2013, 08:02:11 PM
It feels far less sinister than portal to me.  The early levels of portal were really funny to me, but then it turns pretty vicious/eery.  I haven't had anything like that feel here ;)

Of course, I haven't seen the MurderBot in action.

You also play with sound off.  My wife was sitting near me not watching the screen, and kept remarking on how freaky the sound was.  Though with music that will change the tone of things anyway.

Still, yes -- far far less sinister than portal.