Arcen Games

General Category => Untitled 3D Survival => : x4000 February 22, 2016, 04:42:46 PM

: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 22, 2016, 04:42:46 PM
Watashiwa and I have been talking about names for this game.  I'm not going to tell you what it is just yet, though. Curious on your take on some names (note that when I use ___, then that's basically [insert word(s) here]):

Outskirts ___
___ Outskirts
Final Outskirts
After Hope
Interloper
Mobile Armor

Joke names:
Tripod Nights
No Habitat For Humanity
New Hotness
Shifting Citadels
The Best Offense



There's no real way you guys can help much with this, but I suppose that as we come up with particularly interesting candidates we might throw them out there so that you can give us your blind impressions of them.  Also it's partly just me taunting you.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Draco18s February 22, 2016, 04:54:28 PM
New Hotness

Hot Chrome
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: crazyroosterman February 22, 2016, 04:55:36 PM
New Hotness

Hot Chrome
sweet metal.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 22, 2016, 04:56:47 PM
Not bad!  But a game company unfortunately.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Misery February 22, 2016, 06:28:03 PM
Also it's partly just me taunting you.

Knew it the moment I saw the thread name, yep.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 22, 2016, 07:05:59 PM
Predictable me!
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: tombik February 22, 2016, 07:06:25 PM
There is a game called Interloper already.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/356420/
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 22, 2016, 07:07:56 PM
I know -- also one called Outskirts.  I'm not really fond of Interloper as a name, anyway.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: tombik February 22, 2016, 07:14:17 PM
Here are my name suggestions, I know they suck, they dont make any sense, but this is what you asked for.

Holy Mother of Dinosaurs
Geneshifter
Envoy
Hybridology
Shader 3.0

I tried to use all the spillage, and if these names sound too bad, it is not completely my fault :)



: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Misery February 22, 2016, 07:29:43 PM
Holy Mother of Dinosaurs

I nominate this one.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art February 22, 2016, 07:30:47 PM
Hot Dinosaur Action
Velociraptor: Hot and Bothered
Velociraptors of a Feather Turret Together
A Valley with Dinosaurs: Steampunk Boogaloo
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art February 22, 2016, 07:36:53 PM
Telepathic T-Rex
Tales of a Tyrannical T-Rex
Jurassic Ark: Judgement Day
Mechanized Artificial Dinosaurs (MAD)

I could do this all day
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: crazyroosterman February 22, 2016, 07:40:08 PM
Holy Mother of Dinosaurs

I nominate this one.
+1
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Cinth February 22, 2016, 07:57:29 PM
Fearlessly Foraging Far Flung Firma

Alien Life Terrorizing Far Flung Ferula Fortalice 

Cretaceous Tyrant Ravaging Life, Alien Life Terrorizing Deleteriously


Joke titles (Alt F4 and Ctrl Alt Del) I'm out.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: tombik February 22, 2016, 08:14:14 PM
From what I read, it seems to me that this will be also an overcomplex arcen game, so I have also this:

Occam's Swiss Army Knife

Mechanized Artificial Dinosaurs (MAD)

I also like this one btw.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 22, 2016, 08:20:41 PM
Dinos are really a minor part of this, haha.  And in general this game is a lot simpler than the ones in [redacted] genre in terms of getting up to speed with the basics as a new player.  I really hate the learning curve on a lot of those games, and how after the learning curve is done there's not much higher to go in terms of difficulty or interest.  I have some very cool designs for solving those specific problems.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: tombik February 22, 2016, 08:21:59 PM
I should mention that, "After Hope" is pretty cliche name, please skip it  ::)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 22, 2016, 08:23:59 PM
I should mention that, "After Hope" is pretty cliche name, please skip it  ::)

Oh yes, for sure.  We don't have any name candidates that we remotely like.  They all suck for a wide ranging variety of reasons.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: ptarth February 22, 2016, 08:46:29 PM
Robo-Dino-Dating Simulator 2016

Really though, without more information this is just random shots in the dark.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art February 22, 2016, 09:19:25 PM

Oh yes, for sure.  We don't have any name candidates that we remotely like.  They all suck for a wide ranging variety of reasons.

This is snark I can get behind!  :)

I feel like a monkey. A well pampered monkey, but still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_elVGGgW8

: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: crazyroosterman February 22, 2016, 09:39:22 PM
Robo-Dino-Dating Simulator 2016

Really though, without more information this is just random shots in the dark.
+1 spot on I think that sounds right from what Chris has said but itll be realy realy hard for a dating sim though he may want to tone it down a bit.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 23, 2016, 01:25:31 AM
Oh I wasn't actually asking for suggestions.  It was more a matter of we'll lob things at you blindly from time to time and see what you think without knowing the context.  Blind reactions, as it were.

The Simpson's clip was awesome, thanks for that. :D
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Captain Jack February 23, 2016, 03:07:04 AM
I should mention that, "After Hope" is pretty cliche name, please skip it  ::)

Oh yes, for sure.  We don't have any name candidates that we remotely like.  They all suck for a wide ranging variety of reasons.
Oy, Redoubt is an awesome title and I curse the proles who wouldn't see it   :P
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 23, 2016, 03:20:44 AM
It has the word "doubt" right in there! ;)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Captain Jack February 24, 2016, 04:58:02 AM
It has the word "doubt" right in there! ;)
Undoubtedly the word is there, however doubtlessly your misdoubt of redoubts is causing you to doubtingly see doubters when the undoubtable problem is that most people don't know what the word means.

Hmm, choked there at the end.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 24, 2016, 05:14:18 AM
Lol.

Boy, I've been working on lighting and other color effects for most of today (along with some terrain stuff and so on), and part of me is tempted to call this Nightfall at this point.  Heh.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Cinth February 24, 2016, 05:19:21 AM
It has the word "doubt" right in there! ;)
Undoubtedly the word is there, however doubtlessly your misdoubt of redoubts is causing you to doubtingly see doubters when the undoubtable problem is that most people don't know what doubt means.

Hmm, choked there at the end.
Doubting your abilities for wordplay?  The word you danced around so eloquently would have undoubtedly fit within the last few words.  Doubt my judgement?  See for yourself, fixed that for you. 

: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Captain Jack February 24, 2016, 06:12:01 AM
Lol.

Boy, I've been working on lighting and other color effects for most of today (along with some terrain stuff and so on), and part of me is tempted to call this Nightfall at this point.  Heh.
Guild Wars took all the good names. Nightside? Wait that's a series of urban fantasy novels.

Doubting your abilities for wordplay?  The word you danced around so eloquently would have undoubtedly fit within the last few words.  Doubt my judgement?  See for yourself, fixed that for you. 
Hah! Quite. I was trying to avoid the word itself so I didn't even think of finishing the sentence with it. Props for that.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Cinth February 24, 2016, 06:25:38 AM
Hah! Quite. I was trying to avoid the word itself so I didn't even think of finishing the sentence with it. Props for that.

It was fun to read and try to speak without stumbling over the words.  I had to come up with something that sounded as good as it read.  Glad you enjoyed. :D
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 24, 2016, 01:37:10 PM
I'm not sure that I want to emphasize night anyway, I dunno.  The colors and everything are really vibrant at this point, which I think really helps to give a sense of fun and life that a lot of similar games miss by being dreary and bland.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: ptarth February 24, 2016, 04:43:11 PM
Dino-Light  2016: The Disco-Robo-Dino-Dating Simulator of the Century
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: mrhanman February 25, 2016, 03:34:07 AM
I don't think this is going to exactly be a game at all.  From all the clues I've gathered stalking Chris around the Internet, I have pretty conclusive proof that they are working on a cycle-accurate PHP Playstation 1 emulator.  Think about it - it's the only thing that makes sense!
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art February 25, 2016, 04:23:43 AM
I'm not sure that I want to emphasize night anyway, I dunno.  The colors and everything are really vibrant at this point, which I think really helps to give a sense of fun and life that a lot of similar games miss by being dreary and bland.

It is cliche to want colors to pop.

I want the colors to actually pop. A game starts grey and gets more color as difficulty progresses. I want mild PTSD to occur when a certain obnoxious color is present.

I want weird things
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art February 25, 2016, 04:36:43 AM
Rising Rascals
The Forest Ate My Neighbors
Country Commodity Collector
Armored Skirmish
Tanks A Lot
Holey Hovercars
Surviving Sucks: Some Surreal Saga
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: windgen February 25, 2016, 05:14:06 AM

Yes there are dinosaurs.  But there are a lot more aliens and robots and corrupted human enemies.  Dinosaurs are one of a variety of genetic-experiment-style creatures you'll run into in the wilderness, away from the main enemy towns and forts.

Sounds like it might be A Valley Without Wind 3

Yup, this is our first 3D game.

So the name should obviously be:

A Valley Without Wind 3D
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Draco18s February 25, 2016, 06:16:59 AM
A Valley Without Wind 3D

I think you mean, "A Valley Without Wind: III-D"
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 25, 2016, 01:23:25 PM
A Valley Without Wind really has a lot of other mechanics that wouldn't belong here, plus a TON of baggage in general.  There is no magic in this world, for instance, and no time travel -- it's all !science! (fiction).
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art February 25, 2016, 09:15:31 PM
Zoo's Out (Summer Predation)
Rumble in the Urban Jungle
X: Preposterous Prelude
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Pumpkin February 26, 2016, 06:52:31 AM
A Valley Without Wind really has a lot of other mechanics that wouldn't belong here, plus a TON of baggage in general.  There is no magic in this world, for instance, and no time travel -- it's all !science! (fiction).
Then is there a link with the AIW/TLF/SBR/SR universe? Maybe nothing will say it's not in the same universe but there will be no Burlust/Zenith/Hydral/... to prove it is in the same universe. Or a brand new "franchise"?

I have to say, I love the way you've been putting all your recent games (TLF/SBR/SR) in the same universe. It really gives an sense of continuity to players that follows Arcen as a brand.

While I'm rambling, what about a DLC (or a lore-patch with a new ending) for Bionic Dues that would (more or less subtly) hint that this humans-against-machines skirmish is the presages of the war that ravaged Earth before AI War? I might write a proposal for that if I get some free time these days.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: MaxAstro February 26, 2016, 08:40:31 AM
"Tidalis: The Last Skyward Bionic Rogue AI Haven Valley Beyond Reach".  Can't go wrong with a name like that, right?  :)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 26, 2016, 02:16:28 PM
Cheers!

1. Is the new game set in the same universe as the others?  Hmmm... kinda-probably-maybe?

The overall setting in this one is on either Earth or an earth-like planet where the level of technology is kinda like ours now, but progressed maybe 50-100 years.  Aka some things are the same (true now as of the 1950s), and many other things are different.  However, aliens have invaded and they and their robots basically took over everything.  There are some humans left, kinda working for the aliens and kinda slaves to them.  Overall a lot of my inspiration comes from the White Mountain books, which I loved as a kid (the tripod trilogy).  Really hard to go back and read them now as an adult, though, because it turns out they were fairly poorly written. ;)

Anyway, a lot of that doesn't fit into the lore of what happened on Earth Prime, so to speak, in the general Arcenverse.  However, there isn't any reason to say that this isn't Earth 28 actually set 1000+ years into our future.  Some of the "historical" things that we'd find familiar might be intentional cultural aesthetic choices on the part of the (now former) denizens of that planet.  Kind of a retro thing to mix in with their future tech (after all, we can't sacrifice convenience, now, can we?).

That would also explain why the wildlife is so very different.  The trees and whatnot would be more similar thanks to terraforming and the fact that a lot of us have an attachment to that sort of vegetation.  That said, not all of the trees are native to earth, not remotely.  I'd been thinking that those were alien invasive species as they start terraforming Earth Prime, but the reality might be that those are actually the native plants to Earth #28 (or whatever it is), and WE terraformed the heck out of it, making life difficult for the local flora and fauna.

2. Will we be seeing Burlusts and similar in this game?  Probably not, unless we do a successful kickstarter and that's a stretch goal.  That's a lot of custom 3D modeling to really do them right.  Lore-wise this would really have to be something other than Earth Prime for that to make any sense in the timeline, too.  In general the AI kept humans far away from the TLF and SBR races, mainly because [redacted -- that would have been major spoilage for SBR].  But I'm sure that Jack, the official keeper of the Arcenverse lore/timeline at this point (Watashiwa) could come up with some sort of side timeline for this that would make sense.  Everyone from each race didn't just go one place at all times, so there's thematic consistency there -- so long as this game was set in the correct temporal period.

3. I'd love to do DLC for Bionic Dues, but I don't think it would sell enough for it to be feasible for us to develop it with our core staff.  If someone wants to do it as a passion project at some point, then we could work something out for royalties (whatever there would be) on said DLC if that was desired.  But it would have to be the right people in terms of having existing knowledge of that game plus a solid plan for what to do, plus knowledge of the general type of code and blah blah.

4. As far as doing some sort of story patch-in for Bionic, it might be possible, yes.  I'm not sure how exactly that would go, though.  I do see this as being set on Earth Prime and part of the machine uprising.  However, I also have thought of that as being far earlier in the timeline than the human civil war and earlier than the AI attacking them.  A few hundred years, anyway.  The stuff going on in Bionic Dues is more "the rumblings before the real storm," and you can see some of the potential causes of what leads to civil war later, as well as how the AIs get loose.  But those AIs are not centralized or very good yet, and rebellion against the city-owning corporations has not yet begun.

5. Tidalis: The Last Skyward Bionic Rogue AI Haven Valley Beyond Reach.  Love it -- sold! ;)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Draco18s February 26, 2016, 06:21:58 PM
3. I'd love to do DLC for Bionic Dues, but I don't think it would sell enough for it to be feasible for us to develop it with our core staff.  If someone wants to do it as a passion project at some point, then we could work something out for royalties (whatever there would be) on said DLC if that was desired.  But it would have to be the right people in terms of having existing knowledge of that game plus a solid plan for what to do, plus knowledge of the general type of code and blah blah.

I had a lot of trouble getting into Bionic Dues, honestly.  I liked the mechanics, but it was really blasted difficult to play.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 26, 2016, 07:03:17 PM
Yup, it's a very specific type of game, for sure.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: crazyroosterman February 26, 2016, 07:23:27 PM
personally its not that I don't like it or dislike its mechanics I just couldn't enjoy I have no idea why.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 February 26, 2016, 07:26:32 PM
Also fair.  I really don't get offended about that.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Captain Jack February 27, 2016, 12:17:24 AM
2. Will we be seeing Burlusts and similar in this game?  Probably not, unless we do a successful kickstarter and that's a stretch goal.  That's a lot of custom 3D modeling to really do them right.  Lore-wise this would really have to be something other than Earth Prime for that to make any sense in the timeline, too.  In general the AI kept humans far away from the TLF and SBR races, mainly because [redacted -- that would have been major spoilage for SBR].  But I'm sure that Jack, the official keeper of the Arcenverse lore/timeline at this point (Watashiwa) could come up with some sort of side timeline for this that would make sense.  Everyone from each race didn't just go one place at all times, so there's thematic consistency there -- so long as this game was set in the correct temporal period.
If we did they're look and act very different from the Burlurst we're used to. Blame relativistic travel, and the circumstances in TLF and SBR.

My official (ha!) thinking is that there's no connection with other Arcen games. I expect plenty of teases, but things just work too differently.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Misery February 27, 2016, 01:11:21 AM
I'd love a BD expansion, really.

Though I get the reasons why it wont happen... I'd offer to help make it myself, but the coding for that one isnt something I can do.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Pumpkin February 27, 2016, 10:05:24 AM
Oops. I didn't see this (https://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,18595.0.html) brand new thread. Sorry!
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art March 01, 2016, 09:00:47 PM
Menacing Maverick
Stubborn Strike
Rocket (Rocker?) Mom
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: nas1m March 01, 2016, 09:40:35 PM
I'd love a BD expansion, really.

Though I get the reasons why it wont happen... I'd offer to help make it myself, but the coding for that one isnt something I can do.
I would love to dig some into C#, but this won't be possible before next year (I'm a C/C++ dev by trade).
Who knows, maybe we can pull something off together ;)...
Would love to try it - that much is certain.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 01, 2016, 09:45:04 PM
Attacks From The Rocky Barrren

;)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Cyborg March 02, 2016, 01:23:33 AM
Dinosores: Jurassic health crisis

Biotic crisis

Great Oxygenation Event

Fossil record without a claws(paws?)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 01:39:22 AM
PostSim
Apocalyptic Occlusion
Watchtower
Distant Tower
Apex Scion
Ancient Elegant
Arid Town
Distant Wasteland
Surivalist Frigate
Modern Mechnar
Extreme Ruin
Abandoned Earth
Tripod Trooper
Amplify Antigrav
Wasteland Mole
Lethal Evolution

...some cool words in there, at least.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: nas1m March 02, 2016, 05:11:02 AM
I just love Tripod Trooper.
Adorable ;).
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Pumpkin March 02, 2016, 06:52:51 AM
I like "XXX Ruin". Can't say why. "Extreme Ruin" is nice, but maybe better twisted or expanded, like "Lethal Ruin" or "Extreme Ruin... Survival". "Extreme Ruin Rider"? (Sounds like something that can come out of the Dwarf Fortress' name generator. :D) "Resilient Ruin Rider" for the sake of RRR (and the survival side)?

I like the slight silliness of associations. I think it gives some originality (some "relief") to the name.

"Lethal Evolution" is nice too, but maybe a bit common.

TL;DR:
Resilient Ruin Rider
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: tombik March 02, 2016, 01:28:49 PM
Among those, my fav is Distant Tower.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 03:11:21 PM
World of Ruin from FFVI is always something I like, heh.

But I think Distant Tower is perhaps my second favorite.  I'd have to come up with some sort of tower for the game, though, but that's not too hard -- there just isn't some singular tower at the moment. ;)  Not that it would be hard to add, because of the build/level editor and all that jazz.  I'm sure there will be towers either way (well already there are small ones), but it's a matter of whether or not those will have some key story significance.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art March 02, 2016, 07:02:04 PM
World of Ruin from FFVI is always something I like, heh.

But I think Distant Tower is perhaps my second favorite.  I'd have to come up with some sort of tower for the game, though, but that's not too hard -- there just isn't some singular tower at the moment. ;)  Not that it would be hard to add, because of the build/level editor and all that jazz.  I'm sure there will be towers either way (well already there are small ones), but it's a matter of whether or not those will have some key story significance.

If you do not find a use, you can just have it be in the background somewhere.  Forever.  ;D

I'm not a fan of towers though in games I have found. I loved the idea of them as a kid but now I find them very unwieldy. If too small they seem silly and if too large they are a pain to get in and out of. I do enjoy it as decoration a bit though.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 07:58:05 PM
Haha, yeah, "the tower you can never reach."  I could do that, although I won't. ;)

One of the tricky things with towers in this game is that all of the building materials are destructible, so if there are any towers that are too huge then they will wind up being something where you just go "welp, Imma gonna chop this guy down from the bottom and see what spills out!"
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Draco18s March 02, 2016, 08:12:51 PM
3D and destructible environment? :o
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 08:18:46 PM
3D and destructible environment? :o

Only buildings and objects; not terrain.  So think more like Red Faction: Guerrilla.  Originally I was looking to do terrain as well, but that gets beastly on the network and I was not happy with voxel solutions I was able to either come up with or purchase.

I have to say, though, that it's immensely fun to blow something up only to have its physical shrapnel go flying through the air, cause further destruction, knock over a tree, that tree falls hard on a big pile of other stuff, and there's just... wreckage. :D
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art March 02, 2016, 08:32:23 PM
3D and destructible environment? :o

I think he has implied the terrain (terra) itself will not, but he has further elaborated that objects may which is far less intensive on...many fronts.


EDIT:ninjaed

It works out better I think. I've had far more fun just reacting to a good object physics compared to just terra alteration. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Red faction come to mind.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 08:34:00 PM
Destructible terrain can be done a variety of ways without being TOO computationally expensive, but storing all that data (and transmitting it for network play) is a real beast.  Ultimately I didn't feel like it added that much to the game to be worth all that.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art March 02, 2016, 08:39:43 PM
Yes I am going through my mental history and can find many of great memories of destructible / free "physics" objects, not so many with destructible terrain. In a few games you actually placed "objects" that altered the terrian (trenches, walls) but to the casual observer they just seemed to follow the same concept.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 08:43:01 PM
I have enjoyed it a lot in 7 Days To Die.  However, it was partly because there was not enough interesting going on ABOVE ground.  For instance, "mining" is something I did a lot of, and my wife remarked with surprise that I wouldn't want that in this game.  Since I spent so much time with it.  My response was that I prefer exploration, and I'd prefer to "mine" buildings and objects.  My quest in 7 Days was always to get TNT to blow up buildings and watch them topple.  Such a rare sight!  So much fun!

In something like RF:G it is way more common but still just as fun.  Making it actually USEFUL as well (hey that's how you mine) is a double bonus.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art March 02, 2016, 09:04:53 PM
Yes using terrain as a mechanic (mining, building) is a great idea, however I find it causes a split focus between the surface world and the under world. I can love either (Dwarf Fortress 2) but I find it is necessary to focus on one mechanic over another (expand horizontally or vertically, over or underground, etc). Trying to do too many things leads to serious feature creep.

In either case, I feel it is feel the best return of investing the time to have the environment be altered is that if it ultimately expands the enjoyment players a player can have. Given a large enough "tool kit" players can have a ton of fun just experimenting. For your example of the towers you can make it so a tower can be leveled by shooting the base. You would have to give incentives to not always do that but the option is certainly satisfying.

https://youtu.be/2kMzYIWe_9U?t=4s
https://youtu.be/zSsdHPK8BIs?t=36s
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 09:11:44 PM
Right, for sure.  I felt like that was something that overall RF:G got a bit wrong was making it so that the best option wasn't to just level the building.  The only way they got around that was by limiting your weapons or making buildings respawn if you didn't finish them off before leaving the area, neither of which are things I loved.

For me, I feel like the harvesting of resources should come only when you're directly attacking the thing; and looting of stuff would only happen if you actually open a chest or cabinet or whatever versus blowing it up.  So if you blow up a tower on sight, you're saying you didn't want any of the loot in there, and didn't want the full benefit of the resources it could have yielded.  That sort of tradeoff would lead me to -- generally -- explore and loot a building and then nuke it.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: chemical_art March 02, 2016, 09:20:41 PM
So if you blow up a tower on sight, you're saying you didn't want any of the loot in there, and didn't want the full benefit of the resources it could have yielded.  That sort of tradeoff would lead me to -- generally -- explore and loot a building and then nuke it.

Yes it is wonderful and allows for more flexible game-play. For example a key thing about explosive weapons is that either they are incredibly rationed (which leads to hoarding) or they are underwhelming which is not as satisfying. By making it so you have to have to leave a structure standing while inside is a very effective way to balance the weapon from being overused while still allowing it to have that power.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 02, 2016, 09:23:02 PM
Thanks, glad you like it. :)  Yeah, I prefer to make it so that I can have my cake and eat it too on the explosives... but that there's a whole collateral damage thing to think about (and not in a punitive "don't like your escort NPC die" sort of fashion).  Sometimes I just won't care about loot and I'll blow up the tower to get rid of the guys in it... and collect a bit of resources from it just because they fell out, heh.
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Draco18s March 03, 2016, 05:36:30 AM
I figured it wasn't terrain which is why I used the word environment.  I've played Men of War.

Also.  Play Men of War, or at least watch videos of its amazing destructible stuff system and bullet ricochet.  You absolutely can hide a tank inside a house, fire a shell through the wall (which leaves a hole), have the shell glance off the armor of one tank, decapitate a soldier, slam into the side of another tank, and destroy it (at least until someone comes along and repairs it, sort of).
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Pumpkin March 03, 2016, 07:43:59 AM
Waitwaitwait... Network?
Oh, yeah, multiplayer and stuff. Silly me. :D

Then I have a question for ya, Chris. Will there be PvP? Wiil there be coop? Both? Only one? As it is a survival game, I bet coop will be in. But what is your politic about PvP? Regarding AI War, I know you know PvP isn't mandatory for a great game, and I fully agree with that. While I personally hate PvP (yeah, truly), what are your plans for this "mysterious" game? Will it be allowed? Will it be a core objective or an occasional matter? Will there be competition (which is another form of PvP)?

... if we're allowed to know, because secrets and stuff.
 ::)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 03, 2016, 01:54:14 PM
Very very cool about Men of War.  There are some things along those lines that I'm working on, although likely not with the same visual sophistication (ha).

In terms of multiplayer, PvE is the main thing I want to focus on.  This isn't just some sort of random "do whatever you like" sort of game; there's a progression to things, and an endgame that sort of cycles.

I know that a lot of people love PvP, but then you run into the need for all sorts of anti-griefing tools, anti-cheat tools, and so on.  Before you know it, you're installing rootkits on the player machines and it still doesn't work (cough Ark cough).  Or you've got really strange concepts like Land Claim Blocks in 7 Days to Die.  Or those sorts of insane interactions and spawn-campers and all that from DayZ.

To me, there are plenty of games about "are you better at killing me or am I better at killing you?"  I really used to enjoy Unreal Tournament and Quake II.  And Day of Defeat and Counter Strike.  But pretty much all of those, past a certain point, were team-based games.  To me one of the interesting things was finding out "am I doing the best on my team, or in general how am I doing relative to the rest of my team?"

Putting AI enemies and a PvE scenario on the other side of that rather than other human players is something I'd prefer, but then to keep that sort of scoreboard system for the human players.  Heck, potentially having random "bounties" that only show up for a single player, and the player can aid the rest of the humans by doing that if they want to.  Other players can either help them or can just say "good luck to ya buddy."  That sort of competition-that-is-still-teamwork is something I really like.  It's Gimli and Legolas in a lot of ways. ;)
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Draco18s March 03, 2016, 04:29:31 PM
Very very cool about Men of War.  There are some things along those lines that I'm working on, although likely not with the same visual sophistication (ha).

Oh sure.  I just mean that it's worth looking at, even if the result is "that's really awesome, I am not doing that."
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: Pumpkin March 04, 2016, 06:42:08 AM
Coming from AI War's designer  (which is the only asymmetric-RTS-PvE I'm aware of), I expected no less.
(Did I say I --personally-- hate PvP?)

Gimli and Legolas in a lot of ways. ;)
The new definition of competitive PvE! I love it!
: Re: Names for a game you have no idea what it's about?
: x4000 March 04, 2016, 02:49:08 PM
Gimli and Legolas in a lot of ways. ;)
The new definition of competitive PvE! I love it!

"That still only counts as one!!"