TBS Once - Turn Based Strategy

[Lainur]

Hello, all !
I want to introduce you my game - 'Once'
It is fantasy strategy with sci-fi elements made in 2D pixel graphics adapted from different RPGmaker RTPs, to release for Windows.
Features:
- Multiple kingdoms/nations with differences in playstyle, abilities, leaders.
- Heroes with different skills, which have a different influence on controlled squads.
- Squads level up and learn new abilities. They cannot be completely destroyed, so they can be deployed in more risky maneuvers in battle.
- Armies have different active and passive skills, battle maneuvers, and unique skills triggered by their combat experience.
- Dynamic terrain and weather systems will influence battle tactics and results.
- Different goals, ways to win and game styles for different nations.
- Events.
- Unique techs and upgrades for each nation.
- AI factions, cults, and tribes will also develop and may mature into fully independent nations that try to conquer and pillage.
I develop this game in my free time, which is hard to come by, but I will work on it as much as possible.

Here is my youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFMNWzFpDBA1XuUN4HGBS0Q

And here is the website:
https://lainurgames.wordpress.com

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So, I'd like to hear your comments. I read them all, and value all your input and feedback, as well as ideas for more features to include.

 

[thesheeep]

If you want to get rid of that Bandicam stuff, I recommend using OBS Studio. It is a software for streamers, but can also be used to simply record videos.

 

[Lainur]

Thank you, i'll try OBS. It's not a big problem anyway, to use or not the Bandicam, just a habit.

 

[Jimmious]

Do you not even have a site for the game?

 

[thesheeep]

Oh, you might want to think about the title, too.
While it doesn't sound bad or anything (remember Black Geyser? )... "Once" is kinda hard to search for

 

[Lainur]

Do you not even have a site for the game?

Hi! No, I don't have one. But I'm thinking about it ...When the content grows, site might be helpful to tell people about the game.

Oh, you might want to think about the title, too.

Agree, that one kind of simple name, but i haven't generate something better yet At least Once is short =)

 

[Lainur]

Hello all !
Introducing Necromancer.
Necromancers enter each battle with one minion unit - Undead. It has lots of HP, but lack of damage.
I have added icons of master and slave also for minions and their masters.
Necromancer has ranged attack - green flames, also it can fight in close combat.
When necromancer kills enemy soldiers it consumes their souls. Also, they receive souls, when their Undeads kills an enemy.
When Necromancer reach 5 level in souls bar, they can use powerful area spell "Rain of Pain"
Other Necromancer's ability is - Revive. It heals their undead's up to 100% hp and even resurrects dead units, but non-much than Necromancer can control. Each unit in necromancer's squad controls 4 Undeads, so when you kills Necromancers you also kills Undead from their controlled squad.
Also, i reworked souls animation when units in squads die. So now when you kill soldiers you can see their souls flying up, but when you kill Undead you see only some green mist falling down on the ground.

 

[Lainur]

Say hello to youtube !
By some mistake Youtube has blocked my account, so all my criminal videos are unavailable now ! ))

 

[Lainur]

I have added some sounds and music
Sounds of fights, shots, spells, unit speech, movement. Environment sounds.
so here is it:

 

[Uncle Skull]

Looks charming, but its kinda odd how when 25 cannons fire at a tightly packed group of enemies only 7 people out of +100 die.

 

[Lainur]

Looks charming, but its kinda odd how when 25 cannons fire at a tightly packed group of enemies only 7 people out of +100 die.

Hello! Thanks. I know that all is unbalanced now, so great work on a balance must be done.

 

[Lainur]

Making some new units:
Druids and summon: Forest Animals:

In the beginning of each battle, druids summon a squad of wolves and bears. When druids have casualties, the number of animals decrease proportionally.
Druids have ranged attack - Earth Spikes(physical damage, but -50% damage to floating creatures)
Skills:
Thorned roots. Target square and 4 diagonal neighbor squares are affected by spell. Low damage, but have a chance to debuff enemy unit for two turns. Rooted unit cannot move and ranged evade decreases greatly.
Passive skill:
Forest walker - druids have no penalties in forest squares.

Mages of deserts and steppes - Dervish and their Summon - Sand Golem:

Dervishe wears light closes and have no weapons, so they are extremely weak in close combat, but they have good defence from a projectiles.
In the beginning of each battle, dervishes summon a Sand Golem unit. It has a great amount of HP, splashing attack and has Skill:
Hurl Sand Bomb - Ranged attack, decreases Golem's HP by 4% and has a chance to confuse enemy, decrease it's counter attacks to zero.
When Dervishes have casualties, HP of a golem decrease proportionally.
Dervishes have ranged attack - Scarab Beetles. It deals low damage but pierces through strongest armors.
Skill: Samum - Target square is affected by powerful fire spell

Witches from the middle kingdoms:

Witches have a ranged attack - Hex. It causes pain only to humanoids and has a chance to lay a curse for 1 turn. Cursed unit always receives maximum damage.
Skills:
Headache - Affects only humanoids. Target square is affected by dark magic spell, which deals moderate damage and nullifies all positive effects(like charge, rage, aiming e.t.c.)
Witche Potion. In the beginning of the battle, one of humanoids unit in army receives buff +50% attack for 10 turns.

Trolls:

"Highly populous, predatory race from the nightmare world."
Melee unit. They fight using big bone axes. Formation - Spread.
Passive skill: Regeneration. In the beginning of each turn, each unit in a squad can regenerate some HP.
оя нет.

Deserters:

Melee unit.
Deserters are soldiers, who left their armies. They are more organized and better equipt than bandits.
Deserters fight using spears and swords. Formation - Spread. Combined Unit - has slash and trust types of attacks .

Bandits:

They fight using daggers, clubs and big axes. Formation - Spread. Combined unit - has blunt, slash and slice type of attacks

 

[Lainur]

As YouTube has blocked my old channel and i can't find how to edit first post, here we go - old videos have to come back.

AI in a tactical battle:

Global Map Demonstrtion:

 

[Lainur]

New design some of mage units( more realistic, imho):

 

[Sloul]

 

[Lainur]

Hello all! Here is new video !
Added some game mechanics, new units and their abilities. Some old units received skills too.
Added status of armies: rooted/cursed/poisoned e.t.c. Each condition has its timer and icon in the upper-left corner of the army.
Added visible minions in some mage-type units. So, mages have elementals, druids hogs, witches - seduced peasants.

 

[Lainur]

In process of AI testing, I have realized that with the current method of unit placement(shuffle) and style which AI plays, some kind of mess is going. Because range attackers can be placed in front lines, melee damagers are in rear ranks and so on. To fix that i have added function for auto placing units in formation which suits for battle better.
Examples on the screens:

Spoiler

and

 

[Lainur]

Wind Mages and Psyonics received ranged attacks.
Mages use ball lightnings and Psyonics use their mind to levitate stones, then fire stones into the enemy square.
Wind mages also received one spell - Thunder Storm(2x2 square, 2 to 6 lightning strikes in every square with high damage)

 

[Lainur]

Now armies recive their start positions, according to overall number of armies in battle.
So, here is video of battle between four armies, controlled by computer.

 

[Lainur]

Morale System was added.
Morale has three levels: low, normal and high. Visual it represented by the condition of the Army Flag.
Hight morale gives chance to have an extra attack in melee or ranged combat or to have no spell cooldown and less MP cost for the spell.
With low morale, units can be thrown in panic or terror states, and when morale is extremely low, units begin to withdraw from the battlefield. They run for 4 turns, then dissappear as deserters. But if they restore their morale somehow, while the run, they have a chance to return to fight.
When the unit is in the panic it makes less damage and has evasion penalties.
Some Units can put their enemies in the state of Terror. Also, they reduce enemy morale by some points with each attack
Terrified units evade badly, losses all gauges( like charge, rage, e .t.c., and begin their next turn with AP/2.
Morale can change because some enemy/ally dies, by spells and skills.

This is how it works:

 

[Lainur]

What's new ?
This is about morale and terrain effects.
As was said before, morale changes after enemy/ally death. It is showing like this:

Spoiler

Also, morale decreases, as the unit takes casualties. Of course, it depends on what type is this unit and what traits it has. For example, the constructs are unaffected by all these morale things.
Also, morale modified by if the unit fights in formation. These units receive resistance to panic and terror and lose less morale from casualties.

About terrain effects. I made few, but I think they are realistic enough, so:
Unit on a hill receives less damage in melee combat.
Unit on a hill has a bonus for ranged attacks if his ranged attack is not magic. It means that archers receive +1 range, but necromancers - not.
When a unit stands on a square with thick forest or rocks or forest with rocks - it has immune to charge.
If unit stands on a square with thick/not thick forest or rocks or forest with rocks it has additional defense from some type of ranged attacks. It works like: forest can give you defense from arrows(thick forest gives more defense), but can not give defense from cannon shots. But rocks can defend both from arrows and cannon shots. And no terrain type can give defense from magical scarabs or ball lightning.

Spoiler: Infantry hides in rocks from archers:

Spoiler

And I have added graphics for the rocks on each type of terrain:

Spoiler

 

[Beowulf]

What's new ?

 

[Norfleet]

Not much, I imagine. I see little but unavailable broken videos. FAKE NEWS!

 

[Lainur]

Beowulf, hello!
Thank you for your interest!
Work continues, i don't have much time, but I have a progress. From the last post here, I've worked on testing and joining all program parts in one: custom battle(where i testing all new things) and big map module. I mean - it must work w/o bugs - summoned units, retreats from the battle field, positioning armies and other new features, that appears in the game.
All is going well. Now i work on how units receive their exp. points.
Also i test big map actions, battles and whole gameplay on the big map. I even made a new smaller big map for that purposes, because it's easier to test:

Spoiler

So, i can show interesting results soon, i suppose!

Norfleet, hello!
You can see broken videos, because youtube banned my channel for no reason. All new videos on a new channel are OK.

 

[Mustawd]