Map Overview (ooo isn't that catchy?)
Name: {Dark Defense} [subject to change]
Size: 96x96 [well-packed, almost stuffy]
Players: 1-5, 4+ recommended
Tileset: Twilight
Story
...ok there isn't one, but I haven't totally ruled it out...the reason why I haven't thrown one in is because nobody actually reads it, unless they really have no clue.
Gameplay
players have two types of money, one buys cannons and the other buys units. In the beginning, you have to build cannons, because every single unit has 0 initial damage. The buildings are on one half, the units are on the other, with the computer players running in a serpentine line around them [see last attachment---units are removed to make the path a lil more obvious].
The halves alternate, with P1 building at top, units on bottom, P2 building on bottom, units at top, etc. The runners are P7 and P8, and start in the top left and top right corners, respectively. They both run to the middle of the map, indicated by a red dot below player 3's area. Both have allied vision with all the players, so that while building the players can still attack. This is achieved by a cliff square between the players and the computers. The last couple of levels are all the boss levels, but I'm probably gonna end up changing that because just now I thought that the 1st boss level will be way too easy... The last 4 or 5 are all fliers, because at this time people should already have been waiting for faster units. Also, I haven't decided on whether or not to give a ban feature, and if so, what type (despotism or democracy)
Terrain 99% complete
All the terrain is picked from the tileset index, and the beginning and end portions of the creep (what the runners are gonna be running on) is noticeably different from the rest of the creep. Unit spawns are indicated by a cloaked floor hatch, with a depressed area doodad beneath (ask if you want to know the doodad, I'm too lazy to look right now). If I decide to add something or other, I have a little room to do it without a major overhaul in the terrain, but I don't plan on doing anything but possibly adding the aforementioned ban feature.
Triggers 50-55% complete
There's a hypertrigger in it, and I just finished making sure that the units wouldn't end up coming out all at once [think income D] when they were supposed to spawn. So far, I have everything but the mundane: There's no way to buy units, no way to get minerals, no level other than 1, and no limit to the cannons [I do plan on incorporating that, because the game would freeze otherwise.] But the beacons you can see in the "buy area" attachment are all invisible [thanks to NudeRaider], the hypertrigger has no bugs [yet], the units will correctly move to their owner's crib, and the enemies all come out in a timely and un-clogged manner, a "burning crystal" appears with 4 disabled marines, the final level [interceptor] stays in two places, because there will be one sent from each side, the lights work perfectly, and all the minor stuff works too.
Mission Briefing 0 or 100%
Edit: I will
5th Edit: I like [ s ]
Unit Balancing: >0%
I haven't even attempted to balance this anymore than
"all players have 255 ups, player 6 has 1 upgrade automatically for showing the unit's attack, and these techs are allowed and these are not."
Almost every unit still has its default name...the exceptions being the burning crystal, named "www.staredit.net", the photon cannons being "cannon" (woo originality!!) and the pylons being blank.
Overall progress: about 60%
Status: crawling
Status: crawling
I always get to this point in a map...where I finish with the hard stuff but I don't want to clean up the easy triggers or unit balancing. Eventually, if no progress is made within a certain period, I abandon it completely. The lives have a different wireframe, but again thats the less well-known stuff...which proves I specialize in finding out how to do something, then completely forgetting the project and moving on...
I will end up balancing it with a deadline of February 1st. After that, I'll either seek aid or completely abandon the project.
EDIT: the date is being pushed back due to unaccounted-for problems...like not enough time during the week and having approximately 2 hours a night to work on this bitch...
EDIT [no clue what #]: removed all but the running area screenshot...all the others are now outdated and were crappy anyways.
Any comments, questions, complaints, death threats, etc., now that I've taken up a good portion of your time?
Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Mar 1 2009, 8:16 am by poison_us.