AI started, using Finite State Machine to control exploration and economic growth.
Multiple player AI added (currently 4).
Early transport animation added.
First 3D model added.
The AI is far more time consuming than i expected, but it was important to get the base AI engine working correctly before building on it.
The transport tile and borders tile positions are hard coded for test view.
A 3D building is added. Need to sort out the lighting / textures for the building.
Cursor added to indicate current selected hex.
Alll these 2D tile sheets are quick and dirty to prove the concept. It will be easy to update each tile sheet later if required – and maybe by a better artist than me. :) (Hint to Amelia)
I want to create transport routes that allow the players to collect resources:
These tiles are also drawn on the hextiles, where a transport route exists.
We will also need to show borders and so will need a tile sheet to draw these.
The resulting map looks so:
Note that each tile is a 3D hexagonal object, onto which is placed a 2D texture from various tile sheets. Note that Im only using one of the hill terrain tiles and not the full set.
Looks OK in 2D, now to work on the 3D….
To Do: Animate the sea texture.
The map will be a hexagonal tiled map. There will be several layers for each tile.
Base tile layer:
I have created my hex tiles before any code. As I want to zoom into a tile so that it fills the screen I will first try that each tile is 512 x 512. The tile sheets consist 32 tiles prroviding every combination allow the tiles to fit together to form a map.
Here are the tiles to be used for hills, which will drawn on top of base tile:
Here are the resource tiles:
I first tried creating a 3ds hexagon object and adding the base tile textures to the 3ds object. That worked, but I quickly realised that constructing my own object was easier.
Map size will initially be 100 x100 and tiles will be alligned on the horizontal.
Each tile is with a 512×512 pixel square, allowing a reasonable zoom in quality. Note that each tile is arranged on a 4×4 grid and so fits on a 2048 x 2048 pixel sheet. Its easy to reduce this tile resolution if moving a large number of large textures becomes too much of an overhead, but initial tests allow a reasonable number(100 x100) number of hexagons to be moved and textured. This may reduce when i start to need to draw multiple textures onto each hexagon.
Game Concept:
3D Zoom-able map using a hexagon grid.
There is a Strategic Map view with units at Division level, which zooms down to Battle Map view with units at Battalion level.
There is also a Battle Simulation mode, where the battle is relayed. For example the Battle of Waterloo simulation will start at 1130 and step through the positions of all Battalions present each minute until 2100. The step through rate can be increased from the step = real time (there being 570 steps), to step = 15 min (there being 38 steps). The step rate can be varied using the Timeline slider.
Genre: Strategy / Simulation
Era: Napoleanic
Platforms: PC + XBox - and so will use XNA 4.0 / C# / HLSL (Not Widows Phone 7)
Multi Player (via XBox Live) + Single Player
The PC certainly can support both the Strategic and Battle level game, but the XBox may be limited to single Battle level games.
Diplomacy System
Alliances can be established in strategic game.
Economic System
Supply routes to a battle must be established in the strategic level game.
Game Scale
On the 3D Strategic Map each hexagon represents 10 Km
On the 3D Battle Map each hexagon represents approximately 50 m.
Example on the Battle of Waterloo the map width is overlaid by 100 hex at 50 m each and so is 5 Km wide and map height is overlaid by 77 hex rows representing a map height of 3.8 Km. The Battle Map scale may change for other (larger) battle fields to be represented.
The basic unit that can be given orders is the Battalion (Squadron or Battery). Each Battalion is represented by between 1 and 20 figures depending upon the Battalion size.
For example at Waterloo there were several Battalions > 1000 troops (1st/52nd – 4rd Brigad of the 2nd British Infantry Division of the 2nd Corp) , while most Infantry Battalions were between 200 – 800 trops averaging at 550 troops per Infantry Battalion. So unit scale will be 25 troops per figure.
Infantry Scale: Each model represents 25 troops
Cavalry Scale: Each model represents 25 troops
Artillary Scale: Each model reprresents 1 Battery
The Unit Scale will be change for larger battles.
Combat System
No random elements involved in combat system. Combat rules similar to tabletop wargame rules will be used.
Elements used in Combat calculation:
Weapons
Morale
Experence
Command System
In the 3D Battle Map, you represent the Commander in Chief of the army, and will only be aware of troop positions and movements that your command structure informs you of, and what you can physically see and hear. Information passed to you via your command structure will always be delayed, by the amount of time that it takes your ADC to travel. Information passed to you via te Command Structure may not always be accurate.
Issuing commands also takes time to implement, again depending upon the distance between you and the unit to be ordered. Orders may be timed so to synchronise attacks.
AI
An AI that does not cheat. It knows only what a human player would.
All game data is XML based allowing easy reconfiguration at both Strategic and Battle level.
