[Defense Force Omega] Darkmatch/Invasion/XCom

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RegularX

Master of Dagoth Lies
Feb 2, 2000
1,215
0
0
Chicago, IL
Giving a bot a command:

command.jpg


Creating a defensive line:

form1.jpg
 

RegularX

Master of Dagoth Lies
Feb 2, 2000
1,215
0
0
Chicago, IL
Postal said:
Spiffy, finally. Any Enemies Yet?

Basically just a Nightmare model holding a Link Gun with no alt fire right now. They're obscured in the dark, but you can sometimes see them move against the skybox. I'll try to snap some pics, but they have this tendecy to just sorta appear and get shot ;)
 

RegularX

Master of Dagoth Lies
Feb 2, 2000
1,215
0
0
Chicago, IL
Now officially back on the mainland...

A few updates:

1) Moving the mixed alien concept (a la XCom) to a more homogenous one, thinking that the alien forces will be a kind of silicon-based life that can be re-engineered on the fly. There will be silicon pools (silicon probably not what I'll be calling it in the end) that creates new aliens that need to be destroyed. This will help blend more action into the suspense, making the game both a monster hunt and a bit of invasion style monster killing.

2) I'm becoming more and more determined to make randomly generated maps. I think it will way up the replayability and keep the game from stagnating into using the same strategy over and over again.

3) Instead of placing UFO's onto the same map, it's possible that once you clear a level, there may be a UFO which will kidnap you (ie, a new map). This will help divide the outdoor maps and the indoor (and simply the randomization if it works)

4) Couple have asked about giving commands, et al ... essentially I think it will work like this: Your command will be sensitive to what you are pointing at. So if you are pointing at the ground, it's a "go there" command...an enemy and it's an "attack" command, a fellow soldier and it might be a "follow" or "aid", etc.

My first goal now is to expirement with the random maps, hoping to have something running by the time 2k4 arrives.
 

RegularX

Master of Dagoth Lies
Feb 2, 2000
1,215
0
0
Chicago, IL
bow before me!!!! :)

Sorry for the dark pics, I had to fubar some of the map settings to get this to work the first time.

One map. Same basic spot. Sometimes you see:
haystacks.jpg

haystacks

or

oiltanks.jpg

oiltanks

or

wheathay.jpg


wheat and hay.

(fanfare rolls)

Random maps!!
 

RegularX

Master of Dagoth Lies
Feb 2, 2000
1,215
0
0
Chicago, IL
I didn't end up using a random spawner because it would be too random. Every wheatfield for instance might need a fence around it, so it would be bunch of actors together.

I had thought of doing a "russian doll" trick, where large static meshes obscure smaller ones and then get stripped away, but that was far too limiting. So this is a variant of that.

A custom static actor tags itself with a setname. Any number of these actors can share the same setname making them part of the same set. All the sets get put into the same basic area, and then a SetMaster actor makes a decision about what set in his vicinity is going to be shown. Then each of the set pieces ask the master if they can stick around, and if not - they get deleted. So only 1 set out of X remains.

It's completely portable, all I have to do is make one block with all the sets that are possible in the map, add a setmaster and fill it with the possible setnames, and then I can copy and paste it around the map.

Obviously there are some limitations to what kind of sets can be made, and some things like the SkyHawk and PlayerStarts have to be static. I'm hoping though, to a) tie this to the campaign ... so if the aliens have more control over the region, it might be more of a alien landscape and b) that SetMasters might be able to talk to each other to coordinate their sets.