Hello everybody! I am making an isometric ways sport referred to as NOMIA.
What is the abstract?
It is Ultimate Fantasy Techniques meets Slay the Spire.
It is a couple of group of adventurers navigating a dreamlike world, the place issues that fade from the collective reminiscence coalesce into locations and creatures. It is an train in making a comfortable fantasy setting that explores lesser-seen worldbuilding parts.
What makes this distinctive?
I am specializing in three issues that I hope will make for a enjoyable and distinctive expertise.
1. Your hand has two halves. The left aspect of your hand represents your Actions, which persist between turns, however have expenses and cooldowns. The appropriate aspect of your hand represents your Gambits, that are drawn from a deck of playing cards every flip, and are discarded when performed. You possibly can add to each decks over the course of a run, expressing your playstyle via character constructing in addition to deckbuilding.
2. Your celebration has two heroes. You will at all times choose two at first of every expedition — a Mighty and a Magical. The Mighty has extra Actions. The Magical has extra Gambits.
Every has a singular deck of doable playing cards.
3. Your enemies have tells. Enemy intents are proven in your flip, rewarding intelligent protection. Intents are adjusted if you play playing cards, however not randomly; enemies have a aim in thoughts and can do their greatest to attain it, permitting you to counterplay. You may make enemies rethink their intent by attacking them. A personality can play tank for his or her accomplice in the event that they’re in a pinch. What am I engaged on?
I’ve spent roughly the final 4 months laying the groundwork for the cardboard battle system, and determining a card creation pipeline and artwork type that will make it possible for me, one (1) individual, to make a whole bunch of distinctive and attention-grabbing playing cards.
I hope to attain a way of multiplicative sport design — that’s, every facet of the sport creates synergies with the others, creating many prospects and tales.
Subsequent, I will be engaged on run development, and distinctive map/enemy technology for the totally different biomes I’ve in my head.
Thanks for taking the time to learn my devlog!
What does NOMIA stand for?
It stands for No One Makes It Alone. I’m, sarcastically, making this alone. However I additionally like to think about it as a meditation on the truth that even on this state of affairs, I am benefiting from the work of numerous individuals who have impressed me and laid the groundwork for what I am attempting to do.
« Final Edit: January 06, 2024, 02:57:27 PM by Tangleworm »
(Been engaged on the combination of enemy technology, however I have not carried out the artwork for a lot of of them but!)
There’s numerous bizarre stuff that occurs when your sport is tile-based, like the best way to deal with motion and knockback.
There’s numerous methods to deal with “distance” in a tile-based world. You could possibly make it in order that 1 unit of motion helps you to step left, proper, up, or down — that is referred to as rectilinear distance, or Manhattan distance. Fireplace Emblem does this. You could possibly make it so {that a} unit of motion additionally helps you to step diagonally — that is referred to as chessboard distance, or Chebyshev distance. Many D&D battlemaps do that.
I made a decision to go together with rectilinear distance for this sport, because it’s extra intuitive once we take into account distances in the true world. Because of this going diagonally prices 2 factors of motion — an assault with a variety of two will solely be capable of goal the instantly adjoining diagonal tiles.
Nevertheless, sure assaults can transfer the caster (lunging and retreating), the goal (knockback and pull-in), or each. There are a selection of the way we will make a “line” from one level to the subsequent in rectilinear geometry. How will we deal with non-orthogonal pushing and pulling?
I might consider 3 ways to deal with it.
1. Do not
If we prohibit any self/target-moving skills to simply the orthogonal tiles, we will sidestep the entire problem. That is easy to implement, and the participant will at all times perceive precisely how knockback will work, as a result of it solely occurs once we can depend precisely what number of tiles all the pieces will transfer.
The draw back to that is that this cross-shaped goal can get extraordinarily annoying if you need to hit an enemy that is immediately diagonal to you. As a result of motion prices an motion level on this sport, it could actually get annoying to should spend that time to do a really minor positional adjustment to hit an enemy that already “feels” adjoining to you.
2. Kinda Do
If the goal is at precisely 45 levels, it solely will get just a little extra difficult to know, nevertheless it will get lots much less annoying at shut ranges. Each diagonal tile wants 2 items of knockback.
The difficult half is dealing with the totally different corners an enemy can get knocked into. As a result of knockback does harm primarily based on how a lot remaining knockback there may be when the unit hits a wall, how will we deal with when it hits a nook, however there’s just one unit of knockback left? How will we deal with them hitting a convex nook (e.g. being shoved into the nook of a constructing from the outside) versus a concave nook (e.g. being shoved into the nook pocket of a pool desk)? Can we make this intuitive for the participant to know?
3. Actually Do
We are able to go all the best way and let knockback skills hit each tile a non-knockback skill can.
That is tough for each the developer and the participant, since there are various methods to kind a line (i.e. the shortest distance between two factors) once we’re in rectilinear house. Ought to we snap the knockback to the closest course? Ought to we push the enemy on a path that may not be what the participant needed? Ought to we let the participant select, and decelerate the choice for each knockback card by an additional click on? Even this diagram is advanced to take a look at, and we have not even gotten into dealing with convex corners versus nook pockets.
It did not appear price it for the tradeoffs.
In the long run: I initially went for Do not, however after some consideration I am partway via implementing Kinda Do, and I am pleased with this selection. It prevents knockback-related skills from feeling underpowered attributable to needing to spend an motion level on a minor positional adjustment earlier than casting them, and most knockback skills are shut vary anyway.
If something, this exhibits how a lot thought will need to have went into the varied tile-based worlds we have seen earlier than.
« Final Edit: January 06, 2024, 01:47:08 PM by Tangleworm »
I just like the isometric graphics type! Good colors.
Thanks!
Deck constructing. Hm. Effectively, perhaps others will get pleasure from this.
Aww.
Devlog 4 — Stealing
As TVTropes places it, there are three important archetypes for fantasy RPG characters — Fighter, Mage, and Thief. The Actions vs. Gambits system lets me categorical the Fighter vs. Mage distinction, however how would I categorical {that a} character is a Thief when there is not any stealth or social mechanics?
I had the thought of giving the participant the flexibility to repeat, i.e. “steal”, playing cards. As a result of all skills (even enemy skills) are represented by playing cards underneath the hood, a part of a Thief’s repertoire could be to repeat skills from enemies, allies, and even themselves.
To offset the truth that you’ll be able to’t select which card(s) you copy, they’re performed free of charge, however instantly destroyed afterwards. I hope this results in wild moments when all the pieces strains up completely, and it additionally helps multiply the chance house as a result of each enemy skill is now doubtlessly a participant skill.
Moreover this, I am nonetheless chipping away at enemy artwork, and dealing on menu and sport stream behind the scenes. Hopefully I am going to have probably the most fundamental vertical slice quickly.
« Final Edit: January 06, 2024, 01:47:18 PM by Tangleworm »
Wow, this seems to be tremendous attention-grabbing!!
I am engaged on a sport with comparable inspirations (FFTactics, Slay the Spire, and Into the Breach) and ended up in a really totally different place when it comes to fight. I will be sharing mine quickly, however you are miles forward of me! I really like the gameplay you have shared.
Some questions:
Do you develop your celebration of characters over the course of a run? Or do you develop the decks of the two characters you begin with? Or each?
Assuming you follow the two characters, have they got separate arms? I could not fairly inform from the movies. Or are their playing cards blended into one hand for the participant? What about buffs like Protect?
What do the cardboard swimming pools appear to be? Is it like Slay the Spire, by which every character has a number of archetypes however draw from the identical pool of doable playing cards to draft?
Tremendous thrilling, I’ll completely be following this!
The animations are trying tremendous sharp, and battle may be very readable.
How are you fixing (or how have you ever solved) for overlapping items on the map? I see the well being bubbles above their heads – what does it appear to be when a unit is immediately in entrance of one other on the diagonal? I ask as a result of I am attempting to unravel this myself. I gave up making an attempt to have well being seen on all items always, simply because the HUD parts obscured the map and different items, although my pixel artwork type is totally different than your clean, high-resolution strains, so maybe it hasn’t been a priority for you.
Into the Breach hides well being bars exterior of the unit you are hovering, which is the habits I imitated, however Alina within the Enviornment has a “stretched” hex grid that enables well being to be seen on all items in an unobtrusive means, which clearly is not doable in an isometric grid. Ultimate Fantasy Techniques has no well being hovers and handles it solely within the HUD pop-ins, doubtless attributable to decision constraints. Humorous how easy choices like this find yourself changing into key UI concerns…
The animations are trying tremendous sharp, and battle may be very readable.
Thanks a lot! Your sport is trying implausible too! I am going to drop a remark in your devlog in a second 😀
How are you fixing (or how have you ever solved) for overlapping items on the map?
That is one thing I contemplated lots myself! A minimum of in the intervening time, I am fixing this via artwork course. I take advantage of a circle motif so you’ll be able to see via the “corners” of a unit portrait, and I make the highest circle of an enemy card semi-transparent so you’ll be able to nonetheless see the unit behind it.
That is my important means of protecting issues clear whereas protecting all data on the desk, however there are just a few different issues I felt enhanced this:
Unit portraits have additionally been fastidiously proportioned so that there is simply sufficient room for little icons to peek via, i.e. standing results above the well being orb and intent icons under. There may be overlap, however nothing ever utterly obscures one other factor.
Items are taller than partitions so that they’re by no means utterly obscured, and there is a see-through shader for partitions on high of that.
Utilizing a tooltip system additionally permits me to compress plenty of data right into a tiny icon, because it’s nonetheless handy for the participant to look at the unit to make clear what any icon means.
Issues can nonetheless get visually cluttered with many items on the display screen, so I am additionally contemplating issues like having the ability to examine particular person items by opening a spotlight window, or rotating the digicam in 90 diploma chunks to reorient the world. Hopefully issues will likely be clear sufficient that these are bonuses quite than requirements, although.
Thanks for dropping by!
Devlog 5 — Room Technology
Roguelike dungeon technology is finally a pacing mechanism — a well-generated dungeon is one which creates a superb rhythm of rising and falling rigidity when exploring it. Since NOMIA’s setting works on dream logic, I believed it might be enjoyable to have the participant undergo the dungeon as it is being generated, quite than afterwards.
This conveniently makes it simpler for me to tempo the run, since we will determine within the second the place the subsequent paths go.
To that finish I have been rewriting the map technology system, transferring away from separate algorithms for every space to 1 very parameterized algorithm and totally different “chunks” for every space. Ultimately I am going to have animations for brand new tiles coming in and previous tiles falling out.
« Final Edit: January 06, 2024, 01:47:32 PM by Tangleworm »
I’ve carried out card rewards after every battle! It feels good to be approaching a correct vertical slice. (does having a Roll card formally qualify my sport as a soulslike?)
I’ve additionally made a battle log system so gamers can evaluate what occurred.
Designing the cardboard reward mechanic was an attention-grabbing problem — we’ve got two characters, every with two decks of playing cards. How will we let the participant incrementally construct these decks whereas not overwhelming them with complexity?
My objectives have been to:
Lean in direction of many easy selections, quite than few advanced selections — let depth emerge from the sum.
Not overwhelm the participant with too many selections in a row, as a result of that feels the identical as making a single overly-complex selection.
Encourage stability in how a lot every character is developed.
I might consider 3 ways to deal with it.
1. Shamelessly Copy Slay the Spire, However 4 Instances
Essentially the most naive option to get this working could be to have separate drafts for every character and deck — Mighty Actions, Mighty Gambits, Magical Actions, and Magical Gambits.
It might actually make sure that characters are developed equally, however even fascinated about this many selections in a row makes my head harm. Would we have to make 4 selections after every combat? Would we solely get to make these selections after each 4 fights? Would these selections rotate in a round-robin format, and doubtlessly rob the participant of a important selection in the event that they occurred upon a boss battle on the improper time within the cycle?
None of those choices appeared interesting.
2. Shamelessly Copy Slay the Spire, However Twice
If we will not simply make the participant draft 4 instances, why not twice?
I might see a bonus to separating Actions and Gambits; it might make sense to realize a Gambit each battle, however much less so an Motion each battle, as a result of they’d quickly clog your hand. I might reserve Actions as boss-battle rewards, or perhaps an possibility at a relaxation occasion.
Nevertheless, as a result of Mighties rely extra on Actions, doing so would depart them to stagnate between these “large” occasions. It might additionally cut back the joy of every draft when you actually needed a brand new Motion and knew you would not ever get one, and it might improve the frustration of lastly arriving at an Motion draft and disliking each selection.
3. Shamelessly Copy Slay the Spire, However As soon as
I noticed the magnificence of the unique’s draw-three-pick-one reward. Any card can theoretically seem, which is thrilling, and the subsequent selection is rarely too distant, which mitigates the frustration of dangerous attracts.
By mixing all 4 decks into the pile, I would should handle some possibilities to encourage stability:
The left card has a excessive likelihood of being a Mighty card, whereas the appropriate card has a excessive likelihood of being a Magical card. The center card is equally prone to be both.
Whoever has drafted fewer playing cards has an elevated likelihood for his or her playing cards to seem in any slot.
Actions are a lot much less prone to seem than Gambits, however they might doubtlessly seem any time.
The results of this tuning is that if playing cards have been picked solely at random, the heroes would pretty cut up what number of playing cards they every get to draft, and so they’d every have a wholesome division of Actions to Gambits. However, if the participant actually needed to, they might create an absurdly off-kilter construct — and is not that a part of the enjoyable of a roguelike?
By managing possibilities on the sport aspect, I can spare the participant a lot of the complexity, whereas nonetheless having the ability to tune the cardboard unfold behind the scenes. Anybody who needs to get tremendous deep into the mechanics can nonetheless get a “really feel” for the way playing cards are rewarded, however the participant’s psychological load is lowered considerably by solely exhibiting the knowledge they want within the second.
This technique additionally dovetails simply into different occasion varieties — I am planning on having ones that allow you to particularly mulligan your Actions, and different methods to fine-tune your construct.
Nomia seems to be enjoyable and appears to be getting alongside nice! Sustain the nice work!
Thanks a lot!
This week has been principally engaged on behind-the-scenes issues. I acquired playing cards that swap positions working:
And I additionally reused the battle-log code for standing logs that seem above items’ heads, so now it is clearer when a ton of issues occur without delay:
I really feel inspired to start out utilizing extra advanced mixtures of statuses in enemy design now that the knowledge may be conveyed clearly. Typically type is required for substance.
Assessment: Chip’s Problem – Nintendo Swap