Overwatch - See It In Action

I knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. So many systems were identified that the overwatch feature needed to interrupt and then resume in a particular order to function as intended. The system is still far from being perfect and some unwanted side effects still need to be fixed, but alas, its main functionality is done.

The video below shows the red team setting up their overwatch-related field of views and then the blue team stepping into those areas triggering opportunity shots. 

This is another major milestone achieved and I think that only networking challenge remains a true challenge now. Everything else pending is just more time-consuming than hard to implement.

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Overwatch Mode In The Works

If you played the X-COM series, you already know how the overwatch plays out, a reaction attack that can be triggered during the opponent's turn. It's an improvement over Rebelstar's former 'opportunity-fire', which was very limited triggering only when units crossed an array of tiles from point A to point B.

Archrebel's overwatch mode works with a field of view that is based on the equipped item's overwatch score and the unit's perception attribute.

The overwatch feature will naturally be used by CPU-controlled units themselves, albeit their version will be simplified and more 'efficient'. The reason for this is to compensate for the fact that players have the upper hand when positioning units on the battlefield - the AI can't beat a human player on that regard.

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AI Nearly Complete! - The First 4 Soundtracks Are Done!

Developing the AI was a unique experience; not a bliss for sure but a relief knowing how I finally know how to work it out. I finally understand how its workflow needs to be constructed to respect pauses and timings to execute each AI behavior. I reckon that only about 10% remain to consider the AI fully implemented.

I've also been working on some soundtracks. Alas, I feel comfortable with FL Studio, meaning that composing scores will take less time now; no more googling to know how to do basic stuff.

Here are the first 4 scores for Archrebel. These are played when Archrebel's jukebox is active, therefore, they are not tied to any particular game event.

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AI Combat Demo

Two months have nearly elapsed since I started working on the AI; this was in fact my initial prediction to implement the whole AI. Most of the hard algorithms have been implemented and only some specific AI features are missing, like healing, reloading, and consuming boosters. I think I'm on the right track and the AI should be finish in 7 days or so.

The video below shows the Alien creatures being CPU controlled against our protagonist Blue Team; I will find a more appropriate team name once I start working on the game's story.

The algorithm uses profiles. These dictate the general in-game behavior. So far, I've implemented, Retreat, Defensive, Offensive, and Berserk, but I will add another one named Protect, which will tell a unit to protect someone or something by placing themselves in front of their target in other to block incoming fire.

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Let There Be Acid

Just showing off the acid-spitting ability of an adult female Gargantule - an indigenous species to the planet where the campaign will unfold. With this functionality to recreate these effects, I can now make each weapon unique when shooting.

Soon, I will upload a video showing the AI algorithm in action. Cheers!

AI - First Steps!

The first steps towards implementing the AI have been committed. The AI will be split into actions that are built each time the CPU turn begins. Movement for CPU units will be made of 3 algorithms, one for moving closer, another for taking cover, and another one to flee from player-controlled units. They will be triggered depending on several factors.

The shooting component will be a separate component but, in a nutshell, the shooting mechanics will be validated each time CPU units move onto a new tile. CPU units will also have personality profiles that dictated how defensive or aggressive they behave in battle.

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A Closer Look At Ghosting

Considering the amount of units missions can hold for both playable and CPU-controlled factions, I've implemented a 'ghost' feature that helps players keep track of the enemies' positions. These ghosts act as a marker in the map and disappear once any ally unit gets them into their Line of Sight (LOS).

Even after ghost markers disappear and players become unsure of the enemy's whereabouts, they help identify enemy-controlled areas. See them in action below.

I've updated the game's development plan and soon will start coding the AI, which is probably the last complex task remaining before Archrebel is in a playable state.

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