Challegen 7 - Second Assault

In the last post, I detailed a real-time strategy game based on Battlestar Galactica that would give the player a feeling of paranoia. What I described outlined the basic premise of space battles and controlling the fleet, and the paranoia part came from not always knowing when the Cylons would attack.

I did make brief mention of on-foot missions, and this brought up an excellent point: trying to figure out who the Cylons are within the fleet would make for an even more paranoia-inducing experience. So for this second assault I will touch a bit more on the ships but focus more on the on-foot and NPC interactions within the game.

Starting with the ships, I have come to the realization that they should be treated more as both buildings and units at the same time. So each ship is given its own tasks that it performs within the fleet, can do research and can construct/refine resources. Meanwhile each ship has the ability to construct and/or launch smaller ships that make up the colonial fleet's attack force, resource gatherers, and political committee. For example, Galactica would have the following abilities:

• Move: Moves Galactica to the designated location.
• Attack: Attacks a Cylon fleet using main guns.
• Build: Build vessels and technologies.
  - Build Viper Fleet: Builds 1 Viper Alert Fighter.
  - Build Raptor: Builds 1 Raptor Science Vessel.
  - Build Nuke: Builds 1 Nuclear Warhead.
  - Build Blackbird: Builds 1 Blackbird Stealth Ship.
  
• Launch Nuke: Launches a Nuclear Warhead. Only available after building.
• Launch Alert Fighters: Launches Viper Fleet.
• Launch Raptor: Launch a Raptor Science Vessel.
• Research: Research abilities.
  - Enhanced DRADIS: Temporarily removes Fog of War when used.
  - Raptor Nuke: Allows a Raptor to carry a nuclear bomb to a targest destination.
  - Blackbird FTL: Allows a Blackbird Stealth Vessel to enter an FTL jump.
  
• FTL Drive: Spins up the FTL Drive for launch to predetermined destination.

There'd probably be more but that's just to get an idea. So while Galactica acts as the base of operations, it, as well as all other ships in the fleet, is fully controllable. You can move it around, use it to attack, and align it into formations with other ships.

This game would also feature a unique zoom function. Most RTSs nowadays have a function that allows you to use the mouse's scroll wheel to zoom in and out of action. This would do more than that. When you zoom in far enough, the game cuts to an overhead interior view of the ship you have zoomed in on, allowing you to see the inner workings of the ship and who is around. Your controls inside the ship are identical to how the game controls in ground-based missions. Inside the ships and on ground missions, you control individual NPCs and small NPC squads in order to complete objectives, hold off Cylon intruders, or engage in conversation. Your tasks when controlling NPC squads or individual NPCs differ, but usually they are one of the following:

• Find and capture a cylon among the crew.
• Destroy a group of cylons.
• Bring an NPC from Point A to Point B (The crew with the Arrow of Apollo on Kobol, for instance).

Individual NPCs, like ships, also have their own abilities.

• Move: Tells the select unit(s) to move.
• Attack: Tells the select unit(s) to attack another unit or area.
• Regroup: Regroups units together.

Special units, i.e. the show's main characters, would also have their own, unique abilities.

Finding a Cylon among the crew is the tricky, because before the identity of the Cylon is revealed, you cannot capture them (even if you know from the show that they are a Cylon). However, if rumors of one are reported on the ship, they can end up causing extensive damage (such as Number Five's Suicide Bombing).

Though it is the player's job to juggle both space combat and life on board the ships in the fleet, the player is never forced to do both at once. When viewing the inside of a ship, for instance, space combat goes on outside and is handled by the in-game AI. Converseley, if anything is happening on the ships and the player is in the middle of combat, the AI can be told to handle the situation. Doing this, though, is like rolling a die and hoping the outcome is positive. It is up to the player to decide which situation is more urgent. For example, if there is a Cylon with a nuke on board Galactica, that would probably require the player's attention instead of mining for Tylium, which the AI can handle on its own.

I think that about covers it. Time for a nap. =D