Have a look at the dwarven units! Click on the portraits to read more details about the units on our blog!
hi fellow gamers! I've neglected the thread a bit, but that's because I had to do quite a lot of business stuff the last weeks. we had a talk with investors and it looks as though they're in for supporting smuttlewerk in the near future. it's not 100% yet, so wish us luck. we decided to stall the release of Time of Heroes until january. Although we could release the game in december, we all agreed, that we better take our time and polish the game as much and as good as we can. I have a question for you, our potential customers. I'm currently working on the textures of the maps. as I am an old wargamer, I tend to like clear and somber maps, without much fuzz. but I guess I'm pretty much alone with this. I show you three screenshots. please tell me which style you like best and why. snow has to be added to screenshot 2 and 3. try to imagine it being there.
The first one looks great for having varied terrain textures. It also looks better in some ways because it kinda gives a more realistic feel to the battlefield. The second one is flat out boring bad. This is not the era of using perfect square tiles for TBS games. They not only look bad because the texture are freaking solid blocks of boredom, but it also looks amateurish. Third one is pretty good though, I have to admit. It appeals to me because it makes the game look like a TBS game without the negativities of the second texture style.
The like the first one, because the terrain looks the most detailed and I prefer the realistic looking textures.
ok, more detail is a good thing, I know. on the other hand, I think players like to identify certain terrain without thinking twice. I will add more details to map 3, but try to limit the different textures to two per terrain type. I'm still not 100% happy with the textures though. tomorrow we'll do some tests with better resolution textures. problem here is memory usage, but we'll see what we can do.
I think the first, me too, for all that reasons mentioned before, but with a twist in the colors. For example the colors in the first pic are ok for me but only if we are talking for a winter landscape (and as i am seeing, we are). But if we are in a spring landscape i ll prefer the colors of the third one. As for the textures i think the more realistic the better is. Your heroes are well textured so there must be a balance between heroes / environment.
I prefer the first and my least favorite is the second. It would be easier to make a decision relative to the unit appearance. Shame to beard this was delayed.
This game looks ultimately AMAZING....u had me locked at Langrisser and now i count the days to hit the buy tab.....is the beta closed? as far as screens i love the first...the dark enviroment screams battle...the second is cool in a retro boxed way...but from the videos it doesnt strike me as that kind of game...an the third just looks like a cleaner version of the second...love the 1st and 3rd....
thanks for your input. I see, you guys want detailed maps. it shall be done! our graphic man nikolai will do a few new textures today. I'll post the results (with units and without units) soon. @trev1: what beta? seriously, we play the game everyday and will continue doing so until it hits the App Store. perhaps we'll do a small user beta around New Year. I keep you guys informed. @undeadcow: sry, about the delay. we could rush it out, but I don't think any of you would want this. iFanzine did an interview with me, read it!
Oh shut up and just take my money. If possible, a bit more terrain decorations would be nice. Like tiny houses or environmental objects?
I don't like the boxed numbers on the second photo too much. They are a bit raw. I think maybe rounded corners, maybe doing away with the black edge, maybe a nicer font for the digits. Also, the placement makes it slightly hard to see which label goes with which figure (note the label for each figure often sits on top of the figure below it).
I think the terrain detail works well with the units, nicely done! Trust me I understand you guys are not going to rush anything; much less a Champions iPhone/iPod edition.
If this is a tbs is there gonna be a grid overlay? Other than that, looking good. I agree though could use a log camp, maybe a treasure chest, a house with smoke, something to spice it up. Just stuff on the map that says, hey I know you are about to fight these fellas here but afterwards come over here and see whats in this chest or this is not just a empty forest...
@gunxsword: now that's what I call a good customer! this is the first map, were the northern humans land for the first time on the shores of Altland. the other maps will be filled with nice objects, depending on the setting. we have pallisades, tents, campfires and much more, sacrifice stones... + there will be dungeon like maps and canyon maps. @DaviddesJ: we will improve appearance of the numbers. I'm not happy with how they look right now either. @undeadcow: I got your hint, hehe. @the9quad: no, we do not plan to do a grid overly. here's a screenshot of the grid that is shown when you move your unit. we decided use different colors and pictograms to show which terrain is which. as to the objects, see what I answered gunxsword. and here's our beautiful map of Altland:
I think it's easier to associate the numbers with figures if you put the number near their heads rather than their feet. The problem with putting the numbers at their feet is, if there's another character in front, then you have to put the number on top of the character in front (otherwise it wouldn't be visible) and that makes it hard to associate with the character behind. This is less of an issue if the numbers are up at head level.
Smartest grid system I've seen in a TBS? Btw, one thing I noticed in the video in the interview is that the heroes sometimes walked around randomly when there's a mob of enemies near them. The battle ends up looking somewhat unrealistic because the hero is 'forced' to move robotically to a new location. Can you fix that so melee heroes will move less often when surrounded by mobs?
good input here! @DaviddesJ: as you can see, we experimented a bit. it's a little bit better now I guess, but I am still not convinced. one problem with putting the boxes on top is, that heroes and units have different sizes, so we couldn't just use one setting for all of them. we will continue in our tireless search for a solution. @gunxsword: I like our system, too. noted. will be done when the "battle polishing phase" begins.
enjoy the latest screenshots from the dunegon/cave map! the game will be out in early january. be prepared for a beautiful, deep experience!
