Hey, since we finished the class that we were making this prototype for, some of us have decided we wanted to continue on with Faction Zero. Some concepts have been made, but most of us are very busy with other classes over the last quarter, and it doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon. I'll try and keep the folks motivated, but it may be slow going before any big updates of the progress come about.

I'll talk to the others and see what they think of putting up a quick demo of what we have so far(not really much, just a build of a single level with only the asteroids to shoot at) and maybe tweek things around so its a little more playable, its not really at the moment.

See ya'll later, whom ever reads this blog.

Faction Zero: the Game Design Document

I. Game Overview

Faction Zero: Hostile Commerce takes concepts from the arcade classic, Asteroids, blends it with the factional intolerance and strategy of Starcraft or Command and Conquer, and mixes it all together with the consumer politics from companies such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks and also the values and traditions of trade unions. Their negotiation methods are intensely violent.

II. Game Play Mechanics

As for mechanics, the player will use various weapons’ sets to interact along with their selected ship in the strategic endeavor of destroying enemy objects and asteroids

III. Camera

The camera will always be located behind the player facing in the direction the player is facing

IV. Controls

The controls are as follows:

To move ships = WASD, F to brake
To roll = L and R arrow keys
To pitch = Up and Down arrow keys
To strafe = SHIFT for left, C for right
To fire = SPACE
To fire missiles / rockets = Q

V. Menu and Screen Descriptions

The menu is set up on a radial dial system, with the start game button at the top. Mute will be at the left button. Options is off to the right of the dial. Quit will be at the bottom of the dial.

VI. Levels

The Horizons and the Capitol motherships are facing off against each other over the cluster of asteroids and you are caught between the fighting. The goal to complete the level is to get a higher score than the motherships in destroying asteroids before they start targeting your ship. Lose conditions include, but aren’t limited to, dying, getting shot down by the motherships (i. e. dying in a different way), and getting smashed by asteroids in an attempt to gain more points without caring for your ship’s hull (thus dying by yet another different way).

VII. Game Progression

Starting off with a wide area of space within the asteroid field, the player will learn first how to move his/her ship in order to navigate around the game world, also learning how to fire and respond to threats within the level

VIII. Characters

The characters of Faction Zero: Hostile Commerce are indeed the factions themselves. Each faction comes with its own separate ship, complete with suggested weapons and abilities. The Union (i. e. the Trade Union) ships will be focusing on speed and attack for its control scheme. Horizons (i. e. Starbucks) will have ships focusing its control scheme on speed and armor. The Capitol (i. e. Wal-Mart) will have ships focusing on defense and attack as its primary mode of gameplay.

IX. Non-player Characters / Enemies

For the NPCs of Faction Zero, there will be mainly asteroids and enemy ships that the player will interact with in the gameplay. Enemy ships include the other 2 factions as well as the subsequent motherships and space stations that belong to each faction. The Union has neither mothership nor space station to belong to their faction.

X. Weapons

There will be different weapon sets for each different fighting style that the player can customize, determining on his or her individual gaming style. Stereotypically, there will be machine guns, howitzers, “lazors”, rockets (which shoot straight forward), missiles (which seek out targets depending on urgency), and a mounted cannon, which only can be attached to the medium and heavy ships.

XI. Upgrades

For each weapon, there are upgrades available through points scoring or at the end of each level. Based upon each level of upgrade, the weapon will either be enhanced in some way or will be given a new ability. There will also be three (3) levels of upgrade per weapon set.

XII. Script

For the scripting and interface of Faction Zero: Hostile Commerce, our team will use the game engine Unity to facilitate the needs of the game.



XIII. Scoring

For scoring, it depends on which object or enemy you’re facing up against. For asteroids, the scoring ramp is as follows:

Small = 5 points
Medium = 10 points
Large = 15

Easy Enemy =15
Normal Enemy = 20
Hard Enemy = 25

I finished the last poster of a series of three for Faction Zero: Hostile Commerce. They were used in an effort to market our game to the student audience and bring awareness to our work in progress. Unfortunately the were taken down. The last two elements that were essential for our prototype were the visual aid of a radar and weapon bar.

Headus

Hey, also if your having trouble, check out Headus, its free and really easy to learn, they have tutorials on their site. You get it up and running in just a few short time.

For those having trouble laying out UVs

I went and asked Cary Averette for some tutorials on how to lay out UVs, as I needed a refresher. Anyway, here is the link to my mediafire account, where you all can download them if you need them!

Hails!

-S.

http://www.mediafire.com/?vz7xpd4gu8g4g

Design Journal 2

Design Journals are up for week 8, check them out.

Week 4 Tasks

Ship Concept Team: Take into account the personalities of the factions, and functionality of the ships, leave blank spots to place on enemies.

Manuel Avila – The Union Ship, finalize the Model Sheet.  Model the union ship.  Make sure to match the concept.

Freddie Blodgett – Keep working on character controller, Create model sheet for The Capital ship.  Front, Top, Side, Back? Views, make sure features match.

Dan Heintz – Continue the concepts of the Horizons ship using the feedback from the class. Create a couple variations.

Game Play Team:

Chris Redfern – Create Model sheet for Laser Turret, Top and Side, make sure features match.  Combine the two rocket concepts into one. Send the rocket ref to Joe ASAP. Concept up 3 new machine gun turrets.

Joe Papin – 5 Concepts for the shape of the missile. Model the rocket. Start creating an archive of space images, high resolution only.  20 for next week!

Dan Heintz – Create Model Sheet for Mounted Cannon, Top and Side view, make sure features match.

Week 3 Update

Objectives:
  -Ships -> Lock down small ship => create model sheet figure out medium & large ships

  -Weapons -> Lock down weapon types, stages, & upgrades  => create model sheets

Weapons:

Turret
Heavy Turret
Mounted Cannon (Energy)
Missiles/Rockets
Laser

Upgrades:

Turret:                  Lv1 Machine Gun, Round Burst
                            Lv2 Auto Fire, Faster Rate of Fire
                            Lv3 Explosive Rounds, Proxy

Heavy Turret:       Lv1 One Shot Reload
                            Lv2 Spread Shot (Alternate Fire ?), More Rounds
                            Lv3 More Rounds, Round Burst

Mounted Cannon: Lv1 Charged Shot
                            Lv2 Shorter Charge, Stored Charge
                            Lv3 Ignore Defense, Pierce Percentage

Laser:                   Lv1 Stream of Energy
                            Lv2 Faster Recharge, Wider Beam
                            Lv3 Alternate Fire, All At Once, Pierce Percentage

Rockets:               Lv1 Shoots Straight
                            Lv2 Burst of Rockets, Clusters
                            Lv3 More Rockets, Proxy

Missiles:              ?


Power Ups:          Repair
                            Speed
                            Shield
                            Energy Restore
                            Weapon Power Up
                            Rate of Fire

Week 2 Update

Goals As of Now :

(3 different ships + 3 factions
5 Levels + training/tutorial level )

Bigger Ships- harder to turn so have the guns on a turret system with the mouse as
   a control.

Ship works as a boundary constraint for players. Player gets too close, prompts an "insta-kill"
   -Upgrades permanently on ship
   -Power ups a limited time

Factions:

"The Capital"                                                           
  -evil                                                                     
  -capitalism                                                       
  -dark                                                                  
  -angular
  -big ship

"The Union"
  -not organized
  -vigilantes
  -small ship

"Horizons"
  -seen as good but not
  -humor
  -medium ship

Controls:

Move Forward
 Backward
Side to Side
Rotate

Week 1 Update

Week 1

Player = Ship

-Win Conditions - Clear Map, Bounty Hunt, Player vs Comp. ,
-Fail Conditions - Ship damage, Not Enough Asteroids, Friendly Fire, Time

Interaction Model:
       Player Can:
         Move Forward, Backward, Strafe (based on ship) , Rotate, Shoot (Power Limit), Special, Upgrade, Camera Switch (??) , Roll, Pitch, and Yaw

World Challenges:
         -Asteroids can hurt player
         -Space ships shoot and can hit players
         -Environmental changes

(IDEA)
Infinite continuum not working (?) , try incorporating "The Capital" using their technology to enclose players in the restricted boundaries.