Infinite Conflict Forum

June Updates

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:20:02 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: June Updates
Posted: Sun 21st Jun, 2009 11:20 am

Hey all, thought I'd better communicate what's been going on for me this month:

Firstly, the linear navigation system is complete. I have tested it under a number of different scenarios and it appears to work ok (although this will remain to be seen in the next beta).

I have decided to bring this over to the nav by showing fleets travelling in-system graphically, as below:

Attachment:

linear_radar.jpg

I've done this by adding an overlay tab to the nav so you can switch to show where there are fleets in system. Obviously I've not concentrated too hard on how it looks (no time to do fancy graphics), but the coloured in hexes are pretty easy to follow. Red hexes are where there are enemy fleets, blue are where there are friendly, and yellow where both friendly and enemy fleets are sharing the same space.

This makes it so much easier to see blockades forming, and where there are gaps in enemy defences. A mouseover hover gives some brief information on the fleets at that location, but clicking on the hex will perform a more thorough fleetscan on the area (if it's available).

The old radar below the nav will still be in use, although it should be less cramped as now it will only show hyperspace travel to and from the system. No more blockading/defending info.

If there's anything else you feel would provide useful info on the nav then let me know and I'll consider implementing it.

Re: A belated May update!

info@operacesky.net (Muffinman) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:11:29 GMT

Author: Muffinman
Post subject: Re: A belated May update!
Posted: Sun 07th Jun, 2009 10:11 am

I have about 10 lines of css there and 1000 to go

Give me a chance!

Re: April Updates

info@operacesky.net (Ingus) — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:57:13 GMT

Author: Ingus
Post subject: Re: April Updates
Posted: Fri 01st May, 2009 5:57 pm

Yeah ok though means there's a smaller area to defend at the start = less organisation needed to defend but we'll see. Oh and double post

March Updates

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:26:25 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: March Updates
Posted: Mon 23rd Mar, 2009 2:26 pm

There was a cry for 'updates' from one of our active members so I guess I'll try and give you some news at least once a month to let you know where we're at.

As it stands, Muffin is currently overhauling the invasion script to make it mimic more closely the revised battlecode, and is 'at least' 60% (his words) of the way through. He's also working on implementing a new idea for displaying the main planets list that doesn't take up the height of a skyscraper in page space, whilst keeping the detail as brief and concise for an overview as possible. He's also starting a new theme which should move away from the 'boxiness' of our current default.

I've mostly been working on the nav, mostly.

Firstly, I've gone and cut down the universe to a single gal with ~12k planets (previously 7 gals with ~83k planets). I've also put in resource nodes which dispense resources at a fixed output per turn to the nodes' controller(s). This is calculated on a ratio of the number of planets owned by each ruler belonging to the majority alliance in the system. The alliance affiliation of controlled nodes will be recalculated every time there is a successful invasion.
Planets can also now generate raw resources for the ruler who owns it (depending on the planet type).
Planet types also now have a meaningful role, giving bonuses to production capabilities, population and whatnot depending on what kind of planet it is (this will soon be extended to include special building types too).

I've built an in-system pathfinding algorithm for the linear nav. It's undergone a few changes in concept since I originally announced it in order to keep it workable:

Non-capital class ships (i.e. fighters) will now only be able to navigate within a system unless accompanied by capital ships in the same fleet. They don't have hyperdrives, so shouldn't be able to act as if they do. Someone on this forum said something along the lines of fighters being the backbone of the fleet, and I think they were right.

Capital ships will navigate across sectors by using their 'hyperdrive', the time spent in warp determined by the strongest fleet drive available in the fleet, and the linear hexagonal spaces required to get to the destination (thanks to GoodFella for writing me a script for this!). They will then drop out of warp in the destination system, and navigate across individual hexes using my pathfinder until they reach the destination (taking the quickest route possible). Battles can occur during inter-system travel, but not during warp travel.

I'm also going to try out displaying fleets graphically on the nav when they're not in warp, as an extension of the radar.

I'd say this is about 95% complete, it just needs joining up.

How long until the next beta? I'd personally like to be good to go for Easter, but no promises.

Oh, and you can respond to announcements now.

Battlescript online

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:26:27 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: Battlescript online
Posted: Mon 09th Feb, 2009 6:26 pm

The battlescript is back online for those who are unawares. Couple of niggly issues to sort out so you may find other features are currently missing. Please be patient as these will reappear as we get them reworked.

Invasions have been turned off to have the same makeover, these shouldn't take as long as the battlescript, I hope.

Thanks for your patience.

Merry Christmas and whatnot

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:07:04 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: Merry Christmas and whatnot
Posted: Mon 22nd Dec, 2008 9:07 am

Hey all,

Me and Muffin won't be doing any more work on the site now until the New Year. We both need a bit of break as we cba over this festive period.

Due to popular request (i.e. two people), we've decided to leave IC up and running. If you really want to hunt bugs you're more than welcome.

Hope you all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Battlescript news

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:52:04 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: Battlescript news
Posted: Mon 15th Dec, 2008 11:52 am

I spent last week refining/changing the battlescript to (hopefully) satisfy most of the suggestions made regarding it's improvement. I still expect to be tweaking the config to help better reflect what is expected from battles, but I hope that the bulk of the issues are now resolved.

Thanks to all who helped out at Trollwood - all who took part will shortly be receiving long-awaited battle reports. We'll see how it goes.

I also need to let you know that the new battlescript will break old battle reports (unavoidable I'm afraid), in addition to breaking all invasion scripts (new and old). This is something I'm well aware of, and will be fixed in due course. I felt however that the new revision battlescript is currently more important than old invasion code.

A note on Combat

info@operacesky.net (Muffinman) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:45:22 GMT

Author: Muffinman
Post subject: A note on Combat
Posted: Tue 25th Nov, 2008 10:45 pm

Hi All,

Just a quick note to remind everyone that the main point of this beta is to find bugs and of course that also includes balancing combat.

For those who are expecting a DG type combat system (where as soon as you research BTS everything else becomes virtually pointless); please don't! For a start we have 11 types of ship where DG had only 6; 7 of these being modular allowing for an endless number of combinations. The end result of this has been that we've written a far more complicated battle system than I've personally seen in any other game, and it will take us longer to get all the config values right!

One thing we realised from the alpha was that the FP of everything seemed too high, this is because ships can (not necessarily WILL) fire multiple times during combat, making them kill more than they actually should.

This is the first BR of the round I think, congrats to those involved (and unlucky losing that dessie!!).

Code:

Turn_ _Battle_ _Team_ _Ruler_ _Type_ _Starting_ _Left_ _Killed
51_ __ _336_ __ _a5_ __ _172_ _Fighter_ __ _10 _ __ _0_ __ _10
Turn_ _Battle_ _Team_ _Ruler_ _Type_ _Starting_ _Left_ _Killed
51_ __ _336_ __ _r85_ __ _85_ _Fighter_ __ _5_ __ _0_ __ _5
51_ __ _336_ __ _r85_ __ _85_ _Destroyer_ __ _1_ __ _0_ __ _1

I'll be creating a battle reports forum, where I would like you all to post your BR's so we can admire them. Oh and to fix the bugs in them

Happy Fighting

Beta now scheduled to start

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:14:03 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: Beta now scheduled to start
Posted: Thu 13th Nov, 2008 9:14 am

Me and MM are now confident of the progress we have made on the Alpha and have agreed on a start date for beta. It will roll out as follows:

The game will be reset on Sunday 16th November @ 6pm GMT (Server Time). Signups will be opened.

Ticks will start on Sunday 23rd November @ 6pm GMT.

Ticks will be 1 hour each!

Thanks to all for your patience and bug testing support throughout the alpha.

Edit: Signups have now been opened and the game reset. We've taken the alpha down so that we can sort out some polish for the main functions, and you'll be able to play when turns start next Sunday.

News on the imminent Beta

info@operacesky.net (Xen) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:50:47 GMT

Author: Xen
Post subject: News on the imminent Beta
Posted: Sun 12th Oct, 2008 7:50 pm

Hey all,

You may have noticed that updates haven't been as frequent as usual recently - this has been down to the complexity of the battlescript that we've been attempting to code. This as a result has slowed the release of the beta. Good news though, we're almost finished now and are almost ready to integrate the battle system into the alpha. We'll keep you posted.

Update: The battlescript has now been completed and will shortly be going online for testing. Please be aware that this will mean some of you will be losing ships.

Further Update: Battlescript is now integrated, all those with fleets at battle locations have now either conquered or been destroyed. Feel free to go fight some more, I'll give you all access to the reports soon enough.