This week I fixed some bugs with the Gauntlet mode level generation and I've been testing my level generation out. I looked at two things that I noticed were an issue:

Issue: A need for cover in the early game

In Gauntlet you start with a small and cheap vehicle, and I found that you'd end up shooting a machine-gun turret with a machine-gun and it lacked much room for strategy. You can sneak up to some extent but often you crest a hill or something and you both have line-of-sight and you might as well shoot or get shot. I can beat the levels easily enough but I've been playing Scraps for years - you shouldn't have to take x amount of damage every time. Solution: I'm just going to add some taller barriers around the place basically, so there'll be more opportunities to approach from a strategic angle.

Issue: Searching for that last crate

You want to shoot crates to collect scrap, and if crates might be out in the wilderness somewhere, you're going to want to scour the wilderness to make sure you find them all. I knew that would be a bit of a chore, so I made most things spawn along the road that goes through every Gauntlet level. But it doesn't fix the problem because there's still some chance that things will spawn out in the middle of nowhere, so you end up going looking anyway. And removing that chance entirely would mean no reward ever for exploration, so I wouldn't do that. RPGs have had this problem for a long time. The theory is of course that when there's somewhere out-of-the-way to explore, you get something cool to reward your exploration. And having something there is probably better than exploring and finding nothing. But it also means now you have to explore every boring side-passage because you might miss something cool.
Image credit: Possibly Adrian Chmielarz. Solution: I've added a radar mini-map so you can automatically know there's something out there from a good distance. I don't think I'd add a radar in melee mode/multiplayer because having a radar map would remove a player's ability to surprise the enemy. But in singleplayer I think it'll be fine.
Enemy units and yellow crosses, non-threatening objects that contain scrap are blue squares. Trying to think of the colour-blind in these design choices.  

[ 2016-07-24 08:08:42 CET ] [ Original post ]