Unity Tactics - strategy boardgame testers wanted!

[DreamnautJames]

--Edit--
The game has been released! You can see the live thread with correct links here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/games-spotlight/191648.htm
--Edit--

Hello all! We've been working on a small strategy boardgame for windows phone 7 called Unity Tactics, and we just finished up the first basic version. We're looking for some feedback before it is officially submitted - anyone want to help out? We have the game in beta testing, which means we would need your windows live address that is tied to your phone to whitelist you. Feel free to either post it, send me a private message, or email me at james@dreamnautstudios.com. We promise to only use you email address for the whitelist!

Once you've been whitelisted (I'll let you know), this link should work: zune://navigate/?appid=60fe4eaa-ff13-4be0-abc0-f8ba46098d6f
You can also use this QR code to get the link (Using bing vision, the eyeball on bing search)

The game has 5 different unit types that can move and perform a variety of actions. There are 15 missions to play against AI, and pass-the-phone pvp. We're working on more missions and units.

Here are some screenshots of what it looks like:

If you do try out the game and have feedback, please send it to feedback@dreamnautstudios.com or post it here. Thanks for looking!

 

[SolunaKitty]

Ah, I can't say I've seen many other RPGs on the platform. I like them, but I have not really played in a long time, so I'm not sure I'd be a good source of feedback. In any case, welcome to WPcentral, and thanks for your hard work!

 

[DreamnautJames]

Ah, I can't say I've seen many other RPGs on the platform. I like them, but I have not really played in a long time, so I'm not sure I'd be a good source of feedback. In any case, welcome to WPcentral, and thanks for your hard work!

Thanks Soluna! Yeah, I saw a lack of anything like a tactical RPG in the marketplace, so I thought we could fill a niche.

Thanks to those that have shown interest so far! I was asked if there was anything in particular I would like to have tested, and I figured that would be a good thing to have in the thread.

1. Any show stopping bugs. For instance, one bug I've fixed since publishing the beta is that on island rush, it's possible for the AI to get stuck and just hang without taking another move.
2. Any frustrations with the ui - Anything that seems unintuitive (regardless of there being a tutorial) or an annoyance.
3. Whether or not you actually enjoy the gameplay (I suppose for now, the challenge of the single player missions, or playing against another player), and what you think would improve it. I know the gameplay is pretty basic right now, but if tactical RPGS are your kinda thing and this wasn't fun at all, I'm definitely open to suggestions.

 

[selfcreation]

here is my LIVE ID please!!! ad me to the beta test lol

this is my Fav type of game so ill be sure to give you some nice fed back

Twistedeye@live.ca

 

[Simon Darkside Jackson]

Mail sent to sign up, looking forward to taking this puppy out for a walk :lol:

 

[DreamnautJames]

Thank you to everyone who has tried out our game so far! The feedback has been really helpful, and we've been hard at work to improve our game. We've released a new beta, here are the new features:

1. Single player mode is now a campaign: You must beat each mission to unlock the rest. We also moved the "Player vs AI" option into one of the missions.
2. Single player mode also has loot! You now win equipment pieces when you beat a mission. Later missions yield better loot, which should help you defeat enemies.
3. Equip/buy/recruit/sell: You can of course equip the armor that you win, along with buying/selling extra pieces from a store. You can also recruit additional units to customize your lineup.
4. The map is now zoomable: use pinch zoom to expand/shrink the map.
5. Sounds/vibration: We added sounds for movement and attacking, and vibration for critical hits.

I really like the update (Putting the RPG into tactical RPG, after all!) and hope you do too. There is still space on the beta testing list, so if you're interested send me an email or PM to try it out!

 

[IamVortigaunt]

I like the UI and the upgrades and such. That all works pretty well. I'm actually mot all that experienced with the genre (other than commandos on xbla), but I'm wondering about the ai and game mechanics. It seems like the ai will basically just pass its turn unless you're within striking range and it can get the first attack. If the player were to adopt the same tactic, it seems that it would turn into an unending stalemate. Eventually you break down and advance your army into firing range. At that point it essentially becomes a war of attrition, as you may not be able to escape the range of the opponent, or if you can, back to a stalemate. Am I missing something (again, I don't have too much experience with the genre)? It just seems like the ai waits for you to advance someone and does nothing otherwise.

Sent from my HTC Trophy using Board Express

 

[DreamnautJames]

Thanks for trying out the game, IAmVortigaunt!

As far as your gameplay question goes - there's actually three different AIs that are possible, with one assigned per mission (A random one is chosen for the random map play missions). They vary from defensive, to cautious, to aggresive, and you're right - they will attempt to not let you get a full round of hits on them. The first mission should have had a fairly aggresive ai- if you choose to skip, they should advance towards you.

I don't want to give away too much strategy/inner workings of the AI, but it is certainly possible to bait the AI into attacking you (you may take a hit or two, but it shouldn't ko your unit, giving you the damage advantage through the rounds). You could also advance with your mages and try to snipe at units from afar, although you have to be careful to protect them since they're so fragile.

One simple case - If you're fighting a soldier, and your unit has 70 hp on your turn, it would be best to attack twice, and then move back a square. This would force the soldier to move, and only be able to deal 60 damage, leaving your unit able to attack another full round (and hopefully wipe him out).

The gameplay philosophy I went with was a little away from the traditional RPG, where you grind fairly easily without danger of actually dying, and instead try to provide interesting or difficult battles to progress through. There is purposefully no penalty at all for failing, in the hopes that this cuts out the grind. You're expected to lose units during a battle, but hopefully your movement/attacks/spacing allows you to kill more enemy units than you lose over time.

You are correct, it is a war of attrition, but I would say it is one where being aggresive against the ai you should be able to come out ahead in. I suppose the "puzzle" of any given mission is the right actions to take to win out.

I ask this with full sincerity - was this not to your expectation/enjoyment? Did you expect more of a traditional RPG where you beat missions without losing units? I've been pondering some pretty core gameplay changes, and that may very well be one of them. For instance - for a while I was somewhat opposed to including a healer type in the game, as I hate long drawn out battles. Having thought about it, I'm probably putting one in (along with a couple other units with special abilities!) in the next release.

 

[IamVortigaunt]

Thanks for the response! Like I said, I don't have that much experience with the genre. As i played more levels, I did notice the ai acting differently. Have you considered the possibility of degrading damage points based on health levels? Or fortifying defensive units? I'm not sure how these would impact the gameplay balance, but these are things im familiar with from civ. When fortified, perhaps your health could recover. I hope you don't think I'm just being critical. As I said I really do like the UI and the upgrade system and everything. Seems like it could be a really cool game.

Sent from my HTC Trophy using Board Express

 

[selfcreation]

hey loving the game so far!

im not gona lie doh , it needs more feature!!! lol

things I would like to see: (x2)


1. add spells/ abilities to units , make them more useful , for example right now I use the unit that does the most damage and leave every one else at the start! lol. no point in taking them out.

- a healer , buffs , De-buffer , poison guy w/e , it would add allot more strategy!! , right now its basically who ever has the best units win.

2. also the battle system , also not a HUGE fan , the fact that you only have 3-4 moves , I tend to ONLY use the same unit.

I think it be MUCH better if ALL the units had : 1 move+ 1 attack each turn!!!! this would also make weaker units more useful!!! pretty much would force you to use all your units!!!!


maybe work on getting a little better graphics to lol but that doesn't matter.

keep up the good work

 

[IamVortigaunt]

I would agree with self. Often there isn't a whole lot of space to move characters next to each other to use more than one at a time. Also I pretty much agree that it seems like the most powerful units will win. One thought I had was about creating tactical position bonuses based on terrain. For example, hiding behind bushes provides a defensive bonus and maybe an archer bonus or something. Or having an attack bonus from paved roads. Also, perhaps you could add counter-attacking capabilities for certain units.

Sent from my HTC Trophy using Board Express

 

[DreamnautJames]

Thanks to both of you for the kind words! Don't worry about being critical, IAmVortigaunt, I can take it. Plus, I can't improve things if you don't point out the bad parts.

All of your suggestions were good (And I've seen them implemented in RPGs), they are more subtle changes that I would like to implement eventually, but for now I'm still trying to address the big stuff.

Se1fcr3ation - I definitely want to address both of your two points, they should both be changing in the next beta (Which I'm hoping to have ready by next week).

I think the next turn mechanic I'm going to try is:
1. 1 move + 1 action for a unit
2. each unit can only be used once a turn
3. I still like the idea of not letting the player use all their units in one given turn. I think that with more diversified units, choosing what units to take actions will provide an interesting challenge. If I'm wrong and it seems like the players still want full unit actions, I'll change it again.

For #3 to make sense of course, I'm going to need to make more diverse units, and potentially balance the existing units more. The balances I'll be trying out:
soldier: + armor, - attack. make him into more of a tank to soak hits if ranged units want to try to pick apart enemies.
healer: A ranged healer that heals for ~ 30 - a little more than one hit, but not enough that you could just heal constantly
wizard: change his attack into a low damage stun that disables a unit for one round
one more new unit - still consider what skill I want to implement. I'm considering a pull - something that moves enemy units towards you, or something similar. May be overpowered though, so we'll see

Thanks again for the replies! Knowing that you like the game (or see its potential) enough to comment on it is awesome!

 

[DreamnautJames]

Hello everyone! We've released the last beta we plan on testing, with a lot of great changes!

Changes
1. New UI. The maps are now 8 x 12, and the sidebars have been removed, allowing for a bigger view of the screen. Panning/zooming should also now be smoother.
2. New Units. Mages and cavalry both had their actions changed. Details below!
3. Actions changed to action points. 6 action points a turn, move - 1, actions are 2+
4. Health bars that pop up when you take damage
5. Harder enemies! Orange enemies are tier 2, purple are tier 3. Make sure you're well geared if you're taking one of them on!
6. 5 more missions. More challenges is never bad

New Units
Stun mage - Stun a unit for 3 action points. These can stack. Harder enemies will have more resistance (less AP stunned). Damage additions on armor will boost the number of points a unit is stunned for.
Heal mage - Heals for 100, costs 3 action points. Pretty straight forward!
Cavalry - The action is now called Joust, and it actually does a number of things. If the space behind the unit is empty, it simply pushes the unit back. If the unit is pushed back onto water, it dies (this is quite powerful, look for opportunities!) . If there's a unit in the space behind, damage is dealt to the attacked attacked unit. The damage dealt is cavalry damage + unit damage. Pushing into rocks and trees work, but their damage is 0.

Hopefully the new units and harder enemies will provide a different challenge that is more interesting than just taking your strongest unit out.

Thanks to everyone that has tried out the app! Your feedback has been extremely helpful in helping steer where we take the game.

 

[DreamnautJames]

Hey everyone! Unity Tactics has a release version now - I made a new thread in the Developer spotlight forums here. Thank you all for trying out the game, your feedback really helped shape the development!