Crucible XXIII 20/06/2014

So last weeks calendar got busy pretty quickly- hence why there was no update last week. This week I reckon I've done a fair bit of work, almost all on the invasion system and the horrors it entails. My old invasion system and UI was pretty crappy, so I had a lot of code to simply remove and rewrite to start getting the new one in. Much of the behaviour of the UI elements in the new invasion system actually requires a fair bit of thinking and has somewhat done my head in. I think it looks pretty good now, but I'm not 100% happy with the layout (I'm try to design it so that it will fit a 1024 * 768 screen, despite using a full HD monitor- surprisingly tough to do).

State of the Game (Build 1.20 [side note- what do these build numbers mean? I don't know]):

• Created the system invasion UI. I have included a picture of my design, and also of how it currently looks in game. Although the in-game screen is a bit bare, it does include some features I did not previously think about when doing the design. Most notable differences are that I have included a reset button for both heroes and the entire screen. This recalls any tokens you may have distributed if you are unhappy with them. You can also distribute each token manually. The system is built so that multiple tokens can be moved at the same time to speed things up. Also included is a breakdown of the value of your tokens (explained last week and later in this blog).

 Screen design. More filled and more spacious than the in-game screen.

In-game screen. Some UI elements are a bit small, but I'll work on this.

• The tokens themselves are used to distribute the various attributes of your hero between the planets in the system. Assault tokens distribute the offensive power (damage) of your primary weapons amongst planets. Auxiliary tokens distribute the offensive power of your secondary weapons, and Defence tokens distribute the protection offered by your armour (explained below).
• If your heroes' primary weapons can deal 400 damage to a planet's defences, and your hero has 4 Assault tokens, each token allows you to distribute 100 (1/4) of your primary weapon's damage to planets. The tokens can be distributed however you like. Having more tokens provides you with greater versatility with how you can deal out damage to different planets. The same applies to Auxiliary and Defence tokens.
• Defence tokens have a percentage block value for each token. This denotes what percentage of incoming damage from planets will be deflected. If you have 200 Armour, and 4 Defence tokens, each token will block 50% of damage from the planet they are placed on. If all 4 are placed on one planet, 200% of damage is absorbed- which is not an efficient use of your tokens since 100% damage absorption would prevent all damage reaching you. Any damage that is not absorbed by the defence tokens is received by your Armour- which in turn reduces the effectiveness of each token. When your Armour is completely depleted, your heroes health will begin to be depleted (not happy times).
• I've included the designs of the individual tokens. The Auxiliary token represents an artillery shell, whilst the Defence token represents a sort of futuristic shield. It may sound contrived but the Assault token is supposed to represent the barrel of a rail gun (but only I really know that!).

And that's it for this week. Hopefully next week I will have finished the invasion mechanics and can get to work on some more interesting stuff  (If there is no blog post, that means I didn't finish!).