Hey all, that's right, our pre-alpha demo is now available for download right here on IndieDB! This demo offers a small slice of the intended full game. We've included a brief look at the Campaign Map with some of the choices you'll make as Commander, and a single encounter that demonstrates some of the enemy types and locations you'll visit. Since we're making a fairly complex strategy game, the demo includes a tutorial to teach you the basics.
We look forward to hearing your feedback, bugs you've encountered, ideas, hopes and fears that you have after playing the demo. For the Alpha backers, we are now working on a "clean build" that starts from square one as opposed to this vertical slice demo. You'll be notified shortly when we have a first build for you to play.
In the meantime, Enjoy!
If you enjoyed the demo, please go vote for SRC on Steam Greenlight. Progress is going well but be sure to jump in and cast a vote!
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We recommend playing through the Corsica encounter a couple times to get a feel for the unit controls. Being Commander is not easy, and the situation can quickly crumble if you're not quick about issuing orders to your troops. Remember, the game can be paused any time with Spacebar.
Be sure to join the discussion on our forums: Seacliffinteractive.com
Planned Features
As this is a very early pre-alpha build, almost everything you see here is not in final form. Here's our take on the current state of the systems, and our planned work:
Combat -- Currently the combat system is just based on two units draining each other's health until one wins. Our design is to have groups matter in combat -- allies behind the front lines will still contribute to offensive and defensive ratings. Combat will be more stat based, with proper defense/attack attributes that can be upgraded. Flanking and backstabbing will be effective. Unit
Control/Movement -- Currently units just move in a direction they're told, without much squad awareness. Our goal is to create Squad AI that allows the player to just set a waypoint or position, and the squad navigates through the map to their destination. At the very least, the Squad should move in unison, rather like a snake with a leader as the head.
Enemies -- Enemies currently just bounce between two points on the map, with occasional "agro" that allows them to chase the player. Our goal is have proper line-of-sight and pathfinding for the enemies, so they will chase after the player a certain distance, preventing exploitative behaviors like kiting enemies to the edge of their boundaries.
Art/Animation/Sound -- As we've mentioned, all the art and sound you see and hear is placeholder. The funds we earned through Kickstarter are currently being used to contract out artwork, sound and music.
Campaign Map -- Current Campaign Map is a mock-up of the final Campaign Map design, with a few options for choice and upgrades but only a small slice. The design calls for individual unit upgrades, stat tracking, and levels. Siege weaponry was absent from this build but will be available through purchases made in the Campaign Map. Many more campaign stats will be added. Enemy movement will be tracked through the map as it you draw your course between encounters.
Events and Encounters -- Hinted at in this build are the semi-random events and encounters planned for SRC. Players will occasionally interact with NPCs along the road or at certain locations, or even Rome itself. These interactions will be in the form of dialog sequences that result in some gain/loss to the campaign based on the player decisions.
Known Issues / Bugs:
- Playing with increased game speed can result in stuck units on lower framerate machines.
- Engineer construction can sometimes be spotty. Move the engineers around and try again if it fails.
- Groups of units stack up and overlap with each other.
- Camera transitions at Crossing Points is spotty.
- The Tutorial can start repeating the wrong message. If this happens use the 'RESET' button to restart the level.
- Enemy units can get stuck and stop moving
- Game Speed control buttons don't match keyboard shortcuts (J,K,L)
- Regrouping units on different layers will cause some units to Halt
- Enemies retreat after killing a player to their right side
- Dead untis can sometimes be added to a Squad (simply reform your squad to correct this).
Controls:
Movement
A: Move units Left
D: Move units Right
S: Queue units Transition Down
W: Queue units Transition Up
F: Halt units
G: (When near tent): Garrison unit
Unit Selection
Q: Select unit to Left
E: Select unit to Right
R: Regroup units Right Click: Select matching units / Select squad
Left Click: Select single unit
Shift + Drag: Box select units
1-4: Select squads 1-4
Shift 1-4: Assign squads 1-4
Misc
J: Reduce game speed by half
K: Normal game speed
L: Double game speed
TAB: Select camp
More Stuff
Missed the Kickstarter but interested in pre-ordering the game to get earlier access to the post-demo builds? We have PayPal options available on our site: www.superromanconquest.com
