There Will Be Ink Windows game

Hello there! Thank you for the feedback. It is indeed a pretty challenging game. I've since added tips that show up on the main screen (for the next build) to help players out. Hiding behind cover can be very helpful, and so can running and rolling. For instance, for level 2, one strategy is to charge forward and taking cover behind a boulder, then fall back as needed. That being said, I may reduce the number of enemy troops on the second mission. You can also level up your unit's abilities from the 'Barracks' page. Even when you lose a battle, you get points for any units defeated.

I like your idea about choosing what type of units. I've thought of implementing something along those lines at the start of a mission and may yet do so. There are also barracks beyond level 2 that spawn new units.

Thanks again for the feedback, and I hope that helps!

Stealth missions are a great idea. I've been having similar thoughts as I plan out AI behaviour states and the possibilities those might provide. I'm excited to get to work on the new campaign, once I get there, and for what sorts of levels players might make, if I can get anyone playing, hah.

That is pretty well the AI behaviour, yeah, along with taking cover when fired at (or just when attacking, for ranked troops), resupplying, etc. Units will follow their current target, but they refresh their target fairly often as well, which makes them easily distracted I suppose. The new AI states should make it easy to have sentries, and I'm hoping for some level of calling for help as well (eg for nearby units to notice if their comrades are under attack).

Hello, thanks very much for the feedback!
You're right that the map editor needs some work. Adding instructions is on my to-do list (I'm thinking maybe an overlay at the bottom of the screen), but I completely overlooked the fact that changing teams cannot be intuitively figured out.

To cycle between teams, press "TAB". Buildings can also be selected to enable which units spawn (though they need to be unlocked in campaign). Also, when playing, left-click/'A' on gamepad joins the black team while right-click/'B' on gamepad joins the blue team.

Thanks again for the feedback. I get too accustomed to things while working on the game, so outside perspectives are much appreciated.

I like the idea of a tutorial campaign, or at least having a tutorial element to the first few missions. I've been back and forth about whether to add a story element and to what extent. On the one hand I like leaving the story up to the player's imagination, but on the other hand I think adding even a bit of story would give the game more personality. I've also structured the game so that it would be pretty easy to implement a campaign editor (where players could string together their own maps), so I'll need to balance out the complexity of adding new features vs. the ease and accessibility of making campaigns. Still, I would like to add a bit more complexity.
The game would be well suited for online multiplayer in terms of gameplay, but alas, I only have plans for local coop in order to keep the scope reasonable for a one person project.
Thanks again for the feedback!

Oh geez, for some reason I only saw your review today (are there no notification settings in IndieDB? I'm new to the system). There is a lot of great feedback there. Thanks very much for the in-depth review.

I'm presently addressing some of the things you mentioned (more rivers/water variations and other editor options are definitely needed) as well as the editor bug and a few others. I'm also trying out a light "story mode", likely just in the form of text displayed on a page before each mission.

More AI behaviour control is definitely something I've thought about. I'll see about adding basic behaviours, if not in the current build I'm working on then in the next.

I would also love to see scenarios created by other users, and being able to share maps (and campaigns) is something I'd like to make easier. Community forums are a great idea. In the meantime I'd love to check any user maps sent to hi@summitfevergames.com

Alpha 5 is coming along nicely, with a new unit (Engineer), airstrikes, building health, more terrain variation, a more helpful UI, visual improvements, and a few others things already implemented.

Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and review.

The engineer is in the early stages; so far it can only repair buildings and build new buildings (or rebuild destroyed buildings), but I do have plans for building cover (sandbags), laying mines, buildings bridges, etc. I had the same concerns about airstrikes being OP, but adding health to buildings and engineers to repair them should balance things out. Airstrikes also have a pretty slow refresh time at present, though that will all likely need balancing. I posted a gif highlighting airstrikes, building health, and engineers to Twitter, here: Twitter.com

I like your idea for a grenadier, or at least a "demolitionist" of some sort. The RPG is almost along those lines, but grenades are somehow more satisfying. I'm focusing on some other aspects of the game before adding more units, but I'll add the grenadier idea to the list. The thought takes me back to the original C&C. What a classic.

Aside from the engineer/airstrikes/etc and some polish/enhancements, my plan is to work on the AI, adding different behaviour states for units (eg. "Aggressive", "Defensive", "Hold Position") and then to re-do the campaign from scratch with a bit of a story element. The AI states will be configurable from the map editor, and I'd like to implement a campaign editor to string missions together. I may release another build first (Alpha 4.5 or 5 or what have you) before moving on to the AI and campaign stuff. I've got a lot of feedback at present to work with, which was my goal with the public alpha, but it wouldn't hurt having a slightly more polished version out there.

The game is made in Game Maker Studio, and I did a lot of the art straight out of there, but when that didn't cut it I turned to Aseprite and Photoshop.

Hm, there should be a sound for rocket explosions, the same as for grenades. Is it maybe being drowned out by other battle sounds? I'll double check though. I think I did in fact make the explosion sound using BFXR :D

Tally ho!

I haven't used Piskel before, but it looks pretty cool. I like the idea of GIMP, but I've grown pretty accustomed to PhotoShop over the years.

I will pm you to clarify about the rocket sound, as it should be working.

Thanks for the follow! :D I set the Engineer repair rate (and building health levels) somewhat arbitrarily and haven't tested things much yet, so some balancing will likely be needed. Did you find the repair too slow or too fast?

Cool. Any number of engineers can repair a building at present. I don't want them to be able to repair too quickly or buildings might be too hard to destroy, though of course that could be handled by the player by attacking engineers before buildings (and the AI already does this).

The "destroy buildings with one grenade" issue has been addressed by adding building health, but I do like the idea of setting charges. I will probably hold on to grenades' ability to destroy buildings, but it might be worth trying out grenades as unit-destroying only to see how it plays.

Oh thanks! I did compose that track. I've since added three little "jingles", for battle start, battle loss, and battle victory, but I really need to make some more proper music tracks. If not in the next alpha, they will be in beta 1 for sure. I'm thinking I ought to show off a few of the actual features of the game in the next trailer instead of just random clips, fun as those may be.