Comments - fidgetwidget

He answers almost all of those questions in the links of his other reply.

The one stand out that remains unanswered though is gameplay length - though I am not sure your question is well formed.
When you ask if its content driven and juxtaposing it to being finite, I assume you mean to compare open world games like fallout (only limited by the content - no fixed ending) to more linear experiences with bosses and a credits roll... correct?
Otherwise, please explain more, as I am curious about this stuff too :D

I love the way you are creating an almost lofi 3d world.
What are you using to create your 3D models? And what are you doing to make the lighting be per triangle?
Its such an interesting visual effect.

Sorry everyone, this game is officially abandoned... at least in the form it is seen here. Prototype after prototype just proved it wasn't fun, and I have too many other ides I want to work on.
Thanks everyone for your support.

I have switched between flash and html 5, and unfortunately still don't have anything to show yet :(
hopefully I will have some time to work on this during the holidays, and have something to show in the new year.

Ok, I am working on this game again, but won't have anything to show on it for at least a month...
I will post news then, but I just wanted to let you know (if your hard core and following it still) that I am working on it again :D

Ok, I am officially working on this again... and will post something about it in a month or two when I have something to show :D

Looking forward to Alpha 5 (and a copy of portal 2 would be nice :D)

I just wanted to update those who are tracking, and I don't really have enough to warrant a news post.
I am currently working on multiple other projects, and haven't had time to work on this one at all in the last month.
You can take a look at one of the other projects I am working on here:
Forums.tigsource.com

Thanks for your interest.
- fidgetwidget

Hey SolidFake,
I am very committed to keeping the gameplay simple... unfortunately, finding the balance that produces the most fun has been somewhat of a challenge.

Right now, exploit is the vast majority of the gameplay, and the least fun element. Clicking on a target and selecting what you want to mine isn't fun all by itself, there needs to be challenge and reward for the fun to emerge.

Explore and Expand are the areas I feel I need to work on, as they are the potential reward and challenge for the Exploit element. These are the areas my poll is seeking to expand, helping to balance out the game and make it the most fun it can be.

Thanks for your feedback everyone.

This is just place holder at the moment... but right now pressing B ends the tutorial dialog so I can quickly get into the game for testing.

In the final game, there will be more complex dialog choices than simply yes and no, and they will better communicate what each option will do.

The comic style text (with a little fixing) is going to be AMAZING! very inspiring. Love what you have so far, and look forward to what the game will be like.

There aren't any trade offs quite like that (at least not currently), because what ever choices you make, you are still given means to do functionally the same things...

Maybe it needs a more detailed explanation:

Research is broken in categories (Currently there are 5: Mining, Construction, Tek, Communications, and Science). Each category also represents at least one facility you can build in your station. In the case where there are multiple facilities in a given category, researching one will usually prevent you from researching the other(s). This acts as a sort of branching tree, because depending on what facilities you have built, new research becomes available in its respective category.

For instance, choosing Deep-Space Radar over the Sensor Array will give you access to different options for exploring space and expanding your view range. You aren't choosing expanded range over improved resource gathering, but different ways of expanding your range (with Communication), or different ways of resource gathering (with Mining).

Keep in mind, things may change as I expand on the game past its initial release, but this is how I am implementing it right now.

Hope that makes sense.

Just in case anyone is worried, I have since tossed out that piece, and replaced it with something else.

This is what I mean though, art is easily taking up the majority of my time on this project... I didn't expect that to be the biggest consumer of my time, but art is work.

I agree, CRY isn't a good word and GEM is better (thanks to Terry007abc on that one). Then again, I think Vespene Gas is kinda poor choosing too, so maybe bad is good?

I already am using ORE and TEK, and my early concept also used H20 (back when it was far more complicated and way beyond the scope of an 8 month project)... so who knows what might happen... I could turn the crystals into ice and call it ICE! but I doubt it.

Oh, and of course you can politely request combat... though isn't that a little counter productive? shouldn't you violently demand combat, at knife point... that might be a better way to convince me of its merit. Anyways, there are a number of reasons combat is out for this title, but that doesn't mean conflict isn't in the game... and explosions... there are explosions in the game (just not for reasons you might expect). Miner Dig Deep and Harvest Moon are two of my favorite games... so non-violent gaming can be fun, just give it a chance. (Then again, I like Monster Hunter more than either of those...)

Oh, and also in my early concepts... a tower defense mini game where you had to defend against the mobs from the planets you mined... but that too was cut for scope... and because I am tired of tower defense.

Thanks for the support :) I have to admit, this project has burnt me out a few times, so this last leg of things is taking longer than I wanted... so the support helps immensely!

thats a very good idea... my only concern is then there are two G's Goo and Gem... I'll try it out in play test and see if anyone says its confusing. Thanks :)

I wish I could say ludsoe, but I really just don't know right now.

I had hoped to have it out this month, but I am doing some significant changes to the game (as it just wasn't very fun in its current state) that are going to push it out to close to the end of the year (details are coming). Now thats for the Xbox 360 version... the PC version (and if I manage to port it over to unity, maybe an iOS version) will come after that.

Thanks for the interest! It really helps to keep me motivated when I am forced to make such major changes to things this late in development.

Wow, I only recognize 5 of them, and of those 5 could only name you two... this is insane!

Congrats you guys.

I knew I recognized it from somewhere.
You put it to good use though.

Looks cool. I look forward to more info :)

What doesn't Gel do would be a better question.
Rub it on a cut, and Bam! that cut's definitely going to get infected. You can eat it (but I don't recommend it). Put it in a clear vase, and place it on a table as a decoration...
The possibilities are endless really.

Looks interesting. I am secretly hoping its a blend between flashback and outcast. Two games it reminds me of, and that I love. You got me tracking.

Is this still in development? Haven't seen much news from you guys about it in a long time.

Steam Punk, Great art, and a tactical RPG to boot? Too bad its only for the iPad.
Hope it does well for you guys, and I am definitely tracking (and hoping you bring it to PC or Xbox)

Very Colorful. Looks really nice.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The second one was what I was suggesting... putting out a PC version of the alpha code for people to give feedback on. It would require me to do a little more work on the PC version of the game (right now it is designed with a gamepad in mind, so allowing for PC controls would be the biggest issue there), but I am going to release a PC version of the game down the road anyways, it isn't work that would go to waste.

Your suggestion of releasing the .ccgame package for Creators Club members only is a good idea... I wasn't aware that there were countries that are unable to review and playtest games (only that are not able to publish). So I will look into that for sure. Thanks.

Should I change its name to "Builder Ship"? I was thinking of adding a yellow tool belt to it too, maybe name it Bob... Bob the Builder Ship? Just a thought.

I had someone point it out in playtest that the descriptions were too small to read on a standard definition television.

Also, I was working on getting my dialog text writer working for other parts of the game, so it gave me an opportunity to test it out.

Thanks.
I really wish I was faster at producing it though. This piece (only the first draft) took me just over an hour... and thats using the in game assets.
The final version will be uniquely drawn and colored for the cover art specifically. No telling how long that will take me.

Just one guy in this case. I am a one man team on this project (and balancing time for art and coding is a lot more difficult than I expected).