Blogs - Kilted_Camel

Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while since I posted an update. Been quite busy the last couple of weeks. I can however now unveil the Steam store page which went up over the weekend. Check it out - Store.steampowered.com

Release is now set for Saturday, May 13th, so best start stockpiling porridge now.

The Scotsmen continue their romp through America's national parks when they travel to Yellowstone. The local porridge factory has been polluting the waterways, drawing the ire of the Americans. A bloody stand-off is bound to take place here, and Alfredo is determined to have his army of Scotsmen in the thick of it.

The haggis factory is on the upstream side of the map, at the top of a small waterfall. The cliffs make for an excellent defensive position for the player to start from. However, only two of the six oat fields are nearby, so the player will need to move their front-line troops down into the valley to harvest more oats. The enemy approaches from two sides of the map, split in half by a river, so fighting on two fronts will be required.

Another big milestone in the development of Defend the Highlands World Tour was passed this week, in that we finished recording the voices for the rest of the characters (up until now we'd only recorded the Scottish voices). I had a blast listening to them as I edited, especially the Monty Python-esque French insults and the Australian accents. Anywho, here's some more characters, the American hillbillies and football players.

If there's one group of people in America that don't want foreigners in their country, it's hillbillies. Armed with shotguns, they can easily take down Scotsmen who aren't properly protected. Their range is slightly shorter than the throwing distance of a Scotsman however, so they are best countered by Scotsmen throwing porridge from behind cover.

While claims of their being able to throw footballs over mountains may have been exaggerated, they can still throw a football a good distance, and accurately too. Unlike most ranged enemies, they only perform one ranged attack as they approach, and then close in to beat up their targets. The player will need to combine a protective frontline of barricades to block their ranged attack, with a second line of close ranged attackers such as fondue hoses or whisky bars in order to efficiently counter them.

Howdy partner – as the Americans would say, for today the Scotsmen finally reach the USA in their quest to liberate their countrymen from foreign oppression.

The Scotsmen make their first stop at a small family owned Haggis Factory in the grand canyon, whose owners are about to be deported. The bagpipe airship arrives minutes before the police can seize the factory owners, and Alfredo and his band parachute down to save the day. The Americans won't go down without a fight however, as they send in their most ignorant hillbillies and toughest football players (who really could throw a football over them mountains). More on these in next weeks post.

The map is essentially split into four tracks by ridges on the left and right, and the river running down the middle (although enemies can cross between the middle two tracks at the shallow water). Stationing Scotsmen on the two outer ridges will allow the player to pick off enemies approaching from below while being out of reach of melee attacks. However, to get the benefit of all of the oat fields, they will also need to send some Scotsmen into the centre as well.

I'm hoping to have a trailer ready in a couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for that.

So this week's been spent mostly preparing screenshots for the store page (I'm always surprised at how long it takes to orchestrate and composite good screenshots). Here's three of the ones I've done so far.

One last post from Alfredo's exploits in Japan, before we move on the Scotsmen’s' final destination, the United States of America. Before he can leave, Alfredo must confront one of Japan's most brutal historical figures, Oda Nobunaga.

Oda Nobunaga is the only boss who lacks a ranged attack, but he makes up for it with his melee combat abilities. He is as fast as the Samurai, the fastest enemy in the game, giving him the ability to easily close in on the players' defences. Unlike the samurai however, he also has very high health, enabling him to bulldoze his way through large swaths of the player's defences before he can be stopped. The best counter is a fondue hose or drop bear nest, which can quickly kill the toughest of enemies at close range.

Phew, I managed to survive two weeks with almost no internet, and am now set up in the new house. So without further ado, on to the belated next dev-log post.

The Scotsmen are almost ready to leave Japan when they receive a distress call from the haggis factory in tsunami-ravaged Fukushima. Of all the buildings in Fukushima, the local haggis factory was the only one to survive the tsunami. Now, the survivors have banded together to bring it down, jealous that the Scottish building should stand while their homes were destroyed.

The haggis factory stands on a hill overlooking the flooded town. All enemies arrive by boat and have to make their way through the shallow water, where they will be vulnerable to attacks from the hill. However, the player will need to send men down into the town to capture and defend the oat fields that grow on sand patches scattered throughout the town.

The shrine, which becomes available for the player to unlock after completing the first Japanese level, is a healing tower. Any unit standing within its healing radius will have their health slowly recovered over time, making it useful for keeping hero characters alive, particularly in long matches. It is quite expensive however, so the player will want to make sure they have an area well under control before placing it so it doesn't end up getting destroyed.

Mt Fuji is an active volcano, and a location of important cultural significance to the Japanese people. It is also the location of Japan's third haggis factory, which is in dire need of protection.

Alfredo and his band of Scotsmen arrive just in time to find the mountain under assault by two new enemies, the Samurai, and the Geisha, who are intent on restoring their natural monument to its natural, haggis free state. They must be stopped.

The samurai is one of the most deadly enemies in the game, possessing both high speed and attack strength. They can easily close in on poorly defended areas and wreak havoc before they can be stopped, despite their mediocre health. Fortunately, they cost the enemy a lot of recruitment points to send in, so you shouldn't see them too often.

The geisha is slow and graceful in her movements, but makes up for it with her scalding cups of tea, which cause splash damage. She is particularly good at taking out whisky bars, since the splash damage negates the cover of the bar, and she doesn't have to get close enough to take damage. Unlike the teapot throwing Englishman in the previous game, she doesn't lift bro, so she can't throw very far, having a range a little shorter than a Scotsman, so she can be dealt with using the default porridge throwing attack. Her slow speed also makes her very vulnerable to haggis catapults and golf tees.

As the Scotsmen head further into Japan, they come across a secluded temple hidden in the mountains. The temple hadn't been used for decades, so some Scottish tourists had set up a haggis factory there. Unfortunately, the Japanese people unreasonably decided they wanted to tear it down. Luckily, Alfredo arrives just in time to defend it.

The player starts in a good defensive position atop a cliff, although they will have to venture down into the lower part of the temple complex to harvest more oats. Enemies spawn in the low lying forest surrounding the temple, and will have to attack uphill. The pathway up to the starting position provides a good opportunity for a staged withdrawal if needed.

Here the Scotsmen also encounter Buddha (Yes, I know buddha wasn't Japanese, but he was visiting a Buddhist temple or something). Seeing the persecution of the Scottish people, Buddha agrees to help Alfredo on his mission. However, as a pacifist he cannot attack, but will gradually heal any units within a short distance from himself, making him very useful on long battles if he can be kept protected.

Also this week I've made all of the Steam Achievements and the corresponding icons. Here's an amusing sample.

Hello. So, I missed my post last week, for which I apologise (If you're thinking of moving house, don't, its too much work). So to make it up to you, here's a lovely picture of the main menu which I've spent the last couple of days on.

I have to say, it was quite fun composing the background image :P Critiques welcome of course.

Also, Derek from ScottishGeeks youtube channel has finished recording the Scottish voices for the game, and they're awesome.