X@COM

Hm, just noticed the X@COM code base has reached 12,000 lines. That's already six times 2K! Imagine what it'll be eventually :)

I've uploaded a new release with some minor enhancements to the ARRP demo.

Here's the changlog list for those too lazy to check:
* ARRP: HUD more informative
* ARRP: To improve cover, reduced amount of open space and added a new orchard terrain area
* NEW: Light affects unit visibility
* MOD: Non-keypad movement scheme (arrows) more flexible, allows full range of movement
* MOD: Keyboard input more responsive
* MOD: ESC cancels priming action
* MOD: Right-click cancels firing/throwing
* MOD: ESC/Right-click stops movement
* MOD: Units may fire at targets beyond obstacles
* MOD: Auto doors close at end of turn instead of immediately when unoccupied
* MOD: Previous saved games no longer invalidated by adding/moving objects in data files
* FIX: Errors caused by AI misbehavior will be corrected without crashing

The biggest change: Light now affects unit visibility, so if you thought the demo was tough already, now you're really going to be slaughtered on the night missions (as it should be). I added another flare among the starting equipment; try not to blow them up--you've only got two.

Mostly been refactoring and trying to clear my workspace of notes/TODOs accumulated during the coding frenzy leading up to ARRP. Work should start on some new feature this weekend.

Here's a screenshot of a squad disembarking at the landing site near an orchard at night:

The 2011 ARRP release is here! Check out the Files page for a download link. I've worked on X@COM for about 70 days now, so I guess that makes this a 70DRL release, too! :)

The demo scenario can be pretty damn hard, and then sometimes you can just get really unlucky. I only tested it a few times, in one of which an alien not far from the Avenger started with a Blaster Launcher... Needless to say we all died a fiery death, roasted in an impervious shell of our own making!

You can also luck out and not meet too many tough aliens, but they'll probably get you eventually. You'll definitely last a lot longer if you commandeer alien weaponry (no time for research!) and/or find secret weapons.

The alien AI is very basic (didn't spend more than a few hours adding it), and is nothing like the AI the game will use, but it does come in multiple varieties so don't expect all the enemies to behave identically.

There has been very little real playtesting so far, and I've been coding lots of new content up until just a moment ago, so don't blame me if it explodes. Seems fine when I run it, though, so do your worst. Come to think of it, explosions are good, as long as they're properly aimed...

I will entertain requests for simple updates to make the demo more fun, but don't request anything major--coding it is fun and all, but takes time away from core development. I'll also be updating the demo with new gameplay features as they become available for testing.

Some specific notes:

• The game could be quite a bit faster, but I compiled the release build with most of the assertions intact, so you'll actually get specific error messages if something does go wrong.
• Check out the FOV options. The original had none, but everyone seems to want things like highlighting. I'm not yet sure it's a great idea, since it removes some of the suspense, and X-COM is all about suspense.
• There wasn't enough time to update the latest libtcod, so there's no mouse wheel support for zooming--that will come soon.
• Oh, and look out for Sigmund.

While I'm at it, may as well put up a fun screenshot. This is what the ARRP map gen's first run produced:
Oh the havoc one misplaced variable can wreak on a calculation :)

Never fear, you can now advance your soldiers without the danger of buildings and terrain rearranging themselves around you.

Now go shoot something already!

"Unfortunately AI will be nonexistent, so you'll have to settle for blowing up terrain and static units." --Me, Yesterday

I lied.

I figure the ARRP release will be a lot more interesting if your enemies move and shoot at you, so today I went ahead and threw in a simple AI, as well as faction-limited perspective (cannot see non-visible enemies taking their turns, etc.).

Prepare to be blown away, unless you think your squad can fight off waves of aliens teleporting into the area. Of course, you can always steal their more advanced weapons and blow *them* away...

(I haven't made the scenario yet, but hopefully I can find enough time to finish everything by release day. Too bad this is going to be an unusually busy week...)

You read the title...

You've played X-COM before...

You know exactly what I'm talking about...

Let's flex our new-found throwing muscles and put the hurt on an unsuspecting alien emerging from his craft...


(Not a great video, but maybe throwing the electro-flare and smoke grenade helps make up for it? :)

So as you can see, proximity grenades work, as do many other kinds of grenade explosions. Any item with an attached "throwing explosion" also has a "grenade use" setting. Besides the standard/expected PRIME and PROXIMITY settings, I added support for these:

• IMPACT: Explodes immediately on impact if thrown (instead of waiting until the end of the turn like a normal grenade primed to 0).
• VOLATILE: Like IMPACT, but will also explode if it falls and hits the ground.
• REMOTE: Thrown/dropped and set off remotely/manually with a detonator. This is not yet fully supported, since there is no way to create detonators, but it seems like a frequently requested option in X-COM remakes, so it could eventually be added (not going to bother in the short-term, though).

None of these were in the original X-COM, but they could later be used to create interesting items.

In other news, I've decided to join this year's ARRP with X@COM! Everybody's doing it :) Seriously, if I wait until I'm far enough along to make the game semi-playable and good enough to get through my perfectionism filter, it could be many months away, and this being a project with a fairly clearly defined initial goal, it's not like I've got a ton of secrets to hide when it comes to gameplay. The unique components are a ways down the road, anyway.

I may as well let people try the game out early, so I'll be releasing occasional tech demos beginning September 18th, 2011. Tech demo releases probably won't be all that frequent (compared to playable releases, which will be updated quite often when they start coming), but I may as well throw something out there just to be a part of ARRP.

So what can you expect? It'll no doubt come with a big fat disclaimer, but hey, it's a sandbox tech demo, after all. Content-wise, you'll basically be getting the latest version I'm using to debug/code the game, so it'll include all the features you've read about in posts and seen in the videos. Unfortunately AI will be nonexistent, so you'll have to settle for blowing up terrain and static units. Anyone interested could, however, play with the data files (text) and create/modify just about any object... I'm still undecided on whether to leave debug output/interface features in the demo.

As usual, opinions are welcome!

Here's a quick video of guided weapons in action:


I was going to add grenade priming today, but the X-COM system seems like it may be incompatible with X@COM. For a breakdown of the original timing system, see here.

I like the original system. Despite not being intuitive and obvious at first, it's fair and works pretty well. The problem is, it only really works when you have two sides (X-COM + aliens), no more (civilians are ignored for grenade timing purposes). But X@COM supports an unlimited number of factions (teams on a given level) so you can potentially have more groups than just X-COM and aliens.

Not sure what to do about this yet. Checking grenade timers only at the beginning of a new round is obviously unfair, and using the thrower's turn as a reference may not be flexible (or fair) enough in some cases. I'll have to think on it some more, but thought I'd throw it out there to see what others think.

Maybe a faction's grenades can only go off at the beginning or end of their own turn. Thus priming to 0 will explode as soon as you end your turn, 1 will go off just before your next turn, 2 = after your next turn, 3 = beginning of the turn after that. Seems confusing, though really you don't prime for much other than 0 or 1, maybe 2...

The main thing this leaves out is the ability to have a grenade go off between other factions' turns
but that doesn't seem possible to work out, or even necessary actually. And maybe I've come up with the answer myself while writing this post :)