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General => SFML projects => Topic started by: Tukimitzu on February 29, 2016, 01:35:52 am

Title: [DOWNLOAD] Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on February 29, 2016, 01:35:52 am
Hi guys, I finally decided on the name and I'm ready to share with you!

(http://i.imgur.com/9YeYQwj.png)

DOWNLOAD (http://pointlesswars.com)

No story, no reason, no problem!
Explore a beautiful world, fight unlikely heroes using the power of nature elements and questionable war tactics.
It would be a shame if you did all that for no reason at all.

(http://i.imgur.com/juMgK2G.gif)

Battle Gameplay

Objective
Win 2 consecutive battles.
The Army
In order to crush the enemy, you need an army.
The Challenge
After each battle, the loser can rebuild his army, and the winner will have his army recomposed with the same units he had at the start of the previous battle.
Can you win in disadvantage?

(http://i.imgur.com/NyXV8gL.gif)

Strategy
Well... after building your army, just go for it! Just remember your units have weaknesses and your hero can only do so many things.

(http://i.imgur.com/q40ZmKx.gif)

You can pick a battle formation, if that helps. Just kidding, it does help.

(http://i.imgur.com/tCiRNsa.gif)

Game Modes

Campaign: Fight for no reason!
All the answers you need.

(http://i.imgur.com/klX9wcO.gif)

Online/LAN: Fight for pride!
Beat people online and... get bragging rights?
Arena: Fight for power!
Beat all the heroes and... feel accomplished!

(http://i.imgur.com/5Swcj3y.png)

Custom Game: Fight for fun!
Remove overpowered heroes, increase luck factor, make it challenging, make it easy, play with friends.

DOWNLOAD (http://pointlesswars.com)
Leave your thoughts! Thanks!  ;D
@davi_doro
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Hapax on February 29, 2016, 01:51:30 am
Win 2 consecutive battles.
After each battle, the loser can rebuild his army, and the winner will fight with the same army composition of the previous battle.
8)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on February 29, 2016, 01:57:16 am
  • Purposefully lose the first round and take out as many of the opposition as possible without winning.
  • Opposition has hardly any army for next round - easy. This saves you the majority of your army.
  • Almost equal fight for your win streak!
8)

Hahaha, ok, maybe I should be more clear. By "same army composition" I mean that the player will have his army recomposed with the same units he had with the beginning of the battle. I'll change it right away!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Dark2Dragon on March 01, 2016, 12:27:42 pm
Can we play a beta version before August?  ;D

it looks pretty cool.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: nicox11 on March 01, 2016, 01:26:47 pm
It looks fun. It would be nice if we can see some gameplay.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 01, 2016, 03:52:38 pm
Can we play a beta version before August?  ;D

You can ;D! Not yet >:(! Still a few months of work to do, putting up a website, setting a server, etc, but I'll release a free beta version for sure.
I'll let people know when this happens.

It looks fun. It would be nice if we can see some gameplay.

I'll keep this post up to date, gameplay footage will eventually come!

Thanks guys!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 11, 2016, 11:02:52 pm
When an army of humans is not enough.

(http://i.imgur.com/NAdUKxa.gif)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: bitano on March 11, 2016, 11:08:09 pm
Hahaha that looks awesome :D.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: eXpl0it3r on March 12, 2016, 12:04:24 am
Why did nobody die as they trampled through the first field of soldiers? :P
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 12, 2016, 12:22:41 am
Why did nobody die as they trampled through the first field of soldiers? :P

On the final version, the allies will open space for the herd, for now, just close your eyes for details  ;D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 12, 2016, 12:37:31 am
Hahaha that looks awesome :D.

 ;D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 16, 2016, 05:46:00 am
Last hero designed  ;D

(http://i.imgur.com/Mj9n0eo.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/v7Bu4jO.gif)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: bitano on March 16, 2016, 03:15:52 pm
Aaah the cute pigtailed little girl... The worst possible enemy to be beaten by. :D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 22, 2016, 03:26:36 am
Bringing the scenario to life  ::)

(http://i.imgur.com/po4Knyy.gif)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Satus on March 22, 2016, 11:10:13 am
Looks really nice! Good job  ;)
I've noticed that shadows looks a little weird, as if the sun is directly above the object.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 22, 2016, 02:32:39 pm
Are you saying the battle should not happen at 12:00pm?
Hehehe well, I'll see about that
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: bitano on March 22, 2016, 02:39:52 pm
Are you saying the battle should not happen at 12:00pm?
Hehehe well, I'll see about that
Obviously not! 12pm is lunchtime. Civilized warlords take this into account. bur!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Rhimlock on March 22, 2016, 03:00:02 pm
Obviously not! 12pm is lunchtime. Civilized warlords take this into account. bur!
Yes! True warlords conquer at tea-time, like Caesar did in Britain (and we all know that Astrix is historically accurate  ;))
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 22, 2016, 04:42:07 pm
I can't go against such strong arguments.
Problem solved, battle happens midnight now.

(http://i.imgur.com/3C8Uvuj.png)

Cheers!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: bitano on March 22, 2016, 04:44:17 pm
I can't go against such strong arguments.
Problem solved, battle happens midnight now.

...

Cheers!

Hahaha delivering exactly what the playerbase expects! Well done :D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 26, 2016, 03:11:14 am
Trying to make the title screen/main menu more interesting...

(http://i.imgur.com/H4aNPrE.gif)

Don't worry, polishing comes later!
Need a title art ASAP!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Hyden on March 27, 2016, 05:05:44 pm
This game looks awesomely fun! Keep up the good work!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on March 28, 2016, 08:54:23 pm
Thanks a lot, mate! I will!  :)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Sygmei on March 28, 2016, 10:30:16 pm
Looks cool, I'm waiting for a download link :)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 01, 2016, 02:08:34 am
Thanks, I'm glad you like what you see.
I have a bunch of animations to work on, and on the user interface. Then it will be playable.

(http://i.imgur.com/ZwZi9Bw.gif)

(Fullscreen)
(click to show/hide)

I need a way to show the player which units are being targeted.
I'm using a circle, the darker the color, more resistant is the unit for the attack.
A circle highlight works fine, right?
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: bitano on April 01, 2016, 08:50:49 am
I need a way to show the player which units are being targeted.
I'm using a circle, the darker the color, more resistant is the unit for the attack.
A circle highlight works fine, right?

a clear target icon is something like the following:
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkS-wKq8p3U6suPXrx4FwNdQq6_HIV0RAVi8wAQ8j3LjlwYXsaeQ)

And then different colours for resistance perhaps...As long as you have a placeholder it can always be improved ofc and i think those kind of improvements are best spotten when ...

...TESTING THE GAME!!!!  :D :D :D

No pressure. Just saying...
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 01, 2016, 10:56:28 pm
All caps bold letters with 4 exclamation points, no pressure.  ;D

I can't say how long it will take until I release a test version, all I can say is that I'm the most interested person in finishing the game as quick as possible. I applaud people who can do it for years, but I'm not that person. That's why my game is a circle rather than a line.

Once you draw a circle, that's it. Even if you want to increase its size, you can't unless you redraw it. And if it is a nice circle, people will say "hey nice circle". Another property of a circle is that if it is missing the smallest section, it is not a circle anymore, it is a broken circle, or even worse, an imperfect line.

On the other hand, a line can always be increased in size, and the drawer is always struggling with how further should the line go. If a line is missing a section, it is still a line, and can still be appreciated as such.

My point is, even for testing, I need a complete game.

Does my game design analogy with geometry makes sense? Or more importantly, who cares?  ::)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 11, 2016, 07:02:36 pm
Obligatory post so that this thread doesn't leave the front page

I've been working on multiplayer stuff for the past few days, and I successfully implemented a match-making server. It is definitely not finished, but it works and if you are interested, it's a single .cpp file (sshhh, who needs .h anyway):

Match-making server:
(click to show/hide)

Server features:
- Runs on linux and windows*.
- Runs on command-line only.
- Has a user-input thread so that the user can type commands in the command-line while it is running.

*MinGW c++ compiler doesn't support std::thread yet, that's why I'm using mingw.thread.h (https://github.com/meganz/mingw-std-threads).

It is a black-box match-making system. It does one thing and one thing only: links players who want to play the same game mode. Just like Hearthstone.

Quick Overview (aka lazy explanation):
- Player connects to server, player is now in now expected to choose a game mode.
- Once it chooses the game mode, server looks for that game mode on the wait-list.
- If no game of that game mode is on the wait-list, a new game is created and inserted in the wait-list.
- If game is found, player enters the game and the game is removed from the wait-list. Start game.

Other things yet to implement:
- Give the player the option to have his match private, so only someone who knows the match ID can connect.
- Match-making based on the player rank, but this is for much later, when I actually have a player-base lol.

I rented a linux machine at ops.mnx.io (http://ops.mnx.io), accessed with SSH Secure Shell Client in my windows PC, compiled, ran and tested with a little tic-tac-toe client that I made. I played a few games and didn't have any problems. Specially in the first months of beta-testing, this VPS solution will be very useful.

I didn't test it with Pointless Wars yet, but in terms of multiplayer communication, tic-tac-toe and Pointless Wars are pretty much the same.

If you are a somewhat experienced network programmer and have any thoughts about any of this, please let me know.

Cheers!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: eXpl0it3r on April 11, 2016, 07:29:54 pm
*MinGW c++ compiler doesn't support std::thread yet, that's why I'm using mingw.thread.h (https://github.com/meganz/mingw-std-threads).
Not all of the versions. The MinGW-w64 fork has support via pwinthread if you pick the POSIX threading model builds (e.g. this build (https://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw-w64/files/Toolchains%20targetting%20Win32/Personal%20Builds/mingw-builds/5.3.0/threads-posix/dwarf/)). ;)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 12, 2016, 06:18:26 pm
Not all of the versions. The MinGW-w64 fork has support via pwinthread if you pick the POSIX threading model builds (e.g. this build (https://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw-w64/files/Toolchains%20targetting%20Win32/Personal%20Builds/mingw-builds/5.3.0/threads-posix/dwarf/)). ;)

Ah, now I know! Thank you!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 18, 2016, 06:45:41 pm
Game, please! I only need one coin to decide who starts!
But thanks for telling me there's a possible bias for player 1 to start!

(http://i.imgur.com/AvgMUDS.gif)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 22, 2016, 07:45:53 pm
The server works and the client works! Here's the proof, kinda.
(click to show/hide)
Players found eachother through the server, player 1 is shown at the left on player 1 screen and player 2 is shown on the left on player 2 screen. Each player built its own army and everything worked out.

I'm surprised really. Since the beginning of the project I knew multiplayer would be the hardest part to figure out, and it was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. Of course, SFML makes things much easier, and the support in this community is on point, so thanks y'all. I'll make sure I put a big-ass SFML logo on the splash screen.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 27, 2016, 05:42:26 pm
I'm making the interface less dull, adding some transitions and stuff.
Unit out:
(http://i.imgur.com/QFREqkA.gif)
Unit in:
(http://i.imgur.com/jqFUuvx.gif)

Oh, by the way, did you noticed this sick new logo by @jdewojno (https://twitter.com/jdewojno)? He had never done anything like this before, what a guy.
(http://i.imgur.com/9YeYQwj.png)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Ironbell on April 27, 2016, 09:33:23 pm
The new logo is awesome! I really like how this game is evolving. And I love its humor^^ Keep up the good work :)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: eXpl0it3r on April 27, 2016, 10:20:52 pm
Awesome logo! :)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on April 28, 2016, 06:29:06 pm
Thanks friends! Your comments filled me with determination.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on July 10, 2016, 07:16:05 am
For those wondering the state of the development, it's still going strong!
Big steps were made related to the soundtrack and the website.
In this project I wear many hats, and right now I'm wearing the project manager hat only.
I'll get back to the updates when I'm wearing the PR hat.

(http://i.imgur.com/yy1tcXO.gif)

 :D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on August 18, 2016, 01:23:04 am
Multiplayer Programming and Server
I've been looking in the market for server rental services where you pay by the hour and I found out that at amazon web services (https://aws.amazon.com) you get one year for free. Of course the machines you can have for free are crap, but the advantage of this being a turn based strategy is that CPU use is minimal. I only care about connection speed, and it's fast enough. It's easy to say that while I have only one match running at a time  ;D

But the main purpose of me talking about this particular subject is that if there's someone out there that wants to know the learning steps from "I don't know shit about multiplayer programming" to "I know barely enough to make turn-based game client and servers" this is how I did it (not necessarily in this order):

Once you have all this knowledge you know barely enough to make a multiplayer turn-based game client and server.

Other stuff
Now I think I have all the tools I need to finish the game. I've got the music (@JeffPenny (https://twitter.com/jeffpennymusic)), the game client and server, the pointlesswars.com (http://pointlesswars.com) domain and the motivation.

Latest work done: got started on the in-game menu... making volume sliders is not that easy, have some appreciation please.
(http://i.imgur.com/K67A6FO.png)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on October 01, 2016, 12:13:51 am
My main menu is turning out pretty great if you ask me. Thank you, you're welcome.

(http://i.imgur.com/oTt11IY.gif)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: AFS on October 01, 2016, 03:42:28 am
^ Very neat! ;D

That background is begging for some easter eggs, IMO. Like animals reacting if you click on them or something.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on October 05, 2016, 02:28:55 am
Like animals reacting if you click on them or something.

Done.  ;D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on October 25, 2016, 06:04:25 pm
More menu things.
This is how the intro looks like right now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAs4uMJYT0g

The only thing I'm yet to find the problem is why the SFML logo looks bad. I'm using the small .png file available here (http://www.sfml-dev.org/download/goodies/), and I'm sure I did not resize it. Or am I?

Anyway, I'm liking it!
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: eXpl0it3r on October 25, 2016, 07:00:44 pm
Depends entirely on how you created the video. ;)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on October 27, 2016, 12:45:30 pm
The weird thing is that it isn't the recording, because that's how I see it when I'm not recording nor have FRAPS opened. I'm guessing it has something to do with some specific graphic card setting that I'm unaware of, because when I run it on linux it looks fine. I'll figure it out eventually.
Title: AW: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: eXpl0it3r on October 27, 2016, 06:33:39 pm
Ah, so that's screen captured from the game?
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on October 27, 2016, 08:36:51 pm
Exactly, this clip is all game screen capture, I actually load and draw the logo in the game. I still don't know what was causing that, but it fixed after a rebuild. It seems too specific to happen in Windows only and only with the logo, or at least that's the only time I've noticed it. I'm definitely missing something.
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on June 08, 2017, 09:29:44 pm
Heey! It's been a while...
I've uploaded and alpha version of the game at itch.io, if you want to take a look go ahead!
It doesn't have much, but...

(http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/005/600/its-something.jpg)

And multiplayer works theoretically!

Download at:
pointlesswars.com (http://pointlesswars.com)
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Elias Daler on June 09, 2017, 01:25:23 am
Glad to see this project still going! Sadly I'm not a big fan of strategy games, so I can't comment much on a gameplay (how balanced it is, especially), but I enjoyed it! And I've got some feedback.
* It took me quite some time to understand that I can click on buildings/stuff on the main screen. I though it was a title screen, tried to press buttons, then I though:"Oh well, must be a cutscene"... And started waiting. :D
You should probably add some labels to important things or maybe indicate somehow that player can now choose one of many things.
* When creating new squad after battle it'll be good to see how much units I can pick. This + inability to choose more than 50 units will be nice. Choosing more than 50 and only then learning that I can't select this much was a bit disappointing. :D
Look at how most RPGs let you pick skill points, your system should work the same
* Stampede skill should show which enemies got crushed, it took me a while to understand that it actually crushed some
* Maybe the GUI should be at the bottom? At least it'll be cool to have it configurable to down/bottom. It's just easier for me to look down for info then up.
* Maybe total number of units left should be in bigger/bolder font with different backgrounds based on teams? Will be great to read this information easier
* The grass is too bright for me. A bit less saturation may make it easier for eyes and will make units stand out more. But maybe that's just me!
* In the main menu you NPCs don't move smoothly. Maybe it's an intended effect, but I think that smooth movement would look more pleasant.
* The game didn't set my desktop resolution which is 1080p. Maybe it's SFML problem?
* I installed it on Windows 10, but in Start Menu in "Pointless Wars" folder I only have "Uninstall" shortcut for some reason.

Now to the positives: the game feels and looks great! I love the humor. The game looks very professional, it's great how many things you've already implemented and how it just feels right.

P. S. Post it on Twitter and I'll retweet it, maybe more people will check it out! Don't forget to include the prettiest screenshot you have. :D
Title: Re: [DOWNLOAD] Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Carlos Augusto Br Cpp on June 09, 2017, 10:16:39 am
Wow man its so good to see that a game of my land is getting really good...

parabéns Tukimitzu, orgulho de br huehuehue  ;D
Title: Re: Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: Tukimitzu on June 09, 2017, 03:11:36 pm
Thanks for the feedback Elias!

* It took me quite some time to understand that I can click on buildings/stuff on the main screen. I though it was a title screen, tried to press buttons, then I though:"Oh well, must be a cutscene"... And started waiting. :D
* Choosing more than 50 and only then learning that I can't select this much was a bit disappointing. :D

Yep, these are on my to do list already.

* Stampede skill should show which enemies got crushed, it took me a while to understand that it actually crushed some
* Maybe total number of units left should be in bigger/bolder font with different backgrounds based on teams? Will be great to read this information easier

These I'll add to my to do list.

* Maybe the GUI should be at the bottom? At least it'll be cool to have it configurable to down/bottom. It's just easier for me to look down for info then up.

This I'll consider, for sure.

* The game didn't set my desktop resolution which is 1080p. Maybe it's SFML problem?

The game sets a resolution of 1280x720 by default, if supported. The reason is because the art style looks better in this resolution. You can change it though.

* I installed it on Windows 10, but in Start Menu in "Pointless Wars" folder I only have "Uninstall" shortcut for some reason.

Ah, good to know, it's the first time I've made an installer for anything, so I'm still figuring things out.

Now to the positives: the game feels and looks great! I love the humor. The game looks very professional, it's great how many things you've already implemented and how it just feels right.

Thanks man! I appreciate it!

P. S. Post it on Twitter and I'll retweet it, maybe more people will check it out! Don't forget to include the prettiest screenshot you have. :D

Will do (:

Wow man its so good to see that a game of my land is getting really good...

parabéns Tukimitzu, orgulho de br huehuehue  ;D

Haha, thanks Carlos! É nós!
Title: Re: [DOWNLOAD] Pointless Wars - [Turn-Based Pointless Strategy]
Post by: MrOnlineCoder on June 21, 2017, 09:33:31 am
Very nice graphics and animations! However, I encountered a game crash on my Windows 7 x64, played Singleplayer quick game and in the middle of the game "Program PointlessWars.exe stopped working...."