Welcome to the first devlog for Helion Rift, an RTS I'm making. Helion is the wonder power source that replaced oil and nuclear energy, and everyone wants as much of it as they can get. Some factions have plenty, some barely have any, and that leads to tension, conflict and the occasional covert operation. I'll try to post here twice a month. No promises, though. I also have a family to keep happy.
Shots now land on what you see
While testing the game myself, something about the fights felt off. So I zoomed all the way in on one tank and watched it get shot. Again. And again. The shells weren't hitting it. They went into it and stopped inside the hull, like a spoon going into pudding. Rifle rounds flew between soldiers and hit nobody.
The cause: every shot was aimed at one invisible box per unit. That box has to stay narrow enough to fit through gaps between buildings. A heavy tank is bigger than its box, so shells flew 45 cm into the armor before counting as a hit. That's about an arm's length, which is a lot of arm to put inside a tank. A squad's box sat in the middle, exactly where nobody was standing.
Now every unit also has a shape fitted to its real model, built from up to 32 small boxes and used only for where shots land. Picture a tank wearing 32 invisible cardboard boxes. It doesn't mind. Each soldier gets their own. On the Command Center, shells used to burst about three big steps in front of the wall. Now it's about one. In a two-player test, 723 shots were checked, and not one ended up inside a model.
This only changes what you see. Damage, range and targeting are the same as before. So, to my friends who lost fights at the last playtest: you really lost them.
Trains wait at a broken bridge
Blow up the track in front of a moving train, and it used to drive straight off the edge. Very dramatic. Not very smart. Now it stops short and waits, and moves on the moment that piece of track is repaired. Destroy the track right under it and it still derails. Some things should stay dramatic.
Trains can also hide now. On the Crete map, a train rolling into the tunnel disappears from view, and while it's inside, nobody can target it.
Also in this build
- Groups arrive together. Order a mixed group to Attack-Move, and it now moves at one pace instead of sending the fast units ahead alone. Units also stopped swerving around hidden units.
- Dust over Rift Valley. Dust weather is on by default: warmer colour and hazy fog. Dust drifting through the air comes later.
- A tougher computer opponent. In all 9 test matches so far, whoever lost their only Harvester, the truck that gathers resources, lost the match. So the computer now builds its vehicle factory earlier, and one faction now rebuilds two of its big defensive guns instead of one.
Outside the trenches
Weekends lately belong to the kids. Our son is 10 months old, which means diapers, naps and a full-time job keeping him happy. Last weekend our 4-year-old daughter tried out a bunch of sports at a kids' event, and she turned out to be a natural climber. She went higher than I would have, and I'm supposed to be the adult.
One evening a week is mine: Magic Commander at the café with friends. I'm not the best deck builder at the table, but I do win a game now and then. Mostly when the others are busy fighting each other.
Also, I turned 38 in August. I'd like to report a bug: 40 keeps getting closer, and I can't find the fix.
Known issues
- The Command Vehicle's hit shape still fits like a jacket two sizes too big.
- The art isn't final. Units and buildings don't have their full texture palette yet, so everything in these clips is still wearing its work clothes.
What's next
My friends get all of this at this weekend's playtest. They are very good at finding what I missed. A little too good. Next time, if all goes well: the Command Vehicle.
There's no Steam page to wishlist yet. I'm waiting for Steam to approve my developer account, which apparently takes longer than fixing a tank. As soon as the page is up, the link goes right here.
A question I'm chewing on: when a train finds its bridge gone, should it just wait, or back up to somewhere safer? My friends get a vote at the playtest. You'll hear how that went next time.
See you next time. I'll be the one zoomed in on a tank.
TokkeBe