Stellar Forces [Turn-based multiplayer squad tactics game]

[SteveSmith]

Stellar Forces development is still going on strong, and the latest feature to be added is Campaign Mode, kindly designed by "2nd-in-the-league" Deadlime. A player's units can now be carried over from one mission to the next, making the game even more tense as you pray that your top-ranked unit is safe.



More screenshots here.

[charlie]

I've enjoyed watching Stellar Forces progress. Long may it continue.

What I'd like to see in the future:

• Better textures and texture handling
  e.g. Scourge2 does this quite well (and uses jme2) - screen1, screen2
  I know it sounds like a shallow thing but I do think this would bring more players to the game. There are probably a portion of players who look at it, use the graphics as a basis for judging the quality of the game, and move on without trying it out.
  
• In-game team management
  I really do not like using the web interface. This may have changed since I last played it (at least 6 months ago, if not more).
  
• In-game turn detection, continuation
  Again, this may have changed since I last played it, but I really disliked having to restart the client to get to the next turn.
  
• Higher resolution grid
  If player units occupied a 3x3 grid rather than a 1x1, it might make it easier to create more varied looking maps, as well as add an extra depth to the strategy.

I need to play it again to make more comments. (Is there music and/or sound effects yet?)

I do have an idea for the in-game GUI but would need to talk to you about that. You are still using JME right?

[SteveSmith]

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought I'd found a way to avoid having to restart the client, but unfortunately JME2 doesn't allow for re-opening a 3D window once it's closed. When I start using JME3 that will change, assuming they've fixed that bug.

At the moment I'm concentrating on adding gameplay features such as the new campaign mode, new missions and strategy elements (like being able to hear enemies). And it's had music and SFX since February.

[charlie]

Perhaps you should look into Ardor3D rather than JME3. Timong (the guy behind JCRPG) thinks it is a lot better.

[SteveSmith]

It looks like similar coding to JME, so maybe using it won't be too hard. I'll look into it further...

[charlie]

Yes, that's because Ardor3D is the creation of the original JME author, who decided it was time for a fresh start from the JME codebase using the lessons he learnt along the way. Apparently it's similar in most ways but in some ways vastly superior. Notably, no crashing.

[SteveSmith]

Client version 1.52 of Stellar Forces has just been released. The major changes to this are:-

* Explosions are now shown sequentially, (rather than all in one go).
* Computers can be destroyed by melee combat.

I've also recently changed the font to something a bit more futuristic, and we now have over 50 missions to choose from.

[SteveSmith]

Client version 1.65 of Stellar Forces (turn-based squad strategy game) has just been released. The major changes since the last update:-

* Units can be exhausted and/or panic.
* Smoke grenades and nerve gas, which can spread across the map obscuring view and harming units.
* More scenery and textures to make the game look more realistic.
* It's now possible to playback whole games afterwards.
* Various trophies can be won by the players.
* New missions to choose from.

Steve

Here's an image showing some of the new textures and details:-

[charlie]

That's starting to look fantastic. Iterative design can be great; you've gotten the core gameplay to work well and now the aesthetics and extra features (replays etc) are coming along nicely too.

I look forward to future releases and further improvements. I may even have to start playing it soon!

[oberhamsi]

Great how you built in leagues and play by email and the website, it all ties together. And if I find someone to play this with me by email it will be awesome, I'll try to get one of my friends to play me :)

I think the game would seem a lot more attractive to new users if:

* instant way to test the game play, let the player play a few rounds with one click. maybe I just run the client and re-play a couple of enemy soldiers moving around and let the player shoot them :) I mean, the 3d world is already good to handle - camera and unit orders - you can show that to new players (i think even more so then the website, which is basic & well done but not so smooth). but the player has to go through the businesslike, non 3D action game website to get to play.

* textures :)

keep it up!

[SteveSmith]

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated. Having a way to simply "dive in" within the client without having to set anything up on the server sounds like a great idea.

Regarding someone to play against, if you get one of your friends to play then great, but there's always plenty of people hanging around the website (me included) looking for new opponents. Does it come across on the website as though people have to find their own opponents?

[oberhamsi]

Regarding someone to play against, if you get one of your friends to play then great, but there's always plenty of people hanging around the website (me included) looking for new opponents. Does it come across on the website as though people have to find their own opponents?

no, the website is good. makes it seem like a lot is going on :) i just prefer to play vs people i know... makes victory sweeter.

[hc]

Maybe you're interested in these street-tile-textures: http://opengameart.org/content/road-tile-textures
The latest version contains similar street tiles for straight roads, 3-way (T-junction) and 4-way (X-junction) and plaza - junctions with zebra-crossings.
I couldn't find Stellar Forces media-/art-licensing - if you're interested and licensing is an issue, please tell me.
Same if you need higher resolution textures, colors and marks may be adjusted within reason, too.

[charlie]

This has not been FOSS for a while now. Moving to off-topic.

[SteveSmith]

Are you talking about Stellar Forces? It's free and open-source.

[charlie]

The website appears down Steve. I only see the text "2ed 12 0" and a background image.

The last time I spoke with you (on the Stellar Forces forum) about this you stated the source was only available on request and even then, for security reasons, you were thinking of keeping it closed. I couldn't see a source link last night (maybe I was doing something wrong though).

[SteveSmith]

Unfortunately after adding a SATA drive to my computer, it seems to have gone belly-up overnight, but should be fixed by tommorow.

The source is open and always has been. I created a source download release a few times last year, but haven't bothered since as no-one seemed to download it. However, if anybody wants me to create a download of the source, just let me know. The only reason it's like this (rather than a link to the svn repository or something) is that I want to remove the encryption codes first, basically so no-one can create a "cheating" version of the client.

Sod it, I'll just create another source download now: http://code.google.com/p/stellarforces/ ... akechanges

[charlie]

Ok great, I'll restate this to showcase.

Regarding the source online and encryption codes; what we do for our work (which will eventually be open source) is have source in SVN and encryption codes in an SVN-ignored folder that is backed up elsewhere (copied to Dropbox etc).

I'd suggest this is the kind of task svn:ignore was made for.

[SteveSmith]

Regarding the source online and encryption codes; what we do for our work (which will eventually be open source) is have source in SVN and encryption codes in an SVN-ignored folder that is backed up elsewhere (copied to Dropbox etc).

So simple and so obvious. I'll do this at some time.