SourceForts 2.0 Design Diary

The SourceForts Design and Development team are really shaking things up for the development of 2.0. We're planning to come at everything from a completely different direction than before. One of the ideas that we've committed to is keeping as much of the design process transparent as possible, while still keeping some surprises for when we release.

This design blog serves as an early trial of one of the ways in which we intend to open up development to the community at large, and so over the next couple of weeks myself and other members of both teams (Design and Development) will be taking you through some of the core concepts of SourceForts 2.0 gameplay.

This diary will attempt to cover major areas of SourceForts design over time, but we have to start somewhere, so we might as well start with the basics:


1. Core Gameplay: The Build Phase
When we began design work on SourceForts 2.0, we wanted to make the best possible game of SourceForts without losing the very essence of the mod, which is players building things to aid them combat. To do this, we had to question some very basic assumptions about the game, and see if there were any better ways to put SourceForts together to provide a more enjoyable experience.


Since the beginning of (SourceForts) time, the game has been divided into two periods: Build, and Combat. The Build phase separates the two teams, allowing them to build forts and other structures to defend and capture flags in complete safety until the end of the phase, and the beginning of Combat. This two-part system is unique, but it wasn't without its flaws.


There were multiple gameplay problems that could be traced back to this separation of phases:

• No challenge or threat to players that wanted to build nearly impenetrable fortresses.
• Repetitive games
• Boredom of veterans, and confusion of new players during Build.

The Build phase was offering very little in terms of fun, and causing all sorts of issues across the board. We couldn't add a lot of interesting, useful, and fun things to the game for players to interact and build with, because the very nature of the Build phase. One of the most common feature requests is automated defenses, like HL2 turrets. With it being so easy to build a fort that will give even the most skilled players trouble, there was just no way that we could make defense even easier.



It was suggested that the Build phase be removed, and allow players to build and fight at the same time. An alpha-build was produced to test the concept, where players could easily spawn blocks on the fly from a small menu, and it was good. Players were still able to build bases and defenses, and offensive players found what should have always been there: The ability to spawn pieces and use them mid-combat.

Note: The following screenshots are from an alpha-build, and in no way reflect any final game.


(A block glows green to show that it is ready to be frozen in place)

Games in SourceForts 2.0 will feature no phases, and building and combat will take place simultaneously. This opens up so many possibilities, helps solve persistent game problems (griefing, lack of teamwork, etc.), and truly brings a unique experience to every battle fought.


(Myself, failing horribly at killing an enemy Builder)

What can you expect now that the Build phase has met the scissors? More things to build with, more ways to bypass defenses or force your way through them, more intricate and interesting maps, more scoring, and a less frustrating and tedious SourceForts experience.

Feel free to let us know what you would like to see covered in a design diary. We will start from core gameplay mechanics, and work outwards.

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God.

Blogging.

unlimited life block?

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servers can already do it & a 6x4 or like lots of new blocks & the owner can turn any of them on or off at will deleting or not deleting any of the other currecntly inplay & let modelers make there own models & can put them so the server can spawn them "dll the models/materials from server" not every server i mean like the ones they own

I love the idea of being able to spawn blocks where you are. Although i have 2 questions.

1. When you spawn a block and go to freeze it, will it still take the amount of time to freeze it as it does in combat now? Cause that would suck, it'd have to be shortened.

2. Will there be a setup period? Where no-one can spawn blocks or attack each other - just for when clans are scrimming- so they cans et themselves up and stuff like that.

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monty : lol, everyone knows sf2 is never coming out

It depends where you are. The control points function to boost build speed very quickly to almost build phase levels at the moment.

At present, there are no plans for a setup period. The design of the map means that there will be at least 20 seconds or so before the enemy gets in firing range of your main base, and your team should have pushed out far enough that they can hold them back while builders reinforce.

We didn't need setup times in the alphas, even though that block freezing was almost as slow as 19x combat freezing, as players were functioning as a team to defend each other while walls go up. If we make the first public version and find that we do need a setup time, we'll exhaust every other option before having to resort to such an inclusion.

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http://www.stieffers.com/Other/SF_Signature_Khuskan.gif

Sounds fun, but small maps would likely suffer, would they not. A full team soldier rush against a team attempting to build a wall isn't really going to end well.

I'm sure many of us get irritated while in combat phase, attempting to fix holes in walls and such then just as its about to be frozen you get shot from a different angle.

What I'm suggesting, is 2 or 3 minutes at the start of games where building is only allowed.

The seperation of building and combat in the game I think is one of the reasons its fun.

If in Haven a few minutes is allowed to build basic defenses, eg. Bunkers and such. Then when combat arrives, these constructions are used to delay the offense while strengthening the base.

I kinda agree depending on the map. I think teams should get like 30 seconds to get their shit together before the other team can be at their throat.

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Map size is designed to prevent that. A skilled team should be able to get up a basic wall before the other team can reach your side. And of course attackers will have to get past your midfielders.

On another note, good diary. It would be nice to have more of these, and more regularly.

Mmh, community interaction.
And good community interaction at that.

You're beginning to excite me.
Naughty.

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