[Android & iOS] Star Nomad RTS/RPG (Sci-Fi Sandbox)

never played that so I guess it just doesn´t seem to be my taste..haha

Nevermind I´ll play it and I look forward to trade some geisha-XXX-slaves^^

Progressing on the Combat system.

Orbiting Drones with their own AI Turret. Combat Drones pew pew and Support Drones heal heal.

Also I was so stupid in spawning those parallax space-dust particles on the entire layout randomly... too many needless sprites when they aren't present onscreen. Changed it to spawn in particles only in the restricted ViewPort, and destroy the particles off-screen when the player ship moves. Doing it like this means I can have more particles on-screen (gives better illusion of movement) while reducing the overall count massively, making it run better on mobiles.

Tied your game and it worked flawlessly. Nice one.

Progressing on the Combat system.

Orbiting Drones with their own AI Turret. Combat Drones pew pew and Support Drones heal heal.

Also I was so stupid in spawning those parallax space-dust particles on the entire layout randomly... too many needless sprites when they aren't present onscreen. Changed it to spawn in particles only in the restricted ViewPort, and destroy the particles off-screen when the player ship moves. Doing it like this means I can have more particles on-screen (gives better illusion of movement) while reducing the overall count massively, making it run better on mobiles.

— - so you got "pew pew" and "heal heal" - what about "shield shield"?

megatronx

There's been lots of criticism of C2 low performance on mobiles, I just think its up to the users to optimize their games. Sure, HTML5 is 50% slower than native code, guess what? People forget that phones this year are 100% faster than last year. And last year's phone certainly run HTML5 games just fine, so do phones from 2-3 years ago.

—

I had planned to do a point defense drone that shoots down missiles, but it wasn't required since ships can equip a PD module that fires a laser at incoming missiles already, it was kinda redundant. And the support drone heals by replenishing your shields.

— - cool, sounds like you have a lot of stuff planned and working. Can't wait to try it out.

Dynamic UI, icons only shown if Modules are equipped. Launchers will have a SpriteFont to indicate number of missiles left.

Touch on Shield Booster or EW to activate the module. Touch on Launchers will toggle the next touch on screen, it will launch a missile towards your touch point.

Aiming for the most minimalist design that I can get away with while still providing all the info required for gameplay.

Note the small green circle trailing the NPC ships. It's the "Hitpoints" indicator. Changes colour to yellow or red based on % of ship shields left. I originally planned to have the typical ship UI, bottom right corner, touch on a ship to bring up a bigger icon and its stats/shields.. but felt it was not necessary and would add clutter. Now all ships show their current shields via a dot. Maybe too minimalistic??

— - I think "minimalist but intuitive" is a great combo. When is ETA for us to play?

— Hopefully one more month (lots of random missions and all the triggers required is actually quite daunting as I am doing it now... depending on complexity it could be two months) and it will be on Android. I also hope Intel XDK has AdMob and Google Store ready then.

I just want to get the game out with all the vitals and storyline missions completed, then later patch it up to include a online PvP mode and extra ships or modules. Currently doing the random missions as well as major story missions.

Just made a quick combat preview video and the UI:

And an updated Travel, Missions and Trade video:

Finally reached a milestone, every system in the "Wildlands" sector is completed, functional with tradeships, pirates, factional fleets and dynamic prices. Random missions are all done! There's plenty to keep pilots entertained as they make their fame and fortunes!

Now onto the final stretch: talking heads and storyline missions!

Hopefully adding a bunch of animated talking heads won't blow my ram budget out the wazoo.

Star Map with faction standing and current system indicator.

Random in-flight chatter from NPCS! Traders give tips on best trade routes, request help or just a friendly hello. Militia patrols do their thing and pirates taunt etc..

Animated talking heads.

This is looking great

can't wait to play it

— - awesome update. I think the talking heads will add a lot of atmosphere and immersion - kinda like in Star Fox.

— DARTH Crusher

Thanks, I've always enjoyed the random chatter in Wing Commander Privateer so its definitely a must to have these interactions, you are right it adds to immersion.

Here's a few NPCs in the game, they have a LOT of random quotes which they will use depending on the situation and your current standing with their faction. They also offer rumors that provide some info on the background story/setting of the game.

Some of my favorite lines:

Pirate Taunt "Plundering is like making love. It's not what you do, but what you say as you do it."

Traders "A long haul with a cargo full of Flesh Dolls... hmm, it does come with a self cleaning mode."

If you guys want to throw some funny taunts, pirates at player, or traders or police etc, feel free to give some suggestions. If I use it, I will put your name in the credits.