Forward Objective

[LilWhiteMouse]

Forward Objective
http://www.prdarkfox.com/lwm/ForwardObjective.7z - Drag 'n drop on GZDoom to play.



Gameplay stuff:

---

The Oceania Commonwealth has fallen. Outside forces has seized control of all the island citystates, and their defenses. Take command of the CWV Ponopolus floating fortress and reclaim the islands.

Take out the enemy's bases to gain entry to the capital. Once enemy general has been defeated, position a strider near the capital flag to reclaim the citystate.

NEXT/PREVIOUS ITEM - Cycle through command actions.
USE ITEM - Use selected command item.
FIRE - Selects unit under cursor. Clear selection by clicking an empty area.
ALTFIRE - Orders unit(s) to point. If no unit selected, commands all units of selected group. Group 0 commands all units, including groups 1 and 2. Units target enemies of their own initiative.
NEXT/PREVIOUS WEAPON - Cycles through the three groups. Group 0 is default.
USE - Add selected unit to current group.
JUMP - Cycle through all units.

Striders are equipped with jump jets. Select a clear area near a low enough ledge and the strider will automatically boost up/down.

Command applet (Left to RIght):
Refit Strider (1 Action) - Deploys a Guppy VTOL to drop a refit container. Partially repairs striders, and updates weapons if available.
Upgrade Strider (2 Actions) - Increases the strider's weapons. Only applies to new striders, and refits.
Level 1 Autocannon
Level 2 + Rocket pod
Level 3 + 2nd Autocannon
Level 4 + Cannon
Deploy Strider (1 Action) - An LCAC will be dispatched to drop off a strider at the nearest southern beachfront. Limited to four striders.
Missile Upgrade (2 Actions) - Makes additional missile bays available. Limit 6.
Missile Strike (1 Action) - Calls a missile strike to the cursor location. Location must be within strider sensor range. Friendly fire possible.
Phalanx Upgrade (1 Action) - Adds an additional PHalanx array to help protect against hostile missiles. Limit 6.

One action is earned every 30 seconds, with time knocked off for destroying enemy structures.

Current HUD Layout:
Upper Left: Missile bays, Action meter, Strider & Phalanx levels.
Upper Right: Strider list (Armor % & Group), Island map.
Bottom Left: Current Group
Bottom Center: Command applet
Borrom Right: Ponopolus hull

Having more computer issues today so uploading what I've got done so far. It's playable, but among other things the final "boss" isn''t balanced, and you can't lose. I've yet a fair amount of work planned. Some of the models are place holders, the citystate capital isn't done, it's just one completely random island, etc.... I plan to have Metal Marines' multiple islands campaign, starting with small lightly defended islands. A fair amount of the ACS needs to be straightened out yet, as much of it is still where I left it while writing everything.

Gameplay hiccups:
One gameplay inconsistency I have yet to address: Guppy drops are dependent on the time you request one. IE: You request a drop while your armory is Lvl 3, but it's damaged before the drop, the drop is still level 3 (intended behaviour). LCACs however do not adhere to this yet, the level of the strider deployed is determined the moment it's offloaded, not when it's launched.
Missile accuracy can be a little off. Sometimes it hits square on, sometimes it dives early. I've yet to determine the cause of this, or if it's even fixable.

[Arthropleura]

I love it when people redefine Doom like this.

[cem26]

Is that real team RTS ? (like red alert or command and conquer dune and others)

[Enjay]

It's not the kind of game that I am very good at, but I've had some fun with this today. It's well put together and quite an amazing feat of morphing Doom into something else.

An awful lot of the missiles launched by the defenders vanished though. I think they were travelling in arcs that made them hit the sky and then get removed

[LilWhiteMouse]

Is that real team RTS ? (like red alert or command and conquer dune and others)

I would prefer a Herzog Zwei comparison myself.

An awful lot of the missiles launched by the defenders vanished though. I think they were travelling in arcs that made them hit the sky and then get removed

They're just decoration for now, they launch into the ceiling.

[Outsider]

Very fun demonstration that makes me look forward to anything to come in the future!

The gameplay and general setting remind me a lot of a mix between MILITIA and Hostile Waters. Plays very well, with solid gameplay although it does tend to come down to "Get four upgraded Striders and then grind the enemy down." The only thing I could really think to rectify this at the moment would be more units/attacks that your ship can launch, but seeing as I've been playing it for three hours already and having great fun, this is not at all urgent. Properly designed maps rather than randomly generated ones could also force you to make more in depth tactical choices, such as splitting up your forces and managing two or more attack groups.

The technical design in general is very good indeed; I wouldn't mind having a kit of a Strider on a shelf in my room. One thing I will say is that the missile launchers for the enemy, while serviceable maybe could be more like modern ground based ASM batteries than the rocket on a ramp set up to fit in with the enemy aesthetics better. But this is completely minor stuff and may just be a placeholder, as you said.

There is a small issue with the enemy commander's tank; when it blows up he remains with his pintle machine gun and keeps firing. I don't know if this is why there's no end state but it's not detracting from the gameplay at all.

Regardless I'm really looking forward to seeing this mod in its finished/further developed state. Great stuff!

[LilWhiteMouse]

The only thing I could really think to rectify this at the moment would be more units/attacks that your ship can launch

The final intent is to start with one pilot/missile, and be able to recruit more as islands are liberated. It's currently hard coded at four because that's all the pilots I had added at the time, and each strider selects a unique pilot. I've tested it with 8 striders.

Properly designed maps rather than randomly generated ones could also force you to make more in depth tactical choices, such as splitting up your forces and managing two or more attack groups.

Randomly generated forces me to approach every island differently. In depth tactical choices are fine, until the second time where it just becomes rote. As to splitting up forces, I do that now already. A pair of fully equipped striders are more then capable. If I have anything left to do, I send one pair up one side of the island, and another pair up the other. Missile strikes are supposed to be more effective, allowing a single basic strider to take out an entire base, but I haven't bothered to address it yet.

One thing I will say is that the missile launchers for the enemy, while serviceable maybe could be more like modern ground based ASM batteries than the rocket on a ramp set up to fit in with the enemy aesthetics better. But this is completely minor stuff and may just be a placeholder, as you said.

This is more or less final, though I want to tweak the textures a bit. The project is my adaptation of Metal Marines. All the installations are based on their MM counterparts.

There is a small issue with the enemy commander's tank; when it blows up he remains with his pintle machine gun and keeps firing. I don't know if this is why there's no end state but it's not detracting from the gameplay at all.

It's unfinished. I copy&pasted the regular tank code just to check the model and alignments. Beyond that I haven't done any more end mission work.

[LilWhiteMouse]

http://www.prdarkfox.com/lwm/ForwardObjective.7z


It's getting there. A number of changes and improvements. I had to add in a delay in the level generation to prevent a runaway script error, so for a moment the view is messed up. Eventually I'll cover the screen to hide this. Still no end work.

Groups are now color coded, and indicated by the command cursor (white (all), purple and tan groups).
Missiles are more accurate, but with reduced radius.
Striders are now offloaded at the nearest beach, not just the southern face.
Strider upgrade costs increase with level: 1 for Level 1, 2 for Level 2, and 3 for Level 3.
Enemy projectiles have a 25% chance to miss (Interceptors have a 50% chance).
New units/structures.

[LilWhiteMouse]

For the next version, removed the HUD minimap and replaced it with a 3d map display. Can be rotated and tilted.


Currently only displays any deployed striders. Not sure how much information I'm going to display.

Debating on nesting the command items, like in D'deridex Command.

[Gez]

It's pretty impressive, but I don't understand how to play. I get that I should find my units and tell them to do stuff, but well, I don't find my units.

Also I don't get how to select and perform an action.

[LilWhiteMouse]

Also I don't get how to select and perform an action.

Forgot to include that you need to use the inventory keys in the first post, fixed. You can't select and order a strider if you don't have any, and you won't have any unless you order their deployment with the command action. Oops.

[Devianteist]

This looks interesting. I'm gonna try it out.

How much of this mod would you say is completed, LilWhiteMouse?

[LilWhiteMouse]

"Completed" is rather subjective. Nothing I do is complete, just reaches the "good enough" stage (Wolfen/Chosen). Chibi Rebellion is still in development (which is on hold until the voxel rendering issue is fixed). The current release was to get the basic gameplay mechanics working and balanced. My current copy has most of the campaign mechanics up and running, with the ability to continue w/o saves. What I mostly have left to do is work out progression: How often upgrades become available, when new enemy structures are introduced, how fast island sizes grow each time, etc...

[LilWhiteMouse]

http://www.prdarkfox.com/lwm/ForwardObjective.7z
Campaign is in and functional. You start with one pilot, missile, and no strider upgrades available. Islands start off small and lightly defended. As islands are liberated, you gain more pilots/missiles/strider upgrades. When you liberate an island, it saves your progress to cvars, and allows you to resume progress by selecting continue from the skill selection.

There's still work to do, mostly cosmetic and balancing, but it's playable as is. There is no end currently, but it plateau's around island 8 I think.

[Devianteist]

"Completed" is rather subjective. Nothing I do is complete, just reaches the "good enough" stage (Wolfen/Chosen). Chibi Rebellion is still in development (which is on hold until the voxel rendering issue is fixed). The current release was to get the basic gameplay mechanics working and balanced. My current copy has most of the campaign mechanics up and running, with the ability to continue w/o saves. What I mostly have left to do is work out progression: How often upgrades become available, when new enemy structures are introduced, how fast island sizes grow each time, etc...

Good enough answer for me. I really do enjoy this mod. It's a nice change of pace for someone as narrow-minded (when it comes to video-games) as myself.