Demo BattleBoard - Top Down, Turn Based, Military Strategy Game

Isyx

Member
Hello.

Here's a very early look at a turn based project that I am currently working on. The game has no title yet, but I have some of the basic functionality set up and would like to show the progress so far.

You can find the current build here:
https://isyx.itch.io/battleboard

The map/board is set up to randomly generate tiles. I have some basic terrain for now, just water, trees and hills. There are 5 working units for the time being: Infantry, tanks, engineers (they can set up supply depots, build anti-tank and anti-air emplacements, and also repair stations for vehicles), logistics (this unit can resupply depots with fuel and ammo, and transport infantry), and a BTR type assault vehicle. Air support in the form of spy drones for visibility, A-10's for strafing runs, and perhaps more are also in the works.

The battle will take place in consecutive turns and you will need to manage unit positions, firing solutions, ammo and fuel levels of units, and the health/condition of the units.

Reinforcements will be available at a predetermined rate. Determining which type of units you need for the battle will be up to the player and can be used for strategic advantage.

All art is filler art at this time. Right now I am mostly focused on functionality but if you have ideas for the art direction please let me know (I am by no means an artist!).

Here is a short video showing the current state of the game. Enjoy, and any feedback is appreciated.

 
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Isyx

Member
Updated unit movement. Expanded the shooting mechanics, added the ability to switch between units while targeting. Can also choose how many rounds to fire and which type of ammo to use. Added action points and movement points.

 

Isyx

Member
A quick video showing the progress so far. Placed limits on action points and movement points. Increased game tile size. Started adding ways of getting information to the player. Added command points and command UI.

 
M

MEITdev

Guest
Is your main inspiration Panzer General ? Feels like it. The graphics of the terrain seems a bit rough but I think that is due to the development stage. Have you considered HEXagonal tiles instead of squared ones? This is the standard for turn based strategies.
It is looking nicely done so far, it appears to be already in a stage that can be shared (a demo map) to get even more detailed feedback from the community :)

Keep up the great work!
 

Isyx

Member
Is your main inspiration Panzer General ? Feels like it. The graphics of the terrain seems a bit rough but I think that is due to the development stage. Have you considered HEXagonal tiles instead of squared ones? This is the standard for turn based strategies.
It is looking nicely done so far, it appears to be already in a stage that can be shared (a demo map) to get even more detailed feedback from the community :)

Keep up the great work!
Hi! Unfortunately I haven't played any of the Panzer General series, but now I'm curious so I'll definitely take a look. Yeah, the graphics are going to be rough for a while, most of the work is going into getting all the core mechanics in place. Hexagonal tiles are still an option, I have a few ideas for the terrain and the game tiles that will show up eventually.
Thank you for showing an interest in the project! I plan on having a playable map up within the next couple weeks if all goes well.
 

Isyx

Member
Added 4 static units which can be deployed by the engineers:

Depots for storing and distributing ammo and parts.
Repair stations for damaged vehicles.
TOW launchers for heavy anti-armour.
Mortars for long-range engagements.

Am currently working on getting the supply chain mechanics in place, and figuring out a good way to execute how reinforcements are used.

A short-ish video of the current state of the game.

 

Morendral

Member
I like where you are going with this, but the placeholder art makes it hard to follow what's going on. Everything is all the same sort of muted colors, to include the ui, and even the movement/orders lines are too thin and sort of disappear.
 

Isyx

Member
...the placeholder art makes it hard to follow what's going on. Everything is all the same sort of muted colors, to include the ui, and even the movement/orders lines are too thin and sort of disappear.
Hopefully, I will be able to find an artist to help me with the project. For now it's just me and I do my best with the visuals, but my main focus is coding the mechanics of the game.
 

Isyx

Member
Have got all the base units and structures up and running. All the supply units can now give and receive parts and ammunition. A supply ship is now available that forms the base of the supply chain. Supply ships can unload to depots or logistics trucks which then can be used to extend the chain. Repair stations also repair damaged vehicles when queued to do so. Mortars and TOWs now have a limited firing arc. Tiles can also be highlighted to show unit firing range, passable terrain and tiles that are in supply range.

Next I want to get all the command buttons functioning. The command options are split into two categories; Tactical (Bombing run, missile strike, artillery, surveillance drone and a supply drop)
and Reinforcement ships. Once that's up and running I should have something somewhat playable to post as well.

 

Isyx

Member
Testing vs the beginnings of an enemy AI. All command buttons are functional and reinforcements can now be called in along with spy drones, missiles, bombers, artillery and airdrops.

 

Isyx

Member
After a bit of a break and working on a couple other things, I've managed to get some changes done to the game. I re-worked the fog of war to try and make it feel like you're playing on a game board. Have also been working on improving the spotting system and the way enemies and terrain are revealed thru gameplay. It's all still a bit rough and the ranges and timings still need some work but it's given me a good starting point i reckon. Also added a C-130 aircraft for the airdrop animation.

Here's a bit of gameplay from the current build.

 

Isyx

Member
Just finished with a rather large update to the game. I had a recent burst of productivity and managed to get quite a bit done.

A quick overview of the changes made:

Reworked the turn system into a squad based one. The player is now able to form squads with the units of their choosing before the match begins.
Removed movement points. All unit actions now only require action points.
Command cards may now be dropped into the turn list via insertion points at any point during the match.
Reinforcements are now assigned to a squad before being deployed.
There is now an option to set UI scale.
Moved the project from GM:S 1.4 into GMS 2.
Updated the particle controller to handle all explosions. Still a bit buggy as some effects may fail to appear as expected.
Reworked unit stats display and alerts.
Set new baselines for units (damage, movement speed, action costs, view range, action range, damage received, movement range, etc).
Increased base tick rate of actions.
Increased base movement speed of all units.

There is still millions of work to be done before I think it will be in a state that I am happy with, but this is a step closer.

A very short video of the current state of the game:

And the Itch.io link if you'd like to give it a go:
https://isyx.itch.io/battleboard
 

Isyx

Member
Have made some changes to the overall gameplay and visuals. Hopefully this is a bit of an improvement to the game.

 
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Isyx

Member
Have added the player ability to set which faction/nation to play as and which faction to set as the opponent. For now it is the classic USA versus Russia, more factions will be added if/when I can get the appropriate assets.

Players can now also choose which side of the board to play from (default player 1 is north-facing). This meant that all non-GUI menus and text displays had to be reworked to display correctly at the chosen rotation. This process led to a simple solution that also allowed for easy scaling of the action menus in reference to the camera zoom level.

Reworked the visuals of the fog of war. This is the first iteration and will likely be looked at for improvement.

Basic networking for the game has been set up. LAN matches are possible but a number of features must still be added to allow for easy host/server broadcasting and discovery before the feature will be unlocked. A method for broadcasting/discovery is also being tested for internet matches but since this is my first time dealing with networking it will likely be some time before I unlock this feature fully.

Also moved the project into version 2.3 of GMS2 . This caused a number of game-breaking issues which may still be lurking in the game. I will keep patching them out as they are discovered.

And a quick video of the latest version:
 

Isyx

Member
Reworked the entire map to include the terrain, foliage and structures.

Removed clouds.

Added sunset and sunrise transition effects.

Fixed a number of bugs in the networking code. Currently testing a number of disconnect procedures, once this task is done the game should be ready for networked matches.


 
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Reworked the entire map to include the terrain, foliage and structures.

Removed clouds.

Added sunset and sunrise transition effects.

Fixed a number of bugs in the networking code. Currently testing a number of disconnect procedures, once this task is done the game should be ready for networked matches.


Looks very nice. Looks smooth :) ill have to give this a play when I find some time!
 
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