Armoured Commander
October 9, 2015 7:59 AM Subscribe
Armoured Commander
I made a game! It's a roguelike. Would appreciate any suggestions and feedback to continue improving it.
I was inspired by the 1987 board game Patton's Best to make a single-player game where you take on the role of tank commander in the second world war. Armoured Commander is a tough game that is more about survival than destruction, and I hope it reflects some of the experiences of those who participated in the invasion of France and Germany.
Just finished the beta version so I think it's mostly complete. Still trying to improve it though, and have plans to add additional campaigns including a Canadian campaign.
I made a game! It's a roguelike. Would appreciate any suggestions and feedback to continue improving it.
I was inspired by the 1987 board game Patton's Best to make a single-player game where you take on the role of tank commander in the second world war. Armoured Commander is a tough game that is more about survival than destruction, and I hope it reflects some of the experiences of those who participated in the invasion of France and Germany.
Just finished the beta version so I think it's mostly complete. Still trying to improve it though, and have plans to add additional campaigns including a Canadian campaign.
Role: programmer and designer
I spent a few hours playing this yesterday and today. My thoughts:
It's a little bit of a mystery when I can repair things and when I can not. Things that are "broken" like periscopes and the gun sight don't seem to be fixable by the crew, while malfunctions are. Also, it's unclear why certain malfunctions (i.e., Bow MG malfunction) can be fixed only by certain members of the crew (IIRC, the Asst. Driver). Is a malfunction fixable only by the crewman that operates it? What happens when that crewman is dead/disabled? What is the gunner's "Help repair" supposed to do?
Also, might I suggest an option to end the campaign day prematurely? I had a situation where my main gun sight was knocked out, but I was still forced to continue the campaign day (it was a Counterattack day). I got through it by machine-gunning the things I could and either letting friendly action take out the things I couldn't or running away (this latter was frequently not an option because of being bogged down, though).
It was a little strange to see that a mere Asst. Driver Periscope being broken meant that my tank had to be replaced with another one after it was deemed unrepairable. I'm guessing that any damage not fixable by crew triggers a roll at the end of day where it's either fixed or the whole tank is withdrawn?
I liked the interstitial text blurbs about pushing to Nantes, Orleans, etc.
The Opel truck wasn't on the list of enemies in the manual so I assumed it was unarmed, but then one took out my Asst. Driver with some MG fire. An entry identical to that for an SPW 251 should do.
Overall, I'm having a lot of fun playing this! There's a tension here in commanding an (by most measures) inferior tank in WWII that's refreshing. My tank commander surprisingly hasn't died yet, but has managed to collect 3 Purple Hearts so maybe his number will come up soon. Asst. Drivers seem to attract a lot of bad voodoo but that's probably just how my particular game shook out.
posted by coolname at 6:01 PM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's a little bit of a mystery when I can repair things and when I can not. Things that are "broken" like periscopes and the gun sight don't seem to be fixable by the crew, while malfunctions are. Also, it's unclear why certain malfunctions (i.e., Bow MG malfunction) can be fixed only by certain members of the crew (IIRC, the Asst. Driver). Is a malfunction fixable only by the crewman that operates it? What happens when that crewman is dead/disabled? What is the gunner's "Help repair" supposed to do?
Also, might I suggest an option to end the campaign day prematurely? I had a situation where my main gun sight was knocked out, but I was still forced to continue the campaign day (it was a Counterattack day). I got through it by machine-gunning the things I could and either letting friendly action take out the things I couldn't or running away (this latter was frequently not an option because of being bogged down, though).
It was a little strange to see that a mere Asst. Driver Periscope being broken meant that my tank had to be replaced with another one after it was deemed unrepairable. I'm guessing that any damage not fixable by crew triggers a roll at the end of day where it's either fixed or the whole tank is withdrawn?
I liked the interstitial text blurbs about pushing to Nantes, Orleans, etc.
The Opel truck wasn't on the list of enemies in the manual so I assumed it was unarmed, but then one took out my Asst. Driver with some MG fire. An entry identical to that for an SPW 251 should do.
Overall, I'm having a lot of fun playing this! There's a tension here in commanding an (by most measures) inferior tank in WWII that's refreshing. My tank commander surprisingly hasn't died yet, but has managed to collect 3 Purple Hearts so maybe his number will come up soon. Asst. Drivers seem to attract a lot of bad voodoo but that's probably just how my particular game shook out.
posted by coolname at 6:01 PM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
OK - going to check out these issues. Some of them are known outstanding issues but others are news to me - especially a broken periscope requiring replacement of an entire tank. Seems wasteful!
posted by sudasana at 8:00 AM on October 14, 2015
posted by sudasana at 8:00 AM on October 14, 2015
Alright, I've tried to address the problems you raised:
- I'm going to add a section to the online manual that lists types of damage, their effects, who can repair it, and so on.
- I've fixed the periscope bug, so that they are now replaced after an encounter. But even in previous versions, this wouldn't be enough to warrant the replacement of your tank. Any penetrating hit, however, and your day is over once the combat is over. It's just too risky to keep fighting on once your tank has been opened up.
- I checked the code and the Opel truck should not have been able to attack you; are you sure that the attack came from the truck?
Finally, you seem to be collecting a lot of injuries. Be sure to close your hatches once the shooting starts, except for the Commander, who is much more effective when he can see things better.
Thanks again for the tips and support, look forward to anything else you might have!
posted by sudasana at 5:01 AM on October 16, 2015
- I'm going to add a section to the online manual that lists types of damage, their effects, who can repair it, and so on.
- I've fixed the periscope bug, so that they are now replaced after an encounter. But even in previous versions, this wouldn't be enough to warrant the replacement of your tank. Any penetrating hit, however, and your day is over once the combat is over. It's just too risky to keep fighting on once your tank has been opened up.
- I checked the code and the Opel truck should not have been able to attack you; are you sure that the attack came from the truck?
Finally, you seem to be collecting a lot of injuries. Be sure to close your hatches once the shooting starts, except for the Commander, who is much more effective when he can see things better.
Thanks again for the tips and support, look forward to anything else you might have!
posted by sudasana at 5:01 AM on October 16, 2015
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posted by coolname at 3:21 PM on October 12, 2015