Future dev diaries
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Re: Future dev diaries
Call me old-fashioned, but I think the best dev diaries are those that are actual diaries - eg, that show us what the dev is currently working on, and give us a little insight into dilemmas, thought processes, problems and solutions that go into the making of a game. I want to know what you're agonising over, and how you resolve it.
I don't really care all that much for "dev diaries" that are really just carefully-constructed marketing teasers, with little insight into the actual making of a game.
I don't really care all that much for "dev diaries" that are really just carefully-constructed marketing teasers, with little insight into the actual making of a game.
Re: Future dev diaries
All dev diaries are written by me, and although Slitherine proofread them, they never change what I'm saying. I'm not a marketing person, and I'm of course flattered by "carefully-constructed marketing teasers". But this is not what I'm trying to achieve. Many people played (and liked) Panzer Corps, and I'm trying to tell not just what I am adding or changing, but also why it happens, what problems in the prequel I am trying to solve, and why I think new approach is better. I need to keep it short, but otherwise this is exactly what you are talking about. Last dev diary is a prime example, and the next one, which is already written, will be more along the same lines. So I'm not sure what exactly you want me to change.Sourdust wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:02 pm Call me old-fashioned, but I think the best dev diaries are those that are actual diaries - eg, that show us what the dev is currently working on, and give us a little insight into dilemmas, thought processes, problems and solutions that go into the making of a game. I want to know what you're agonising over, and how you resolve it.
I don't really care all that much for "dev diaries" that are really just carefully-constructed marketing teasers, with little insight into the actual making of a game.
Admittedly, I don't go into gory technical details of game's production, because to be honest, most of them are not funny at all and will not be interesting to the majority of our readers. Making a game like this is only 5% design, and 95% implementation. If I translated what I'm doing right now into the dev diaries, then it might be interesting to other fellow game makers, but not very interesting to players. For example, right now we are struggling with Unreal's combo boxes which do not work correctly under certain conditions. Do you want to hear more about it?
Re: Future dev diaries
I like this idea.captainjack wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:01 am It would be better still to include an option to choose your own soundtrack or audio feed,.
Re: Future dev diaries
Who will be the composer?Rudankort wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 10:15 amI like this idea.captainjack wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:01 am It would be better still to include an option to choose your own soundtrack or audio feed,.
Re: Future dev diaries
Apologies mate, didn't mean to come across as critical. I think the first 4 DDs were good. Just responding to the question: what should be covered in the next DDs? My view is simply this: tell us what you're up to!Rudankort wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 10:07 amAll dev diaries are written by me, and although Slitherine proofread them, they never change what I'm saying. I'm not a marketing person, and I'm of course flattered by "carefully-constructed marketing teasers". But this is not what I'm trying to achieve. Many people played (and liked) Panzer Corps, and I'm trying to tell not just what I am adding or changing, but also why it happens, what problems in the prequel I am trying to solve, and why I think new approach is better. I need to keep it short, but otherwise this is exactly what you are talking about. Last dev diary is a prime example, and the next one, which is already written, will be more along the same lines. So I'm not sure what exactly you want me to change.Sourdust wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:02 pm Call me old-fashioned, but I think the best dev diaries are those that are actual diaries - eg, that show us what the dev is currently working on, and give us a little insight into dilemmas, thought processes, problems and solutions that go into the making of a game. I want to know what you're agonising over, and how you resolve it.
I don't really care all that much for "dev diaries" that are really just carefully-constructed marketing teasers, with little insight into the actual making of a game.
Admittedly, I don't go into gory technical details of game's production, because to be honest, most of them are not funny at all and will not be interesting to the majority of our readers. Making a game like this is only 5% design, and 95% implementation. If I translated what I'm doing right now into the dev diaries, then it might be interesting to other fellow game makers, but not very interesting to players. For example, right now we are struggling with Unreal's combo boxes which do not work correctly under certain conditions. Do you want to hear more about it?
Best DDs I ever read were the ones for the original Shenandoah Battle of the Bulge - eg, didn't just show art, showed how the art was made, the reasons behind the aesthetic, some choices that were rejected, etc.
Re: Future dev diaries
No offense taken at all. I'm just honestly trying to understand what you would like to read. So, you want to see some failed attempts? Hmm okay, we'll take a look at what we have in our archives. Maybe it can materialize into something.Sourdust wrote: ↑Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:15 pm Apologies mate, didn't mean to come across as critical. I think the first 4 DDs were good. Just responding to the question: what should be covered in the next DDs? My view is simply this: tell us what you're up to!
Best DDs I ever read were the ones for the original Shenandoah Battle of the Bulge - eg, didn't just show art, showed how the art was made, the reasons behind the aesthetic, some choices that were rejected, etc.
PS. I wonder if those BotB diaries are still available online somewhere...
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- Slitherine
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Re: Future dev diaries
Lol .. you mean someone read them!
I did copy them to my site when Shenandoah shut, but later, when changing ISP, my previous ISP wiped the files before I'd copied over all the images. Its a huge job to find and relink them.
http://www.colourandnoise.com/projects/ ... log-posts/
Damn. Shenandoah was nearly a decade ago.
I did copy them to my site when Shenandoah shut, but later, when changing ISP, my previous ISP wiped the files before I'd copied over all the images. Its a huge job to find and relink them.
http://www.colourandnoise.com/projects/ ... log-posts/
Damn. Shenandoah was nearly a decade ago.
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Pat a Pixel Pusher
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Pat a Pixel Pusher
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Re: Future dev diaries
Bloody genius mate! The game, and the diaries. Such an in-depth look into the work of the visual designer...Patrick Ward wrote: ↑Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:49 pm Lol .. you mean someone read them!
I did copy them to my site when Shenandoah shut, but later, when changing ISP, my previous ISP wiped the files before I'd copied over all the images. Its a huge job to find and relink them.
http://www.colourandnoise.com/projects/ ... log-posts/
Damn. Shenandoah was nearly a decade ago.
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- Slitherine
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- Location: A small island in the Outer Hebrides.
Re: Future dev diaries
Thanks. But the real geniuses were the rest of the team.Sourdust wrote: ↑Sun Oct 21, 2018 10:50 pmBloody genius mate! The game, and the diaries. Such an in-depth look into the work of the visual designer...Patrick Ward wrote: ↑Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:49 pm Lol .. you mean someone read them!
I did copy them to my site when Shenandoah shut, but later, when changing ISP, my previous ISP wiped the files before I'd copied over all the images. Its a huge job to find and relink them.
http://www.colourandnoise.com/projects/ ... log-posts/
Damn. Shenandoah was nearly a decade ago.
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Pat a Pixel Pusher
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Pat a Pixel Pusher
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- Major-General - Tiger I
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Re: Future dev diaries
Not sure whether this has been covered yet in much detail. However, it would be great to see some more information on UI and UX topics: menus, screens, buttons, switches, keyboard short-cuts, zoom possibilities, changing font sizes, maybe even possibilities to change colors to increase contrast, etc.
Let’s show for example a set of common screens, e.g. the casualties’ screen: There it would be nice to have two columns, one for the current scenario and one for the overall campaign. Also, is there a way to have some more summary stats on kills, etc.?
Let’s show for example a set of common screens, e.g. the casualties’ screen: There it would be nice to have two columns, one for the current scenario and one for the overall campaign. Also, is there a way to have some more summary stats on kills, etc.?
Comprehensive Battlefield Europe AAR:
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
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- Lieutenant Colonel - Panther D
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Re: Future dev diaries
Great Posting "PeteMitchell_2" :PeteMitchell_2 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 3:19 pm Not sure whether this has been covered yet in much detail. However, it would be great to see some more information on UI and UX topics: menus, screens, buttons, switches, keyboard short-cuts, zoom possibilities, changing font sizes, maybe even possibilities to change colors to increase contrast, etc.
Let’s show for example a set of common screens, e.g. the casualties’ screen: There it would be nice to have two columns, one for the current scenario and one for the overall campaign. Also, is there a way to have some more summary stats on kills, etc.?
-I myself just mentioned Zooming in a recent post!. Glad that you also brought it up. I very much like your idea's...especially 'Font Sizes', one get's stressed trying to read ' Fly-Sh** ' sized print.
Changing colors to increase contrast is killer!, gone will then be the bland pastie non-contrasting back-ground picture screen...where everything merges together as one basic color. "Stats": summary of kill's...great idea!, it would even be better if it were possible to have a comparison with actual historical outcomes...this feature though...as much as I would like it,...just might be a little too complicated to engineer?.
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- Lieutenant-General - Karl-Gerat 040
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Re: Future dev diaries
I hope this game will have full 2160p support. Please.
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- Major-General - Tiger I
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Re: Future dev diaries
Yes, this made me bring it up here again as I would like to see a bit more on these topics, preferably before beta-testing.
AI and (3D) graphics (in this order, IMHO) are important/nice topics. However, UI/UX topics are for sure as important to making a game (commercially) successful…
Comprehensive Battlefield Europe AAR:
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
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- Major-General - Tiger I
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Re: Future dev diaries
One more thing that would interest me, what are the planned features for the strategic map (i.e. in case it continues to exist as we know it from PzC 1)? Thanks!
Comprehensive Battlefield Europe AAR:
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
Re: Future dev diaries
I would also love a zoom function. Just leave out the minimap and allow us to zoom out and view the whole battlefield. Supreme commander and ruse did this and it worked really well
Re: Future dev diaries
I read up the dev diaries, I am very excited for Panzer Corps 2.
Some ideas:
1. Mechanics or other things from Panzer Corps 1 you want to improve or avoid in Panzer Corps 2.
2. AI, scripts or creative ways to improve the single player/campaign experience.
3. What will make Panzer Corps 2 also attractive to non-wargamers. The original Panzer General was for many "grognards" the entry drug, after all.
4. Did writing dev diaries and resulting discussions make your re-think design decisions?
5. Epic Store, GOG, Steam, other platforms, are there already plans which one will be supported?
Some ideas:
1. Mechanics or other things from Panzer Corps 1 you want to improve or avoid in Panzer Corps 2.
2. AI, scripts or creative ways to improve the single player/campaign experience.
3. What will make Panzer Corps 2 also attractive to non-wargamers. The original Panzer General was for many "grognards" the entry drug, after all.
4. Did writing dev diaries and resulting discussions make your re-think design decisions?
5. Epic Store, GOG, Steam, other platforms, are there already plans which one will be supported?
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- Major-General - Tiger I
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Re: Future dev diaries
Thanks guys for providing additional thoughts and ideas. I already thought I had been the only one most recently…
Comprehensive Battlefield Europe AAR:
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
Re: Future dev diaries
Hi guys, thanks for all suggestions posted recently. It does not look like we will run out of topics till the release.
Yes, this dev diary is one of "must dos" on my list. However, it will be one of the last ones. The reason is, UI polishing is something we always put off till the end, because functionality always takes priority. As things stand now, many screens are already implemented, but not "beautiful" yet.PeteMitchell_2 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 3:19 pm Not sure whether this has been covered yet in much detail. However, it would be great to see some more information on UI and UX topics: menus, screens, buttons, switches, keyboard short-cuts, zoom possibilities, changing font sizes, maybe even possibilities to change colors to increase contrast, etc.
Let’s show for example a set of common screens, e.g. the casualties’ screen: There it would be nice to have two columns, one for the current scenario and one for the overall campaign. Also, is there a way to have some more summary stats on kills, etc.?
Absolutely. I develop and play this game on a 4K screen myself, and it looks great on it, in fact, better than on any other resolution, because of all the additional detail you get. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the game will shine on a 8K as well, but I don't have hardware to check it. This means that the game is going to be very future proof.
Yes, strategic mode will be included, and in addition to the same role it played in PzC (overview the whole map on screen), we consider it a play mode which is easier to run, hardware wise. And yes, strategic mode will be linked to zoom out, because it makes a lot of sense.PeteMitchell_2 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:11 pm One more thing that would interest me, what are the planned features for the strategic map (i.e. in case it continues to exist as we know it from PzC 1)? Thanks!
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- Major-General - Tiger I
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Re: Future dev diaries
Most likely this has already been mentioned somewhere but I couldn’t find it as I got a timeout on the search function… so I am adding my question/suggestion here:
Are there any plans to improve the replay functionality?
If so, it would be very interesting to learn about them as well. I am asking as I had mixed experiences with the current format: sometimes it works flawlessly (i.e. recording and replay) but sometimes it just doesn’t record the whole game/match or it is almost impossible to replay it, e.g. move by move or turn by turn function get stuck and it just seems very unresponsive (for no valid reason).
Just thinking out loud for this matter, are there any plans to replace it, e.g. with some form of inbuilt video recording functionality (instead of or in addition to the current format), i.e. in times of youtube and twitch?
For inspiration, maybe compare here as well: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3040695 ... pared.html
Are there any plans to improve the replay functionality?
If so, it would be very interesting to learn about them as well. I am asking as I had mixed experiences with the current format: sometimes it works flawlessly (i.e. recording and replay) but sometimes it just doesn’t record the whole game/match or it is almost impossible to replay it, e.g. move by move or turn by turn function get stuck and it just seems very unresponsive (for no valid reason).
Just thinking out loud for this matter, are there any plans to replace it, e.g. with some form of inbuilt video recording functionality (instead of or in addition to the current format), i.e. in times of youtube and twitch?
For inspiration, maybe compare here as well: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3040695 ... pared.html
Comprehensive Battlefield Europe AAR:
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481