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From: David Murray on 2 Nov 2009 17:14
Since nobody seemed to care about the RTS game for the VIC-20 that
I've been working on, I've been thinking about something on a larger
scale for the C64 as my next project. I've spent a great amount of
time thinking about it and I see no reason why the C64 couldn't
support a much more complex real-time-strategy similar to StarCraft,
Warcraft, etc..

However, there are some thorny issues I'd need to tackle. One of
those issues is user-interface. Most such games are played with a
mouse. But few people have a mouse on a C64 and not even all of the
emulators will even support that. So I've been contemplating exactly
how I might go about having the user control dozens of units at a time
without a mouse.

Now, obviously, graphics would be much simpler and I'd probably use
character based graphics so the motion of the units as they move would
be a little jerkier since there aren't enough sprites to use for all
the possible units one might have on the screen. But otherwise, I
think the gameplay itself could be just as complex and potentially
support 200 units or so.
From: msamuels on 2 Nov 2009 20:07
On Nov 2, 5:14 pm, David Murray <adri...(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
> Since nobody seemed to care about the RTS game for the VIC-20 that
> I've been working on, I've been thinking about something on a larger
> scale for the C64 as my next project.   I've spent a great amount of
> time thinking about it and I see no reason why the C64 couldn't
> support a much more complex real-time-strategy similar to StarCraft,
> Warcraft, etc..
>
> However, there are some thorny issues I'd need to tackle.  One of
> those issues is user-interface.  Most such games are played with a
> mouse.  But few people have a mouse on a C64 and not even all of the
> emulators will even support that.   So I've been contemplating exactly
> how I might go about having the user control dozens of units at a time
> without a mouse.
>
> Now, obviously, graphics would be much simpler and I'd probably use
> character based graphics so the motion of the units as they move would
> be a little jerkier since there aren't enough sprites to use for all
> the possible units one might have on the screen.   But otherwise, I
> think the gameplay itself could be just as complex and potentially
> support 200 units or so.

Sounds good. It's nice to see new games for the C64.
From: commodorejohn on 2 Nov 2009 21:59
> few people have a mouse on a C64 and not even all of the
> emulators will even support that. So I've been contemplating exactly
> how I might go about having the user control dozens of units at a time
> without a mouse.
I would stick with a GUI-type user interface; it's a lot simpler than
trying to devise a good alternate control scheme. Support the 1351 and
compatibles if the user has one, and if they don't, allow them to move
the pointer with a joystick, like GEOS does.

Also, if I were you I'd stick to turn-based strategy instead of real-
time; it'll simplify things considerably, especially when you have a
very large number of units in play.

> Now, obviously, graphics would be much simpler and I'd probably use
> character based graphics so the motion of the units as they move would
> be a little jerkier since there aren't enough sprites to use for all
> the possible units one might have on the screen.
Here's a thought: I've seen some NES and Master System strategy games
display units on the background layer when they're inactive, and as
sprites when they're moving or attacking. This allows all the
flexibility of sprites without any of the hassle or limitations of
multiplexing; however, it'll only be feasible if you're doing a TBS
game, naturally.
From: christianlott1 on 3 Nov 2009 00:42
On Nov 2, 4:14 pm, David Murray <adri...(a)yahoo.com> wrote:

> However, there are some thorny issues I'd need to tackle.  One of
> those issues is user-interface.  Most such games are played with a
> mouse.  But few people have a mouse on a C64 and not even all of the
> emulators will even support that.   So I've been contemplating exactly
> how I might go about having the user control dozens of units at a time
> without a mouse.

These games are very popular but I don't like them. A C64 game should
only require a keyboard or joystick.

Don't try to reinvent something - make something completely new. And
once you find what you really want to make you wont need our input -
you will know exactly what you want. This is my advice.
From: David Murray on 3 Nov 2009 08:55
> Don't try to reinvent something - make something completely new. And
> once you find what you really want to make you wont need our input -
> you will know exactly what you want.  This is my advice.

Actually, I already did that.. I created Planet X1, which I thought
was going to be a big hit because it was a really new concept.. and
after posting about it here and 15 other boards I never received more
than about 2 or 3 replies and I think only one person actually tried
to play it. So, although it was rewarding just for the challenge of
designing it, I'd rather make something that will benefit the whole C=
community with something other people might enjoy playing.
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