Needed: Turn-Based Strategy Game Builder

Prince Toad · 06-20-2011, 12:44 AM

So I'm trying to create a program to run this board game I designed. Right now I'm using Game Maker, but it's kind of a bitch to do, since that seems to be made more for action games. Does anyone know any free, easy-to-use game builders for turn-based, grid-based strategy games?

Alternatively, would any of you fine technically gifted gentlemen (or gentlewomen) care to help out your dear moderator and offer your own personal game creation services? This game isn't very complex at all-- I just suck at programming and have no idea how to use Game Maker. It'd be very, very much appreciated-- I'm trying to put together some sort of demo reel/portfolio to help me get into professional game design, and working programs are much more exciting to look at than the (many) design documents I currently have.

***Cosmonautical*** · 06-20-2011, 07:35 AM

Sorry bro, busy with my own stuff. If you want a good engine builder, I'd suggest Multimedia Fusion Developer 2, but it's not legally free.

**Valigarmander** · 06-20-2011, 07:38 AM

I would say Flash. I've been experimenting with it and trying to make different kinds of games in it. From what I already know about Actionscript, I'd say a turn-based strategy game wouldn't be impossible to make.

What kind of turn-based strategy game did you have in mind? A war game?

***Cosmonautical*** · 06-20-2011, 07:56 AM

Eh script languages are okay, but once you get that into it I kind of feel like you might as well write an engine in C, learn the language and skip the script.

The MMFD engine is almost entirely visual, btw. And I recall an advanced pathfinding extension for it that would mean you don't have to build your own pathfinding instructions.

Prince Toad · 06-20-2011, 03:04 PM

AI: I'm basically looking for the absolute simplest, easiest thing I can do this with. My knowledge of programming is extremely limited (like, two years of high school and one semester of college) and rusty anyway. Actually though, I'm more worried about graphics-- I can write a program fine, but I have no idea how to do anything with graphics. That's why I need to use a game-making program. MMFD might be good if it's mostly visual, but not sure I want to spend the money when I'm not even sure I'll be able to use it properly.

Val: Isn't Flash kinda hard to learn? I have zero idea how to use it.

As for the type of game, I do have another one that's kind of like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, but the one I'm working on now is more like... I dunno... Sorry? Parcheesi? But with strategy. I'll explain the basics.

The board is kind of... dunno what you'd call the shape. Like a cross that bulges in the middle and has a hole? Whatever, not very important. There are four players on two teams. Each player starts at one extreme of the cross (left, up, right, down.) The players who start across from each other are allies, and the goal is to get one of your pieces into your ally's starting area.

There are four basic mechanics. One is that you get two moves per turn, each of which you can use to a) move one piece in any direction, b) turn one piece to face any direction, c) move one phalanx forward, or d) turn one phalanx to face any direction. (I guess a submechanic is facing, but that's pretty straightforward.)

The second mechanic is phalanxes, which are rectangular formations of pieces that face the same direction. These can all be moved or turned at once, allowing players to develop multiple pieces faster and also to move in strength.

The third mechanic is capturing, where if you move into a piece into the space occupied by another piece and the other piece isn't facing your piece, you capture it. The enemy piece immediately returns to the back of the enemy's starting area.

The final mechanic is pushing, where "deep" phalanxes can push shallower formations (or individual pieces) backward without capturing them. This allows you to break through enemy formations that would otherwise block up the narrow board entirely. (The game's name, Othismos, takes its name from this mechanic. Othismos is an ancient Greek term for a shoving maneuver in hoplite phalanx warfare.)

So overall it's a relatively simple abstract strategy game, but it's got enough depth to be interesting and a lot of fun, in my experience. Things like flanking, support, mobility, and aggressive vs. defensive play are all important.

SephirothKirby · 06-20-2011, 03:28 PM

Hey! I don't really think I can help, but I wanted to say I support this.

I'm trying to learn Flash for a Strategy Game I'd like to see made right now, actually. If I pick up anything useful from it, I'll try to share it.

Or maybe I'll just fade away and never do anything with flash. I hope that isn't the case, though :/

Prince Toad · 06-20-2011, 03:46 PM

Haha, well, I appreciate your support.

***Cosmonautical*** · 06-21-2011, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince Toad

AI: I'm basically looking for the absolute simplest, easiest thing I can do this with. My knowledge of programming is extremely limited (like, two years of high school and one semester of college) and rusty anyway. Actually though, I'm more worried about graphics-- I can write a program fine, but I have no idea how to do anything with graphics. That's why I need to use a game-making program. MMFD might be good if it's mostly visual, but not sure I want to spend the money when I'm not even sure I'll be able to use it properly.

Okay, I can relate to that. I'd check out the Click Team page for their lesser versions and see if you can get a demo for at least one of them. MMFD2 has a very good tutorial which explains the basic features, and it's easy to pickup. Game logic doesn't really get much simpler than that program.

I've heard that one of their Games tools, based on MMF, is available (maybe free) as a builder through Newgrounds. I'd look into that if I were you.

**Valigarmander** · 06-21-2011, 07:29 AM

I've never really messed around with Multimedia Fusion that much, but I have used The Games Factory (the predecessor to MMF) in the past, and it was easy to figure out and capable of making many different kinds of games. I think MMF is a bit more advanced, but it's probably worth checking out. I'm pretty sure you can download a trial version on the Clickteam website.

Jere · 06-21-2011, 09:58 AM

i know of a point and click engine that they say is easy to use i just have to find it again...

Prince Toad · 06-21-2011, 01:35 PM

Alright, awesome. I checked out the Clickteam website and found both The Games Factory 2 and the MMF Demo version. I downloaded and installed them both. Hopefully I should be able to handle at least one of them. Thanks, guys!

06-20-2011, 12:44 AM	#1
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	Needed: Turn-Based Strategy Game Builder So I'm trying to create a program to run this board game I designed. Right now I'm using Game Maker, but it's kind of a bitch to do, since that seems to be made more for action games. Does anyone know any free, easy-to-use game builders for turn-based, grid-based strategy games? Alternatively, would any of you fine technically gifted gentlemen (or gentlewomen) care to help out your dear moderator and offer your own personal game creation services? This game isn't very complex at all-- I just suck at programming and have no idea how to use Game Maker. It'd be very, very much appreciated-- I'm trying to put together some sort of demo reel/portfolio to help me get into professional game design, and working programs are much more exciting to look at than the (many) design documents I currently have.

06-20-2011, 03:04 PM	#5
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	AI: I'm basically looking for the absolute simplest, easiest thing I can do this with. My knowledge of programming is extremely limited (like, two years of high school and one semester of college) and rusty anyway. Actually though, I'm more worried about graphics-- I can write a program fine, but I have no idea how to do anything with graphics. That's why I need to use a game-making program. MMFD might be good if it's mostly visual, but not sure I want to spend the money when I'm not even sure I'll be able to use it properly. Val: Isn't Flash kinda hard to learn? I have zero idea how to use it. As for the type of game, I do have another one that's kind of like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, but the one I'm working on now is more like... I dunno... Sorry? Parcheesi? But with strategy. I'll explain the basics. The board is kind of... dunno what you'd call the shape. Like a cross that bulges in the middle and has a hole? Whatever, not very important. There are four players on two teams. Each player starts at one extreme of the cross (left, up, right, down.) The players who start across from each other are allies, and the goal is to get one of your pieces into your ally's starting area. There are four basic mechanics. One is that you get two moves per turn, each of which you can use to a) move one piece in any direction, b) turn one piece to face any direction, c) move one phalanx forward, or d) turn one phalanx to face any direction. (I guess a submechanic is facing, but that's pretty straightforward.) The second mechanic is phalanxes, which are rectangular formations of pieces that face the same direction. These can all be moved or turned at once, allowing players to develop multiple pieces faster and also to move in strength. The third mechanic is capturing, where if you move into a piece into the space occupied by another piece and the other piece isn't facing your piece, you capture it. The enemy piece immediately returns to the back of the enemy's starting area. The final mechanic is pushing, where "deep" phalanxes can push shallower formations (or individual pieces) backward without capturing them. This allows you to break through enemy formations that would otherwise block up the narrow board entirely. (The game's name, Othismos, takes its name from this mechanic. Othismos is an ancient Greek term for a shoving maneuver in hoplite phalanx warfare.) So overall it's a relatively simple abstract strategy game, but it's got enough depth to be interesting and a lot of fun, in my experience. Things like flanking, support, mobility, and aggressive vs. defensive play are all important. Last edited by Prince Toad; 06-20-2011 at 03:45 PM.

06-20-2011, 07:35 AM	#2
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,151 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	Sorry bro, busy with my own stuff. If you want a good engine builder, I'd suggest Multimedia Fusion Developer 2, but it's not legally free.

06-20-2011, 07:38 AM	#3
Valigarmander The Bee's Knees Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: The land of rain and trees (Oregon) Gender: Posts: 29,754 Thanks: 1,649 Thanked 5,700 Times in 2,580 Posts Blog Entries: 20	I would say Flash. I've been experimenting with it and trying to make different kinds of games in it. From what I already know about Actionscript, I'd say a turn-based strategy game wouldn't be impossible to make. What kind of turn-based strategy game did you have in mind? A war game?

06-20-2011, 07:56 AM	#4
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,151 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	Eh script languages are okay, but once you get that into it I kind of feel like you might as well write an engine in C, learn the language and skip the script. The MMFD engine is almost entirely visual, btw. And I recall an advanced pathfinding extension for it that would mean you don't have to build your own pathfinding instructions.

06-20-2011, 03:28 PM	#6
SephirothKirby Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it. Gender: Posts: 7,213 Thanks: 373 Thanked 760 Times in 447 Posts	Hey! I don't really think I can help, but I wanted to say I support this. I'm trying to learn Flash for a Strategy Game I'd like to see made right now, actually. If I pick up anything useful from it, I'll try to share it. Or maybe I'll just fade away and never do anything with flash. I hope that isn't the case, though :/

06-20-2011, 03:46 PM	#7
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	Haha, well, I appreciate your support.

06-21-2011, 07:29 AM	#9
Valigarmander The Bee's Knees Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: The land of rain and trees (Oregon) Gender: Posts: 29,754 Thanks: 1,649 Thanked 5,700 Times in 2,580 Posts Blog Entries: 20	I've never really messed around with Multimedia Fusion that much, but I have used The Games Factory (the predecessor to MMF) in the past, and it was easy to figure out and capable of making many different kinds of games. I think MMF is a bit more advanced, but it's probably worth checking out. I'm pretty sure you can download a trial version on the Clickteam website.

06-21-2011, 09:58 AM	#10
Jere Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sutme Gender: Posts: 3,648 Thanks: 404 Thanked 331 Times in 256 Posts Blog Entries: 3	i know of a point and click engine that they say is easy to use i just have to find it again...

06-21-2011, 01:35 PM	#11
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	Alright, awesome. I checked out the Clickteam website and found both The Games Factory 2 and the MMF Demo version. I downloaded and installed them both. Hopefully I should be able to handle at least one of them. Thanks, guys!