The_TaTs wrote:Just a quick SitRep.
I got to play the alpha version of Iron Marines yesterday and it's looking very, very good. It has a very decent learning curve, awesome animations and some very fun mechanics.
In the current version, the classic "reinforcements" mechanic from previous KR games has been replaced with a small turret that is dropped from orbit and can be placed anywhere on sight, making for an excellent defense buff or a decoy that can either help your soldiers push for an offensive move or to get them out when things get really bad (and they do get bad, I almost lost all my units in the 3rd level).
That's pretty cool; I find it interesting that Ironhide is using KR as a basis for Iron Marines and changing things around in order or it to fit the RTS format as much as they like. How long do the turrets last, and if they are permanent, is there a limit on how many can be active at once? I'm also guessing that the turret isn't as spam-able as the 10-second-recharging reinforcements in the KR series.
The_TaTs wrote:For balance issues, units don't shoot and walk at the same time. Now, this seems silly from a realistic point of view, but since the game is in 2D, it gets technically over-expensive to implement walking + firing animations (I actually asked about this earlier today).
That makes sense. I imagine that it would require sprites for every direction that the units are walking with each direction that they could be firing in per walking direction. Was this one of the factors that delayed Iron Marines in the first place? Also, do heroes and enemy units and bosses follow the same rules?
The_TaTs wrote:I tested the units group system:
You have Hero units, small squads of 3 soldiers each (you can swap between snipers, rangers, and techs anytime) and 3 types of mechas (similar to the Goliath from Starcraft).
If you double tap near your units, you get to select them all, so that's helpful to move them around, but a bit dangerous if you haven't cleared the area. Snipers should be left un-grouped and pushed to the rear, while mechas are slow and easily outpaced by your regular marines (Rangers)... so grouping is only helpful if you are absolutely sure that your soldiers are not going to be attacked midway and that you not need them all to arrive at the same time.
When you need to advance against an enemy base (usually a refinery of sorts, some unit spawners and a few defenses), you'll need to make sure you have your arrive at the same time our they'll get pummeled. (Remember, units either move or fight, so you really need to pay attention).
I'm probably forcing a repeat answer here, but I'm too hyped to filter my questions (
), so: Was the game originally intended to be played in this way, or was this style of gameplay added in afterwards as a method to accommodate for units' inability to attack and walk at the same time?
The_TaTs wrote:The maps are slightly larger than a regular KR map, so even on my iPad, I had to scroll. Also, there's a unit cap per level... so attacking bases can be tricky, you really need to leave at least some Snipers behind to take care of heavy armored enemies.
What did you think about the unit cap? Did you ever feel like your army was too small? One of my favorite parts about RTS games are their size and scale, so, I worry that I won't get to have anything of a true war-sized battle in this game, especially after seeing the released footage and how small the amount of available units were there.
The_TaTs wrote:The Hero unit was alright, I used Cpt.Taguins (which is like a regular marine but stronger) and Kara (the girl in the utility suit that fires rockets)... she is a bit of a glass cannon but can put a lot of damage to units, I liked her voice and had fun with her abilities.
Did you find yourself micromanaging the heroes as much as your other units and base? How easy was it to give them orders and find them on the map?
The_TaTs wrote:The Tech tree is big and some techs can be upgraded more than once, which I liked.
Fantastic; I love layered upgrades. You're referring to an overall, permanent tech tree, just like the star upgrades from the KR games, right? Do the upgrades within each level, that are specific to individual towers, also have multiple upgrade levels? Also, can units receive upgrades, and if so, do the unit types get upgrades or are the upgrades bought for each individual squad of of units?
The_TaTs wrote:The game is also designed so expendable items are more affordable, but also more necessary. I used a small orbital rocket strike that saved my skin twice. The idea is that you use these items instead of spells, but balanced in a way that doesn't force you to spend real money.
Inhales sharplyI don't like the sound of this. The Gnome Shop has never been necessary to beating levels in Kingdom Rush, and for good reason. It's annoying to resort to using items that one can buy an infinite amount of to guarantee success on a level. There's no way of knowing how much one needs for each new level, which either makes it frustrating to attempt a level and not have enough to win, wasting the items and resources spent on them, or ruins the satisfaction of completing a mission because it will feel like too many items were used and made the level too easy. I really hope that each of the missions can be beaten with perfect scores without the need of any items, because I get the most fun out of playing that way. If the items really are necessary, could you ask the developers if they can implement a measurement of the estimated amount of gems recommended for the level in order to minimize those problems?
The_TaTs wrote:Final verdict: For an Alpha version, the game looks awesome, feels awesome and actually felt challenging in the right moments.
I'll try to get around streaming some live gameplay on Twitch in a month or so.
Really? I'd like to see you playing the game in real time so I can judge your gaming skills, Tats.