Welcome back!

In case you thought I had forgotten this, and Colonial was dead, let me assure you that that is not the case! Unfortunately the switch to Ubuntu 11.04, though smooth, was also pretty distracting + involving, and in the process I got caught up with a lot of things external to the game’s development, and of course life threw other things at me (work needed, etc) – so things stalled a bit.

However, the good news is, I’ll be back to blogging regularly, as well as pushing progress on the game itself :)!!!

One of the things I’ve decided to change is my method of development. Instead of trying to put together little pieces all over the place, which doesn’t work well in the long run, I will try to develop step by step, in an organized fashion that is easy for others to pick up on and follow. The first step I want to focus on is in prototyping/sketching/planning the ideas/parts of the game that are still outstanding. These include the UI, some unit designs, Music, etc. You will be hearing a lot from me in the coming weeks.

Colonial says hi

First code of the project has been written. Nothing more than a simple hello, but momentous in the sense that it reminds us, Colonial is a reality.

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The Concept Of Classes, Genetic Mods, Etc.

In the Colonial world, our (as yet) unnamed species (that’s like a tagline isn’t it?) does not evolve, or any of the regular terms. Instead, their genes are made to be modified, and the King and Queen have conscious control of this ability. From the start of the game, you will find three classes, Reproducers, Warriors, and Workers. During the early stages (possibly before you leave the first level), you will meet the fourth main class, Drones. From these basic classes, many other classes will appear later.

In Level 5 (levels will also be renamed to something more exotic) you will meet: the Soldier class, Gatherer Precursor class and War Drones. You your workers will gain an Attack Stance (stances will be explained in detail in a later post), which gives them increased attack ability, and a more brain power. The workers will also be able to harvest water aphids (these will be renamed) that produce a substance similar to honeydew. Below, I’ll give a greater description of some of the new classes:

Soldier Class:

The first class to introduce armour. They are similar to Warriors, but have more speed, attack, and hitpoints. They can also reproduce when upgraded, use auras, and learn ranged attacks using rocks as projectiles. Soldiers are the Precursor class for Raiders, Assassins and Predators.

Gatherer Precursor Class:

These are a branch of the Drones. They have slightly increased brain power, a weak ranged attack, and high hitpoints, but totally lack armour and are slow moving. They can carry large amounts of plant based food, water, and liquid building materials. The main Gatherer form is the precursor of a number of later classes, including an Artillery Class, an Acid Class, and a Floater Class.

War Drones:

The War Drone is an upgrade of the standard Drone. Between Gatherers and regular Drones, the entire Drone form is permanently split into specialized classes and forms. War Drones have armour, less than Soldiers, increased attack, long legs, increased speed, increased brain power and multiple stances, including a powerful Attack Stance. They can act as Raiders due to their speed, but lack a ranged attack, and cannot fly. With their increased abilities however, they also have an increased food requirement, and need to feed more often. Upgrading them withing their form can decrease these requirements, but until later Levels, they will need to give up hitpoints for a while to decrease their food requirements.

This post will either be updated or I’ll post another one with an actual breakdown of the Classes, and some initial designs. 3D models will show up when I get the time =).

The Soldier Class

An modification of the warrior class.