Mysticism: Super Cult Tycoon 2: Deluxe Edition [MOSTLY DONE]

[Radiatoryang]

Okay, we did as many bug fixes and stuff as we could, but there's still a lot that needs to be done. The game is still pretty crash-prone, but quite playable for the most part, we think.

SUPER CULT TYCOON 2: DELUXE EDITION
by Eddie Cameron (@eddiecameron) and Robert Yang (@radiatoryang)
alpha v1.0
PLAY THE LATEST VERSION (v1.0) HERE: http://www.itsaltercationtime.com/2011/ ... ition.html

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alpha v0.9 (3 October 2011)

PLAY ALPHA 0.9: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1156317/SuperCu ... Alpha.html
(NOTE: again, we gotta warn you, it's still pretty sloppy, there was just too much to do...)

And here are pretty images:
720p hi-res version screenshot here, 288p low-fi version below...


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We have a finalized title now... newest updates are later in the thread!

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early stages of a collab between eddiecameron + radiatoryang

we're thinking a turn-based top-down strategy game in the tradition of the *-tycoon games, where you mind control the populace of a small rural town, have them work on your plantation, then run away with the money before the FBI catches any wind or something (???)

we'll be sure to avoid pitfalls of our previous pageant attempt and shoot much much lower, maybe the workload / manhours equivalent of 2 Ludum Dares?

all in Unity3D, of course

[Radiatoryang]

Did a buncha 3D modeling. This is the small town that you'll be recruiting acolytes from. Eddie's gotten some building placement code working too.

[Radiatoryang]

Test build 01!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19887116/unity_ ... layer.html
- building placement interface
- a few "town" assets in
- playing with screenspace effects oooh

QUESTION - is the performance okay? we like the shadows, but on one of our last games with a lot of projected shadows, "Polonius," some people reported really low FPS

[Eddie Cameron]

So this is a rather different kind of game than what I'm used to (eg: not an FPS *shock*) So I can't shamelessly rip code from my other games.
At the moment I'm still just laying out the basic frameworks, base classes, interface stuff, and so on. We're still discussing how many mechanics will work, but we have worked out enough of a common idea of what the fuck this will look like that I can now start putting in basic game-loops. Maybe this time we'll have public demos? Don't get your hopes up though...

[Ian Snyder]

Lovely, it's almost like a tilt-shift effect!

Runs fine for me. Although - and maybe this is intentional - as objects near the bottom of the screen they grow purple and green edges around them. Actually, you can kind of see it in the screen you posted. My guess is that it's intentional, but I wasn't sure.

[redpesto]

Lovely, it's almost like a tilt-shift effect!

That was my first impression also.
Love the idea & look, runs great here and can't wait to taste the kool aid and impregnate some followers haha.

[Eddie Cameron]

It is a tilt-shift effect in fact(thanks Unity 3.4!). As we add details performance is taking a hit, so sadly we may have to disable it. I'm not sure what you mean by the purple and green edges, but it may have been the vignetting's fault, which we've taken off now.

Love the idea & look, runs great here and can't wait to taste the kool aid and impregnate some followers haha.

As the official drink sponsor of cults world-wide, we will be forced to include kool aid in some respect...

[Radiatoryang]

UPDATE 2


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19887116/unity_ ... layer.html
still not much to do yet, but try it out

- modeled cars, rigged characters and worked out a tree / forest solution (use details sprites for trees, and "trees" for shadows underneath)
- expanded building types, basic follower AI working and "recruitment van" implemented
- next time? hopefully some actual gameplay!

[Eddie Cameron]

Some more detailed "Dev Diary" type stuff up at AltDevBlogADay... http://altdevblogaday.com/2011/09/07/th ... dev-diary/

Also marvel at Robert's l33t Unity tree hax... http://www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/201 ... rests.html

[Radiatoryang]

Modeling some of the Cult's buildings now. (an idea: maybe we can add an FBI faction and 2 player head-to-head multiplayer later?)

Here's the Kool-Aid Brewery. To achieve the "Salvation" victory condition, maybe you would need at least 1000 followers and 4 breweries to supply enough Kool-Aid to commit ritual mass suicide. And import enough Nike track suits? It's pretty expensive...

[Stephen L (inactive)]

this is looking great.

hope ye're keeping it manageable.

[Eddie Cameron]

...uh, yeah...managing is something we do well...

We are in fact making progress, have basic functions in place, but should get around to making it fun some day soon.

[Radiatoryang]

less posting, more coding

[Radiatoryang]

We have most of the framework for everything done. I'm doing a lot of GUI / menu / interface / scenario scripting stuff, Eddie's working on getting the last of the buildings implemented and doing some pathfinding. Hopefully we'll have a playable alpha soon, get a round of feedback, then polish it all in time for next week. KEEPIN' IT MANAGEABLE...

[Tynan Sylvester]

As I mentioned, this is awesome.

A thought: What's the goal of this game? Is it a software toy, or are you trying to defeat the FBI to some end?

If you want a goal-directed experience, I could imagine putting the player in the role of the cult leader, the goal being to get lots of followers to drink the kool-aid so you can run with their money.