Basic RTS Game in the Roman Empire

[Geemusic]

Hello Blenderartists communitiy!

I am looking for (talented) fans of the RTS-genre, who also miss the times when strategy games where a huge deal and took place in an medieval or ancient setting.

To save some time for us all I actually created a Podcast, because otherwise you’d have a whole lot to read
I basically explain goals, my motivation and how we could work together. Also you’ll might get to know me a little bit.

SMALL EDIT:
[
Okay, I guess not everyone is willing to click on the Video. For those here is a brief summary of what I said in there:

I am planning on making an ancient Rome RTS-game.

Who I am and what I do:

Hi, I am Tim - a 20 year old Student from Germany. I will do all the modelling, Sounddesign, Texturing, concept and music by myself, as long as no one joins who is better suited for that.

The Game

Is about evolution. Like All RTS titles. We are going to use this by developing the game step by step. We start by giving the player the tools to build up a small village: 5 Buildings to chose from and the general ability to build. As his village gets bigger we will give him more possibilities, such as trade, more buildings taxes etc.
That means that we can focus on our base Game. All the big features can be added one after another.
The general focus is on building up, not on fighting.

What is needed:

-One or more coders (or programmers as you will): I do not have great enough experience in that direction. Therefore, I cannot tell what exactly is needed or which game engine is best suited. I’ll just have to rely on you guys.

-2d and concept artist: This is something I could do myself, but in such a basic manner that I’d be happy if someone joins the Team who can draw concept art, looks for harmonic texture combinations, and maybe designs a GUI and so on…

-Sculpter, rigger and animator: Also something I could achieve alone, but you know the drill… If someone knows what s/he is doing you are more than welcome.

Who is needed:

Someone who has fun working together. Not some grumpy person who is generally a d*ck. ^^
Someone who has spare time. Because that’s what we need for this ambicous project
Hopefully fans of great Games like AoE, Anno, Stronghold and so on,
and someone who knows what he is doing. You can look at what I can do below: I am no professional, but at least what I do is sufficient for this project

Still interested?

…listen to the Podcast then ^^
]

I am just dipping my toes in the Water here to see if anyone is interested.
To tell you this much beforehand:
-The Game already has a Concept, which includes what needs to be done and in which order. Yet it is supposed to be a team and fun Project, so the concept is flexible and I hope that other people feel inspired to add Ideas if they’d like to.
-I can not pay you, and it is a project for people who’d like to achieve something, not for People who think they’ll be rich.
-I am ready to set everything up beforehand so you can dive right into the creation of our project (model everything thats necessary, set up a detailed list of tasks and do basically everything except programming) - But I need to know if anyone is interested at all beforehand.
-You’ll see everything in the Video - my level of Skill, the Basic concept and so on. I am thankful if you tale your Time

Ill start to make basic models for everything and keep you updated.
And of course I hope someone found this interesting. As I mentioned: As soon as someone declares Interest I’ll post more. There is plenty of Stuff to show

Till then have a nice day

Regards Gee

I’ll keep you up to date what I am doing. just check the posts below !

[Geemusic]

(I know… “An update already?”)
But it actually took some time for the mods to unlock my thread, so in real live 2 days have passed.)

I started modeling a basic set of simple buildings, wich I’ll use to assemble more complex building blocks.
The models are far from perfect, but I can use them as a basis for further modelling.

The basic shape of those buildings is meant to be pretty close to original historic roman housings.
I am still pondering how high/low i wand to keep the polycount.
Lowpoly is of course a good thing, but considering the small amount of required Buildings it is maybe unnecessary.
I have already tried to combine different house types, as you can see below. I Think they fit pretty well together, since all newly assembled homes look relatively different.

That sums up what I did on the first Day. Further Updates will follow.

Have a nice Day

Gee

[Geemusic]

(Since I have not reached the necessary amount of posts to be trusted, this update will maybe not be chronologicly accurate. I do have more then 10 posts, but understandably I’ll have to wait for the diligend Mods Confusion will may occur )

Hello, second Update!

As you know I was struggling to determine how much detail I’d like for my models. I decided to model a set of house-props. As you may noticed I included my drays(?) from the Podcast. I had to remove a whole lot of polys… old models - bad technique
You can take a look at said props here:

Any thoughts? Or even suggestions for other, ancient Props?
To see/show the effect on an actual model, I made this gif. Its only a viewport render to save me some time - I am sorry ^^.

That sums up what I did on the second Day. Further Updates will follow.

Have a nice Day and pet your dog,

Gee

P.s.: If I misspell anything I am really sorry. As I mentioned I am german and not a native speaker. Especially upper,- and lowercase is a problem, since i tend to use german spelling by instinct ^^

[Geemusic]

Hey, it is me again.
This third update is the most recent one. It includes what I did today… Well… maybe yestersday when you’re reading it

You probably noticed, that everything is white yet. I am still hoping that anyone has mercy and helps me with texturing ^^
However… I did not want to be lazy so I modelled more detailed props in order to bake them into normalmaps. I think they turned out relatively well and I hope you like them.
The first picture shows my first refined Props without Normalmaps:

And here is the version with Normalmaps. Of course both versions have the same Polycount:

The left barrel is a 'lil bit buggy for i tried using the same normalmap for both barrels. refinement is still needed

To further test my Props in action I used the Image from “Update #1” and added more detail.
You might want to compare them directly:

I even think I added way more detail then necessary.

Btw.: Blenderartists keeps logging me out- is there a Way to prevent that?

kind regards

Gee

[Geemusic]

Hey Guys. 4th Day - 4th Update!
As you can see I can finally post without delay Thanks to the Mods for their Time.

Well. Today I have crossed two barriers: I finished my first Human model (it wasn’t that hard, for it is low poly), and I animated my first human being.
It looks bumpy quite a bit, but I’ll take it as a proof that eventually I’ll be able to create further and better animations.
If I do it ten more times it will surely improve

Take a look at it here:

Were talking about <800 Polys here, but I’d like to get to about 350. But I need more practice for that :c
I also tried baking Normalmaps, but the result was not satisfactory. The bad topology hindered me in sculpting.

Yet I think, that the typical RTS Camera-distance will ease out lots of mistakes.

Ideas for improvement are welcome.

Greetings

Gee

[John_tgh]

Nice! Looks like you’re off to a great start! : D
Looking forward to this! ^^ Keep at it!

[Geemusic]

Thank you.
Tomorrow I’ll maybe compose some music.
I hope to have enough models and sounds to make a basic scene next week

[Akira_San]

I like it, just dont use IK for the final in game animation and switch to BGE deform on the panel if you haven’t. Also you could try UPBGE.

[Geemusic]

Hey, Thanks.

I have not used IK. I felt like I’d be done with the animation in the time I’d spend learning how to use that ^^
As I said this was the first time ever that I rigged and animated a person. I am not quite sure how to switch to BGE deform.

But thanks for your comment.

Alexander Anderson rocks, btw.

[adriansnetlis]

Looks brilliant! Such a nice models. Keep up the work!

[Geemusic]

Thank you very much

[Geemusic]

Hey guys… still looking for coders ^^

As promised I took a look at the music.
It has been quite a while since I made ancient/medieval music :c
Well, here you can listen to a careful approach:

http://puu.sh/nwLFd/7c08750c26.mp3

Unfortunately I cant embed mp3’s into my posts

What do you think? Do you like it?

Also I did work on my animation. You can still see the unnatural movement, but it does not jump around that much anymore. Also I worked on the normalmap and the texturing.

…please ignore the dead, creepy face for now

Thanks for all your nice words. I am glad that you like what I am doing. If you have suggestions and question bring it on.
And if you want to join the team please hit me up.

Kind regards and stay tuned

Gee

[Geemusic]

So, against all odds I actually found time to transfer the first half page of my concept into digital form. Just without drawings

here we go:

---

First of all, a brief explanation ofall the terms that may appear:

Happiness: Influences thespeed of migration. If your Inhabitants are happy, people are morelikely to move into the free homes of your city. If your Inhabitantshate living in your city on the other hand, expect them to move out.Happiness can be increased by several Buildingtypes, which eithermake your people happy upon creation (like Gardens, Theatres etc.,)or produce things that people like (– i.e. Jewlery, fancy foodsetc.)
It decreases when people sufferof hunger or war, if the city contains too many productionfacilities, if people are homeless or the taxation is too high etc.
For the beginning it does notplay a big role, for the player isn’t yet able to start wars or raisetaxes. But it is still a motivation for him to take care for afunctioning food production. Otherwise his citizens will move out.

Inhabitants: They play abig Role in the Game, and can be seen as a representation of thesuccess of your city. Every inhabitant needs a home, food andhappiness. As soon as those factors are given they’ll swarm your city- willing to work, pay and fight for it.

Ground: There are 5 typesof ground, but only 3 matter for the beginning:
-Normal ground – has no specialpurposes. It can simply be used as building space.
-Clay/muddy ground – providesclay as a ressource. Its the only groundtype that is compatible withclay pit buildings. Can be used for other buildings aswell
-Unsuitable ground – Buildingscan’t be placed on it. People cant walk over it. Includes water orcliffs or basically anything that prevents exploitation.

Stage 1 – Camp
This is the first time the Player joinsthe Game. He will recognize the basic concept of the game quickly, aslong as he played an RTS before. He can place the first Building fora certain price. Therefore the player needs some ressources for thestart.
If a city has 0 Inhabitants the happiness automatically gets assigneda neutral value, to prevent complete stagnation.

[TABLE=“width: 100%”]

[TH=“width: 5%”] #
[/TH]
[TH=“width: 14%”] Buildings
[/TH]
[TH=“width: 61%”] Purpose
[/TH]
[TH=“width: 20%”] Stats
[/TH]

            1
        
            Street
        
            Streets are used to connect Buildings. Building that are not                connected to their required counterparts loose their function.
        
            Size: 1x1
        


            2
        
            House
        
            Houses provide space for Inhabitants. A productionplant can                only work if enough free settlers are availible.
        
            Size: 2x2
        


            3
        
            Farm
        
            A Farm is the basic requirement for all agricultural products.                For the first stage of the game they a merely used to produce                food.
        
            Size: 3x3
        


            3,5
        
            Farmland
        
            Needs to be placed individually around the Farm
        
            Size: 1x1
        


            4
        
            Clay pit
        
            Bricks are a basic ressource used to build Houses etc.
            The most basic production facility is the Clay pit.
        
            Size: 3x4
        


            5
        
            Garden
        
            Provides additional happiness for inhabitants, if hard times                are in sight.
        
            Size: 1x2

[/TABLE]

The basegame should be easy and selfexplanatory enough to get along quite easily. As soon as the playerunderstands the basic concept, he will most certainly place aClaypit, to provide a constant flow of this basic buildingmaterial, afarm and farmland to provide food, and Houses.
When those Buildings are placed andconnected by streets, the player expects more, for he has almostcompletely done everything that is possible. Therefore we need toreward the player with extra content soon, so he knows that he didright.
The first goal will be to reach acertain amount of inhabitants. This gives the player the illusion offreedom on how to approach this goal, eventhough the buildings #1-4have to be placed in orderto be successful.
Theamount of needed people should be low, because the player woulddislike to be stuck at the first part of the Game for too long, buthigh enough to motivate the player to look at all the Buildings,click all buttons and generally understand the purpose of everything.He will soon find out, that the Gardens will speed up the migrationand place some of those. And vòila – next level

Stage 2 – Village

Coming as soon as I find time

[hilkojj]

I really like your ideas.
I’m a great fan of the anno games too ;p

I hope you’ll find coders soon.
I would have liked to help you but I don’t have a lot of spare time and my programming skills are not that great…

[Akira_San]

Quick tut: Select the armature, go to the armature panel. Skeleton - deform and select BGE. For bge fork here -> https://upbge.fr/

[elmeunick9]

I would like to join. I’m CS student, 21 years old, from Barcelona. I do have experience with BGE, though I would like to code with BGECore Framework (which I’ve developed) instead of normal BGE. For an artist point of view it changes nothing, it only adds features for programmers. It can be used on top of UPBGE too, so you/we (I’ll say we from now on) could try that.

However you already know that BGE does have some limitations, so it maybe a little risky to code in that. Besides it’s hard to find good programmers for BGE and you will probably find nobody else that knows BGECore Framework (though learning it is reather easy if you already know to code). So if BGE is a red flag I can code in something else, but I do not have good experience in other game engines so I would need some time to learn them well. UE for me is discarded tough, my computer can’t handle it. Unity is not of my best liking but could work. There may be other options there like godot (though it’s worse than Unity, for me), or even JMonky, Panda3D and so one. For all of them I can learn, that’s not a problem. (Except flash, I refuse to do it in flash).

I’m not a good artist in general, though I enjoy soundtracks/chiptune and pretty much the kind of music you do (so I basically subscribed to your channel :D). I can do some basic stuff modeling/animating and so one, but I mean really basic, like modelling a rock (and I’m not enterly sure it would look right). I’m a little better with 2D graphic design, but forget about drawing. So basically don’t count on me for the artistic part.

About RTS, I’ve only played AOE and AOM (wich you haven’t mentioned, it’s really good). Those use an in-game editor, we will need that too. Since I don’t know of any game engine that it’s specialized in RTS (tough a fast search on google showed startegus and springRTS) it’s probably a good idea to start in BGE and if we find some unbreakable limitation we change engine (I should have to recode everything but once you have the logic, translating from one language to another usally is not hard). After all this game doesn’t need to run outside PCs, doesn’t need to be closed source, doesn’t need to have top-noch graphics, BGE seems fine.

Ahh, I recently posted a VN on the WIP forum (Until Death?) you can check that if you want (but there isn’t much art, if it wasn’t for the assets it all would be probably a black screen XD)

[Geemusic]

@Akira_San Okay, thanks for the Instrunctions.

[Geemusic]

Thank you, hilkojj

[adriansnetlis]

I can help this project a bit, but with coding only and not much, because I don’t have that much time.

[Geemusic]

Hey elmeunick and adriansnetlis
Well, I have already said, that my knowledge on programming is really small So I have nothing I could say against you guys being in the team. If you say you’ll be able to program for this game i have to believe you But keep in mind, that the game (if everything works out as planned), will grow and eventually get more complex.
You dont need to worry about the art-part. Being a programmer is a huge enough part on its own.
(…and @elmeunick AOM could have been an honorable mention. I have not played it too much, but I like it. It has great music.)

Concerning the gameengine: I already said that I’d actually like to have more than one Programmer, and if noone really uses BGE that could become a problem. Also I think that Unity has better lightning by nature, while Blender internal looks crappy unless you put a lot of work in the art section.
But since you are the only ones interested so far and I have to rely on your experience Ill leave the choice to you. We could use BGE, if you are prepared for a possible change, if something does not work out.
What do you think and which engine would be best suited?