The RTS is based on a hexagonal board, each hexagon represents an computer, I'll call this a system.
Anatomy of a System
What it Starts With.
A CPU: the central hardware of the system, the player who captures this owns the system.
The CPU has a finite amount of processing power which is required by various other hardware, it also require energy to operate (see below).
I'll refer to processing power it generates as PU (processing units).
ENERGY SOCKETS: PSU (power supply unit) can be built at these sockets, some systems have many other have none.
MEMORY SOCKETS: HARD DRIVES can be built at these sockets, some systems have many other have none.
PORTS: ports appear around the edges of the hexagon and allow programs to travel to adjacent systems.
Each edge can have from 0 to 4 ports. When a program travels via port it takes time to reach the other side. Ports can have one upgrade.
BACKDOOR PORT: when an edge of a system has a port it will also have a backdoor port, these operate like ports except they cannot be upgraded and they are very slow.
What Players can Build
PORT UPGRADES: Upgrades requires PU and Energy.
- Broadband: speeds up transfer times for all programs. (needs to be installed at both ends of the port to work).
- Firewall: only allied programs can travel through. (can be installed at either end of the port).
- Forward: can link the port end to another port end inside the same system. This allows players to make express routes, or you can forward to a port on the same edge to trick enemies not paying attention.
- Damage: damages enemy programs that travel through.
PSU: built on top Energy Sockets. Generates energy which is consumed by hardware such as the CPU. Energy is distributed to all owned systems.
HARD DRIVE: built on top Memory Sockets. Required to build programs, each program consumes memory. Requires energy.
PROGRAM FACTORY: builds programs. Requires PU and Energy. The speed at which it builds programs is based on how much PU is available. Programs factories are in low priority by default, this means it will use whatever PU is left after it has been distributed to Port Upgrades and the like. Setting priority to high will use up all PU but things like Port upgrades will go offline.
ATTACK ZONE: defense hardware that attacks enemy programs within range. More powerful than individual programs but stationary. Requires PU and Energy.
COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE ZONE: reveals spy programs and temporarily disables them. Requires PU and Energy.
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Programs are your equivalent of RTS units. You can move them about and give them attack orders, they can also have special abilities.
Each program belongs to a class.
Class System
Combat works on a rock-paper-scissors principle. There are 7 classes A to G, each class beats the next three classes, for example A beats B,C,D and is beaten by E,F,G. B beats C, D, E and is beaten by F, G, A. Every program has a base amount of damage output and then a damage bonus against classes it beats. Some hardware also belong to a class.
Abilities and Signals
Programs and hardware have different special abilities that are activated by the player.
Most abilities have an activation time, giving a delay between clicking the ability button and it taking effect. During activation time allied and enemy players will be given a signal about the activation. This gives players time to react. Abilities can also be deactivated during the timer, allowing players to feign. Some Abilities can also have a cooldown timer which prevents abilities from being rapidly used.
Fog of War
Enemy systems are fogged by default, programs inside enemy systems can see a certain radius around them, unless the spy uses scout ability (see below).
The Programs
The Spy. (class A)
- invisible to most classes.
- Scout: Reveals fog of war. Automatically activated in enemy systems. Takes 4 seconds.
- Intelligence report: Reveals research and resource information. Takes 8 seconds, need to be next to CPU.
- Spy trojan: Constant research and resource information even why spy not near CPU. Takes 15 seconds to install and must be near CPU to install. Lasts for 5 minutes.
The Counter-Spy. (class G)
- Reveals spies around it instantly.
- Anti-spy-trojan: Removes spy trojans, takes 8 seconds.
- Spy removal: Reveals and disables all hostile spies in a system for 1 minute, takes 15 seconds to activate.
The Modifier. (class B)
- Modifies the system.
- Bubble: Creates bubble around itself, nothing can get in or out for 40 seconds or until itself is destroyed, takes 8 seconds to activate.
- Freeze: all programs and hardware in the system is disabled and invulnerable for 30 seconds but ports still work, takes 25 seconds to activate.
- Disconnect: Disables all ports in the system so no-one gets in or out for 40 seconds, takes 35 seconds to activate.
The Hacker. (class C)
- Sabotages hardware.
- Bypass: Shuts off defence zones for 20 seconds, takes 15 seconds to activate.
- Surge: Disables all PSUs in the system 1 minute, takes 25 seconds to activate.
- Infinite Loop: Reduces the system's PU for 30 seconds, takes 15 seconds to activate.
- Bottleneck: Slows down all ports for 20 seconds, takes 10 seconds to activate.
The Brute. (class D)
- Simple program, good at taking out Attack Zones.
- Multitask: can target up to 8 units simultaneously for 10 seconds, takes 2 seconds to activate.
The Speeder. (class E)
- Increases move speed of programs around it.
- Increases the transfer speed of the port it's currently travelling in.
- System Speed: increases move speed of all allied units in the system, takes 5 seconds to activate.
The Healer. (class F)
- Heals programs around it.
- System Heal: Heals all allied units in the system, takes 10 seconds to activate.
- Vampire: Steals health from nearby enemy programs and distributes it to nearby allied programs, takes 12 seconds to activate.
Summary
Lots of concepts here are inspired by the RTS sins of a solar empire, as well as many other RTS games i've played.
This would be a fairly big project. The majority of the game logic will be easy to implement, what I won't be good at is building the AI and the Networking for multiplayer, especially lockstep networking.
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hex.love- v0.2
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