Frader

Hell Commander is a real-time strategy game based on the Doom Universe. The game is part of the final project I'm doing to get my computer engineering degree. Game overview: Players will play the role of an Evil Commander with the objective to possess all human infrastructures. They will win the game whenever they manage to control all UAC buildings. These buildings will be of different kinds and will be distributed across the map. They will also be defended by UAC forces that will fight against all players that try to possess them. That possession will be done using lost souls. That action will take a few seconds and the unit will have to survive in order for it to succeed. Every player will start with an Icon of Sin placed in a different spot in the map, and some little cash in the form of energy. All units of that player will be summoned in the Icon of Sin. Also, the Icon of Sin won't be destructible by other players and will keep providing energy. Apart from being a mere objective to win the game, UAC buildings will provide advantatges to the ones controlling them. To start with, there will be power plants that will provide extra energy to summon more units. The rest of the buildings will be required in order to summon specific types of units. For example, a player may need to control a barracks in order to make shotgun soldiers. In the same fashion, a spaceport and a laboratory may be required to summon mancubus demons. To keep things balanced, some buildings will have stronger UAC forces defending them. Also, a minimum time controlling some types of buildings will be required to make the most powerful units (such as the cyberdemon). Finally, there won't be enough buildings in the map to allow all players to make all types of units. So once the UAC forces are defeated players will still need to fight each other for their control. TO-DO list: - Adding objects to the map (barrels, torches, pilars, etc). - Victory screen. - Setup options (setting a player's name and other game options). - Merging both server and client into one single executable. The option "Host game" would then be added. - Sound? Limitations: There's just one map available althought everything's prepared to allow more of them. I don't have any plans on making them for now as i find it a very time consuming task. Things you may want to take a look at: All unit properties are defined in a text file called unittypes.xml (movement speed, attack damage and range, etc). That file can be found at the path you installed the game. You may also take a look at map1.xml and gamevalues.xml. It would take a while for me to go over all the properties you can change there, but everything's pretty much self-explanatory. Don't be afraid to ask anyway. How to start a game: Everything's packed into a nice installer so you shouldn't have any issues regarding this. Make sure to let DirectX update, otherwise your're likely to see missing dll errors. Links to the executables will be created on the start menu. Once the game is installed you can start the config dialog to set the graphics settings to your liking. 1) Start the server. Don't close the console window. 2) Start a client (either locally or on some other computer). 3) Select "Join game" and enter the IP address of the server machine. If both server and client are on the same machine, you can leave the default IP (which is the localhost address). 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add more players. Press ready on all the players to make the game start. 5) Play! 6) You can close the server's console window once the game has ended. Note: the included map is for just 2 players. Some ingame keybindings: All keybindings are inspired by Blizzard's RTS games. So if you played those you'll feel at home. Ctrl + <num> - create group Shift + <num> - add units to group Hold alt - show unit healthbars A - attack (select a ground position to do an aggressive movement) D - show debug stats Enter - chat message Esc - cancel action F10 - leave game About this version: I've bumped the version name to Beta instead of Alpha as I feel all the basic functionality is already working. Even this said, there are still things that need to be added. Others may require to be polished out. As always, feedback will be greatly appreciated. Video: Watch on youtube at 720p for the best experience. DOWNLOAD LINK Version: Beta 1 Size: 23.5 MB System requirements: Graphics card with support for Shader Model 2.0 (ATI Radeon 9600, nVidia GeForce FX 5 series, or newer)

Man, you've bumped quite an old topic :P Take a look at this topic. You'll find a playable Alpha version of the game ;) On a side note, I'm not planning on making any campaign as that would require AI controlled opponents. And that is a very complex subject.

I've just released Alpha3. The download link is on the first topic. For this version I've completely modified the unit values (health, damage...). The goal was to make them more similar to how they were on the original games. I've also changed their building requirements. The result of all that is that the game feels much faster now. So make sure to check it out ;) Finally, I've also added an ingame chat. I didn't realise how much i needed it until i started a couple games over the internet :P There are some other minor tweaks and fixes. For those of you that reported mouse lag I've included an executable called "game_gpu_flush.exe". It includes a tweak to solve a problem I suspect could be causing mouse delay to those with low-end graphics cards. It would be great if you could try it out and report back as I don't notice any real difference on my computer.

I had already thought about that and I couldn't get to a clear decision to any of the questions. In all honesty, I have mixed feelings regarding the realease of the source code. Do I want to see modded versions of my game? Would anyone actually take the time to do them? Would someone actually learn something from it? I can't find a clear answer to those questions right now. To make things worse my code is full of variable names and comments in spanish and catalan (yea, english is my third language). So it would be quite challenging to understand to others. At the end of the day thought, this is part of my final degree project. So until I finish it and i get my grades I won't release anything for sure. Then, we can talk about it. Regarding the Linux version you'll be happy to know the game is based on libraries that also work under those OSes. What that means is that it could be ported with minimum changes. I could consider doing so myself or let the community do it if i finally decide to realese the source.

I've just uploaded Alpha2. Check the updated link on the first topic. The changes are mainly bug fixes (4 in total). Particularly the two bugs previously commented here should be solved. I've also changed the default video settings so antialiasing is disabled. Lastly, I've added a new parameter in gamevalues.xml called instantUnitBuilding. Setting this to true will let players build all types of units instantly and will also remove any building restrictions. The goal of this is to help during the process of game balancing. Make sure to make a backup of any XML you may have modified. Also, I will consider including modded XML files on further releases. I admit the ones I included on those releases aren't too well thought. So if you can work out something better it will be welcomed. Once again, thanks for all the feedback.

You actually found a bug. The funny thing is it was caused by a fix to another problem i had before this realease. Anyway, I'm playing with a solution that should let u set 10x speeds if you wish ;)

About the case when you make a group of units move and one (or a few)keep standing still, could be considered a known bug. It happens when the destination the unit wants to go is occupied with some other unit. In such a case the pathfinding algorithm fails to find a route (as none exists) and the result is no movement happens. I'll eventually solve it by somehow having the unit move as close as possible to it's destination.

What I meant is you should open the game's config. It's a shortcut called "Hell Commander - Config" in the start menu. Then look for antialisng and set it to none. I bet you have catalyst set to use "application settings" almost on everything. That means you'll get antialiasing if the game requests it. I didn't think about this when i did the install package and just included the graphics settings i had on my computer. And those settings had antialiasing set to 4. So if you have an older card that isn't able to cope with that, you should lower it. Oh and I've been trying the game on a laptop with an integrated Intel graphics card. While the game is surely playable, i have to reckon it feels a bit laggy. But at the same time, i feel it is mainly due to the mouse not moving very smoothly. I mean, even if the game runs at 20fps, a smooth interface would make it feel much more responsive. I'll have to take a closer look at it.

Please report back once u've disabled full screen antialiasing.

Firstly, thank you all for taking the time to try this out. I've just been reading through the comments and I was quite surprised to see most of you seem to have performance problems. I have to admit I've been running all my tests on a kinda powerful machine. It's a Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4Ghz), 4GB of memory and most importantly, an ATI HD 4870 512MB. I've just tried a fast stress test and created 64 units. Making them move rised the server's cpu usage to about 30%. While being a little higher than i'd wish, the game was still pretty responsive. Actually, the server is just taking a mere 3-4Mb and rarely going further than 5% cpu under "normal" conditions. Having said this, my guesses are that you guys may be performance capped by your graphics card. If you could try this out, open the config dialog and set antialiasing to "none". Also, it would help a lot if you could include your system specifications (cpu, memory and graphics card) when reporting performance problems. Also note that it's perfectly normal for the client (game.exe) to take a full core. Unless you reach your vsync cap, the game will be trying to push as many FPS as possible. I'll get back to you to answer the other questions which were non-performance related.

Hell Commander is a real-time strategy game based on the Doom Universe. The game is part of the final project I'm doing to get my computer engineering degree. Game overview: Players will play the role of an Evil Commander with the objective to possess all human infrastructures. They will win the game whenever they manage to control all UAC buildings. These buildings will be of different kinds and will be distributed across the map. They will also be defended by UAC forces that will fight against all players that try to possess them. That possession will be done using lost souls. That action will take a few seconds and the unit will have to survive in order for it to succeed. Every player will start with an Icon of Sin placed in a different spot in the map, and some little cash in the form of energy. All units of that player will be summoned in the Icon of Sin. Also, the Icon of Sin won't be destructible by other players and will keep providing energy. Apart from being a mere objective to win the game, UAC buildings will provide advantatges to the ones controlling them. To start with, there will be power plants that will provide extra energy to summon more units. The rest of the buildings will be required in order to summon specific types of units. For example, a player may need to control a barracks in order to make shotgun soldiers. In the same fashion, a spaceport and a laboratory may be required to summon mancubus demons. To keep things balanced, some buildings will have stronger UAC forces defending them. Also, a minimum time controlling some types of buildings will be required to make the most powerful units (such as the cyberdemon). Finally, there won't be enough buildings in the map to allow all players to make all types of units. So once the UAC forces are defeated players will still need to fight each other for their control. TO-DO list: - A player's visibility. Fog of war. - Adding objects to the map (barrels, torches, pilars, etc). - Victory screen. - Setup options (setting a player's name and other game options). - Merging both server and client into one single executable. The option "Host game" would then be added. - Sound? Limitations: There's just one map available althought everything's prepared to allow more of them. I don't have any plans on making them for now as i find it a very time consuming task. Things you may want to take a look at: All unit properties are defined in a text file called unittypes.xml (movement speed, attack damage and range, etc). That file can be found at the path you installed the game. You may also take a look at map1.xml and gamevalues.xml. It would take a while for me to go over all the properties you can change there, but everything's pretty much self-explanatory. Don't be afraid to ask anyway. How to start a game: Everything's packed into a nice installer so you shouldn't have any issues regarding this. Make sure to let DirectX update, otherwise your're likely to see missing dll errors. Links to the executables will be created on the start menu. Once the game is installed you can start the config dialog to set the graphics settings to your liking. 1) Start the server. Don't close the console window. 2) Start a client (either locally or on some other computer). 3) Select "Join game" and enter the IP address of the server machine. If both server and client are on the same machine, you can leave the default IP (which is the localhost address). 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add more players. Press ready on all the players to make the game start. 5) Play! 6) You can close the server's console window once the game has ended. Note: the included map is for just 2 players. Some ingame keybindings: All keybindings are inspired by Blizzard's RTS games. So if you played those you'll feel at home. Ctrl + <num> - create group Shift + <num> - add units to group Hold alt - show unit healthbars A - attack (select a ground position to do an aggressive movement) D - show debug stats Enter - chat message Esc - cancel action F10 - leave game About this version: I called this version an Alpha as the game still lacks some functionalities. While it is already playable, there are still things that need to be added. Others may require to be polished out. So why I'm making this early version available to you? The reason is simple: feedback. So please, let me know what your thoughts are! Screenshot: DOWNLOAD LINK Version: Alpha 3 Size: 23.7 MB

Let's take things one at a time. Firstly, yes, i did tune the sizes of the models myself. I used this page to get an idea of the size of each. Taking another look at it, i think i could make cacos a bit bigger, and lost souls a bit smaller. But not too much. About the way lost souls move, it really isn't what the engine can do as i'm doing that myself. It rather comes down to how long it would take me to do it :P A while ago I though of making lost souls speed kinda random. So maybe they could cross 3 or 4 map cells at an accelerated speed, but then would be very slow for another 3 or 4. That could in some way ressemble the way they move in the original games, while still giving control to the player. The idea about making them charge to enemies is a also one that i like. Both would be reasonably easy to implement. On the other side, self-moving lost souls is something i don't think would be that easy. Also, I'm not sure if it would be convenient to do, because they could become a mess to control. I'll keep that on the "possible additions list" for now. What's next? Aye, corpses dissapearing after a while. This is something i already though of and I pretty much agree with you. I'll somehow make them go underground, become gradually transparent or something. And finally, I'm sorry to say I made the decision not to go for battles between great numbers of units. I guess this is not obvious if you haven't tested the game yourself, but when you get a lot of units together the ones at the back are just unable to shoot and become pointless. Actually, what they do right now is trying to find a way to their nearest enemy even if the only available path is going all around the map. I guess I'll have to fix that too, so if the path is too long they wait for other units to die instead. At the end of the day I prefer the player thinking on strategical places where he can fight and positioning their units correctly rather than throwing lots of units into the battle. Against some unit types (cyberdemon, revenant) spreading out your untis becomes really important as their rockets have an "area of effect". On other cases you can prevent a fireball that misses his target from hitting some of your other units. Another micro-management trick is to get one of your units to keep moving near the enemies, so they try to hit that one but they fail because it keeps moving. That would, of course, only work against enemies that throw fireballs. And it could be countered by the other player by having his units to attack some other unit instead. I could keep going, but i hope u get the point ;) And i still need to implement buildings, how they get possessed, fog of war... Damn, this is gonna take me forever haha :P

Hey guys, I'm back! I could start explaining what I've added to the game since my last post, but I won't. Instead, I'll just tell you to watch this video ;) As always, remember this is still a work in progress. Specially regarding unit balance. Anyway, all unit attributes (walk speed, attack damage, attack cooldown and a dozen more) are now configurable through a text file. Ultimately, the idea is to let you guys play with them as I expect you to do a better job than I would. Apart from the few times I played the original Doom games recently, it's been years since I touched any of them ;) Oh, and I've decided to start a new thread just so people can find the updated info easier ;) For reference, this is the previous thread. There you can find some more info on what this project is, how the game will work, the currency system, etc. For my next update I hope to have a beta version ready. Be patient! :D

Hahaha, yea. I'm happy to see you all have many ideas, and most of them sound quite interesting. But at the end of the day I think I'm going to stick to the plan I already explained. The player will play a unique race (the demons) and will fight other players and UAC forces to control all the buildings on the map. One could argue that it could be even better if you had several races to choose from. But I have a simple philosophy: quality over quantity. I'd rather finish a good game than have a hundred awesome ideas in development. Anyway I feel the gameplay will capture the essence of the original games with the fight between demons and humans. At the same time there are a few things that I hope will bring that little originality which is always nice. I haven't seen any RTS in which you need to possess buildings instead of building them. Or a game where ranged units need "line of sight" in order to shoot their targets, which in turn can evade the hit just by moving aside. I'll end by leaving you a teaser. I just added Lost Souls to the game, which means i have both melee and ranged behaviours implemented already. Now, i'm planning on reading an units stats from a text file (probably in XML). This way it'll be pretty easy to balance the game, just by editing a file with notepad. You'll be able to change almost everything: from the speed a unit moves, to the damage it deals, or the precision at which it throws its fireballs. So, you can already look forward to tunning that if you're interested in this kind of stuff ^^

To answer ArmouredBlood question, I'm not building everything up from scratch. The game is made in C++, and I'm using a few libraries that are making my life much easier. For example, I'm using Ogre3d (ogre3d.org) as the rendering engine. When it comes to networking, I'm using Zoidcom (zoidcom.com). These two are the most important ones, but the list goes on. Even this said, the job that remains is anything but easy. There's still all the game logic that needs to be programmed. From finding the optimum path from one point in the map to another (aka pathfinding), to making things look smooth across a network with a variable latency. All in all I'm pretty much working at the level at which most commercial games are made. Very few have a graphics engine made specially for them, for example. The philosophy is not to reinvent the wheel. To sum it up, I'm not using any already made RTS engine. Instead I'm basically building my own from a set of freely available general purpose libraries.