First public build is now available
I've decided to start documenting the development of HexaWars here on GameDev.net.
I'll use this project page and devlog to share progress, experiments, new mechanics, technical changes, screenshots, and lessons learned as the game develops.
At the same time, HexaWars has just reached another small but important milestone: the first public build is now available on itch.io.
Until now, most testing was done locally or with a small group of friends. Publishing the game on itch.io means there is finally a build that anyone interested can download and try, while this GameDev.net devlog will serve as a place where I can document how the project evolves from here.
HexaWars is a turn-based tactical strategy game played on a hexagonal battlefield. One of the core ideas behind the game is that players don't execute their turns one after another.
Instead, every round is split into two phases:
Planning Phase — all players simultaneously issue commands to their units.
Execution Phase — the commands from all players are resolved together, and nobody can interfere until the execution is complete.
The idea is to make each turn partly about tactics and partly about predicting what the opponent is going to do. You don't always attack where an enemy is standing now — sometimes you attack where you think they will be when the orders are executed.
Current Units
The public build currently includes several different unit types:
Tank — durable general-purpose combat unit.
IFV — mobile combat vehicle.
Command / Scanner Vehicle — reconnaissance and battlefield scanning.
SPG — mobile long-range artillery.
Artillery — attacks an area and can damage multiple units caught inside it.
Engineer — repairs friendly units and can deploy a defensive turret.
Rocket Launcher — targets distant map cells, with the rocket arriving on the following turn.
Robot Bug — a melee-oriented unit whose movement and attacks are restricted to the three main hex-grid axes.
Units share a common set of commands such as:
Move
Attack
Attack Cell
Defend
Repair
Scan
There are also unit-specific abilities.
Because commands are executed simultaneously, the same order can have very different results depending on what the opponent planned. A unit may move out of an artillery strike before it lands, enter another unit's defensive range, or arrive at a control point at the same time as an enemy.
Match Objectives
At the moment there are two ways to win:
Reach 100 points
Destroy all enemy units
Points are generated by capturing and holding control points around the map.
A control point is not captured instantly. A unit normally has to remain on it for 3 turns, while committing a second unit reduces the required time by one turn.
This creates a trade-off between concentrating units around objectives and keeping enough forces available to fight elsewhere.
AI Opponent
The current build also contains an AI opponent.
When creating a lobby, the host can turn an empty player slot into an AI Player, so the game can be tested without launching a second client.
The AI plays under the same basic rules and command-point limitations as a human player. Each turn it evaluates the battlefield using several systems, including a threat map, known enemy positions, capture progress and recent attacks.
Maps
There are currently two playable maps.
TestMap
This is the older development map. It is intentionally simple and is still useful for testing mechanics, movement, abilities and AI behaviour.
KidsRoom
This map represents the direction I'm aiming for visually.
The game's setting is essentially a battle between toys inside a child's room, so units, terrain and battlefield objects are designed around that idea.
KidsRoom is the first map where the visual style and the gameplay are starting to come together in something closer to the intended final game.
Current Development State
HexaWars is still an early project rather than a finished game.
Some of the areas I'm actively working on include:
unit balance;
additional unit types;
more maps;
AI behaviour;
UI and usability;
visual effects;
improving the planning/execution system;
making game mechanics easier to understand without external explanations.
There are still plenty of placeholder and Asset Store elements in the project, and the current build should be treated primarily as a playable development version.
The important milestone for me is that the game has now moved beyond being something that only runs on my development machine or during private tests. There is finally a public build that people can download and actually play.
The current version is available here:
https://iustat.itch.io/hexawars
** Player authentication is currently handled through itch.io, so the game needs to be launched by a user who is logged into itch.io.
I'm especially interested in feedback about mechanics that are confusing, situations where simultaneous execution produces unexpected results, AI behaviour, balance issues and, of course, bugs.
I'll keep using this GameDev.net project as a development log and post updates as HexaWars evolves.
Discussion