22: Worms as a boardgame

[Insomniac]

DarthPenguin and I came up with the idea to turn Worms into a boardgame.
Unfortunately we don't have much to post yet as I'm in deadline crunch mode at the moment...curse you dislekcia for distracting me ;) but after the weekend we will place a full post along with hopefully something playable.


UPDATE
Both versions are now available, note the PC version serves as a demo to the real boardgame.

PC Version


Boardgame Assets

[edg3]

Epic. Thats all.

[dislekcia]

Whoa, nice idea :)

I suggest looking into how boardgames handle attacks over range already and taking the concepts you feel will work best for Worms from there. Look at how the FASA Mechwarrior boardgames do it, Warhammer tabletop, even card-based distances like that Pirates game (which is super rad btw) where your ship can move in straight lines in any direction, but only in specific multiples of the long and short sides of an info card.

[Kensei]

Sounds interesting, look forward to a more detailed spec soon

[Darth]

Hi all..

So we got together yesterday, and our game system is pretty much finalised. Our basic rules are following the DnD 4e concept... very basic rules, but lots of exceptions.

We are still working on getting our demo up and running. We just getting it together to work on the pc nicely.

At first we were using different sized dice and even had wind in play, but in a goal to keep the game fun, we dolled it down a little... we now only use a D6 (your normal dice)... it still rocks though. Albert Einstein says our game defies E-mc2... so its pretty awesome :P

This is a basic idea of how our game works:

Your worm can move 5 squares before it attacks and 2 after it attacks.
Each square has a movement cost tied to it, so moving over defficult terrain does take longer.
Each tile on the floor also offers attack and defensive bonuses.
When you attack, you take the attack mod from the square you're on, the defensive mod of the square you are attacking, and the mod for the type of attack you're doing for the distance from your target you are. You then roll your dice, add your mods, and if your roll is higher than a certain number, you hit, if its lower, then you miss.

I played one quick version with Insomniac 2v2 yesterday, and it worked. Our battle went like this:

Darth Worm 1 = DW1, Darth Worm 2 = DW2, Insomniac Worm 1 = IW1, Insomniac Worm 2 = IW2

DW1(100HP): Climbed up the mountain using it to get a nice attack bonus, and fired a bazooka at IW1(100HP-50HP=50HP).

IW1(50HP): Climbed up a hill and fired a bazooka at DW1(100HP-50HP=50HP).

DW2(100HP): Walked a little closer to and threw a cluster grenade at IW1(50HP-40HP=10HP).

IW2(100HP): Walked over to and Dragon punched into the water DW1(DEATH).

DW2(100HP): Walked over to and Dragon punched into the water IW21(DEATH).

IW1(10HP): Shot 2 shots with the shotgun at DW2(100HP-30HP-30HP=40HP).

DW2(40HP): Tried to shoot IW1(10HP) with a shotgun, but missed both shots.

IW1(10HP): Shot 2 shots with the shotgun at DW2(40HP-30HP-30HP=DEATH).

Insomniac wins.

These are the type of games our boardgame offers. I played a few more with another friend last night and it works. We'll have a playable demo up soon.

The final version will feature:
A 28x24 play field
4v4 worm combat
25 weapons and utilities
Crates, mines & barrels

[Kensei]

Ooooh nice :D

I like this, a lot

[AndrewJ]

*smile* when reading Darth's description of play.

[Darth]

Hi all... a little update if you will... I present you the prototype of our health bar:



http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...A/102_3369.jpg

I'm going to be making a few more changers.. but thats basically it (add the pictures of the worms in the big squares... and then have it for all 4 worms)

The green bar is a slider, on the left is the little pulley thing that you pull out and push in to change the health. As you pull it back, more of the squares become red. The whole thing is very sturdy as it is laminated.

If things go as plan you can expect the demo tomorrow, and then from there its a lot easier and we can start adding a lot more and a bigger map.

[dislekcia]

Whoa, neat idea on the laminated slider thing! Sweet.

Do get sent one for judging? ;)

[DukeOFprunes]

:o

You bloody clever bastards. I'm loving the boardgames coming out of this comp, this one's my fave so far. Might also have something to do with me having a soft spot for blowing up soft little wormies ^_^

That health slider is a wicked idea, be sure to put photos up of your other assets too.

[Darth]

Originally Posted by dislekcia

Whoa, neat idea on the laminated slider thing! Sweet. Do get sent one for judging? ;)

Yeah, you'll get a whole set of our board game.

We don't want you printing it all out and making a shoddy version of our game. :P

Expect a lot of picks by Sunday of everything but the final board, and then next weekend we should have our final board ready!

[Darth]

Sorry for the double post...

But just so you all know, we are making two versions of the game.

We are making the board game version. When we are finished we'll upload all the pieces for anyone to print out and make their own version of if you want (we'll be sending a nice version through for judging though). This is our "main" entry as such.

We are also making a pc version of the board game. This will play out in the exact same way, except the pc will handle all the processing for you. This is because I know 90% of you can't print it all out and make a board version, yet we want you all to see and experience our game. This is the version we are releasing a "demo" of this week, and might possibly release updates of as we get further into the development of our game.

[FuzzYspo0N]

Sounds good. Cant wait!

[AndrewJ]

Originally Posted by DukeOFprunes

That health slider is a wicked idea, be sure to put photos up of your other assets too.

Dude, that's disgusting!!!

Darth, if you guys pull this off, I'll have a new "social" board game to play for weekends! Really, this looks absolutely fantastic. Well done (so far)!

[Darth]

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

Darth, if you guys pull this off, I'll have a new "social" board game to play for weekends! Really, this looks absolutely fantastic. Well done (so far)!

Thanks for the positive words guys!!!

Trust me... we want to pull this off. I want to play this game as well :P

[Insomniac]

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone!
Unfortunately progress on the PC version has been slow due to some really weird bugs. Like really, really weird, an if statements block and else statements block both executing weird. I have got the movement all working now and thought I'd post a screenshot until the prototpye is ready for release.

[Insomniac]

Update with a more interesting screenshot.

[H2O]

looks great when do you plane to ralease the prototpye

[Insomniac]

Originally Posted by H2O

looks great when do you plane to ralease the prototpye

As soon as it's ready ;)
At the moment all the worms do is move on their turn, I just need to include a few weapons and give them a retreat phase and then a few other things here and there and then it will be ready. We're hoping by the end of the week.

[AndrewJ]

If a worm is pushed back will terrain affect movement? If a worm is on a plain and is pushed back, say, five squares, will a hill on the first square remove three "movement" points so that the worm is only moved back two squares, the hill and the square beyond? Similarly, will movement be increased going downhill? Will movement modifiers be calculated before or on each target square?

Definitions:
On = the square the worm is currently on.
MP = movement points.
Next = the target square for movement.
Result = where the worm will end up after the calculations have been completed.
Altitudes: Plain = 1, Hill = 2, Mountain = 3, Dip = 0, Sea = -1. 1MP per altitude difference plus 1MP for movement. Therefore:
To Plain from Plain = 1 - 1 = 0MP + 1MP = 1MP for the move to that square.
To Hill from Plain = 2 - 1 = 1MP + 1MP = 2MP for the move to that square.
To Dip from Plain = 0 - 1 = -1MP + 1MP = 0MP for the move to that square so the worm still has 1MP worth of "momentum."

Examples:
1)
On: Plain
MP: 1
Next: Plain
Result: Worm on new plain square.

2)
On: Plain
MP: 1
Next: Hill
Result: If calculations take place after the worm moves onto the tile, then altitude won't be taken into account and the worm would be on the hill. Else the worm stays where he is.

3)
On: Hill
MP: 1
Next: Plain
NextNext: Plain
Result: The worm would be on the second plain tile because of "gravity" adding 1MP per altitude difference.

4)
On: Hill
MP: 2
Next: Plain
NextNext: Mountain
Result: The worm would be on the mountain tile because of "gravity" adding 1MP per altitude difference.

Get my drift? And no I'm not driving.