Assignment of colours to players in invited games is now random (the inviting player was previously always blue). This allowed another change: blue now always plays the first turn, therefore giving map authors better opportunity to balance their map.
Thanks to mahks for these suggestions (Blue first move always, Opponent should have first move).
Several improvements to non-game parts of the map system: Authors get better attribution, players can publish their maps for others to see, and maps can be copied and edited (“forked”). Looking forward to seeing your wonderful maps!
It’s a good time for 2020 middle of the year recapitulation for Hexfray. Let’s see the plans, progress made towards them and where will the focus go in the rest of 2020.
We have choice of maps in the invite system & random pick in matchmaking, the editor and map creation process have been improved (see above), players have contributed their maps. This mostly concludes map editing changes for some time as the utility from further additions wouldn’t be big enough at the moment. I hope we can see 8-10 playable maps to choose from by the end of the year.
- Fine-tune gameplay. Importantly, this means publicly documenting how the game works to lay ground for discussion. Also likely includes new game mechanics (like units defending themselves).
We have a game parameters page and new game mechanics, I would say the game now has a basic but solid set of features which make it enjoyable. The aim is to implement a few more enhancements during the rest of the year, likely focusing on easy to grasp mechanics for casual players.
- Fix serious bugs and smooth out some rough edges of the current UI. A few corners were cut short at first and I want to fix some of those to prevent some frustrating experiences (two examples: how the game works on slow connection, navigation around the website).
This category has seen improvements too (most notably in the Lobby UI) but is also the one that still needs the most work. A bigger project to add here would be a playable game tutorial.
Overall, the game has been on a good track in the first half of 2020 and should continue on it during the second half as outlined above. With this foundation, the plans will slowly shift to increased focus on finding new players who would enjoy the game and build a fun community together.
Let me also say: thank you everyone playing and contributing, either publicly or in personal communication!
A new map by mahks, Damned River has been added, thanks mahks!
Undo button has been added. For now it’s possible to undo the very last piece movement (this might get extended to building new pieces or more than just the last move).
Also fixed a bug which allowed pieces to travel farther than was intended under certain conditions. (Perhaps notably for the programmers among you, this bug would have been prevented by linear types.)
Implemented a map editor indent detecting fix, see
A new map by mahks, North Africa has been added, thanks mahks!
Also fixed several bugs over the past few days, most notably in matchmaking and credit calculation on the client.
An indicator now shows which units have attacked in the current round, as suggested in Move & fire indicator.
Two new maps, Line of Control and Floral by mahks, and both require some tough strategic decisions!
Fixed two bugs that would incorrectly mark a unit as exhausted after attacking.
Hexfray has a new tutorial in the game lobby to make the first steps of new players easier.
Implemented two improvements/fixes in the game UI (Can't select some replacement troops):
Added Training Camp by mahks plus also fixed the order of maps in the New Game menu and made this map the first, followed by Toxic Waltz. Thanks for the great maps!
Good idea putting in on finished games too!
