LudumData

Ant Forts by rplnt

[raw]
made by rplnt for LD 38 (COMPO)

Ant Forts is a strategy game where you don't have direct control over your units.

screen.jpg

WebGL version and Downloads (win+linux) at itch.io. Link to updated version down bellow.

Controls: - Mostly mouse, click on + symbols (nest opening, end of ant trail) - You can use arrows to move camera, scroll to zoom (or +/-) - Escape to pause

Goals: - send ants to certain direction, you can change it at (almost) any time - collect items to upgrade your main nest or build forts at the end of a path - defend yourself from bugs

Source - https://github.com/rplnt/LudumDare38

UPDATES - UPDATE (T+1h): removed game-breaking bug (game froze up when clicking through UI) - UPDATE (T+8h); another one (unsubscribe event) - UPDATE (T+14h): New Version with a few gameplay changes and one new feature

Software used: - Unity3D - Paint.NET - MS Visual Studio - Roboto font, ObjectPool.cs

Notes: - no music or even sounds sadly - there are multiple gameplay bugs and design issues (missing features), you sort of have to play around them

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/ant-forts

Ratings

Overall 299th 3.25⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Fun 243th 3.214⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 214th 3.286⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Theme 97th 3.857⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 256th 3.321⭐ 30🧑‍⚖️
Humor 377th 2.091⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Mood 276th 3.08⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 47🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

La mecanique du plastique
01. May 2017 · 14:27 UTC
I spent a very long time playing your game, pretty addictive, good job !
I was always running after the rocks :)
Just rated <3
Bunnery
02. May 2017 · 13:44 UTC
I really liked this - can see it becoming addictive! It was easy to work out how to play and what was going on - which is always a plus with me! Enjoyed the concept of moving directions and building up the fortresses. The big bugs were very pretty too :-) Nice work!
RockhopperGames
02. May 2017 · 13:50 UTC
I'm not sure I could find a real strategy for this game. The ant fort's didn't seem to cause any type of special attack or defensive measure, so I couldn't really see much advantage to building them rather than just letting the ants fight the bugs back at the nest. It also meant I couldn't find much reason to build in specific directions, apart from collecting resources. Maybe I was just missing something though?
JOrbits
02. May 2017 · 13:53 UTC
I like how you can controll where the ants will go. I don't really understand, how I can heal my fort. Do I have to collect leaves?
ToonTeamJ
02. May 2017 · 13:53 UTC
This game is surprisingly addictive.
oxrock
02. May 2017 · 13:54 UTC
I actually like it a lot. I have a fondness for games where you have to control mindless drones. Obviously lacking in the sound department but you already know that. I like the scent/pheromone mechanic as a means of controlling things, that seems intuitive. A nice strategy game overall I thought. Now of only you could make this mindless drone good at strategy games :rofl:
Articulated9
02. May 2017 · 13:56 UTC
Enjoyable little game! I didn't come across any bugs for what it's worth, but it took me a while to figure out you could create fortresses at any time - my strategy would've been markedly different if I'd known first time round! :D
Breadmower
02. May 2017 · 14:08 UTC
Interesting idea with not having direct control over your units, was something a bit different - can get quite tense when a bug is attacking one of your forts, and you're hoping that a few of your ants will reach it in time to prevent it being destroyed. I'd suggest having a way to deactivate paths, so you can focus your ants in a particular direction, but I guess that would go against the idea of not having direct control. Good stuff :-)
🎤 rplnt
02. May 2017 · 14:31 UTC
@rockhoppergames Sadly, you are right. I didn't leave myself enough time to balance things.

@jorbits The health is just number of ants in the nest. There's a certain spawn rate at each level and one ant = one "food". Leaves are also food, so that helps.

@breadmower That's one of the features I didn't manage to squeeze in. It's finished in the post-compo version I linked in the Updates section if you want to give it a try.
sachos345
03. May 2017 · 15:59 UTC
Pretty fun, is there an end game? or just play till you lose? I really wish you have made some sfx for it.
Tommyno222
03. May 2017 · 16:21 UTC
The game has a very interesting concept and I believe that a few changes would make a pretty solid strategy game from this. Unfortunately, it's very hard now and it's missing a few important features (like to be able to create shortcuts or whole new trails, so ants weren't forced to go through each point over and over).

But overall I enjoyed playing the game. When I firstly saw a bug, I though I'm doomed... it really creates an impression of a colossus when compared with ants :grinning:
schizoid2k
03. May 2017 · 18:14 UTC
User interface is very nice... I liked how you can scroll and zoom in/out without touching the keyboard. Great for a casual game.

I do have to say I was a bit confused what to do with the attacking bugs... do I attack back or try to avoid?
inventroom
09. May 2017 · 11:30 UTC
Ant Strategy game! Here’s the quick rundown of my thoughts:

PROS
- Pheromones pathfinding is a pretty unique game control mechanic

CONS
- A bit confused as to how the fortresses work, or how and why to delay bugs since the anthill seems able to recover regardless

For full criticism and breakdown of ranking, as well as candid reactions to gameplay, do check out the video~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjQOngi3b-E
mihaylovartem74
11. May 2017 · 18:19 UTC
Cool game, but it took really much time for me to understand game mechanics! That was really hard!)
I've loved some tutorial to this game :)
Good work!
awesome
11. May 2017 · 19:33 UTC
Just WOW ! I like the idea , I like the mood , I like it a lot! great work mate:)
I was very sad that you didn't put any sound to it:( but still great work!
The thing that took me time to understand is how the defense work and what is the fortresses for.
Overall : awesome!
BlackRose
11. May 2017 · 23:42 UTC
I love the idea! I have had so fun playing this game ^^ I dont understand well whats the paper of the beeatles. Its a really good job :3
Piotrek
12. May 2017 · 18:59 UTC
Gameplay is very addicting.
The controls and interface are really well made as for compo entry.
Good job.
phi
12. May 2017 · 20:20 UTC
That's some very interesting gameplay. It's very intuitively designed -- I was able to figure out the main mechanics quite quickly without a tutorial. With a little bit of balancing and a more sophisticated difficulty curve (maybe various enemies, different fortresses, upgrading etc.) this could really have some potential! The UI is a bit sloppy, but the game works really well for a compo entry! I'm impressed, congratulations!
noddingTortoise
12. May 2017 · 21:53 UTC
Great game, with some really addictive gameplay. The graphics are well done and the interface is nicely laid out. Overall very well done game!
Jakob Willforss
13. May 2017 · 10:47 UTC
Very interesting game, with nice gameplay. It looks great - This could definitely be something to develop further. Gamewise it was a bit confusing for me in the beginning what the goal was and how to achieve it, but got the hang of it quite quickly. Well done :)
Rialgar
13. May 2017 · 12:08 UTC
Loved the bustling, scurrying and crawly look of it all. However, I did not feel any challenge, the bugs mostly just died off without causing relevant damage to the nest, they only destroyed my forts, so I stopped building those.
rwoeltjes
13. May 2017 · 16:52 UTC
After a while I also found out there isn't really a challenge, so that was unfortunate. You have a nice little game though. With a bit more balancing (and please add sounds) you might have a fun game.
StaNov
13. May 2017 · 21:18 UTC
I liked the ants movement. The graphics were ok too.

There are a lot of confusion points:

* I don't know if I played the game correctly. Are there any winning conditions?
* What are the building materials? How do I get them? Does that many varietes of them add anything to the gameplay?

Btw since it's compo, did you really draw the bugs by yourself?

Thanks for sharing, my Czechoslovakian friend!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbi09HIq8YA
mortus
16. May 2017 · 16:03 UTC
Cool concept, I like it. I wish there was a way to fork a tunnel at any point and then close one of the openings, I didn't realize you should start multiple paths right from the beginning.
🎤 rplnt
16. May 2017 · 16:49 UTC
@mortus that was definitely my intention with the forts - they would act like a split in the path, but I didn't manage to finish it. Another functionality I didn't squeeze in was to control the paths (open/close) [I added this in a small post-compo update at least for the main nest].

The gameplay is pretty shallow as a result since there's not much to do.
Jupiter_Hadley
27. May 2017 · 14:10 UTC
Neat concept! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRPh1GNGnP0