Probably my biggest work in this project is planning.  Every time I'm ready to draw some graphics or program some code, something pops up that I have to plan.  One of these is, indeed, S.A.D.'s campaign.  To tell the story in detail, there's almost as much text as there is in Starcraft's campaign, Original and Brood War combined...the first 2.5 missions, which I just finished the draft of, take 7 pages of text.

So I'm going to have an abridged version of the campaign available for people who either don't like reading much text, or for those people who want to save space.  The unabridged campaign is divided into several parts and will use compression, but that still might be too much space for some people.

So just out of mere curosity, who would play the abridged campaign, who would play the unabridged?  This will not alter my decision in making both, because it shouldn't be hard to do so.

Sometimes my life gets so busy that I can end up with little progress on S.A.D.  So on UnitedTI I started a tradition that if I haven't posted any progress updates in a week, I will post a random fact about S.A.D. to keep everyone interested and to show the project is not dead.  Starting with today's random fact, they will appear on omnimaga as well.

At the beginning of a normal multiplayer or skirmish game, you start out with enough money to build two refineries and an ACC.

I finished drawing them, now I need to start coding them!  These are the remaining icons you select using Hotkeys to accomplish your goals and build your empire in a galaxy far far away...actually, let's not get into that, the game takes place in the Milky Way  

The first picture is all ability icons for researching.  If an ability has been researched or cannot be researched, the tile is left blank.

From left to right, top to bottom, by group:

Argo Plasma Torpedoes, Researched at an Argo Laboratory
Tank Extended Range, Researched at a Factory
Degruser Mines, Degruser Photon Torpedoes, and Raptor Deflector Shield, Researched at an Armory
Reclauda Detector, Reclauda Mine Detector, Reclauda Seismic Charge, Scouter Jet Pack, Balkstone Booster Engines and Camoza Booster Engines, Researched at a Starbase
Camoza ITNT, and Raptor Teleport, Researched at a Manhatton Station
Scouter Cloak, Camoza Cloak, and Balkstone Cloak, Researched at a Quantum Facility
Splitron Plasma Torpedoes, Researched at a Command Center

The second picture is options you can select at an Operation Center or a Transfomation Gateway.  From left to right, top to bottom: Exchange, Repair, Refuel, Restock, Refuel on Fuel, Refuel on Sephrane Gas

The third picture is the structures you can build.  The first group is basic structures.  Pressing PGRM will take you to research facilities and Operation Centers, and pressing PGRM again will take you back to the basic buildings.  Defense, Transformation Gateways, Detectors, ACCs, Watchtowers and Refineries are all basic structures.

For those of you wondering where the option for "Teleport" is, that will come when I have a better idea of what the process of teleporting will look like.

Operation Center

Cost: 750
HP: 500


Transformation Gateway
Cost: 50
HP: 30

Operation Centers and Transformation Gateways are the basic building blocks of S.A.D. in terms of structure gameplay. They perform the same functions, and are necessary for your strategy, whether you plan everything ahead or find an on-the-spot opportunity.

Operation Centers cost a lot of money, but are very difficult to destroy. In addition, if your opponent is able to destory all your Operation Centers, you lose the game. Transformation Gateways are cheap, but are easy to destroy.

You start out with a single Operation Center at the beginning of the game.

Functions:

Repair: It is cheaper to repair your unit than it is to buy a new one. Therefore, if you plan on continuing your strategy with the same unit, but are left badly damaged, you'll want to repair your unit at one of these stations. You can choose how much to repair your unit if you want to save money.

Refuel/Restock: As you move and fire your weapons, you use fuel. And as you use certain special abilities, you use up Sephrane Gas. It is cheaper to purchase more fuel and gas than it is to purchase a new unit. You can purchase a limited amount of fuel and gas if you want to save money.

Also, some abilities (namely Refillable Upgrades) can only be used a certain number of times, after which you must buys the means to use the ability again. This is called restocking, and you can do it at any Operation Center or Transformation Gateway.

Teleport: One of the most important functions of these buildings. If you have several of these buildings laid across the map, you can teleport in between them. This allows you access to a wide area of the map in a shorter amount of time, allowing you to change your strategy on-the-fly.

Teleporting takes a total of 2 1/2 seconds. While you are teleporting, your opponent can fire at you, but you cannot fire back.

By the way, if your unit dies, you can respawn it at any Transformation Gateway or Operation Center.

Exchange: The most important function of these two buildings. You can exchange any unit for another one when you're ready to change tactics. When you buy a new unit, you recieve a full tank of fuel. However, if your unit has refillable abilities, you still have to pay to restock on these abilities, you do not recieve them free.   In addition, you must purchase Sephrane Gas, you do not start out with any.

Yes, that's right, an RTS game is in production for Ti-83+ and Ti-84+ calculators.  With the limited processing capabilities of the Z80 processors, and the small screen resolution, I decided to come up with a new concept entirely to make an RTS game work for the calculator, rather than trying to force the calculator to handle a typical RTS.

Rather than controlling massive armies to battle an opponent, you control a single unit. You have 9 available units to choose from. Each of the nine units has its own abilities, its own strengths, and its own weaknesses. One unit constructs buildings, another performs sneak attacks, another has absolute air-superiority, and still another is best for taking out structures with its heavy cannon.

With the ability to change your unit thoughout the game, your goal is to defeat your opponent by choosing the right unit at the right time, at the same time that you are building up your base to aid in your goal. One wrong move, one moment that you use a unit out of place, could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

S.A.D. is a featured project on UnitedTi.org.  I will be posting a lot of important information--features, stastics, screenshots, etc.--here.  However, if you want the most information possible, visit http://www.unitedti.org/forum/index.php?showforum=65 or use an IRC and join #seekanddestroy.



Features of S.A.

* 9 units, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.  During the game, you can change your unit to fit your strategy, and if your opponent kills you, you can respawn.
* 16 structures you can build
* Each unit has abilities you can research to increase its effectiveness.  Abilities include, but are not limited to, cloaking, teleportation, faster speed, and extra range
* Full maps with terrain
* Multiplayer with up to 3 AIs, and link play
* A 25-Mission Campaign, with cutscenes, several different objectives, and a full storyline
* A Map Editor, and a Campaign Editor

Here's some screenshots:

The first map: Orita Five

The Multiplayer Menu

The Main Menu

Over the next few days, once we have some balance issues worked out, I will post additional information, including information concerning the nine units and the 16 structures.  In the mean time, we are currently working on the economy and the tilemap routine.