Poll

What do you like doing most in RA2/RA3/robot combat games?

Building robots
Local single player battles with manually-controlled robots
Local multiplayer battles  with manually-controlled robots (PvP with controllers or a shared keyboard)
AI-only tournament battles
Other?  Please comment below.

Author Topic: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development  (Read 187725 times)

Offline toAst

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #260 on: September 07, 2018, 04:10:47 PM »
how soon after signing up for the mailing list should i expect an email that gets me through to download the alpha :heart_smiley:
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Offline Badger

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #261 on: September 07, 2018, 04:33:57 PM »
I don't think developers should be held hostage to ancient standards by people who refuse to upgrade to at least semi-recent software/hardware. There's no good reason to be running a 32 bit OS (or any version of Vista for that matter) in 2018.
go to hell im running xp why dont you buy me a new computer big boy

but it is 64 bit

im signing up to test
You're running on an operating system that is no longer getting security patches. This is the equivalent of living in a house with no lock on the front door. Actually, it's more like living in a house with a hole where a front door should be, with huge neon signs pointing to the hole saying "FREE STUFF IN HERE". You don't need to buy a new PC to upgrade the operating system to a newer, safe version.

Upgrade to at least windows 7 or a lightweight linux distro if you want to be supported by any software in the future. If Microsoft doesn't bother with your OS's security anymore, there's no reason why 3rd party software developers should.
also lol at most toxic guy around calling others out on this sh**
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Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #262 on: September 08, 2018, 02:15:54 AM »
The Alpha Build is live!

Alpha Trailer:

Download the Alpha Build on itch.io: https://robot-rumble.itch.io/builds

Sign up for the closed beta on our website: http://www.robot-rumble.com

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #263 on: September 08, 2018, 02:18:06 AM »
how soon after signing up for the mailing list should i expect an email that gets me through to download the alpha :heart_smiley:

The Alpha Build is now publicly available on itch.io at the link above.  All Beta Builds will be closed to the public, but we are accepting applications on the website!

Offline Thyrus

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #264 on: September 08, 2018, 03:23:50 AM »
The Alpha Build is live!

Alpha Trailer:

Download the Alpha Build on itch.io: https://robot-rumble.itch.io/builds

Sign up for the closed beta on our website: http://www.robot-rumble.com

Wow! This looks amazing! Good job everyone.
I would love to sign up for the beta but my laptop is too crappy and I have to save money for a new one

Offline FlamesOfIce

Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #265 on: September 08, 2018, 04:39:24 AM »
Hey, i tried to lower the resolution but even though i changed it in the settings, nothing changed and when I quit and came back into the game, it was still on the old one. Do you know how to change it?

Offline Impossible343

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #266 on: September 08, 2018, 06:37:00 AM »
Hey, so I played the most recent version this morning and I really love what you’ve done so far. The physics feel really accurate and I love the realistic sound effects. The bot builder works really well and I had fun making a couple of designs. However I do have some thoughts for improvements based on what I’ve played:

-Unless I’m missing something, I couldn’t find a way to stop spinner robots overheating once the weapon was activated, so I always broke down after a few seconds (the smoke particle effect looks really nice btw)

-Royal Robby really needs balancing adjustments imo. I know that the axe does crazy amounts of damage, but the high ground clearance and relative slowness, make it really underpowered overall. I’d recommend making it lower to the ground and drive a little faster, whilst making the axe much less damaging. The AI also doesn’t seem to know to self-right until the immobilisation counter starts

-i feel like robots get broken too quickly, and should have either more HP or do less damage generally

-when making chassis/component shapes, an arrow would be handy to remind you which way is forwards, as I accidentally built a robot facing the wrong way XD

I understand that this is just an alpha, and it’s not meant to be perfect, but I figured you might appreciate some feedback.

(This is also way better than RA3 and it’s still only in alpha)

Great work!
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Offline F1Krazy

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #267 on: September 08, 2018, 07:56:29 AM »
This game just looks better and better with each successive update. The fact it has real live competitors makes it even better IMO - Earthquake and Manta? You sure kept that a surprise!

There's a few issues I noticed, though:

  • Every now and then, both robots will suddenly just disappear from the arena. I dunno how it happens, but it seems like a fairly major thing.
  • If you flip Royal Robby over, he seems to forget how to move even after he self-rights. He swings his axe back and forth when the immobility counter appears, but other than that he just sits there and lets you keep flipping him or shoving him into hazards. I've actually seen him kill himself from the recoil damage of rocking back and forth while firing.
  • The picture of the Test Arena in the Arena Select menu shows the old version, without all the new hazards. Speaking of which, when you're using camera 1, it's impossible to tell that there's a spike hazard thing directly underneath the camera's location until you drive into its strike zone and it wipes out a chunk of your health. I was very confused the first time it hit me.
  • On the robot selection screen, some of the robots (like Theseus) are facing in the opposite direction on the turntable. It's a small thing, but it's still worth noting.

I'll have to try the build system at some point.
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Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #268 on: September 08, 2018, 08:01:54 AM »
The Alpha Build is live!

Alpha Trailer:

Download the Alpha Build on itch.io: https://robot-rumble.itch.io/builds

Sign up for the closed beta on our website: http://www.robot-rumble.com

Wow! This looks amazing! Good job everyone.
I would love to sign up for the beta but my laptop is too crappy and I have to save money for a new one

Thank you!

Just curious, but how old is the laptop, and can it load the game?  I’m trying to get a handle on how far back we can go before the game is unplayable.

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #269 on: September 08, 2018, 08:03:37 AM »
Hey, i tried to lower the resolution but even though i changed it in the settings, nothing changed and when I quit and came back into the game, it was still on the old one. Do you know how to change it?

Sorry about that! Settings are a work in progress.  The menus are really inconsistent right now, and we will need to do a few more UI passes as the game develops.

Offline Thyrus

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #270 on: September 08, 2018, 08:07:03 AM »
The Alpha Build is live!

Alpha Trailer:

Download the Alpha Build on itch.io: https://robot-rumble.itch.io/builds

Sign up for the closed beta on our website: http://www.robot-rumble.com

Wow! This looks amazing! Good job everyone.
I would love to sign up for the beta but my laptop is too crappy and I have to save money for a new one

Thank you!

Just curious, but how old is the laptop, and can it load the game?  I’m trying to get a handle on how far back we can go before the game is unplayable.

I'm using a Fujitsu Lifebook E Series. I got it (used) after my old one burned down to write repors on it. It runs win7 and I can start up the game but combat is super laggy on my end. Maybe the Laptop isn't old but crappy as hell.

Offline WeN

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #271 on: September 08, 2018, 08:09:48 AM »
same as thyrus.

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #272 on: September 08, 2018, 08:12:22 AM »
Hey, so I played the most recent version this morning and I really love what you’ve done so far. The physics feel really accurate and I love the realistic sound effects. The bot builder works really well and I had fun making a couple of designs. However I do have some thoughts for improvements based on what I’ve played:

-Unless I’m missing something, I couldn’t find a way to stop spinner robots overheating once the weapon was activated, so I always broke down after a few seconds (the smoke particle effect looks really nice btw)

-Royal Robby really needs balancing adjustments imo. I know that the axe does crazy amounts of damage, but the high ground clearance and relative slowness, make it really underpowered overall. I’d recommend making it lower to the ground and drive a little faster, whilst making the axe much less damaging. The AI also doesn’t seem to know to self-right until the immobilisation counter starts

-i feel like robots get broken too quickly, and should have either more HP or do less damage generally

-when making chassis/component shapes, an arrow would be handy to remind you which way is forwards, as I accidentally built a robot facing the wrong way XD

I understand that this is just an alpha, and it’s not meant to be perfect, but I figured you might appreciate some feedback.

(This is also way better than RA3 and it’s still only in alpha)

Great work!

Excellent feedback! 

In real life, robot fights typically last just as long as the first incapacitating hit, which can be just a few seconds.  I don’t think instant kills make for a good video game, however.  Thank you for saying something about this.  We will be focusing on game experience issues a lot over the next few months.

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #273 on: September 08, 2018, 08:14:50 AM »
This game just looks better and better with each successive update. The fact it has real live competitors makes it even better IMO - Earthquake and Manta? You sure kept that a surprise!

There's a few issues I noticed, though:

  • Every now and then, both robots will suddenly just disappear from the arena. I dunno how it happens, but it seems like a fairly major thing.
  • If you flip Royal Robby over, he seems to forget how to move even after he self-rights. He swings his axe back and forth when the immobility counter appears, but other than that he just sits there and lets you keep flipping him or shoving him into hazards. I've actually seen him kill himself from the recoil damage of rocking back and forth while firing.
  • The picture of the Test Arena in the Arena Select menu shows the old version, without all the new hazards. Speaking of which, when you're using camera 1, it's impossible to tell that there's a spike hazard thing directly underneath the camera's location until you drive into its strike zone and it wipes out a chunk of your health. I was very confused the first time it hit me.
  • On the robot selection screen, some of the robots (like Theseus) are facing in the opposite direction on the turntable. It's a small thing, but it's still worth noting.

I'll have to try the build system at some point.

Good stuff here.  It is all going in the list of things to fix.

The build system is still missing a lot, but hopefully it feels familiar enough, and new players can figure it out without too much trouble.

Offline Thyrus

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #274 on: September 08, 2018, 08:30:47 AM »
Some minor feedback from what I can tell:

I tried out the botbuilder by building a flipper.
I'm glad there were tips on how to use some of the stuff. if the botlab keeps the way it is atm they should stay in as they are really helpfull.
I couldn't build a flipper but I guess that has to do with the parts not being available in the lab as of now.
I don't know what the controlls for my bot are. I know that the spacebar spun up the weapon but that's it.
I LOVE that you can shape your own components. that's something I always wanted to have in ra2.
I still have to get used to the motor size. Belted motors would be awesome to have. I couldn't line up both drivemotors on the grid for some reason tho.

and as I said before: Combat is really laggy for me but that's my laptops fault

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #275 on: September 08, 2018, 08:33:32 AM »
The Alpha Build is live!

Alpha Trailer:

Download the Alpha Build on itch.io: https://robot-rumble.itch.io/builds

Sign up for the closed beta on our website: http://www.robot-rumble.com

Wow! This looks amazing! Good job everyone.
I would love to sign up for the beta but my laptop is too crappy and I have to save money for a new one

Thank you!

Just curious, but how old is the laptop, and can it load the game?  I’m trying to get a handle on how far back we can go before the game is unplayable.

I'm using a Fujitsu Lifebook E Series. I got it (used) after my old one burned down to write repors on it. It runs win7 and I can start up the game but combat is super laggy on my end. Maybe the Laptop isn't old but crappy as hell.

Hmmm... I just looked up the CPUmark for the e544, and it doesn’t look that dissimilar to my MacBook Air.  I wonder if we can tweak some things to make it run a bit better.  No promises, but we will take a look.  A lot of people use laptops (I’m one), and I would rather reach a broad audience (heck, this is a STEM game!), than require bleeding edge hardware.

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #276 on: September 08, 2018, 10:42:42 AM »
Some minor feedback from what I can tell:

I tried out the botbuilder by building a flipper.
I'm glad there were tips on how to use some of the stuff. if the botlab keeps the way it is atm they should stay in as they are really helpfull.
I couldn't build a flipper but I guess that has to do with the parts not being available in the lab as of now.
I don't know what the controlls for my bot are. I know that the spacebar spun up the weapon but that's it.
I LOVE that you can shape your own components. that's something I always wanted to have in ra2.
I still have to get used to the motor size. Belted motors would be awesome to have. I couldn't line up both drivemotors on the grid for some reason tho.

and as I said before: Combat is really laggy for me but that's my laptops fault

Motor size is accidentally double what it should be.  It was a scaling factor problem.  The barrel of the ampflow motors are supposed to be 3” in diameter, but in the game they are six inches.  This makes wheels smaller than 8” unusable.  It will be an easy fix, but we didn’t have time to fix it before the alpha.

We still have some thinking to do about the flippers.  The pregenerated flippers use a self-collision system that is proving to be unstable, so we might have to significantly change the way they are built in the botlab.

Controls will eventually be configurable, but right now it is space bar to turn a spinner on, then space bar again to turn it off.

Glad you like the custom part builder.  That is @tashic’s baby. He’s a genius. 🙂
« Last Edit: September 08, 2018, 01:25:09 PM by cjbruce »

Offline yugitom

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #277 on: September 08, 2018, 12:02:15 PM »
I'm really happy this is still a work in progress. I'm used to seeing projects announced on this forum die after a year.

If I'm honest, the gameplay itself hasn't seemed to have improved that much, with my major grips being that the wedge war is still won by sitting still and, once you lose advantage against a flipper, the AI is juggling you nonstop, with very little room for recovery. Then again, I imagine gameplay details like this aren't as important to iron out at this stage in development, I just want to make sure that they're definitely going to get ironed out, at some point.

It may be too early to forecast, but are you intending on updating the game indefinitely after the intended release in 2019? I'd hate for so much effort to go to waste on a game that doesn't get polished to perfection.

Good luck with the rest of development!

Offline cjbruce

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #278 on: September 08, 2018, 01:43:12 PM »
I'm really happy this is still a work in progress. I'm used to seeing projects announced on this forum die after a year.

If I'm honest, the gameplay itself hasn't seemed to have improved that much, with my major grips being that the wedge war is still won by sitting still and, once you lose advantage against a flipper, the AI is juggling you nonstop, with very little room for recovery. Then again, I imagine gameplay details like this aren't as important to iron out at this stage in development, I just want to make sure that they're definitely going to get ironed out, at some point.

It may be too early to forecast, but are you intending on updating the game indefinitely after the intended release in 2019? I'd hate for so much effort to go to waste on a game that doesn't get polished to perfection.

Good luck with the rest of development!

You are right on all counts.  Over the course of the next few months, we have a ton of development to do, and there is a very good chance that what you see now will change significantly as we start to build out the game.  One of things we are currently working on is matching up botlab robots to pregenerated ones.  We need to make sure they are balanced and/or everything can be recreated in the BotLab before we worry too much about tweaking the house robots.

AI is going to get a complete rewrite.  It isn’t reconfigurable yet, and I consider that a core part of the BotLab.  Players need to be able to customize the AI for their robots.

Lastly, yes, since we don’t have to worry about investors or publishers and we are all doing this on the side, we should be able to support the game after launch.  That’s all pretty standard stuff for me, and I think the rest of the team feels the same way.

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robot Rumble 2.0 - Robot Combat Simulator - Under Development
« Reply #279 on: September 08, 2018, 05:35:04 PM »
gave it a download, really impressed with how far this has come so far.

some feedback:
-reduce/remove the damage robots take when they are in contact with each other. i can understand doing damage on big rams, but d.b. spent nearly 3/4ths of a fight pushing me around and nearly got me into the pit before inexplicably losing because of contact damage.

-give robots more hp in general. fights are decided way too quickly by relatively small hits.

-most of the wedges seemed to have trouble getting all the way underneath their opponents to flip them, earthquake especially

-most of the spinners seem underpowered except for bubblegum. not a lot of throwing power from either vertical

haven't taken a look at the bot lab yet but i will soon. thanks for the frequent and impressive updates!

edit: when bubblegum gets flipped and its shell hits the floor it will typically glitch out, either floating in place or causing either itself or both robots to explode:
« Last Edit: September 08, 2018, 06:10:17 PM by Badnik96 »