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Production Progress Report

Enemy Unit Placement Algorithm

　Utilizing the functionalities created and implemented in the previous session, enemies have gradually started placing units. Constructing this algorithm has been an arduous task, and it’s far from being perfect even now. However, it’s not entirely without merit; it provides a balanced challenge to the players and offers a reasonable level of enjoyment, I believe.

　Nevertheless, there are numerous concerns. Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that the enemy’s behavior patterns are fixed. They consistently (though not perfectly) make generally optimal moves, making their actions predictable. However, by that, exploiting their vulnerabilities and creating strategic openings might be a challenging endeavor. There’s a potential risk that the gameplay could become monotonous. This tendency was observed in “Continent of Slaughter,” which was a significant issue in that game. 　It seems necessary to introduce some degree of randomness into the enemy’s behavior patterns. Moreover, during the early stages of the game, implementing strategies like deliberately reducing the enemy’s decision-making level might help mitigate some of these issues. Of course, we haven’t reached the stage of testing and fine-tuning or level adjustment yet, but these stages should help iron out many of the existing issues. 　In addition, the handling of building placement on the enemy side is an extremely challenging problem.

　As mentioned before, the current situation is such that the enemies can’t adapt to their surroundings in real-time, nor can they construct barricades considering the immediate circumstances. Building an algorithm for these behaviors is a daunting task even to imagine, and there’s a possibility it might not be achievable. It might turn out that we have to forgo on-the-spot adaptability and restrict building activities to predetermined locations. 　Furthermore, there’s the matter of unit production. In this game, both sides need to manage their units, either through deploying those they have or producing new units.

　The question arises here too: should the enemies be capable of producing units on the spot based on their thinking, or should they follow predefined ways set by the game’s creator? Most likely, it will be a hybrid of both approaches. However, since the core of this game lies managing your own units and countering the enemy’s forces, a more adaptive on-the-spot approach seems preferable.

Graphics Added

Map Image

　Up until now, we’ve been using a simple placeholder for the background map. The game’s setting is a forest, an idea I had from the beginning of development. There isn’t necessarily a compelling reason for it to be this way, and making the background more visually appealing doesn’t automatically make the game more interesting. Additionally, drawing trees is an incredibly challenging task, and despite several attempts in the past, I never felt I succeeded.

▲This is an image of trees I drew in the past. The depiction of the leaves relies on brushes similar to a blur brush, resulting in a crude quality.

　However, not investing time in building the world and atmosphere wasn’t an option. So, I decided to draw it.

　As a result, it appears to have turned out quite well. The variety of tree patterns I’ve drawn is limited, and the depiction of ground foliage is very crude, but I can’t afford to spend all my time on the background. So, I’ve decided to consider this part of the project complete, at least for now. The graphics to be placed on the map, like barricades and buildings, are either placeholders or haven’t been created yet, so there’s an urgent need to address this.

Main Character Image

　The first image I drew when this project started was the main character’s image. Although it was considered complete at first, I felt the need for some revisions. So I decided to do it on this occasion. The result, I believe, is a significant improvement.

▲Revised Image.

▲Original Image.

▲Comparison of both facial parts.

Still Images

　I had left the first still image almost complete for quite a while, and I’ve now made some refinements. It’s nearly there but not quite complete yet. 　I’ve also started work on the second image, which is relatively simpler and very close to completion. 　I’ll Show them in premium articles.

　Please look forward to the future progress.

　You can view the latest production images in the premium articles of Ci-en.