« Metagame Menu Makin’


Metagame Mockup
Posted by Data in Cortex Command - February 9th, 2010

Metagame Mockup

Here’s a quick and dirty mockup of what a screen mid-round in a Campaign game might look like.

The whole thing will play very much like a board game, with each player (human- or AI-controlled) taking turns each round, deciding where and how to invest their funds in their bases and where to make their offensive move that turn. The choices have direct consequences over how the on-ground battles go, dictating how many bunkers and defensive forces you start with when defending, and how much of a budget you have to work with when attacking/exploring.

Also, the final outcome of each battle will cause players to gain and lose cherished and valuable income-generating bases (mining outposts), eventually ending the game with one player controlling all the available sites on the planet. The events on the ground will finally have meaning!

The lines you see in the image show where and in what proportions each player have chosen to invest their available funds that round. Yellow is for how much they’ve built in their already owned bases, and red is for the attack or expedition they intend to carry out that round. The floating team bars can be dragged around the screen to get a clear view of the situation.

We can hope this becomes as fun to play as we imagine it as we’re busy designing and building it! At any rate, we’re excited to find out ASAP..

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114 Responses to “Metagame Mockup”

  1. Kiberkiller - # February 9th, 2010 at 6:07 am

    Awesome, can’t wait ’till the next release.

  2. FinDude - # February 9th, 2010 at 6:12 am

    Yey ^^

    Also, whats up with your posting times Data?

  3. The Monster King - # February 9th, 2010 at 6:53 am

    Man this is looking better and better, keep at it!

  4. Kallemort - # February 9th, 2010 at 7:18 am

    There’s something I fail to understand. It’s a planet, so why are we playing on only that surface area of it? Or do you have 4 or more images of different angles?

  5. Lizard - # February 9th, 2010 at 7:25 am

    ASAP… You know, we’re getting a new build very soon I believe.

  6. Pyrokinesis1019 - # February 9th, 2010 at 7:32 am

    Two updates this close together? Both about the game? What is this madness?!

  7. Natti - # February 9th, 2010 at 8:19 am

    Weird times have come as Data is posting so often.

    Can i haz B24?

  8. yay - # February 9th, 2010 at 8:52 am

    *Stares*
    *Drooling*
    HHHAAAUUUGGGHHHRRRGHH!!!
    *Changes pants*

  9. MaximDude - # February 9th, 2010 at 9:51 am

    Holy shit, Another update! D:>

    @ Kall
    That, and why the hell have a planet with so much water in it if CC doesn’t even have/planning to have water?

    LESS WATER MOAR GOLD! D:<

  10. Duh102 - # February 9th, 2010 at 10:43 am

    Duh102’s prediction:
    b24 in a month and a half

  11. Lizard - # February 9th, 2010 at 10:47 am

    HE SAID ASAP.

    Let’s say a month…

  12. JeCa - # February 9th, 2010 at 10:53 am

    Cortex Command: Total War here I come?
    Though I must say I’m a bit disappointed with the direction this game has taken lately, this nevertheless looks really interesting. I still hope you’ll end up going to the moon, as planned in the original story outline…

  13. Captain Kicktar - # February 9th, 2010 at 11:13 am

    Let’s see, ASAP-About a year or so.

  14. Krumbs - # February 9th, 2010 at 11:15 am

    I can’t really see any white at the South or North pole, I was looking forward to desert, forest, and snow maps.

    Well either way I look forward to the final game.

  15. Petethegoat - # February 9th, 2010 at 11:40 am

    WHAAAAT?!

    Does this mean that at the beginning of every turn, you assign funds to different sites, and that when you play those sites, you only have that amount of money to fight with?

    Because I was going to suggest a system like that. ^^

    @JECA
    Are you sure you’re not mixing this up with Deus Ex? ;p Or does my relative newness betray me?

  16. Lizard - # February 9th, 2010 at 11:41 am

    We’ll probably get the first two anyway.

  17. badog001 - # February 9th, 2010 at 12:53 pm

    Data, did you slip into a cloning tube a few times so you could give more updates to us? Anyway, this new system does look very interesting, but is there any chance of the meta game going multiplayer?

  18. Lizard - # February 9th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    There is a chance that we’ll get online multiplayer with ai defending and all you do is to attack. probably not anyway.

  19. FoiL - # February 9th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    So what happened to weasel?

  20. Lizard - # February 9th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    Oh he’s surviving.

  21. Geti - # February 9th, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    Ah, so it’s going to handle maps much the same.
    QQ for no procedural maps.

  22. JeCa - # February 9th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    @Petethegoat: Haha, no it’s not a mixup, just a coincidence :P
    When I started playing this some 4-5 years ago (build 2 was my first one, although technically that’s like build 162 from what I’ve seen) DaTa had written a very brief outline of the story, featuring 10 linear missions that ended up with you going to the moon to kill a rogue AI :D

    Seems that idea got trashed, but I’m not complaining…

    And what I mean about me being disappointed with the direction this is going in is me fearing I won’t ever be able to have “fun” with CC again. Build 18 was still the best one for me, when I had gotten quite good at .ini modding without being able to see all crazy lua mods at the forums. The dodgier physics system also made for much more entertaining friendly scrims, when rocket exhausts still could kill anyone and anything.

    Cortex Command never was meant to be a full and accomplished game for me, but as long as you have a crazy modding community and good MP campaign (versus as well, awesome) I will still be happy.

  23. Hyperkultra - # February 9th, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    IT’S LIKE CHRISTMAS UP IN HERE!

  24. Username - # February 9th, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    This is amazing…..
    I think I might cry…
    This looks so sickly…
    I can’t wait to play it…
    I

  25. Username - # February 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    This is amazing…..
    I think I might cry…
    This looks so sickly…
    I can’t wait to play it…
    I REFUSE TO WAIT…….
    YOU
    WILL SEE, YOU WILL ALL §EE!?~$%^&?!!!?><<_+++{}|/*-♀Ä█Äσ⌡

  26. whitty - # February 9th, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    holy fuck 2 updates from DATA in LESS THAN A WEEK???

    ok.
    anyways.

    looks sweet, cant wait.

  27. 01271 - # February 9th, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    called it.
    totally knew the game was going this way.

  28. StoneCrow - # February 9th, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    this looks great…
    2 updates in a week, i think i need a change of pants!

  29. cipher - # February 9th, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    This is awesome. :D Keep it up guys!

  30. airburst - # February 9th, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    Great update!
    It looks like a whole lot of fun and I can’t wait for B24!

  31. tons0phun - # February 9th, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    “with each player (human- or AI-controlled) taking turns each round”

    My speculation is that this will be a solution of a sort to the outcry from every player that finds this game wondering where the multiplayer is.

    I’m willing to bet it would be like a game of Civilization 4, where after your turn ends and you’ve allocated your funds, you make an updated save file of the game and can email it to your friend so they can carry out their turn.

    I think this would be very interesting, as it puts a much greater emphasis on overall campaign strategies than it does with combat tactics.

    But that’s all just speculation. ;)

  32. zalo - # February 9th, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    My guess is that it will be a sort of super war, and you go back into bunker building for the same map over and over every turn. Then, when everybody’s turn is over, you FIGHT.

  33. Mooseral - # February 9th, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    That’s a lot of lines.

    But seriously, this is awesome. It’s essentially a board game, but with more gibbing ragdolls full of gibs! Can’t really go wrong, there; it’s not like Risk has gibs. And gibs make everything better.

    It’s Risk with gibs!
    Also lines!

  34. CrazyMLC - # February 9th, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    Now I want to play risk.
    I mean that in a good way.

  35. LowestFormOfWit - # February 9th, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    Looks very good. I like the previous mentioned idea of another angle of the planet to fight on, since a lot of the surface is water, which has already been stated as super low priority.

  36. Lizard - # February 10th, 2010 at 12:25 am

    Well that’s more than nothing, right?

  37. Ch33n - # February 10th, 2010 at 6:17 am

    Soup in my pants.
    It appears there are.

  38. Blarg - # February 10th, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    Yay. Enough said.

  39. Ender - # February 11th, 2010 at 10:51 am

    What about multiple planets?

  40. Raintail99 - # February 11th, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    well ain’t that nifty.

  41. airburst - # February 11th, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    I really liked the way that TONS0PHUN described the multiplayer. If you are able to email the files that would be great!
    Then I could actually play multiplayer without the second player worrying about using the other half of the keyboard.

  42. Data - # February 12th, 2010 at 1:37 am

    The problem with the play-by-email system is when two human-controlled teams end up fighting over the same site.. :(
    I’ve thought about changing the tactical on-planet activities into quasi-turnbased a la xcom or lasersquad nemesis.. but that’s probably off the table until much later, if ever.

  43. numgun - # February 12th, 2010 at 7:20 am

    *head scratch*

    Err, so if it will act like a board game I’m guessing the storyline will be removed entirely, right?

    I do like the board game setup regardless, it will work like chess: Every new game is different, anything can happen within what the game’s content can offer and it can be replayed infinite times but still remain random, fun and challenging.

  44. AttackOfFlamingPigs - # February 12th, 2010 at 10:23 am

    Cortex Command has a storyline? :o

  45. gismo - # February 12th, 2010 at 11:17 am

    hmm a new and radical direction in the development of this game. i think this is going to be a sucsess

  46. tons0phun - # February 12th, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    Ah.

    Well the campaign to come, along with the ability to readily make one of our own is just as exciting.

    Any chance of a GUI editor for actors? :D

  47. Lizard - # February 12th, 2010 at 5:01 pm

    @AttackOfFlamingPigs: Yeah, you’re a brain in a jar.

  48. FinDude - # February 13th, 2010 at 4:25 am

    When two players clash in meta-game, have them both fight against AI.
    One that did better wins more.

  49. Mooseral - # February 13th, 2010 at 7:03 pm

    That would make sense, although the option for PvP for the offline campaign would have to still exist, of course.

    You could also do an attack and defend type thing for the play by mail thing. Give both players an objective, I.E. disabling communications commlinks/arbitrary objective tech, and whoever does better wins by a margin based on their performance. All kinds of ways you could do online play without direct player conflict, although actually shooting each other’s dudes is of course superior. Also keeping it offline would, I imagine, be far simpler.

  50. Lizard - # February 14th, 2010 at 12:55 am

    WEll, that’s at least how the AI is now. Imagine how it would be with MUCH BETTER AI :D

  51. Hyperkultra - # February 15th, 2010 at 9:32 am

    According to the pattern Data has set, we should be getting a new devlog entry today.

  52. Petethegoat - # February 15th, 2010 at 9:41 am

    I don’t think two devlog posts count as a pattern.
    If he does post today, then yes, we would have a pattern on our hands.

  53. Kzerog - # February 16th, 2010 at 4:07 am

    But since we’re most likely not getting an update today there’s no pattern. Don’t get your hopes up kids.

  54. Cody - # February 16th, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    ‘I’ve thought about changing the tactical on-planet activities into quasi-turnbased a la xcom or lasersquad nemesis’
    Ugh, what do you mean by that? I hated X-coms style. The “geography” map was fine, but I HATE turn-based combat. The only turn-based thing I would accept is if the geography map on that was turn-based and the combat real-time.
    Do you mean like making the metagame/world map like xcoms geography map of the world?

  55. whitty - # February 16th, 2010 at 4:45 pm

    imagine each skirmish as a single “turn” in the turn-based gameplay.

    Basically, add an enemy brain to skirmish mode like before, either kill it or have yours killed, and there you go, a single turn!

  56. Lizard - # February 17th, 2010 at 2:40 am

    @Cody: You’re stupid, CC won’t become turn-based other than in the campaign menu, you will still be able to fly around and kill stuff with overweight weapons.

  57. Username - # February 18th, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    @Lizard: I concur

  58. Godinys - # February 20th, 2010 at 7:17 am

    this reminds me from star wars empire at war :/
    the build 24 is coming soon, the idea of a new phys engine is rather good for this game.
    now we have clear objetives in the game.

    anyway, the sirmish could be improved.

  59. Lizard - # February 20th, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    We have an ok engine already, why would we need a new one?

  60. Mooseral - # February 21st, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    It’s funny, because people think that the main engine is going to change.

    Really, change the main physics engine to something else, and it isn’t Cortex Command. Certainly, some collision improvements are always welcome, but considering the complexity of the math involved it seems unlikely that CC is going to lose it’s more characterful characteristics any time soon.

    Anyhow, looking forward to the Lua AI whenever it shows up. I want to make an AI that walks forward, while shooting, all the time, as that is clearly a brilliant idea and will win every game.

  61. tons0phun - # February 21st, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    I’d imagine engine improvements would include simple things like removing rotation values from particles.

    I’m most hopefully for more small updates like this, than anything. :P

  62. airburst - # February 21st, 2010 at 8:59 pm

    @ MOOSERAL – ENGINE IS CREDIT TO….

    wait no…

    wrong game…

  63. CrazyMLC - # February 21st, 2010 at 9:26 pm

    NEED
    NEW
    UPDATE!
    D:<

  64. Lizard - # February 22nd, 2010 at 1:26 am

    YES
    WE
    DO!
    >:(

  65. Username - # February 22nd, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    I
    A
    GREE
    )-:<

  66. Hyperkultra - # February 23rd, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    LET’S FORM AN ANGRY MOB! >:D

  67. Mooseral - # February 23rd, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    don’t
    you
    mean

    LET’S
    FORM
    AN
    ANGRY
    MOB!
    >:D

  68. LowestFormOfWit - # February 24th, 2010 at 4:56 am

    I trust lack of updates equates roughly to more awesome ideas being put to work. Patience to the angry mob.

  69. Mooseral - # February 24th, 2010 at 6:43 pm

    Indeed. But one should not forget one’s arbitrary grammar rules at such times. Bandwagon decorum and all that.

  70. Lizard - # February 25th, 2010 at 5:00 am

    PATIENCE
    TO
    THE
    ANGRY MOB
    ?

  71. Yay - # February 25th, 2010 at 6:02 am

    Wut?

  72. Mooseral - # February 25th, 2010 at 10:16 am

    @Lizard
    Probably
    that.

  73. Lizard - # February 25th, 2010 at 10:31 am

    Now I know.

  74. Matty406 - # February 25th, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    I can finally become a world conquering general from my living room!

  75. Lizard - # February 25th, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Ever heard of this thing called RTSes? You should try it sometime.

  76. Cody - # February 25th, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    @Lizard
    Wow, don’t be an ass. Read my post. I never said that the combat was going to be turn-based. The rest was just me sharing my opinion. What you should of read was

    “Do you mean like making the metagame/world map like xcoms geography map of the world?”
    Was me making sure I understood it. On x-com it’s sort of a real time thing, where you just hit “play” and stuff happens. If an event occurs, it pauses, otherwise it’ll keep playing, no matter what’s going on. (IE, if you just decide to sit researching, or just plain doing nothing, waiting for an alien attack.) It sounds like it’d be this, rather than the traditional ‘let me click this unit, and have it move/attack that base, and then hit “end turn”, and then my units will move, and other players take turns, repeat.’
    Have you played any X-Com games? You’d know what I mean. I think the DOS game “Ascendancy” did it like this as well.
    I know the actual combat/fighting won’t be turn-based, that’d be totally ruining CC…

  77. Mooseral - # February 25th, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    “I HATE turn-based combat. The only turn-based thing I would accept is if the geography map on that was turn-based”

    Cody, if you want to have the upper hand on the internets you should first make sure that what you write makes sense. If what we read is not what you meant it is not our fault; thou must express thine self better.

    If you don’t notice this, you implied quite strongly that you were protesting against turn-based non-campaign play, which is of course is the physics play, which makes no sense. If this was not the case, then you were complaining about absolutely nothing.

    Clarifying is no problem, but calling the person an ass due to your flawed grammar is not ultimately constructive.

  78. Lizard - # February 26th, 2010 at 1:47 am

    @CODY: YOU’RE THE ASS!

    I was talking to the guy above me, not someone 30 posts before me.

    Learn2read

  79. Lizard - # February 26th, 2010 at 4:13 am

    Oh and RTS games aren’t turn based, they are called Real Time Strategy games for a reason.

    CC is an RTS, not in the conventional sense, but an RTS nontheless.

  80. Mooseral - # February 27th, 2010 at 12:58 am

    Perhaps more of an RTT? More tactical than strategic.

  81. Lizard - # February 27th, 2010 at 2:39 am

    I would call it an RTTS

    Real time tactical slaughter.

  82. Lizard - # February 27th, 2010 at 2:58 am

    MADE YA LOOK!

  83. Ch33n - # February 27th, 2010 at 4:28 am

    *Yawn*

  84. tons0phun - # February 27th, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    Is Cortex Command going to be hitting up this year’s GDC?

  85. Yay - # February 28th, 2010 at 2:57 am

    Lizard is quite a lil’troll!
    Kj000t!

  86. Lizard - # February 28th, 2010 at 6:13 am

    Wanna know what’s cute?

    The puppy I got yesterday. I named him Miko.

  87. Bluedrake42 - # February 28th, 2010 at 9:07 am

    B24 better blow my mind, I hope you guys have been working REALLY hard this whole time

  88. Yay - # February 28th, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    “I hope you guys have been working REALLY hard this whole time”

    AAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAHAHAA *gasp* ..HAHAHASTOPITSTOPIT.. Heeeheee

    Oh, you are serious?

    … also dogs are ugly.

  89. Lizard - # February 28th, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    you wish.

  90. airburst - # March 1st, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    B24 will have new crabs.
    This is how you deal with them in case of an attack:
    http://media.photobucket.com/image/in%20case%20of%20crab%20attack/NHunters/1179745780095.jpg?t=1192564062

  91. Mooseral - # March 1st, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    New crabs, you say?

    What is the source of these informations? Beyond the fact that the crab bomb must inevitably meet it’s demise.

  92. Lizard - # March 1st, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    Noone said we’ll get new crabs for b24, just that we’ll eventually get more crabs.

  93. Mooseral - # March 2nd, 2010 at 1:30 am

    But of course.

    Also, apparently, trees.

  94. w33n - # March 2nd, 2010 at 8:52 am

    So what happened?
    Can we get some news on the devlog, please?

  95. Lizard - # March 2nd, 2010 at 10:50 am

    No.oN

  96. Yay - # March 3rd, 2010 at 6:58 am

    \m/ >_< \m/

  97. Lizard - # March 3rd, 2010 at 7:20 am

    do.ob

  98. Lizard - # March 3rd, 2010 at 7:23 am

    |T_T|

  99. ZevN47 - # March 3rd, 2010 at 8:48 am

    FO_OK

  100. tons0phun - # March 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 am

    Pretty sure any posts after this one are unnecessary…

  101. Mooseral - # March 3rd, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    Pretty much.

  102. Cody - # March 3rd, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    “Pretty sure any posts after this one are unnecessary…”
    I concur.

  103. Cody - # March 3rd, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    I’m aware of what an RTS is…
    I think we all confused each other, or something, sorry.
    Have you played X-Com? The geography map (world view) is sort of real time, but you can pause time and make it go slower or faster, so it’s not QUITE real-time.
    I was wondering if this is what he [Data] meant by quasi-tur-nbased
    ““I HATE turn-based combat. The only turn-based thing I would accept is if the geography map on that was turn-based””
    This sentence was talking about what I disliked about X-Com/a random opinion <_<.

  104. Mooseral - # March 3rd, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    X-COM is a tactical turn-based game with a real-time metagame; essentially the opposite of what CC is going to turn into. “Real-time” can also encompass time distortion as there is no need for soldiers in a real-time game to take full years of game play to reach battle readiness.

    No need to continue defending your first post; it was basically just poorly planned/phrased.

  105. Lizard - # March 4th, 2010 at 4:32 am

    Cody, ysee, when you post with weeks between, noone will remember your posts.

    Oh and noone cares.

  106. Cody - # March 4th, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    Please define to me wtf “quasi-realtime” means then.
    And it is good all posts are saved on this, right?

  107. Mooseral - # March 4th, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    Considering that in an “RTS” like AoE you can plunk down some timbers, whack them into a building, and have fully grown men emerging in under a minute, I’d say that “real-time” is a slightly flexible term. Adding “quasi” onto the start of it sounds like someone is trying to make their product seem unique/new; i.e., it is a buzzword.

    Or they are simply trying to use a more accurate term; I don’t believe that any game in existence is actually “real-time” in a really scientific sense. Rather, the term tends to define genres.

  108. Azukki - # March 8th, 2010 at 3:36 am

    “In the coming days and weeks, I hope to throw up some more mockups, teasers, and info about this aspect of the project which will tie the whole Cortex Command experience together.
    [...]
    Stay tuned..”
    Another post several days later, followed by a month of silence.

  109. Captain Kicktar - # March 8th, 2010 at 10:53 am

    Well, he did say weeks.

    And did you really expect another update? We should get use to false hopes.

  110. Mooseral - # March 8th, 2010 at 11:29 am

    As I recall, wasn’t the weeks part on one of those edited on after the fact?

    But yeah, it has definitely proven to be more of an announcement log than a dev log; posts usually only come when they have to. Although the superfluous ones are always welcome!

    I’d still love to see things run more around the Overgrowth team’s release/news format, but they do have more people. And plus, Data’s Swedish or something, so he’s probably too busy punching bears.

  111. Mooseral - # March 8th, 2010 at 11:43 am

    Also hubluhbluh Data just showed up on the Wolfire blog… again, I think?

    http://blog.wolfire.com/

  112. Azukki - # March 8th, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    “We should get use to false hopes.”
    I’m not just used to it. I expect it. It’s even to the point of reliability in it’s own right.

    But I still point it out when it should be pointed out.

  113. Mooseral - # March 9th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    BREAKING NEWS!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/navaboo/4419844147/in/photostream/

    Yeah, I dunno. Apparently following TIGS and Wolfire results in seeing a lot of Data these days… In more ways than one?

  114. Tomaster - # March 9th, 2010 at 9:16 pm

    I can see his chiseled body even in that picture.

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