Version 9 is now available!
Pick locks, break through windows, steal documents, hide from your enemies, or just kill them! Use eleven different spy abilities and a trusty gun to outsmart and outmaneuver AI-controlled enemies or other live players.
The game's features include:
• Eleven unique spy abilities
• AI-controlled opponents
• Five maps (each playable as day or night)
• Character customization
Note: this game is not related to My Life as a Spy (MLAAS) at all. The spies in that game have noses, in this game they only have eyes and mouths.
ID:87968
 Dec 10 2009, 9:00 pm
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Looks very sleek, and playable on your own too!
As Foomer said, some way of reading help files before you get stuck in would be nice, perhaps a second floor or a "sewer" which you can't access once your out if you don't fancy stretching out the maps. | |
First off, thanks for the feedback =)
The help file should be visible as soon as you run the game. One of the best things about single player games is that you can play by yourself to figure things out before jumping into a game with live players. You could even add AI players to both teams and just watch. This was a large part of the motivation for adding AI players. You'll have to play the game to figure it out, but the games without AI players would require you to play against (and, most likely, lose to) other live players. Being able to play by yourself lets you figure out the maps, abilities, and strategies in the privacy of your own closed game. I will certainly be adding more to the help file, especially once there are multiple modes of gameplay. I want the maps and abilities to be mysterious but the game's objectives to be clear. I am also trying to take it away from the mass-slaughter direction. The gun will most likely always be the primary means of dealing damage, but I'm hoping that other abilities will let you outsmart, outwit, and outmaneuver your enemies so it's not as trivial as all confrontations ending in a gun fight. As far as this goes, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve but I'd appreciate any ideas you might have. | |
first off: why can't i minimize the game?! it's driving me absolutely bonkers
also, the bots slapped me with a runtime error while i sat back and watched them: runtime error: Cannot execute null.flash(). proc name: flash bomb (/mob/proc/flash_bomb) source file: abilities.dm,87 usr: MrSneaky (/mob) src: JamesByond (/mob) call stack: JamesByond (/mob): flash bomb() i presume a guy died and was about to get flashed / lose his flashed-ness also, this just might be me being incapable of figuring it out, but in ... i think map 2 (night), there were some windows which, when you broke, led to walls. there was no way in, didn't make sense is it only possible to reload by running out of ammo and then attempting to shoot again? i'd really like to be able to reload when i have the free time to do so instead of letting it be up to fate along those lines, you should edit the controls a bit. add WASD support and move run to the shift key. that way i could move around (WASD), enable/disable run (SHIFT), hit my ability keys (1-9), reload (R), and open doors/etc (spacebar), all with my left hand while being able to always keep my right on the mouse for aiming the customization screen is very well done, i like it a whole lot! also, if you want to make the game more about sneaking and less about mass slaughter, add some light HP regen and make the spawn times a lot longer. also, you could probably stand to lower normal walk speed a little bit more | |
I'd think just enlarging the map a whole lot so that you don't see other spies constantly would make a big difference as far as fighting vs sneaking.
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Foomer, I'm not sure what you mean. Wouldn't enlarging the map make you see a larger area, and see other spies more? Edit: I figured out that you probably meant for me to make larger maps. That makes more sense but does come with some other problems (especially if I reduce movement speed again). I'm working on some ways to keep the maps small *and* make you see other spies less.
Zaole, you can reload by clicking on your ammo icon. Maybe I could make space bar also reload (provided you aren't facing a door or window). My original plan was to make shift the run key, but it turns out that can't be done (id:729983). I think WASD would help the controls out. I realized they were kind of clunky (having to use your right hand for the arrow keys and shooting), but I chalked that up to the difficulty of running, using gadgets/abilities, and shooting all at the same time. Yes, there were some windows that lead to nowhere, they were just to provide more light in the outside area. I was considering a "first aid" type ability, but passive HP regen might work better. Regen could be reduced if you're moving, bleeding, etc. Thanks for that runtime error, I think it was the effect of a flash bomb on a decoy that disappeared. | |
Larger map, not larger view screen. The larger the map, the less spies will see each other, and the less they'll be stopping to shoot at each other.
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Instead of larger maps, I think I just need to make better use of space. Primarily, it's not the number of steps from the red base to the blue base that determines how often spies see each other, but how many paths there are from red to blue. Increasing the size of the map will give me more room to work with, but as I get better at making maps I can do more with smaller spaces.
In addition to more distinct paths, I have a couple of other ideas to make more out of small maps. The next update will include a couple of new maps which hopefully include some of these ideas. When I test the game, I typically play a 2 on 2 match. I've found the maps to work well for games of this size but I imagine that they'd seem crowded with more players. I do intend to make larger maps, but mostly for the sake of supporting more players on each team. | |
Forum_account wrote:
Zaole, you can reload by clicking on your ammo icon. Maybe I could make space bar also reload (provided you aren't facing a door or window). that'd work, or you could use other keys near WASD, such as E, Q, or F. any of those being usable for interaction or reloading would be handy. reloading definitely needs its own key though My original plan was to make shift the run key, but it turns out that can't be done (id:729983). that blows chunks :( I think WASD would help the controls out. I realized they were kind of clunky (having to use your right hand for the arrow keys and shooting), but I chalked that up to the difficulty of running, using gadgets/abilities, and shooting all at the same time. centering all interactions around WASD movement (even without being able to use shift) would make the controls soo much convenient and intuitive. once that's done, the difficulty in managing running, interacting, reloading, and abilities would be a matter of skill instead of awkward hand movement Yes, there were some windows that lead to nowhere, they were just to provide more light in the outside area. you ought to make those areas have 1-4 tiles of space inside, like a small closed-off room that could be useful for hiding (and wouldn't be confusing to see) I was considering a "first aid" type ability, but passive HP regen might work better. Regen could be reduced if you're moving, bleeding, etc. a first-aid ability would also be useful. you could also add in extra customization options (sacrifice regen for a good first-aid ability, or spend points on increased regen, etc) oh, and consider letting players give up some of the basic spy abilities for extra points (the abilities could be pre-selected at the customization menu). some of them should probably be mandatory, though oh, and when a map is clicked on there should be a small preview screen. that'd be super dandy ooh and make bullets more graphically obvious, and add a "POW!" graphic of some sort to indicate when someone is hit by a bullet. it tends to be difficult to tell when people are shooting at each other and whether or not the bullets actually hit is it no longer possible to add AI mid-game? what is "setoption" for? | |
oh, and consider letting players give up some of the basic spy abilities for extra points (the abilities could be pre-selected at the customization menu). some of them should probably be mandatory, though I had considered something similar: let players have reduced stats but get extra customization points. For example, the default maximum health could be 25, and you could spend a point to make it 29 or gain a point and make it 22. I want to avoid overpowering combinations, and currently I do that with the strict point limit. As I add things to the character customization, I'm sure there will be many changes made to the point limit, the costs, and other things. oh, and when a map is clicked on there should be a small preview screen. that'd be super dandy There is very little about the game options interface that I like. I am considering redoing it with HTML (like the customization screen), but I'm not sure that it would work out any better that way. Initially I had included thumbnails of each map, but I didn't want to increase the file size by so much so early in development. Edit: ooh and make bullets more graphically obvious, and add a "POW!" graphic of some sort to indicate when someone is hit by a bullet. it tends to be difficult to tell when people are shooting at each other and whether or not the bullets actually hit Lots of blood appears when you're hit, but since it appears underneath the target it isn't very noticeable. Adding a more obvious visual effect is a good idea. is it no longer possible to add AI mid-game? Currently it is not. It seems like the best option interface-wise for creating/managing the game is to handle everything though the statpanel. Popup windows seem clunky, and the stat panel is already there. A way to add/remove players mid-game will be possible through the stat panel. This will also provide the map preview. what is "setoption" for? It's called by an interface element that I believe has been removed. | |
i can't figure out how to join the game in version 9; in the teams section, i can add AI or remove them, but i have no clue how to join a team for myself. also, the stat panel suffered from some sort of massive lag once i started the game / added some AI
oh, and the help section doesn't say what key it is to reload | |
At the top of the "Teams" tab there should be three icons: blue, red, and gray. These are for joining a team or being an observer.
There is no key to reload, just clicking the icon. | |
What happened to this game? It looks very interesting, I would love to play it. The download link fails. Don't give up on this!
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Forum, how did you do the abilities screen get back to me asap!
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Gamemakingdude wrote:
Forum, how did you do the abilities screen get back to me asap! http://www.byond.com/members/Forumaccount/forum?id=86 | |
I have a problem with this game.
Then there's coming a message like player was killed by player. And then my game crashed. Can you help? | |
Kaboomz wrote:
I have a problem with this game. I haven't worked on this game in a while, so off the top of my head I have no idea. I'll have to dig into the code. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks for mentioning this issue. | |
It would also be nice if the spawn room was sealed off from enemy agents, so players could stop and read the help file before jumping into the game.