Day[9] AMA for Test Weekend 4!
Day9
Member, Administrator
Ask me anything about Atlas development past, present, & future! I'll record the answers in video format and it shall be sent out next week (5/25ish)
Woo!
Comments
So right off the bat to me this seems to be going for a crossover between the rts and moba genre. Was this the vision for the project from the beginning, this sort of mix to create a whole new experience? Or did it start out as more of a classic rts style in the beginning, with a more traditional way of accumulating resources?
When applying changes to the build between each test weekend, has there been anything that really had you guys scratching your heads on how to fix/improve certain units/things?
Will this have linux support in the future?
As stated above, this game pulls heavily from MOBAs and RTS games. Which elements from each are you looking to have as core portions of Atlas and which parts did the team want to trim down/remove?
I'd like to echo the question about Linux support. I know for many of my friends, Linux support is the "killer feature" that makes the game accessible to them. Is this something that has been explored? Have you run into any technical issues on that front?
What are your thoughts on comeback mechanics in games?
It seems that sc2, dota and lol have very different approaches to how you gain the lead, how you maintain the lead and how small mistakes can overturn the flow of the game.
What are you thoughts about ranks and leaderboards?
Should you be placed into large brackets?CS GO
Should you just have MMR? Dota 2
Should it be a mix of both? SC2/LoL, you have your buckets, but you also have points and rank within those buckets?
Something that always barred new players from entering SC2 was the difficulty of it, how does Atlas solve this?
Day9, do you remember in early development (perhaps the end of 2014?) you wrote and git merged some feature that accidentally made it so nothing could attack? In a video you described this, and said that someone had to take over and undo all your work with some git magic.
Tell us, have you since became a ninja at git, or do you still struggle like the rest of us?
Having played in the past couple of test weekends, I've been blown away by how friendly everyone is. But I know this will almost certainly fade as you open the game up to more players. I've seen some PVP-focused games experiment with ways to reduce negativity like Hearthstone having no chat, DotA 2's commend/report system, etc. Have you thought about what you can do to foster a welcoming playerbase as the game heads towards release?
Is the Atlas team self sufficient in all the different parts of creating a game (music, graphic design, voice acting, ect.), or have you had to work with other creators to make Atlas?
Hi Day9,
Typically my long term enjoyment with RTS games comes from modding and map editors. These features can help old games stay alive (i.e. Forged Alliance Forever) and draw in an audience who might not otherwise enjoy RTS games (SC1 UMS maps, Dota 2 Arcade, etc). Does Artillery currently have any plans to add these sorts of features to Atlas? Obviously this would come much further down the line, but I am curious if it's on the road map at all.
Apologies if this question has been asked before. Thanks!
So at a quick glance the game looks very Dota2-esque (regarding UI elements and art style). Do you worry that when the game goes public, that people will:
If these are concerns, what are you guys doing to prevent or mitigate them?
What are your plans for laddering, ranks and the overall competitive scene for this game?
Is it possible that we may see a full-featured competitive scene:
o The ability to watch live tournaments in client w/ commentary?
o The ability to watch replays of those tournaments in client w/ commentary?
o The ability to buy tickets in client to those tournaments?
What was the designing phase of the development like? Did you know what you wanted and where you wanted to go with it? or was it more of a trial and error?
Will there be a campaign available on launch day or will you rely on tutorials to teach the game mechanics to newbies?
Why did you create a moba?
Why are there hero units?
Why can't Atlas be more like Starcraft?
Exactly what number of maps and modes do you expect to support in the first release of this game?
What have you found more enjoyable: designing units or balancing them? How come?
(also @Cerebral09 you are my hero)
It feels like over the test weekends, the goal has been to polish and test major core systems in the game. For example early on it felt like the focus was on forcing engages and having the game move forward. This lead to aspects and the juggernauts. The newest build seems to focus on creating unit compositions and having an interesting economy.
What core systems, if any, do you feel still need a large amount of work (or maybe even an overhaul)? What's next on the list?
Why'd the expansion points go away!?!?!? Did the secondary objectives provide too much complexity to the game in Test Weekend 3? Or is this a situation where This map just doesn't have that feature, but eventually there'll be a pool of maps with differing secondary objectives?
To piggy-back on TechnicalViking's question about the expansions being removed: what elements from other genres and games have you tried integrating into Atlas that were not as successful as you had hoped? Which of those does the team "want" to make work?
What are your thoughts on the set of built in communication tools in the game? I personally am of the opinion that easy to use contextual communication tools are the way to go but what ideas do you have in mind?
I like the focus on jungle-farming resource collection over build-and-forget expansions, but I do miss the feeling of killing enemy workers. As someone spamming Eris and high mobility things, do you feel like there's a good amount of opportunities to harass/out multi-task players now?
I feel like I'm getting a decent amount done during counterattacks, but I worry that players with better defenses will be able to shut me down rather easily.
Edit: Nevermind I found plenty of things to kill and feel good about. Still curious though I guess.
Gotta say I don't really enjoy the 3v3 aspect. I have a hard time remaining calm and positive when my partner does something idiotic or refuses to communicate and behave like a partner. Why did you decide to make a team game?
Is there any focus atm on keeping the game interesting to watch as a spectator? In my opinion, games like SC2 and Heroes of the Storm are a bit bland to watch, especially to those who don't know much about the game.
On the other hand, games like League of Legends, Dota and CS:GO have these moments where you know someone's pulled off an amazing play or when shit is going down.
I'm afraid of Atlas falling in the same trap as Heroes of the Storm where there's a lot of focus on engaging gameplay, which is great, but doesn't leave the audience much to stand behind. I'm definitely biased in my views, but replace HotS with X game and the same concern stands.
Hiya Sean!
I know it's not exactly your department, but how far along does Atlas feel to you? I've played in early Alphas before, and my overall experience was still a little underwhelming. Of course, there is a LOT of testing/balancing, and even platform UAT that you're doing, and I'm happy to help.
Overall though, I feel like Atlas is just missing... something unique. The coin collecting is ok, but that concept is just one minor slice of one map from HOTS. I'm wanting Atlas to have a lot of unique things it's bringing to the genre, but for the moment, it just feels like a reskin of WC3.
All this means nothing depending on how far along you believe development is. If the actual gameplay and units are only 10% done, then all is probably well. (few people will be interested in a game too similar to all the others in the genre). If gameplay/design is 80% done, then I'm more concerned.
How far down the road is Atlas in your opinion? Is there still time for major changes, or is it more time for fine tuning and looking forward to beta?
You mentioned trying to cut down on potential Bad Choices for players to make in an earlier blog post as one of your goals for the limited Unit options in Atlas. The current iteration of Shuttle/Reaver (I mean Kingpin/Transporter) feels like it is very restrictive on deckbuilding - if you go Kingpin, you basically need to go Transporter - while also presenting a potential Bad Choice for new players (Kingpin without Transporter).
On top of that, newer players aren't going to have the micro to really play with Kingpin/Transporter (Shuttle/Reaver was so hard that most Broodwar pros didn't really bother with it), and if the Kingpin can't really stand on its own very well any time an inexperienced player picks Kingpin for their deck it feels like inviting them to make a Bad Choice. Have you given this any thought, or is this something you're concerned about?
Have there always been 4 sets of heros and were the silver/white heros designed or added last?
Aren't games supposed to be about the people playing them and not watching them?
Some people mentioned it in their posts, but i was surprised about the heavy moba side of the game. I was expecting a pure RTS and not a moba type map..with towers, camps, etc.. Maybe if you can talk about it? I didnt follow you as i did in the sc2 era so maybe its something you already adressed? Anyway im curious