Re: Announcing release of Interceptor by Valiant Galaxy Associates
Jeremy Here:
The major difference between quick mode and normal mode is that quick mode does not integrate as many of the system interactions that occur when a system is damaged. In quick mode, damage is more a matter of concern primarily with weapons systems and critical systems. A few systems, if damaged, have obvious negative impacts: engines for instance. However, overall, quick mode is much more forgiving than normal mode. I just played a game in normal mode where my deflector, port engine, and particle beam were all destroyed in the same level. The deflector being destroyed meant all damage was directly applied to the system aimed at. The port engine not only impaired my chances of evasion for repair, but also impaired my chances at gaining the initiative. The particle beam being destroyed was worrying because I was low on rockets, and my nutrino cannon was also damaged. Before I could replace destroyed systems and repair I had I believe 8% on my electrical system which impacted weapons strength for the energy weapons, 3% on the navigational computers which impacted how well I could maneuver toward or away from the enemy, my targeting computer was damaged which impacted my accuracy, and my reactors were damaged which impacted my energy output. The point defense was at 2% which meant rocket attacks became even more dangerous. Overall, it was scary:) In quick mode, most of that would have been scary, but less so; the reactors, electrical system, and navigation computer would all have ben critically damaged critical systems. The other systems would not have impacted play as much as they did in the normal mode. I hope this helps to explain the difference. For those of you who wonder how the game turned out, I managed to replace all destroyed systems, repair to almost new condition, and survived long enough to beat the game. I ended with a score of 275,000 points .
The randomness comes in four major places:
First off on each level, except for levels with special ships, there are random numbers of fighters. This is actually also true of the level including the command and control vessel.
Second, except on some levels early in the game, there are random chances to get different types of fighters. Once you reach higher levels of the game, the chances are weighted more heavily toward manned fighters; early on it is weighted more heavily toward drone fighters.
Third, any ship in the game can appear with damage already inflicted, presumably by other interceptors in your fighter wing. These sometimes present opportunities for quick victories.
Fourth, the damage to systems changes from game to game.
While the basic factors of the game are always the same, those four random factors make each game quite different. I've been play testing the game for three years, and have worked out, what is to my mind, an optimal strategy, and I still routinely die playing the game due to random chance. I also routinely beat the game, due to my knowledge of how to minimize the randomness. I still find it an enjoyable game though, and it has a lot of potential to grow. One long term plan, mind you we have no date for this, is to introduce mission based interceptor or perhaps mission levels into a revamped interceptor. We have notes for the missions, information about rewards, perks, and other things to make the missions worth while. That's a ways down the road though. We want to update our free game TKS this summer, and then begin work on a larger project.
Hope this helps to clarify, if not, continue asking questions, we'll be happy to respond.
Jeremy
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