Procedural level generation
Happy first of the month all!
One of the unique aspects of Flight of the Athena is the procedural level generation for certain mission types in the game. This won't be required for certain types (e.g. boss battles), but for others (like the classic start to finish shmup level), these levels will be built and so provide a unique campaign experience on every playthrough. It also reinforces shifting the challenge away from level learning, and towards situational awareness + pilot skill.
These levels are built using a variety of input parameters (campaign progress, target length, mission type) from sets of level "chunks", using the input parameters to narrow down suitable chunks, and build the level accordingly. This also gives scope to scatter in special mid-mission events (e.g. take down a stray enemy cargo ship), which if completed will give extra resource bonuses to the player(s).
The system is still in development and coming on nicely, but still plenty to do in terms of building and balancing the level chunks.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for further Flight of the Athena updates!
One of the unique aspects of Flight of the Athena is the procedural level generation for certain mission types in the game. This won't be required for certain types (e.g. boss battles), but for others (like the classic start to finish shmup level), these levels will be built and so provide a unique campaign experience on every playthrough. It also reinforces shifting the challenge away from level learning, and towards situational awareness + pilot skill.
These levels are built using a variety of input parameters (campaign progress, target length, mission type) from sets of level "chunks", using the input parameters to narrow down suitable chunks, and build the level accordingly. This also gives scope to scatter in special mid-mission events (e.g. take down a stray enemy cargo ship), which if completed will give extra resource bonuses to the player(s).
The system is still in development and coming on nicely, but still plenty to do in terms of building and balancing the level chunks.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for further Flight of the Athena updates!