Parabellum went through many design changes from the time it was first designed to what
it is now. In fact, about the only thing that really stayed the same is the background, as evidenced below.
Here is a short description of each milestone of Parabellum.
~Gold~
The difference between Gold and Beta was much smaller than any of the other milestones. While there is always work
to do on a game, the general team feeling was that Parabellum was in fairly good shape. We spent time adding a few small
things to make the game more presentable, packed it up, and turned it in.
~Beta~
Beta is where Parabellum really started looking like the game it is today. Jordan finished the level editor and it was used
to make the first real level of the game, chock-full of trees, plants, fireflies, squids, and seaweed. Derrick and
Jason continued working away at the environment and the AI. This was the build that we showed off during career day, and
the reception was quite good.
~Alpha~
Alpha marked the main turning point in Parabellum's design. In the prototype, Derrick had put random, harmless fireflies
into the environment just because they looked cool. Now they became part of the actual gameplay. This build is where
we introduced the mechanic of collecting fireflies and returning them to the center to grow the tree. Jason got his
splines working and Derrick made the first tree. This was actually a pretty important build, as it was the first
build where the design we had was what we actually stuck with for the remainder of the year. The level is extremely
simple because the level editor didn't exist at this point in time.
~Pre Alpha~
This was the final build that we turned in that had combat in it. The complex look of the avatar was replaced with a more
flowing, snakelike avatar, and movement was changed so that it wasn't rigid. In this build there are enemy spawners in the
world that periodically spawn small enemies that attack you and each other. The enemies can grow after destroying other ships,
just like the player, but the AI is extremely simple and the player can overpower them almost immediately.
~Prototype~
The first build we turned in. This build had most of the basic game mechanics in - the first version of our rules,
some simple formation AI, and a basic weapons system. There wasn't really any combat here,
just a collection of the different tech we had been working on. One of the main problems we discovered with our ship
evolution system was that even though the growth was procedural, it would have still taken some pretty slick artists
to make it look good.
The difference between Gold and Beta was much smaller than any of the other milestones. While there is always work
to do on a game, the general team feeling was that Parabellum was in fairly good shape. We spent time adding a few small
things to make the game more presentable, packed it up, and turned it in.
Beta is where Parabellum really started looking like the game it is today. Jordan finished the level editor and it was used
to make the first real level of the game, chock-full of trees, plants, fireflies, squids, and seaweed. Derrick and
Jason continued working away at the environment and the AI. This was the build that we showed off during career day, and
the reception was quite good.
Alpha marked the main turning point in Parabellum's design. In the prototype, Derrick had put random, harmless fireflies
into the environment just because they looked cool. Now they became part of the actual gameplay. This build is where
we introduced the mechanic of collecting fireflies and returning them to the center to grow the tree. Jason got his
splines working and Derrick made the first tree. This was actually a pretty important build, as it was the first
build where the design we had was what we actually stuck with for the remainder of the year. The level is extremely
simple because the level editor didn't exist at this point in time.
This was the final build that we turned in that had combat in it. The complex look of the avatar was replaced with a more
flowing, snakelike avatar, and movement was changed so that it wasn't rigid. In this build there are enemy spawners in the
world that periodically spawn small enemies that attack you and each other. The enemies can grow after destroying other ships,
just like the player, but the AI is extremely simple and the player can overpower them almost immediately.
The first build we turned in. This build had most of the basic game mechanics in - the first version of our rules,
some simple formation AI, and a basic weapons system. There wasn't really any combat here,
just a collection of the different tech we had been working on. One of the main problems we discovered with our ship
evolution system was that even though the growth was procedural, it would have still taken some pretty slick artists
to make it look good.
