Game upgrade system.

Hey there.

I've gotten to the point where i can start to code something for my cannon game now. I've put a fair amount of work into concept drawings and the game flow and game play. I'm working away on an upgrade system, whereby you get points for killing certain enemies, the closer they are to you, thus more dangerous, therefore, the more points you get.

Also, each enemy has weakpoints, if you shoot, you get more points and the enemy dies quickier.

Now, the cannon has 4 upgradable sections:

The Barrel - Reduced friction barrels, reduce overheat and increase shot strength (power)

Default 	- Barrel with low anti friction properties.
Upgrades 	- Lower friction
		- Even lower friction
		- Ultra low friction (They will have better names in the game!)

The Weapons Module - This rotatable section holds various weapons, which rotate in line with the barrel and shoot.

Default 	- 2 slots for weapons
Upgrades 	- 4 slots for weapons
		- 6 slots for weapons

Power Module - Determines the shot strength (varies from weapon to weapon) and the rate of fire.

Default 	- Standard power cell
Upgrades 	- Dual power cell
		- Quad power cell

Coolant Module - Determines how long the cannon can fire for, before it overheats, and shuts down briefly.

Default 	- Water coolant default
Upgrades 	- Alcohol coolant
		- Liquid Nitrogen coolant (more research for names required!)

Further more, each weapon module can be upgraded. I'll give one example:

Landmine Mine - A mine that is shot from the cannon and sticks to the first thing it touches.

Upgrades:

Explosion: levels 1 - 4
Blast Radius: levels 1 - 4
Detection Radius: levels 1 - 4

These can all be upgraded. Now the question! Do you think this is too much stuff to be upgraded in a game? The game will probably have about 20 levels max. Each level consists of waves of enemies coming towards the cannon, and you have to kill them. The cannon will be static most levels, occasionally travelling, but the idea is the same.

I know this might not make much sense, so sorry if i haven't explained it too well. Here's a photo of the upgrade sheet drawing.



EDIT - Thanks Ginger Tea.

Sorry for the poor formatting, the forum doesn't seem to like tabs or blank spaces...

slap it in a {code} box thats what i did when i wanted something tabbed for here

..this is nice..however, i think it is not enough regarding number of upgrades...for example, I would add some upgrade for range detection what will do just nice in combination with Power module you mentioned already(if automated), as well as AI module logic what can do job for you once you set it properly(and let player to do maybe some basic settings for it) :)

I don't know how your games works, but if it's a worms style "artillary game", are enemies futher away necessarily less dangerous?

Well, each enemy will have a range of attack. So, the closer the enemy is, the more dangerous it will become. Part of the skill will be to take out enemies that have greater attack range, first. Taking them out as they approach there attack range will give you more points. The game will have the camera behind the cannon. The cannon can rotate left, right, up and down. It remains static, as enemies approach on it. When they get too close, they will open fire on you, depeleting your shield.

I only intend to use one cannon for now too, Naughty, although i did really like your idea of multiple cannons, so maybe for the next version, heh :o) I don't want to change my plans, as i'll never get it finished!

Range would be a good idea though. With the shot losing power, with distance (and perhaps fizzing out all together regarding energy weapons.

I'm also putting in a second barrel, where by you can shoot whatever weapon is in the bottom and top slots of the weapon module, adding a bit of stategy to loading up your weapon module.