Battle Mines: The cool as fuck trailer! :D

[Psiweapon]

So, my boss finally assembled a team of people to make a trailer for the game we've been working on for... I don't know, a lot of time!

BATTLE MINES!

Battle mines is a strategy webgame that can be played in minutes a day, with no waking up at 4:00 am to check on anything, because all combat is immediate. A game were you can carve an irradiated warpath or build an utopia. A game where the scoreboard is as fluid as running quicksilver because even the greenest n00b can go toe-to-toe with the top 1 and win, if s/he's got the wits and the nads. A game where you can leave a mark in the world that can actually outlive your account.

Clicky to see how my city currently looks

Spoiler: show

battle mines psiweapon.png (184.25 KiB) Viewed 5956 times

And here to see the city of the bastard that has me vassalized

Spoiler: show

battle mines harlan.png (143.32 KiB) Viewed 5956 times

Give it a whirl! We're also on reddit and steam greenlight

[headcrab0803]

is this a tribal wars-like kinda thing

[Psiweapon]

is this a tribal wars-like kinda thing

Probably, but:

-No universes. The game is built on scalable architecture.

-No fleet / army management. War is waged by shooting your neighbor's face full of cannonballs if they're close by, or via nuclear missile bombardment if they're far away. Combat. Is. Instantaneous.

-You can build doomsday devices, which are long-term projects and are basically a local reset button - they obliterate everything in your vicinity.

-You don't have to put up with a feisty neighbor if you don't want to - you can push them away from your map.

The game dispenses with many of the worst browser game gameplay tropes.

[cerebovssquire]

It is a pretty cool game (have been playing since Friday night) but the "no need to wake up at 4:00 AM to check anything" doesn't seem accurate. Maybe for combat, but since you have to harvest your mines at specific times for maximal efficiency, if one was to take the game very seriously it would be optimal to log in whenever you can harvest anything. There is an autoharvest option, but unless I misunderstood the "gold" system you need to pay actual money to unlock it. "pay to win" systems are frustrating enough, but this is a case of "pay to improve the shitty interface" and that's twice as bad. Otherwise, vassal trades seem annoying and spy hunts are definitely annoying - why can't I just convert juice to {result of the spy hunt} instead of having to play an extremely easy and boring minigame in order to get {result of the spy hunt}? It's not like there is any skill involved in clicking in the direction the game tells you to click.
Otherwise I'm having fun so far.

[Psiweapon]

First of all, thanks for playing!

It is a pretty cool game (have been playing since Friday night) but the "no need to wake up at 4:00 AM to check anything" doesn't seem accurate. Maybe for combat, but since you have to harvest your mines at specific times for maximal efficiency, if one was to take the game very seriously it would be optimal to log in whenever you can harvest anything. There is an autoharvest option, but unless I misunderstood the "gold" system you need to pay actual money to unlock it. "pay to win" systems are frustrating enough, but this is a case of "pay to improve the shitty interface" and that's twice as bad.

If I recall correctly, when you complete certain milestones the game has set up for you, you are granted a few gold coins, which you can use to pay for the autoharvest upgrade, or for something else. You don't have to actually pay for autoharvest, although you can. My personal recommendation is for you not to spend lightly the coins the game throws at you, and use them to get autoharvest. Honestly, I don't remember the gold cost for autoharvest since I paid it long, long ago.

Otherwise, vassal trades seem annoying and spy hunts are definitely annoying - why can't I just convert juice to {result of the spy hunt} instead of having to play an extremely easy and boring minigame in order to get {result of the spy hunt}? It's not like there is any skill involved in clicking in the direction the game tells you to click.
Otherwise I'm having fun so far.

Who's the vassal, you or the other party?

To get rid of an unwanted master you can:
-Defeat that master in combat
-Bribe that player
-Get vassalized by a different player

Having more churches than the player who defeats you also prevents vassalization.

I'm not exactly fond of spy hunts, either, I only use them when I need some resources and they aren't available through the usual channels - they can be helpful then. Also, less clicks = moar goodies.

[cerebovssquire]

Right, I did get a gold coin for completing chapter 1, but I used it for iron (a mistake in retrospect). Autoharvest costs 5 gold coins anyway. What irritates me is that you have to unlock an interface improvement rather than having you the most convienent interface right from the start. Autoharvest does not actually make you stronger, all it means is that you need to log in less frequently. It feels like the game is trying to annoy me into paying money.

Noone has forced me into vassal trades yet (I haven't spent much time as a vassal, anyway). But someone has already complained about me forcing them to trade, and I am severely leeching off another vassal's iron production. That specific case is especially problematic because more iron -> more mines -> more resources to trade for their iron to cut off their iron production even more (it would be the same for bauxite). I understand why they might be annoyed because vassal trades seem to interrupt with your own plans too much.

Also, less clicks = moar goodies.

I know, but there is still no skill involved in a spy hunt. The game tells you where to click (south/north/east/west), so you click there. The same applies to the messages regarding how far away the spy is.

---

Also, tasonir, if you are the tasonir next to me (Ellie), I'm waiting for your shield to go down :p

[rasteroid]

Hi guys, just to share a few thoughts.

Psi is not correct, you can not yet win enough gold to pay for autoharvest, nor terraforming.

To justify autoharvest just a little bit: It's not unreasonable to charge for because it takes a little more processing power to check for autoharvest.

It takes me just that little bit longer to code for and accommodate for autoharvest, it's a perfect balance point to inflect value in the game.

Look around you at every other farming game ever. The whole point is that you log in to occasionally click things.

Imagine if you'd never known about autoharvest, would you still have been upset? This is clearly extra material.

I've been exceedingly considerate in the ways I've chosen to monetize, and I will not hesitate to stand up to haters.

[rasteroid]

There are several factors involved in the spy hunt, which factor beyond time consumed.

One is the material composition and the largest cities of your neighbours.. bigger spy hunts are worth more.

There is the occasional destruction of actual spies, there's the building type it ends up on that determines the prize.

The problem itself does have a fairly closed solution, but it still involves estimation and memory on the part of the player.

It's a reasonable test of skill for a result that's more beneficial and situational than the wheel of adventure.

It's a fascinating conflagration of game elements. And yet, it's totally optional.

Right, I did get a gold coin for completing chapter 1, but I used it for iron (a mistake in retrospect). Autoharvest costs 5 gold coins anyway. What irritates me is that you have to unlock an interface improvement rather than having you the most convienent interface right from the start. Autoharvest does not actually make you stronger, all it means is that you need to log in less frequently. It feels like the game is trying to annoy me into paying money.

Noone has forced me into vassal trades yet (I haven't spent much time as a vassal, anyway). But someone has already complained about me forcing them to trade, and I am severely leeching off another vassal's iron production. That specific case is especially problematic because more iron -> more mines -> more resources to trade for their iron to cut off their iron production even more (it would be the same for bauxite). I understand why they might be annoyed because vassal trades seem to interrupt with your own plans too much.

Also, less clicks = moar goodies.

I know, but there is still no skill involved in a spy hunt. The game tells you where to click (south/north/east/west), so you click there. The same applies to the messages regarding how far away the spy is.

---

Also, tasonir, if you are the tasonir next to me (Ellie), I'm waiting for your shield to go down :p

[rasteroid]

If anyone is interested in a gold code, shoot me an email: battlemines@gmail.com

can't you message people directly on this board?

[cerebovssquire]

Hi guys, just to share a few thoughts.

Psi is not correct, you can not yet win enough gold to pay for autoharvest, nor terraforming.

To justify autoharvest just a little bit: It's not unreasonable to charge for because it takes a little more processing power to check for autoharvest.

It takes me just that little bit longer to code for and accommodate for autoharvest, it's a perfect balance point to inflect value in the game.

Look around you at every other farming game ever. The whole point is that you log in to occasionally click things.

Imagine if you'd never known about autoharvest, would you still have been upset? This is clearly extra material.

Well, I guess that's why I don't play the genre much. The idea that it's the "whole point" of the genre seems strange to me though, because obviously battlemines isn't a different genre or a game with less of a point once autoharvest is enabled, it seems like resource management is more central.

I don't understand why the hypothetical no-autoharvest point is relevant because autoharvest does exist and that changes the situation: non-paying players are having a less convienient experience (as opposed to simply having no bonus items etc.), this is what I mostly dislike about the situation and that doesn't apply to a game with autoharvest for all or no autoharvest.

I can't really object to the current situation if there are technical reasons for restricting autoharvest. In a world where that wouldn't be a concern I would prefer that monetisation improved pretty much anything other than the interface.

There are several factors involved in the spy hunt, which factor beyond time consumed.

One is the material composition and the largest cities of your neighbours.. bigger spy hunts are worth more.

There is the occasional destruction of actual spies, there's the building type it ends up on that determines the prize.

The problem itself does have a fairly closed solution, but it still involves estimation and memory on the part of the player.

It's a reasonable test of skill for a result that's more beneficial and situational than the wheel of adventure.

It's a fascinating conflagration of game elements. And yet, it's totally optional.

You can still pick which city to spy hunt in, which is an interesting question, with a "decide to spy hunt, where to spy hunt, instantly get the results" design of spy hunt. If memory was a factor, I would write down the messages and it would no longer be a factor.
With regards to estimation, if I understand correctly, the messages directly correlate with the distance of the spy from your last click (nearby, in a certain direction, etc) so once you have these figured out (through trial and error, as you can't infer anything concrete from them as a new player) they don't make spy hunts require skill either.

The "it's optional" argument would be fine if the wheel of adventure was better than spy hunt in every circumstance. If there are circumstances where spy hunts are better, and I want to play as well as possible, there is a situation where I need to compromise between my interest in not playing an annoying minigame and my intereste in playing as well as I can. This isn't a decision that contributes to my enjoyment of the game (but it's very minor so it doesn't really change my overall positive impression of the game much).

[tasonir]

Also, tasonir, if you are the tasonir next to me (Ellie), I'm waiting for your shield to go down :p

That could be interesting. You see, I signed up, poked around for 15 minutes, and then decided I shouldn't be playing while at work. Since then I haven't logged in again. I am not sure what you'll be able to take since I don't really have much , but go for it

[cerebovssquire]

Also, tasonir, if you are the tasonir next to me (Ellie), I'm waiting for your shield to go down :p

That could be interesting. You see, I signed up, poked around for 15 minutes, and then decided I shouldn't be playing while at work. Since then I haven't logged in again. I am not sure what you'll be able to take since I don't really have much , but go for it

Your combat accuracy is 39% better than mine currently so I decided I'm scared of you and didn't do anything other than send a spy to your city and steal some of your crops.
edit: well, I did manage to vassalise you (despite your ridiculously good combat accuracy), but your vassal trade is the trade you had posted already so it doesn't do much for me.

[rasteroid]

Accuracy isn't the only factor in combat. There's also how many cannons someone has, and how many buildings there are to hit on their land.

You've probably teched up more than your friend, so have a larger city area which is easier to hit, but with a little enriched uranium you'd probably carry the day.

[cerebovssquire]

rasteroid (or anyone else who knows), I looked in the manual but couldn't find anything: does 'We cannot attack our allies in monarchy' mean I can't attack other monarchic governments unless I change my government under any circumstance, or can I find a way to attack them?

[FishServ]

Hi Rast, I have been enjoying the hell out of your game, and greatly appreciate that a lot of fun things are possible before the paywall in the techtree. However;

Imagine if you'd never known about autoharvest, would you still have been upset? This is clearly extra material.

I've been exceedingly considerate in the ways I've chosen to monetize, and I will not hesitate to stand up to haters.

Playing Dungeon Crawl before autotravel and autoexplore existed upset me greatly. Are you 100% sure that annoying the hell out of your players is the best way to get us interested in playing more?
Ellie's (cerebovssquire's) comments about the spy hunt mechanics are spot on

Thankyou for making a game with interesting gameplay and flavour
(And to Psiweapon for the cool as fuck marketing thread)

[njvack]

Really, really, really, Tavern is not a very appropriate place for marketing threads. I'm gonna give this one the thumbs-up because it's for a game made by an actual tavern member and played by other tavern members... but don't go and start using CYC as a general advertising forum.

And psi: congrats to you and the team for launching an actual game

[duvessa]

Most forums don't allow spam regardless of the name attached to it.

[njvack]

"Spam" not cut-and-dried. I'm reading this as "hey folks who I already know and have interacted with, I worked on this commercial game, here is a trailer" which is different from "buy v1agra ch3ap online!!!!!!"

[Sprucery]

How about "hey folks who I already know and have interacted with, buy v1agra ch3ap online!!!!!!" ;)

[rasteroid]

This is the first I've heard this particular gripe. I can't imagine the inhumanity of contributing a few bucks to support my near-decade of work on this project.

If I continue to receive feedback that this feature is the most sorely lacking, perhaps I'll reduce the cost or make it a quest item, or even make it free, I don't know yet.

I wouldn't say the game is lacking a lot without autoharvest. Not having it at the beginning teaches good habits, like getting all your production lined up and then feeding the people prior to a harvest.

The beta team and I played for a year before autoharvest made the scene, it's hardly torturous. Why are you guys so worried about playing optimally? Such a thing is heuristically impossible in a game with no definitive objectives.

Thank you chaps very much for playing and providing feedback, I'm being defensive of course but it will all fall under consideration.

Hi Rast, I have been enjoying the hell out of your game, and greatly appreciate that a lot of fun things are possible before the paywall in the techtree. However;

Imagine if you'd never known about autoharvest, would you still have been upset? This is clearly extra material.

I've been exceedingly considerate in the ways I've chosen to monetize, and I will not hesitate to stand up to haters.

Playing Dungeon Crawl before autotravel and autoexplore existed upset me greatly. Are you 100% sure that annoying the hell out of your players is the best way to get us interested in playing more?
Ellie's (cerebovssquire's) comments about the spy hunt mechanics are spot on

Thankyou for making a game with interesting gameplay and flavour
(And to Psiweapon for the cool as fuck marketing thread)

[rasteroid]

Psi: "The game dispenses with many of the worst browser game gameplay tropes."

Egad, thank you for noticing and expressing that so succinctly. Tears brought to this old gamer's eyes. :')

[cerebovssquire]

For nearly all (self-defined) objectives, having maximal resources is going to contribute towards them or at least won't hurt.

I don't think gameplay without autoharvest is torturous (though it would be if you were hell-bent on maximising the resources you get). I was initially disagreeing with Psiweapon's post about "not waking up at 4:00 AM to check on anything" which may be true for combat, but there are other features - e.g. trade of the hour and harvesting - which would still make checking regularily (at 4:00 AM if necessary) a good idea. Not that I know how I would fix it or if it should be fixed, I just don't think that sentence describes the game accurately.

[rasteroid]

Just a quick update for the rather exacting members of this glorious forum, Davidlee Jolley of IGM has posted the first critical review of Battle Mines, and it's very positive!

http://indiegamemag.com/battle-mines-review-epic-civilization-building-in-your-browser/

He doesn't even mention Autoharvest, he does however point out that the upper tech tree is paid content. Net takeaway is I should be giving it away free I guess.

Please stop by and say hello if you have time chaps, muchos gracias.

[rasteroid]

Battle Mines has been getting lots of press lately, so I put together this Press Kit: http://battlemines.com/presskit.php

Check it out for some back story on Battle Mines development, as well as all the shiniest media in one place!

[rasteroid]

All right tavern folk, way back ages ago there was some debate over the decision to charge for use of the Autoharvest feature on Battle Mines.

Well finally, I've been convinced. Autoharvest is now free! Manage your production buildings while doing important things like sleeping and working, come back to an inventory chock full of resources! Enjoy!