Dynastica - an online strategy game

[mood]

Hi Ogre-peeps!

We are a small studio in Stockholm, Sweden and we have developed a real-time strategy game called Dynastica. The Ogre-team were so kind as to post our game to the front page when we released the browser version and we thought it is about time that finally got down and posted a showcase.


The game is in open beta and we use Ogre3D (obviously ), NaviLibrary and Particle Universe

Features

• Up to 50 players in each world
• Real-time game rounds that last for 1-2 months
• Runs in all major browsers on Windows without installation
• No plugins required (except for Java)
• Adjustable graphics quality
• Skills graph with four paths of progression: war, trade, religion and magic.
• Alliance play with diplomacy
• Social gameplay with map-integrated chat
• Embeddable and shareable battle replays in Flash

Upcoming changes

• Three game modes
  • Competitive mode with small alliances
  • Big war mode with four coalitions
  • Individual mode
• Social network integration
• Advanced trade

Feel free to try the game here (with recently improved in-game tutorials)
http://www.dynastica.com

Screenshots


Dynastica running in a browser tab


Create map objects such as buildings, armies and explorers


Embeddable and shareable battle replays in Flash. Click here to see an example of a battle replay in a blog post.


Skills graph with four paths of progression


Dynasty concept with each game represented as a dynast descending from the first ruler


City view with buildings and building queue


Book of spells and shrine of faith for managing magic and religion

Video



Follow us

Blog
http://blog.dynastica.com

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/dynastica

Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/dynastica

Cheers and have a nice weekend!

[Rambus]

Looks very nice.

What method did you use to embed ogre in the website? Did you experience any major pitfalls with deploying an application in this manner?

[Jabberwocky]

Looks good!
The interface looks slick. It's nice to see Ogre getting some browser-based action.

[Fish]

It didn't run here. The video was corrupted regardless of browser or window mode. I didn't try full screen. The system response dropped to about 3 seconds per frame before I killed the app. I can forward the logs if you PM an email addy.

- Fish

[Herb]

Really impressive! Looks like you paid a lot of attention to details. Looks really polished. It's great seeing more games released in Ogre.

[DarkScythe]

Very nice, it can be a tough competitor to Stronghold Kingdoms.

[Christophe]

Wow, thanks for your support!

What method did you use to embed ogre in the website? Did you experience any major pitfalls with deploying an application in this manner?

We use Java as a rendering canvas for Ogre. We have had some issues with quirks and bugs but no, we haven't experienced any major issues other than people expecting the game to be multiplatform with it being launched by Java.

This week we are releasing some new features:

• A scripted tutorial world
• Treasures hidden randomly in the world (as incentives for more extensive map exploring)
• Big war mode (four major alliances)

Cheers!

[Fish]

It didn't run here. The video was corrupted regardless of browser or window mode. I didn't try full screen. The system response dropped to about 3 seconds per frame before I killed the app. I can forward the logs if you PM an email addy.

- Fish

Updating my video card drivers resolved the corrupted video issue.

Nice job with the game so far.

- Fish

[Christophe]

Glad to hear that the problem is solved. We like those kinds of problems.

[shmafoozius]

Do you plan on adding different languages? (If not already available)
I have a friend who is interested in such games but he can't speak english.

[Christophe]

Yeah, we have prepared for additional language support but translating will have to wait a bit longer. We want to polish the game before adding more languages. Right now we are adding features, doing balancing and listening to community opinions. I will soon post an update to the original post with a summary of recent changes.

From what country is your friend? Right now, it looks like the German translation is the most imminent.

[felipevr]

you use Ogre4J library ?

[spacerboy]

good job!! one of the most important questions i got to ask, how long did it take ??

[mood]

you use Ogre4J library ?

No we don't. The application itself is all written in C++ and it is only the launcher that is made in Java.

good job!! one of the most important questions i got to ask, how long did it take ??

Well, the game itself have taken several years to make, but we haven't worked full time more than the last year. The Web solution took a couple of months.

[stnal]

Looks really awesome! good technology.
Can you raise a fund to release the browser integration feature source code?

[Christophe]

Heey ppl,

we've been very busy lately and have not had the time to update this thread, but today we are releasing a major revision to Dynastica. We call it Beta 2.0 and even made this little trailer:

[youtube]FqaIWmVJFPA[/youtube]

Hope you enjoy and any feedback is always appreciated!

[spacegaier]

Nice trailer, although the music feels kind of strange for two reasons:

1. These sythesizer sounds do not really match the game (or at least not my expectations of music for such a title).
2. The music sounds strange due to the long attack time/weird delays in the synths chords...

But that might only be my opinion...

[Christophe]

Hey man,

I appreciate your honesty. How about it now? I actually changed the strings a bit, I agree that the dubby echo was a bit over the top.

Cheers

[spacegaier]

Better and usable, however the sound is still not very realistic, but that might be what you were aiming for. Otherwise, better sample libraries should do the trick, although they are quite expensive (I know what I am talking about...have quite a few expensive ones myself ). Also for a more "epic" feeling another bassdrum could help since the current one sounds kind of dull (despite the reverb...some sort of low dhol could do the trick). Also the last two (slightly longer) string chords before the melody starts sound weird/unrealistic since they use the same synth/sample but rather aim at another expresion (the more stressed tonality).

But this is starting to move into areas that are not related to 3D anymore , so best to move this music thing to PMs. So just contact me if you want further feedback.

[Beauty]

Great looking game. Impressive graphics. Very nice.

I would like to know some technical details.
Here are some questions:

Which Ogre version did you use?
Which scene manager did you use?
How did you create terrain? (e.g. which applications)
Which applications did you use to create the 3D models?
Which add-ons did you use (gui system, physics, network, input)

You wrote you use Navi (HTML/CSS).
For which parts/content of the game you use this? (all HUDs?)
Will the HTML code be generated locally (by the application) or loaded from a webserver?

In the left corner is the map.
Is this created by a second viewport (real scene) or "just" a fixed, loaded graphic?

I would like to know how you created the symbols with the green status bar.
Do you use loaded graphics or yo you create material on the fly?
I suppose it's based on overlay.

dynastica_symbol.jpg

How big is your team and how long did you devolop?

Many questions, but I like to know more about the development.

[Slappy]

I played the new version for a while and it is really cool!

Do you plan to release a standalone version? The loading for a very first time took so looooooong!
Maybe if data are stored on drive it could be faster?
Also whole game is a little slow (character's move): do I need to update java or something?
Characters do not move as walking animation plays, but they stand on the same place and their legs are moving in space

[Beauty]

I would be happy to get answers for our question.