It's been a busy 2 weeks for me and I have had some time to work on Light The Lamp Hockey's Eco System as detailed in the last blog. The big thing I wanted to achieve was to make the Single player modes as dynamic and as endless as you could want. Players will come and go and stat tracking will tell the story of your league once you boot up the game and play.
I was detailing the 2 ways you can play your league which is Either as a player or as a coach. And I'm sort of toying with the idea that maybe you can start as a player, hit your limit then transition to a coach / owner and stick with the league that you are in. But that's rattling in my brain currently.
If you want to play with your friends and don't care about the "simmy" side of the game, you can simply hop in to the arcade mode and blast through some seasons that way. Arcade Mode has no stat differentiation between teams, but the games are very dynamic in how they flow.
To put a status on the Eco System currently, it's about 75% I have about that many functions to program with how the computer handles Retirements, Ringer Complaints, Lineup changes, Status changes.
Then we are in the implementation phase. In my next blog, I hope to be knee deep in that phase, making the menus smoother, adding a better passing mechanic, working on the chemistry system.
Appreciate everyone's patience and should bring you a more lengthy update next time!
Till Next time -Jordan
Development Blog
Good Afternoon Hockey fans / Beer leaguers / Old School retro sports gamers! Just going to show what I have been working on. Again, a ton of system stuff and I'm upgrading everything for more polish with menus, No wonk Back button crap. But the past 2 weeks, I have been working on the Eco System that will be present in Light the Lamp Hockey. I will detail some of the new systems, the big changes with players and more importantly... Tell the story of one Big Bennet to whom came through one of my tests this week.
Bringing the Farm
Depending on your role in the season, (player or coach) you will have access to a few tools at your disposal to help cultivate your talent. Whether what you have in front of you to start or what you are trying to build towards. It will start in our new Roster management screen. I have come up with some ways you can evaluate your talent. This takes the form of Statistics and New attribute Systems that I'm using to elevate the game to another level that I have been craving since the game entered Early Access.
The System that I am developing will provide an interesting challenge to those that choose player or coaching routes with the teams they want to develop.
When all is implemented, players can leave, retire, have on and off nights. Have attendance issues and more.
As the coach and owner, you will be responsible for keeping the team happy while maintaining your own goals you have for the team. Do you want to be an ok skill level team with a great fan following? Or will you pass on your own marketability in favor of going to the rink and destroying the competition. It really is up to you and everything has it's own give and take on to how you achieve that.
Using your Gut
Before you bring new players on, you will have access to their past stats... which leads me to the story of one of my prospects... There were actually 2 players that came through that I wanted to mention. But the main focus we will look at is Big Bennet. The other one I had to pull aside just because the player's name was Butter Terror. So I'm looking forward to seeing the combinations that form and who knows, maybe Butter Terror is a late blooming Wayne Gretzky.. you never really know! But let's look at Mr Big Bennet's stats....
So... um.. for the uninitiated and some new stats I came up with just for the game going from left to right we have.
GP = Games Played | G = Goals | A = Assists | Pts = Points | Lap = Average lap around the rink speed (in seconds) | Chem = Chemistry *More on this later* | BtlW = Puck Battles Won | BtlL = Puck Battles Lost
So from this information I know that Mr Bennet, is a once in a blue moon goal scorer and an ok team guy. He has an average speed, And is not good when the puck is not in his hands. However, does this mean he is a good shot blocker? is he more of a tieup guy while another player gets the puck away? Does he just blast people? My concerns are immediately at the Games played aspect, is he close to being burned out? With 10 games a season, then this player has played over 7 seasons. What happened to his team? Well I have issues with players not showing up so I'll just slot him in the sub catagory and run an open hockey session and see if he is a good fit. Well he better be or I'll have to refund his season fee if I decide to cut him which could in turn mess up the locker room since no one is as hardo as I am.
But...what if Bennett is actually an elite sniper when he wants to be and then all of a sudden he just starts sniping, we beat teams, 6-0 on the reg and then because he is a sub I get a "Ringer" Complaint filed on me and then a game gets forfeited. All are very real scenarios. But hey... one game at a time right! and have fun!
Just the right Chem
Taking the place of the persona stat, we have the chemistry system. There are 4 Chemistry Tiers, A-D. When you pair the players with the same Tiers for example, A line of "A"s , then they will properly run a formation in the offensive and defensive zone as well as have a steady stream of confidence. The downside being. if you are running this line and they are not getting the job done, well it may be too conservative, too perfect, and Beer league is won with bad bounces and a guy being at the right place at the right time. So as you can imagine, the positioning changes with a more varied lineup. But this comes at a cost. If you have a really varied chem lineup, you may have a varied response to losses, and goals against. But also they may get that real dark horse confidence if things just start clicking. It's up to you, the coach, to experiment and see what could be your Excalibur to slice through the Butter Terrors of the League.
Forward and Forward
It's been quite the slog but I'm happy to share this progress with you all! I can't wait to release this freaking thing in a completed state soon, As for now, really no idea when. But I'm feeling great about where this is leading me and the game as a whole.
Thanks for the Patience and See you all soon! And watch the SPHL... it's pretty great!
Developer Check-in
Hi everyone! Quick touching base moment. Still working on the game and still pushing towards Version 1.0 ! Building upon our Arcade/y Aesthetic and Modes. Implementing some new things and trying to maximize fun! Thanks for being patient everyone who is playing the early access versions. I hope to show you all some new material here soon!
For now here is a screenshot of my mega cool mode select screen after the logon!
Update on progress!
Hi everyone, Thanks again for everyone's patience with the development of this game. I have some updates on the game and have an explanation on the hiatus on these blog posts but want you all to know that I am still working on the game and really won't stop till it is complete.
The radio silence for a month or so...
At the end of July I had to prepare for a big event within our family so I had to devote my time to that endeavor which one day may be in a book honestly. Obviously has no place here on a game development blog but I can only focus on one thing at a time so that's the reason I haven't been able to speak much through here.
Light The Lamp Hockey! Stuff
So in the middle of all that I had to drop what I was doing and focus on the family stuff and come back to the LTL development in August and I had to sort of refresh myself on the direction I am pushing toward and testing how the new menus feel and what not. But I'm in a place now where I really don't want to keep bogging you all down with hotfixes and all that when I'm working towards a polished, fun, complete product. And Unfortunately I am still learning about the development do's and don'ts. Hate that it's my first game about my favorite sport but alas where else would one start? So I'm going to keep pushing forward and I don't really want to stop until I this game is done. My plan now is to finish the big ole one player mode, polish it up as much as possible, make it fun for all skill levels. Start showing you all the new version before we go live in the future and then support the game after release if there is some silliness post-release.
Also, I'm working on the Scalded Dog Games Website which will also feature Blogs, Short Videos, Potential different versions of the games I make (maybe, who knows). And also some nerdy Applications I have made that I would just be happy to share with anyone like-minded.
Once again, thanks for your patience as we push forward into the Fall and I hope to see you all soon with future updates!
-Jordan
Upcoming Updates
Hope everyone is having a pleasant summer and also post hockey season! Working hard on the upcoming updates for Light the Lamp Hockey!
Again, I haven't pushed any changes as these are updates that will alter the flow of the GUI elements as well as how the game is played in general.
I will list my Milestones for development as we reach Version 1.0 I thank everyone for your patience throughout this Early Access Adventure. This is my first game and it has been an adventure for me completely.
Imminent Update. -GUI and Gameplay fixes
Still to come - "Live" Mode (Think of this as an always evolving Arcade Mode) Still don't really know what to name it but I hope to wrap this up here soon. It's went through A TON OF CHANGES and it's starting to take shape now.
Still a ways out. - Version 1.0 - All 20 achievements and Elements.
After 1.0 -I plan on Watching over the game and provide any updates and balance finding once we hit our stride.
FUTURE - WHO KNOWS!?
Finally... A Screenshot of the new Menu Design which I'm sure a good many of you will appreciate.
Quick Update on progress!
Hello Hockey Fans!
Been at work again through the past 2 weeks. Sorry for no updates yet as I don't want to send an update out that could potentially break everything and therefore jack up the current release.
I have been building the draft database and will be reaching out to the Beer League Community to get some names in there for my expected release of the new update.
The big outlook of course for me is giving you guys a fun, quick playing product that will fulfill your retro hockey gaming needs. That being said, I have been contemplating with where my endgame in all this is and I will firstly state that my biggest focus is on the gameplay and I hope to expand on all that soon. The seasonal aspect is not yet ready for prime time but I am working on a way to make the aspect of what a Season IS in LTL Hockey which would hopefully reflect the gameplay that I have worked on so hard to achieve.
I have been busy with life the past few weeks but I hope to have an update out before the Steam Summer Sale begins!
Thanks everyone for their patience!
-Jordan
Post Memorial Day Progress Update
Hi Everyone! It's June and I have been working hard on Season mode but not much to show for it just yet as I get the systems in place. I have also been moving the data around for easier access to the new systems. So Sort of an update to help with future updates? Ha . However, I will show you one of the new things which is the message system where you will be informed of events going on in the league such as Season Format, the teams involved in your league, Team News and whatever else I feel like adding to give a bit of flavor to your seasonal romps through the league.
Definitely early still but I think it will be a great addition to the gameplay.
Next Week, I will be updating the gameplay and again working on this mode.
Thank you for the patience and support!
See you all soon!
Work Progress Update!
Hello Hockey Fans,
Arcade Mode === Season Mode
Quick update on my work with Arcade Mode. I am transitioning this mode to "Season Mode" since it will now encompass regular and arcade styles of play which means, you will be choosing a team and sticking with it for the 10 game regular season. There will be some new aspects in this mode now with Regular Mode getting fused in. However, the arcade style is still the fast, get in, play game, move on, don't worry about anything else. Regular Style will of course will have some slower approaches with how you will set up your lineups.
For those of you that already have the game, nothing should change until you start your new season.
When you start the new season you will be greeted with the option to choose your style of play. Again, every team is equal in arcade, while regular mode has rosters with different ways to approach your opponent.
Another thing to note that it is not a normal sports season mode. To qualify for playoffs, you need to amass 20 ranking points before the end of the season. If you want to be the regular season point leader champion you must beat your opponents on the leaderboard with the most points.
Once you get into the playoffs you will now be in uncharted territory as there will now be Boss teams to beat.
If you beat all 4 rounds you win the almighty KEG!
I have been working on this as much as I can and hope to have it implemented in the coming weeks so stay tuned!
Passing and the Omega AI
I am working on the passing and this next update will improve the passing to be more intuitive and not hitting the pass button when the perfect opportunity arises. So in essence Passing will be more based on the direction of your controller.
I am implementing a new AI Persona Basically for the Ringers of the World. These will be rare occurrences where you will play against an AI opponent that knows exactly when and how to bring the pain upon you.
The chances of playing against this playstyle vary from regular season being rare and more common in the playoffs naturally. But prepare yourself.
Conclusion
There are some big things for LTL Hockey up ahead so stay tuned! And man these NHL Playoffs are wild this year.
-Jordan
Version 0.81
Version 0.81 Quick update for you! I have now implemented the first 10 achievements to be unlocked in the trophy room. Keep in mind that this is a beta feature right now and there could be some bugs.
Next Week... More Work on Arcade Mode!
Developer's Handbook
Welcome again to another Blog post, I will detail the current state of Light the Lamp Hockey and some future updates along with a bit of story time, tips, and how I personally play the game!
The Current State of Light the Lamp Hockey
So far the game feels pretty good, gameplay wise I am quite happy with it. I do have some things that annoy me as imperfections but I'll work to eliminate those qualms before the eventual release to 1.0
During the month of April, I have worked to smooth out some controls with the players, worked on evening out pressure with the two onscreen teams, you can see some zone time go either way.
I was experimenting with passing and can't exactly maneuver myself to an upgraded + Fun mechanic then what we have here. But I am continuing to look into it and if I find a perfect balance, it'll certainly be in a future update.
I have also added some new music, worked on Franchise mode, and currently getting our first batch of achievements out.
Where are we going?
The future of Light the Lamp Hockey is not really so blurry as it once was. I am working on updating the Arcade mode. As I'm sure a few players have noticed, but there is no way you can play arcade mode in regular mode which sounds silly when you put it that way. But really the only measuring stick you would have currently with the Regular mode of play is simply in Franchise and while that might seem trivial to some, I do know that a whole lot of us have no time to do any of that and just want to see their favorite team go up against some other teams and have a battle of different line combinations and it actually mean something. So I will be working on getting that implemented so we can have two leaderboards with different modes. I'm also working on a "Live" Mode inside Arcade Mode that will actually have evolving scores as you progress through your games. The chase will feel very much ongoing as you go from game to game and wait to see how your rivals are playing. The real challenge I have with making this change is... well.. how would the playoff aspect work? So I'm thinking of going on to exchange 20 Rank Points to enter said playoffs. And a time limit for when the Rank Point Scoring Closes. So obviously, yes you take a hit of 20 points but get a chance at the Keg or stick it out and stay on top of the leaderboard and win the Pitcher, or heck do both because if you are really freakin good, I don't think a 20 point deficit would affect you long. As for franchise mode... I still need to make a bunch of systems for it since you are losing players, gaining players, getting subs, scouting open hockey, Playing teams that have ringers on their team. It will be awesome when I ever get it functioning at least and I'm close to getting the basic loop down!
Story Time
So I love playing retro hockey games and obviously making them too. One of the inspirations for Light the Lamp Hockey is "2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge" I don't care what anyone says, boot that game up today and tell me those are not the BEST DARN Puck physics you have ever done seen (especially when you block a shot) and those clutch goalie saves (chef's kiss). Anyway, I co-oped several seasons with several friends, one of which was with my brother and goodness the amount of high fives you give each other from the massive amounts of goals you score together or blocking a shot and getting the puck down the ice to your bro and he wiggles the player up and down and gets that game winner in OT, boy those are the memories... and then it hits you...that was 10- 15 years ago.. maybe more. Well I was out and about in public and wearing my LTL Hockey Shirt (not sold publicly maybe one day) and some people know me here in our small town and they know of the journey this game has made when it was just blocks passing a black dot on the screen and me going.. "YOU SEE DAT!?" Well Someone stops me and says " I have played your game, its awesome..me and my brother co-op it every chance we get." And how floored does one feel when you hear that your game is making those same memories that a game like Open Ice Challenge, arguably a god of hockey games made with me so many years ago. While LTL Hockey is not like the most successful thing on earth, that doesn't mean as much to me as the fact that someone also enjoys this style of play and heck plays this game with their brother or a friend and I'm sure... give those high fives at will like we did back in the day.
How I play Light the Lamp Hockey!
In case anyone was ever wondering, how do I play this game officially.
Display: 4:3 Monitor- That's right, if you have a 4:3 monitor, bust that thang out. The game was meant to be played this way, the screen stretches naturally in this fashion.
Sound: if yall haven't played this with a subwoofer... you should, I mastered the game to have bassy pops and also some of the music is pretty sweet too! It's kind of a mix of 90s hockey game presentation and the 8-bit era but cranking it up is recommended.
Controller: if you have an xinput controller, use that, I only play with dpad though. I developed the game to be best played with a dpad, so keyboards and dpads are the best. You can use the joystick but you will be active on that given the threshold only reads in absolutes.
Game Modes: I pretty much only play Arcade Mode. And I mostly play it in a locked player position because at least to me, I love it when something sweet just happens organically and its really a thing of beauty.
Rules: Definitely a preference but Period length at 6 is a great medium. I like all the rules on as well. I play at normal everything..
*If y'all want closer to average shots, always do period length 9. It's Really fun in Regular Mode just to sim games.
Tips and Notes
Wondering why you can't get through the neutral zone, or out of your own zone? -The game is built with the aspect of knowing when to dump the puck. Sometimes, the best thing to do is fire that puck and see what happens. When you are in your D zone and need to get out, players automatically fire the puck either off the boards or chip it in front, you need to mitigate these risks however.
Playing Goalie is hard! - it is indeed but its also in the same area as mitigating risk, when you press the save button, you have a speed boost and also have greater coverage at a less chance of a save. so moving cross crease, it is imperative to at least use that save button to get across quickly to make that save. The save percentage is divided into 3 tiers
Save 1 = Standup, 100% chance of a save (normal) Save 2 = Butterfly, 75% chance of a save, more coverage, small speed boost (press save once) Save 3 = Desperation Drop 50% , Minimal speed boost (Press save twice)
Glove = works when the puck is in air.
Shootout rule = these rules are amplified in a shootout. You must use a glove for an airborne shot. all ground pucks can be stopped with a save button.
Why do my AI never pass to me? -Depending on the mode, in Arcade Mode, the personas of each team kind of cycle around as the game goes on, so sometimes they might be selfish and sometimes they are like the ultimate playmaker, the key is finding out which and playing to that strength. If its a shooter, go to the net, if its a patient player, go to your position, if its a passer, set up a back door play. in Regular Mode putting guys in the right slot can really determine your overall success.
Center (Usually a playmaker or the first line of defense) Forward ( first to the puck, always attacking the net) Defense ( Needs to be solid physically, But needs to also know when to pass and when to dump)
We get absolutely pounded in co-op. -Its best to start out with you and your buddy to play Center and Forward. But be keen on cycling out, once the defense pinches you will always be in a world of hurt if it fails. The game is based on mid 90's trap game style so watch your positioning at all times. If you are doing a full team co-op, communicate and watch positions and you will be doing good in no time! And watch out for the AI running interference on you to create space to a cherry picking Forward.
Why are the playoffs brutal? - In hockey if the cup is on the line, the physicality is always the first thing to ramp up. In LTL Hockey when you make the playoffs, the hitting aspect is more prevalent while regular season is more skill based.
Do my fans leave when I suck? They do. especially if you are trailing, they might just hit the exits. Fan levels are kept up with in Arcade Mode it ranges from 1-5 where 1 is d league game attendance and 5 is playoff c league type of attendance with maybe a special guest ex ahl player signing autographs somewhere.
Also finally, I change the Scalded Dog Games Logo in honor of our dear Louie, the sweetest dog ever. Which shall be revealed officially on the next LTL Hockey Update! But I'm sure anyone can find it on the YouTube or Facebook page if ya can't wait haha. Till then, take care everyone!
