Rock Raiders for the IPad/Tablet?

[Ben24x7]

Okay, since I butchered my RR game topic and got it permentally locked I had to create a new topic for an idea that I had.

 

First, before I say what it is about, I won't be able to make this, which is why this is not in the Member Projects category. I am not an app master. So if anyone is willing to do this then please feel free to do so.

 

So, anyway, the idea...

 

Right, people on this forum know about Rock Raiders right (Apart from those who came onto this forum just for the sake of it)? Well, we have Lego Rock Raiders for the PC and PS1 right? Why not on a tablet? Of course the game would probably have to be 2D (even though the camera might be angled 45 degrees on the 'Y' axis) and the function of controlling Rock Raiders and vehicles would have to be eliminated but it is just an idea.

 

The Rock raiders and vehicles would have to be controlled by the game's AI but hopefully in a way that they don't all head towards the Support Station for many-a-day sandwiches. But it is possible... Also the app could be made so the game could be extended if it gets popular demand (which might not be possible since the game did come out about thirteen years ago).

 

Here are some of the stuff that might have to be removed for the game to work on an IPad or Tablet:

 

• The Nav-ball (if the game becomes 2D)
• Rock raider/Vehicle control (which will probably be AI driven)
• Zoom in-out buttons (The action could be done by placing two fingers onto the screen of the Tablet and by moving the fingers away or closer from each other)
• Radar on-off (The radar could be turned on via the options)
• Train Rock Raider (The function could be kept but the player must tap the required building and any Rock raiders nearby will go over and get trained)
• Game speed (So now the player must use strategy without speeding up the game, walking off and coming back to find that he/she lost the level)
• Unlimited amount of Rock raiders (This can happen in Rock raiders PC (depending on how many Tele-porters are in the area) and there could be a function in the Tablet version where the player can tele-port down a limited amount of Rock raiders (if there is not enough oxygen at the start of the level)

And of course this isn't going to happen too soon.

[Pranciblad]

He amount of excised features and workarounds that would be needed to get rock raiders working in a tablet environment would be so numerous it wouldn't really be worth it in the first place. (You already named a good deal of them.) I once theorized something like the original lego island could work, but that is a far simpler game, and even that would not translate very well.

[McJobless]

I've seen LegoRR/LEGO Island fangames with better IDEAS than what you've presented here.

[TheDoctor]

I've seen LegoRR/LEGO Island fangames with better IDEAS than what you've presented here.

At least it's not as bad as the science based dragon mmo.

[Cap't Rex]

Lego wouldnt do this as the LRR theme has been closed down. Tho you can play the PS1 version of rock raiders via an emulator as long as you dont mind the lag

[Lair]

Lego wouldnt do this as the LRR theme has been closed down. Tho you can play the PS1 version of rock raiders via an emulator as long as you dont mind the lag

Closing down means nothing, ownership goes past the date of completion. The trademark on Rock Raiders lasted for a decade and though it's expired now, LEGO still owns their brand, and they probably would raise an eyebrow towards direct copying/use of the characters and such of their theme. Plus they can bring it back any time they want.

The PS1 version shouldn't lag on any modern devices.

[Ben24x7]

I didn't say that I wanted the Lego company to make this. I meant why not have some people on this forum work on it?

[Alcom Isst]

I didn't say that I wanted the Lego company to make this. I meant why not have some people on this forum work on it?

Are you familiar with the current limitations for modding Rock Raiders?

[Ben24x7]

I am talking about making t from scratch... sorry...

[TheDoctor]

While we may (read: might) have the talent and skill required for such a task, no one who does has the time, motivation, or experience to do it. Are we going to program it from scratch? What language? There aren't that many people here who know C/++ well enough, and no, you can't learn enough of it to make a difference in whatever short amount of time you've got in your head. Are we going to make it in gamemaker? No, because then it would be awful. Are we going to make it in Unity? Well we could. We have plenty of people with evident modeling capabilities, at least one person who has (cursory) experience with working with animations, and a few people who can probably scrape some textures and UV maps together. That said, the coding aspect still remains. You get to pick between C# (which is basically Java a la Microsoft), javascript which is a bit more common, and Boo, but who uses that. However, once again, not enough of these people have the time, motivation, or enough experience making games to do this. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Those other things, that's what people pay the big bucks for.

[Alcom Isst]

If we are going to remake Rock Raiders in a way that is not dependent on the original's engine, why not make it on PC first, and then possibly forget about the whole tablet thing?

[Ben24x7]

Enough! This topic has gone far enough and yet I don't want to lock it so could everyone please shut up until I find a better use for this topic.

[Lair]

This topic has gone far enough and yet I don't want to lock it

Good, because you can't.

could everyone please shut up until I find a better use for this topic.

Why? People can post where they want to. Maybe someone will have something positive to actually say.

[Ben24x7]

Maybe someone will have something positive to actually say.

 

I really doubt it.

[Drill Master]

Maybe someone will have something positive to actually say.

 

I really doubt it.

You know, you do a lot of doubting. I'm with Lair on this. Give people a chance. Someone here is bound to say something good about this.

 

And please refrain from saying "Yes, of course. I'm sorry" or anything like that. Be confident in yourself.

[StewartG]

Getting Rock Raiders on ipad is definatekly possible. If it can work on a PS1 then th eipad is technically capable. Creating an interface which uses the touch screen would probably be the biggest challenge. We are planning the new version of Rock Raiders(AKA Block Raiders) and  Wii, Android, and ipad are all planned as new formats. You have all kept Rock Raiders alive, so you can help on the new design - how do you think the control system could/should work for the touch screen versions - the Wii controller for hacking and shooting is an obvious advantage. Please let us know.

[Lair]

We are planning the new version of Rock Raiders(AKA Block Raiders) and  Wii, Android, and ipad are all planned as new formats. You have all kept Rock Raiders alive, so you can help on the new design - how do you think the control system could/should work for the touch screen versions - the Wii controller for hacking and shooting is an obvious advantage. Please let us know.

editing because my old post was sort of snippy and it's obvious you're making it for PC. Edited parts are in bold.

It shouldn't work for the touchscreen versions. Assuming this game is RTS-like, I don't see how you can get it working for touchscreen stuff well. It's irrelevant though because those handheld things are really underpowered, and seeing that you wanted this to draw influence from both LRR PC and Minecraft good luck running it without toning it down in power and content a lot, and then if you do that good luck having the PC release be any good unless it's a totally different game. Edit: Yes I know Minecraft has a phone edition too, but it's a somewhat different and more limited game. If there's going to be a handheld version that's like that then I don't care (literally, I'm not interested), I was expressing concern if the phone game was to be the same as the "main" version.

 

I'm not even touching the Wii thing because the Wii had been "dead" since the Wii U came out in november, and even if it were still alive it's unpreferred to Sony's and Microsoft's console(s) because of that power thing. But then their controllers would not work at all with this type of game, so really it's best to focus on Computer development IMO - better controls for this kind of game, and more power for this kind of game. Edit: same as I said above, but I'm still suspicious about this one.

 

Maybe you have something different in mind that would work and I'm wasting my time nagging at people who know what they're doing, but to be honest I'm feeling a bit suspicious since you suggested making it on a dead console.

[Ben24x7]

Getting Rock Raiders on ipad is definatekly possible. If it can work on a PS1 then th eipad is technically capable. Creating an interface which uses the touch screen would probably be the biggest challenge. We are planning the new version of Rock Raiders(AKA Block Raiders) and  Wii, Android, and ipad are all planned as new formats. You have all kept Rock Raiders alive, so you can help on the new design - how do you think the control system could/should work for the touch screen versions - the Wii controller for hacking and shooting is an obvious advantage. Please let us know.

 

Whatever you say, you are one of the developers!

[Lair]

Whatever you say, you are one of the developers!

The Wii is still obsolete.

[PeabodySam]

The Wii is still obsolete.

It's not only a matter of the console being obsolete with the release of the Wii U. At first, I was excited about the whole prospect of DDI working on a spiritual successor to LEGO Rock Raiders... but if the Wii is being considered as a format for the game... well, I hate to be blunt, but DDI hasn't exactly had the best reputation when it comes to Wii games.  And that terrifies me (in a mild sense of minor terror that one would feel for something otherwise nonlethal and unimportant as a videogame loosely based off your favorite Danish toyline, as opposed to genuine terror in a life-threatening situation, which of course would be silly and inane to be feeling in this case).

 

Do not think of me as being ungrateful for what you are doing.  Despite my reservations, I still feel great anticipation towards seeing this spiritual successor, and if you can manage to catch lightning in a bottle twice, then I will be most excited indeed.  With that, I wish you the best of luck.  However, I just don't want to see the legacy of LEGO Rock Raiders end up as just another piece of mediocre shovelware for a console already oversaturated with mediocre shovelware, and I hope you folks at DDI can understand that.

[McJobless]

The way I see it, if you solely focus on the RTS elements, it's going to work easily on the iPad, seeing as you can use the stylus/finger touch to emulate the mouse quite easily. You'd need to cut out FPS mode, but that was extremely limited as it was. Do I support it? I see absolutely no reason not to, but as I don't own a tablet of any kind and don't plan on getting one, I can't say I'd be able to purchase it (I'd definitely pressure my tablet friends into trying it though).

I have no flipping idea where Wii came into this conversation, and I'm not going to contribute to that debate. OP asked if it could be done on tablet, and I think so with some very minor tweaks to remove two camera angles.

[Antillies]

Allow me to preface this by saying that I - in general - do not like motion or touch controls for "serious" work/play.  While using iPod/ad/hone(s) (and similar devices) I have no issues because their uses are limited in scope and do not require extremely dexterious control to operate.  The RTS genre does not lend itself to simplistic control.  Translating any semi-complex RTS - not even considering games such as Hearts of Iron or Rebellion - to work with touch controls would be an extremely difficult task and I would wager a futile one.  However, games like Civilization or Advanced Wars can be accessed by the player on an extremely simplistic level because their controls are meager to begin with and they are slow-paced.  That said, I would not want to play Civ with touch controls because it wouldn't be comfortable for me.  I prefer the pin-point precision of the mouse when playing strategy games.  Rock Raiders is somewhere in the middle.  It is neither as complex as HoI nor as simple as Advanced Wars.  Could it be played with touch controls?  Probably.  Would I want to?  No.  A lot of that has to do with my personal preference but I do feel you lose a precentage of control and immersion when you remove the mouse.  I don't want to be constantly flicking the screen to move around the map and perform actions.  That's tedious and takes me out of the game.

 

I would hope that if this game is eventually made and a touch control system implemented, it remains isolated to ports and no the base game, as others have mentioned has happend with Minecraft.