Team RPG Game Mode

[lgManicUnicorn]

Summary

Team RPG is our industry-first initiative to include the community in the earliest stages of game development. Ultimately, you will vote on which game mode will be launched for TeamRPG.

Laguna Games is launching the Team RPG prototype in Match 3 and Autobattler game modes developed by Altitude Games. The two game modes allow players to participate at different levels of proactive vs. passive playstyles. In the (6) six-week long play event that opens for all Crypto Unicorn holders, we want our community to experience the core loop of the game by joining our workshop conversation, providing feedback via our in-depth survey, and being part of our game development process.

Goals for the Initiative/Motivation

• Set up an open dialogue between the Game Developers and Players, building collaboration and decentralization into the process of game development.
• Engage community governance participation for major Crypto Unicorns decisions.
• Introduce a new battle loop to players under the Unicorn Multiverse that interconnects with the core farming loop.
• Provide a new game loop focused on Unicorn skills and roles.

Details

The entire community will be given a chance to test the two prototypes during the playtest period. At the end of the playtest period, the team will put forward a governance proposal, allowing the community to vote on Snapshot for their preferred mode for the Team RPG.

Once the DAO has decided on the final game mode for the RPG feature, the LG team will be driving the effort on processing surveys and community feedback, and then proceed with Round 2 of pre-production to deepen the design and finalize a development plan. We will be marching towards the finish line until the end of the year.

Components

New game mechanics under the RPG category:

• Team RPG - Match 3
• Team RPG - Auto Battler

The DAO will ultimately decide which game mode becomes the final feature.

Game Play Information

How to join

You can access the Team RPG Prototype via https://app.cryptounicorns.fun/. Select the Team RPG app icon then you’ll be redirected to a new browser page with the Team RPG build.

• A MetaMask wallet is required in order to play.
• Click the Connect Wallet button to trigger a MetaMask signature request popup. Make sure that you are connected to the Polygon Main Network.
• Once you click Sign, the Team RPG main menu will appear.

• Play Match3: Play the Match-3 PVP game
• Play Battler: Play the Auto-Battler PVP game
• Show My Unicorns: View the adult Unicorns in your wallet
• Settings icon: Adjust graphics quality and audio settings for the prototype

Please note: You need at least five (5) Adult Unicorns to play both game modes. Unicorns that are Locked or Unlocked in the Core Game (Farming and Jousting) will be available in this prototype.

Building your team

For both games, clicking on their Play buttons will lead you to the Party Select screen. This is where you form your dream team of Unicorns!

• Pick 5 adult Unicorns from your wallet that you want to bring into the match
• Click on a Unicorn’s portrait to view their stats and skill/ability. To unequip a Unicorn, click the button

Pro Tip: Each Unicorn does something different for Match-3 and Auto-Battler, so take your time and read through all the stats and descriptions!

• When you’re happy with your team, click Confirm. The game will look for an online player;
• If no other players are available, you’ll be matched against AI

How are stats computed?

If you inspect each of your Unicorns in Match-3 and Auto-Battler, you might notice their stats vary between the two game modes. Below is how we used your Unicorn’s base stats and convert them into specific stats for each game:

• Match-3 uses a collective Health Bar which combines the Vitality, Defense, Move Speed, and Resistance stats of your entire Unicorn party. As for damage, each Unicorn’s damage is based on a combination of its Attack and Attack Speed stats
• In Auto-Battler, Unicorn stats have been converted into smaller values to cater to the nature of the auto-battler genre. Each Unicorn’s HP is based on a combination of its Vitality, Defense, and Resistance stats. As for Magic damage, it uses both Magic and Accuracy stats

1. Match-3

In Match-3 PVP, you take turns with your opponent in matching orbs and using skills to attack each other. Your goal is to bring your opponent’s hit points (HP) down to zero.

Making a match

• Match 3 or more of the same orb to make Unicorns with that class do basic damage against your opponent
  • Basic damage is based on the Unicorn’s Attack (ATK) stat
• You can do more damage by lining up combos - making more than one match at a time per turn
  • COMBO MULTIPLIER: You can get an additional damage bonus % based on the number of combos you trigger. The higher the combo count, the higher the additional damage bonus you will get
  • The Combo multiplier makes use of the attacking Unicorn’s combined Attack and Accuracy stats to trigger the % damage bonus

Tip: You can drag your orb anywhere across the board and this will displace other orbs along the way. That way you can line up the board to make multiple combos!

Using skills

• Orbs matched will also charge the skill bars of Unicorns with that class
• When skill bar is full, click on the Unicorn portrait to fire that skill
  • When a skill is used, its bar empties and you need to fill it up again to use it
  • Skill values use your Unicorn’s Magic (MAG) stat (with the exception for damaging skills —which has fixed values for the purpose of the prototype)
  • If you have more than one Unicorn of the same class and you fire one of their skills, the other Unicorns will get a skill charge reduction based on the number of duplicates in the party
• There are nine (9) skills, each one pertaining to a Unicorn class. Move your mouse over each Unicorn’s portrait to see what it does

RPS and healing

• Unicorns’ HP is shared; you can’t target a specific opponent ‘corn
• You can do more damage to your opponent HP by using the Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) triangle: Every class group is strong or weak against another class group

Losing? You can recover some HP by matching Healing Orbs!

• Match the Healing Orbs on the board in order to recover some HP
• The more Healing Orbs you match, the higher HP you recover!

Turn timer

Each turn takes 20 seconds. You can either match orbs or use a skill, and then your turn ends.

Tip: Be mindful of the turn timer! If your 20 seconds run out and you weren’t able to make a match, you’ll take damage - and the damage gets higher for consecutive missed turns.

2. Auto-Battler

In Auto-Battler PVP, you place your Unicorns on a board and watch them fight your opponent’s ‘corns based on stats. Your goal is to knock out all enemy Unicorns by bringing each of their hit points (HP) down to zero.

Summoning phase

Auto-Battler Summoning Phase

Before the match starts you and your opponent will enter Summoning Phase.

• Place your Unicorns by dragging them one by one onto your side of the board
• While you are dragging a Unicorn you can see their range (how many squares their attacks/abilities can cover)
• You can move your Unicorns around freely until time runs out (30 seconds). Two Unicorns can’t occupy the same tile
• If you run out of time, the game will automatically place them for you
• You can also check your opponent’s lineup. This could help you determine what their strategy is based on which ‘corns they brought

Tip: Be strategic about how you place your ‘corns! Unicorns in the front of the line might take more damage, but they can gain more energy for abilities, too.

Range

Unicorns in Auto-Battler have three types of ranges on the board (viewable when you click on their portraits in Party Select):

• Melee range: 1 square away from Unicorn
• Mid-range: 3 squares away from Unicorn
• Long range: 5 squares away from Unicorn

Unicorns will only attack enemy ‘corns within their range.

Tip: Keep in mind each Unicorn’s range when you place them on the board.

Battle phase

Auto-Battler Battle Phase

When Summoning Phase is over, the match starts!

• Unicorns will automatically attack the nearest enemy and won’t change targets until the target is knocked out
  • Auto-Attack damage is based on a Unicorn’s Attack (ATK) stat
• When Unicorns take damage their hit points (HP) go down
• Your Unicorns gain energy by attacking or getting hit
  • Energy fills up two bars: The Charged Attack bar (on the Unicorn under its HP bar) and the Ultimate Ability bar (on the Unicorn portrait)
• When the Charged Attack bar is full, the Unicorn will automatically fire a Charged Attack
  • Charged Attack damage is based on a Unicorn’s Magic (MAG) stat
  • Charged Attack bars fill up at the same rates for all classes

Using Ultimate Abilities

Fill up your Unicorn’s energy bar to use their Ultimate Ability

• Unlike other auto-battlers where all attacks are automatic, Unicorns also have Ultimate Abilities that are triggered manually. This gives players a chance to influence the result!
• When your Unicorn’s Ultimate Ability bar is full, click on the portrait to fire that Ultimate Ability
  • Ultimate Ability damage is based on a Unicorn’s Magic (MAG) stat
  • Ultimate Ability bars charge at different rates based on class
  • When an Ultimate Ability is used, its bar empties and you need to fill it up again to use it
• There are nine (9) Ultimate Abilities, each one pertaining to a Unicorn class. Move your mouse over each Unicorn’s portrait to see what it does

Auto-Battle Ultimate Abilities

RPS and HP

• Just like in Match-3, in Auto-Battler your Unicorns will do more or less damage to other ‘corns based on the Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) triangle
• Unicorns that run out of hit points (HP) will be knocked out of the board. Knock out all enemy Unicorns to win the match

Timer

• The match timer is 60 seconds long
• If the timer runs out and both players still have Unicorns standing, the player with the most HP left wins

Match Result

• For both games, click Show Logs to see a detailed log of what happened in the game
• Click Play Again to go back to Party Select, or Return to Main to go back to Main Menu

Conclusion

For now, we hope you enjoy our Team RPG prototype and are excited to exercise your right to vote for the gameplay you like more! Please look forward to the official proposal towards the end of the play test. We hope to continue to build with the community through these initiatives in the short-term and by welcoming community developers and contributors in the long-term.

[Bahis]

Could we not call it RPG throughout? I think the term is super misleading for what the products are and sets the wrong expectations when talking to anyone not up to date with the CU universe.

[GoliathRulz]

I do agree. I don’t understand why it was called RPG from the start. RPG invokes a sense of wandering through a board, world or something. This is more Arcade-mode, which would make more sense to most folks when they see what they play.

Calling this Crypto Unicorn Arcade would make much more sense for what we are building.

[GoliathRulz]

So, generally, I believe Match 3 is a much more challenging and interactive experience than the autobattler. I believe that this interaction between players can increase the community play and draw more players in as it is that interaction that is currently missing from the base game (which is fine as we need the base farm game). Not all players will like it, which is why we have the other modes, but this Match 3 mode will draw in the “arcade gamer”, which is another group we want to pull into the community.

So, I am much more in favor of focusing on Match 3 for official launch and hold the autobattler concept for some later date as a priority decision.

[ShazbotWarrior]

Match 3 is my favorite by far. the Auto battle is confusing.

[darthschmitty13]

Appreciate the feedback. This is a tough one as I’m using a term that we use in the industry to describe the product we are building (ie. TeamRPG or SquadRPG). For reference, 2021 Predictions #3 Top Mobile RPGs Will Go Cross Platform — Deconstructor of Fun - you can see SquadRPGs as a subset of the RPG genre (noting that it’s the largest by revenue).

Always remember that myself and the team come from Mobile gaming. I understand that you heard “RPG” and thought of more of a console flavored experience.

Our focus from the beginning has been on coming over from mobile F2P so we still design games with that lens. I think this is a good idea given the size and success of mobile but it’s important to acknowledge there’s sometimes a miscommunication between an industry term and what players perceive. It’s a note for later as we chart a path forward with community led game development. So much education is needed and often you have to reframe your perspective from one as a gamer to one as a game developer.

[darthschmitty13]

Some SquadRPG games for reference. It’s critical that players frame their expectations with these games in mind.

[Ken12369]

Match 3 is definitely my favorite of the 2. It’s interactive and requires a combination of game skill, strategy and unicorn quality.

I hope we will further refine the match 3 game mechanism. The experience is already very fun but I believe there are improvement opportunities

[timetraveler]

Appreciate the clarity of the teams direction with these games. It sets up expectations very well. Trying the two games out so far I found I enjoy the Match 3 more then I thought I would. Farmed a little faster to make time to play. Still figuring out the auto battler. In regards to the auto battler is the board view the final design. I find it lacking something visually. The graphics dont feel very sharp. Could the chess board layout be overlapped over existing land graphics. While in current stake I enjoy the match 3 game play more. The auto battler feels like it has potential to be much deeper and greater utilize the Unicorns and their skills. With Match 3 I rarely use the ultimates as they do less damage then normal game attacks with orbs. Only use to finish off just in case I was to have a finger slip. Fun to see what team has been working hard on. Thanks for the prototypes to play and give feedback on.