:: Developement History ::
 
  This is an overview of the developement process of Kannonwagens by each milestone. You can see that it has changed a great deal since its humble beginnings.  
 
:: Engine Proof ::

The first iteration of the game has only the basic visual features. A single tank model was loaded in to show that our loader worked. This model also had the cel-shading applied to it with the light source represented by the camera to display this feature.

Since the physics (and every other major system) was still under construction you can only translate the tank across the map. This was in no way how it would be in the end, but just a small step to get the feel of how traversing the environment would be.

The environment was created using a height map and the geometry is created on the fly from the vertices obtained from the map. The edges of the map have the cartoon outlining as well.
 
 
:: Prototype ::

The biggest change on this milestone is the first iteration of the physics. You can create a tank and move it correctly across the terrain with the orientation properly aligned to the ground. Furthermore, the camera moves smoothly to follow the tank.

Another major addition to this milestone was the console located in the upper left corner of the screen. This was a huge benefit when it came to debugging, testing and basically every aspect of development. You can spawn tanks and toggle whether the camera is attached to any given tank through the console.
 
 
:: Alpha ::

On this milestone we had lots of features implemented but in early stages. The menu was up and running but only half complete. The networking was in, but very unreliable.

The game featured our own tank model that Chad created. We needed something that visually encompassed the feel we were trying to accomplish with the game.

An early version of the Particle engine is in the game with the ice shot working. The physics was updated to check the bullets for collision and the information is relayed through the console but no response was put in yet.
 
 
:: Beta ::

This milestone saw a huge jump in progress in virtually every component of the game. The user interface is 90% complete with the in-game HUD added. There was finally a semblance of gameplay with the recent addition of the AI in working condition.

All the weapons were available and the game logic for their response was in. The fire shot burned, and the ice shot slowed with the cool particle system accompanying each. This was all complemented by the fact that there was a new hill-ridden ice level to display the new features in.
 
 
:: Gold ::

The amount of progress was not nearly that of the previous jump, but a great deal was added in since Beta. This was basically the final version of the game up until the point that our game teacher (Ben Ellinger) told us we HAD to submit our game to competitions. So with that being said, all the user interface was updated, a second level was added, all the game logic was completed.

A huge addition was the improved AI, they enemies used all different weapons based on all the environmental factors, they used turbo to chase enemies and escape certain death and they properly constructed paths to seek targets.

One of the biggest workloads for the milestone was the networking. Chad and I (Reed) spent every extra hour and spare computer testing all the fringe cases where the game lost synchronicity. It was a huge pain but we pulled through.
 
 
:: Final ::

This is the version that will be submitted to the IGF and Slamdance competitions. We have taken care to note every small error or dissatisfaction that people have with the game and tried to improve it.

Most of the changes for this version have to do with aesthetics and improving the single player experience. We found that our menu was pretty boring; it was flat, static and has very little color. To improve it, there is now a rotating level in the background.

The title, "Comrade Ivan's Kannonwagens" is ridiculously long and didn't mean anything anymore after having to cut all the features pertaining to Comrade Ivan. So the official title was cut to a much more manageable "Kannonwagens". The title artwork was also updated to fit the feel and style of the game more as well.

Since competitions usually only play single player campaigns, many changes were made to improve this experience. In the single player levels you no longer have to press tab to view the level objective and your progress. The extraneous information is omitted and the pertinent information is now part of the HUD.

To help people understand the objectives in the single player levels more, a text crawl occurs when a level is started. Also, an overlay is made visible that explains all aspects of the HUD and can be toggled at any point in the game. The chat box was also removed from the HUD because it was deemed unnecessary and aesthetically unappealing.

One thing that was simple to put in but just never happened earlier was the game pause ability. The player could press escape and be prompted whether they wanted to quit, but the game kept going. This was a simple addition but was ultimately necessary.

The single player levels were also balanced more to have an exciting gameplay experience. The first level starts off with another AI bot and the second level has a lower cap on the number of tanks that spawn because it was far too difficult.

To give a better reward for completing a level (or even failing), the informal “Victory" or "Failed" end screen was replaced by a mission statistics screen that gives a host of interesting information that really sums up the level you just played.

Finally, support for the Xbox 360 wired controller was added. This addition was not originally planned but after finding out about XInput and how simple it was supposed to be to use I decided it would be a good way to play with it by adding it into the game. It took less than an hour to get it working in the game, but several hours to argue over what the controls should be.

Images of the final version can be found in the Media section.