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FORUM / MIKES GRIPES /  Calling RTS Rooi

Calling RTS Rooi

Started by Plum5 REPLIES54 VIEWS· 19 Aug 2026, 10:18
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Plum
PlumCaptain21,801 posts
19 Aug 2026, 10:18
#1
19 Aug 2026, 10:18#1

I've started working on a little project.

Dunno what to call it yet, but it's an evolved version of chess.

The core idea;

Pieces have both an innate move set just like chess pieces do but they also have an aura.

EG Ranger - A piece has the ability to move three diagonal spaces in any direction and its aura make its so any adjacent friendly piece's move set changes from whatever its initial move set is to being able to move 3 spaces vertically or horizontally.

So for each piece you need to remember its move set and its aura. Basically two tiers.

The "king" and "queen" have a third tier where, for example, when beside a Ranger they can do all their usual move set plus the bonus the ranger provides and the bonus's range is increased by 1.

The board will be bigger than a chess board and the core strategic decision will be around opting for solo pieces moving on their own to maintain board control or grouped pieces to maintain power focused in specific areas.

I'm going to try to code it with AI.

That's the basic idea.

  1. what do you think
  2. can you think of any ideas for move sets and auras.

One extra element I thought of bringing in is races. Each race has some tweaks to the move sets of some of its pieces. But that may overcomplicate things.

Rooinek
RooinekCaptain18,684 posts
19 Aug 2026, 10:54
#2
19 Aug 2026, 10:54#2

First thought is that in your ranger example, the bishop is weakened. The bishop can already do those moves so it's not gaining anything whereas the knights and rooks are greatly enhanced.

Sounds interesting though. Keep me in the loop.

Plum
Captain21,801 posts
Plum21 Aug 2026, 06:42

Came up with the final set of demo pieces.

Green = direction of travel
Red = can take piece
Purple = added range/attack dimension when beside a friendly piece.

Basic changes from standard chess;

Have shortened ranges of some standard chess pieces to 5 squares.

Tweaks to basic move-set of standard chess pieces.

Board is wider by 4 squares north and south.

When beside a friendly piece gain extract attack squares(purple).

Adjacent bonus applies to both pieces.

Adjacent bonus does not apply in starting position.

Victory condition is same as standard chess.

That's basically it. Totally aware that the move sets are gong to be subject to massive change. The driving factor will be achieving strategic choice between using single pieces to achieve board dominance or grouped pieces to achieve zone dominance. Both strategies must be equally viable.

I may look at adding a ranged move-set to pieces that will apply if there are no other pieces within three squares of it.

But I'll first iterate as is and then see where I land.

Coding starting on the weekend haha

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Plum
PlumCaptain21,801 posts
19 Aug 2026, 13:38
#3
19 Aug 2026, 13:38#3

Thinking of some of the basic move sets. Perhaps too complicated.

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Plum
PlumCaptain21,801 posts
27 Aug 2026, 21:42
#4
27 Aug 2026, 21:42#4

Game is up and running.

Basically just need to convert to an exe or host.

I already have the AI bots playing against each other too.

Vibe coding FTW!!!

Check the screenshots...green squares are travel squares, red squares are travel and take piece squares, and purple squares are extra squares you can move to if you are beside a friendly piece.

I can't actually believe how easy this was to create.

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Plum
PlumCaptain21,801 posts
29 Aug 2026, 08:16
#5
29 Aug 2026, 08:16#5

A little more balancing and few fixes needed then it's ready.

Thinking of asking ED if they'll host it on the site.

Crazy that with minimal, almost non-existent, coding experience I could make this.

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