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Work in Progress / Lightship

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TheComet
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Posted: 8th Apr 2012 11:53 Edited at: 4th Jan 2015 17:39
Hey all


Lightship is a short game I made for NaGaCreMo '12. This game is all about area control. The aim is to claim as many tiles as possible. You do so by flying around with your UFO and any tile that's beneath you becomes yours. Other players will attempt to do the same, and the player who has the most tiles after the game timer expires is the winner. It wasn't far from being finished, so I've decided to really complete this game.

A special thanks to Melancholic, Adam, and Mads for testing this game to it's death. They all gave me some excellent feedback and we found a lot of bugs. So here's the list of things I aim to complete:



Here's a screenshot of the game:



Download

Lightship Beta 1.8.1 : LightShip_Beta_1_8_1.7z (16.44 MB)
Lightship Beta 1.6.2 : Light Ship_Beta_1_6_2.7z (10.2 MB)
Lightship Beta 1.6.1 : Light Ship_21_Mai_2012_01.7z (9.37 MB)
Lightship Beta 1.5.1 : Lightship_1_5_1.7z (9 MB)
Lightship Beta 1.2.1 : Lightship_1_2.7z (9 MB) - Version 1.2 Beta

Maps

If anyone creates any maps and thinks they are really cool, please post them here and I will include them in the final version.

TheComet

I like offending people. People who get offended should be offended. -- Linus Torvalds

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MrValentine
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Posted: 8th Apr 2012 13:40 Edited at: 8th Apr 2012 13:41
did you fix multi-player?

EDIT

Also I am happy to see this being worked on the mechanics were ace from what I remember

TheComet
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Posted: 9th Apr 2012 21:47 Edited at: 9th Apr 2012 21:47
Thanks! Multi-player still needs to run over hamachi unless both computers have their ports forwarded.

Update

I'm working on implementing timer based movement (what's that comet, you didn't have timer based movement?! ). Yeah, so that's going to take a while. The black hole now runs with timer based movement! Following Benjamin's request, I shall now upload all of my images in jpg format.



TheComet

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MrValentine
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Posted: 10th Apr 2012 05:28
I wish I could learn how you did those black holes...
love how it bends things behind it [tiles]

TheComet
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Posted: 10th Apr 2012 22:13 Edited at: 12th Apr 2012 00:21
Just finished implementing timer based movement. The following on my list has been solved:



Next I'll work on this.



TheComet

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TheComet
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Posted: 11th Apr 2012 00:30 Edited at: 11th Apr 2012 00:40
Black Hole power up is complete! I gave it a graphics update as well. Now you drop a blue glowing orb thingy (the thing in the screen shot), which bounces around on the ground a bit before it detonates and creates a black hole.



Done:



Next:



TheComet

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TheComet
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Posted: 12th Apr 2012 00:24 Edited at: 12th Apr 2012 00:24
Spawn locations are now editable in the level editor:



If a players spawn locations aren't specified, the player will respawn at random coordinates every time they die. The spawn tiles in the editor are replaced by normal tiles when the world is loaded during a game, and act the same as well:



Done:



Next:



TheComet

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Dr Tank
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Posted: 12th Apr 2012 04:47
This is pretty sweet. Looks good, intuitive interface and controls. Nice effects. Someone should arrange to host a game.
erebusman
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Posted: 12th Apr 2012 14:59
Very nice, I especially like the work you've put into the mini map. The over-head view gives a sense of overall purpose to the pattern or graphic the main map has that might not always be apparent as your navigating around the map nice touch!
TheComet
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Posted: 12th Apr 2012 21:32 Edited at: 21st Apr 2012 03:30
@ Valentine - Thanks! I love bend effects too! Ever since I made the function for Mega Mash Mothers I've put it in every project of mine.

@ Dr Tank - Thank you! I'm not sure how Multisync handles all of the connections... Does everyone need to forward their port, or only the host? Do you know anything about that?

@ erebusman - Glad you like it!

@ all

The level editor now has a flood-fill function (right-click) and a brush (scroll). Here's a video showing it in action:



Done:



Next:



TheComet

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Dr Tank
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 05:59
Quote: " I'm not sure how Multisync handles all of the connections... Does everyone need to forward their port, or only the host? Do you know anything about that?"

I was hoping you'd be able to tell me! So far I've only used if for connecting to other computers using the same router, and did not have to do any port stuff. I think i heard that with play over the internet, only the host needs to port forward.
TheComet
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Posted: 16th Apr 2012 18:25 Edited at: 16th Apr 2012 18:27
Worked a bit more on the level editor. The maps now have a maximum size of 64x64, and I'm trying to add a scroll function into the level editor. I then decided that the game mechanics are more important than the level editor, so I focused on that.

-Timer based movement now uses smoothing (stops jittering)
-Fixed a bug where maps would use the collision data from the previous map
-Fixed a major bug where the teleporter collision plains weren't erased in the DestroyWorld() function
-Added a tile delay timer
-Added slider to set game time
-Added slider to set tile delay
-scaled the wall's texture over multiple walls to make the parallax shader more evident

The tile delay makes claimed tiles unclaimable for a certain amount of time, and eliminates the problem where you can just follow the other player's path.

Here's a screenshot of the sliders:



TheComet

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TheComet
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Posted: 16th Apr 2012 20:59 Edited at: 16th Apr 2012 21:00
Tiles with claim delays are now highlighted so everyone knows which ones can't be claimed at the moment:



I'm not sure if I'm happy with the look of them... If anyone has a better texture for them, feel free to post and I'll try it out. They are two plains that rotate in opposite directions. Alpha channel is supported.

TheComet

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TheComet
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Posted: 16th Apr 2012 23:05 Edited at: 16th Apr 2012 23:06
I decided that slight distortions look much better. Downside is that you won't notice at all if a tile is claimed or not if you disable refractions in the settings menu. Oh well, low graphics gaming is for pussies.

This screenshot does it no justice; it's best seen in motion.



TheComet

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MrValentine
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Posted: 17th Apr 2012 01:48
TheComet are you running Windows 8?

Wooo the game is looking ace! wish it gets round to being sold ^^

TheComet
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Posted: 17th Apr 2012 23:28 Edited at: 17th Apr 2012 23:28
Added a force field power up today. The player who places it can pass through it while everyone else can't. It lasts for a full 15 seconds and is very powerful when used in narrow areas and chokes. Again, it looks much better when in motion. And before someone asks: Yes, I StarCraft II much



TheComet

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Dar13
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Posted: 18th Apr 2012 00:35
Looks cool. Lots of refraction stuff going on, kinda looks a bit confusing at first glance. Is there a relatively recent demo out yet?

TheComet
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Posted: 21st Apr 2012 03:37 Edited at: 21st Apr 2012 03:37
Quote: "Looks cool. Lots of refraction stuff going on, kinda looks a bit confusing at first glance. Is there a relatively recent demo out yet?"


Thank you!

There is a not-so-recent demo in the first post, but it doesn't have much in it (no refraction or any of the new fancy features). The refraction does look confusing when shown with pictures, but I can assure you it looks awesome when you play it.

I have two major updates!

1) Slowdown power up! When you activate this baby, a flash from the sky slams down on all other players except for you, causing them to move with 20% of their normal speed for 5 seconds.



2) Scripting engine! The circled sphere demonstrates the boundary of a trigger (they are usually invisible). Triggers can be placed anywhere in 3D space. When a player enters its boundaries, it will execute a script from a file. The script doesn't have any logic in it (yet), but it has access to all game functions making it very easy to control pretty much anything.

I plan on adding a trigger placement tool to the level editor in the near future.



TheComet

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TheComet
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Posted: 22nd Apr 2012 06:05
Lightship Beta 1.5.1 is released! You can download it here or in the first post : Lightship_1_5_1.7z (9 MB)

TheComet

Dr Tank
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Posted: 22nd Apr 2012 19:32
Effects are really nice with the "wobbly" effect. Also i really like the normal mapping on the tiles.

Having a game volume control is a nice touch too.


Some bugs with the level editor - i tried to set the level size to 64x64 but when it went to edit it, i could only edit a smaller area.

If make a level with x size>49 or y size>36, when saving get:
Runtime Error 504 - cannot grab image due to an illegal area at line 3348

Also, if x size>34, when i click to select tile type, the cursor is still on the map and will paste some tiles. I suspect this is because the tile type and level map windows overlap, so clicking on that mouse position does an action for both.

I also can't quit making a level without saving. I also have to save if i load an existing level and make any modifictions. I would like to be able to "exit without saving".
TheComet
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Posted: 17th May 2012 13:24
Thank you Dr Tank for finding all of those bugs. I fixed everything you mentioned.

This project is almost complete. I've been tinkering around with a lot of techniques to get a good feeling for them before I use them on my next upcoming project.

I've been working hard on the scripting engine and it's now finally complete. I'm now trying to add an easy way to create scripts in the level editor. The purple circles represent the triggers, and you will eventually be able to attach your own script to a trigger so it's executed when a player enters the boundaries of said trigger.

Further, I added scroll support in the level editor, as you can now make levels up to the size of 96x96. You can press the middle mouse button or the control key to scroll. What's missing is a minimap in the level editor.

I added spawn restriction tools to the level editor as well. With them you can remove tiles from the spawn search functions. This is especially useful for when you have a "secret room" somewhere on the map, and you want to make sure players and power ups can't spawn there. Both tools support flood fill, and are drawn to layer 2. Keep in mind that spawn tiles have priority (a spawn restriction on a spawn tile will still allow a player to spawn), and if you were to flood the entire map with spawn restrictions, the player would just spawn in the bottom left corner every time and die instantly

Teleporter connection lines were removed from the in-game minimap.

Here's a screen shot of the level editor:



TheComet

MrValentine
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Posted: 17th May 2012 13:43
nice!

TheComet
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Posted: 17th May 2012 16:53 Edited at: 17th May 2012 16:53
Thanks.

Working on multiple text editor support for the scripts:



TheComet

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MrValentine
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Posted: 17th May 2012 17:07
thats pretty sweet!

TheComet
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Posted: 18th May 2012 18:43 Edited at: 18th May 2012 18:45
Thank you!

Here I have the text editors implemented into the level editor. Scripts can't be bound to triggers quite yet, but it's exciting to see it all slotting together nicely. It may look complicated, but really it isn't.



TheComet

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MrValentine
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Posted: 18th May 2012 19:48
wow dude, I smell STEAM on the wind

TheComet
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Posted: 19th May 2012 02:36 Edited at: 19th May 2012 02:36
So in order to prevent the editor from looking like THIS:



I added a minimize function so they jump to the left of the screen. If you click on them again, they re-appear:



TheComet

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MrValentine
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Posted: 19th May 2012 02:48
wish I knew how you do that...

and did I spot a command line interface in an earlier post?

TheComet
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Posted: 19th May 2012 03:03
Quote: "did I spot a command line interface in an earlier post?"


Your eyes don't deceive you. Yes, that's exactly what that is.

TheComet

MrValentine
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Posted: 19th May 2012 03:16 Edited at: 19th May 2012 03:17


EDIT

How long did it take to write?

WLGfx
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Posted: 19th May 2012 05:18
@TheComet - Just out of curiosity, how much slow-down do you actually get when having an overlay like that?

I like it a lot, but I guess drawing text onto a 'window' and then pasting onto the screen would cause a smidgen drop in speed. It reminds me of the one that Unreal Tournament has and then you can type in GOD to give you god mode. And quite a few games have them now too.

You also might want to change "refer tot he documentation" he he...

After seeing that I'll have to figure out a fast way of drawing text now onto images. I'll probably use a bitmap (or converted to) font.

Mental arithmetic? Me? (That's for computers) I can't subtract a fart from a plate of beans!
Warning! May contain Nuts!
TheComet
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Posted: 19th May 2012 11:45
Quote: "How long did it take to write?"


I can't give you an accurate answer because it's been an ever developing project of mine, improving more and more in each game I start. I guess I could say it took maybe 1-2 hours to get the very first version up and running, and I've been tweaking it here and there ever since.

Quote: "Just out of curiosity, how much slow-down do you actually get when having an overlay like that?"


The console window slows down the game at a surprising rate actually. When it's full of text, the game slows down to about 30 fps, without it, 200 fps.

Do you think cloggy's D3D text plugin would perform better?

Quote: "I like it a lot, but I guess drawing text onto a 'window' and then pasting onto the screen would cause a smidgen drop in speed. It reminds me of the one that Unreal Tournament has and then you can type in GOD to give you god mode. And quite a few games have them now too."


Thanks! Yeah, it's really useful for debugging stuff without recompiling.

Quote: "You also might want to change "refer tot he documentation" he he..."


Aw crap, did I really?

Quote: "After seeing that I'll have to figure out a fast way of drawing text now onto images. I'll probably use a bitmap (or converted to) font."


You could generate one big image in your loading section by drawing all characters to a bitmap and grabbing the images, and during runtime use Image Kit's IK paste image ib image <img> <x> <y> <left> <top> <right> <bottom> command to paste whatever character to an image. It's super fast, it's what I used to draw the minimap.

TheComet

MrValentine
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Posted: 19th May 2012 11:51
I just had an Idea which may already exist for a character map...

is it possible to create a font map in bmp and then map out the cordinates for each character then place those coords in an array then somehow use the map to display text on screen?

I am still completely new to 2D... [kinda evident right?]

Andrew_Neale
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Posted: 19th May 2012 12:11
Quote: "Do you think cloggy's D3D text plugin would perform better?"


Is that interface currently using the built in text and drawing commands then? If so I'm mildly astonished that you're even getting 30fps. Cloggy's D3D plugin or the Advanced2D plugin are both excellent and orders of magnitude faster.

This project is looking very...complete...if that makes sense. Excellent job so far.

My only suggestion would perhaps be, for those minimized windows, to leave a shortened window title in them (e.g. 'trigg...') that then shows the full title on hover so you know which window you're reopening.


Previously TEH_CODERER.
MrValentine
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Posted: 19th May 2012 13:17
Is A2D free?

TheComet
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Posted: 19th May 2012 14:45 Edited at: 19th May 2012 14:46
Yes.

Quote: "Is that interface currently using the built in text and drawing commands then?"


Nope, it uses advanced 2D for text rendering.

TheComet

MrValentine
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Posted: 19th May 2012 14:47
I need to build a repository of all these forum plugins...

thanks TheComet

TheComet
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Posted: 20th May 2012 02:22 Edited at: 20th May 2012 02:22
Quote: "This project is looking very...complete...if that makes sense. Excellent job so far."


Thank you very much!


Alright, so following the advice of Andrew I decided to add connecting lines from each window to it's corresponding trigger rather than showing part of the title when minimized. The connecting line highlights both the window and the trigger when your mouse moves over it in order to make it easier to see what's connected to what.



TheComet

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MrValentine
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Posted: 20th May 2012 11:02
Interesting...

TheComet
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Posted: 21st May 2012 01:39 Edited at: 21st May 2012 01:40
A new version is available to try out!

What's new?

-Scripting in level editor (Documentation for the commands isn't done yet though, so you'll be pretty lost for the moment)
-Restructured console

Download : Light Ship_21_Mai_2012_01.7z (9.37 MB) (or in the first post)

Next things I'm going to focus on:

-AI Players
-Split Screen

TheComet

Chris Tate
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Posted: 21st May 2012 11:54 Edited at: 21st May 2012 11:54
A very nice game.

The graphics are good and the effects are brilliant. Obviously it is not finished, so when it is it will all look even better.

I could only play alone, but it would be nice to have a single player mode, where I have to solve puzzles or get from one level to another. I'm not sure how you would challenge the player; perhaps by creating baddies that move from A to B, and if you collide into them, you lose a life; or perhaps there could be a time limit; or AI players or something.

Anyway, it is looking good.

TheComet
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Posted: 21st May 2012 12:17
Quote: "The graphics are good and the effects are brilliant. Obviously it is not finished, so when it is it will all look even better."


Thanks for giving it a go, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Quote: "I could only play alone, but it would be nice to have a single player mode, where I have to solve puzzles or get from one level to another. I'm not sure how you would challenge the player; perhaps by creating baddies that move from A to B, and if you collide into them, you lose a life; or perhaps there could be a time limit; or AI players or something."


Good suggestions, I'll certainly give it some thought.

My main problem right now is that I'd like to come up with something that is fun for single player mode, but it has to be related to the core idea of the game, which is to claim tiles. AI players are certainly on the list, but that's about as far as I've been able to think... Having mini-bosses and objects you're not allowed to touch was a fine suggestion, and shouldn't be too hard to implement. I just need some more ideas to make claiming tiles more beneficial. Perhaps you are rewarded with power ups if you are the leading player? Then again, that wouldn't be fair towards others. I'm a little lost.

TheComet

Chris Tate
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Posted: 21st May 2012 14:23
Yeah, if the single player game
Quote: "has to be related to the core idea of the game"
then I would agree with using AI players, progressing from easy to more difficult; with rewards along the way; perhaps secrets and unlock-able features. Who knows, maybe the CPU could control players in multiplayer mode.

How to create AI for something like this seems a challenge.

TheComet
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Posted: 21st May 2012 14:53
Quote: "How to create AI for something like this seems a challenge."






Actually, you just gave me an idea... If you kill a boss, it initiates an explosion which will convert all tiles in the surrounding area to your colour, also protecting them for ~15 seconds or so.

Perhaps this game could be converted to a 3rd person shooter?

TheComet

Chris Tate
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Posted: 21st May 2012 17:12 Edited at: 21st May 2012 17:13
lol.

Yeah, bosses would be cool.

TheComet
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Posted: 22nd May 2012 18:23
I just noticed I accidentally the whole script editor in the last version.

Updated version with a scripting guide ( located in the "docs" folder ) can be found here : Light Ship_Beta_1_6_2.7z (10.2 MB)

TheComet

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