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Work in Progress / Roughnecks (3?)

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Scraggle
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Posted: 14th May 2008 10:22 Edited at: 3rd Jul 2008 22:03
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Download Demo 6 (3rd July 2008)

Controls
Left arrow - Rotate left
Right arrow - Rotate right
Up arrow - Thrust
Down arrow - Reverse Thrust
A - Strafe left
D - Strafe right
S - Shoot

Debug keys
F1 - Single bullet
F2 - Double bullets
F3 - Triple bullets
F4 - Quadruple bullets
F5 - Quintuple bullets
Keypad 0 - Fire Super Spinner Weapon

Roughnecks is an asteroids style game with added shine (Shinyroids: Patent pending)

The differences between this and other asteroids games are manyfold.
You not only destroy asteroids but mine them for valuable minerals which you can then use between levels to buy upgrades for your ship.

I also think that in this version, I will add different level styles to increase longevity.
For example:
Levels that have no asteroids but are filled with enemies.
Levels that are timed - clear all the asteroids in a set amount of time or lose a life.
Race levels - A course is layed out in which you must race fellow Roughnecks - The winner is awarded prize money which you can use to buy upgrades.

Ship upgrades that will be available to buy:
Reverse thrust
Lateral thrust (straffing)
More powerful engines (faster acceleration)
More powerful vectored thrust (faster turning)
Shield
Stronger hull (takes more hits)
Shield and hull repairs
Invisibility (Enemies can't see you)

Weapon upgrades that will be available to buy:
More powerful bullets (different colours and/or appearance)
Multiple bullets
Better Gun coolent (constant shooting increases gun temp. When the gun is too hot you can't shoot)
Rapid reload (Faster shooting rate)
Homing missile (locks on to nearest asteroid or enemy)
Power missile (fires in a straight line but destroys multiple targets
Shockwave (send out a shockwave from your ship and destroys everything it hits
Super Spinner (Spinning weapon that fires mutiple bullets [can be seen in Roughneck1 video])
Cluster bomb



Some of you may remember the original Roughnecks that I started writing and very nearly finished until my cat decided I was spending way too much time on it and not giving him enough attention, so he somehow managed to delete the entire project folder!
YouTube video of Roughnecks 1

A few more of you may have seen my HUD test for Roughnecks2 that I posted as a YouTube video on my page. That one I lost in a file swapping accident between two machines.


I have decided it warrents a third attempt and have started re-writing it again. I'm not sure if it qualifies as being called Roughnecks3 but what the hey.

There's a screenie below. I will knock a video up this evening and should have a demo available by the weekend.





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Van B
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Posted: 14th May 2008 11:38
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Looking cool Scraggle, hope your cat does not take a disliking to it this time!

I liked the cool blue bullets from the last version, hope you put them in again. I suppose there's a lot you can do with effects as well, besides your trademark metal effects of course, how about a refractive crystal asteroid?, I think that would look cool, refracting the background behind it if you know what I mean.

The only other thing I'd love to see in an Asteroids/Blasteroids type game is straffe movement, I think that would put a whole new twist on the gameplay.


less is more, but if less is more how you keeping score?
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Scraggle
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Posted: 14th May 2008 12:00 Edited at: 14th May 2008 15:15
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Straffing is a feature that you can 'buy' as an upgrade between levels. So is reverse thrust amongst other things.

I like the idea of a refracting asteroid. I will have a play and see what I can do. At the moment the only 'special' roids are metal, gold, radioactive and volcanic (might lose volcanic).

I have changed the look of the bullets (there is a single red one in the screenie) but I could use the old style for the special weapons



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Aertic
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Posted: 14th May 2008 18:02
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Looks brilliant.

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Penfold
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Posted: 14th May 2008 18:12
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Hmm my 2 pence..

Keep the OTT way everything on screen goes bannanas at once from 1

Keep the asteroids from 2.

...and cook on gas mark 6 for 30 mins for 3.

very nice.

'Ooh 'eck chief'...'crumbs'
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Scraggle
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Posted: 14th May 2008 22:01 Edited at: 14th May 2008 22:03
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As promised, here is the video



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Insert Name Here
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Posted: 15th May 2008 21:24
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Now I take it you have backed this up three times?

Looks excellent.

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Scraggle
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Posted: 16th May 2008 13:53
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Quote: "Now I take it you have backed this up three times? "


Actually I now use TortoiseSVN to backup.
BatVink talked about its merits in the last newsletter ... I strongly recommend it.

[Updated first post with more info]



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Scraggle
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Posted: 17th May 2008 14:59
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Here is the demo

Controls
Left arrow - Rotate left
Right arrow - Rotate right
Up arrow - Thrust
Down arrow - Reverse Thrust
A - Strafe left
D - Strafe right
S - Shoot

This is a very early version of the game and only has a text based HUD. There are no special weapons yet and no enemies but there are a lot of asteroids and it is a lot of fun to play even at this early stage.

You only get one life so be careful!

I would appreciate feedback on anything but mostly I am concerned with how it looks on different screen sizes. Mine is 1280x1024 and it looks great but I think the backdrop might not cover the full screen at other sizes (especially widescreen). Also I would appreciate feedback on framerates/specs. I am getting around 1500fps but my system is not average. I would like to know how it runs on average to low systems.

Thanks ... and enjoy

Another screenie:








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Insert Name Here
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Posted: 17th May 2008 18:59
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You're too good at making casual games.



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dark coder
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Posted: 17th May 2008 21:46
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Gotta love games with spaceships . It played quite well, and that ship looks like a minature version of the Viper MK2 from BSG, other than an array out of bounds error(line 162) when almost all asteroids were destroyed it was fine. I did however notice when the glowing asteroids went through the others you could still see the glow around them, even if they were smaller than the other asteroid, this could be fixed by making the asteroids collide against each other(so they bounce and not blow up) and would make it more chaotic. Also occasionally I saw the asteroid explosion effect over my ship, despite not being near any of them, this only happens when I shoot though.

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Penfold
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Posted: 18th May 2008 00:55
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As you thought yup the texture doesn't spread for widescreen, also as with DCoder I got a 118 error at line 162 when I had nearly destroyed all asteroids. Also on a gmaeplay note you might want to cap the top speed of the ship or if you have I didn't notice. (Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!)

Very smooth thrust mechanics though I am impressed.

'Ooh 'eck chief'...'crumbs'
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Virtual Nomad
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Posted: 18th May 2008 01:18 Edited at: 18th May 2008 01:28
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same array out of bounds error @ line 162 (there were ~ 4 or 5 'roids left. upon shooting toward 1, game errored out).

experienced the same "explosion effect over my ship".

my FPS range from high 80's to ~ 150 (with minimal 'roids on screen).

one issue not mentioned is when a 'roid is shot and the debris starts, all movement stutters (noticably stepped). fps drops a couple and then rises above previous FPS (acct fewer 'roids on screen. i pick up 3-4 FPS for every 'roid removed). ie, say FPS = 90, 'roid is hit and fps drops to 86 during explosion/debris life, then climbs to ~ 93. probably not mentioned yet due to my lower-than-average system (see sig for specs). stutter behavior is the same no matter what my current FPS is.

edit
Shinyroids™ rock! pun intented

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Scraggle
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Posted: 18th May 2008 11:22 Edited at: 18th May 2008 11:24
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Quote: "that ship looks like a minature version of the Viper MK2 from BSG"

I usually keep a record of where a from who I acquire media but I couldn't remember where I got the ship. So, thank you BSG it is a great model!

Quote: "array out of bounds error(line 162)"

That is a tricky one! I don't get that error. I've played it over and over but it never occurs. There is clearly something afoot but it's very hard to track down when I don't see it myself. Perhaps those of you that have seen the error could provide a little more feedback:
Does it happen everytime?
Is it on level 1, 2, 3, etc...
Does it happen on the first play or after you have died and chosen to play again.

Thanks


Quote: "when the glowing asteroids went through the others you could still see the glow around them"

Thanks for the feedback ... Fixed!


Quote: "occasionally I saw the asteroid explosion effect over my ship"

Not sure what is happening there but at least I get that one too, so it should be a little easier to track down.


Quote: "you might want to cap the top speed of the ship"

I might want to ... but I don't
In reality, if you keep added thrust to an entity in a frictionless environment it will continue to accelerate. This isn't reality, it's a game but the same principle applies. If the player wants to see how fast he can go before hitting a roid then so be it. It doesn't affect gameplay, so there is no reason to change it.

Quote: "when a 'roid is shot and the debris starts, all movement stutters"

Pressing F2 will stop the debris particles from showing up (F1 to show them again). Could you try that and see if you still get stuttering please. If that fixes it, then I will introduce a lesser amount of particles for lower spec'd machines.


Quote: "As you thought yup the texture doesn't spread for widescreen"

Thanks ... do the roids still appear and disappear at the edge of the screen or when they reach the edge of the backdrop?


Thanks to all for the feedback

This morning I have been working on the AI of enemy Roughnecks.




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dark coder
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Posted: 18th May 2008 12:01
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Quote: "So, thank you BSG it is a great model!"


I mean BSG as in Battlestar Galactica, here's a bigger pic of the ship I'm talking about, I have no idea who made it.

Quote: "Does it happen on the first play or after you have died and chosen to play again."


I just tried it now and got the error again, it was on the first level and I didn't even move(though I did in the previous tries), all the remaining asteroids were the smallest ones and there were around 5 left, as soon as the bullet hit one, error.

Also, aren't the projectiles backward?

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Scraggle
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Posted: 18th May 2008 12:10
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Quote: "I mean BSG as in Battlestar Galactica"

Oops!

Somebody posted the ship somewhere on this site but I can't remember who it was ... anybody?

I've found the error. The reason I wasn't seeing it is because I had already fixed it. I tried the version that I uploaded and got the same result.

Quote: "Also, aren't the projectiles backward?"

Do you think so?
They are how I intended them, I'll try flipping them and see how they look though ... anyone else think they look backwards?

Thanks



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Virtual Nomad
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Posted: 18th May 2008 14:18 Edited at: 18th May 2008 14:21
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updated feedback:

re: "array out of bounds". occurs every time i play (including re-play/after i die). i can't get to level 2+ because of it. the last time i got down to 3 asteroids left by leaving 1 as the "next to smallest" size and once i shot it, i got the error. leaving a "larger" one like that got me down to 3 left; that's the least i've had before getting the error. will try leaving a "larger" one for last next time i play and see if i can get down to 1.

re: "stuttering". F2 didn't help. i still get the jittery movement. but atleast i could see the "other" effect more clearly without the extra debris. nice effect

re: "aren't the projectiles backward". they look "right" to me.

new issue: the last couple times i played, i noticed some asteroids "caught in the edge", following the side of the screen. one was on the left-hand side of the screen (following the edge); i couldn't shoot it (bullets passed through it and/or wrapped before it could "hit") or ram into it with my ship. you might want to introduce some code to avoid near-90/near-180 degree angles (and their +180 counterparts). it might have been "more" on the right side of the screen but i was pretty sure it was mostly on the left so i was trying from there then gave up. i shot a different 'roid and received the aforementioned array error, so couldn't check the right-hand side to see if i could destroy it from there. other times, those "smallest" 'roids were ~90 percent hidden in the edge/hard to catch.

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Penfold
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Posted: 18th May 2008 23:11
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I don't know if anyone else hass tried to see the score when it fails. always seems to be 6425 for me doesn't seem to matter which type or sizes of asteroid are left. as stated by others can't get to lvl 2 because of the error.

The asteroids do move off the backdrop to about 90% before they come back on the other side.the viper (ship however jumps sides almost as soon as it hits the edge.

pretty sure that ship model was on the 3d forum about a month ago. will take a look and see if I can find it for you.

On the note of bonuses between levels - inertial dampners to slow your ship down without reverse thrusting would be a good bonus

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Mr Tank
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Posted: 19th May 2008 19:11
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Sweet. Great effects. I got a

Runtime Error 118 - Array does not exist or subscript out of bounds at line 162

Near end of 1st level. At about the score Penfold says. I saw 6475 before the error. BTW why can't one copy and paste error messages? Anyway. I also saw collisions apearing to be detected with shots and the player ship. Otherwise solid.

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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 20th May 2008 19:44 Edited at: 20th May 2008 20:02
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Quote: "I've found the error. The reason I wasn't seeing it is because I had already fixed it. I tried the version that I uploaded and got the same result."


I hope this isn't a sign that the dodgy backup procedure is about to re-emerge ...

Screenshots look terrific. Looking forward to "trying this at home" - but I bet my machines won't cope

Edit

Just tried it on my work machine. Ran fine, no obvious glitches (except the wide screen thing). However, I couldn't work out how to fire - perhaps you can't?

I suspect I'll have to come to work just so I can play this game ...

Edit2

Quote: "Quote: "As you thought yup the texture doesn't spread for widescreen"
Thanks ... do the roids still appear and disappear at the edge of the screen or when they reach the edge of the backdrop?
"


At the edge of the screen. It's just the backdrop that doesn't seem to use the whole screen.

Also, FPS approx 70 on a standard work machine (which probably means 9 or 10 on my home machine - but that's ancient and hardly "average").
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Scraggle
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Posted: 20th May 2008 20:44
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I appreciate everyone taking the time to download and provide feedback.
Most of the issues are now fixed and a few new ones have emerged.

@Green Gandalf
I think you can get free eye tests at your age Just beneath the link where you downloaded the demo is the list of controls. ('S' is shoot)



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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 21st May 2008 01:41
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Quote: "I think you can get free eye tests at your age"


I certainly seem to need one! Can't imagine how I missed that.

I'll be getting a free bus pass soon as well ...
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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 21st May 2008 01:51
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Quote: "Also, FPS approx 70 on a standard work machine (which probably means 9 or 10 on my home machine - but that's ancient and hardly "average"). "


WOW! Just downloaded and tested it on my ancient workhorse - very acceptable 57 fps!!

(And, yes, I've found the controls now. Tricky things computers. )
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Scraggle
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 00:47 Edited at: 22nd May 2008 00:55
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DOWNLOAD DEMO 2

Thanks for the input guys. I have knocked up another demo. This one demonstrates multiple bullet firing. Pressing F1 - F5 will give you 1 - 5 bullets firing at a time. I'd appreciate feedback regarding that. Obviously, the keyboard shortcut will be removed from the final game, this is just for testing. in the finished game you will have to buy your upgrades between levels.

I am hoping I have squashed the display bug for widescreen monitors but not having one to hand does make it a little difficult to test.

The error at line 162 that everyone was getting is now gone.

There is still the other bug in there which occasionally shows an explosion near the ship when no rock has been hit, I'm still a bit confused by that one.

The enemy ships are not fully implemented yet, so I have removed them from the demo to save on file size. No point including them until they can be used.

I have changed the ships texture ever so slightly and after dark coders observation about the bullets, I now agree that they looked like they were firing backwards. So, I have changed those too.


New Screenie showing multiple bullet firing:




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Virtual Nomad
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 01:42 Edited at: 22nd May 2008 01:43
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1st, player seems to be "upgraded" here? everything with the ship is quicker, right? and gun over-heat is gone? just making sure this is intentional.

the multifire seems to work without a hitch (1-5). the collision detection looks very good (ie, with 2-shots, i shot at one of the smallest of 'roids and both shots missed on opposite sides ).

i seem to be getting the "explosion near the ship" a lot more often now. could be because things are a lot quicker in this version? before i would get it once per round. now i'm getting it 2-5(+) times per round.

the "stuttering" seems to be near non-existant? probably happening much faster now/less noticable for me. it's there but goes away quicker.

still have issue with 'roids hiding in the screen edges. multi-shot + apparent code-tweak re: 'roids & shots vs edges helped find it quickly

new issue (new for me since i couldn't get past level 1 before due to "old" array bug): after level 1 complete, respawns were dead-center of crossing asteroids = instant death, twice in a row. also only took 1 hit to kill me. not sure how far you've developed respawn code, so... just figured i'd mention it.

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Mr Tank
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 02:52
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Nice. but..

At the start of a level, there is some time during which you cannot move or fire, but you can get hit and die.

There are some mystery collisions.

I got an error:

Runtime error 7008 - Object does not exist at line 532

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Scraggle
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 11:43 Edited at: 22nd May 2008 12:39
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Quote: "1st, player seems to be "upgraded" here? everything with the ship is quicker, right? and gun over-heat is gone? just making sure this is intentional."

The ship is the same. I haven't removed overheat but I have set the gun coolent variable way too high (temporarily disabling gun over heat) just so that I could test the maximum amount of bullets on screen without worrying about overheating the guns.

Quote: "the "stuttering" seems to be near non-existant?"

I haven't seen any stuttering, so I don't know what I can do about that but glad it is dissapearing

Quote: "still have issue with 'roids hiding in the screen edges."

That's any easy fix and will be gone in the next update.

Quote: "respawns were dead-center of crossing asteroids"

Fixed. At new level, asteroids always start at the edge of the screen.

Quote: "only took 1 hit to kill me"

That isn't possible. What may have happened is: You may have collided with a large asteroid which broke up and then you have collided with the smaller pieces which broke up etc... Also if the 'roid was radioactive or volcanic it would have caused more damage.

Quote: "At the start of a level, there is some time during which you cannot move or fire, but you can get hit and die"

That won't happen now with the asteroids starting at the edges.

Quote: "Object does not exist at line 532"

Interesting ... I will look at that when I get chance.


Thanks



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Penfold
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 13:19
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Something V.Strange going on now,

7-8 seconds after startting the .exe after the information screen has come up and the der,der,dum noise it closes itself with the following error.

Runtime Error - Alarm1 already exists at line 794.

'Ooh 'eck chief'...'crumbs'
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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 14:33
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Quote: "Something V.Strange going on now,

7-8 seconds after startting the .exe after the information screen has come up and the der,der,dum noise it closes itself with the following error.

Runtime Error - Alarm1 already exists at line 794."


I get exactly the same problem. The earlier download worked fine.



[Another sign of the back-up dragon awakening? ]
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Scraggle
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 15:19 Edited at: 22nd May 2008 15:20
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Very strange!

It works OK for Virtual Nomad and Mr Tank and I've just downloaded it at work and it runs fine for me too.

The Alarm is the Ticker command found in IanM's plugin. Strange that it works on some PC's and not others.

One for IanM I think ...


Quote: "after the information screen has come up"

What information screen? I didn't put an info screen in the game.



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Scraggle
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Posted: 22nd May 2008 21:30 Edited at: 23rd May 2008 01:11
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DOWNLOAD DEMO 3

This is the same as Demo2 but with added bug testing.
If anyone tried the previous version and it failed, I would very much appreciate it if you would download this version. If it fails again, can you please post the contents of the "Debug" file that it creates.

Thanks



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Posted: 22nd May 2008 22:58
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I've tried it, and I seem to die almost immediately. There are a couple of 'clangs', then I see a 'Level complete' message, then it repeats.

I let this go three times before exiting it.

Here's the debug:


[b]Utility plug-ins collection (updated 01/05/08) and
http://www.matrix1.demon.co.uk
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Mr Tank
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Posted: 23rd May 2008 01:12
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Still works for me. However, now at the beginning of the first level, the moment your ship stops flashing and you gain control, the asteroids all teleport to new positions! Does not happen at the beginning of other levels, or if you opt to play again.

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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 23rd May 2008 01:50
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Looks like I'm not in a position to comment on back-up problems - I can't remember which machine I was using when I encountered the latest bug.

It wasn't this machine because it only has version 1.

Perhaps I should revisit this when I'm awake ... ?
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Virtual Nomad
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Posted: 23rd May 2008 02:30 Edited at: 23rd May 2008 02:36
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noticed same "teleporting" here. things are moving without a SYNC, i think, then re-appearing/teleporting when sync'd.

also, it's reading up/down arrowkeys before ship is ready/released to move which is causing "hyperspeed". can clear entry buffer fix it or maybe don't check keys until ship stops flashing/is released? (not sure how you're checking keys, so... mentioning "possible fixes" so you get the idea of what's happening. and, the left/right keys don't seem to be affected this way. ship is moving, not spinning, as i would have expected).

new issue: at some point (only happened once), crossing bullets NEVER LEFT (never timed out?)/stayed active. attached screen shot showing which shots and their direction of movement (they were "old" shots). dunno if it will help anything solid lines = start/shots w/ directions plus their destinations/destruction (dashed lines).



re: "explosion near ship". i went in a couple times through using single shot fire-rate (slowly, one shot at a time) while paying special attention/looking for this "issue" occuring. at first i thought it was reading ahead at what was going to be hit (before it actually hits) and dropping debris on ship. this appeared to be so as it dropped debris on the ship (and the debris color was accurate), then the shot continued and hit it's target and more debris dropped at the collision point. this was the case 1/2 a dozen times in a row. level finished and first shot of the next level caused "explosion on ship" with no continuation of shot, no collision with a 'roid. so, i thought maybe the shot itself is colliding with the ship? is this the possible cause of the issue?

follow-up on my remark above about "everything seeming upgraded". i think it's just that my style of play changed with the update. first was methodical, move slowly, 1-shot, 1 kill. with multi-shot added, i definitely changed my approach/become more bold/frenzied.

also worth mentioning, i didn't reboot before playing until this last round of play/update. after reboot, so-called "stuttering", again, nearly gone (it had gotten a lot worse since last report which prompted the reboot). so, i'd call that issue MY issue, not the games.

Virtual Nomad
AMD XP 1800+ (~1.6 Ghz) / 1.5 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 8700LE 128 MB / Windows XP

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Penfold
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Posted: 23rd May 2008 02:57 Edited at: 23rd May 2008 02:58
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Quote: "Quote: "after the information screen has come up"
What information screen? I didn't put an info screen in the game."


I meant teh level complete info bar thingamee-bob.

Demo 3:

it starts up ok then as soon as the level complete info goes I have a split second of ship then what looks like all objects in the centre of the screen. I completed about 16 levels in about 32 second before I got the follwing error, I had just opened task manager about to kill the prog when it happened.

runtime error 7008 - object does not exist at line 1083





<edit>
debug is attached

'Ooh 'eck chief'...'crumbs'

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Scraggle
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Posted: 26th May 2008 10:00 Edited at: 26th May 2008 10:01
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I believe have fixed ALL the issues that people had. No point uploading another demo because nothing is new. I just wanted to be sure that it would work on everyone's machine now before moving on to new areas.

For anyone that had problems with it. If you set your display resolution to 1280x1024 or 1024x768, you should find that the old demo now works.

If it still doesn't ... please let me know!



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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 28th May 2008 00:04
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Quote: "For anyone that had problems with it. If you set your display resolution to 1280x1024 or 1024x768, you should find that the old demo now works."


Finally found time to check my 2 machines (haven't tested my work machine yet):

PC

Demo2 works fine - my default screen setting is 1024x768.

Laptop

Demo2 gives previously mentioned errors when the default screen resolution (1280x800) is used.

Gives new error (see attached image) when resolution changed to 1280x1024.

Works (yippee! ) when I set the resolution to 1024x768 - but it's a bit of a pain having to manually change the settings there and back again.

Could you do something to detect what's needed and do it in your exe?

[For some reason my fingers always turn into thumbs when I try to play your games. I've obviously spent far too long playing turn-based ones. Looks nice though as usual. ]

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Scraggle
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Posted: 28th May 2008 00:29
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Thanks for the feedback Green Gandalf

Quote: "Could you do something to detect what's needed and do it in your exe?"


Yes, that is absolutely my intention. I just posted the workaround in order to get the demo working.



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Scraggle
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Posted: 4th Jun 2008 00:29 Edited at: 4th Jun 2008 00:29
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Update

I have created the 'Super Spinner' weapon (better name pending) and updated the explosion effects a little.
The HUD is coming together a bit. It has a sort of steam punk feel to it with old analogue dials for the score and a simple needle dial for the gun temp ... I think it works ok.

Here's a screenie:




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Scraggle
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Posted: 10th Jun 2008 01:01 Edited at: 10th Jun 2008 11:19
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DEMO 5 NOW AVAILABLE (9th June 2008)

Controls
Left arrow - Rotate left
Right arrow - Rotate right
Up arrow - Thrust
Down arrow - Reverse Thrust
A - Strafe left
D - Strafe right
S - Shoot

Debug keys
F1 - Single bullet
F2 - Double bullets
F3 - Triple bullets
F4 - Quadruple bullets
F5 - Quintuple bullets
Keypad 0 - Fire Super Spinner Weapon

This demo should now have fixed ALL of the issues people were having previously. It also introduces the new Super Spinner weapon and has a working 'Steam Punk' HUD

As always I would appreciate any comments and/or bug reports (not that there should be any bugs)



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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 10th Jun 2008 01:54
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Quote: "not that there should be any bugs"


Never mind the bugs - what about the backups?

Looking forward to testing this.
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Posted: 10th Jun 2008 22:04
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Wee, nice now.

Only problem is I had couple of off screen lurker asteroids I couldn't see.

And a y/n quit on escape would be nice.

'Ooh 'eck chief'...'crumbs'
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Scraggle
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Posted: 14th Jun 2008 12:12 Edited at: 15th Jun 2008 10:32
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UPDATE:
I have added the cluster bomb. A bomb that fires a short distance from your ship (destroying any asteroids it hits on the way) then explodes sending 20 identical bomb fragments out which all destroy any asteroids they hit.
I have added the Homing Missile. I one shot missile that will home in on any enemies that are on screen and destroy them (unless an asteroid gets in the way!) If there are no enemies on screen, the missile will home in on the nearest asteroid instead.
I have also added the Power Missile. This doesn't home in on anything and only fires in a straight line but it destroys all asteroids that it hits and keeps going until it destroys itself.

That's it for weapon upgrades. I have changed the flight control of the ship. It now pitches and rolls when you thrust and turn.

I think I will work on the mining of the asteroids next.

No new demo yet, but if you are one of the 32 people that have downloaded Demo 5 I would appreciate some feedback, specifically:
Did it run smoothly?
Did the asteroids disappear and reappear correctly when reaching the edge of the screen?
Did the HUD display correctly? If not what resolution are you using?
Did it maintain a good framerate when a lot was happening at once?

... and of course any other comments or suggestions you may have



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Scraggle
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Posted: 18th Jun 2008 21:55
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Update

Added Shields and Tractor Beam to mine the asteroids.

New Video:




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Posted: 19th Jun 2008 01:56
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starting to look very polished.

Can I ask is the force field 3d or 2d?

also what is the tractor beam actually used for it wasn't very obvious on the vid (I know what tractor beams *generally* are used for).

V. Nice though keep it up.

'Ooh 'eck chief'...'crumbs'
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Scraggle
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Posted: 19th Jun 2008 23:10 Edited at: 19th Jun 2008 23:12
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Quote: "Can I ask is the force field 3d or 2d?"

Yes you can
It's a DBP primitive sphere with a texture of bubble-wrap on it (I kid you not), ghosted and when in use it has the UV's scrolled.

Quote: "what is the tractor beam actually used for"

When you break the asteroids down to their smallest size, you can either destroy them or use your tractor beam to transport them into your cargo hold. At which point you will see how much of each of the three minerals it contains (Cassium, Scraggle-ore and moominite). If it doesn't contain enough of what you need, you can eject it again but if it is suitably laden with minerals you can keep hold of it and use it to buy upgrades between levels. I haven't yet decided how large the cargo bay will be but you will be able to hold several asteroids.

Quote: "V. Nice though keep it up."

Thanks



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IanM
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Posted: 22nd Jun 2008 00:03
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Did it run smoothly? Yes
Did the asteroids disappear and reappear correctly when reaching the edge of the screen? Yes
Did the HUD display correctly? If not what resolution are you using? Yes
Did it maintain a good framerate when a lot was happening at once? Yes

Machine specs:
P4 3.8GHZ, ATI x800 (512mb) @ 1680x1050, 1GB RAM
Core 2 Duo 2GHZ, Intel x3100 (384mb shared) @ 1280x800, 2GB RAM

I was unexpectedly surprised that it ran so well on the Intel graphics.

[b]Utility plug-ins collection (updated 01/06/08) and
http://www.matrix1.demon.co.uk
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Scraggle
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Posted: 24th Jun 2008 13:06
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Thanks for the feedback Ian, I'm happy to hear everything is working as it should

Quote: "I was unexpectedly surprised that it ran so well on the Intel graphics."

Me too! Suprised ... and delighted!

I'm currently working on the redesign of the HUD. Trying to get a cargo bay display that matches the Shield/Hull display.



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Posted: 2nd Jul 2008 01:05 Edited at: 2nd Jul 2008 01:08
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Update

Fully animated 'Steam Punk' style HUD complete



Please forgive the dimensions of the image but I thought it was necessary to show the HUD in all its glory



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