Just a quick post to let you know that work is moving forward on extending the RRFW and getting to run Trapped! in it. Here is a quick screenshot of the title page, showing off the menu I just ported to the framework:

You can change the graphics settings on the fly. Rather nice FPS is only 60 because the Vertical Sync option is on and it’s a windowed screen. Next up is adding the keyboard/mouse and joypad configuration menus and options. Should be fun Once that is done the question of the particle engine is next. Should we port it or wrap it? Discussions are ongoing through heated debates between me and Muttley…

Well, not really, but it sounds interesting. So far, I’m pretty pleased with the framework. I only need to streamline screen handling a bit more. But I have proper screen fades and wipes in there now which is looking pretty neat. One of these days I’m done with the front end and can begin on the game again.

I’ve decided to move my game from my own framework to the retro remakes framework. This framework is a work in progress, and it is missing some stuff that my game needs, but we will add that to the framework. Yes, I have been added to that Google code project. First thing to do is get a basic game working using that framework and work from there.

The framework will also enable me to release Trapped (and any future game) on more platforms, think Linux and OSX. I also been added as a committer to the project so expect some of my code to slip into the framework. What does this mean for particleMax? I’ll probably still offer a stand alone version once it is up and running in the frame work.

On a personal note: Next week we will go to Denmark for a few days. Of course we will go to Lego land So I will be off the grid for some time. This Sunday we head off to the cold north.

Recently I changed my development IDE from Project Studio IDE to BLIde. I’m sad to let PSI go, but as development of that IDE has stopped and I experienced weird beta behavior a change was needed. Thanks Matt for your fine IDE; it was awesome while it lasted.

So now I am exploring the world of managed code, which is rather nice. It takes away the burden of imports, includes and file management in general.

Converting my game framework to managed code is underway, and made me realize that my ‘framework’ is not really a framework, but a collection of independent systems. There is nothing wrong with that, but I want to move to a solution which will provide the basis, ready to be extended for each game I am going to make.

So, my various systems are to be converted to Services. Converting the game engine to services is a tip I took from the Retro Remakes Framework. That framework looks really nice (although in some weird way I was already doing a lot of things in a similar manner), and I wanted to start using it but as I want to remain free of where I am going with this game (distribution wise) I do not want to use their code, which is free and meant for freeware remakes. So I took that concept, and shape it to fit how I create games.

The services are implemented as singletons. This is a nice concept which also has the advantage of getting rid of a lot of Global variables and fields in game types. A singleton is a type of which only one instance can be created, and just lives ‘out there’, ready to be used by whatever piece of code.

My game needs total control over what is updated and rendered in every single state, so the concept of services updating and rendering all the time is not used. It is now possible to determine this by game state which is cool. I for instance may not want to update the particle engine when the game is in Attract state or, say, Game Over state. Also, each game state must be able to move through steps in each state. Think of the Play state going through various enter, play, die, play, die steps.

Lots of work to do, but it’s fun even though finishing the game (ah, keep dreaming) will take some more time.

Games You Should Play: Gridrunner Revolution.

This game has me crying and laughing at the same time, and OddBob has tried to write a description of it, which is commendable, but like a lot of things in real live, just out of reach…

Yes, Gridrunner is a definite Llamasoft classic, and lovers of blasty games must play it.

Ok, back to playing.

Whilst working on some internal stuff I noticed that I was still using a separate type for the particle engine objects position and interaction with it (rotation, velocity, etc) . This is a code structure heavily used since the Blitz 2D/3D days and it kind of snuck in. I’ve gotten rid of that external type and put its code properly in the engine base object. This simplifies some code further along in the extension path which is great!

I’ve been working on a spreadsheet to draft out the game and enemy progression. How do aliens develop over the course of the game, when does which alien get introduced, what are their characteristics on each level and what bonuses / possibilities does the game offer me at which point? And what does the player need to be able to stay alive? The arms race is laid out here as well, folks. This will help me to streamline the player experience and make sure that new stuff gets introduced at the correct times in the game so the player is not overwhelmed (or underwhelmed ) and the flow of aliens is constant.

Here is an example of the sheet:

Bonus rounds at set intervals introduce new stuff to the player and offer challenges to earn other stuff. I can’t be more specific now, sorry Putting these things down makes me think about the aliens, the rules they have to follow and the general flow of the game. Also, I’m getting an idea of how many different aliens I need to fill the planned levels. oh dear.

I’ll start using the update numbers again as we move forward!

Development time has been spent on getting the hi-scores working correctly and the load/save methods of these. The particle engine is behaving quite nicely in the game. There were some problems with sticky emitters, but that has been solved and after the last changes I was able to add some new effects without needing any change to the engine code so I’m pleased with that. I uploaded the new code to the SVN, and I will release a new build of the editor real soon as well.

I still have one timing issue: once in a while the game stutters. This doesn’t happen when I turn of render tweening so the problem is in that piece of code but I haven’t been able to find the problem yet. It is kind of annoying but not a show-stopper. I’ll find it.

The collector is back in the game. It now has its own little HUD so the player can see how many aliens it can collect and what the multiplier value is. Next item will be the keyboard/mouse control scheme. Different guns are working as well, and so far the collection contains single, dual and triple guns. I’ll be adding beams and lasers after that and then it’s back to the aliens. I still find it hard to give them an interesting shape so we’ll see how that progresses. I don’t know why I cannot find a satisfying appearance for the aliens, but once I crack that little problem I’m golden.

What is also needed is a way to record a playing session so I can create an introduction movie to explain the various game mechanics. It will be something like a little movie which pauses from time to time to point out certain aspects of the gameplay. Should be fun to create and record, but I’m still wondering how to approach it. Anyone reading this with ideas?

On a personal level: the house improvement continues and now the new front side is almost done. Looking good already and tomorrow the first part should be done.

We just got back from a weekend of eating burned meat, drinking beers, visiting amusement parks, swimming and hiking. It was fun, but now it’s time to begin our vacation in earnest

So I went and saw Public Enemies last night. Cool movie, highly recommended if you like classic crime movies. I also ordered the first part of the Neil Young Archives on blu-ray! I cannot wait for that to arrive on my doormat so I can start exploring!

Before we went away for the weekend I finished the changes in the particle editor and engine. So far so good, the particle engine dropped into the game with no problems. I attached the first emitter in the game to the player ship, so it has an engine now. I can see some inconsistencies in the way the particles get spawned, so that needs to be fixed first before I can move on. It only happens when the game area is scrolling so it should not be hard to find. Next up is then some bullets, explosions and lasers. Big friggin’ lazers mounted on top of the big friggin’ spaceship… Or was that sharks? I keep forgetting!

Development of Trapped! is going forward. The front end is done, and it is behaving beautifully, much better than it was, and easier to work with as well. The joy-pad and keyboard configurations integrate into the front end, and while the game is in pause mode the user can access the front end and configuration menus and change the settings while in pause mode.

While integrating the particle system I found some bugs and fixed those. Also, it has dawned to be that the current system of emitters > spawners > is not working for me at all. So I am forced to change things in the particle engine and this is how:

• Emitters will be renamed to Effects
• Spawners will be renamed to Emitters
• Emitters can be created by name, just as they are now.
• Effects are used to create emitters in one call, also by name.

Effects itself will not have a ‘real’ position as emitters now have. They will be a device to create several spawners ( > emitters) at the same time, at a certain position. The items created can have a parent of course.

This way, I will have the option to call a single emitter, or a combination of them for a more elaborate effect. Right now, the system is just too clumsy. Back to the drawing board. Well, not quite, but two steps back for sure. I’m not too happy with this situation as it is giving me some more work to do but it has to be done to make the engine a useable system. Changes in the engine were expected but not at this low level oh well.

Two more days work and then I will have some vacation. Finally. I might even finish this darned game. But I’m still inspired. Yesterday, out of the blue, I found a solution to add more variation to the game. I do not want to have end bosses for each level. Well, not in the traditional sense. They will be there, but not in the form which you would expect in a shooter game. It’s gong to be fun and probably a complete mini game in its own right. I’m not spilling the beans now

First, particlesMAX needs an overhaul and that is what is happening first. tata!

These last days development has concentrated on the front end. As I got back to the game code, I decided to update things a bit to reflect some of the new things I’ve learnt. So, all systems are going to use the new configuration thingy I’ve made for particlesMAX. I noticed that the menu system needed the biggest overhaul but that is finished now as well. I also bit the bullet and integrated the keyboard and joy pad configuration into the menu system. This took a lot of time, but here is a quick shot of how it now looks:

You can select the option you want to configure, hit enter, and move the pad control you want to assign. It works like a charm, and you can see the results instantly by using the pad and observing the onscreen sticks. I’m not sure I will keep the sticks layout like this though, they look a bit out of place… I don’t know The keyboard configuration works the same; select the action, and hit a key to bind it.

The logo is temp, but I think I will keep it and make it more interesting to look at (read: add colors and shininess). It has a nice 80’s arcade vibe to it!

Oh, the graphics menu now fully supports all combinations: widescreen, normal, windowed, full screen, and loads of resolutions. It will be hard to not find a setting you can use. The game looks tasty on 1680 x 1050!

Once I sort out all the loose ends on loading and saving these settings, I’m going to add the particle engine to the game. After that it’s the space backdrop, player, collector and shield. And then: the enemies! It’s gonna be cool.

I’ve been working on Trapped a bit. I’ve been modifying the various systems (space, menu’s, graphics driver, input driver etc) to work with the new configuration system I’ve built for particlesMAX. I hope to have it all up and running again in a day or so. Like I said earlier, I learned a lot of OOPness whilst developing the particle engine, so I’m changing my code in the game because of that. It’s mainly moving and restructuring code though, there is no need to drastically re-write things. The only victim of this is the menu system.

I decided to have my game logic run at 120 hz. This should be enough for a fast paced shooter. This meant that I needed the ability to change the update speed of the particle system, so I also added that to the editor, and updated the svn. The background color not working has also been fixed! I expect more fixes to the editor and engine while moving along.