Gridrunner Revolution

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.

Trapped dev update 22

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.

Trapped dev update 21

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.

Vacation time!

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!

Dev Update # ??

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!