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[Vino]

Well that guy came and proved me wrong about the score thing, oh well!

And if you don't use any IDE's then you get what's coming to you. Express is free after all.

[SplinterOfChaos]

I say neither of you proved either of you wrong. You two have different motivations for playing games and i plan on making the end-product something both of you can enjoy. I'm starting to realize, though, that it may take considerably longer than i'd like.

I guess it's too off-topic to rant about why i hate IDEs, but i want to at least say i'd rather use many specialized tools that have one purpose than one jack of all trades, where even if it's a master of one, it's not a master of all.

[Vino]

Whatever man, you wouldn't be having your current problem if you were using an IDE It saves you time from not having to manage your build files. I've been there and it's not fun to deal with all that crap. Plus you get things like intellisense and file searching and the project tree and integrated debugger and lots of other tools that make your job easier. I hear ya about using specialized tools and I think an IDE is one such specialized tool you should be using. But you're right I just started an off-topic rant!

If it's taking longer than you'd like that's a pretty good warning sign that you should simplify it a bit

[SplinterOfChaos]

Update (see first post): Added a new enemy that accelerates towards you faster when it's further away. As it says in the first post, i din't think i like it, but wanted to hear from ya'll anyway. (I'll probably scrap it no matter what, but if anyone likes it, maybe i'll use the concept somewhere else.)

I've also added a mock-challenge mode with a mock-package delivery mini-game where the white circles are obstacles, the turquoise one is the goal, and the brown thing is your package. Get near it to make it orbit you and bring it to the goal.

Honestly, the only reason i'm telling you guys is so there's no confusion. It's a mock-up.

It saves you time from not having to manage your build files. I've been there and it's not fun to deal with all that crap. Plus you get things like intellisense and file searching and the project tree and integrated debugger and lots of other tools that make your job easier.

makefiles take a minute to set up when all you have is main.cpp and a couple other files, and seconds to add additional units for compilation after that. If you set it up well initially, it shouldn't be troublesome ever. And intellisense, file searching are both things offered in Vim, sorta. <ctrl>+p will try to complete the current word with any work in any of the open files, even included files. It can be set up to search even std includes. <Ctrl>+x+f will even complete filenames for you, <ctrl>+x+l completes entire lines. Vim can also run my makefile and show me where the errors are. Plugins can even add IDE-like features and even integrate with your version control software.

Off-topic, yes, but i just wanted to note that those features are not specific to IDEs, nor will an IDE do them better than a specialized program.

[Vino]

Well if you want to see it that way, doesn't that just make vim into an IDE? 

[SplinterOfChaos]

I don't and neither do the vim developers. My point wasn't that i want Vim to be an IDE, it was that what can be seen as IDE-only features can be done in simpler specialized programs.

It's like how i saw a Windows 7 ad that it could play DVDs. I mean, Windows XP could play DVDs, mac, linux, what can't!? There are valid reasons to use Windows 7, like having most programs run on it, better hardware compatibility, etc., but the listed pluses aren't pluses. Similarly, there are valid reasons to use an IDE, but having the specific features you listed, except the integrated debugger, aren't as exclusive as you seem to think.

Some IDEs, like eclipse, can embed Vim as their text editor so if i wanted a Vim IDE, that's probably what i'd do.

[SplinterOfChaos]

OK, i've put in one mini-game for challenge mode. Suddenly, the simple graphics feel rough and overly-simplistic to me, so that's something i might try and change. The levels can be edited fairly simply; go to challenge/package/ and you'll see level1-3. Add a level4 and it'll be in the game.

To start, get close to the (brown) package and it will start orbiting you. Guide it to the goal.

Obviously it's not complete and there's still much to do. For one thing, you should go back to level 1 when you exit the mode and you should be able to chose your level. I just want to know how well it works.

EDIT: Right after posting, i tried to play arcade mode and found that the game crashes. I updated the first post, but this update is still good for trying challenge mode, so please do.
Like always, the first post has the link.

EDIT2: Bug fixed. First post updated.

[Endymion]

Being able to pause somehow would be awesome as would be having in-game highscores. I really like how stoppers work they can cause all kinds of cool chain reactions if you let enough of them stay!(too bad they usually end up killing me) Without them the game would probably be lot more boring. Also it's kind of cool how the game keeps going even after death. But the fact that things can appear right under player and pass through things while fading in is slightly annoying and stopped stoppers not damaging you isn't very obivous maybe if they spun, flashed or something while moving or became darker when stopped it'd be more clear.

You get hit by the package very easily and fast maybe lower the gravity pull or make the package  heavier. Also package delivery with moving stoppers or something might be interesting.

I think somehow making the death a bit less sudden would be good but hitpoints don't sound so good maybe something like slow-time and/or reverse gravity powers that have the opposite effect for as long as they were used. Also I didn't find much use for increasing gravity, what if a blast that pushes everything close by back was released after holding it for a while or something.

[SplinterOfChaos]

In-game highscores is on the todo list. Right now, only one highscore is kept and keeping any arbitrary number of scores (probably by a config.txt variable) is a goal. Furthermore, separate high score boards for arcade, dual, and challenge modes are a must.

As for things appearing under the player: Having them spawn with an initial velocity (so that they're never standing still) makes the game considerably more fun. Having them fade in makes it so that if they spawn on top of one another, they won't collide and the point of this is to give the player enough time to react. As long as you do feel you're given enough time, i'm considering that the lessor of other known evils. (Not to say there isn't a better unknown solution.)

Challenge mode is designed to help the player learn to control the orbit of your enemies. I'm afraid that lowering their gravity would make it easier to control, but harder to learn.

Level 3 of the package delivery shows one use of the spacebar.

I thought maybe the reason you get hit by the package so fast is because you don't know when it starts to be attracted to you, so here's an early update. (Just replace the executable you have with this one.)  It just adds a circle around the package and when you're in that circle it starts orbiting you. Perhaps if this does not help, making the circle larger would.

Unfortunately, i'm not having an easy time teaching even those who live with me how to immediately create stable orbits, so if you find that mode difficult to start in still, it's because i need to think of more ways to train the player. But that fact that you didn't complain about how you didn't know what to do tells me that the game is at least self-evident, so that's good.

[SplinterOfChaos]

Bump!

There's a hell of a lot added to this game since last time i posted here. It was October last time i posted an update!

As always, i updated the first post with a new link. Please enjoy, opinions welcome.

[SplinterOfChaos]

OK, my last post wasn't a bump, it was an update. THIS is a bump. (Last one, promise.)

Just hoping i can get a few opinions before i stop working. Here comes try 2.

[Hplus]

Hi!

I will admit I didn't read all of the comments, but I read the first page or so.

I really like the game, I think that the mechanic is fluid and simple and creates a really complex, highly gratifying possibility space.

I agree that power-ups are a bad idea -- simplicity is good. You don't need more content you just need polish and tweaking. High scores are satisfying in themselves, just look at Super Crate Box or like any classic arcade game.

I really don't like the particle clouds. I love playing with the orbits and feeling like if I think quick enough and clearly enough I can just keep going. The particle clouds are a huge visual distraction that obscure the enemies and very quickly causes my death. Maybe it would be nice to have the particles on low opacity and blur, so that they kind of fade out behind the action, don't distract, but add visual interest.

I think that the circular sprites are perfectly good, but I am not a fan of the audio, particularly the background music. Maybe a simple way to turn off music would be in order.



P.S. this reminds me of a really simple flash game that I was addicted to for a brief period as a kid: http://www.transience.com.au/el/elgameo.html

[SplinterOfChaos]

Kinda surprised that this thread got revived! Unfortunately, i've worked on this game as much as i care to, even started a new project, so i don't really plan on making many improvement. Still, i appreciate the comments.

I really like the game, I think that the mechanic is fluid and simple and creates a really complex, highly gratifying possibility space.

I feel the combination of the mechanic and enemy types makes the game feel very dynamic (especially in chaos mode). Though, i've gotten a negative comment or two about some of the enemies. Since you said this, i'm wondering what you think about the different enemy types.

I agree that power-ups are a bad idea -- simplicity is good. You don't need more content you just need polish and tweaking. High scores are satisfying in themselves, just look at Super Crate Box or like any classic arcade game.

Though i would some day like to come back with more content and maybe a story mode.

I really don't like the particle clouds. ...snip... The particle clouds are a huge visual distraction that obscure the enemies and very quickly causes my death.

This isn't the first time someone's mentioned the particles help them to die. I just quickly added two options to config.txt: particle-size and particle-opacity. You can also change the particle-behaviour to simple if you like. Link is at the first post.

I hope that's good for you. The particles took up a large portion of the development time so i've got my pride as a programmer on the line if they don't enhance the game.

I think that the circular sprites are perfectly good, but I am not a fan of the audio, particularly the background music. Maybe a simple way to turn off music would be in order.



P.S. this reminds me of a really simple flash game that I was addicted to for a brief period as a kid: http://www.transience.com.au/el/elgameo.html

Sound and music volumes are configurable in config.txt.
I actually remember playing that game as a kid. Small world running into you.

[X3N]

Watched a video, look awesome!
Any chance of a Mac port?

[SplinterOfChaos]

I don't have direct access to a Mac, but it should compile easily for one. If you'd be willing, i could find all the links to the tools your'd need to compile it yourself. Aside from that, i'll look into my options for supporting Mac.