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[sabajt]

been working on the website and finally got some videos up:

website: http://dinopuzzlegame.com/ (now game downloads directly from site)
gameplay video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRNqSPeLqkE&feature=youtu.be
puzzle editor video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWTDekDdoBg&feature=youtu.be

new build includes:
- mouse wheel for changing tiles
- right click for picking up tiles
- space bar after launching dinos replaces 'r' for quick reset
- 'r' is now clear and reset (not control r)
- updated tutorial
- fixed bug for portal label not moving / added blinking

[burtonposey]

Looks good. I had a bit of trouble understanding how the game was played (you raced through the instructions in the previous post's video), but I was able to get a feel for it by the end. Looks like a neat idea. You may or may not want to hear this, but the game would play pretty well on a mobile device. It reminds me of something I can jump in and out of like a sliding block puzzle game.

Keep up the good work. The editor stuff you've built is really impressive!

[sabajt]

you raced through the instructions in the previous post's video

haha yeah i did.  i need to slow that down and do a separate video for a standard puzzle.

You may or may not want to hear this, but the game would play pretty well on a mobile device.

i'm very glad to hear this because my next project is going to be a sequel for iOS.

Keep up the good work. The editor stuff you've built is really impressive!

thank you!

[sabajt]

in addition to adding a bunch of nice smooth effects, i finished designing all puzzles!  (except the very last one)

also finished all collectible snacks:



i had trouble drawing anything realistic or complicated so they ended up pretty whimsical and have appropriately goofy names like barbequarks, nanocorn and picklesicles.

things left:
1) finishing sound fx
2) very last puzzle
3) options and about screen
4) make separate builds for free and paid version

... yes with the encouragement of some friends i have decided to do a paid version.  there are 40 puzzles.  the free version will only have 20 puzzles, but will still have the editor and everything else.  haven't decided on a price yet but thinking i'll do a pay what you want.  or just really cheap.

the alpha demo is still on the website: http://dinopuzzlegame.com/ but doesn't reflect a bunch of bug fixes or the new effects.

hoping my next post will be the finished game!

[Ichigo Jam]

Some nice puzzles in there - I can see it could get pretty difficult later on.

Some bugs I found:
   * Level preview looks wrong on the level select screen (there's a load of cyan and purple squares on it)
   * Mouse wheel down works to change colour, but mouse wheel up doesn't?
   * Alt-tabbing out of the game seems to rearrange some of my windows on my dual-monitor machine. Not sure if there's anything you can do about this.
   * Right-clicking on teleporters doesn't remove them from the board
   * It crashed after completing one of the levels (don't remember which level - maybe around 7/8, and it now crashes every time I try to load)

Code:

C:\games\DinosInSpace_win>game56.exe
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "game56.py", line 845, in <module>
  File "game56.py", line 793, in main
  File "areaSelect.pyc", line 1077, in launch
  File "areaSelect.pyc", line 806, in __init__
  File "areaSelect.pyc", line 429, in getNumTilUnlock
UnboundLocalError: local variable 'num' referenced before assignment

I've uploaded the offending save file here, in case it's useful: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11591936/IJ.dat

And some random suggestions:
   * It seems odd to have a seperate mouse cursor when over a starting base (the blue exclamation mark) but then it doesn't do anything; why not allow clicking on the base to start/stop the level (same as pressing space)
   * Add some kind of graphical effect when dinos go into the space station, and when they go into asteroids
   * Allow the simulation to keep running after failing; sometimes it's useful to see what happens to the dinosaurs who didn't smash into asteroids
   
Keep up the good work!

[sabajt]

thanks for the report and uploading the save file.  pretty sure i found what causes the crash, should be an easy fix.  all the others fixes are being worked into the final release as well. 

why not allow clicking on the base to start/stop the level

yep great point, will add in and probably change the exclamation point to a launching icon

graphical effect when dinos go into the space station, and when they go into asteroids

just did those a few days ago, not updated into the public build but they'll be there in the final release

your feedback is much appreciated!

[Udderdude]

Pretty cool, reminds me a lot of Chu Chu Rocket, except with more colors of units.

My only comment on the controls is that you should be able to place an arrow in a certian direction with the arrow keys, instead of placing and then rotating it by clicking.  Also, you should be able to scroll the mouse wheel in both directions.

[oyog]

My girlfriend has this shirt from Scary-Go-Round/Bad Machinery and I thought it was appropriate.



I'm off to try the alpha!


Gah... My brain is incapable of dealing with level three right now.

[sabajt]

@udderdude
thanks for the feedback - i've decided to keep rotating limited to the mouse, but the mouse-wheel selection issue will be fixed.  i've never played chu chu rocket but i'm really curious to see what it's like.

@oyag
awesome shirt.  actually thought of giving my dinos helmets but the way i drew them they're basically just heads... i can see that being pretty funny.

Gah... My brain is incapable of dealing with level three right now.

oh no!  is it that hard?    thanks for trying it either way.

[oyog]

oh no!  is it that hard?    thanks for trying it either way.

Admittedly I was astoundingly bad at Manufactoria which had pretty similar mechanics.  What frustrates me is that when I was a kid I probably wouldn't have had any trouble with it. I just don't use my brain for puzzles like this anymore.

Personally I'd prefer if Dino-Command didn't interrupt as soon as one dino is lost and only tell you to retry after all dinos have been lost or reach their target.

Aaaand I just got it. 

Playing Crosspaths I got both dinos safely home and one of the snax.  I played again, got the other snax but lost the blue dino, at the "retry, quit level" prompt I selected quit level.  The game crashed to desktop and now when I try to load the profile I was playing on the game crashes to desktop.

In trying to reproduce it with a second profile I found I couldn't reproduce the crash by going straight to Crosspaths after playing the first four levels.  However, after playing Crosspaths a couple times I went back to level five, beat the level, selected quit level and got the same crash.  Now both profiles crash to desktop when I try to select them.

Also, the game claims to be 31% complete for both my original profile, in which I beat every level up to eight AND for my crash test profile in which I beat one through five and level eight (I think Crosspaths is eight).

[Udderdude]

Gah... My brain is incapable of dealing with level three right now.

oh no!  is it that hard?    thanks for trying it either way.

The beginner levels really aren't that hard.  Then again, I did make an entire game with a similar and even more difficult premise, so I may be slightly biased.

[sabajt]

@oyog
thanks for writing out the crash report - luckily that's fixed in my build.  it's the same issue that ichigo jam had above and has to do with how many puzzles are solved.  also glad to hear you got past that level - i knew you could 

@udderdude
yeah i saw your game that's similar and have been meaning to play it!  all i can think about at the moment is finishing this, but it's just a matter of days.

thanks both.

[sabajt]

Finally this game is finished!    

The trial version is up at http://dinopuzzlegame.com/ which lets you play 22 of the 41 puzzles.  The full version will be up as soon as I hear back from Fastspring to get the transaction button set up.

Thanks to everyone who gave feedback, it helped a bunch. I'll be doing a sequal for iOS next.

[sabajt]

Some post release updates:

- just added a version of the demo with installer as alternative to zip file on the website
- the product has been approved by Fastspring so the commercial version should (hopefully) be live by tomorrow.

[sabajt]

The game is now for sale on the website for 5 dollars.  I've also added better pictures to the site and am going to work on a trailer.  Whew.  Making games is a lot work... even after finishing  .

edit: found someone on reddit kind enough to do a playthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfdLAvtBYq0  -- yay