[=.... R-Type Leo ....=]

=.... R-Type Leo ....=

I needed to test the 2D features of the SHMUP Creator but unfortunately didn't have the time to create assets right now. So, I choose to re-create parts of the first level of R-Type leo using sprites I ripped.
Re-creating a small portion of a game was a good exercise for me: I didn't want to focus on any game design because it was not the subject: it allowed me to focus on debug, polish and to better understand what was missing in order to create 2D games.


So, there you are, the beginning of the game:




Inside the SHMUP Creator:




Of course, using a drag-and-drop tool, you can't do everything: the rotating orbs from the original game are absent in my demo. I plan to allow users to use objects for weapons, but not in the upcoming release.
I tried to re-create the laser field with the simple tools of the SHMUP Creator, and I was happy to make it work in 5 minutes:




On this tweet, you can see more of the level, with the intro:
https://twitter.com/bulostudio/status/817735716537061376

Next week, I promise I'll do a small update on the dev progress!
S.

[SHMUP Creator]

SHMUP Creator

SHMUP Creator is a tool which allow people to create shmups without any code: everything is drag and drop.

I'm using R-Type leo sprites to test the SHMUP Creator 2D features:



It allows me to debug and polish the tools.
Of course, when we'll have more time, we will create our own assets.



Devlog:
https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=42404.0

Looking great!

I'd love to see  more!
S.

Original art style, the theme is refreshing!


It reminds me of an old amiga shmup I loved when I was a kid: apidya.
http://www.shmups.com/reviews/apidya/

S.

[=.... OCTOBER UPDATE ....=]

=.... OCTOBER UPDATE ....=

Original post : http://bulostudio.com/2016/10/16/october-update/

We’ve been busy these last weeks, but not necessarily on the SHMUP Creator. We worked again for a big company on a cool project. It’s always frustrating because we can’t make progress on the SHMUP CREATOR while we work for someone else, but to be honest our contract was really interesting and we learnt a lot.
Then we took our summer holidays, in September
Now: back to work!

ASSETS MANAGEMENT
I wasn’t happy with the way users had to import 3D assets in the editor: you had to use an exporter to save a file from your 3D modeler in the Ogre3D format (.mesh).
Now, you can copy an .FBX in the asset directory of your game and it will appears at once in the Gamebox. You can immediately drag and drop it in the level and start to play. It’s quite simple and easy!
You can then modify any textures, meshes or sprites, and when you go back to the editor all the objects are updated!

BUGS, BUGS EVERYWHERE
We are testing every features of the game one by one.
Debugging can be excruciating: sometimes I spend ages on a simple bug. But most of the time, it can feel surprisingly good: I can feel the game and the editor becoming more stable and more polished everyday. I know more bugs are hiding everywhere, though…

WHAT’S NEXT?
There are a lot of features to test and debug : the bullets patterns editor, the start menu editor (which is a mess right now GUI-wise), the scoring system…
Then, there are features which are working well but which are too difficult to grasp for the user. Not because of the way they work, but because of the GUI and the way we are presenting the functionalities. We need to rework them.

We are making progress, the end is near, but there is so much to do….

S.

The 15th of April was "Saint Paterne's Day" in France.
Every year it's the perfect occasion for the French Shmup community to celebrate Shmups, thanks for this stupid wordplay

So, it was my contribution: "Space Saint Paterne".



S.

As promised, a quick test level with a multi-directionnal scrolling and a Desert Strike kind of environment :


S.

Yes! This is the idea: No coding at all.
For this small demo, I spent 20mn, only using the mouse.
S.

[SHMUP CREATOR:]

Mutant plant-squid-like thing:

Creepy and great animation!

SHMUP CREATOR:
You can make free scrolling games like Desert Strike with the SHMUP Creator:

It's really, really nice!
The artwork is gorgeous.

(Just a side-note: I'm not really fond of the ring-shaped explosions though, I think it lacks something in the middle to add dynamics where the object is really exploding: like a small flash, or another explosion...)

I was wondering: what is your engine ?
S.

Any chance of there being something along the lines of Desert Strike? i.e Panning environment?   Blink Blink That could be all kinds of awesome and would really open up SHMUP Creator for  lot of verity in Shoot em up games.

Yes, you can
The player moves can translate the camera.
You can have a vertical scrolling and allow the player to translate the camera a little bit horizontally, if you want.
But you can also have no scrolling at all, and the player will move the camera. You can limit the translation zone and the speed of the camera.
You can also choose the way the player moves: you can use a twin stick set-up, or a keyboard and mouse set-up.

I'm going to make a small demo and a GIF for the end of the week to demonstrate this.
S.

For the scoring/HUD/in game texts you have the choice to either display true type fonts, which are converted to bitmap by the tool at run-time, or to modify the font "by hand" if you want a fancy font.
The score and multiplier sprites are sprites, and you have to create them with photoshop or other tools.

S.

[=.... SCORING SYSTEMS: PREVIEW ....=]

=.... SCORING SYSTEMS: PREVIEW ....=

Still working part-time on the project, because of a (super cool and top secret) contracting job, but the good news is: my features list is almost complete!
I'm currently implementing the scoring systems: gauge, chains, power up, multipliers, medals....
I'll talk about it in the next update.
S.

I'm working on the scoring system for the SHMUP Creator.
Added medaling, chaining, power ups and a lot more!

Looking great so far!

S.

Thanks for your comments darkhog!

To answer your question: to be honest, it's currently not possible to create an "on rail shooter" like space harrier, Rez or panzer dragoon with the SHMUP Creator.
My ultimate goal with the SHMUP Creator is to allow people to create any type of shmups. But because of the huge volume of work and because of some technical choices and design choices I choose a few years ago, you can't create on rail shooters yet, nor a real twin sticks shooter.
Some of the features needed for these type of games are already prototyped, but I can't implement them properly for the V1.0 of the tool.
So, I'm focusing right now on what is needed to make a good vertical or horizontal shoot em up.

Anyway, you can tell me what feature you need in order to create your project. It can help me shape the future of the tool!

S.

Will be possible to utilize sprites in 3D mode? So we could get "fake3d feel" (mode7/sega scaler). But then there should be option for billboarding/rendering as 3D doublesided quads, depending on your needs.

The engine is a 3D engine, and the sprites are really 3d quads in a 3D world.
So, you can mix 3D objects and sprites if you wish, you can tilt and move the camera, the lights can even light the sprites if you want, and the sprites can, or can't, cast shadows.

S.

It's been a long time! As always, so many good thing posted on this thread...

Still working on the SHMUP Creator, a tool which will allow people to create games without any coding.

Right now, I'm working on the 2D features of what is essentially a 3D engine.
I added a snap for the sprites :




The snapping uses the sprites borders, and works even if the sprites are rotated:

[SPRITES AND SNAP]

SPRITES AND SNAP

Hi, some gifs to show the new 2D features: we can now snap sprites in the 3D editor. (the assets are not mine, by the way...)





This other gif show that the snap is using the sprites borders, and works well even if the sprites are rotated:



That's all for now!
S.

[=.... NEMESIS II (GRADIUS) on MSX ....=]

=.... NEMESIS II (GRADIUS) on MSX ....=

Not really a dev post, but a story about why I'm working in the game industry, and why I'm developing the SHMUP Creator!

Original post there :
http://bulostudio.com/2016/01/11/nemesis-ii-gradius-on-msx/

. BIRTHDAY
After being introduced to programming with my VG5000, I’d wanted to quickly acquire a more sophisticated machine. Then came an used Philips MSX. At the time, this computer was of the same quality than his direct challengers like the C64 or the Amstrad 464. One of its advantage was her Japanese conception allowing it to have a cartridge port transforming it into a decent game console. One of the most prolific game publisher on this machine was Konami which released future classics like Metal Gear Solid, Twin Bee, Castlevania, Gambare Goemon et Nemesis (aka Gradius outside of Japan).
And a saturday afternoon, I received as a gift a Nemesis 2 cartridge and after that my life was never the same.




. SHOCK
To begin, the first thing that blow your mind when you start the game is the sound. The Nemesis 2 cartridge has a SCC chip which add five more sound channels to the MSX standard three. More technical informations here.
Listening to 8 tracks musics, composed by a real professional musician was a change from those usual 3 tracks melodies written by the accustomed amateur musician.
Next, the graphics, with huge animated flames, gigantic bosses, destructible backgrounds, which made your eyes cry (unless that cames from the 8 to 8 pixels scrolling. A good reason to later wear glasses…).

. SECRETS
And finally, the secrets : secret passages almost impossible to find, bonus weapons which, at this time, I’d never suspected the existence (I was young and without internet nor gamefaqs, huh), the famous Konami code cheats…
A big souvenir : when you fight a boss, you have to shoot him right in the belly to open a breach in his defenses and then, attack his core (the famous: “shoot the core”). Once dead, the boss stays inert for a few seconds then explode in a sheaf of yellow pixels. And I remember, unforgettable moment, the day where I said to myself “Certainly dumb, but why not try entering the breach, to see…”, and then, the screen disappeared, an unknown bonus level appeared, and I was filled with an enormous feeling of joy, and wonder was glowing in my kiddy eyes.
In truth a good Wednesday afternoon.
And of course, I pass on the game secrets and modifications if you insert another Konami game in the second MSX cartridge port, like playing as Penguin if you put Penguin Adventure or a lot of cheats with Q-Bert.
What a nice time of free secrets, that was before the free2play era my good lady.




. FIRST CONTACT with the GAME DESIGN
I also remember a small detail which struck me at this period: when the player’s spaceship approaches a gun turret too close, this one doesn’t shoot,fair play,to prevent death by an unseen or inescapable bullet. Then I had an epiphany: this game had been conceived by designers (even though I didn’t know this term), that is to say, people which worked hard on a product, thought about it and found solutions to numerous problems, took decisions to improve and make the game pleasant. This was later called game design, or game-play.
I also felt a real difference with usual lousy half games which I was used to. There it was a super production, a team job and a professional one. This was quite the same feelings I had, at the time, playing Super Mario Bros on NES (Well stronger for Mario but this is incomparable).
This is the difference between sophistication and a makeshift job.

S.

A video of this old but great game, not for the faint of heart (yeah, it's really old!):