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Pishtaco
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« on: October 13, 2010, 09:51:08 AM »

Finished - see http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=17327.0



This is a flight sim, with mouse control and realistically-inspired physics -- the planes fly like planes. But I'm not aiming for realism in most things, and certainly not in the graphics.

The game is set on Venus in the 1950s. The situation:


The British mandated territory on Venus. Millions of square miles of sulphurous cloud, believed to contain fabulous chemical resources.


The RAF is responsible for policing this vast area, and in particular for keeping a lid on the unruly border tribes.


The mandate is threatened by a spreading communist insurgency, supported by aircraft flying from the neighbouring Democratic Venusian Republic.

Gameplay videos:

,


(any choppiness and bluriness is from the recording)

Download an alpha version - You need to edit settings.txt for fullscreen



This started out as an entry for the Cockpit Competition, last March. That version is here. I began trying to make a proper game out of it last September, and have been working on it on and off since then. I really want to get it finished before the end of this year.

The older version was written in Python, using pyglet. This one is in D, using SDL, OpenGL, ODE and OpenAL, through Derelict. At the moment the engine and the basics of the game are done. I need to build the campaign, and this is going to require some work on AI and scripting as I go.
« Last Edit: February 05, 2011, 01:35:20 PM by Pishtaco » Logged

Hangedman
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« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2010, 10:55:11 AM »

It does look very cool.
I like the smooth motion and the idea of being able to command your allies.
I like the idea of a kind of arcadey dogfighting/barnstorming game, where it's easy to pick up and play because of smooth controls and fun play, but still with excellent physics and challenge.
To that end, I do recommend you dig up the PC copy of Crimson Skies (console one was totally different and crappy) and tool around with it. The physics look similar and it may give you an idea or two.
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« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2010, 10:57:28 AM »

Wow, that looks really good.

I know you aren't going for accuracy but I think those aircraft would really struggle in Venus' atmosphere. 
Quote
The atmospheric mass is 93 times that of Earth's atmosphere while the pressure at the planet's surface is about 92 times that at Earth's surface—a pressure equivalent to that at a depth of nearly 1 kilometer under Earth's oceans. The density at the surface is 65 kg/m³ (6.5% that of water). The CO2-rich atmosphere, along with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide, generates the strongest greenhouse effect in the Solar System, creating surface temperatures of over 460 °C (860 °F)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus

Why not just choose an imaginary planet?
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Pishtaco
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« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2010, 11:05:11 AM »

Wow, that looks really good.

I know you aren't going for accuracy but I think those aircraft would really struggle in Venus' atmosphere.  
Quote
The atmospheric mass is 93 times that of Earth's atmosphere while the pressure at the planet's surface is about 92 times that at Earth's surface—a pressure equivalent to that at a depth of nearly 1 kilometer under Earth's oceans. The density at the surface is 65 kg/m³ (6.5% that of water). The CO2-rich atmosphere, along with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide, generates the strongest greenhouse effect in the Solar System, creating surface temperatures of over 460 °C (860 °F)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus

Why not just choose an imaginary planet?

That's on the surface. From the end of that article:
Quote
Due to its extremely hostile conditions, a surface colony on Venus is out of the question with current technology. However, the atmospheric pressure and temperature approximately fifty kilometres above the surface are similar to those at the Earth's surface and Earth air (nitrogen and oxygen) would be a lifting gas in the Venusian atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. This has led to proposals for extensive "floating cities" in the Venusian atmosphere. Aerostats (lighter-than-air balloons) could be used for initial exploration and ultimately for permanent settlements. Among the many engineering challenges are the dangerous amounts of sulfuric acid at these heights.
My version of Venus is more like that, plus lots of artistic license. With modified engines jets can fly, so long as they stay out of the sulfuric acid cloud layer, which is the thing that looks like terrain in the screen shots. I haven't made a decision yet about what the planet is like beneath the clouds.
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Xion
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« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2010, 11:14:56 AM »

oh my goodness this looks even better in motion

(and it already looked great in still shots)
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Danrul
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« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2010, 11:39:20 AM »

This looks hot. 460'C hot.
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fraxcell
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« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2010, 11:50:05 AM »

I'm not usually one for flight sims, but the art style and everything look really amazing for this. I'm looking forward to this.
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« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2010, 01:50:09 PM »

I thought the still shots were just interesting concept art

and then holy shit!

This looks great (I'm kind of with ninjutsu, as flight sims have never found their place in my heart).
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« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2010, 02:33:11 PM »

As someone who has played the "Aces Over..." (Check it out here.) series for extended stretches of time, way back when I'm super excited for this. I love semi-realistic flightsims, like the aforementioned ones. Plus the untextured low-res polygon look reminds me of those games as well, good times!

Sometimes I even played with a friend, on the same keyboard obviously, one was flying the other one manned the guns/bombs. Maybe that means you should add a coop mode, too. Or I will just have to drag my friend in front of the same PC again... Wink

I'm bookmarking this thread, and good luck to you! Smiley
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tesselode
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« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2010, 02:42:15 PM »

This looks really weird. And cool! Not sure what to make of it yet, but I'd like to play it!
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Scut Fabulous
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« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2010, 05:13:05 PM »

So happy to see you've kept on with the project!  The contrails add wonderful drama, and I love that you've chosen 1950's era jets, they're that great splice of raw horsepower and hints of technology to come that make them sadly under represented in games.  All the crazy x-planes from that era would provide a lot of expansion pack fodder.

A cool way you could embellish the gaseous composition of the Venus sky could be to have clouds with unique properties that are useful in-game.  Low pressure pockets could allow towering columns of the lower corrosive cloud layer to rise up, creating areas to be maneuvered around.  Wisps of 'chaff' cloud, containing metallic particles that scramble radar waves passing through them.  Streams of combustible gas that your engine can scoop up for boosts of range and speed.
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« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2010, 12:55:59 AM »

The mandate is threatened by a spreading communist insurgency, supported by aircraft flying from the neighbouring Democratic Venusian Republic.
My brain is frying from this conundrum:
communist supported by Democratic
:S
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Ant
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« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2010, 06:25:47 AM »

I'm really liking the aesthetics on this. The colours are just wonderful. Hand Thumbs Up LeftGrin
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Pishtaco
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« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2010, 08:16:56 AM »

Thanks for the kind words about the graphics!

I like the idea of a kind of arcadey dogfighting/barnstorming game, where it's easy to pick up and play because of smooth controls and fun play, but still with excellent physics and challenge.
I'm not usually one for flight sims, but the art style and everything look really amazing for this. I'm looking forward to this.

I've tried to make it easy to control (it works for me!) but my short playtests with non-flightsimmers have shown that there's still a way to go. I'm hoping that when people have spent a little more time with it they'll get a feeling for how the physics works and then things will make sense.

So happy to see you've kept on with the project!  The contrails add wonderful drama, and I love that you've chosen 1950's era jets, they're that great splice of raw horsepower and hints of technology to come that make them sadly under represented in games.  All the crazy x-planes from that era would provide a lot of expansion pack fodder.

A cool way you could embellish the gaseous composition of the Venus sky could be to have clouds with unique properties that are useful in-game.  Low pressure pockets could allow towering columns of the lower corrosive cloud layer to rise up, creating areas to be maneuvered around.  Wisps of 'chaff' cloud, containing metallic particles that scramble radar waves passing through them.  Streams of combustible gas that your engine can scoop up for boosts of range and speed.

So far I've been sticking with straight-winged jets, and avoiding planes from too late into the 50s, since then the British designs would be outclassed. I'm debating having a squadron of MiG15s turn up at the end of the campaign, forcing the British to give the whole thing up and turn over the colony to the Americans. My Word!

Those are excellent ideas about the kinds of cloud. My dream vision of this game would be to hunt flying alien whales across a sky filled with stuff like that.

The mandate is threatened by a spreading communist insurgency, supported by aircraft flying from the neighbouring Democratic Venusian Republic.
My brain is frying from this conundrum:
communist supported by Democratic
:S

Think Democratic Republic of Vietnam or People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.
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Pishtaco
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« Reply #14 on: October 16, 2010, 07:47:37 AM »

I've been working on polishing the front end, to give the game more of a sense of place and time.

Main menu:


Missions should be selectable from this map, somehow:


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Scut Fabulous
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« Reply #15 on: October 16, 2010, 08:11:08 AM »

Looks cool.  Are you thinking of some form of randomly generated missions?  Are airbases suspended above the clouds, and therefore capable of moving or migrating around the planet?
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Pishtaco
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« Reply #16 on: October 16, 2010, 08:38:23 AM »

Looks cool.  Are you thinking of some form of randomly generated missions?  Are airbases suspended above the clouds, and therefore capable of moving or migrating around the planet?
My goal right now is to get five or six scripted missions done, pretty much like the missions in TIE fighter. I haven't thought about random ones; it's something to consider after I find out what works and what doesn't.

There will be some flying aircraft carriers, in the form of large airships for the British, and maybe a floating refinery something like an oil rig. There's currently a model for a (stationary) floating island, since that is easier to render than real terrain that has to merge naturally with the clouds, but I haven't decided if I'll keep it in the game.
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Scut Fabulous
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« Reply #17 on: October 16, 2010, 09:52:03 AM »

This is the first game that's made me want to invest in a new joystick in a long time (edit:  just re-read that the control is going to be mouse-based, but you get what I mean).  Really looking forward to playing it!
Are you planning a commercial release?
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deathtotheweird
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« Reply #18 on: October 16, 2010, 11:05:04 AM »

That's a sexy menu screen.
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Pishtaco
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« Reply #19 on: October 16, 2010, 11:49:18 AM »

This is the first game that's made me want to invest in a new joystick in a long time (edit:  just re-read that the control is going to be mouse-based, but you get what I mean).  Really looking forward to playing it!
Are you planning a commercial release?
I've thought about it; maybe someday if I work it up into a bigger game.

That's a sexy menu screen.
The plane should be moving along in the background, and the camera interacting in a pleasant way with the menu options you choose. This just about works, but it's glitchy and really needs rewriting.
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