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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsFoxhole: Scrapshoot (Alpha Demo)
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Dawmino
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« on: August 19, 2013, 09:26:54 PM »






Latest build: v0.16.1a (Oct. 6, 2013)

PROGRAMMER/ARTIST: DaCo
MUSIC COMPOSER: Nitrosparxx

This is a 2D platformer/adventure game I've been working on for about a year on-and-off. I recently put development into overdrive and have made great strides.

Foxhole: Scrapshoot is based on a world I've been building for over two years. It started with an earlier game prototype, then a comic, and now this game, which is the origin story of the character Zuka, who has a thing for building weapons. In the game, you can customize your weapons, visit a variety of NPCs, and complete several unique stages. The current version has only a small fraction of the planned content, and quite a few missing features.

I'm posting here to gain even more feedback and exposure ever since the latest major update. I'm more comfortable showing the game off in this state. But there's still much work to be done.

From now on, I'll include this thread in my rounds when providing news and updates about my progress!

« Last Edit: October 31, 2013, 09:29:56 AM by DaCo » Logged
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« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2013, 10:05:49 PM »

It looks quite cute.
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Nitrosparxx
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« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2013, 06:56:20 PM »

Hey look at that, the game I wrote music for! Ha ha ha!

But seriously you all, give this game a look through, because it is shaping up to be absolutely amazing! Mr. DaCo here is genius at programming and works more diligently than any person I know. And has an absolutely brilliant mind when it comes to gme design and theory.

So yeah, please check this out! It's gonna be so great!   
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Dawmino
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« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2013, 10:27:48 PM »

Nitrosparxx is very enthusiastic!

Here's a gif of a new enemy I just added, by the way.
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« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2013, 10:43:41 PM »

I like the character movement in the side scrolling parts. It feels tight. But in the 5 mins I spent in the game I couldn't figure out what to do in the area above and to the left of the place where you craft weapons on the map. It had platforms and things above but they were all seemingly out of my character's reach. So I just went left/right in an enclosed space until I run out of ammo. What was I supposed to do? Also, I'm not sure I like consumable ammo in such a game, plus the mechanics force you to waste ammo when you're firing kneeling down if enemies aren't in both directions. Perhaps that can be a toggle rather than a forced function (and you could also have the toggle apply to standing and jumping firing). Anyway, it's shaping up pretty well I think.
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Dawmino
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« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2013, 11:05:25 PM »

Some of the controls are a bit hard to figure out on one's own. At some point I will have a more comprehensive in-game tutorial of some kind. But I also don't want it to get in the way of the game or patronize the player. So some thought will have to go into that.

For now, you can walljump by holding the UP button and firing into a wall.
You can fire individual weapons with LMB/RMB or the shoulder buttons on a gamepad.
And you can reload with the east face button on a gamepad or 'R' key.
This can be configured in-game as well.
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« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2013, 11:38:42 PM »

Ah, duh, I should have checked the controls screen  Cheesy
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Fervir
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« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2013, 07:08:27 PM »

I checked out the demo.
And the game is pretty fun.

Some thoughts
The hardest part was just figuring out what was going on.
Things like learning how to do the wall jumping.
But once I got that down, I was bouncing all over the place.
I like that you can use your weapons to give you a bit of an extra kick when jumping.
The puzzles that I saw were pretty challenging.
I didn't get a chance to play around with weapons that much.
I think you're ready to add new enemies (I only saw one).
The platforming was a little frustrating, I can't exactly say why because I am still learning how Zuka moves around. Maybe she's sliding around too much? There were times where I thought I would make a jump, but I didn't quite make it.
I dunno, I guess the controls didn't feel consistent.
This might have been caused be some lag, which kinda slows down the time in the game and messes up your timing, and the lag got pretty bad on the bigger maps, like the one that takes place mostly underground.

Anyways, keep up the good work.
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Dawmino
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« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2013, 07:28:14 PM »

Could you let me know your specs? I've tested the game on some pretty destitute PCs and haven't encountered any fps drops yet. I also recommend that you do not play at a very high resolution, not just because of performance, but because even though I provide the option to play the game that high, it is only for the purpose of testing the resolution independence and to make editing levels easier. I have been designing the game to look and play its best at around 960x540 or lower.

As for the platforming physics... in the build I'm working on now, Zuka has a wider collision box which should grant a better margin of error for jumps while also solving some other collision issues. One complaint I also had was that she falls off of ledges "too soon" while moving off of them.
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Dawmino
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« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2013, 11:05:55 PM »

Just want to share a taste of what I've been working on for the next update.
These are still subject to change of course.


New enemy, the Sifter.



Improved aiming and walljump controls.


Treasure chests!

There's more besides, but these are the highlights so far.
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Dawmino
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« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2013, 03:34:32 AM »

I'm still alive and haven't stopped working.
Game Maker: Studio 1.2 came out.
It broke tons of things in the game, all of which I now have fixed. The biggest casualty was the pause screen, which I had to reprogram from the ground up. Fortunately, since 1.2 comes with shader support, I decided to spruce things up with a nice blur filter.



I'm hoping to have a new release out soon, but the things I had to fix for 1.2 delayed me a little. Still, my changelog is already much bigger than the last release.

I also did some organizational stuff with the weapons code. This will make it easier for me to create more kinds of gun parts, so that's exactly what I'll do for this update. I hope you have fun experimenting with the combinations when it's ready!
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« Reply #11 on: September 05, 2013, 04:34:45 PM »

Never got the chance to say it but your spritework is amazing.

Keep up the good work!

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Dawmino
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« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2013, 07:48:06 AM »



I worked on the minimap for the overworld today. It uses the same auto-updating minimap system I added to the level editor. Convenient.
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« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2013, 03:14:46 AM »

I'm not dead!
I took a bit of a break to play some video games.

Here's a peak at the A.I. Relays you destroy at the end of a level. Still some visual adjustment needed, but it provides a motivation to why Zuka has to trek across these stages.



These tie into the new turn system that I've also been working on. It won't be fully functional in the next release, but the idea is that you have so many turns to "beat" the game. You have to traverse the overworld with that in mind, as each move uses a turn. Destroying these relays delays Miss Faraday's plans and affords you more time to explore further. There will be other ways to gain/lose time, but I'll touch on that much later.

I've more-or-less finished the to-do list of this next public build, so you can expect the next release in three days. That is when I'll upload whatever I have. I'll be adding as much bonus content as I can before then, including more stages, weapon parts, tilesets, and enemies.

This next version has the largest changelog of any of the updates so far, so I'm excited!
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Dawmino
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« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2013, 10:44:14 PM »

v 0.16a is out!


    -Widened Zuka's collision box. Provides better margin of error for platforming. Prevents Zuka from getting caught in places that she shouldn't.
    -Made world map travel slightly faster and improved the controls.
    -Added two new enemies. The Grinder and the Sifter.
    -Added a new control. Using the [PLANT] control, you can stop Zuka in place and aim in all directions. You must hold the [PLANT] button to crouch and aim upward. If you aren't holding it, you can aim diagonally while standing by holding up or down.
    -Improved walljump control. Instead of firing into a wall, you tap the jump button when the flashing gun is intersecting a solid object while holding the up button. You can walljump using only the gun on the side Zuka is facing, which inverts when a walljump is performed.
    -Zuka's head floats up and down on the world map.
    -Improved appearance and animation of pickup items
    -You can no longer pick up items while dead.
    -Added a case to autotiling script for tiles that have "floors" so that the floors do not appear under other solid tiles.
    -Fixed a typo in code that caused Actors to be drawn in the wrong order compared to other objects.
    -Fixed the formula for how many chocolate diamonds are required to boost max health. More diamonds are required.
    -Added animation events to NPC behavior queue. (But there's no animation to use it, yet!)
    -Added randomly appearing treasure chests!
    -Pickup items can't be taken until a split second after they spawn. This is so you can see what they are before you take them if they spawn on top of Zuka. Which is likely to happen with treasure chests.
    -Messed with/added some weapon related sound effects.
    -Reduced instability caused by pause screen switching.
    -Zuka can no longer walk off the edge of the stage.
    -Corrected an issue that prevented Zuka from uncrouching under obstacles that were a pixel too low.
    -Improved behavior of projectiles. Will make it easier for me too add new features to them later.
    -Nerfed collision size of gas-based projectiles.
    -Added some pathfinding stuff to the stage controller. For now, it's used to ensure that randomly-placed objects on the world map can be reached by the player. May also be useful for A.I. later on.
    -Added minimap functionality to the stage editor and world map.
    -Optimized dragging out tiles while holding the mouse down.
    -Increased draw depth of solid tiles to prevent a case where characters and objects could appear behind them.
    -Changed stage size restrictions when making a new stage. Total tiles are taken into account. A warning will be given rather than automatically clamping the size of the level without telling you.
    -Enemies will now be destroyed if they travel too far off the sides of the level, rather than just the bottom.
    -Zuka can now change her facing in mid-air.
    -Objects in the level editor now have the possibility of being manipulated via middle-click, rather than just mousewheel.
    -Pause screen background now works on all resolutions and has some extra effects.
    -Fixed bug that caused clouds to move fast and when they shouldn't be.
    -Alt+F4 now closes the game.
    -Enter key will now work on radial menus even when gamepad mode is on.
    -Added intro text for stages to let you know the objective
    -In the world map, a button will float over Zuka' head to indicate that she can visit that area.
    -Altered HUD for overworld.
    -Implemented "Hours" counter.
    -Completing goals no longer removes control from the player until the transition starts, so you have a chance to collect loot.
    -The invisible exit/goal triggers are now visualized by a floating sign.
    -Added Miss Faraday's A.I. relays as the goal for certain stages. Destroying it finishes the stage and gives you more time to complete the game. Replaying a relay stage you already beat will replace the relay with a normal finish goal.
    -You can now choose to exit non-elimination stages near the start without finishing them.
    -When inspecting a stage on the world map, you are now shown a thumbnail of the stage, the stage's title, and icons representing your accomplishments there.
    -When moving between world map and stages, the next area will now be loaded into memory AFTER the transition effect finishes, so you don't experience that annoying pause.
    -Added two new weapon parts. Thus adding the game's first special shot effect and a new projectile type.
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thedukeofzill
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« Reply #15 on: October 01, 2013, 02:28:22 PM »

Sup, Daco. I played the new demo and made a list of feedback for you. I'll start with the stuff I think you'll agree needs fixing and then shift into what might just be my own opinions.

  • Pressing A on the back button in the menus doesn't work (you have to press B to go back).
  • There's no way to change any settings without losing all your progress.
  • I didn't see any indication on the overworld map of which areas you've already cleared.
  • Also didn't see any descriptions of weapon parts when modifying the guns.
  • The lack of a reloading animation is a little confusing, because it looks a lot like you just put your guns away.
  • It would be nice to be able to exit conversations with B instead of having to find the exit option and pressing A.
  • I noticed you can only talk to NPCs if you're next to them, but not if you're over them. Perhaps you could make it so you can talk to them while over them and it makes your player automatically walk to one side of them? I didn't like having to find the right spot to be able to talk to someone.
  • Weapons don't reload automatically when your magazine is empty.
  • I'm not sure what purpose it serves that you have to be holding up to be able to walljump. I think it makes the platforming more challenging but in a way that makes it less fun.
  • There are some things about the shooting I would change. I didn't like that you can't aim while jumping and that you have to press a button to crouch or to shoot straight up. I would personally either offer analog aim (via mouse/right stick) or make it control like Metal Slug where you can shoot in 8 directions and shoot straight out while crouching. If you did that you could still keep the plant button to be able to shoot in both directions at once.
  • Is there any advantage to putting your guns away? Why not have the guns always out?
  • I think it would be better if instead of random upgrades there was an upgrade shop system where you could pick out which parts to buy. It wouldn't have to be a permanent location in the overworld; you could still have the merchant appear in levels.

Your game's coming along nicely and I'm looking forward to future updates. My main complaint is that the controls didn't seem very intuitive and took some getting used to, so if you keep them as they are then you should definitely add a thorough tutorial in there. Keep up the good work!
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Dawmino
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« Reply #16 on: October 03, 2013, 11:46:09 AM »

Thanks for the feedback. I'll put this in my notes/to-do list. You're a big help!
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Dawmino
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« Reply #17 on: October 06, 2013, 07:23:38 AM »

CHANGELOG (v0.16.1a)

***Your previous custom stages will no longer load correctly due to format changes.


-”Plant” control now does nothing except prevent you from crouching or aiming vertically, allowing you to aim diagonally while still. Renamed it to “AIM” as a result.

-Fixed an oversight that caused your configuration for “plant” (now “aim” control) to not save. Whoops.

-Included “Shift” and “Ctrl” labels for when you set those buttons during configuration.

-The “help” button now includes that the middle mouse button can be used to edit objects.
   
-Relay dishes on the overworld will have a different sprite after being destroyed.
   
-Fixed a certain way-too-hard jump in the Puzzle Box level.
   
-Made some optimizations to point-collision checks.
   
-Slightly increased delay before a stage ends right after completing a goal.
   
-Fixed a bug that could possibly id the wrong entity as an Actor’s killer upon taking damage. This could have, for example, caused Zuka to be knocked back in the wrong direction when being attacked by multiple enemies. Or it could have given credit to a stage hazard for your kills.
   
-Improved damage events so that non-lethal damage and lethal damage trigger seperate scripts that are unique to the Actor that called them.
   
-Created a new Actor type, a BreakableObj. The relay dishes now fall under this. They respawn like enemies and can be destroyed. They use physics and can also be solid to other Actors, but not to projectiles (so that bullets can cause them damage).
   
-Goal_Relay and the Relay_Dish spawner must now be placed seperately. For stages where the relay has already been destroyed, the Goal_Finish will be placed at the same spot as the Relay_Dish spawner.
   
-Checkpoints will save the facing Zuka had when she passed them.
   
-You can now set the initial facing of the Playerspawn.
   
-The FPS counter is BACK!
   
-Zuka’s weapons now fly out of her hands like they were SUPPOSED TO THIS WHOLE TIME!
   
-Crush damage is now implemented. Necessary because of the solid moving objects.
   
-Fixed a bug that caused the radial menu to double-register input.
   
-Controls can now be configured in the pause menu.
   
-Overall stability of the radial menus, most notably the control menu, has been improved.
   
-Rockets deplete ammo 250% faster.
   
-Prevented some explosion sound effects from compounding.
   
-You can now also use the fire buttons to perform a walljump, like it was in earlier versions.
   
-Improved audio and visual effects for rockets.
   
-Three new stages that use the new stackable crates!
« Last Edit: October 06, 2013, 07:49:24 AM by DaCo » Logged
Dawmino
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« Reply #18 on: October 31, 2013, 06:56:56 PM »

I updated the wordpress dev blog to have a better home page. The latest gameplay video or trailer will be there and you can quickly access a direct download of the game by pressing the "Play Now!" button. The "Download" page was replaced with a "How To Play" page. It is still the same, including alternate download links, controls, and a feedback form. Because of the new homepage, the "media" and "what is foxhole" pages were removed, having their content combined into the landing page. Dev blog news is still there on a separate page. There's also the new buttons that will take you to the dev blog and the comic.

It's my hope that this will serve to introduce new people to the game as quickly as possible without losing their attention by forcing them to click more than they ought to.

The download starts instantly and the promo materials are all there. It's quite an improvement.

My time will be tighter since I'm in the process of moving. I'm hoping that I'll be able to put aside time for making more promo pics and programming the game itself, but I'm not sure how much I'll be able to accomplish.

Some time after Thanksgiving week, I should be fully moved-in and ready to get back to work as usual.  Coffee
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Dawmino
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« Reply #19 on: November 06, 2013, 10:09:37 AM »

Before I move, I decided to participate in the Game Boy Jam.
Check it out. It's a small game based on Foxhole, with Walter as the playable character.
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