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[eaxs]

Log entry #011

I'm back with another juicy update! I've added a new unit to the game called the Trooper. These troopers are basically pilots with jetpacks, floating in the sky. Whenever you destroy an enemy ship, there's a slight chance for the pilot to eject in time:



I think the spawning animation needs some more work, to make it obvious that they are rocketing out of the ship's cockpit. Right now they just pop out like eggs. There are many ways for these little meat bags to die. Here are some examples:

Trooper getting caught in the blast radius of his own ship.


Ooops...

I couldn't find any rules for posting images containing violence, so I guess it's OK?
Let me know what you think!

[Schrompf]

This is pretty cool!

[ProjectX593]

This looks pretty cool! The update about the resolution scaling was pretty interesting, I've got a similar problem in my own game I've been procrastinating on. Looking forward to seeing more!

[eaxs]

This looks pretty cool! The update about the resolution scaling was pretty interesting, I've got a similar problem in my own game I've been procrastinating on. Looking forward to seeing more!

I'm glad to hear that post was of use to you. I'm making technical posts every now and then, but you can always ask about specific things if you're curious 

[eaxs]

Log entry #012

I've been working on a random cloud generator for some time and I think I've finally found the right approach for it. I used particle emitters to make up the clouds in an earlier implementation, until I realised that I could make them more than just part of the scenery.

The thing about particles is that once they are released onto the screen, they just move on and do their own thing. It's not possible to track and change their motion or behavior after that. At least not in the way I needed. So I ended up rewriting the whole thing to use game objects instead of particles. And the result is pretty good:





I was inspired by

showing how a shockwave affects cloud movement. You might want to turn down your speaker volume before watching - sonic boom at 0:24. This is how it looks ingame:





And if a trooper gets killed while near or above a cloud, the cloud will soak up the blood and change it's color slightly:




I have no idea if that would actually happen in reality, but it makes sense in my mind 


There are other ways clouds could become part of the gameplay. For example if you stay in them, it could recharge your shield faster, assuming you have the right equipment.