@fullspectrum
Sparky just mentioned interlocking shapes, I think that could be the real solid hook to this game.
Man, definately. I think we're onto a good idea.
'Spinning pinwheels' sounds amazing.
Now we're talkin! Also, how about 'vector countdown'..remember that old board game with the rotating/interlockable discs?
The idea that these individual enemies have personalities all of their own, then when they connect become a single entity with another hidden characteristic is exciting. Vector transformers
Totally, good way to say it. I'm looking at the way Transformers fit together now you mention it.
@sparky
This continues to look really promising.
Thanks for the kind feedback.
I like the idea of the game throwing many enemies at us, and letting us select (or deselect) types by shooting them.
And again thank you; the enemies will vary in 2 main ways of weapon and craft types and characteristics.
Some of the attributes that the enemies will display/that you can inherit will be:
-firing speeds vs damage
-weapon types
-craft speed
-spread/focus fire
-size (min and max parameters).
And if you choose to vary your focus of destruction instead of ganging up on one type in particular, you will end up with all-round ability instead of maxed out on any particular skill.
If you can get the evolved varieties to really be esthetically attractive and feel different from one other
That's a really central aspect of the game's design to focus on too so thanks for mentioning it; I am finalising the level structure (rock types and artefacts etc.) and will post a low down of it once fullspecturm has had time to think it through. Then the enemies can be strongly themed and as such hopefully more aesthetically pleasing, and distinguishable.
I think seeing them change over time would be really engaging.
Definately, I think maybe they will adapt not just during a given sequence but during the course of a level as well.
Oh, and I love the idea of enemies that interlock. I'm imagining scrolling fences of interlocked enemies, and snakes, and big spinning pinwheels...
Yeah it should be cool man, I love the idea as well and my code makes it easy (for me) to do just that as I am familiar with the way I've set it out; we're onto something I think in terms of pipeling these ideas into the engine while maintaining simplicity.
As for your framerate concerns- I've worked with ActionScript a bit (though I'm really not an experienced programmer) and while Flash games do run inefficiently, I bet with a bit of work you could get the game to run nicely on most systems without sacrificing detail
Thanks for the vote of confidence!! haha. I think every game goes through this process, i.e. as engine functionality develops, performance becomes more of a concern since you know how much strain is being put on it.
I am aiming for simple, I'll see how much I can make it work with. In a sense predecided, but I am proud of how concise the engine has become so we'll see.
It'd be a shame to lose out on the ease of distribution that Flash offers. I'd also recommend considering Java if you can stomach it. It's slightly less convenient to distribute than Flash, but much faster.
I shall be looking into Flex and Flixel (in addition to Ogre and Blitz)after this engine is ready. I've seen an amazing particle explosion done in Flex by somoeone. For the time Flash is ok; its nice and accessible although performance is not always to my taste.
Here's a link to Parsec47, if you haven't already played it:
Parsec47Many thanks again, I just got a copy and have been playing it. What a brilliant game.