Messages

76

Living Room / Re: ‘Biohacker’ Implants Massive Computer Chip In Forearm

« on: November 03, 2013, 06:44 PM »

I am personally not sold on either the idea of the sanctity of being human or the awesomeness of being transhuman. But I gotta admit, I find what he is doing pretty interesting. Even if the device is pretty bulky and a bit silly from my point of view.

77

N.A.N.Y. 2014 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2014 pledge: Some sort of game

« on: October 30, 2013, 09:42 AM »

Possibly, that puts more emphasis on creativity and the ability to tell a story. I'd rather make a mostly gameplay driven game as that would allow me to keep programmer art and doesn't require a very well thought out story. ANYHOW, in the same vein as my SHMUP thread I will post video updates when I create features or otherwise feel like it.

Relatively smooth resolution change with scaling of graphics and added view range if the aspect ratio exceeds 1.33.

edit: OH GOD, that video messed up. sec, let me fix that

edit edit: fixed

edit edit edit: Pretty much done with the options screen, now to figure out what game to make.



The options menu takes the 20 largest fullscreen resolutions and lists them for the user to pick, it also saves the options in a text file so that they persist.

edit edit edit edit: started working on some actual game stuff. Decided on 2d platformer. We'll see how it goes. Spent an all nighter coding and listening to the wonderful soundtrack from Bastion, which I accidentally recorded while making the below video

edit edit edit edit edit: Got some basic animation working using Spritebatches and Quads to help optimize the drawing of graphics.

78

Living Room / Re: Confessions of a drone warrior

« on: October 28, 2013, 12:41 PM »

That was a strikingly human perspective on drone warfare. It didn't really change my opinions of drones at all, but goddamn. It was a pretty emotional explanation of what the operators go through and their thought processes.

79

N.A.N.Y. 2014 / N.A.N.Y. 2014 pledge: Some sort of game (Didn't get it done :( )

« on: October 28, 2013, 12:11 PM »

NANY 2013 Entry Information

Application Name	Unnamed
Version	Pre-alpha
Short Description	A platforming game, with adventure elements.
Supported OSes	Windows 7 (Probably older and newer as well)
Download Link	https://dl.dropboxus...ANY2014/nany2014.rar
System Requirements	Keyboard Mouse Windows

Description
I set out to create some sort of game, and the basic framework is almost done. Most of the work was based on what I learned and did in my SHMUP, a Löve2d story game. I ended up making a platformer which was suppose to have adventure'esque elements, but didn't get around to that.

Features
Jumpin' 'n' runnin'

Planned Features
I am hopefully going to get around to creating some levels and actually finishing it at some point after new years.

Screenshots


Usage
Installation
Unpack and run the executable

Using the Application
S and D for movement
H for jumping
J for hitting stuff with a bat (Which does nothing at the moment)
O to show collision boxes for debugging

Uninstallation
Delete the game, it also puts a small plain text file in %appdata%\LOVE\nany2014

Tips
Any tips for using it?

Known Issues
The position of the character goes haywire if you move the window around, I am not sure what's up with that


-- Original post --

Spoiler

Basically I am going to make a game, not quite sure what yet but I have a few ideas. In case anyone saw my other topic SHUMP, a Löve2D story, they know that I still need to figure out what the game is about. So, any input on that would be fantastic. Also, I will try, once again, to keep a kind of log on progress.



As of right now I only have a startup screen and some early menu stuff going on. The display settings are also being loaded from a file and I hope to make it configurable from in game at some point, but it is not priority right now.

80

DC Gamer Club / Re: UBER-CRYPTO CURRENCY COOLNESS! FOR GAMES!

« on: October 15, 2013, 08:28 AM »

If I recall correctly something like this was tried a few years back with a quake clone. Didn't last long, however, with bitcoin I could easily see it garnering a small dedicated fan base.

81

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« on: October 15, 2013, 07:51 AM »

Primer
 (see attachment in previous post)

Rated:

-Renegade (September 23, 2013, 01:47 AM)

I cannot agree more, Primer is a fantastic movie.

82

Developer's Corner / Re: SHMUP, A Löve2D story

« on: October 08, 2013, 08:28 PM »

This might kind of suck, but I have decided to stop working on this here project. The game bugged down at the point I am at now and it would render the game unplayable in the long run. I have tried to fix some of the stuff and come to the conclusion that it would be a waste of time trying to fix things. Some of the optimizations I should have done in SHMUP needed to be done earlier and with more forethought to be effective which is why I decided that it wasn't worth it. The entire ordeal hasn't been a waste though, as I've learned a lot about Löve2D and general programming things. With this knowledge I should be able to complete my NANY project not just faster but also more cleanly and bug free.

Things I've learned:

• Basic idea and execution of object oriented programming
• How to hopefully keep things manageable by breaking tasks up into chunks
• That I need a game plan at the beginning rather than doing stuff that feels fun

Short list of things I need to remember:

• Don't calculate stuff constantly that could be calculated once and saved
• Don't use expensive math functions if possible, even if they are more convenient
• Make use of functions for drawing that speeds up the process (Quads, spritebatches, and canvas's)
• Try to plan out the general framework ahead of time instead of doing it as you go along (Don't go overboard though)
• Try to minimize feature creep, do one thing at a time and then move on to the next.

With that said, I am open for ideas relating to what kind of game I could finish for a NANY as I am not very imaginative.

edit: Also found out that there are löve2d builds made with LuaJIT which apparently speeds up math calculations a lot

83

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« on: October 05, 2013, 07:21 PM »

That idea of mellow and upbeat at the same time reminds me of The Flashbulb. He has made a few tracks that feature a similar feeling, at least to me. Planet Th is not quite as mellow as Autumn Insomnia Session though. Both also have somewhat interesting music videos accompanying them.

84

Developer's Corner / Re: SHMUP, A Löve2D story

« on: September 30, 2013, 09:57 AM »

After a short hiatus I am once again back with an update.

Levels now take advantage of object oriented programming features, customization screen updated with keyboard controls and the ability to sell weapons and mirror them on the ship.
I've also fixed the weird flipping when adding stuff to the ship in customization after creating the video.

edit: also just added the ability to change starting direction for swiveling guns

edit edit: Added a bit more to the level

edit edit edit: Added rockets and other minor tweaks, starting to experience some slow down. From what I've gathered by asking Löve2D enthusiasts, I should be able to speed it up immensely by changing the way I draw my sprites. I also need to fix some math in the rockets.

85

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« on: September 30, 2013, 02:57 AM »

I am not sure, but it seems like a parody or satire of modern music. Personally I prefer TommyVFs remix/cover of it (The video is also pretty good)

Long mix

86

Developer's Corner / Re: SHMUP, A Löve2D story

« on: September 24, 2013, 07:51 PM »

Games like Audiosurf and Beat Hazard do this, so it is definitely possible. Whether or not I have the skills to make it happen is another thing all together. At the moment I am still trying to get the basic systems down for the game to work off.

edit:

Pretty much done adding the basics of the customization system between levels. Also thought a bit about advanced gameplay. At the moment players are awarded additional statpoints to level up if they save score or money between levels. The score they keep between levels is also added to the total score pool, which would give a better highscore at the end of the game. I've also added a fire velocity upgrade after this video. It should also be noted that the first short thing it goes to after starting a new game is a debug level that awards a large amount of score. I also uploaded a new version if anyone wants to test it out, download link is in the opening post.

edit: Fixed annoying small bug with Swivel Machine Guns

edit edit: Fixed bug with hitboxes being active before they were meant to

Also, PEW PEWS

87

Developer's Corner / Re: SHMUP, A Löve2D story

« on: September 24, 2013, 07:15 PM »

Added sprites to the guns, some nonplaceholder stuff to the options menu as well as a clunky level system.

The enemies all need to be placed by a level author, but with levels being objects by themselves, you could have randomly placed enemies as well if you so desire, I've also added functions for placing formations of enemies and it would be possible to use these functions to "paint" a level or something further down the line.

edit: Bonus video showing off hitboxes.

88

Developer's Corner / SHMUP, A Löve2D story

« on: September 22, 2013, 08:35 PM »

So, in order to get my game on for NANY2014 I decided to get cracking and learn some programming. To do this, I decided to make a game using Löve2D. Löve2D is a framework that allows you to build 2d games fairly quickly using Lua. Since Lua pretty much is the only language I've had a bit of experience with it seemed like a good place to start.

Anyhow, the purpose of this thread is to chronicle the progress on this training project. Since I haven't really saved any versions yet (I plan to when I've hit some milestone, like getting the basics down) I will start from my current build and work my way forward with each new post, explaining what I've done and possibly what went wrong. With this I can look back at what I made and hopefully learn more than I did while doing it. Anyhow, lets get on with it.

These first few videos are from the early stages when I wasn't really doing much but trying to set up the basic framework to build my game on.

This video showcases projectiles and an enemy. Both were terribly done as I had mocked about in a stupid way with all the rotation and positions of the entities, this was later fixed. Even though the effect is minimal, it's always nice to do things the right way.

Gave the projectiles sprites and added different effects to the game. Including the randomly placed twinkling stars in the background.

This is where the fun begins, I changed the actual firing of projectiles from being hardcoded into the playership into objects that can be attached in arbitrary number to the ship. This way I can have powerups and upgrades without going through too many hoops. I also added some damage indication to the enemy ships as well as more stats to calculate damage. In the second video I got sound working and added some temporary sounds to the game, I don't own the rights to the music though and I plan to change it to something I can legally use later, so far it serves as a placeholder however.

In case you want to try it out, the latest compiled version can be found here. I have no idea what is needed to run it, but from what I gather it runs best under either windows 7 or 8.

Controls are the arrow keys for movement, space for shooting and p for pause

Updates:
Update1
Update2

89

DC Gamer Club / Re: Origin offering 24-hour return policy on digital games published by EA

« on: September 15, 2013, 01:14 AM »

24 hours after you launched it, eh? You could complete most modern games in one sitting and then request a refund.

90

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« on: July 26, 2013, 12:28 PM »

I recently watched The Prestige, wasn't sure what to expect walking into it. But it was both clever and at some places slightly funny. The twist in it was also really interesting and a bit surreal. But it all works really well and I'd say it's a must see.

91

DC Gamer Club / Re: Steam Collector Cards

« on: July 26, 2013, 12:22 PM »

Valves addiction mongering never ceases to amaze me, first hats and now cards? This is hilarious!

92

Mini-Reviews by Members / Reus Mini-Review

« on: May 20, 2013, 06:22 AM »

Basic Info

App Name	Reus
App URL	http://www.reusgame.com
App Version Reviewed	2.0.0
Test System Specs	Intel Core i7-3770    16GB DDR3 1600MHz       GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 660 OC (2GB DDR5)
Supported OSes	Windows, although the developer has stated that they are looking into porting the game to Linux and Mac
Pricing Scheme	Steam - 10 dollars/euros Good Old Games 10 dollars - Also DRM-free! Gamersgate 10 dollars/euros Desura 10 dollars/euros It should be noted that there's a 10% off deal during launch week
Screencast Video
Relationship btwn. Reviewer and Product	No affiliation besides liking the game

Intro:

Reus is a god game by dutch indie developer Abbey games. It's a bit of a casual pick up and put down game where each session lasts between 30 and 120 minutes.




The Good

The game has a fantastic cute art style, simple rules and complex interaction. Figuring out how the game works takes a a couple of minutes, but finding out how the rules work with each other is a lot harder. It's also really slow paced without becoming boring, yet can get pretty tense if wars break out or an era is coming to a close.


The needs improvement section

As I stated in my video, I don't think Reus has too much replayability. You can only coax settlements along so many times before it become repetitive. The unlock system, while driving the game by giving you goals, ultimately might seem a bit grindy. As your maximum progress in the start is limited by you being unable to access the more advanced tiles for the game.


How does it compare to similar apps

The game reminds me a bit of those smart phone games where you mix and match elements to get new ones. Except there's a tangible effect rather than just getting new elements. The giants also remind me a bit of Black and White and Shadow of the Colossus. While not really all the similar to the last, it's pretty easy to make comparisons to Black and White.


Conclusions

It's a cool little game that I don't regret dropping 9 dollars on. Even if I only get 8 or so hours out of it. The developers also seem friendly. It seems like it is pretty easy to ask them questions on their forums, where they are pretty active.

93

Community Giveaways / Re: SteamGifts Giveaway: Many games (Gone)

« on: May 06, 2013, 03:12 PM »

Hah, same with me Wraith, it registered in the nick of time at 10 minutes till end. Quite extraordinary.

94

Community Giveaways / Re: SteamGifts Giveaway: Many games (DLCs giveaways open for another 1 day)

« on: May 06, 2013, 06:26 AM »

Thanks a ton! Warlock alone is fantastic, and yet there's so much more. 

95

Community Giveaways / Re: SteamGifts Giveaway: Many games

« on: April 30, 2013, 05:21 AM »

Wow, you sure are generous there LLC. Thanks a ton!

96

Community Giveaways / Re: Crusader Kings II DLCs giveaway (Open for 2 days)

« on: April 25, 2013, 01:54 PM »

Sure, why not!

97

Developer's Corner / Re: Do you use a good office chair when programming?

« on: April 15, 2013, 09:42 AM »

p3lb0x should post some pics of the various chairs he has mutilated. Spends way too much time in front of the computer, that kiddo, and just can't sit still.

-f0dder (June 12, 2008, 06:38 PM)

Sorry, both chairs have already been thrown out as well as the yoga ball. My current chairs seat is not attached though and the padding is coming loose.

98

DC Gamer Club / Re: Starbound (Pre-Order) 4-Pack

« on: April 13, 2013, 01:50 PM »

Sure, why not. See if you can get a hold of me on IRC when you need the dosh.

99

Community Giveaways / Re: games giveaway

« on: March 29, 2013, 10:58 AM »

Interesting. I signed up.

100

DC Gamer Club / Re: Rogue likes for PC

« on: March 13, 2013, 05:48 AM »

There's also the recently released Sword of the Stars: The Pit. For a more scifi oriented experience. I haven't played it myself yet, but I am thinking of getting it.