Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
7DRL: Day 3
Very, very "early alpha" playable version here: ragtag.magmafortress.com
I fixed up all the major bugs (that I know of,) added some more abilities then set it up so that you respawn with a randomised set of abilities whenever you die.
Then I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why the game was not running the same on Google App Engine as it does on my desktop. I wish I'd tested this more before the challenge.
It basically came down to differences in the way some openGL resources are initialised.
Anyway, I'm happy to have a version released already.
I fixed up all the major bugs (that I know of,) added some more abilities then set it up so that you respawn with a randomised set of abilities whenever you die.
Then I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why the game was not running the same on Google App Engine as it does on my desktop. I wish I'd tested this more before the challenge.
It basically came down to differences in the way some openGL resources are initialised.
Anyway, I'm happy to have a version released already.
Monday, 10 March 2014
7DRL: Day 2
Day 1:
I came up with a new idea while coding a bunch of player abilities. My current focus is to have a game based around knocking enemies into environmental hazards to kill them.
Dungeon rooms would be full of traps, explosive barrels and so on and you'll have a bunch of abilities to force enemies where you want them, get around the map quickly and create more hazards.
Day 2:
Having interesting rooms is going to be the big challenge in this game and it basically consumed the whole day. So far we've got spikes, pools of water, explosive barrels and bear traps and a bunch of other random clutter to fill up rooms.
I'm going for a sort of Sin City style look where it's mostly grey scale with effects in colour.
I came up with a new idea while coding a bunch of player abilities. My current focus is to have a game based around knocking enemies into environmental hazards to kill them.
Dungeon rooms would be full of traps, explosive barrels and so on and you'll have a bunch of abilities to force enemies where you want them, get around the map quickly and create more hazards.
Day 2:
Having interesting rooms is going to be the big challenge in this game and it basically consumed the whole day. So far we've got spikes, pools of water, explosive barrels and bear traps and a bunch of other random clutter to fill up rooms.
I'm going for a sort of Sin City style look where it's mostly grey scale with effects in colour.
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| I like the candles |
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| Fus Ro Dah! |
Saturday, 8 March 2014
7DRL Preparation
The 2014 7DRL has begun and I'm now half a day into it.
I thought I'd do quick a post showing my starting point for this year's challenge. The following screenshots show what I'd done BEFORE the challenge started.
Isn't this cheating? I don't think so because I consider it to be working on the "engine", not the "game". Also, the official rules say it's fine, especially if I state what pre-existing code I started with, which I'm doing now.
Basically, I'd rather spend the 7 days working on gameplay instead of implementing path finding algorithms and so on.
So there you go. The monsters are low on health because they've been attacking each other and the game crashes if your health drops to 0. I have a long way to go but I think it's going to be a fun week.
I'm using oryx's tileset and targeting a HTML5/webGL release that should be playable in any modern web browser.
I've also been playing around with shaders recently and the engine already supports basic "glow" effects. If you're still reading, you can check out the "test app" running on Google App Engine at test.magmafortress.com and see the amazing glow in action by pressing "f" twice.
Edit: one more thing I forgot to mention that isn't shown in the screenshots is that my engine also has a simple particle effect system, which causes pixels to fly out when you hit a monster. Just thought I'd mention it in the interest of full disclosure as there's no way I'd have time to spend coding such a thing during the challenge.
I thought I'd do quick a post showing my starting point for this year's challenge. The following screenshots show what I'd done BEFORE the challenge started.
Isn't this cheating? I don't think so because I consider it to be working on the "engine", not the "game". Also, the official rules say it's fine, especially if I state what pre-existing code I started with, which I'm doing now.
Basically, I'd rather spend the 7 days working on gameplay instead of implementing path finding algorithms and so on.
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| basic layout and mouse input done |
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| oryx graphics |
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| basic path finding added |
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| monsters, basic AI, target |
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| HP, bars |
So there you go. The monsters are low on health because they've been attacking each other and the game crashes if your health drops to 0. I have a long way to go but I think it's going to be a fun week.
I'm using oryx's tileset and targeting a HTML5/webGL release that should be playable in any modern web browser.
I've also been playing around with shaders recently and the engine already supports basic "glow" effects. If you're still reading, you can check out the "test app" running on Google App Engine at test.magmafortress.com and see the amazing glow in action by pressing "f" twice.
Edit: one more thing I forgot to mention that isn't shown in the screenshots is that my engine also has a simple particle effect system, which causes pixels to fly out when you hit a monster. Just thought I'd mention it in the interest of full disclosure as there's no way I'd have time to spend coding such a thing during the challenge.
Friday, 3 January 2014
Hoplite News
The iOS release of Hoplite has been going very well. Thank you all so much for playing the game, telling your friends and tweeting about it.
Some recent Hoplite features/reviews:
Pocket Tactics - With your shield or on it
Indie Game Enthusiast - iOS Spotlight
Hoplite on German radio
Version 2.2.1 is under way and the beta is now available. See the beta testing page for more details (Android only)
Changes so far:
- fixed bug causing game to keep going after player won or died
- fixed crash if game is paused immediately after giving an achievement
- fixed crash on quitting game if google play service killed
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
iHoplite
I'm happy to report that Hoplite was submitted to the iTunes app store for review a few days ago.
This version features new graphics by @ShroomArts. Big thanks to ShroomArts!
Hoplite v2.2 for Android will also be released shortly.
In the meantime, checkout the Hoplite promo video.
This version features new graphics by @ShroomArts. Big thanks to ShroomArts!
Hoplite v2.2 for Android will also be released shortly.
In the meantime, checkout the Hoplite promo video.
Monday, 9 December 2013
Hoplite Fan Art
Yes, it gives me great pleasure to say that Hoplite has fan art. From the days of slimes and blue demons:
Dave Myers - Huzzah Comics
William Bray - @fylth11
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