Archive: 21 posts

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Edit: It appears that for contractual reasons I am unable to call this level"SUPER Snowball Smackdown!". Instead I must call it "Penguin Turf War".We'll still call t SUPER Snowball Smackdown between us, right guys? ;-) Skirmish in the South Pole to secure supremacy of the snowy slopes!! With Snowballs. And Penguins. And an Eskimo. You WANT! http://i3.lbp.me/img/bl/d13e42b7c62444801586bf147e44f70c12ff4248.png Clicky for LBP.me Demo Link (http://lbp.me/v/wqt8d8) Gameplay wise it's basically running around throwing snowballs at each other, borrowing aspects from games such as Bomberman, Super Smash Bros, Worms, though the actual bits I've lifted will probably go unnoticed. Sackbot Control: http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_4.jpg The whole thing is sackbot-oriented. The original version in the beta allowed you to select one of 9 characters (8 penguins and an eskimo, for ethnic diversity), or you can play in your own costume if you are boring... These are the basics of the sackbot control scheme: Custom jump / gravity Reduced floatiness of sackboy Double jump added Reduced Air control - though Double jump allows change in direction Aiming control - can aim +/- 45 degrees (approx), sackbot's head indicates angle. Throw power control - use L2 to reduce the power of a throw. Animated throw action, sync'd with the emitting of the snowball - it's really cute Power-Ups http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_5.jpg The main thing about the gameplay is stackable powerups. When you first spawn you're pretty useless - waddling about with very little range / power to your throws. Spread around the map are randomised power-up stations, that will gift you one of the following things Sprint - makes you go faster Power - increases max throw power Rapid Fire - reduces min time between throws Seeker - Will curl towards opponents when close to them. Force Field - destroys incoming snowballs before they can hit you [timed, non-stackable] All of the above (bar the force field) stack with each other and up to 5 times with themselves. i.e. if you were to collect 5 sprints and 3 powers, all would affect you - you'll be moving very fast and throwing quite hard. Picking up another "power" will further increase your throw strength (to level 4) but picking up another sprint will not affect you as you are maxed out @ level 5. Power-ups are intended to create a massive difference between level 0 and level 5. Getting as many power-ups as possible is the key to pwnzoring your friends and the intensity of the gameplay should increase over time as people power-up more. So maximum sprint allows you to run around 3x faster and jump much further, maximum seek will allow snowballs to fly past an opponent then loop round and strike them from behind. Combat: http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_3.jpg It's not actually really a deathmatch scenario here ('orrible violent things that they are) as I'm gearing it up to be relatively hard to die, but the when struck by a snowball you will get knocked around a bit (especially in the case of headshots, which will knock you off your feet), so blasting players off the edge of the map will cause their death - though pummeling them with many snowballs and not killing them might get you more points... So it's points scoring over killing with points awarded as follows: +100 pts for a hit +200 pts for headshot +Bonuses for combos @ 5x, 10x, 25x [think this is currently broken, unsure why] +500 pts for killing opponent / causing death of opponent. -500 pts for being killed -200 pts for hitting yourself (n00b) -500 for headshotting yourself. Depending on how things go all that is subject to change. I may also add a death condition for getting pwn'd - i.e. if you're stuck in a corner and just getting hammered, there will be a limit to how many points your opponents will get from you. Controls: As the controls don't show up (not idea why BTW, the prompts are entered correctly), it's pretty straightforward / standard: left stick: run. x: jump / double jump right stick: aim R1:fire Subtleties of the controls: You can also use R2 to reduce the power of your throw (this needs tuning) L1 acts as an alternate jump button (to help jumping and aim). Double jump only activates if you do a full height jump to begin with - you can't do a little hop and then a second jump (this may well change). There is a delay from when you press fire to when you release the snowball (due to sync with the animation). This can be reduced if you hold X then release - while holding X your penguin will have his arm in position to throw. It doesn't cut off much time, but it feels like it makes a difference... I won't bother listing known issues, just let me know what you think of the concept in general, I'm a bit nervous to be publishing something like this without spending weeks and weeks on it... Progress: http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_1.jpg I got a huge chunk of work done for the demo, though there is a lot still needs doing. There is, and will be, a lot of subtlety to the controls and I won't be happy until they feel just right (which currently they don't). The final version will hopefully include some more power-ups (I had some issues implementing bouncy snowballs without messing up other aspects of the tech, but I hope to bring that back), selectable characters (not that they have any particular abilities, just penguins dressed up differently ), possibly multiple arenas and hopefully a single player training / narrative mode. Fixed Bugged Impact flashes Fixed issue where sackbots would not get back up after being headshot Modified run speed & accelleration should make early stages quicker and jumping easier due to increased range. Stops faster penguins from being so jittery when you change direction Still needs some tuning though Added Crosshairs so you can have a better idea of where you are aiming. Double jump is easier to pull off the initial mechanic was too subtle for people to get and genuinely was a bit naff (basically it denied you a double jump if you did a small hop, which is cool in theory, but actually very naff in practice). Now Most jumps other than a tiny hop will enable double jump I may enhance this further so that double jump is simply activated when you leave the ground, allowing for you to drop off an edge and then jump in mid-air - a pretty cool feature robbed from Mosters (Probably) Stole My Princess Bonuses have been added for combos (thogh the visual cues need adding, currently all you get is a squeeky horn and +pts) Death if you get pounded now occurs, though I may make this harder to occur. Various bits and pieces of tuning

2011-01-17 13:33:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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A level from RTM? This might be ther first LBP2 level I play(and I'll probably get addicted to it).

2011-01-17 14:00:00 Author: iBubek Posts: 682

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That's pretty screwed up & pretty baffling that there's no transfer since they've already shown transfer capability with picks-for-reviews. I was finally looking at you guys having a huge launch presence in positive light that would overshadow all the spam for awhile. Well, 2nd time's easier, right? If they can't transfer it, they should be giving you overtime crunch pay. Power up mechanics & combos sounds great.

2011-01-17 15:48:00 Author: Unknown User

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What a shame... should blame this whole thing on that... 224 guy!

2011-01-17 16:17:00 Author: Gravel Posts: 1308

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What a shame... should blame this whole thing on that... 224 guy! Oh, don't get me started on him, he's a **** That's pretty screwed up & pretty baffling that there's no transfer since they've already shown transfer capability with picks-for-reviews. I have no idea what's going on with that. Some things are getting transferred I think, this isn't one of them. In a way I'm slightly pleased my hand has been forced to rebuild, as you say, 2nd time is easier and just better. I'm not fighting with the ridiculous bugs from Beta v1.01 this time around and can use my powers of hindsight to make better design decisions WRT power-ups, I'm considering adding forcefields as a 5th power-up. I already have the "ownable" forcefield mechanic (whereby if you "own" it, your snowballs will travel through, but no-one else's can.) implemented for respawn. Currently unsure if a forcefield power-up would be best as a timed thing, or an "x hits per time you pick up" the power-up.

2011-01-17 16:45:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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lifetime after activation = strategy... by being able to pick it up and save it, it gets more unpredictable and you can't really camp the pick up point since you can only hold 1. headshots & air control sounds great too. makes me think of Rail Gun matches in old Quake 3

2011-01-17 16:57:00 Author: Unknown User

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Oh I hated railguns matches in Quake 3 - Xero would just destroy me on that final level except on the easiest couple of settings. Just in case it's unclear the headshots don't kill, it's all just about smacking people off the ledges Not sure if you're pushing for timed or non-timed there. I'm kinda leaning towards timed - if nothing else it encourages you to engage your opponents, else you waste it, so you keep moving. For similar reasons, the power-up stations switch on and off randomly, but won't switch on if anyone is near them - keeps you moving around.

2011-01-17 17:05:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Seems great and fun! Too bad you don't have some pictures Looking forward to it!

2011-01-17 17:25:00 Author: dajdaj03 Posts: 1486

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Interesting concept, I look forward to checking it out. Might I suggest having -100 points instead of -500 for hitting yourself, that seems really harsh to me.

2011-01-17 20:05:00 Author: UmJammerSully Posts: 1097

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Seems great and fun! Too bad you don't have some pictures Looking forward to it! I'll grab some pics from the beta version in a bit then post them here. Interesting concept, I look forward to checking it out. Might I suggest having -100 points instead of -500 for hitting yourself, that seems really harsh to me. Well it was supposed to be a -500 points for being useless - it was practically impossible to hit yourself... however, with the introduction of bounciness power-up (for lolz), it's now pretty easy to hjt yourself... I'm still thinking of making it a bit punishing: -200 for hitting yourself, and -500 for a self headshot... I'll see how that pans out and change it if need be. Edit: Bounciness doesn't work... Or it does, but not without a LOT of work. I may get it up and running eventually... fingers crossed

2011-01-18 16:50:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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OK I didn't actually get around to doing pictures was up all night getting the demo ready for publishing this morn. http://lbp.me/v/wqt8d8 Edit: Seems the fancy LBP.me integration isn't working... http://lbp.me/v/wqt8d8 It's a bit rough around the edges, both tech-wise and visually, but it should play pretty well. Mostly I had to rush the scenery and there are a couple of aspects of how the sackbots handle that I'm not happy with. It doesn't hold up too well in offline multiplayer though, sadly. I'll try to address that in the final version by adding in an optional, smaller map. As the controls don't show up (not idea why BTW, the prompts are entered correctly), it's pretty straightforward / standard: left stick: run. x: jump / double jump right stick: aim R1:fire Subtleties of the controls: You can also use R2 to reduce the power of your throw (this needs tuning) L1 acts as an alternate jump button (to help jumping and aim). Double jump only activates if you do a full height jump to begin with - you can't do a little hop and then a second jump (this may well change). There is a delay from when you press fire to when you release the snowball (due to sync with the animation). This can be reduced if you hold X then release - while holding X your penguin will have his arm in position to throw. It doesn't cut off much time, but it feels like it makes a difference... I won't bother listing known issues, just let me know what you think of the concept in general, I'm a bit nervous to be publishing something like this without spending weeks and weeks on it...

2011-01-20 10:14:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Will check it out as soon as I finish my revision and am actually able to get on the game, instead of having to stare at Geography with the game practically laughing at me. But yeah, seems cool, added the demo to my queue.

2011-01-20 11:32:00 Author: Unknown User

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Oh Hai! I Iz penguins http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto.jpg This is exactly what Antarctica looks like. I did much research That's a sprint powerup in the middle there, and some of the dog's fur is missing IDK why http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_1.jpg Powerup activation looks a little like this: http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_5.jpg Here's some more penguins Pwning each other: http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt82/rtm223/Penguin%20Turf%20War/APhoto_3.jpg

2011-01-21 21:13:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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OK, didn't get much time over the weekend but I did do a bit of work: Combos are fixed (still needs an indicator of combo, beyond just the points appearing. Prob just another text pop-up will do it. You die if if you get hit 10 times in quick succession, to prevent you getting pummeled in a corner. It should be harder to crush your penguin now Shields aren't as rare as they were before I've also reworked a large chunk of the thermo for optimisation and to make life easier when I get around to finalising with the character select. Not rolled these updates out yet - it still involves a tedious copy/paste & editing of tags exercise. Hopefully will be able to do that later tonight. Main things to get done now are: Add something a bit more interesting to the hologram shield graphics-wise Add some form of respawn effects and / or explicit respawn locations. Character select and main menu. Remapping of paower-regulation logic - it's currently too hard to get off a medium power shot. At which point I will essentially have a first version of the final game. Beyond that there is still: multiple / selectable arenas Single player / Training mode Potentially adding asymmetrical attributes / stats to the characters (speed, jump height, resilience, inability to collect certain powerups, etc. If anyone has any comments on the direction I'm taking this or any further ideas of what would improve it then please let me know

2011-01-24 10:55:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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It's awesome... had a shot with my mate. Works perfectly. I really like the power-up system you've made. The only critisism I have would be to make the Rapid Fire power-up a bit more noticable by increasing the snowball frequency a tad more, though this might make it over-powered... never mind. Carry On!

2011-01-24 11:40:00 Author: Macnme Posts: 1970

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This looked very cool when I checked it out earlier... I was alone, so it was err... pretty. I'll have to drag someone along when I get the chance.

2011-01-24 12:31:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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The only critisism I have would be to make the Rapid Fire power-up a bit more noticable by increasing the snowball frequency a tad more, though this might make it over-powered... never mind. Carry On! There is probably a good reason for this. On other power-ups, notably the sprint, the first level is quite pronounced against not having it at all. I think the first rapid fire changes from 2.2s to 2.0s or something like that, so it's not until you max it out that you will really notice. It's a tricky one, as you say, picking up the first powerup and not being able to see a difference is a big naff. I think the same is actually true of the seeking power-up, the initial couple of levels are hard to spot a difference, even though there is one.... I'll have a think about rebalancing of these factors at some point.

2011-01-24 12:53:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Ok, I've added a whole slew of updates to this now. Having an MM pick with so many people playing what is very much a demo level is depressing to say the least. So far: Modified run speed & accelleration should make early stages quicker and jumping easier due to increased range. Stops faster penguins from being so jittery when you change direction Still needs some tuning though Added Crosshairs so you can have a better idea of where you are aiming. Double jump is easier to pull off the initial mechanic was too subtle for people to get and genuinely was a bit naff (basically it denied you a double jump if you did a small hop, which is cool in theory, but actually very naff in practice). Now Most jumps other than a tiny hop will enable double jump I may enhance this further so that double jump is simply activated when you leave the ground, allowing for you to drop off an edge and then jump in mid-air - a pretty cool feature robbed from Mosters (Probably) Stole My Princess Bonuses have been added for combos (thogh the visual cues need adding, currently all you get is a squeeky horn and +pts) Death if you get pounded now occurs, though I may make this harder to occur. Various bits and pieces of tuning I want to modify the double jump to make it more crisp, now you can do it when falling you get a weird kinda "bounce" if dropping rapidly. It's occasions like this I wish MM gave us better dampening controls, I'm gonna have to suss out a way to mimick vertical dampening using movers, to clean up this effect, though I may be able to get away with a loose simulation, but meh, I'll see what happens. That'll probably be the last update I do before calling the demo finished. There are a lot of other things to be added, both functional and visual, before the full game can come out, but largely that's polish. Expect to see updated versions exist in a locked level, and keycodes posted here. Also, images of the extra characters should be released soon

2011-01-26 13:42:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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It's awesome! I played. Can't wait for future updates, this is my favourite LBP2 level so far

2011-01-27 17:23:00 Author: mutant_red_peas Posts: 516

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OK. Hopefully next weekish I'll be in a position to begin a big push on developing this. I've been looking through this evening and there is a crapload of work to do to get it to the point I want it at, but hey, hopefully it will be worth it. Testing on updates will be done away from the demo I think as it gives me more flexibility for testing methods (i.e. if I update movement mechanics I can publish part tests with a single sackbot / a selection of variants, rather than going through the laborious process of duplicating for multiple players). So basically, if you wanna sign up for testing then please let me know. Oh, in other good news, I've updated the snowball mechanic to allow me to add back in the bouncy snowballs. Which will be epic

2011-02-16 23:48:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Looks fun! Just wondering, what did you use to detect headshots? Also, if you're still stuck for respawn ideas, might I suggest parachuting in? Wish I could give this a go! http://i.neoseeker.com/mgv/272671-Blackfalcon/671/5/animal0064hb2_display.gif

2011-02-19 14:49:00 Author: Blackfalcon Posts: 409

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