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Missile Command

Archive: 21 posts

Greetings again, my fellow LBPers!

There's no mistaking it, 2010 was a rough year for me. Having my LBP work in progress lost to a YLODed PS3 was the least of my troubles, but you didn't think I would stay away forever, did you?

While most of you toiled away in LBP2 beta, I was a little late to the game. Missile Command reflects my initiation to the new tools offered by LBP2 and a substantial effort to develop some logic wizardry. If you've played the original, then you should feel right at home, here. If you haven't then why aren't you playing this?

Updates to come! Look forward to a new gameplay mode soon

I'll do ten F4F requests. Feedback is much appreciated, particularly where bugs are concerned. Suggestions are more than welcomed. Thanks!

http://i3.lbp.me/img/ft/77311ac5ad1cdb7b116e664d5fb5f9c977a802d3.jpg
Welcome to Missile Command

Gameplay:

Survive wave after wave of oncoming missiles. Strategically detonate your own missiles to intercept enemy projectiles. Gameplay is broken up into short stages of successively more difficult assaults. You individually control three (3) missile bases which are equipped with ten (10) missiles each for each stage. Use your ammunition wisely.

Controls:

- Square = Alpha Base (Left)
- X = Delta Base (Center) (missiles fired from here reach their targets more rapidly)
- Circle = Omega Base (Right)

Scoring:

- Missiles - 20 points
- Jets, UFOs, Smart Bombs - 100 points
- Surplus Ammunition at stage end - 10 points
- Surviving Cities at stage end - 200 points
- Score Multipliers up to 5x!
- Replacement cities awarded every 10,000 points

Genre: Retro Arcade/Shooter

Thanks to those who helped:
c_mckamey
aya042
ninjamicwz

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/4d289194b3ec6fa53f8c46df0f399e299316a537.jpg
http://lbp.me/v/xn0p5j

UPDATES:
- vapor trails added to friendly missiles (2/23)
- game end check is moved to stage end, allowing for bonus points and bonus cities to be given if earned after the destruction of all cities. (2/23)
- fixed animation on exploding missiles (2/23)
- minor bug fixes (2/25)
- new scoreboard, main menu visuals (2/25)
- improved level cycling time... less waiting = better pacing. (3/3)		2011-02-23 04:55:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

Dude this is amazing, I'm spechless, primium blend, thats all i can say man, excellent.2011-02-23 05:04:00

Author:
reiko57
Posts: 115

Thanks for the stellar review Reiko! I had a lot of fun... and headaches... making this.

EDIT: I just made it to level 14... that's a new record. It starts to become quite challenging around level 8+ but it's fun when you're barely hanging onto your last city and you're so close to that next bonus city.

http://i7.lbp.me/img/ft/6a793c6b6254525660605c58f40c80813a942d90.jpg		2011-02-23 05:44:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

I'm queuing now! I was looking for a level like this a few weeks ago. Almost thought about building this one myself. Used to play this all the time on my ColecoVision!!!2011-02-23 05:45:00

Author:
peoriaspitfire
Posts: 359

i cant be the only one who got the terminator 2 visual where john is playing this in the arcade lol, excellent throwback dude, this made my day2011-02-23 05:55:00

Author:
reiko57
Posts: 115

I sent in a review to this level, must say it's pretty good .
Anyway heres a link to the level I would like a bit of feedback for: http://lbp.me/v/wsnp8c		2011-02-23 06:32:00

Author:
stargate1995
Posts: 9

Wow.... I feel bad now.... I thought when you unlocked it last night it was so I could do a test on it. I didn't realize you were UNLOCKING it.... Will go home later and immediately heart and happy face this one. It's really fantastic.

I played a missile command game a few days ago, and it didn't really do it for me.... yes, the graphics were spot-on but it was missing just about all the proper gameplay details.

Not this one! This is a pretty faithful gameplay representation of the original. When some people try to emulate a classic game, many times (because of a lack of understanding, or lack of logic) they miss the details that made the original great. Here, though, you managed to get it right. Shooting from 3 bases, the depleting ammo, the proper distribution of the missiles hitting your cities, progressing stages - it's all here!

And it doesn't surprise me that YOU did it - frankly, Asteroid Pinball has been amazing me for a couple years now - your attention to gameplay details is unmatched, IMO - and I keep coming back to your games time after time, year after year. This one is no exception - many may not appreciate what you've done - quite a few people treat LBP levels as throw-away experiences - but you've really done something special with this one.

One area that I felt could be improved (but I can only imaging how much work it would take to replace emitters) is the explosion effects. It's possible to get the explosion clouds much closer to the original by using a sequencer with a number of sizes of the explosions set to expand - then set to shrink when they disappear. Also, if when missiles exploded they emitted this sequence, you would have the full effect of missile command. I've found that the emitters within other emitters takes practically no thermo. Attention to this explosion detail could push this level to the top. (if you want to see it in action, destroy the boss at the end of H&G level 5 by shooting him in the stomach).

But, those were just a few thoughts - even without any changes you've done something VERY cool.		2011-02-23 13:07:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Oh wow.. I am a sucker for Missile Command! ..and something new from Thegide? Win!!

Queued! 		2011-02-23 13:31:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383

Wow.... I feel bad now.... I thought when you unlocked it last night it was so I could do a test on it. I didn't realize you were UNLOCKING it.... Will go home later and immediately heart and happy face this one. It's really fantastic.

Heh, I was going to wait until I implemented the stageless, neverending mode to publish, but I felt that the classic mode gameplay was pretty polished, so why keep it locked up?

I played a missile command game a few days ago, and it didn't really do it for me.... yes, the graphics were spot-on but it was missing just about all the proper gameplay details.


And it doesn't surprise me that YOU did it - frankly, Asteroid Pinball has been amazing me for a couple years now - your attention to gameplay details is unmatched, IMO - and I keep coming back to your games time after time, year after year.

You're too kind! It's just a shame that Asteroid! is bugged in LBP2. Looks like I'll have to patch it up and rerelease.


One area that I felt could be improved (but I can only imaging how much work it would take to replace emitters) is the explosion effects. It's possible to get the explosion clouds much closer to the original by using a sequencer with a number of sizes of the explosions set to expand - then set to shrink when they disappear.

Funny that you suggest this, because this is exactly how I've implemented this. My shrink on destroy is actually not working correctly, even though the item which these emitters are placed on is set to live 0.1s longer than the rings. But, I'll take another look at this.

EDIT: there... should look a bit better now


Also, if when missiles exploded they emitted this sequence, you would have the full effect of missile command

Yep, getting some destroy animations on enemy projectiles is next on the list!		2011-02-23 14:03:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

Awesome game here. Any change the loading between games can be reduced.2011-02-23 14:53:00

Author:
TimeH33
Posts: 51

This didn't work for me, but that may be an LBP2 issue? The missiles fired but there were no explosions, so I couldn't shoot down any of the enemies. I'm guessing it's a problem with LBP2 (level 'failed to load' twice before it ran), I haven't seen anyone else have a problem.2011-02-23 19:32:00

Author:
merkaba48
Posts: 79

Very strange. I just checked it out, everything seems to be running smoothly. Are the white X's displaying in the center of the targeting reticle when you press square, circle, or X? The missiles are set to explode on contact with the white X's, but the X itself is spawning the explosion animation.

Sorry to hear you had troubles with the level. I'll look into this if possible.

EDIT: I just ran into an issue on my moon playing the level, where various parts of the level failed to load and were replaced by yellow warning signs. I ended up rebooting the PS3 and that fixed it. Perhaps LBP2 has some memory issues at times? Maybe try again and see if its still misbehaving.		2011-02-23 20:27:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

Well I loaded it up again 2 hours later when I wasn't downloading stuff on my PC and it worked okay Super level, love the retro feel and the music is awesome. Pressing triangle twice to quit didn't work, but everything else did.2011-02-24 01:10:00

Author:
merkaba48
Posts: 79

Played this one today. This level has a certain quality, and attention to detail that makes it a totally enjoyable experience from start to finish. Keep up the good work!!2011-02-24 01:21:00

Author:
smasher
Posts: 641

Absolutely stellar! I've played so many versions of missile command (from the 2600's to arcade machines to pc's) and this one a worthy addition. Thanks for making it.2011-02-24 10:28:00

Author:
lochnar
Posts: 59

It's amazing to me how you came back & took on a big migraine inducing project like this right away and hit one out of the park. The presentation is perfect, it's as addictive as the real deal, and like Vectroids, I really like seeing how some LBP2 creators are making ultimate editions that are still very true to the original, but outshine almost any rereleases and versions of the source material I've played. You guys give stuff the Space Invaders Infinity treatment.2011-02-24 10:34:00

Author:
Unknown User

It's amazing to me how you came back & took on a big migraine inducing project like this right away and hit one out of the park. The presentation is perfect, it's as addictive as the real deal, and like Vectroids, I really like seeing how some LBP2 creators are making ultimate editions that are still very true to the original, but outshine almost any rereleases and versions of the source material I've played. You guys give stuff the Space Invaders Infinity treatment.

lolmigraines... yeah, no kidding. between corrupted logic circuits, remote event triggering (some of which are still not fixed), errors with "instantaneous" logic activation, and emitters forgetting to update, this was one of the most technically taxing projects I've ever done. however, I feel pretty comfortable doing some wacky things with circuits now, so I can say that it was a valuable learning experience.

my biggest concern was nailing the fun factor... early on I was worried that the gameplay would be too simplistic or repetitive to have any lasting fun. I published when I did because I had been tweaking the difficulty curve and finally had a really psoitive experience. getting into the upper levels gets you into that high excitement phase where you're just barely hanging on and gunning for one...more...city.

i'd like to try to spin it into a scoreboard competition, which is why i uploaded a picture of my highest level achieved. i might add something to the scoreboard area where users can take their pictures next to their highest level and show off. good marketing, no?		2011-02-24 17:23:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

I'd like to request some playtesting if possible from you guys...

I've overhauled the scoring system to fix some scoring glitches. The points awarded from destroying the stage 1 missiles should amount to 160 points, EVERY TIME (before bonus points).

Previously, it was possible to destroy multiple missiles simultaneously and only be credited for one. Also, it should not be possible to be double-credited for a single missile... I think this was a transient bug, but I'd like to know if anyone gets more or less than 160 points.

Other updates:

- swapped the "OUT" text for a symbol. I've deviated from the classic interface a wee bit, but think it looks better. Agreed?
- new scoreboard visuals, including classic "THE END" text. I'd love to get some custom camera angles going on here, but seems the scoreboard won't let me adjust this. If anyone knows a workaround, please PM!
- new main menu visuals with controls displayed for you lazy guys that don't want to read the instructions		2011-02-25 17:51:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

I'll check it out again. Would like to own the top score in this one!

Left you feedback on your level the other night. About all I can say...is nice $#@&ing job. Now you just need to deliver me a trackball. Also, don't be afraid to take the classic and put your own twist on it...		2011-02-26 05:56:00

Author:
peoriaspitfire
Posts: 359

Yep, still working on how I'm going to "twist" it before I submit it for the contest. So far, most of my twist has been stylistic, but I do have some ideas up my sleeve.2011-02-26 23:36:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

Oh wow.. you updated? I will have to try it again!!

Sorry that I didn't revisit and comment after I played, but I'm pretty sure I left a review online. Been a bit too wrapped up in my own WIP. lol

However....

First off what I saw I fell in love with. Really took me back to the days of those horribly warm early arcades and having way too many quarters in my pocket to be sure and have tons of plays on all my favorites.

I will have to give it quite a few more plays and check out the additions. I hate to suggest anything, especially since it looks like you have added THE END and maybe the big explosion. That was the biggest bit I missed. lol

Awesome job!!		2011-03-03 14:13:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383


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