Archive: 20 posts

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http://i3.lbp.me/img/bm/7b30925b036ce31f057eeca1b678cef70b662743.pngProjec t Llama Shooter (lbp.me/v/6ed-fx) by DarkDedede (http://lbp.me/u/DarkDedede) Hi all. This is a sidescrolling shooter project that I am working on. On of the things that I am trying to focus on is developing a system that makes it simple to reapply different visual themes, without too much work. I am big fan of reusable code and organized code, so I am keeping this standard in mind, when designing the LBP2 logic. Playable for up to 1-4 players Multiple playable characters, with different characteristics A player select interface. Different types of enemies, with different characteristics (HP, Projectiles, etc) Powerup items, which will affect player abilities A boss battle This project is still in the development stages, but it is completely playable for 1 to 4 players. I am always looking for constructive feedback. I also will be updating this thread with my progress, as well as sharing some of my experiences with the development of the game. If you would like to check out what I've got published so far, I would love to hear what you all think. http://ie.lbp.me/img/ft/96ee2274572925f107ad473e9211ba7dbbe3e109.jpg Player Select Area http://i1.lbp.me/img/ft/1b15c65297f5751f3f1348c191a1560254e505e3.jpg Current Player Select GUI http://i1.lbp.me/img/ft/09154d9fd2bd5cd2a44a99705617a286209e2f00.jpg Sky Kitty vs Dragon Kitty

2012-06-11 00:00:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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Most Recent Build: Version 3 Version 3 Graphic User Interface (GUI) implemented for Player Select. GUI select implement a row/column system A color assigned to each player (blue/green/orange/purple) Total of 8 characters now included. Enemy HP system improved (Now up to 10 HP) Enemies now accept 1/2/3/5/10 damage New projectile upgrade power-up implemented. Projectile power-up object follows player, while upgrade is active. Player select works with d-pad, as well as analog stick. Version 2 Supports 1-4 players Multiple playable characters implemented Playable character selection for players to choose Player Select controls implemented Game will not start until all players have confirmed their character selection Charge Shot Each playable character fires a unique set of projectiles Enemy/Power-up spawn probability implemented Enemy health system improved (5HP/3HP/1HP) Different projectiles do different amounts of damage (Normal = 1, Charged = 3). Camera adjusted during Player Select phase Streamlined programming/logic to focus on reusability and maintenance. Negative power-ups implemented Tentative solution implemented to keep enemies from flying off screen, as camera moves. Version 1 Playable character implemented Player character X/Y movement Playable character fires projectiles Player movement limited to screen area Game camera follows predetermined path Multiple enemies implemented Power-ups implemented Random enemy spawners Random power-up spawners Player/Enemy collisions Player/Power-up collisions Enemy/Projectile collisions Enemy Health/HP (3HP and 1HP enemies) Enemies give points when damaged or destroyed Score type power-ups implemented Issues & To-Do List Special Power-ups Projectile Power-ups Transformation Power-ups Negative Power-ups Boomerang type projectiles Player health limit Player live limit Player select GUI Enemy movement behavior Enemy projectiles Boss battle Title Screen Visually indicate selected character Cancel selected character, if all players have not selected yet. NPC mobs to not fly straight, due to camera movement Playable characters are identical, despite the player in control. Need to some indication of which player is control, if two players select the same character. Temporary power-ups need to give some indication that the player is still under the affect of the power-up. Player select interface needs to work with D-pad, as well as analog stick. System must be able to handle when the player receives multiple power-ups.

2012-06-11 00:01:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7229/7185786285_3d27fe0e45_m.jpg Robo-Bara http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/7185786283_5fcecfa71c_m.jpg Cloud Kitty http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7240/7185786299_eb7c153601_m.jpg Llama http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5349/7185786303_82e51d1a0d_m.jpg Lady Llama http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5332/7185787401_c643d037ff_m.jpg Dragon Kitty http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7104/7185787367_121aeeb821_m.jpg UFO http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7185787399_5ec7e28114_m.jpg Classic Target http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/7185787403_e25b37e23f_m.jpg Pear (score)

2012-06-11 00:01:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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Updated the game to implement a charge shot. It was quite an interesting challenge. It wasn't so much getting the charge shot to work, but work the way I wanted it to. There were some things I needed to consider when implementing this feature. Type of projectile fired, depending on how long the button is held. Projectile firing when button is released Enemy HP updating depending on the damage of the projectile So far, each enemy has 5, 3 and 1 hp, with plans to have enemies with even more HP. The charge shot does three times the damage of a regular projectile. I initially tried to get it to work with counters, but it got a bit too complicated. I ended up using a selector for the HP. It seems to be working out quite nicely (so far). The logic is generally very similar, depending on the amount of HP for each type of enemy. Oh, and I got Sackbots to work with my Player Shooter logic.

2012-06-19 22:39:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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Published Version 3. I improved the player select to include a grid system GUI, and 8 playable characters. The grid is set up with 2 rows and 4 columns, and the characters can be selected with the analog sticks left/right and up/down controls. I have also assigned a color to each player, which I felt was a simpler alternative to assigning each player a number.

2012-06-26 17:23:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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oh Dedede, you may want to make your GUI selection work with both d-pad and analogue stick. (all you need to do is use an or gate it's quite simple) I can't tell you how many times I've gotten PO'd because there was no D-pad option. To me, d-pad works better for menu's.

2012-06-26 20:38:00 Author: a_mailbox Posts: 416

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Yeah, thanks for reminding me. I was planning to do that. I also agree that the d-pad works better. That will be the next thing I do, now that I've got it working. Update: Okay the d-pad works now.

2012-06-26 21:19:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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The selector thing doesn't sound like the best way to do hit detection. You might want to explore other options before you go with any hit detection system.

2012-06-28 13:22:00 Author: BIGGamerer Posts: 182

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Hit detections seems to work so far. What types of issues should I have to worry about in the future?

2012-06-28 17:16:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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Having an enemy register damage for two or more projectiles at the same time. (Unless there's something about this system that I don't know about. I have a workaround I'm using in my level Zombie Epidemic which virtually eliminates this issue.)

2012-06-28 19:16:00 Author: BIGGamerer Posts: 182

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I whipped up this diagram explaining the projectile collision system. Hopefully this will make things a bit more clear. 40573 The collision detection signal would be active for only a very short amount of time, since the projectile is destroyed as soon as the collision occurs. Now I'm not sure of the exact time of how long these signals stay active, but I would assume that the odds of two collision signals, from two projectiles, overlapping would be very slim. I would also assume that this type of event would only occur during a multiplayer session.

2012-06-29 00:26:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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I still don't understand how your hit detection system works. I get the main gist of what it's supposed to do, but I don't understand how it does that. I have a feeling that there's a much-needed improvement for your hit detection system. (I can only speculate though, since I haven't played the level for myself to see if your hit detection system does or doesn't suffice.)

2012-06-29 03:43:00 Author: BIGGamerer Posts: 182

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I did some testing, and it would seem that the signal isn't the instant that I originally thought. It would seem that your concern does have some merit. Although, I still feel the problem would still be most prominent during multiplayer, which is an area that I have yet to get around to doing much testing. Thanks for the feedback.

2012-07-05 23:38:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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oh, I totally forgot O.o If you choose the sackboy "ship" and another player uses the "kitteh" the sackboy can die from the gas It happened when I last played the level, but if you already fixed it, that's great

2012-07-06 01:00:00 Author: a_mailbox Posts: 416

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That sounds bad. I guess I'll have to fix that. Thanks for the heads up.

2012-07-06 06:06:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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If you choose the sackboy "ship" and another player uses the "kitteh" the sackboy can die from the gas The issue should be resolved. I decided to use smoke instead.

2012-07-08 05:52:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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I am currently working on a power-up that will upgrade the player projectile, for a limited amount of time. Changing the projectile will be simple. The real challenge will be all the behaviors that comes with this added functionality. Here's what I have planned: Player collides with the projectile upgrade Player will be able to shoot a different set of projectiles, for a limited amount of time. Projectile will follow the player, while the upgrade is still active. After a set amount of time, the upgrade will expire. The player projectiles will revert to the original settings. The power-up object will revert back to it's original movement behavior, and disappear off-screen. To accomplish this, I will need to modify both the Player Character, and the Power-up logic. The two power-ups that will be incorporated first will be an Elf, and the Pink Dragon Kitty. The elf will be a good power-up, which will allow the player to shoot projectiles that will do extra damage. In addition to the loss of points, the Pink Dragon Kitty will be a negative power-up that will cause the player to shoot heavy projectiles that will fall downward, as opposed to in a straight direction.

2012-07-10 06:49:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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So I broke my level last night. Makes me sad. For some reason I can't get the confirm to work in the player select. I hope I don't have too much logic in the game, and it's screwing up now. That would make me even more sad. Crisis averted! Hurray for my debugging skills! Anywho, I need to find a good song for my player select area. Anyone have any suggestions where I can find some good custom music?

2012-07-16 23:03:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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I played your level, and since it's just a concept at this point I won't really mention the lack of difficulty or visuals. For the intro, I think it would be better if the players automatically started in the character select, rather than having to walk to the controlinator. It would save some time, and it would also make the level feel more polished. Occasionally, when flipping through the characters in quick succession, there's a small delay before the next character spawns. Also, when I accidentally pressed X while switching between characters, I got stuck and had to restart the level. Regarding the characters, while there was variety in terms of how they looked, they all felt the same, as in the projectiles affected the enemies the same way. I'd add variety in terms of how they control. For example, maybe one character could be very swift but very weak? Maybe one could have a very weak attack but a very strong and efficient charge attack? Things like that would increase the replay value if the level. As it stands, they feel too samey. Other than that, they control well and the hit detection is fine. My only problems are that the charge attack feels sluggish and that the power up doesn't seem to do much at this point. It increases your damage, but that seems unnecessary seeing how easy the enemies are. The enemies also feel a bit too samey. I know there's one that's immune to bullets (the pink, translucent bat; I don't know if that's intentional) and one that takes more damage, but I'd change the paths some of the generic ones take. Maybe add a zig-zag motion or something like that if it's possible. Still, there was lots of visual variety which is good. Overall, it's not bad for a concept. It just needs more variety when it comes to how the characters and enemies feel instead of just how they look. The level worked well, and the movement for the characters was smooth. I eagerly anticipate the future versions.

2012-07-21 05:05:00 Author: bonner123 Posts: 1487

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I played your level, and since it's just a concept at this point I won't really mention the lack of difficulty or visuals. For the intro, I think it would be better if the players automatically started in the character select, rather than having to walk to the controlinator. It would save some time, and it would also make the level feel more polished. Occasionally, when flipping through the characters in quick succession, there's a small delay before the next character spawns. Also, when I accidentally pressed X while switching between characters, I got stuck and had to restart the level. Regarding the characters, while there was variety in terms of how they looked, they all felt the same, as in the projectiles affected the enemies the same way. I'd add variety in terms of how they control. For example, maybe one character could be very swift but very weak? Maybe one could have a very weak attack but a very strong and efficient charge attack? Things like that would increase the replay value if the level. As it stands, they feel too samey. Other than that, they control well and the hit detection is fine. My only problems are that the charge attack feels sluggish and that the power up doesn't seem to do much at this point. It increases your damage, but that seems unnecessary seeing how easy the enemies are. The enemies also feel a bit too samey. I know there's one that's immune to bullets (the pink, translucent bat; I don't know if that's intentional) and one that takes more damage, but I'd change the paths some of the generic ones take. Maybe add a zig-zag motion or something like that if it's possible. Still, there was lots of visual variety which is good. Overall, it's not bad for a concept. It just needs more variety when it comes to how the characters and enemies feel instead of just how they look. The level worked well, and the movement for the characters was smooth. I eagerly anticipate the future versions. Thank you for the feedback. I agree with all of your feedback, and I do plan on making those changes. ? In a future version of the game, I will be upgrading the player select interface (maybe even a title screen). Having the player start there automatically is actually one of my top priorities when I do upgrade. Of course the graphic design layout of that is going to be a totally separate beast. ? I am currently having trouble with the emitters for the player select. I'm not sure if it's the game, or if it's how I have the system set up. I have the respawn at the lowest setting, but there is sometimes a delay between changing characters (I noticed it happens if the character was cleared out previously, and needs to spawn again). I'm thinking that I'm either going to have to add a preloader graphic (which would be annoying for both me and the player), or have the actual playable character spawn from a separate emitter. I'm thinking that the second solution would be able to save the player a bit of time, especially if they already know what character that they want to choose. It would probably also be a good direction to go in, if and when I incorporate the player health functionality ? As for the character design, they are currently all the same (besides the projectiles). Right now, I am focusing on designing the logic to be as reusable as possible. The problem that I have with adding too much customization right now is that I am constantly adding alterations to how the base character class/logic is programmed. Every time I make an update, I have to update all 8 characters and reset the player select emitters. I am getting better at making the update process more streamlined. However, I do have the base chip designed so that the shared and unique character properties are separate. It still does take quite a few steps. As much as I'd love for this game to be more object oriented, it's not. Eventually each character will have it's own unique properties. ? The same is pretty much true for the enemies. As of now, they are all the same. Once I get the system more balanced, I do plan on having more of a variety (movement patterns, enemy projectiles, barriers, bosses, etc). ? I do agree with you about the charge shots. RIght now, I'm happy that they are working. When I get to working on balancing the game, they will definitely be more useful (probably better looking too). ? As for the pink bat/dragon/kitty, it is actually going to be a negative power-up that messes with your projectiles (much like the elf). That's why it doesn't collide with a projectile. Seeing as you haven't been the only one to confuse it for an enemy, I am brainstorming of some way to make sure that the player can distinguish the power-ups from the enemies. The long and short of it is that I am still working on the system. I'm really not investing too much into game design and balancing issues just yet. I do have some things planned, but right now it's just not at the top of my list. Thanks again for the feedback. I'll be sure to keep you updated

2012-07-21 18:53:00 Author: DarkDedede Posts: 672

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