My GM shmups - Last Chance,MEGATANK, Flying V, XYX, ZPF

[EddyMRA]

Updated title screen for XYX... note the snazzy new fonts.

Bad news is that my laptop went loopy not 10 minutes after uploading this shot. If I can't get it working again long enough to get my game/ art stuff off of it, that might be it for all of these.

Nice title screen! I love the old-school look of it, as well as the game logo.

Yeah, my laptop also went on the fritz when the heatsinks were clogged. Taking it apart and cleaning the dust lions made a dramatic difference.

[null1024]

Hey, do you still want me to do music for Flying V?

[Rozyrg]

Well, I'm definitely still up for music as far as any of 'em go, so yeah.

[Rozyrg]

New demo! This is the one I started fresh on, so it's just as short as the others, unfortunately...

..I finally got all my data back,too, so I'm more or less back in business.

[ShmupSamurai]

Yor games are looking as awesome as ever, Rozyrg!

[alastair jack]

ZPF 2010 is pretty good. Although the front trees should be moving faster and the background trees should be moving slower, that was confusing. Very bright bullets too, haha.

[Ebbo]

ZPF 2010's overall style reminds me a lot of Lords of Thunder, very nice. All we need is some hot blooded power metal BGM...

[ShmupSamurai]

ZPF 2010's overall style reminds me a lot of Lords of Thunder, very nice. All we need is some hot blooded power metal BGM...

So true!

[Rozyrg]

Thanks for the complements, guys.

Yup, Lords of Thunder was definitely 'it' for that one, I was playing it at the time. I was pretty tempted to rip some sfx from it. The first 'ship' sprite was a little knight character, too.

..and yeah, if only studio quality power metal instrumentals were free and so easy to come by.

- bullet brightness: Agreed... they're just way too taxing on the eyes right now (the flashing/strobing doesn't help either). Must fix this..
- trees: I think you're right. This is one of those things I'd keep changing now and then...I guess it looked correct that particular day. lol

And here's what I got back to working on recently. The nice thing about working on different projects that are so similar is that you don't really lose ground moving back and forth between them. Kinda glad I got a little break to rethink/reorganize some of this crap in my head now, actually.

[monkeyman]

And here's what I got back to working on recently. The nice thing about working on different projects that are so similar is that you don't really lose ground moving back and forth between them. Kinda glad I got a little break to rethink/reorganize some of this crap in my head now, actually.

Looking good! Though it seems hard to see bullets over some of the larger explosions - may just be the vid quality though.

[Rozyrg]

Thanks for pointing that out! Turns out I actually had them at a higher depth for some reason... -_-

New demo for XYX is getting close, btw.

I just added bassmod support. Everything is external, you just have to punch the filenames into the ini to load the songs, so how do yall think I should handle pairing the music with the game? I'm thinking about just using the ones I want (mostly famous-ish pc/amiga demoscene stuff, naturally) and just providing links to pouet or modarchive or whatever.

I guess I could try to get permission to distribute them along with the game; but I'm not hopeful for that succeeding... been a little time between now and '91. Figure I'm better off just giving them all the props I can individually.

[Rozyrg]

Just finished gfx for the first two bosses... demo is pretty close now.


"Big Tiger"

"Torus"... *mostly* done attack pattern wise, too; but could still probably use some tweaking.

[Rozyrg]

New demo up!

I have links to all the songs I picked in the readme, too... kinda surprised modarchive had them all.

[monkeyman]

Gave it a try and here's my thoughts on the update:

Things I like:
The graphics - I really can't emphasise how much I like them!!
The red weapon is great (though maybe overpowered)
Some interesting patterns

Not so sure about:
Being point blanked by the yellow tanks as soon as they appear at the bottom of the screen (not a problem once you know they are coming but it still feels unfair)
Red planes appearing at the bottom (the fact that they seem to descend suggests maybe they won't collide with you when they first appear, but a few deaths proved otherwise)
Power up drops seem random (correct me if I'm wrong)
Still some visibility issues, especially using spread shot - though improved compared to flying v

I hope you manage to complete this project as it shows a huge amount of promise.

One thing I would suggest would be having checkpoint mode have you continue at the checkpoint at game over (but still kick the player back to the start of the level on instant respawn mode). Just a thought.

Edit: Also the second boss for me was MUCH easier than the 1st

[wondersonic]

Hello Rozyrg,
I tried your game and I like it (although I'm usually not fan of fast bullets everywhere ).

Following are my remarks:
- the text on the title screen that give information about controls changes too quickly (at least for me)
- it is strange that some bullets disappear when I killed the enely that launched them
- when you die, action is abruptly stopped, why not relaunch a ship with some invincibility for some seconds?
- on mozilla it failed with error (translated):

Code: Select all

Firefox could not install the file

http://www.yoyogames.com/plugins/firefox/YoYo.xpi

reason : Installation script not found
-204

- on internet explorer, I have no music (maybe this is normal ^_^)

Anyway, good luck!
WS

[Rozyrg]

Glad yall liked it.

- it is strange that some bullets disappear when I killed the enely that launched them
- when you die, action is abruptly stopped, why not relaunch a ship with some invincibility for some seconds?
- on mozilla it failed with error (translated):

- It's a feature of more recent shooters (the ones with tons and tons of bullets on the screen, usually); but I like it because it helps eliminate clutter.
- switch checkpoints 'OFF' in options (X key on the title screen if you missed it)
- That's Yoyogames' Instant Play plugin acting up, apparently it doesn't play well with the more recent versions Firefox. It's acted similarly goofy for awhile now, so I don't bother with it and just download the games instead.

Not so sure about:
Being point blanked by the yellow tanks as soon as they appear at the bottom of the screen (not a problem once you know they are coming but it still feels unfair)
Red planes appearing at the bottom (the fact that they seem to descend suggests maybe they won't collide with you when they first appear, but a few deaths proved otherwise)
Power up drops seem random (correct me if I'm wrong)

Agree with both of those. The yellow tanks I figured might slide since you can see the formation coming from the top firing in the same way; but yeah, lots-o-cheap deaths. The red ones, I just forgot to finish that bit of code that keeps them from hitting you. -_-

Powerups are indeed random, although only certain enemies can release them and even fewer can release the 'P' icons. Do you think I should have a powerup carrier enemy instead? I can never settle on that.

And I'm surprised the 2nd boss was easier for you... I was worried I had left him too difficult. (although I know he needs some extra 'help' once you've destroyed enough of his parts.)

[monkeyman]

Powerups are indeed random, although only certain enemies can release them and even fewer can release the 'P' icons. Do you think I should have a powerup carrier enemy instead? I can never settle on that.

I just don't think the random element works in this game. Sometimes i go through a drought and sometimes a single wave litters the screen with power ups, so it introduces too much of an element of luck. Why not make it so destroying certain formations gives a power up if they are completely destroyed, or have certain regular enemies designated carriers and mark them with a different colour. Both seem to work well in other games. (or your suggestion would also work!)

And I'm surprised the 2nd boss was easier for you... I was worried I had left him too difficult. (although I know he needs some extra 'help' once you've destroyed enough of his parts.)

If you circle it in the first phase it can't really hit you so long you time it so you're at the back during the spread shot. And yeah, some aimed shots or another spread during second phase will keep the player on their toes more.

[worstplayer]

I really like XYX so far. Great presentation, lots of action, difficulty ramps up nicely.
Anyway here's some problems I found:

-There seems to be something wrong with collision detection. Sometimes bullets that should have killed me pass through me without doing anything, other times i get killed by a bullet that barely scratched me. Collecting powerups is also inconsistent. When you approach them from the bottom you pick them up immediately, but if you approach them from the top, nothing happens. It's almost as if the hitbox was placed somewhere above the actual ship.
-Powerups either fall too fast or change colors too slow. Often they leave the screen without ever turning into color I needed.
-No fullscreen. Even if you maximize the window, the game itself is still tiny.

[Rozyrg]

Thanks for the feedback! I just put in the powerup carrier enemy this morning... so I'll give your way a spin later.

Powerup collisions - yeah, what it is.. the hitbox is located where the cockpit of the ship is, so I can see why that would happen. I forgot to make a separate collision box for them....doh!

As for the screen, press 'S' to change screen size, I put it in the readme; but not in the actual game ... (again) doh!

[Rozyrg]

A friend from deviantart was kind enough to make a video of the most recent version of XYX for me. Note the powerup carriers.

New version of Flying V, too, although there's not much new content wise. Mostly just tweaks.

[emphatic]

A friend from deviantart was kind enough to make a video of the most recent version of XYX for me. Note the powerup carriers.

New version of Flying V, too, although there's not much new content wise. Mostly just tweaks.

Holy crap, the video gave me goosebumps.

[Rozyrg]

I want to make a video showing everything that's there so far; but trying to record anything on this PC has just been a nightmare.

I'm aiming to have the game done by the end of the year, too.

[ShmupSamurai]

Hey Rozyrg, I'm having trouble getting the Yoyo Games pluglin to play Flying-V.

[null1024]

I want to make a video showing everything that's there so far; but trying to record anything on this PC has just been a nightmare.

I'm aiming to have the game done by the end of the year, too.

What are you using to record? I use CamStudio [although disregard this if you tried it already].
Be warned, it makes huge files.

[Rozyrg]

What are you using to record? I use CamStudio [although disregard this if you tried it already].
Be warned, it makes huge files.

Let's see... I've tried Hypercam, Camstudio, GameCam, FRAPS, ZDSoft Screen Recorder and Dxtory. Ungodly huge files and ugly inescapable trial version watermark aside, Dxtory was the winner I think.

Smoothest results I've gotten so far.

Most were either too limited in what the trial version could do (**** you and your 30 second time limit, FRAPS), or just produced herky-jerky results with the framerate bouncing all over the place. I'm guessing I would get better results in general working with a better PC, though.

Oh yeah, let me know if you ever have any more music I can use. I've been listening to a lot of different kinds of music while I've been testing these, so my feeling now is pretty much whatever's good. Just as long as it's upbeat.

Hey Rozyrg, I'm having trouble getting the Yoyo Games pluglin to play Flying-V.

Sorry about that. I've heard their plugin has problems with the latest versions of Firefox. I don't even bother trying Instant Play anymore. >_>

You'll have to use the download link for now (should be on the right side when you scroll down a bit.) Hope it's not too much of a hassle.

[ShmupSamurai]

I don't use Firefox, I browse Opera and Internet Explorer

[Rozyrg]

Hmmm....I tried it on mine just for the heck of it and it doesn't work either. An older (GM7 or earlier) game works just dandy; but GM8-made ones always seem to hit a snag when they're done loading. How annoying....YYG was supposed to have fixed this. -_-

Better than nothing.

[Dave_K.]

I downloaded all three games, and although they started out pretty hard with overly large sprites and bullets, I got the hang of them and eventually completed all three with decent scores. Excellent work, and looking forward to more updates. Here are my comments on the gameplay:

ZpULTRA

I know you've suspended work on this one, but out of the three, its the its the one I liked playing the most!
-Buttons need to be changed to X, Y, and S for screen
-Hitting the Shield button didn't seem to activate in time (when I needed it most), felt delayed at times under extreme fire.
-The default ship speed (5) was way too fast, I stuck with 3.
-Some enemy fire was overly large, maybe on purpose to make dodging harder, but I would have liked to try your initial build with smaller fire.
-I found the orange power up the most powerful in clearing the screen and chaining (avoided all others).
-75% of the time I would die trying to collect a power up, perhaps making the ship invulnerable for a second or two upon grabbing would help the player to reposition and continue on.
-Collecting ever increasing sized medals had the right risk/reward thrill.
-I know the 2nd stage was just a place holder, but found it very fun to see the medals rank up quickly, and complete it without dying getting all the medal bonus points, tripling my score compared to first stage.


Flying V

-I found the bullets overly large in this as well (compared to your ship), but maybe its just a style thing
-I think you could change the debris to be 30-40% transparent and be fine with keeping there, although I turned it off
-I found ship speed 3 best, and think the default was 5 again
-I stuck with the T powerup most of the time, seemed easiest
-Level 1 was quite redundant, but I know this is still an early build.


XYX

-Love the Toaplan polish on this!
-I couldn't play on anything other than speed 1 (again I think default was 5)
-I switched between Green and Red powerups. Red is most powerful, but I seemed to get a higher score using green in the first stage.
-P icons were very rare and random
-The jets in the later part of stage two that shoot a spiral pattern come a little too close to the bottom of the screen, making a tap doge very difficult because of your ships fast speed (even at 1!)
-I had to turn off checkpoints just to get past the jets
-Both great bosses, although the first one reminds me of a smiling Sinistar.

[Rozyrg]

Thank you for all the feedback! Those scores aren't half bad either!

I got a little bit into updating ZpUltra (60fps, cleaner code vs. messy DnD); but I hopped onto something else shortly after... *quite* a mess in there, even by a Game Maker newb's standards. I switched to ZXC controls pretty early on into that, too. Glad you like it despite it's flaws, though.

I want to get back to it eventually, though. I keep finding myself looking through the raw vector versions of the graphics from it whenever I'm drawing other things in Illustrator. Drives me nuts...lol.

As for Flying V, the repetition has to do with the lazy way I constructed the enemy/stage arrangement. Good for testing, filling time to see how long you want a stage to last, etc; but not so much for the finished product. I just recently got around to fixing this....well, somewhat. I just tossed in the medals for the hell of it, too. Come to think of it, it didn't even have powerups until someone suggested it.

XYX is my Toaplan tribute in many ways, I'm happy you could see the link. Now if I could only find a brilliant musical mind to do something like those amazing seconds-long 'jingles' of theirs. F*king love those so much.

No idea how you can play with the ship speed down like that, though. I tend to set the minimum just below where I can stand it... think I should go lower?

[Rozyrg]

I was messing around with the title screen display (as well keeping scores separate for each mode), decided to have a little fun with it.



I know some games leave little messages where there's no score to display, basically the same idea.

I also finally tried the 'rotate display' option on my netbook for a faux-tate effect. O_O
It's a shame there's really no way to set my monitor on it's side because it looks pretty amazing that way.