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

[emphatic]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/ ... opglog.jpg
Worked on the logo some tonight.

XOP G!?

[renardqueenston]

ugh, man, your skulls kill me! they're so toaplan with the depth and colors, amazing work!

[Udderdude]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/ ... opglog.jpg
Worked on the logo some tonight. :cool:

XOP G!? :shock:

Oops, well I guess the secret is out. G rhymes with 3, if you know what I mean >_>

[Rozyrg]

Looks cool. Interesting that you went with a biological/horror style logo despite all of the in-game enemies being technology based.

Thanks! I won't lie... it's usually my first impulse. Horror theme or not, I figure you can get away with skulls/demonic stuff as long there's mass destruction involved. It's all in the good, clean, family-friendly spirit of heavy metal anyways.

[BPzeBanshee]

Looks cool. Interesting that you went with a biological/horror style logo despite all of the in-game enemies being technology based.

Thanks! I won't lie... it's usually my first impulse. Horror theme or not, I figure you can get away with skulls/demonic stuff as long there's mass destruction involved. It's all in the good, clean, family-friendly spirit of heavy metal anyways.

I've seen technological stuff before with grey skulls with green glowing eyes within. I've seen grey skulls with red within them too, but that's reserved for when someone makes a game involving flying Terminators.

[Rozyrg]

Tossed up a new version of XYX for the heck of it, although it's *far* from ready. The bulk of the size comes from the fact that it's (mostly) just using ZPF's music tracks, which are included. Ignore the J2K folder in there (although it does have my 'dual play' config in there if you desire to use it.)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=27403JCF

Stuff worth noting:

- horizontal 'wobbling' isn't perfect and causes some stuff to spawn in the wrong place (ie too far left or right), this is mostly noticeable in Level 3, where you can see gaps on the ends of the road sections.
- Level 3 isn't finished and neither is the boss (it's final pattern SUCKS)
- Level 4 ends abruptly and it's only about a third as long as I'd like it to be
- Level 5 consists of about 3 enemies
- 2 player mode still has some kinks that need working out, especially 'Dual Mode', the only thing distinguishing it being the fact that continues are shared

Anyways, hope yall enjoy!

[S20-TBL]

Gave it a quick try. This one is quite polished, but there seem to be some empty spaces. In Stage 1 in particular, enemies don't spawn until after 3-4 seconds into the level, and by then it's a whole horde of popcorns.

You also might want to incorporate a dead zone around the lower 1/5 of the screen, so enemies there won't fire anymore once they pass that boundary. This is because most players tend to stick around that area. I got point-blanked by several ships there several times, especially the large ones with 360-degree shot patterns.

[Rozyrg]

Hmm... I don't know if you had the music switched on; but I specifically left that space in there to allow the music to build up. I'm thinking about doing a little 'blast off' sequence, that along with the runway graphic was just the first bit I added. :3

Yeah, I'll have to go in and tweak that stuff. There is a 'dead zone' as well as a minimum space requirement between the player ship and an enemy for them to fire; but they might be too narrow right now. If you haven't tried the harder difficulties, you might want to see if the same thing happens on Hellish or Nightmare.. I specifically made them require a greater distance. I might just make that the overall standard if that feels more correct.

On the subject, you can actually abuse the increase in required distance and kill some of the larger enemies point blank without them firing a single shot (the Mantas on level 2 in particular), that's something else I need to fix.

[raigon50]

Music is gonna take awhile for XYX. Mega Drive stuff is hard to do, though I can almost guarantee nice results. It'll just take time.

[Rozyrg]

As amazingly good as the first one you sent me fits, I know it'll be worth it, though. (It's in the version I just uploaded if you want to see yourself, btw. I think I forgot to mention that.) I've actually caught myself humming it off and on this last week, it's just so damn good and catchy (and therefore perfect for a first level tune.)

Utterly brilliant instrument choices, I have to say, too.... just what I wanted.


On a different note, here's a possible final or TLB candidate I've been working on:

[Rozyrg]

Finally put in a regular scoreboard. Right now it records score/rank, difficulty and ship used. It's pretty scrunched as it is; but I'm debating whether to have a name display or not. I know it's tradition and all; but that's always been a feature I felt that should've been left in the arcades. I mean, playing at home, it's going to be YOU 99% of the time, so if there's a name for the player in there, it ought to remember it rather than having to ask, right? Anyways, if it's that important, it's not a problem to get it in there.

Also, it just dumps all this straight to the .ini as of right now, so there's nothing keeping you from just popping open Notepad and giving yourself a score of 99 quadrillion. I guess it wouldn't take much work to hijack GM's default system to display the ones I want it to, though.

[S20-TBL]

Good question, I'm debating the highscore issue myself. I read that GM's native scoreboard uses the registry. There seem to be some scripts that have taken advantage of this, but I'm not sure. According to the GMC forums the choice for storing high scores--especially for multiple scoreboards--is between using a 2D array and an INI file.

Hydorah simply stores the current high score achieved by the current player and nothing more, similar to older arcade games and NES games. Maybe you should stick to what you're doing now?

[Rozyrg]

Yeah, I honestly see nothing wrong with keeping it how it is and doing it the 'honor system' way. I figure if you're going to go to any length to give yourself a fake score (whether this is easy or not), you're obviously not interested in seeing how high a score you can get on your own, so wtf are you even playing?

edit: After a little poking around, I found a handy little encryption DLL on the gmc that seems to fit the bill. >_>

[SenpaiSamaKun]

Looks like I've been missing out. I'll be more attentive from now on.
I'd say this is the internet, if there's no way to have a witness, your score doesn't exist.
And its not like we'll have score contests or anything. Well any time soon anyway.

I'll show the new demo publicly on Saturday, try to spread it around my regular areas too.

[Rozyrg]

Hmmm... well so much for that DLL. I thought the game had been running a tad slower than usual (even after seemingly futile attempts to optimize it); but an unrelated error caused it to skip the proper decoding/encoding sequence process and I noticed a pretty significant jump in speed. It's even more strange since I have GM immediately unload the thing once it's used.

Maybe I'll leave it in for the default release and have one without it as an option for lower spec PCs?

[BPzeBanshee]

Hmmm... well so much for that DLL. I thought the game had been running a tad slower than usual (even after seemingly futile attempts to optimize it); but an unrelated error caused it to skip the proper decoding/encoding sequence process and I noticed a pretty significant jump in speed. It's even more strange since I have GM immediately unload the thing once it's used.

Maybe I'll leave it in for the default release and have one without it as an option for lower spec PCs?

Are you using the GmBinFile.dll that Alluro uses, by any chance?

[Rozyrg]

The one I'm using is called DLLCrypt.

I'm sure it's more likely my netbook being finicky with memory (or maybe I'm just unloading something wrong) than any flaw with the extension.

------------
Almost done with the gfx for this guy:

This is just a mockup I threw together in GM. He does absolutely nothing interesting yet.

[SenpaiSamaKun]

Magnificent. Wish that level of work could animate the arms.


From what I've heard of DLLCrypt, its pretty much the best you got.
It may be the netbook again.

[Rozyrg]

Yup. Thankfully it's easy enough to switch on and off, though, so it's not really that big of an issue.

Magnificent. Wish that level of work could animate the arms.

Thanks! It really just depends what his whole 'routine' is going to be before I worry about that. Either I'll have several different arms for different positions/actions or just have them pivot from the elbows for whatever they need to do. I'm also thinking about giving him a whole gory undersection that you reveal piece by piece (which will probably also take forever to draw..lol.) Just have to do this stuff as I think it up. >_>

[S20-TBL]

That's amazing. How long did you take to do that? A single large BG element (around 300+x300+ pixels) once took me about a week to cobble together. Then again, it wasn't symmetrical, but still.

[Dave_K.]

I'm also curious what pixel painting software you use to work on this stuff. Its brilliant!

[raigon50]

Yeah, I've always had a soft spot for pixels. What software do you use?

[Rozyrg]

Thanks guys.

The first few sprite sheets I did (for both games) were in Photoshop; but the rest were all made in GIMP... mostly because I'm rarely on my Mac (which I have Photoshop CS on) and I lost the disc for the only PC version I have. (Maybe one of my college buddies forgot to give it back after using it for an assignment, I really don't know.)

I used to knock GIMP a whole lot; but having used it as much as I have recently, I can't really even see going back to PS (for drawing sprites at least.) I think it's definitely worth getting used to some of it's annoying flaws.

I enjoyed drawing the earlier stuff in Illustrator; but yeah, there's no replacement for doing it pixel-by-pixel. It just seems have more of a 'soul' that way somehow, too. *shrug*

That's amazing. How long did you take to do that? A single large BG element (around 300+x300+ pixels) once took me about a week to cobble together. Then again, it wasn't symmetrical, but still.

I would say he took about 3 or 4 all-nighters, so yeah, about that long. Normally I knock out a rougher one that I can drop in the game in one or two goes and just finish it later. I just recently broke down and finished some background gfx that had been in place for months. <_<

[S20-TBL]

LOL. That makes two of us then. I've also been using GIMP for a long time, but for some reason my tablet has been acting up lately in GIMP, causing Multiple-IRP-Complete-Requests and Driver-IRQL-Not-Less-or-Equal BSODs. You can trounce my work any day, though.

Speaking of GNU open-source software, I recently got my hands on a sequencing tool called Linux MultiMedia Studio. I tested it on Windows last night by making a game BGM in tandem with ZynAddSubFX, an open-source instrument bank editor. You guys might want to try it out, it's actually quite easy to use for a Sourceforge-based open-source app.

[Rozyrg]

Thanks.

I have yet to try my tablet with GIMP (or any PC software), actually. Kinda weird I haven't, it wouldn't be much harder to tote around than the wired 360 gamepad I always have stashed in my work bag in case I get a chance to do some testing. It's just the little things that drive me nuts about GIMP. Like having to have the artboard rather than the toolbox window active for basic shortcuts like zooming in or out to work, or the eyedropper 'sticking' when you try to go back to your brush. Irrelevant, piddling stuff like that; but still annoying.
-------
Back to the game, I just got through adding some secret characters. 2 are done; but I think I'm going to have at least one more to match the default selection of ships. I haven't nailed down what it's going to be yet, so feel free to chime in with ideas. The major difference between them and the standard ships is they have their own unique weapons, which all colored powerups will upgrade (they can't be switched to anything else.)

As I only have a handful of levels done, the only unlock methods I'll mess with right now are stuff like :

-complete game on normal difficulty or higher
-complete game using one credit
-complete game with X perfect clears (how many depends on the difficulty)


Also, here's some new video footage courtesy of SenpaiSamaKun

Level 1 (Hellish) - Here's my fake bullet hell difficulty setting.
Level 3 (Nightmare) - Here's the highest setting, which is essentially the same as Hellish except with faster bullets.
Level 3 Boss (Nightmare) - Note on this one that the boss has actually spawned twice, which is due to the fact that, by default, the test mode loops the selected enemy once. It should be zero instead, so it's my bad, not his. >_>

[raigon50]

I haven't nailed down what it's going to be yet, so feel free to chime in with ideas. The major difference between them and the standard ships is they have their own unique weapons, which all colored powerups will upgrade (they can't be switched to anything else.)

Give me a bit, and I'll come up with some ideas. Anything relating to designing shmup ideas I'm good at.
Though, I'm thinking you could have one ship have its own sensible, unique weapon, but the other ship can just be completely ridiculous (as in stupid yet genius, like the unlockable characters in Minishoter RS. 2ch cats ftw.)

[Rozyrg]

Well, I did tell you about one of them, although it's weapon isn't quite as silly as you'd expect. It's ridiculous in it's own way, though... it currently dominates the top half of my hiscore table (9.4m being the highest so far). Then again, that's with 3 short levels in a row (I just added level 6), so the perfect stage clears that were a big part of that were fairly easily won.

I've also been re-arranging the difficulties, at least in name.
'Easy' is now 'Practice'
'Normal' is now 'Easy' (trying to think of something better, though)
'Hard' is now 'Original' -with the increase in bullet speed, it's how I probably would've kept it, left to my own devices)
... and 'Frantic' is now 'Arcade' - because I think this is where the game starts to show it's true vindictive, quarter-sucking spirit.

[raigon50]

'Normal' is now 'Easy' (trying to think of something better, though)

Beginner maybe? Or perhaps Standard or light (if you wana think in terms of DDR. lol)

[SenpaiSamaKun]

I'd make Hellish become Hell-Esque.
Just to add some good ole FPS difficulty humor to it.
For Normal, Baby/Novice/Casual.

Oh yeah, I never got feedback from my own ship suggestions.
For a third, well comedy ships and mechas are suggested already, so a cute-em-up rep would be nice.
Trying to find a gimmick that doesn't completely destroy the game tho.
Super punches (Airrade/Drill Milky Punch) will just make small enemies sections braindead simple.
Napalm style bullets (Twinkle Star) wouldn't work without changing the game.
Gravity manipulation (Trigger Heart) seems hard to program.

[S20-TBL]

Trying to find a gimmick that doesn't completely destroy the game tho.
Super punches (Airrade/Drill Milky Punch) will just make small enemies sections braindead simple.
Napalm style bullets (Twinkle Star) wouldn't work without changing the game.
Gravity manipulation (Trigger Heart) seems hard to program.

A ship with drones that fly towards enemies and continuously damage them until they die when you hold down the Shot button long enough, but will fire bullet streams when you tap it. The tap shot can be done easily using timelines, while the tracking ability used by holding the fire button can be done via timers. You can make it so that the ship moves slowly and only fires a double stream when Shot is held down, and moves normally while shooting a triple/quadruple stream when tapping or not firing for balancing purposes.

You can implement a maximum of 4 drones for a decent spread and a balanced lockon attack mode, with damage increases and/or additional bullet streams with every other powerup received. Let's say the ship starts with 2 drones and you have 5 powerup levels. Then you can have this setup:

• First powerup would give you extra firepower.

• Second powerup would give you an extra drone (located at the front of the ship).

• Third powerup would give you extra firepower.

• Fourth powerup would give you the fourth and final drone.

• Final powerup would give you the final boost in attack power.

If you only have 2 powerups until max, both could just add the extra drones. Picking up Bits during battle could just give you bits that fire and do nothing else special, on the other hand, so you can balance your firepower properly. The bits in XYX just leave the screen by slowly flying ahead of me, dunno why. XD

EDIT 2: I noticed the ships in XYX don't seem to show the proper animation state sometimes. When I tap left or right while shooting, there's the odd chance the ship will still display the "centered" animation instead of banking to the sides.