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

BPzeBanshee · Post by **BPzeBanshee** » Sat May 21, 2011 1:45 am

Nice screenshot.

I still haven't figured out how to fix that distorted screenshot, trying to change the resolutions of the image within GM doesnt seem to be working, when I do you'll be the first to know.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Sat May 21, 2011 10:25 pm

Oops... I'm used to my other monitor distorting the screen ratio regardless, so that slipped right by me. -_-
I'm guessing the default screenshot function must only take the room's default height/width settings into consideration?

BPzeBanshee · Post by **BPzeBanshee** » Sun May 22, 2011 7:21 am

Yeah something like that.

I stopped using the default screenshot function that can be enabled within Game Maker's Global Game Settings and went to make my own version of it.

This code here behaves exactly as the inbuilt code does:

Code: Select all

global.screenshotnumber += 1;
if !file_exists("screenshot"+string(global.screenshotnumber)+".png") 
    {
    global.stillscreen = background_create_from_screen(0,0,240,320,0,0);
    background_save(global.stillscreen,"screenshot"+string(global.screenshotnumber)+".png");
    }
else
    {
    global.screenshotnumber += 1; 
    repeat event_perform(ev_keypress,vk_f9);
    }

I've tried manipulating the background_create_from_screen code in many different ways, and at one point I even tried to make it so that rotation would get set to default angle, then take the screenshot and save it, then put it back to whatever angle it was prior to pressing the button. I couldn't get that to work either.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:36 pm

Just a quick update - I'm drawing several bosses for XOP G and trying to get back on track with my art commissions (I always seem to leave someone hanging -_-), once that's done, I should be back to work on this stuff again.

I'd like to get one of these out of the way before another year passes. Turning 30 a few days ago was a nice reminder, too.

mice · Post by **mice** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:17 pm

Just post any of your work here every now and then...and we'll all be happy.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:44 pm

Can do.

Here's a few new enemies/other stuff I've finished recently:

Aside from having no background elements other than the same basic looping section, Level 4 is finally starting to shape up somewhat.

raigon50 · Post by **raigon50** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 12:49 pm

The dragons look great, and I like the skull pattern you used on the character select screen. Reminds me of Truxton.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:54 am

Thanks, I'm working on the big boss one now - the one that's on the title screen (although it doesn't look *exactly* the same.)

Yup, that was indeed the inspiration, although I could've sworn seeing something like that on one of the Castlevanias, too... maybe it's the brownish hue. All I need to do now is make it do that cool little swirly pattern like you see on Truxton (also Turrican), right now it's just a flat image.

renardqueenston · Post by **renardqueenston** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 5:53 pm

man! that is looking absolutely killer. i'm excited for XYX to come around to completion, it's probably the project of yours i'm most excited over!

mice · Post by **mice** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:42 pm

It's been 5 days since you posted any of your work. I'm starting to getting the shakes here.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:08 pm

renardqueenston wrote:man! that is looking absolutely killer. i'm excited for XYX to come around to completion, it's probably the project of yours i'm most excited over!

Wow, much appreciated!

I figured I'd be done by now; but I keep thinking of extra stuff that needs doing... like that poster. (Didn't want to call that favor until I had something on hand to offer.)

As for any exciting developments in the last few days, not much. I did make the cool little zig-zagging pattern for the skull tiles, though (for when the game starts or you continue from a checkpoint)... although it doesn't do anything as fancy as Truxton's or Turrican's yet. I also made some 'X' and 'Y' tiles so it can spell out the game's name in a repetitive fashion as well.

Might as well post this guy, though...

tiaoferreira · Post by **tiaoferreira** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 4:50 pm

Rozyrg, all graphic files are original art? Even if they are ripped, your titles also deserve to be in the arcades! Congratulations!

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:46 am

Considering that's exactly what I'm aiming for, that's quite a compliment. Thank you! ^_^

..and yes, all the graphics are %100 my own making. I'm honestly not a supporter of using sprite rips/edits unless you're either making something solely for practice or you have very noble aims (like, say.. Xeno Fighters.)

BPzeBanshee · Post by **BPzeBanshee** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:08 am

Rozyrg wrote:Considering that's exactly what I'm aiming for, that's quite a compliment. Thank you! ^_^

..and yes, all the graphics are %100 my own making. I'm honestly not a supporter of using sprite rips/edits unless you're either making something solely for practice or you have very noble aims (like, say.. Xeno Fighters.)

I guess that sky background in GMOSSE should probably be changed sometime soon then.

I think even with ripped art when used properly a game can look and work very well. It does still take considerable skill to actually be able to manipulate existing art to make it all fit in, and when it doesn't fit in that's usually one small issue on top of heaps of huge gaping holes most of the time anyway.

mice · Post by **mice** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:09 am

You can't edit your messages like that, we miss important updates!

Your gfx deserves to be everywhere, not just in the arcades. On the xbox, for instance, but that doesn't seem to happen since someone is too lazy to convert his engine to c#...

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:48 pm

@BPzeBanshee:

Nah, I wouldn't worry about one background pic.

I agree that it does take a good bit of work to do right, inconsistency is always a dead give away for half-assed rip/edit jobs. I don't mean to dump on anyone who obviously knows what they're doing. Still, it's one thing if you're not an artist and you simply need a graphical canvas to try your ideas out with; but if you are one already, I still think editing someone else's sprites is something best left for testing the pixel-painting waters. Even if you've played games on a crusty old 80's CRT television set your whole life, it's not always clear what should go where pixel wise.

@mice

Point taken. Here's some more uninteresting updates!
- Level 3 is now 1000 steps longer
- several levels now have 'sniper' tanks specifically to shoot you in the back while you're preoccupied with something else (dunno how I missed this long-standing Raiden tradition)
- Warning gag screen says more silly things
- 'How to Play' demo actually mentions useful info now (like collecting gems of the same color for bonus points and point-blanking powerup containers)
- changed loading image to something more obnoxious
- updated turret targeting with Torigara's (GMC) 0/360 tracking fix.

- I've also been working on level 6's "mask" enemies some more... I've made them considerably larger and you can now destroy them section by section, like in the original Blast Works design.

Also, I really, really hope XBL's Indie channel is still around by the time I get around to figuring out XNA. I'd love to have something on that platform.

SenpaiSamaKun · Post by **SenpaiSamaKun** » Sat Jul 02, 2011 4:23 am

Oh nice, just came back in time.
The console era this time should be a bit longer so you still have some time, not for Wii tho.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:17 am

Yeah, I think Homebrew would've been the only option for the Wii, anyways. No thanks. Also, I went ahead and downloaded all the stuff needed for XNA... if only out of boredom and morbid curiosity. I haven't even installed any of it, I'm intimidated by it all to say the least. >_> Well, back to what I need to be doing...lol.

I almost have all the music tracks for XYX I need, so I might start working on a (optional) version that can play them off of a CD. In theory, this would be the 'premium version' disc with all the added goodies. As weird and bizarrely archaic as it sounds having to have a disc in the tray to play a game, doing it that way *will* sidestep any pre-game loading, assuming that's a concern for the player.

Other than that and bunch of other stuff getting redone, Level 4 is finally getting some graphical window dressing. Still can't figure out a decent transition to the next level (Hell), though.... not that having a flawlessly logical stage order really matters to me. Honestly, the logic/story only matters to me up to allowing for amusing ending scenarios.

Speaking of endings, I think I've decided I pretty much have to have at least one real stinker in there.

My current ideas for this:

- The classic, hated anticlimactic reversal 'You won! but not in time/ enemy got away/ you actually lost somehow' (cue Earth exploding for no particular reason.) After that, it could have some horrible description of how you die hopeless and alone in space contemplating your utter failure, just to rub salt in the wound.
- Stereotypical over-exuberant engrish "YOUR' SHIP HAVE WON AND UNIVERSE IS SAVE! CONGLARTULATION!" accompanied by an appropriately cheesy picture of someone giving you a thumbs up.

raigon50 · Post by **raigon50** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:53 pm

Rozyrg wrote: - The classic, hated anticlimactic reversal 'You won! but not in time/ enemy got away/ you actually lost somehow' (cue Earth exploding for no particular reason.) After that, it could have some horrible description of how you die hopeless and alone in space contemplating your utter failure, just to rub salt in the wound.
- Stereotypical over-exuberant engrish "YOUR' SHIP HAVE WON AND UNIVERSE IS SAVE! CONGLARTULATION!" accompanied by an appropriately cheesy picture of someone giving you a thumbs up.

How about an R-Type Final: "You saved the universe, but your pilot is dead now. Sucks to be you."
I actually use that as a term for bad endings. I seriously hated the ending for R-Type Final. I know there are multiple endings, but that one specific one really pissed me off. It's like your first idea, but with no explanation as to why you are dead.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:59 pm

I haven't seen that ending specifically (never got that far in Final), but I remember there's one in another game that's similar. Basically, you just barely escape the final encounter and it looks like your ship is about to explode; but the screen fades and the issue is left unanswered. <_<

I like it either way, though.

*fanfare plays*
YOU WIN!
*BOOOOOM*

It would have to have that always funny last note that bottoms out, though.

tiaoferreira · Post by **tiaoferreira** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:11 am

INCREDIBLE GAMES, dude. I've posted your links on many brazilian game-dev comunities on ORKUT.

Do you want to give an interview for my blog GAME ARTE ( www.gamearte.blogspot.com )?

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 3:16 pm

Much appreciated! Thanks!

I'd be happy to; but maybe a tad closer to when the game is ready?

I've definitely been making progress the last few days, though - here's the L4 boss so far:

tiaoferreira · Post by **tiaoferreira** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:50 am

Copy my MSN: cabrumzine@hotmail.com

My blog is about the artistic aspects of games, generally.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 3:08 pm

Ah, gotcha.

You could just PM me any questions you have from here; but if you'd rather conduct it via MSN, that works.

Also, if you need a video or two to go along with it: http://www.youtube.com/user/SenpaiSamaKun (any for XYX or ZPF). His are *way* more up to date and better looking than the ones on my YT channel. Just be sure to note these are still older versions by several months.

tiaoferreira · Post by **tiaoferreira** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:34 am

My first 1cc!

XYX

I lost only 3 lives!

3 stage bonus "NO DEATH"!

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:48 pm

Not bad! Just don't forget it's only about half of the full game.... and it gets significantly tougher after that.

That and I know the difficulty needs some serious tweaking as it is.

I haven't got much higher than 4 million yet TBH, though, so I'm thinking the default #1 spot will be at least 5.

PM incoming, btw.

tiaoferreira · Post by **tiaoferreira** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:52 am

I suggest putting the final score as many bonus "no death" the player has achieved in the entire match. I think this would make the competition more fierce, hehehe! Some medals of "Merit" would be very welcome too.

Finally, you think of some way of recording the records on line?

I'm trying to do it with my "PIXEL FIGHTERS".

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:19 pm

Medals for the endgame tally and hiscore screen is a good idea. I'll have to get on that.

I dunno about keeping track of score online, though. I think Game Maker has a handy built-in way to do that; but you still need access to a server to keep them (which may involve $$$ of course) and it just adds some complexity I'd rather not worry about at the moment. Maybe later on. For now, screenshots and such posted here will have to do. <_<

Oh yeah... I added little warnings for the bosses. Nothing mind blowing... there's an alarm sound and text scales in funky ways, giving it some animation (which you obviously cant see here):

tiaoferreira · Post by **tiaoferreira** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:33 pm

It appears good!

For the server, I'm really going to have to use one, because I want to invest in multiplayer games, then I have to use a paid server. We can talk about that later.

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:56 pm

Yeah, it doesn't seem that much of a hassle to make that kind of arrangement (especially as much as people expect online leaderboards and such now); but I don't really want to gut my current system after only finishing it recently. It's not particularly attractive having little to no control over whether the ones submitted are valid (or even having to monitor whether they are or not), either. I don't exactly have that much security in place as far as scores go. >_>

Anyways, I just put in a pretty basic medal/award system. Basically, you get a little icon by your score on the hiscore listings for having X number of perfect clears (maximum of 6) on that game. Unlike with the ship/character unlocks, which don't take away your perfect clear tally if you get a game over, these reset if you use a continue.

This is just a little hack for the default scoreboard, counting down awards from 4 perfects.

I could do additional ones for getting maximum wave counts and other stuff, too; but that requires some fixing of underlying issues first - like most stages having the wrong target number as I have to add them up manually from the stage's spawn sequences (many of which spawn multiple waves at the same time.)

Suggestions for other possible awards are welcome of course.

shmups.system11.org

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

Re: My GM shmups - ZpULTRA, Flying V, XYX, ZPF

Re: My GM shmups - ZpULTRA, Flying V, XYX, ZPF

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