SHMUP developing - which framework?

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SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by n0rtygames »

Table of Contents
---- Introduction to this topic
---- Feature summary table


(More to be added)
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by n0rtygames »

Introduction
The purpose of this thread is to serve as an informative source for people looking to get in to shmup development, struggling to find the right tools for what they want to achieve or concise information specifically relating to the development of a shooter

The paragraphs that follow are here purely to set the tone in an attempt to keep this thread purely as a source of information -- these may be altered or removed when the thread is fleshed out more - to make for an easier reading experience

Users are welcome to post articles about new frameworks, languages - or even contribute information on a framework that has already been discussed. These posts, if helpful - will be added to the table of contents




/*========================================================================*/

Okay, it's time for THAT thread. Essentially what I want to do, is create a discussion and have this be a USEFUL resource for people who come here asking the question "What should I make a shmup in?"

What I'd like to do with this thread is get posts from people who are clearly involved in actively developing and finishing shooters. What do I mean by this? If you have not yet completed a shooter or released a substantial playable demo that is at least indicative that you are able to talk somewhat authoratively about the process of creating a shooter in your framework or language of choice from start to finish - then this *MAY* not apply to you.

Whilst this may seem arrogant at first, it's worth keeping in mind how threads like these are often perceived by a random passer by. It's quite often that there's simply information overload in a lot of threads and the aspiring developer is left knowing less than when they originally started. It's also the case on a LOT of development boards, that you do get people talking as an authority on subjects and while they may very well have a valid point -- the one thing a lot of hobbyists tend to lack is the ability to see a project through to completion.

This of course means working to some sort of self regulated deadlines and of course - simply knowing when enough is enough. It's true that many of us will never reach a point where we can truly say we're absolute masters of our respective fields, however without the full development cycle of a title (shmup or not) under your belt - it can often be difficult to see the logic behind some of the concrete thinking of more seasoned developers. Simply saying "I recommend you don't do this" or vice versa, can lead to discussions that quickly derail the thread in to something that's quite difficult for a novice to follow.

So please - if you can contribute to a particular area of this discussion - please do post below. However if you are even remotely uncertain of where you stand on an issue or want to troll someone for using a particular tool.. do not post. It's unhelpful and tiresome. There are several other threads to debate this sort of thing. So in short:

* No holy wars!
* No fabrication of fact!
* No bloody arguing!

It goes without saying I will happily cover C#/XNA/Unity - although please don't feel you can't post the pros and cons of these too! I'm not the only user of said frameworks here after all. I can't speak as an authority on other things so I'd rather leave say.. Game Maker.. to Banshee, Giest, Pieterator, Rozyrg etc. Wolverine and Mystran - it'd be great if you could perhaps share some of your experiences working with C++ in the context of creating a shmup.


/*========================================================================*/
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

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Summary of features

R=Feature&C#/XNA&Unity3D-C#, Java and Boo&C++/C&BlitzMax&Construct Classic&Game Maker Studio&Game Maker 8.1&Flash/AS3&UDK&Leadwerks R=[b]Marketplace[/b]&XBLIG, Windows Phone, SelfPublish&SelfPublish along with appropriate mobile and apple marketplaces&SelfPublish&SelfPublish&SelfPublish&Many&Yoyo/self publish&???&Various&??? R=[b]Windows[/b]&Yes&Yes&Yes&Yes DX/OpenGL&Yes&Yes&Yes&???&Yes&??? R=[b]Mac OS X[/b]&No/Indirectly&Yes but you need a mac and iOS license&Yes&Yes&No&Yes&No&???&Yes&??? R=[b]Linux[/b]&No/Indirectly&Yes&Yes&Yes&No&Ubuntu Only $100 professional module/master&No&???&License only&??? R=[b]Android[/b]&No/Indirectly&Yes with android license&Partial/Indirect&No&No&Free for MIPS version, $200 professional module/master&No&???&License only&??? R=[b]iOS Phones[/b]&No/Indirectly&Yes but you need a mac and iOS license&Partial/Indirect&No&No&$200 Professional module/master&No&???&Yes&??? R=[b]Browser Based[/b]&No&Yes&No&No&No&$200 professional module/master&No&???&No&??? R=[b]xbox[/b]&xblig only&Commercially available&Commercially available&No&No&No&No&???&License only&??? R=[b]ps3[/b]&Extremely unlikely&Commercially available&Commercially available&No&No&No&No&???&License only&??? R=[b]Ongoing support[/b]&MS support ceased&Yes&Always&Strong Community&Community only&Yes&Yes&???&yes&??? R=[b]Associated Costs[/b]&$99 per year, 30% royalty to MS if publishing via marketplaces&Free versions available. $1500 pro license&None&Free 30 day demo, $79 full version&Free&Free with limits, licenses for expanded functions available&Free with limits, $40 for Pro with no limits???&???&$99 to sell your game, 25% royalties after you make $50k&???


Table idea originally spawned by BPZeBanshee - thanks!


Definitions:
Marketplace -- Is there a provided marketplace that the framework goes hand in hand with? For example, Objective C with Apple's AppStore -- XNA with XBLIG/Windows Phone Marketplace, or is the developer left to self publish?

It is worth keeping in mind that a large number of content distribution companies exist now that will allow you to sell your game for actual money on the internet! However, as these are not tied to any specific language - listing say "IndieCity/Desura" as a pro seems a little silly. Keep in mind that you'll need to research the terms of service yourself for these platforms. For example, ANYONE can publish a game to IndieCity - however the royalties kept by IC are less if you use their achievement and leaderboard services as it promotes their services. Similarly, yes you COULD get a GameMaker product on Steam - but let's be realistic about how likely that is.

Windows - Can deploy windows solutions directly
Mac OS X - Can deploy OSX solutions directly
Linux - Can deploy Linux solutions directly
Android, iOS - Can deploy these directly
xbox/ps3 - Known to be usable on these platforms if rights granted.

If 3rd party tools will PROVABLY allow your framework of choice to deploy to other platforms (For example, Monogame is not XNA - but allows porting elsewhere) -- please specify that it is indirectly possible

Ongoing support -- are the company behind your framework/language/product of choice committed (at the time of writing) to providing updates and support for your framework?
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by trap15 »

C++ should be labeled as C/C++ (they're very similar)

As far as features:
Marketplace: do it yourself
Windows/OSX/Linux: Yes
Android/iOS: Partially
Browser: No
Xbox360/PS3: With official SDK (requires hoop jumping)
Support: Literally forever
Associated costs: Absolutely none
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by railslave »

Stuff i know about construct classic

Market place - .exe (self publish ?)
Windows - Its direct x 9 based
Mac - no
Linux -no
Android- no
ios phones - no
Browser based- no
Xbox - no
Ps3-no
Ongoing support- only by the community
Cost -free
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by n0rtygames »

Thanks, updated the chart
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by railslave »

n0rtygames wrote:Thanks, updated the chart

i dont realy know why constructs on there, not realy known for these sorts of things.

Though its universally praised and a powerful piece of kit (and fully featured) for FREE , i cant think of any shmups made on it . And very little other games that are successful.
As much as i personally love it.

Be nice to see it in the right hands!

Absolutely incredible for free, i guess it cost hundreds before they decided to go with html5 dev.
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by DrInfy »

I can say with confidence that one can create high performing games with XNA (rivaling c++ as you'll have more time to optimize your stuff)... Just don't try doing that for Xbox360 or you'll be asking for trouble, like I am.

The best thing about c++ is that you get years of legacy with it. If you can think of something, someone probably has already done it already and you can just go grab it. The hard part is that the way c++ works, you might not even get to compile that code as you'll have no idea whatsoever the build commands are that you should use. :D Let alone if it isn't well documented it can be very hard to figure out how to use or modify it. It is indeed the most powerful language there is for making games, but I wouldn't really recommend it for making shmups, because shmups nowadays generally don't require too much performance. It's more important to use that time into making a better game and not waste it on stuff that are rather trivial in most other engines and languages. Unless of course you're looking for a way into the game making industry as a programmer...

Here's the licensing terms for UDK:
http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/licensi ... nse_terms/
It's basically free for non-commercial use and 99$ upfront and 25% revenue after 50000$.
Which is somewhat decent, but it's probably not the optimal solution for shmup development, unless you have a decent team of people creating 3D graphics and want to make the next Sine Mora or something.
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by nasty_wolverine »

Okay, lets see...

Language: C/C++
Graphics Library: OpenGL
Platform Abstraction Framework: SDL/GLFW

With the above set, you can get into any platform that SDL/GLFW supports. if you skip the platform abstraction and roll your own, any platform that GCC and OpenGL supports. Heard about NaCl from google for chrome, it will run sandboxed native code right from your browser at almost fullspeed.

Keeping that in mind, lets look at the possibilities

Marketplace: Many
Windows/OSX/Linux: all and more
Android/iOS: Partial (iOS GUI needs Objective C can be by-passed with QT, for Android either use a hook from Java or compile to native code)
Browser: in the future
Xbox360/PS3: Yes (if u can manage to get a SDK)
Support: many languages come and go, but it will be around a long time
Associated costs: none, use VSexpress edition for windows and GCC for linux, all libraries either free or equivalent free available

In other words, if you are making a commercial game, which you want to be able to put out any and everywhere, without working too hard or at the cost of performance, go with C/C++/OpenGL. I ll admit the learning curve is steep, but once you are over the hill, its a different view all together.

Also, look at C# with ANX framework, replacement for XNA...

And to add, if you are doing this as a hobby/recreation, choose whatever you like,
if you want to be a commercial developer, go for C/C++ or C#.
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by BPzeBanshee »

Game Maker:Studio
Marketplace: Many
Windows: Yes
Mac OS X: Yes
Linux: Ubuntu only, $100 Professional module/Master
Android: Free for MIPS version, $200 Professional module/Master
iOS: $200 Professional module/Master
Browser: $200 Professional module/Master
Xbox360: No
PS3: No
Support: Yes
Associated costs: Free with limits, licenses for expanded functions available
Source: http://yoyogames.com/gamemaker/studio

Game Maker 8.1
Marketplace: Many
Windows: Yes
Mac OS X: No
Linux: No
Android: No
iOS: No
Browser: No
Xbox360: No
PS3: No
Support: Yes
Associated costs: Free with limits, $40 for Pro with no limits
Source: http://yoyogames.com/gamemaker/windows

$500 gets you the GM:S Master suite which is a one-off fee that guarantees all modules and all future ones that get added. While I'm loving the various export options becoming available I can't say it's nearly as cheap, especially for developers making shmups. That said I don't think the engine puts any advancements or limits in regards to Steam Greenlight: Heaven Variant has been in Greenlight for years, and it's using the Unreal Engine, so a GM shmup through Steam is only as likely as XOP Black and the rest of them.

You missed some of Dave K's Flash info on the last thread by the way. If he can give a detailed description and maybe sticky this that'd be great.
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by ciox »

UDK

Marketplace: Many
Windows: Yes
Mac OS X: Yes
Linux: No (license only)
Android: No (license only)
iOS: Yes
Browser: No
Xbox360: No (license only)
PS3: No (license only)
Support: Yes
Associated costs: $99 to start selling your completed game, after that, 25% of your profits over $50,000
Source: http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/licensi ... nse_terms/

The full license is pretty expensive and is negotiated on a case by case basis, still the free UDK has an unusual amount of strong features included that you don't have to pay for, unlike with Unity.
- render to texture is useful for 3d backgrounds
- advanced and friendly particle and material editors for bulletz
- no source access but you can bind and run your own DLLs to compensate for this
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by mice »

Java + libgdx
Marketplace: Android, Self publish, AppStore /w monotouch license
Windows: Yes
Mac OS X: Yes
Linux: Yes
Android: Yes
iOS: Requires a MonoTouch license
Browser: Yes
Xbox360: No
PS3: No
Support: Yes
Associated costs: Free (except indirectly for iOS)
Source: http://libgdx.badlogicgames.com/

Personally, I've made a java2c# converter and then use XNA instead of libgdx to be able to publish to XBLIG.
But that's really not in the scope here, is it? :)
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by Shmuppet »

Blitzmax
Marketplace: Self-Publish
Windows: Yes(DirectX AND OpenGL)
Mac OS X: Yes
Linux: Yes
Android: No
iOS: No
Browser: No
Xbox360: No
PS3: No
Support: No(active support stopped sometime ago, but has active community, tons of 3rd party tools/code and Blitzmax had enjoyed heavy 1st party support so is very stable, powerful and full of features)
Associated costs: Free demo available with 30 day trial for Windows and Mac(no Linux demo), $79 for full version with no limits on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, no costs to sell your game or use extra 3rd party modules
Source: MORE INFO+DOWNLOAD

It's not for those looking forward to mobile platforms like browser/Android, but for PC it's great. It does what it's supposed to do, and does it very well without hassle, I love it. :)
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by n0rtygames »

ciox wrote:UDK

Marketplace: Many
Windows: Yes
Mac OS X: Yes
Linux: No (license only)
Android: No (license only)
iOS: Yes
Browser: No
Xbox360: No (license only)
PS3: No (license only)
Support: Yes
Associated costs: $99 to start selling your completed game, after that, 25% of your profits over $50,000
Source: http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/licensi ... nse_terms/

The full license is pretty expensive and is negotiated on a case by case basis, still the free UDK has an unusual amount of strong features included that you don't have to pay for, unlike with Unity.
- render to texture is useful for 3d backgrounds
- advanced and friendly particle and material editors for bulletz
- no source access but you can bind and run your own DLLs to compensate for this
Just need to confirm this one Ciox -- as I'm about to update the table.. when you say "Marketplace: Many" - are you meaning to say that UDK games work across multiple marketplaces and integrate easily -- or that there is a provided marketplace alongside UDK?

When I say marketplace, an example would be that with XNA - there's a marketplace that exists on the xbox and windows phone specifically for XNA games. You could argue that this is the main focus for the framework. Games are *supposed* to be deployed there (although you can go off and write PC games too - without gamerservices components).

Or using xcode/objective C and publishing direct to appstore.

I'm not sure this is really the case with UDK? Sure, you can submit to a buttload of marketplaces -- but I think this falls under self publishing?
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by DrInfy »

n0rtygames wrote: Just need to confirm this one Ciox -- as I'm about to update the table.. when you say "Marketplace: Many" - are you meaning to say that UDK games work across multiple marketplaces and integrate easily -- or that there is a provided marketplace alongside UDK?

When I say marketplace, an example would be that with XNA - there's a marketplace that exists on the xbox and windows phone specifically for XNA games. You could argue that this is the main focus for the framework. Games are *supposed* to be deployed there (although you can go off and write PC games too - without gamerservices components).

Or using xcode/objective C and publishing direct to appstore.

I'm not sure this is really the case with UDK? Sure, you can submit to a buttload of marketplaces -- but I think this falls under self publishing?
It's kinda hard to distinguish when you can publish UDK games to appstore, like you could with xcode/objective C, but there isn't a specific marketplace for UDK games as far as I know.
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by n0rtygames »

DrInfy wrote:
n0rtygames wrote: Just need to confirm this one Ciox -- as I'm about to update the table.. when you say "Marketplace: Many" - are you meaning to say that UDK games work across multiple marketplaces and integrate easily -- or that there is a provided marketplace alongside UDK?

When I say marketplace, an example would be that with XNA - there's a marketplace that exists on the xbox and windows phone specifically for XNA games. You could argue that this is the main focus for the framework. Games are *supposed* to be deployed there (although you can go off and write PC games too - without gamerservices components).

Or using xcode/objective C and publishing direct to appstore.

I'm not sure this is really the case with UDK? Sure, you can submit to a buttload of marketplaces -- but I think this falls under self publishing?
It's kinda hard to distinguish when you can publish UDK games to appstore, like you could with xcode/objective C, but there isn't a specific marketplace for UDK games as far as I know.
Actually, you make a valid point. I forgot UDK games were capable of deploying to iOS - despite Ciox even stating so!
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Re: SHMUP developing - which framework?

Post by Trung0246 »

C++ is now can port to web browser, over WebAssembly :D (Chrome Canary version 57, as far as I know)
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