Project Modus (v0.1.1 - 3/10/12)

[Ixranin]

Modus is an attempt to build a game with a focus on power-ups, with the primary inspirations being G-Darius and Gradius. Incidentally it ended up a lot like Gaiares, even though I had no idea what Gaiares was when I was designing the game. The basic idea is to open up lots of power-up options to the player and let them experiment with different combinations to get the job done, with the player having the option to either plot out their entire power-up lineup, or play by the moment.

Current News: Finally some testing!

Download link to test version 0.1.1: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ko3d6ii7t4ng4li

Currently level 1 is functional, though Survival mode hasn't been balanced yet. Level 2 probably won't happen until the summer. Most of the basic stuff should be working, minus a high score list and the tutorial.

Known bugs/issues:
- The game is not legacy machine friendly. There are some things I could try to optimize, but my programming-fu is painfully mediocre so this is a problem that probably won't be fixed anytime soon.
- The stage 1 Boss' sections can still be overkilled in survival mode.
- Avast may have some issues with Multimedia Fusion, which can require turning off "Auto Sandbox".

Gameplay:

In order to power-up your ship, you need to hit enemies with your probe. The probe will steal a power-up from the enemy and return it to you, which begins an install sequence, then the power-up becomes active. There are four different types of power-ups:

• - Satellite: Your standard "bits" or "options" that follow and provide supporting fire. Satellite power-ups have levels, which are raised by collecting more copies of the same power-up, though the maximum level can vary depending on the power-up.
  - Shield: Block incoming bullets, with different power-ups usually facing different directions. They can be destroyed, and won't block lasers.
  - Ammo: Burst attacks with limited stock and widely different effects. Probably the most common power-up in the game, and also includes the game's bombs.
  - Drone: Some small enemies will be stolen and converted into support units that follow you around. They usually shoot, and can collide with things.

In order to launch the probe, you need one bar of energy, with your ship storing up to 4. The system recharges over time, and if the probe returns with no power-up, you'll regain half an energy bar. Also, each individual enemy can only be stolen from once.

The ship also has an ability called Power Cancel, where during a power-up installation, you can press Button 2 to cancel the installation and release the power-up as a blast of energy. This functions as a bomb of sorts that wipes out nearby bullets and deals damage, though not much damage.

Stages and Enemies:

Modus is divided into 6 stages, each with their own theme.

• - Stage 1: Empty space and most of the enemies will attack from the front.
  - Stage 2: Factory stage, variety of moving obstacles.
  - Stage 3: Pursuit, enemies approaching from behind for the first half of the stage.
  - Stage 4: Vertical stage, with an underwater segment and a cave segment.
  - Stage 5: Battleship stage.
  - Stage 6: Organic stage.

One of my things is bosses. I'm not talking about being somebody who likes lots and lots of them, but as somebody who likes epic boss battles. This will become obvious with the game's first boss, who has absolutely no intention of being a generic cakewalk stage 1 boss. Each boss is made up of multiple sections that you can pick apart, and their attack patterns will change every time you knock off a section. Nor will the bosses be passive bullet-spawn points; they will force you to move around the screen.

Scoring:

The method of scoring in Modus is straightforward: overkill the enemy. Naturally the enemy will not like this and retaliate against any attempts to do so. This is the basic risk-reward of the game, as overkilling an enemy multiplies its score at the cost of more bullets crowding the screen.

An enemy basically has two HP bars, the first being their normal HP, and the second being their overkill HP. Once their normal HP is depleted, they'll go into a critical state, where any damage they recieve goes to their overkill HP. In this state they can still collide with the player and can perform additional attacks. They'll be destroyed either when their overkill HP is depleted, or if they recieve no damage within a fraction of a second.

Based on the amount of overkill HP an enemy has, they can also have multiple levels of overkill. Each level of overkill will add 1 to the score multiplier of that enemy. (Meaning an enemy that is damaged to their 2nd overkill level will have its score multiplied by 3.) Small enemies typically have 1 overkill level, while medium and large enemies can vary depending on their toughness.

Controls:

Modus is a 3-button game:

Button 1: Shoot, hold for autofire.
+ Also has a charge shot that is automatically charged by not pressing the button for half a second. (Similar in method to Mars Matrix.)
Button 2: Launch Probe / Power Cancel
+ Holding the button after the probe has launched will order it to drift, release for it to return. Pressing while the probe is searching will order it to return faster.
Button 3: Use Ammo

By default, the controls are the Arrow Keys and ASD, but they can be customized. Controller support has also been added, however I don't have a controller that I can plug into my computer to test and debug it, so it may have issues. I'll have to pick up a controller later so I can work on it.

Images / Video

Scoring system testing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGiVCFlXB40
Boss 1 testing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XbgayQdXWo

[Herr Schatten]

You've got some very fine pixel art going on it that game. I suggest getting rid of the 'realistic' background graphics and go for a complete old-school pixel look. You've obviously got the skills to make it work, and it would look infinitely better. As of yet, the background looks strangely detached from the foreground.

[Udderdude]

Try out Game Maker. I'm not sure what's up with Multimedia Fusion but it's pretty crusty. I was able to get MM Fusion games working on my Vista 64-bit install. But I had to set it to compatibility mode.

[Ixranin]

You've got some very fine pixel art going on it that game. I suggest getting rid of the 'realistic' background graphics and go for a complete old-school pixel look. You've obviously got the skills to make it work, and it would look infinitely better. As of yet, the background looks strangely detached from the foreground.

Yeah, I haven't figured out how to pixel art a nebula yet. Probably just a matter of choosing the right colors and being patient enough with it.

Try out Game Maker. I'm not sure what's up with Multimedia Fusion but it's pretty crusty. I was able to get MM Fusion games working on my Vista 64-bit install. But I had to set it to compatibility mode.

How much would you say is lost with the Lite version? I downloaded Lite to start experimenting with it, and it's unfortunately not as similar to MMF as I'd hoped. Instead of putting all the conditions in the trigger, GM looks like you just have one general trigger, then you have to start checking conditions after.

Probably time I started looking for guides.

[monkeyman]

How much would you say is lost with the Lite version? I downloaded Lite to start experimenting with it, and it's unfortunately not as similar to MMF as I'd hoped. Instead of putting all the conditions in the trigger, GM looks like you just have one general trigger, then you have to start checking conditions after.

Probably time I started looking for guides.

Not sure how much you've got going on in your game but lite version can do pretty much most things you want it to, it's just a case of thinking up the odd workaround when the feature you want is locked. Most the pro only features I've come across seem to be graphic related, so if you're sticking to pixel art you may be ok.

[Herr Schatten]

I haven't figured out how to pixel art a nebula yet. Probably just a matter of choosing the right colors and being patient enough with it.

I remember having the same problem a while ago. Studying the backgrounds in the first stage of Rayforce/Gunlock/Layer Section helped me a great deal. Unfortunately, there was still having a lot of patience involved.

[null1024]

How much would you say is lost with the Lite version? I downloaded Lite to start experimenting with it, and it's unfortunately not as similar to MMF as I'd hoped. Instead of putting all the conditions in the trigger, GM looks like you just have one general trigger, then you have to start checking conditions after.

Probably time I started looking for guides.

Lite loses lots of graphics functions, all DLL expandability [last unregistered version that supported this was 5.0], and you probably know about the game start banner.

GM's events are generalized, you check everything you need for that event after.

If you want any idea of how things are done in it, you could always look at the source for one of my games. Although they all need registered version to run right off the bat, I like having MP3 music too much. Oh, and messy+uncommented. But most of it is self explanatory.

Oh, and for the nebula:
If you have any access to Photoshop or anything that does a similar conversion to 256 colors, converting it using the Mac OS pallete and making sure you're using the pattern mode, not the diffusion mode, will work wonders, at least until you get a proper hand done one in.

[Ixranin]

Not quite dead yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGiVCFlXB40

List of changes made so far:

• Implemented a scoring mechanic, because we all love scoring mechanics. See below for more details.
• Implemented the rest of the power-ups for stage 1 and revised some older power-ups.
• Removed the player's Overload ability.
• Fixed the player's inability to move if pressing a diagonal direction when at the screen's edge.
• Removed the Carrier enemy that appeared at the end of the previous video. It'll come back some other time.
• Finally figured out how to get 360degree bullets in MMF, so those are in now.
• New explosion effects. Making things explode is fun, too bad you're often too busy dodging bullets to watch.
• Lots of debugging.

The scoring system involves dealing as much damage as possible, without getting yourself killed. Enemies now go into a Critical State after receiving enough damage. In this critical state they can be damaged further, but they will also retaliate to any extra damage dealt to them. Each enemy has levels to their critical state depending on their HP. (So small enemies have just 1 critical level, medium enemies usually have 2-3 levels, and large enemies can have 4+.) Each critical level achieved on an enemy awards the enemy's base point value. For example if you destroy an enemy worth 500 points and get it to the second critical level, you'll receive 1,500 points. If an enemy is in the critical state and doesn't receive any further damage in less then a second, they'll explode.

Enemies blink red when in their critical state, while a red/white flash from an enemy shows that they've just reached a critical level. It's more obvious on larger enemies since they last longer, especially the one at 1:00 in the video. (It also demonstrates how they explode when not dealt damage. That enemy goes up to critical level 4, but I only got it to level 2 before dying.) Bosses won't have a critical state for their core, but their subsections will, so get dissecting once I implement the boss.

Since Modus is power-up oriented, this scoring system seemed to fit best compared to other scoring systems like chaining, grazing, medal collecting, etc. It might make some of the enemies feel euroshump-ish because of the extra HP, but it can be avoided by just not shooting at the enemies after you get them into the critical state. There'll be scenarios where you have to pick and choose what to overkill and what to just shoot a couple times then ditch.

Still lots of work before I can get stage 1 done though. Still need to find sound effects too.

[wondersonic]

I like these critical states.

Possible sound effect: "Finish him!" (ala Mortal Kombat) ^_^

[Ixranin]

Got the miniboss nearly done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oGYApN2wPg

The player movement is a bit too... jerky for tight attacks like the laser one, but I haven't figured out how to fix it yet.

Anyhow, what are some preferred keyboard control schemes? The default is ArrowKeys + ASD, and I'll probably have WASD + BNM, but are there any other set-ups that people would like? 8426 for movement on the numberpad maybe?

[Ixranin]

Well... control schemes are no longer an issue:



Took some work to figure out how to build a key config from scratch in Fusion, but it turned out to be a success. Development of the rest of the game has been quite sluggish though; I've still got a lot of work to do to finish up the first level in order to release a demo to get some actual feedback. (Besides the obvious "does not play like a Raizing or Cave game.")

Some of the notable changes so far though are:

• The player's charge shot is now one large bullet instead of 3 regular ones. Makes it easier to hit smaller targets and score on them.
• The player's main gun can now be used to determine what's invincible and what's not via the impact graphic.
• Back-end stuff to allow for a second game mode: Survival, aka easy mode because the scoring mechanic is turned off. Regular enemies become a lot easier to deal with, though the bosses stay about the same. I'll probably add more enemy spawns to compensate.

[BPzeBanshee]

I remember looking at this game a year back and hoping it'd get done because it looked like it had potential.

Good to see you're still working on it, and especially with something such as Multimedia Fusion.

[Ixranin]

Well... Am I slow or what? Just two years since the original post to get one level down, heh.

Demo version is up! Updated the first post with the link and more recent info.

There's a bunch of stuff that still needs work even for just the first level of course. Missing sounds, graphics, increased enemy count for survival, record button with the tutorials and score table that go with it, etc. Still, this is enough to run the game and get a feel for it. Also I'm going to need you guys to see if the controller extension and related code is any good, since I don't have a USB controller to test it with yet. (Don't know if "Joystick" and "Right Stick/Analog" are any different, but put them both in as a safety measure for now.)

[Ebbo]

Oh you aren't the only one suffering from long development times here. Welcome to the club!

I gave your demo a try and I really wanted to like it more than I actually did. I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the power up system. The ship just feels too weak because most of the enemies are so small and hard to hit with your regular weapon (the very first missiles just rub the feeling in my face) and launching the Probe at them can be just as tedious. And when I actually get some new weapons they're usually pretty weak too with twinvulcan being the only positive exception - too bad the enemies with that weapon show up only once during the first part of the stage and it feels so frustrating when I lose it after either dying or trying to get another weapon and instead get the twinvulcan replaced with an useless multishot. Maybe you should color-code your enemies so that atleast I can tell what kind of weapon (Satellites, Shield etc.) they're carrying.

But there are things to like in this game as well. Graphics look certainly nice (though I wouldn't mind if enemies were just a bit larger) and I enjoyed the music quite a lot, boss theme being my favourite one. The potential is certainly there, I just hope we get more kickass weapons like twinvulcan in the future

[Ixranin]

Just checking: How often are you using the Charge Shot?

The Charge Shot is the main answer to hitting smaller targets since the charge bullet is 3-4x larger then the normal shot, will both KO and overkill a small enemy, and also reveals one of the Multishot's quirks that allows it to match and possibly even out damage the Twin Vulcan. (What?! Not without a catch of course.)

That said, I limited the Twin Vulcan on stage 1 in an attempt to keep it from overshadowing the other Satellites... but never really offered an alternative besides the Multishot. (There's the Plasma Pulse as well, but it only comes from the miniboss+boss, so is pretty limited.) Perhaps if I scatter another 2-3 Twin Vulcans through the stage and introduce a semi-common 4th Satellite to the level, it could improve the situation.

Also in regards to enemy size, now I have the idea to give the probe a "scan" mode where it increases its hitbox if you hold down Button 2. Shouldn't be too hard to add and would help with hitting those small enemies.

Thanks for you input! (Also note I didn't make the music, incase the varying styles don't give that away.)

[Ebbo]

I hardly used the chargeshot since although it might be more powerful than single regular shot, the low rate of fire kind of backfires its overall power. Again, those missiles take only one shot to kill so why should I risk myself firing single chargeshot at them instead of just using rapidfire? The chargeshot does kill some of the popcorn enemies with a single hit but it won't pierce them so overall it takes just as long to take down a swarm of them with a chargeshot as with rapid fire, minus the fact your aim has to be much better.

Maybe this is a way to make scoring more risky (since chargeshot automatically overkills smaller enemies) but it just doesn't feel satisfying. This is something I'm familiar with since FB's original scoring system kind of encouraged using weaker weapons... Which was all kinds of stupid P : It was like saying here are all these cool toys but if you wanna score well use the crappy ones instead - counterintuitivity at its finest. In the end weapons should be fun to use and scoring should feel fun and satisfying as well. But maybe I didn't quite yet grasp the weapon system of your game so to be fair I'll give it another go later.

[Ixranin]

Alright, I went back and revised the Satellite power-ups on stage 1; Two new power-ups were added and the Multishot was buffed. Also reducing the cooldown on the charge shot means it can be used to take down entire fighter formations easily now. The stage 1 Satellites are now...


Twin Vulcan: Doubles the player's damage output and adds coverage. Easy to use and outputs solid damage, but not the greatest at scoring.


Arc Tracker: Projects three orbs that circle around the player and deal damage. Holding the fire button will lock the orbs in place on the screen. Low damage per hit can make it clunky, but can be quite strong if planted on large enemies who will take all three hits. Probably better as a weapon in Survival Mode where it would easily protect against ramming enemies.


Multishot: Fires a spread of 3 bullets at level 1, 5 bullets at level 2, and 6 bullets at level 3. Tracks the player's movement in the vertical direction like a Gradius option. Also has a charge shot which is stronger then the player's at the cost of being smaller. Great for clearing popcorn enemies off the screen, but isn't very good at scoring unless you master its charge shot.


Charon Blaster: Can be aimed in 8 directions and shoots a slightly weaker version of the normal shot. Also locks in place when the fire button is held. At level 2 it gains a charge shot which can create chain reactions through popcorn enemies, allowing a single shot to destroy entire formations. Best used on stages where enemies approach from multiple directions or are in hard-to-reach places.


Plasma Pulse: Massive burst damage laser with a slow rate of fire, sped up at higher levels. Takes one second to charge, then is activated by releasing the fire button. Makes scoring versus medium and large-sized enemies much cleaner and can drill through lines of popcorn enemies, but requires good use of the charge shot and ammo to make up for its poor rate of fire and lack of coverage.

Updates:

• Added two new Satellite power-ups to the first stage: Arc Tracker and Charon Blaster.
• The Satellite power-up, Multishot, can now be raised to level 3.
• Slightly widened the gap between Demon's jaws.
• Adjusted some of Demon's attack patterns.
• Added two more Twin Vulcan enemies to the first stage.
• Implemented another enemy bullet type to replace the resource-heavy triple spiraling shots.
• Improved some enemy movements.
• Slightly lowered the cooldown on the Player's charge shot.
• Increased the size of some small enemies.
• Moved the UI to the front so enemies and bullets no longer appear on top of it.
• Some minor graphic and sound updates.

Bug Fixes:

• Removed the game-wide pause and replaced it with level-only pausing to correct an issue with sound continuing to play while paused.
• Fixed the odd screen size and placement that could appear in fullscreen mode.
• Fixed the layering of Demon's sections.
• Removed Demon's phantom wings, as more testing is required.
• Completing a stage in Practice mode no longer takes the player to the victory screen.
• Corrected the visibility of several buttons in the main menu.
• Updated Drone power-up collisions with newer bullet types.