Any EASY shmup-making programs??

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:29 am

A few hours of Game Maker ver.6 had me yelling at my monitor and smashing my head on the keyboard.... Isn't there some kinda program like... an "E-Z ShmupMaker" type program? T_T Please help... I have original ideas for AWESOME level layouts and boss fights... MANIC bullet patterns... but I can't even give my ship auto-fire without the thing freezing up T___T Here's hoping there's some easy shmup-making program out there... ~_~

Post by **Shatterhand** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:36 am

Heh mate, I hope you don't give up on Game Maker, as this is easy enough to use, while being very powerful.

There's shooter maker from Ascii, but I think it never got 100% translated... I tried to mess up with the half-translated verson, and I couldn't do much with it.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:40 am

http://www.gamemaker.nl/tutorial.html

maybe this could help you out.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:05 am

argh... Cave, Treasure, how do you fuckers DO iT>!!!!???!

Thanks Shatterhand, sorry for wasting your brain cells with my stupidity. Game Maker is already off of my computer; something as simple as autofire shouldn't take forever to program, much less for the streams and streams of Raiden-esque bullets I'M envisioning... sorry. ~_~

I think i'm just gonna stick to PLAYING shmups, so I don't end up hating the shmup concept altogether....

mrMagenta · Post by **mrMagenta** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:54 am

autofire is simple once you get the concept of using timers.
could be done like this:

open up your ship object

in the creation event:
create a variable called stepTimer. let it be 0.
you can do this either by using the var icon or dragging in a code object and simply writing in:

stepTimer = 0;

this variable will be used as a timer. you could also use gamemakers built in alarm events, but i don't like those because i can't name them and they make things messy in the long run. (stepTimer could be named anything at all.. poop, blammo etc. but using good names really helps readability)

in the step event:
create a new code object and write in:

if(keyboard_check(ord("Z")) and stepTimer > 5){instance_create(x,y,bullet); stepTimer = 0;}

this checks if Z is pressed and that it's been more than five frames since the last time if fired, if so creates a bullet at the center of your ship and it also resets the step timer. Now this assumes you have a bullet object named bullet.

now you need just another line of code for it to work and it's:
stepTimer += 1;

this should be after the previous line in the step event code. it just adds 1 to the timer for each frame.

just change the numer in "stepTimer > 5" to adjust the rate of autofire

it would be a good idea to reinstall gamemaker. making a shmup takes some patience. you could also try using MMF - multi media fusion.. some find it easier than gamemaker.. but my experience is that it gets much more difficult when your game becomes slightly more complex. I'm sure gamemaker is the most potent game-maker program there is for 2d.. and when it comes to performance, you can easily make a really manic shmup, Cave style, with hundreds of bullets all over at a good framerate. I recommend sticking to it. besides the pro version costs almost less than air.. while MMF costs something like $100.

i started learning gamemaker just by modding the ultra-lame 1945 example into a manic shmup.

ForteMP3 · Post by **ForteMP3** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:03 pm

I've been using GameMaker to work on my shmup as well, and I'm doing some crazy stuff, let me tell you. While some of the stuff I've done is simple, I have created some things I'm rather proud of...So if you need help, ask and I might be able to help!

-Manic bullet patterns (Timelines are WONDERFUL for this)

-Gradius Options that work perfectly in an autoscroll environment (This took awhile)

-Gradius style Lasers (Still tweaking these)

-Enemies that flash when hit (Got help on this one, but it's VERY useful, also doesn't require making new sprites, VERY useful indeed)

-Pretty explosions that only use particles, no sprites at all (Still perfecting these, but they DO look pretty good so far)

Anyway, everything in the post above mine should help you with basic autofire, though coding autofire where you shoot in bursts (IE, Cave style) is a bit harder, but not too terribly so. Anyway, again, if you need help with shmupping in GM, ask and I'll do what I can!

Also, since I'm already talking about GM, you might wanna check out my shmup, as it's being done in GM and can give you an idea of what kinds of things you can do in it with some time and devotion.

www.gamestone.co.uk/cavadius/

Oh, and one last thing...

Learn code. Fast. Code is much, MUCH better than drag and drop, as it offers far more control. Again, give me a message here or on aim, I'll gladly help.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:19 pm

I've uninstalled Game Maker though... need something easier to use. :/

like...

Select image for bullet: [ ]
Select rate of fire: [ ]

And a drag-and-drop interface for programming bullet patterns; THAT would be useful...

mrMagenta · Post by **mrMagenta** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:31 pm

I've also been doing some crazy stuff, which i never thought i'd be capable of. I'm not a programmer, i usually work with 3d graphics.

ForteMp3, are you by any chance using ICQ?

Post by **Shatterhand** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:05 am

Zweihander, I just found this:

http://prelude.servegame.com/

I am not sure if this is any useful or easy to use, I just found it and thought it could be useful for you... let us know if you try it out!

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:00 am

The Games Factory might be what you require but I must warn you it's not to effecnt system because it's a really old programe so if you intending to do a manic shmup then you may need to try and work around it.

http://www.clickteam.com/English/tgf.htm

WARNING: I wouldn't really bother trying to purchase this product because you can proberbly get it free else were. A UK mag called Retro Gaming Magazine had it completely free on it's cover disc, you can back order though because the company that was doing the mag went under last month

Anyway look around on PC magazines and see if they got the product on their CD or simply purchase multimedia fusion from the same site, that is a much more powerful programe.

mrMagenta · Post by **mrMagenta** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:03 pm

Gamesfactory is the light version of MMF.. It's prolly quite simple to use. But the simplicity itself can become a very difficult problem once your game takes shape.. for instance.. in MMF and thus certainly Gamesfactory too you can't make Else conditions.. only If, and you can't even have if statements inside other if statements. so for instance if you have a bullet that can hit in two different ways; while your protective shield is active and while it's not. the program is really stupid and has to go through the same collission code twice unless you start making complicated workarounds.. with a manic shmup with thousands of bullets and lots of stuff that can happen this could become irritating as hellvadore, and slow the process of making the game because you'll have a heck of a lot of doubled "code" to go through.

I really hate MMF.. but some like it, prolly cause it's easy. give it a try, it's possible to make really cool games in it after all..

The Prelude thing looks really cool. I'd watch where that's going.

russ · Post by **russ** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:23 pm

Call me old-fashioned, but I still recommend using Macromedia Flash. I've been working on my current shooter for about 4 months now (though I have been messing around with shmup-related ideas for a good year), and it's turning out pretty well. I'm not really going to give too many details on it right now, but when I'm ready I'll make a topic about it in the future.

Anyways, Flash is a really powerful program, and my favorite part about it is that it's extremely easy to make the graphics in the game. I'm not using anything outside of Flash - EVERYTHING in my game is hand-drawn in Flash by myself. The programming aspect of flash ("Actionscript", which is similar to Java I suppose) is also really powerful, and when combined with the easy layer and timeline-style setup of Flash's interface, It's pretty easy to work with. I'm still learning new things, though. Since I'm really lazy right now and don't feel like making a website for it, I'll let you all know when my game gets any releases or the such.

mrMagenta · Post by **mrMagenta** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:45 pm

nothing wrong with using flash... if you can get a nice performance rate. i've had a few issues using it when doing parallaxing layers and a bit larger objects, even at a low resolution, but i'm sure someone who knows the program well can do all kinds of cool stuff with it.

what i'd be really exited about though is Mices Shmup in a Stick.

bydoslave · Post by **bydoslave** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:41 am

thegamesfactory is no good for making shumps, max 200 objects on screen. but tgf2 and Multimedia fusion2 will be out soon though so you can just forget about gamemaker.

i made this game with mmf a few years back, it took about one month. http://hem.bredband.net/b307762/

mrMagenta · Post by **mrMagenta** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:51 am

That was real nice bydo. I like the simple and stylish pixels. Cool music and sounds too.

I'm also waiting for MMF2 (so i can finnish of a platform game i started in MMF). Some people really get on with MMF.. i don't really get it tough.. to me it's just distilled pain.

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 12:15 am

Seems shootermaker is translated. at least one version.
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShooterMaker95/

download in group files section, i think.

Post by **Ghegs** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 12:49 pm

zaphod wrote:Seems shootermaker is translated. at least one version.
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShooterMaker95/

download in group files section, i think.

Yep. There's also a dozen amateur shmups developed with it available for download. My favourites were 1_iron, 05nimono, 05stingray, 08abs, 09as3 and reflection. The last three even have something of scoring systems to play with. None have any real lasting appeal, but you can see the engine's potential nicely.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:36 pm

Ghegs wrote:
zaphod wrote:Seems shootermaker is translated. at least one version.
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShooterMaker95/

download in group files section, i think.
Yep. There's also a dozen amateur shmups developed with it available for download. My favourites were 1_iron, 05nimono, 05stingray, 08abs, 09as3 and reflection. The last three even have something of scoring systems to play with. None have any real lasting appeal, but you can see the engine's potential nicely.

I'm impressed, Angel has nice batrider style background graphics, stingray has some bullet patterns implemented. Lots of potential with this engine.

Post by **Ghegs** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:47 pm

Dave_K. wrote:Did you try Angel? Wow I'm seriously impressed! Nice batrider style scrolling background, bosses with multiple attacks, sllighlty manic. Lots of potential with this engine.

I tried all of them, but Angel didn't catch my interest for some reason. I might try to mess around with the program to see if I can get any kind of results. Maybe a simple boss-fight.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 6:42 pm

Ghegs wrote:
Dave_K. wrote:Did you try Angel? Wow I'm seriously impressed! Nice batrider style scrolling background, bosses with multiple attacks, sllighlty manic. Lots of potential with this engine.
I tried all of them, but Angel didn't catch my interest for some reason. I might try to mess around with the program to see if I can get any kind of results. Maybe a simple boss-fight.

I guess I'm too easily impressed

, finally downloaded all of them, and reflection seems like to most advanced of the bunch. Have to take a look at the engine itself to see just how difficult it was to produce all of these.

Matt McFarland · Post by **Matt McFarland** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 11:33 pm

Honestly I would recommend something like Blitzmax at www.blitzmax.com

If you read Wave's tutorial you could probably get the basics of coding down within a few days. It's much more rewarding to code a game then it is to use a game maker.

I myself made a Space Invaders game with Game Maker without coding at all, and with the knowledge I gained from Game Maker, believe it or not, made it easier for me to understand OOP (Object Oriented Programming) . BlitzMax is OOP, so basically if you know how to work with objects in GM then you already have the essentials at understanding TYPES in BMAX. I found Game Makers HighScore system sub-par (I want online high scores for my game, etc) and I found that BMAX its faster to program certain aspects (believe it or not) then in Drag 'n Drop. I also found it much easier to program powerups then creating new ones over and over again in GM. In code, you dont have to constantly create new things, but just put in a few switches.

If you know how to communicate with other people, then it should be so that you can learn how to communicate with a computer. Afterall, a programming language is a language. You're just telling the computer what to do

Just trying to inspire anyone who is scared of coding, because really you shouldn't be at all. Just take it one day at a time and don't try to know everything at once and in a few months you'll be amazed with yourself.

mrMagenta · Post by **mrMagenta** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 8:17 am

just like to point out, in defence of game maker, that generally you skip the drag n drop part of it (after toying around a bit) and go for the programming parts. you can design a lot of things in OO-fashion there too even though it lacks polymorphism. if you prefer C-like syntax over basic gamemaker ain't bad at all, and people have made better highscoretables for it than the drag n drop one.