HIDDEN ITEMS SEARCHER FINDER (entry for the retro competition)

Started by RemiD, January 20, 2018, 23:03:06

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RemiD

Hello,

Here is my entry for the (320x200 16colors) retro competition

edit : since the competition is finished...
updated 28/01/2018 :
->fixed bug when digging too deep in the ground
->fixed bug when trying to display messagebox and spyglass and map and listoffounditems and instructions at the same time
->fixed slow loading on some computers (replaced readpixel/writepixel by lockbuffer/readpixelfast/writepixelfast/unlockbuffer)
->added the others 4 statues that i had planned to add but i did not had the time to make (so in total there are 10 different statues)
->added a map with player position and statues positions

Overview :
This is a game of exploration, of orientation, of observation, of patience...
Explore the environment.
Find statues and read the plates with clues.
Use these clues and the tools at your disposal ( compass / orientationtracker, stepstracker, spyglass, visualization of material color, dowsing rods ) to determine where a hidden item is buried, then digg near this area to find it, then take it.
The goal is to find the maximum of hidden items.

Screenshot :


Video :
Animated gif :
http://rd-stuff.fr/blitz3d/hidden-items-searcher-finder-gameplay-possibilities-20180121D.gif

Youtube :


Controls/Actions :
(for the default config) (you can configure the actions keys in the config.ini file)
LookTurnLeftRight -> MouseXaxis
LookUpDown -> MouseYaxis
MoveForward -> W
MoveBackward -> S
MoveLeft -> A
MoveRight -> D
ResetStepsTracker -> Z (so that the steps count becomes 0)
UseSpyglass -> X (so that you can see the far away shapes on the mountains)
SelectMaterialColorToVisualize -> C (so that your dowsing rods can detect the item of this material color)
Interact -> MouseLeftButton (to digg in the ground, to take an item)
ShowMap ->M (show player position and statues positions)
ShowFoundItems -> L (show the list of found items)
ShowInstructions -> I (show the instructions on how to play the game)

Some tips to play :
->you have to reset the stepstracker when you are near a statue/plate, before you walk, so that you can count how many steps you have done
->try to keep a precise enough orientation (following the compass / orientationtracker) when you walk (counting your steps)
->once you have located the target far shape on the mountain, try to keep the same orientation
->you have to visualize the correct material color so that the dowsing rods can detect it (the nearest you are from the item, the more they will cross)
->you can run when you are trying to detect the item with the dowsing rods, but keep a look at how they behave
->you can't cheat, since a hidden item will start to "radiate" (and be detectable) only if you have reached a specific area (following the given orientation and steps) and looked at the specific far shape (using the spyglass)
->you can digg like a mad man, no worries, nobody will bother you in this region (and i have not added "yetis" yet...)
->take all the precious items that you can find, and then go sell them on ebay ! :D

You can download it here : (for Windows OS)
http://rd-stuff.fr/blitz3d/hidden-items-searcher-finder-20180120-2320-EXE.zip (old version (20/01/2018) for the competition)
http://rd-stuff.fr/blitz3d/hidden-items-searcher-finder-20180128-1200-EXE.zip (last version (28/01/2018))

(game made with Blitz3d )

( i hope that you will understand what i say in the prologue (spoken words), i often read/write in english but i rarely speak in english, so my pronunciation is bad, and also i used the microphone of an old mobile phone to record my voice, so the sound quality is bad... Anyway ! ;D )

( for the skeptics / scientific minds on this forum : about "dowsing rods", i tested it and surprisingly it works ( sometimes ;) )... But whatever, it is just a game, have fun playing it ! )

RemiD

For some reason, the loading of files and preparation of things in my game, takes more time on a computer with Windows 10... I suppose that it is because i use read/write commands on images/textures which are less supported than in the era of Blitz3d...
Don't worry, just wait a little...

Conjured Entertainment

It runs fine for me.

Nice look and nice map.

I am not a big fan of the hunt and find stuff games though, so it's not my cup of tea.

Great game for those who have the patience for this genre though.

therevills

Works well on my Windows 10 rig.

Great to see a B3D game! And it's a nice game, woudnt have thought about a 3D for compo, nice job!  :)

iWasAdam


RemiD

Thanks for your tests / feedback. I will test your games in the evening.


After further testing : the really slow loading / preparing of assets is produced by the commands ReadPixel() WritePixel() on a texture, on Windows 10.
I have tested the same procedure but used LockBuffer() ReadPixelFast() WritePixelFast() UnlockBuffer() instead, and it is really fast with these commands !
With ReadPixel() WritePixel() -> approximately 100s for 12 64w64h textures !!! (too slow)
With LockBuffer() ReadPixelFast() WritePixelFast() UnlockBuffer() -> approximately 5s for 12 64w64h textures !!! (fast enough)

I can provide the executable using the new commands for those who have a computer/OS on which the loading / preparing of assets is too slow (i have not changed anything else in the code/files)

iWasAdam

I've had similar issues with read/get/setPixel. I would have thought it would be a simple thing just to get a pointer to the data and be able to set it very simply yourself? :/

3DzForMe

Runs well for me, I like your commentary and its great to see Blitz 3D strutting its stuff still. I also like the crushing snow footfalls ;)
BLitz3D, IDEal, AGK Studio, BMax, Java Code, Cerberus
Recent Hardware: Dell Laptop
Oldest Hardware: Commodore Amiga 1200 with 1084S Monitor & Blitz Basic 2.1

RemiD

@3DzForMe>> thanks for your test and feedback :)

In reality, the sound of a "footstep crushing snow" is not a sound of a "footstep crushing snow", but of a "footstep crushing medium grass", but since my microphone is crap, it sounds similar ahahah :P

RemiD

After the vote is finished, i will post an updated version with a faster loading, a bug fix (when digging too deep in the ground), and additional statues.

I think that i can consider that the bug when digging in the ground is now fixed :

4 meters below ground ;D

I initially planned to have 10 different statues, but i did not have the time to create them all, so what you have in the competition version are 6 different statues x 2 (=12)...


I may add others gameplay elements/mechanics, but you know how it is : the difference between theory and practice... Maybe...

Derron

I had a hard time starting your game ... MAV or "cannot create 3d graphics" (or how it was stated...).


Once I was able to start it I recognized the voice over... nice idea (albeit not fitting to the "retro" aspect. Had first longer voice over in the ninetees - provided I visited a friend with a CD-Rom-Drive).
Imho the "walking speed" was a bit slow. With the low resolution it takes too long to see movement as trees etc are too far away.  It might help if there are some trees a bit more near - just to help seeing "Ok, I am walking now" right on start.

Instead of finding things I would have liked to play some kind of "survival game" - means combining things, using them and the likes.

Nice to see someone doing a "real" 3d game for the compo. Albeit in low res I think it is hard to beat "hand made" stuff (tilesets, screen-sized artwork, ...).


bye
Ron

RemiD

@Derron>>Thanks for the test and feedback. :)

Quote
I had a hard time starting your game ... MAV or "cannot create 3d graphics"
Ok... And how did you solve that ? If i remember correctly you use "wine" on linux ? if yes, i can't help you fixing this compatibility problem (the graphics engine uses directx7)

Quote
Imho the "walking speed" was a bit slow. With the low resolution it takes too long to see movement as trees etc are too far away.  It might help if there are some trees a bit more nea
I don't think so, because the distance between each walking step is around 1.05units, and a real walking step of an average human would be around 0.5unit... (well ok it depends if the guy is calm or in a hurry)
I may increase it a little, why not...
But i think that we are not used to walk slowly in first person view games anymore, hence this feeling.
However the running speed is at least 2 times more fast than the real runing speed of an average human...

Quote
With the low resolution it takes too long to see movement as trees etc are too far away.  It might help if there are some trees a bit more near - just to help seeing "Ok, I am walking now" right on start.
The main problem is the limited number of colors which were allowed, because initially i used one different color for each kind of tree, and this added more depth and diversity in the world...

Quote
Instead of finding things I would have liked to play some kind of "survival game" - means combining things, using them and the likes.
Then download the game "stranded 2" (blitz3d game).
My game is about finding places, deciphering clues (not in this version), using the tools to reach an area where an hidden item probably is, then using the visualization of the material color + the dowsing rods to detect it, then digging the ground, then taking the item. Nothing less, nothing more.

I will probably try to add more gameplay elements/mechanics to make it less repetitive, but the main gameplay is here...

Derron

@ solve
By running a native Windows 10 installation :-)

What made me wonder is, that the other competition entries more or less worked (except for the Xaudio2 stuff and another game). Other Blitz3D-games worked, so you must be calling something "uncommon" leading to that problem. Maybe a shader thing or so?


The game starts ... telling you that configuration was loaded like it should and then it tries to create the 3D world leading to a segfault.


If you want to narrow that down, feel free to compile me a more verbose version (creating a log file or so - but do not forget to write to the file as soon as you print, not just at the end of the application execution). Might help for further projects in Blitz3D regarding "Wine compatibility".


@ trees
If a tree was less far at the start, then the first steps will already make visible changes on the screen: that near tree will "move".
It is similar to "rotation". Imagine you have a big big ice ground and only a blue sky. How to make the player aware of "you are rotating now". In that case you add some clouds, a sun, ... to the sky so people could orientate with that. In the night you would add some stars... and so on. In your game you see the trees as orientation point. But as said it misses to help the player recognize "walking movement" (at least right at game start).


So I was not talking about increasing walking speed or running speed.


@ stranded
I tested version 1.x in 2003 already: http://www.gamezworld.de/showentry.php?ID=784


Also I am aware what you want your game to be and what not - I just wanted to note down what I would have liked to see instead - or what you could add to make it a bit more "puzzler/finder"-style. Combine things so you are able to extend your skills. So to be able to dig out/excavate you need to make a fire first - else the ground is too frozen to frighten your self-built-shovel ... and so on.


Maybe next compo :p


bye
Ron

RemiD

Quote
@ solve
By running a native Windows 10 installation :-)
or Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 or Windows vista or Windows Xp

but yes, this game was not made for "Wine"... So nothing surprising

Derron

I run it on XP - were it blamed the 3d world creation. But maybe that machine has issues with DX. OpenGL runs fine there.
Run it then on Windows 10 (upgraded from Win10, no fresh install) without trouble - similar to therevills game.



Do not assume that every machine is perfectly fine with either OpenGL or DX. And no, do not blame me for first trying things on wine. Wine was able to run other Blitz3D apps, runs many games without trouble.


Like said: if you want to improve compatibility of your projects: make it more verbose and let me try them for you. I assume it is a simple command/option leading everything to the crash.


bye
Ron