Bug Hunter - Game Contest Entry

Started by freeman69, June 26, 2018, 08:57:35

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freeman69

Bug Hunter: Annihilation Complex

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uRykeFNIMzSYPAcFyIUYPdwO1aKR-Qba/view?usp=sharing

Written for Windows in BB4W
Arcade / Open World theme for the SyntaxBomb competition of June 2018

The idea was to apply the arcade scenario of waves of invaders (e.g. Galaga), to a large scale maze where the waves are triggered by sounds/vibrations. The player is free to roam the maze at will in an attempt to clear it of alien insect hives.
Dropping and detonating bombs remotely was a concept from an old Beeb game called Android Attack.
The aim is to achieve a high score, recorded on a high score table.
(The smaller maps were added later, to allow the player to complete a game in a reasonable time.)

The original concept focused on a 30x30 grid containing up to 2 rectangles in each square. Rectangles overlap, allowing the player to move around i.e. they form the basis for collision detection.
The hives are deployed semi-randomly, 2 hives every 3 grid squares. A hive opens depending on its sensitivity to sound/vibrations.
Critters use a path-finding algorithm based on the origin of the overlapping rectangles.
Much of the code is to manage (activate & deactivate) hives and critters, because the standard map contains hundreds of hives.

(And yes, seeing the messy graphics at the start was left visible on purpose - in part to tell how long to wait until the initialization finishes, and in part to show the inner workings - that the graphics were pre-rotated.)

BasicBoy

#1
I do like the concept and simple/retro graphics, but after about an hour of playing I haven't once been able to destroy all of the hives on the 'Tiny' map! I don't think there's much point attempting to brave the larger maps until I've cracked the Tiny one.  Okay, admittedly, I'm pretty crap at playing games, but so far 'Bug Hunter' is proving somewhat difficult and frustrating! Might just be that I haven't yet 'got the knack' of it. What would probably make the game a bit easier is if the critters which chase after you had more inertia so you could more easily get more distance between you and them, and then at some point you could quickly spin around and shoot the buggers. As it stands, they are extremely difficult to shake off, and so one watches in despair as the ones biting your heels suck away your energy/lifeforce.

I'm not giving up though. I'm determined to complete at least the Tiny map (and will report back here when I do!).

I would prefer the number of hives (from one game to the next) not to be random. With the Tiny map, the number of hives seems to vary randomly from 8 to 14 (?)

Software performance-wise, the game runs well on my Windows 10, Core i7-based laptop. Will try it on my other machines later today.

round157

Wow, BasicBoy, long time no see.

You disappeared suddenly and appear again. I hope that you will make good entries in future competitions!   

I don't have time to play the entries. However, your review lets me know the details of Bug Hunter.


freeman69

@BasicBoy: I hail from days of yore when 8 bit games ruled the planet and one had to be nifty fingered to steer your avatar out of harms way. Having said that, I made a portion of the critters faster than you (including all beetles) specifically so they couldn't be out-run. Taking damage is inevitable, making the need to resupply by collecting eggs necessary.

The other aspect - varying number of hives / placement - was on purpose, to make each game potentially different (along with varying vibration sensitivity), to offset the fact that the maps are fixed. On the larger maps the %age variation is not significant, and I never expected anyone to complete them.
Initially I was just going to have the one standard (huge) map, as that relates to the 'open world' 'wander about' half of the mix, but added the smaller maps to allow players to get a quick 'I've done it' fix.,, theoretically.
I managed to complete the medium map, but the idea is to improve upon past high scores. It'll take practice (and as the writer I have an edge - I'm next to useless at Tiny Pixel Wars!).
Technically, the tiny map doesn't really meet the 'open world' criteria, as it goes round in a sort of simple spiral, so is a bonus feature.


iWasAdam

no problems running this.
liked the sound and graphics, but boy was this hard.
loved the little buzzing fly things.
I could see this being condensed down into a single (non moving) screen similar to robotron2084 where it would become a very frantic kill-dash type game.
The main problem I had was running out of everything, bombs, shots, you name it I ran out of it. :)

BasicBoy