SyntaxBomb - Indie Coders

General Category => Worklogs => Topic started by: Steve Elliott on September 15, 2018, 09:42:08

Title: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 15, 2018, 09:42:08
I'm revisiting my Gridfire game and am currently working on getting the retro pixel graphics completed.

In the screenshot there is only one tank, but there will be lots of psychopathic neon glowing AI Tanks trying to blow you to smithereens!  With bombs too for total chaos!!

There are 2 powerup tokens in green so far (one for ammo and one for bomb) and a real bomb on countdown.

Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 17, 2018, 20:19:14
Didn't get too much done today, but tidied-up the screen layout, added a blue status bar and increased the available Grid Space from 9 X 5 to 11 X 5 (you move on the dark squares).

https://www.syntaxbomb.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=110
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 17, 2018, 20:52:45
Looking nice and sharp :) - Still loving the subtle clean retro CRT overlay ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 17, 2018, 21:01:48
Thanks, sharper in-game (some compression here) yes I like the scan lines too - it gives some subtle texture  :)

Just deciding in what language to write it in.
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 17, 2018, 23:30:37
Quote from: Steve Elliott on September 17, 2018, 21:01:48
Just deciding in what language to write it in.
Hmm, stick to what you're using now :) - I bagsy doing games in the other language ;D #ShiftyCovertModeEnabled :))
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 17, 2018, 23:36:42
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Hmm, stick to what you're using now :)

So that would be AGK, C++ and elgol  ;)

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#ShiftyCovertModeEnabled :))

Thanks  ;) but I think elgol wins.  I can't be doing with all this long-winded typing nonsense in AGK or C++/development library .

Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 18, 2018, 03:04:39
QuoteThanks  ;) but I think elgol wins.  I can't be doing with all this long-winded typing nonsense in AGK or C++/development library .
AGK is very wordy and many commands would benefit from shortening and just having a few extra optional parameters. You could easily save 3 or 4 commands via this method. I will say though that I've never seen a faster interpreted language than AGK Tier 1 ( challenge ).

Really looking forward to getting my hands on your super secret project :)

But not to thread derail... Please do keep on with GridFire as it looks right up my street ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 18, 2018, 09:43:19
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Please do keep on with GridFire as it looks right up my street ;D

Oh I will  :)
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 20, 2018, 23:36:34
I've been working on another project for a couple of days, so just produced a new font and graphics tweaks today.

Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 21, 2018, 00:17:42
Nice one, that new font works a lot better I think :)

* EDIT * - I love the graphical style of this... Any vids to share?  ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 21, 2018, 12:30:03
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Nice one, that new font works a lot better I think :)

I agree.   :)

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* EDIT * - I love the graphical style of this... Any vids to share?  ;D

Thanks, no video because I'm still working on graphics/animation frames and generally tweaking the look of the game.

Working on things like bomb explosions.  BOOOM!!!  The player was clearly too busy shooting at the tank to notice a nearby bomb.  :D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 21, 2018, 19:57:38
That looks like a very toasty warm explosion ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 21, 2018, 20:07:15
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That looks like a very toasty warm explosion ;D

The quarterback, is toast!  ;)  and anybody within the blast radius   ;D

Quite tricky to get a bomb blast graphic I was happy with in Photoshop, but I'm happy with that.  And it lights up them scan lines nicely  ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: STEVIE G on September 22, 2018, 00:24:46
Quote from: Steve Elliott on September 21, 2018, 20:07:15
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That looks like a very toasty warm explosion ;D

The quarterback, is toast!  ;)  and anybody within the blast radius   ;D

Quite tricky to get a bomb blast graphic I was happy with in Photoshop, but I'm happy with that.  And it lights up them scan lines nicely  ;D

Spot on with the graphic.  Is this gonna be bomberman meets tanxs or an old school remake?  ;)
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 22, 2018, 09:53:26
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Spot on with the graphic.  Is this gonna be bomberman meets tanxs or an old school remake?  ;)

Thanks.  It's gonna be Bomberman meets a few games from the 80's.  :)
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 22, 2018, 19:43:56
Initially I was just going for a 3 strikes and you're out approach - 3 hits and it's game over.

But if you add bombs as well as laser strikes, then surely bombs cause more damage?  Clearly the enemy tanks (for sure) and also your own craft need to absorb more damage, so I've added a damage bar for every unit, bombs causing twice as much damage as lasers.

Also tweaked the graphics, added more animation frames and more power ups.
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 23, 2018, 06:51:19
I do love those graphics :) I can see they are a labour of love in both visual and colour work. That's some real nice work there  8)

PM me the beta when its ready  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 23, 2018, 10:38:43
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I do love those graphics :) I can see they are a labour of love in both visual and colour work. That's some real nice work there  8)

Thanks, I'm pleased how they turned out.  Pixel art is one approach to graphics that can produce some ugly visuals if you're not careful.

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PM me the beta when its ready  ;D ;D ;D

lol well that's the missing part - the code.  I have the graphics and sound all ready to go now - and a bunch of ideas for gameplay...But my main project has to take priority, although I'll be working on this as much as possible too.  :D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 24, 2018, 21:10:39
I've got all the media for this game (graphics and sound).  So I'll use my game engine to complete it, then wrap it all up in my Computer Language at a later date.  I just want to play it, so the language will have to wait a little longer  :D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 24, 2018, 21:46:19
Good test for the main engine though :)
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on September 24, 2018, 21:55:54
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Good test for the main engine though :)

Well the engine runs the game at 2240 FPS so no real test, but it does test stability and efficiency, which are very important.  1.64Mb for a game (so far) is pretty efficient in my eyes   :)
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on September 24, 2018, 23:46:30
QuoteWell the engine runs the game at 2240 FPS so no real test
Data would disagree - he could play your game at that speed ;D

Quotebut it does test stability and efficiency, which are very important
Especially memory leaks  :o
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on October 08, 2018, 10:14:28
Added a feature to the Game Engine and it all went pear shaped, so the game is delayed until I can sort the bug.  Just tweaked the graphics a little.   ::)
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Qube on October 08, 2018, 12:29:17
Is everyone having issues in one way or the other with this comp? :P

On the plus side, I like your new avatar ;D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on October 08, 2018, 12:33:43
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Is everyone having issues in one way or the other with this comp? :P

Because everybody is trying new languages/engines lol.  And that problem is now fixed.  Besides, my game isn't really a maze game, so not elegable.  It's a game I'll personally enjoy playing, so will get completed.

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On the plus side, I like your new avatar ;D

Haha I thought I'd use an Avatar that reflects my current game.  It'll change after I begin my next game  :D
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: RemiD on October 21, 2018, 12:27:56
my suggestion : try to create something new, a small game, but something different.

It is not good for the motivation and "productivity" to keep working on a never ending project...
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on October 21, 2018, 13:17:34
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my suggestion : try to create something new, a small game, but something different.

It is not good for the motivation and "productivity" to keep working on a never ending project...

Well no because I've made good progress and the engine/language will enable me to write games quickly - including GridFire.
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: RemiD on October 21, 2018, 16:46:13
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the engine/language will enable me to write games quickly
ok, good luck for the next steps, curious to see what you can make...
Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on October 31, 2018, 10:50:44
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ok, good luck for the next steps, curious to see what you can make...

Thanks, well I'm working on a computer language called 'elgol', which stands for Elliott Game Oriented Language.  I'm not going to go into details here as it's far from ready.

elgol will allow me to then produce some games (including GridFire) and a game I never finished due to some nasty bug I picked up at the time.  Here's a clue...

Title: Re: Gridfire
Post by: Steve Elliott on November 07, 2018, 23:42:12
But whatever I produce game-wise, I do absolutely love computer languages and how they're put together.  It fascinates me.