Today I completed the graphics for area 18. That's more than half of the level design. I started looking at what's left and I could feel like I was at the top of a hill. It's not a climb anymore. I'm over the mountain and this project is gaining speed. I looked at what was left to do and it felt lighter... like I wasn't pushing a huge boulder anymore.
I played around with Parallax scrolling, but then I realized that I was being too hard on myself. The levels look good. When I added multiple layers, it didn't really work. I think it's more important to focus on the enemies and quests. This needs work if the game is to feel exciting.
While I thought that I'd be finished with the game by now, I'm almost on-schedule with the launch of GameSalad. These next two weeks are crucial.
Today was a very distracting day. I was reading a lot of news articles about the death of Osama Bin Laden. There was also construction outside, which also added distraction. Yet, I set up tomorrow perfectly. I might be able to finish five new areas in one day!
I accomplished a lot yesterday, completing the artwork for five new levels. I'm really happy with the way those levels turned out. Today I connected the five new areas with another new area. It was a great feeling being able to explore this new area.
There are 11 areas left. I can feel the urge to drop the top five areas, but that's lame.
As long as GameSalad 0.9.3 is still in development, I don't feel a need to rush. I might see things differently after Game Center is released. BOT is scheduled to be my first Game Center game!
Here's the revised schedule... • Title Screen — 1-2 days • Option Screen and finalize shops — 1 day • Enemies — 7 days • 11 explorable areas — 7 days • Quests and quest characters — 3-5 days • Comic story (maybe) — 2 days • Game Center and project optimization — 1-2 days
So even at the longest schedule, BOT should be completed by the end of this month. Heh, completing 5 areas a day would certainly speed things up, but that's certainly not the norm. Usually, it's like two areas per day.
alexander144 said: This looks really interesting, any chance of putting up a video? Maybe some screenshots?
If I stay on schedule, video and screenshots should be online at Photics.com by the end of the month.
——————————————————————
May 5, 2011 - Progress Report
PUSH!
Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard. Today I completed two new levels, but I feel disappointed. I should be faster than this! Although, that should be expected when I added yet another game element.
This game is like Link from The Legend of Zelda, and Samus from Metroid, got together and had kid. Nintendo doesn't make iOS games, but I do.
So while building this game, I was thinking about Zelda. I remember testing the walls and blocks for hidden secrets. My game needs that kind of game play. Almost every area should have something special, something secret. I was running low on artwork, so I added a simple block to the middle of my level. I have a bunch of bollards to choose from, so I was playing around with various types of obstacles for the level. That's when I wondered... should I make this block pushable?
It was a big debate in my head. (Actually... I was probably talking to myself too.) I was wondering if I should even bother with such a game element. I'm not trying to build Zelda. I'm trying to build BOT. Would a giant robot really push block?
I wasn't going to do it. I almost skipped the pushable blocks, but I have such an awesome stone-scraping sound.
Creating these blocks was not as easy as it seems. The actor has to know from where it's being pushed. (TANK has 360° of movement, but the block is square.) Also, I didn't want giant squares just floating all over the place. It had to feel right.
In doing so, I basically have a good start for creating another puzzle game. For those of you that really know your game history, it's like "Shove It" for the Sega Genesis. With the blocks in BOT, it's just about hidden items... but I could get a little crazy with it. I don't know. I don't like puzzle games with pushing blocks, but this could add a new game element to BOT.
The block level in BOT is different from the other area I added today, which is basically just a big empty zone. It's specifically designed for fighting. I'm going to fill it up with a lot of enemies. If players wanted to farm gold, I'm thinking this would be a good area.
The overall map design is designed with the idea of "running laps". At first, you might want to stay close to the base, so you'd run a six area pattern... then eight... then 11/12. That way, you can roam around while enjoying combat. When you're strong enough, then you can challenge the bosses. Obviously, players won't know which areas are fairly safe for hunting and which lead to bigger battles. So, exploring too far could lead to a quick death.
Anyway, even though it's late, I'm going back to work. "There's much to do!"
Good morning! Wow, I feel great! The weather is amazing, but I'm still stuck inside. It's very frustrating. Yet, I highly recommend taking breaks for exercise. Otherwise, you could shorten your lifespan... and your work might suffer.
My car was looking really REALLY dirty. So, before I started working, I washed it today. When I got back to work, I eventually hit the perfect mood for game development... relaxed, filled with energy, focused!
After some testing, it was revealed that the Fire gun was a little wimpy. Balance is important in these types of games. One of the main objectives of the game is to upgrade your weapons. There should be a real feeling of choice. The players should want to complete all four lines of the gun. The fire gun was wimpy. In MMORPGs, when a strong weapon is reduced in power, it's "nerfed". That's gaming slang. I didn't want to weaken the other weapons, so I gave the fire gun more power. The snare effect is more effective now.
I've got a good start on the first level of the day. I'm feeling pretty good! I can see my map sketch almost completely translated into the game. It's exciting. The game has a good variety of areas...
Even with my great mood, I only completed one level yesterday. I fixed an important issue with the graphics, but I wasn't making huge progress with the levels.
So, to be more productive, I spent more money on artwork. I think another 2+ gigs of content to work with should solve the problem. HA!
I could have wimped out and dropped the last five areas. I didn't do that. And last night, I was playing the game. I realized that most of the top games aren't shooters. I think that's why this game could be successful. It combines exploration with combat. It's fun.
Next week is supposedly a big week for GameSalad, so I'm trying to get ready.
I wasn't sure if BOT was going to run on older hardware, like the second generation iPod Touch. So, I tested it. I was surprised. Just about everything worked flawlessly. The graphics weren't blurry and the frames per second seemed decent. The playability is excellent. I was able to explore this huge game without crashes. The loading times could be better, but this ad-hoc version was without the improved image handing. Overall, the test results were better than I expected.
The iPod Touch (Second Generation) is the absolute bottom of the line hardware for Game Center. http://www.apple.com/game-center/ ...and Apple doesn't even support that hardware with iOS updates anymore. The last one was 4.2.1.
I'm satisfied with the legacy support in BOT. It should launch with excellent backwards compatibility, while supporting new features — like retina-display, four-way auto-rotational support and Game Center.
I'm glad that this is one less potential landmine in my path to launching BOT. Although, this does raise an interesting question. Which iOS version should I target? GameSalad asks for the "Minimum Supported iOS Version".
• 3.0 • 3.2 • 4.0
Considering that Game Center launched with iOS 4.1, I don't really see a compelling reason to select 3.2 or 4.0. I think 3.0 makes the most sense. I'm going to contact GameSalad support to see if there's a reason to pick a higher version.
When publishing a GameSalad project, there is an advanced option that asks for the "Minimum Supported iOS Version".
The choices are 3.0, 3.2 and 4.0.
Game Center is coming in GameSalad 0.9.3, and that feature requires iOS 4.1. Is that going to cause an issue if 3.0 is selected?
Basically, my game is optimized to run on older hardware. So, if users are using iOS 3.0, I don't see a problem with it. They won't have Game Center support, but that doesn't hinder the rest of the game. I don't care if they play the game without Game Center. What happens with GameSalad though?
Other than limiting an app to newer hardware, what would be a reason to pick an iOS version higher than 3.0? Are there any Game Salad features that require more than 3.0?
tshirtbooth said: Yes this will cause an issue. and i have emailed them on it.
See if you publish a game and allow 3.0 ios to download the game. Then apple clearly stats that ALL gamecenter stuff Must get disabled and hidden on those devices. So we would need to do this
If attribute device.IOS is less then 4.1 Do this OTHERWISE do that
tshirtbooth said: Im sure it will but the issue is we need a way to code in that the user is on 3.2 and then hid all the gamecenter icons.
Why would you need Game Center icons for Leaderboards?
If game over is true and current score is greater than high score - Change high score to current score - Send high score to Apple
...or something like that. Icons aren't needed.
Tiny Wings is a great example. Even though there is an icon, I don't have to touch it. Also, the icons are just links to Game Center... which can be reached through the main app. So, my high scores are being sent even though I'm not pressing the icon.
mynameisace said: Why is that something to smile about?
I'm in no rush to launch my game until Game Center support is added to GameSalad. That means more time to make BOT awesome! Also, it's better to find this stuff out now and not through an Apple rejection email. I'm basically helping to test software that I'm not even using yet... and I think that's reason to smile
Photics said: Why would you need Game Center icons for Leaderboards?
If game over is true and current score is greater than high score - Change high score to current score - Send high score to Apple
...or something like that. Icons aren't needed.
Tiny Wings is a great example. Even though there is an icon, I don't have to touch it. Also, the icons are just links to Game Center... which can be reached through the main app. So, my high scores are being sent even though I'm not pressing the icon.
Yes, this is what I've been doing myself. That's pretty much it.
Photics said: I'm in no rush to launch my game until Game Center support is added to GameSalad. That means more time to make BOT awesome! Also, it's better to find this stuff out now and not through an Apple rejection email. I'm basically helping to test software that I'm not even using yet... and I think that's reason to smile
You're finding this stuff out now because tshirt spent two days last week working out how it all works. It really has nothing to do with you!
QS
EDIT - I should add that even though it posts automagically, I've put a 'GameCentre' button on the game over screen so that people can check their standings within the app, then return to the game without having to exit the app.
I'm in no rush to launch my game until Game Center support is added to GameSalad. That means more time to make BOT awesome! Also, it's better to find this stuff out now and not through an Apple rejection email. I'm basically helping to test software that I'm not even using yet... and I think that's reason to smile
Oh, well if you're not in a rush then that's alright then. I'd hate you to rush your masterpiece that everyone in the world can't believe their luck that it's coming out because it's awesome
tshirtbooth said: so you want people to leave your game to go check what place there in and then come back to your game. Why not just have gamesalad fix the issue?
I checked with Tiny Wings, it does stay in the app. That's cool. So, it looks like I need to add a Game Center button to BOT... which hides when Game Center is not in use.
That means...
1 - Is the update going to be delayed while GameSalad fixes this issue?
2 - What is the "Minimum Supported iOS Version" for GameSalad games with Game Center?
Maybe this issue can be fixed in a lame way, by requiring iOS 4.1... but that would risk losing customers. I don't recommend that. 3.1.3 would reach the maximum amount of customers, as the original iPhone can go up to 3.1.3.
mynameisace said: Oh, well if you're not in a rush then that's alright then. I'd hate you to rush your masterpiece that everyone in the world can't believe their luck that it's coming out because it's awesome
Quiet... the adults are talking.
quantumsheep said: It really has nothing to do with you!
It doesn't look that way from my perspective. The conversation clearly changed when I wrote about the minimum iOS version.
quantumsheep said: EDIT - I should add that even though it posts automagically, I've put a 'GameCentre' button on the game over screen so that people can check their standings within the app, then return to the game without having to exit the app.
...and from what tshirtbooth wrote, such a button could risk the app being rejected... as it wouldn't work on iOS devices running lower than 4.1.
mynameisace said: Well, definitely not the weakness in myself. I just hate you.
Well, I don't hate you.
quantumsheep said: Your perspective is wrong. Sorry 'n' all that.
That seems like an unproductive - and incorrect - post. Maybe updates would be less buggy if Sous Chefs wasted less time arguing with me, and actually doing testing.
tshirtbooth said: Gamecenter is for IOS 4.1 and higher
Yep they can not release with out this fixed. There are also a few other apple must haves that need to be addressed. But i cant see why they will not release this week. The build is so close to perfection it hurts.
You are a professional!
I can see why this might not release... what would be the detection for Game Center? Is it 4.1 + Internet Access?
Would it be a Game Attribute? A boolean?
If game.Game Center is true Spawn Game Center button Actor?
Photics said: That seems like an unproductive - and incorrect - post. Maybe updates would be less buggy if Sous Chefs wasted less time arguing with me, and actually doing testing.
Unproductive? Yes, engaging with you definitely feels that way. Incorrect? No.
The sous chefs that have actually *used* the pre-release software and reported issues are the reason your GameCentre will be less buggy. It has NOTHING to do with you.
Please feel free to try and insult me further, and to delude yourself more.
Comments
Almost Done!
Today I completed the graphics for area 18. That's more than half of the level design. I started looking at what's left and I could feel like I was at the top of a hill. It's not a climb anymore. I'm over the mountain and this project is gaining speed. I looked at what was left to do and it felt lighter... like I wasn't pushing a huge boulder anymore.
I played around with Parallax scrolling, but then I realized that I was being too hard on myself. The levels look good. When I added multiple layers, it didn't really work. I think it's more important to focus on the enemies and quests. This needs work if the game is to feel exciting.
While I thought that I'd be finished with the game by now, I'm almost on-schedule with the launch of GameSalad. These next two weeks are crucial.
Today was a very distracting day. I was reading a lot of news articles about the death of Osama Bin Laden. There was also construction outside, which also added distraction. Yet, I set up tomorrow perfectly. I might be able to finish five new areas in one day!
Five in a row!
I accomplished a lot yesterday, completing the artwork for five new levels. I'm really happy with the way those levels turned out. Today I connected the five new areas with another new area. It was a great feeling being able to explore this new area.
There are 11 areas left. I can feel the urge to drop the top five areas, but that's lame.
As long as GameSalad 0.9.3 is still in development, I don't feel a need to rush. I might see things differently after Game Center is released. BOT is scheduled to be my first Game Center game!
Here's the revised schedule...
• Title Screen — 1-2 days
• Option Screen and finalize shops — 1 day
• Enemies — 7 days
• 11 explorable areas — 7 days
• Quests and quest characters — 3-5 days
• Comic story (maybe) — 2 days
• Game Center and project optimization — 1-2 days
So even at the longest schedule, BOT should be completed by the end of this month. Heh, completing 5 areas a day would certainly speed things up, but that's certainly not the norm. Usually, it's like two areas per day.
Current Project Size: 136.9 MB
That's so large, the MB and the end gets cut off
How are you planning on using Game Center for an RPG? You don't have leaderboard on an RPG so... just achievements?
• Total Time Played
• Total Kills
• Richest Players
Aaaah, I see. Interesting.
——————————————————————
May 5, 2011 - Progress Report
PUSH!
Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard. Today I completed two new levels, but I feel disappointed. I should be faster than this! Although, that should be expected when I added yet another game element.
This game is like Link from The Legend of Zelda, and Samus from Metroid, got together and had kid. Nintendo doesn't make iOS games, but I do.
So while building this game, I was thinking about Zelda. I remember testing the walls and blocks for hidden secrets. My game needs that kind of game play. Almost every area should have something special, something secret. I was running low on artwork, so I added a simple block to the middle of my level. I have a bunch of bollards to choose from, so I was playing around with various types of obstacles for the level. That's when I wondered... should I make this block pushable?
It was a big debate in my head. (Actually... I was probably talking to myself too.) I was wondering if I should even bother with such a game element. I'm not trying to build Zelda. I'm trying to build BOT. Would a giant robot really push block?
I wasn't going to do it. I almost skipped the pushable blocks, but I have such an awesome stone-scraping sound.
http://photics.com/sound-effects
Creating these blocks was not as easy as it seems. The actor has to know from where it's being pushed. (TANK has 360° of movement, but the block is square.) Also, I didn't want giant squares just floating all over the place. It had to feel right.
In doing so, I basically have a good start for creating another puzzle game. For those of you that really know your game history, it's like "Shove It" for the Sega Genesis. With the blocks in BOT, it's just about hidden items... but I could get a little crazy with it. I don't know. I don't like puzzle games with pushing blocks, but this could add a new game element to BOT.
I'm not really a fan of games like this...
http://www.miniclip.com/games/bloxorz/en/
The block level in BOT is different from the other area I added today, which is basically just a big empty zone. It's specifically designed for fighting. I'm going to fill it up with a lot of enemies. If players wanted to farm gold, I'm thinking this would be a good area.
The overall map design is designed with the idea of "running laps". At first, you might want to stay close to the base, so you'd run a six area pattern... then eight... then 11/12. That way, you can roam around while enjoying combat. When you're strong enough, then you can challenge the bosses. Obviously, players won't know which areas are fairly safe for hunting and which lead to bigger battles. So, exploring too far could lead to a quick death.
Anyway, even though it's late, I'm going back to work. "There's much to do!"
NERF!
Good morning! Wow, I feel great! The weather is amazing, but I'm still stuck inside. It's very frustrating. Yet, I highly recommend taking breaks for exercise. Otherwise, you could shorten your lifespan... and your work might suffer.
My car was looking really REALLY dirty. So, before I started working, I washed it today. When I got back to work, I eventually hit the perfect mood for game development... relaxed, filled with energy, focused!
After some testing, it was revealed that the Fire gun was a little wimpy. Balance is important in these types of games. One of the main objectives of the game is to upgrade your weapons. There should be a real feeling of choice. The players should want to complete all four lines of the gun. The fire gun was wimpy. In MMORPGs, when a strong weapon is reduced in power, it's "nerfed". That's gaming slang. I didn't want to weaken the other weapons, so I gave the fire gun more power. The snare effect is more effective now.
I've got a good start on the first level of the day. I'm feeling pretty good! I can see my map sketch almost completely translated into the game. It's exciting. The game has a good variety of areas...
• Desert
• Cavernous
• Volcanic
• Abandoned City
• Mountain Road
• Snowy
• Metallic
It's like a hearty meal for the brain.
Spending Money
Even with my great mood, I only completed one level yesterday. I fixed an important issue with the graphics, but I wasn't making huge progress with the levels.
So, to be more productive, I spent more money on artwork. I think another 2+ gigs of content to work with should solve the problem. HA!
I could have wimped out and dropped the last five areas. I didn't do that. And last night, I was playing the game. I realized that most of the top games aren't shooters. I think that's why this game could be successful. It combines exploration with combat. It's fun.
Next week is supposedly a big week for GameSalad, so I'm trying to get ready.
Testing... 1... 2...
I wasn't sure if BOT was going to run on older hardware, like the second generation iPod Touch. So, I tested it. I was surprised. Just about everything worked flawlessly. The graphics weren't blurry and the frames per second seemed decent. The playability is excellent. I was able to explore this huge game without crashes. The loading times could be better, but this ad-hoc version was without the improved image handing. Overall, the test results were better than I expected.
The iPod Touch (Second Generation) is the absolute bottom of the line hardware for Game Center. http://www.apple.com/game-center/ ...and Apple doesn't even support that hardware with iOS updates anymore. The last one was 4.2.1.
I'm satisfied with the legacy support in BOT. It should launch with excellent backwards compatibility, while supporting new features — like retina-display, four-way auto-rotational support and Game Center.
I'm glad that this is one less potential landmine in my path to launching BOT. Although, this does raise an interesting question. Which iOS version should I target? GameSalad asks for the "Minimum Supported iOS Version".
• 3.0
• 3.2
• 4.0
Considering that Game Center launched with iOS 4.1, I don't really see a compelling reason to select 3.2 or 4.0. I think 3.0 makes the most sense. I'm going to contact GameSalad support to see if there's a reason to pick a higher version.
Matt
_________________________________________________________________________________
GameSalad Community Project
Quality Game Making Service
1 On 1 Project Help
Custom Template Service
GameCentre worked fine on my iphone 3GS with 4.x installed - so I guess it just won't show up for those whose OS doesn't support it.
Cheers,
QS
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
Hope this Solve this!
Cheers.
It doesn't just ignore the Game Center code and run the game without it?
Ace
If game over is true
and current score is greater than high score
- Change high score to current score
- Send high score to Apple
...or something like that. Icons aren't needed.
Tiny Wings is a great example. Even though there is an icon, I don't have to touch it. Also, the icons are just links to Game Center... which can be reached through the main app. So, my high scores are being sent even though I'm not pressing the icon. I'm in no rush to launch my game until Game Center support is added to GameSalad. That means more time to make BOT awesome! Also, it's better to find this stuff out now and not through an Apple rejection email. I'm basically helping to test software that I'm not even using yet... and I think that's reason to smile
Leaderboards can be accessed through the Game Center app.
QS
EDIT - I should add that even though it posts automagically, I've put a 'GameCentre' button on the game over screen so that people can check their standings within the app, then return to the game without having to exit the app.
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
Ace
That means...
1 - Is the update going to be delayed while GameSalad fixes this issue?
2 - What is the "Minimum Supported iOS Version" for GameSalad games with Game Center?
Maybe this issue can be fixed in a lame way, by requiring iOS 4.1... but that would risk losing customers. I don't recommend that. 3.1.3 would reach the maximum amount of customers, as the original iPhone can go up to 3.1.3. Quiet... the adults are talking. It doesn't look that way from my perspective. The conversation clearly changed when I wrote about the minimum iOS version. ...and from what tshirtbooth wrote, such a button could risk the app being rejected... as it wouldn't work on iOS devices running lower than 4.1.
Ace
So... Is it me you hate, or the weakness in yourself?
Just a thought
Ace
QS
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
I can see why this might not release... what would be the detection for Game Center?
Is it 4.1 + Internet Access?
Would it be a Game Attribute? A boolean?
If game.Game Center is true
Spawn Game Center button Actor?
Incorrect? No.
The sous chefs that have actually *used* the pre-release software and reported issues are the reason your GameCentre will be less buggy. It has NOTHING to do with you.
Please feel free to try and insult me further, and to delude yourself more.
Cheers!
QS
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io