lol, indeed it is. I find there are many sections when making your game that you are very into it. And then about half way through, you just plot through each day, not getting a whole lot done. Keep at it!
Damn right! Its been a long adventure and i highly doubt i would work on such a big project again. The time, effort and budget is way beyond what it will recoup. Its not all about the money, i wanted to make the game and thats why i embarked on the challenge but it has taken a lot of resource that i doubt i could justify again! Still its been fun in the making!
Braydon_SFX said: lol, indeed it is. I find there are many sections when making your game that you are very into it. And then about half way through, you just plot through each day, not getting a whole lot done. Keep at it!
Bray
Haha i know that feeling all too well. Doesn't help that the forums become such a huge distraction too. lol. It will get there, its not massive amounts away now so i will defo keep at it. Just instead of ruling its nice to drop it for a while, work on something else and come back with renewed enthusiasm.
Liking the screenshots of the overhead gameplay section. Have you played Space Miner? If you haven't that might give you some inspiration - it's a great iphone game, really well put together.
Keep chipping away at it. Some days might go slow but as long as you keep going you'll get there in the end...! (That's what I like to tell myself anyway
HoneyTribeStudios said: Liking the screenshots of the overhead gameplay section. Have you played Space Miner? If you haven't that might give you some inspiration - it's a great iphone game, really well put together.
Keep chipping away at it. Some days might go slow but as long as you keep going you'll get there in the end...! (That's what I like to tell myself anyway
Thank you sir. I have indeed played it and a very good game it is. I had a lot more ideas i would of liked to have incorporated but with 20 bullets, 12 enemies, 6 power ups using timers and constrains, I'm afraid this section is at its limits. Its a shame I couldn't incorporate all the bits i wanted, i think with GameSalad in its current state, its impossible to build a fully featured shoot em up. I have optimised as much as i could, the usual non moveable, recycling all actors etc but it just cannot go any further due to FPS!
Ahhhh ... TFI Friiiiiiday ... Bring on the weekend
So ... i still haven't progressed much with the final core mechanic. I have however now implemented part 2 from the 3 parts of the story. The opening of the game will be an insight into some story, you then play 4 of the core mechanics in training, there will then be the 2nd part of the story, you then go into the final battle before wrapping up with more story.
So its been a couple of weeks and although work has stalled whilst i work on other projects, it hasn't completely stopped. I am working on the final core gameplay mechanic, the 'Angry Birds' style section. Here you will use your powers to throw an orb at your targets which are droids. I have the throwing mechanic down, i have the level rules setup for number of targets and shots, and i have everything reacting how it should. I have a cool effect on the camera to zoom out and show the whole screen ala 'Tiny Wings' and have all the rules in place to stop you throwing again or interfering with the orb once thrown. I have also recycled the orb so it knows when it is done and resets back to the beginning. As its not a huge section of the game, I'm not anticipating it to take to long to build the levels, I'm thinking somewhere between 10-15 levels, that coupled with the 20 levels of the brain area, plus the lightsword score based level, spaceship score based level and then the final battle of top down dual thumbstick level, there should be enough content. All this is wrapped up with comic book story, its finally getting there! Woo.
Anyway, here is a quick screenshot showing the background on this section.
@Rob2 - haha, its amazing how you can at times miss big threads. Thanks for your kind words though, it will indeed be very exciting to see it finished ... at least for me anyway. ha.
@Braydon_SFX - Cheers, have done some more today so all is in good stead
Just ironing out all the small bugs now before building the levels, had to be creative with a few things to overcome some problems that arose. Had a strange thing introduced as well with the latest GS build but fortunately support was able to assist with this and get a workaround figured out Without it, my whole method would of been screwed.
Anyway, here are a couple of screenshots of what a mock level might look like;
The above screenshot shows the size of the screen when the thrown orb is not very high.
The above screenshot shows what the screen looks like when the orb is thrown high.
These are the obstacles that will be used in game and the droids are the targets you must hit within your allotted shots to complete the level.
Status Update - 04/01/12 - The first of the New Year
So first off, let me start by saying Happy New Year and best wishes for the forthcoming year
As for 'Project Saber', all gameplay elements are now merged together in one project and complete in all their mechanics. I now have little bits left and the game will be complete, i can't believe it is now soo close. The game is big without being huge, i think it will come out around 50mb, as a lot was done pre-retina, that is how it stayed, its probably saved a lot on image size! Still 50mb is a pretty big game without being overly big. When @Photics released 'Bot', it was around 300mb and a few people over at Touch Arcade had expressed their concerns at such a big game in file size, space can be precious these days ... If people have a 16gb device its sooo easy to fill that space!
So whats left then?
Game Splash Screen
Main Menu - Most coding is in place ready, art will be added soon, a few tweaks to current code and this will be complete.
Story 3 - This is the last past of the story at the end of the game and will not take long to complete.
Simulation Complete Screen - On the training missions that aren't level based, i.e. Score based, i need to add the completion screen that is triggered when the score is reached, this won't take long.
Game Interlinking - Just need to make sure all eventualities are tested in making sure when things are done, the right parts are loaded at the right time. For example, when certain things are completed, it will trigger the story scene(s) to play, once this has been viewed you can re-view it from the Main Menu etc and have it lead to correct place after.
Unlocks - Upon completion of each score based section, you will be able to play it outside story mode with no triggers, just the same life you are delay throughout the game but no score triggers to complete. The aim here will be to get a highscore which will be enabled for GameCentre. You will have the Lightsword section, the SpaceShip section and the Top Down Final Battle section.
Loading Screens? - Im still undecided here ... As its a big game, the loads times aren't lightening between some scenes. For these I'm debating having screens in place to say its loading, maybe spec sheets on the spaceship or weapons, or maybe just an inspirational quote type thing. The 4s doesn't need load screens as its pretty quick on the change but the 3gs would benefit from it!
Testing - Each section has been tested thoroughly upon build and will have a full on re-testing phase once everything is in.
Soo, as you can see, its not far off, its really not! Im hoping for around the end of February/beginning of March release! We'll see, release isn't that important to me, it'll be nice to see it done and out there but in all honesty, it'll be ready when its ready and the main bulk is done
@Braydon_SFX - I have a team i'll be using for testing but if i need more, i'll drop you a PM ... Cheers @ozboybrian - Thanks mate, shouldn't be too much longer now.
Status Update - 07/01/12
Another part ticked off the list, this time its the end story, part 3. Here's a screenshot of 1 of the images featuring in the last part of the story. I have not included any of the actual dialogue in this one as didn't want to give away any of the story;
As for the rest of the work, i should have the main splash, the main menu and simulation screen all sorted pretty soon. Most the coding is down, just need to get the art and add it in. Once this has been achieved, i will sort out all the interlinking, score levels completion, the appropriate save/load attributes and the mechanism of when stuff is unlocked (this will go hand in hand with the menu setup).
Cheers @ozboybrian, its been a very long time in making, i hope it comes out nice
Status update - 09/01/12
I have now decided on a name for the game .... Star Serum.
I have also worked out most the interlinking and decided that from the start, the user will have access to 2 areas of the game, the lightsword and the space ship. Once these are completed you will unlock the mind training and then once that is completed you will get the power section. Once all 4 areas are trained you will get the final battle.
If a sous reads this could they please edit the title of the thread to be - "Star Serum - Sci Fi Game Dev Log (Beefy_Clyro)"
Comments
Bray
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
Keep chipping away at it. Some days might go slow but as long as you keep going you'll get there in the end...! (That's what I like to tell myself anyway
Ahhhh ... TFI Friiiiiiday ... Bring on the weekend
So ... i still haven't progressed much with the final core mechanic.
I have however now implemented part 2 from the 3 parts of the story. The opening of the game will be an insight into some story, you then play 4 of the core mechanics in training, there will then be the 2nd part of the story, you then go into the final battle before wrapping up with more story.
Heres a couple of screenies to show
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
So its been a couple of weeks and although work has stalled whilst i work on other projects, it hasn't completely stopped.
I am working on the final core gameplay mechanic, the 'Angry Birds' style section. Here you will use your powers to throw an orb at your targets which are droids.
I have the throwing mechanic down, i have the level rules setup for number of targets and shots, and i have everything reacting how it should. I have a cool effect on the camera to zoom out and show the whole screen ala 'Tiny Wings' and have all the rules in place to stop you throwing again or interfering with the orb once thrown. I have also recycled the orb so it knows when it is done and resets back to the beginning.
As its not a huge section of the game, I'm not anticipating it to take to long to build the levels, I'm thinking somewhere between 10-15 levels, that coupled with the 20 levels of the brain area, plus the lightsword score based level, spaceship score based level and then the final battle of top down dual thumbstick level, there should be enough content. All this is wrapped up with comic book story, its finally getting there! Woo.
Anyway, here is a quick screenshot showing the background on this section.
So just an update on bits done;
Opening Story - Done
Lightsword Section - Done
Spaceship Section - Done
Brain Section - Done
Power Section - WIP
Second Story - Done
Final Battle - Done
End Story - Still to do but not a major part.
Bonus Content/Unlocks;
Lightsword Section with no limit, GameCenter enabled - Done*
SpaceShip Section with no limit, GameCeneter enabled - Done*
(Just need to add post scores rules once setup in iTunes Connect)
Still to do;
Main Splash
Main Menu
Pause Scene
Possibilities depending on performance;
Load screen(s) - Still to do if needed.
So still some to do yet but hopefully once all sections and story are done the rest should kind of fall into place
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
@Braydon_SFX - Cheers, have done some more today so all is in good stead
Just ironing out all the small bugs now before building the levels, had to be creative with a few things to overcome some problems that arose. Had a strange thing introduced as well with the latest GS build but fortunately support was able to assist with this and get a workaround figured out
Anyway, here are a couple of screenshots of what a mock level might look like;
The above screenshot shows the size of the screen when the thrown orb is not very high.
The above screenshot shows what the screen looks like when the orb is thrown high.
These are the obstacles that will be used in game and the droids are the targets you must hit within your allotted shots to complete the level.
I really can't wait to try this !
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
Im hoping to have this section ported into the overall game, fully done by mid January.
Im going to be aiming for completion of the whole project by the end of February.
Keep at it!
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
So first off, let me start by saying Happy New Year and best wishes for the forthcoming year
As for 'Project Saber', all gameplay elements are now merged together in one project and complete in all their mechanics. I now have little bits left and the game will be complete, i can't believe it is now soo close. The game is big without being huge, i think it will come out around 50mb, as a lot was done pre-retina, that is how it stayed, its probably saved a lot on image size! Still 50mb is a pretty big game without being overly big. When @Photics released 'Bot', it was around 300mb and a few people over at Touch Arcade had expressed their concerns at such a big game in file size, space can be precious these days ... If people have a 16gb device its sooo easy to fill that space!
So whats left then?
Game Splash Screen
Main Menu - Most coding is in place ready, art will be added soon, a few tweaks to current code and this will be complete.
Story 3 - This is the last past of the story at the end of the game and will not take long to complete.
Simulation Complete Screen - On the training missions that aren't level based, i.e. Score based, i need to add the completion screen that is triggered when the score is reached, this won't take long.
Game Interlinking - Just need to make sure all eventualities are tested in making sure when things are done, the right parts are loaded at the right time. For example, when certain things are completed, it will trigger the story scene(s) to play, once this has been viewed you can re-view it from the Main Menu etc and have it lead to correct place after.
Unlocks - Upon completion of each score based section, you will be able to play it outside story mode with no triggers, just the same life you are delay throughout the game but no score triggers to complete. The aim here will be to get a highscore which will be enabled for GameCentre. You will have the Lightsword section, the SpaceShip section and the Top Down Final Battle section.
Loading Screens? - Im still undecided here ... As its a big game, the loads times aren't lightening between some scenes. For these I'm debating having screens in place to say its loading, maybe spec sheets on the spaceship or weapons, or maybe just an inspirational quote type thing. The 4s doesn't need load screens as its pretty quick on the change but the 3gs would benefit from it!
Testing - Each section has been tested thoroughly upon build and will have a full on re-testing phase once everything is in.
Soo, as you can see, its not far off, its really not! Im hoping for around the end of February/beginning of March release! We'll see, release isn't that important to me, it'll be nice to see it done and out there but in all honesty, it'll be ready when its ready and the main bulk is done
Cheers
If you want, I can beta test. Just send me a PM when ready.
Braydon
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
@ozboybrian - Thanks mate, shouldn't be too much longer now.
Status Update - 07/01/12
Another part ticked off the list, this time its the end story, part 3. Here's a screenshot of 1 of the images featuring in the last part of the story. I have not included any of the actual dialogue in this one as didn't want to give away any of the story;
As for the rest of the work, i should have the main splash, the main menu and simulation screen all sorted pretty soon. Most the coding is down, just need to get the art and add it in.
Once this has been achieved, i will sort out all the interlinking, score levels completion, the appropriate save/load attributes and the mechanism of when stuff is unlocked (this will go hand in hand with the menu setup).
Then out for testing
Status update - 09/01/12
I have now decided on a name for the game .... Star Serum.
I have also worked out most the interlinking and decided that from the start, the user will have access to 2 areas of the game, the lightsword and the space ship. Once these are completed you will unlock the mind training and then once that is completed you will get the power section. Once all 4 areas are trained you will get the final battle.
If a sous reads this could they please edit the title of the thread to be - "Star Serum - Sci Fi Game Dev Log (Beefy_Clyro)"
Cheers
I wanna have a go.
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx