Asteriods Clone - WIP screenshots and demo

Community Forums/Showcase/Asteriods Clone - WIP screenshots and demo

Rob Farley(Posted 2003) [#1]
Still very early stages and lots more to come, however, thought I'd release this to get some early constructive comments.

I know I posted this on the wrong forum before, so apologies.

The demo is currently wedged in 640x480x32 so if your graphics card can't do 32 bit it's not going to work. There's no sound or score yet either.






Download Demo Here


Mustang(Posted 2003) [#2]
Ho hum... is it just me or are the aSteroids too hard to see / spot because of the BG colors etc? Smaller asteroids look like big stars etc. and the ship is really small and colorless too... and too much ambient lighting - there's basically none in the space IRL :)

But it's not really bad at all, I'm just whining :P


Rob(Posted 2003) [#3]
Nice! curious question: how do you wrap things around in 3D? I'm curious cos I tried this and had a lot of trouble.


Caff(Posted 2003) [#4]
Looks nice and plays fairly well! The particle effects are nice. Jazz it up, especially the asteroids (different colours?) perhaps add an additional layer of scrolling stars for the backdrop..?


GfK(Posted 2003) [#5]
Works good.

Don't like the mouse control system though.


Mustang(Posted 2003) [#6]
how do you wrap things around in 3D?


? Like meaning what exactly?


Shambler(Posted 2003) [#7]
Just wrap the x and z coords ( assuming the camera is looking straight down at the ship ) like you would in a 2D game with x and y.

So if the ship is always at 0,0,0


PseudoCode

factorx=screenwidth/2
factorz=screenheight/2
newx=entityx(asteroid)
newz=entityz(asteroid)
wrap=false

if entityx(asteroid)>factorx or entityx(asteroid)<-factorx
newx=-newx
wrap=true
endif

if entityz(asteroid)>factorz or entityz(asteroid)<-factorz
newz=-newz
wrap=true
endif

if wrap=true then positionentity asteroid,newx,0,newz



You would have to adjust factorx and z to account for how far away the camera is from the ship to compensate for perpective but thats the general idea.

I liked the control method and the sense of scale that 3D brings, try bumpmapping the asteroids to make it even more realistic looking.


Rob(Posted 2003) [#8]
Shambler, that suprisingly doesn't work though. It pops the asteroid in as the camera is also wrapping and free roaming.


Rob Farley(Posted 2003) [#9]
Mustang - Out of interest is there anything you like about it?

Rob - As shambler said, I just make sure the asteriods are well and truely off screen by a screen width or so. I also add an x and y offset as the ship doesn't stay at 0,0. Oh and you have to hideentity then reposition then show again or you get collisions!

Caff - The background currently is just a single sprite, this will get more interesting. There will also be other things not just asteriods.

GFK - A few people it seems don't like mouse so I'll have to include keyboard and joystick for the future.

Shambler - I'll have to look into the bump mapping thing although asteriods are not going to be the full extent of the game so I'll be concentrating on other stuff first. Good suggestion though.

Thanks for the suggestions... More welcome! This is a very early demo so suggest anything you think will improve it.


Rob(Posted 2003) [#10]
aliens:) we need lots of aliens :)


Rob(Posted 2003) [#11]
Hi Dr Av & Shambler: That makes no sense! when I tried following a cube, the cube wrapped round because it hit the edge earlier than me, or the camera wrapped round, either way causing one or the other to "pop" :)

That said, this game is looking sweet. I like the way asteroids are effected.


Mustang(Posted 2003) [#12]
Mustang - Out of interest is there anything you like about it?


:)

Sure - like GREAT looking special effects (jetblast, dust, explosions), very spot on controls (sensitivity, speed etc), high FPS... so the basic gameplay is very good!

Rocks, ship and BG just need bit more polish and eyecandy, but that's about it. Also I guess there is no sounds, at least I didn't hear any?


Rob(Posted 2003) [#13]
How about a mini map?


Rob Farley(Posted 2003) [#14]
Rob - Make your x and y extremes reletive to the camera, ie,
if entityx(blob)<entityx(camera)-factorx
hideentity blob
positionentity blob,entityx(camera)+factorx,entityy(blob),entityz(blob)
showentity blob
endif


And yes, Aliens lots of aliens, also, big bugger ships like uridium where you blow bits off it. I added a minimap but I found I hardly looked at it, so I'm thinking of having a arrows round the edge of the screen pointing at where targets are.

Mustang - Sounds will be there... Not done any yet hence it's quiet. The ship is just one I'd already modelled and it's currently pointlessly around 800 triangles.


Rob(Posted 2003) [#15]
Dr Av, is that "correct"? I mean if you were to make a mini map, would it be cheating?


Rob Farley(Posted 2003) [#16]
As I said, I've dumped the mini map, what it does now is if there are less than 5 rocks left an arrow will appear at the edge of the screen for each rock showing what direction it's in. Without it you find yourself searching around looking for a small rock to shoot.

I'm thinking of making the level end when the rock mass left goes below a threshhold so you don't get this.

Also, with regards to power ups, do you think there should be fewer and you keep them forever (or you sell it at a shop or something) or should they fade like they do now and you have to keep picking up more?


Rob(Posted 2003) [#17]
death rays from moon 9 :)


Shambler(Posted 2003) [#18]
The first time I saw that large asteroid come rolling down the screen it was O.o

Maybe keep powerups till the end of the level and/or when the ship gets destroyed.


Rob Farley(Posted 2003) [#19]
Rob... I have no idea what you're talking about now :)

Shambler is O.o good or bad?

I'm thinking that you should only have 1 life, so you have to be careful with the shields and stuff... what do you think?

The losing all your powerups when you lose a life is a pain in the arse. Xenon was a prime example of this, you had to complete the game without losing a life or you were screwed. Xenon 2 improved on this by downgrading your weapons when you lost a life.

Suggestions welcome.


Shambler(Posted 2003) [#20]
O.o scarey ^^


Techlord(Posted 2003) [#21]
Dr Av,

Looking Real Good. I assume more weapons and effects are coming. This is a great start.


Rob Farley(Posted 2003) [#22]
Once I've added a few more bits and pieces I'll upload a new demo. I've just added some sound and homing missiles. Going to add some aliens and score before I upload the next demo though.

Keep the suggestions coming though, it's really helpful.