Boiled Sweets does Asteroids 3D

Community Forums/Showcase/Boiled Sweets does Asteroids 3D

Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#1]
Background info...


I'm going to do a 3D Asteroids game first. The beauty of this is I can concentrate on the very core of the the ELITE game and iron out all the problems of getting the flying right without too much distraction. Then that 'engine' will be used in the ELITE game.



First screenie from Asteroids 3D...



Yup those puppies were created by yours truely in MAX.


Grey Alien(Posted 2006) [#2]
looks great. Boy I remember that elite type scanner.


Steve Elliott(Posted 2006) [#3]
What Grey Alien said.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#4]
Nice one, this is only about 2 hours work. I'll post a full playable demo soon.


WedgeBob(Posted 2006) [#5]
Hmm, would this be made out to be something like a Descent or Terminal Velocity-style game, where you fly around in first-person, and have a cockpit that you have health and ammo type stuff?


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#6]
RAM,

you know Asteroids, the arcade classic? Well this is a 3D version. So you fly around in 3D space shooting asteroids. Hit em once and they split, hit em again and they split again. then hit the little bits and they are gone. Take too long and a big ufo appears, shooting at you. Shot that and after a time a tiny ufo appears that is a more deadly shot.

So it's taking the logic and gameplay from the original arcade asteroids and bringing it into a 3d world with neato particle effects etc etc


Kanati(Posted 2006) [#7]
while thinking about the flying... if you plan on having the rotating bases that you have to dock with like in the original elite, make sure you use the same movement model. IE: no momentum. It's hard enough to dock without a docking computer in elite without having to make sure you fire thrusters to stop forward movement and such. :)


Steve Elliott(Posted 2006) [#8]
Kanati, perhaps that could depend on the level of difficulty.


Stevie G(Posted 2006) [#9]
Looks very nice so far.

Personally I don't think asteroids in 3d will work too well though. Anything coming from the sides , behind or above/below will be hard to spot before you can react. True, the Elite style radar will help with this but I'm not convinced. Looking forward to a demo to see how you handle this aspect.

Stevie


H&K(Posted 2006) [#10]
@Kanati,

The main reason the momentum was changed between Elite and fronter was that players wanted to be in different ships, and if you keep the same physics model as in elite than an adder played no different from a cobra or an anaconda.

I know it was one of the things Fronter got panned for, but thats mostly because of the problems that were there with only getting attacked by one ship at a time.

It needs to have some form of differisation for each ship. In fronter, when your "faster" ship had matched velocity with the larger ship, then a Cobra still felt like a cobra from elite.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#11]
Stevie G,

no problems various ways to deal with this, I plan with just the ELITE style radar plus some warning indicators top, left, right and bottom of the screen when one is near. A bit like the 'damage' indicators in HL.

I could also use viewports, left, right and back.


WedgeBob(Posted 2006) [#12]
RAM,

you know Asteroids, the arcade classic? Well this is a 3D version. So you fly around in 3D space shooting asteroids. Hit em once and they split, hit em again and they split again. then hit the little bits and they are gone. Take too long and a big ufo appears, shooting at you. Shot that and after a time a tiny ufo appears that is a more deadly shot.

So it's taking the logic and gameplay from the original arcade asteroids and bringing it into a 3d world with neato particle effects etc etc


Yeah, I know Asteroids, because Geometry Wars was somewhat based off the same type of gameplay. However, I thought that you were adding that first person element to it, as tho you were in the cockpit.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#13]
RAM,

I am. Although you don't see the cockpit, it is first person, you are in the cockpit, it's 3D.


polygoon(Posted 2006) [#14]
Boiled Sweets:

"I'll post a full playable demo soon."

Just make sure it does 1440x900, and joysticks are supported please.

These days I tend not to try anything unless it does that much; that's not a particularly high bar to set given the century we are in. ;O)


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#15]
polygoon,


Just make sure it does 1440x900, and joysticks are supported please.



your requirements have been added to the "will do" list :-)


polygoon(Posted 2006) [#16]
Cheers! ;O)

[EDIT]
There's a bonus in that format; you can have a regular format play area and bit left over on the side for scores/indicators etc. Rather game coder friendly really.


MadJack(Posted 2006) [#17]
Seems to me the big attraction of being in a 3d asteroid field is not the asteroids themselves, but flying around them in order to chase something else.

But then that brings up the issue that in 'reality', you'd hardly be staring straight ahead - you'd be looking up/down/left/right to make sure a wayward rock didn't sidewipe you. So a padlock view in conjunction with the joystick hat to look around fluidly. Now you're talking.

On that note, I've also wondered if a mild fisheye lens - but that the bending doesn't start until quite close to the edge of the screen - would work - just enough distortion to give you a sense of where things are in relation to your perpendicular)...


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#18]
Padlock view?


MadJack(Posted 2006) [#19]
You've never heard of padlock view?

Basically a target remains 'padlocked' to the centre of the screen - mimicking how your eyes would track a target in real life. It's very effective in giving you the impression of actually being in a cockpit as your view tracks the padlocked target.

X Wing Alliance did it brilliantly...


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#20]
Never knew it was called that.

OK so you think an auto target locking laser would be better?


MadJack(Posted 2006) [#21]
Not quite - the view is locked to the target, but you still need to bring your guns to bear. In other words, you might be looking out to the left/right as you track the target, but your guns still fire straight ahead.


polygoon(Posted 2006) [#22]
No, padlock is the way to go for certain sure.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#23]
D'ya have an example of this?


polygoon(Posted 2006) [#24]
I know you can get an addon camera for flight sim 2004, but that's the only contact I have had with it, there are very likely others around. Anyone?


*(Posted 2006) [#25]
reminds me of the one that I coded on the Blitz3d cd :), yours looks much better graphically tho ;)


Defoc8(Posted 2006) [#26]
maybe you should make some intelligent rocks? - wot
dodge yer boOlets.. - then again, maybe not ;)
- btw, nice lookin screeny.


H&K(Posted 2006) [#27]
@Boiled

If your plan is to continue with the other project, with this as a testbed

Dont make the aim to destroy the asteroids. Make the fields really big, and the asteroids really big, and then try to do a speedway thing, where by you have to well speed in and out of the asteroids


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#28]
Well the plan is to release a full blown asteroids 3D game but then use the 'engine' in my L8 tribute game.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#29]
More eye candy...






Genexi2(Posted 2006) [#30]
I thought it all looked great, but the planet texture seems to ruin the look a bit for me ><, possibility of bumping the texture resolution up?

On another note, I recall a member (think it was Mustang?) that did an awesome looking planet in B3d using a few multi-texturing tricks...going to look for that thread now. May be something worth implementing as eye-candy for your game.

[EDIT] Cant find it for the life of me, hopefully someone else here (or possibly even you yourself) know which thread I'm talking about here.


Terry B.(Posted 2006) [#31]
hmm.... this looks intresting, I hated the 2d game but i might like it in 3d.
That is of course if theres lots of explosive guns ;)


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#32]
Genexi2,

the earth and moon are not models but simply images placed on the space box.

I haven't really done an A1 job on them, was just playing around. Will make them look better


SoggyP(Posted 2006) [#33]
Hello.

How are you going to do a 3d asteroid belt? Surely there's no way for the asteroids to wrap around? Do you have to chase after disappearing ones into the distance? Are they all being attracted by another object, eg, the Moon or the Earth? Do you think that's too many questions?

I like the look of it :o)

Goodbye.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#34]
regards the players movement...

I think that I might allow the player to choose the movement type. Either Elite style or move controlled movement, i.e. up is up, down in down and left is left and right is right. Does any one have any other 3d spaceship movement code they want to share.

SoggyP,

still working on this...


H&K(Posted 2006) [#35]
@Regards player movement.

Make it a proper part of the game. If the player wants ELite style, then the "Thusters" need to be configured to Elite style


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#36]
Here's some targeting code that could also be used to control the ship. For the ship movement, just take the distance the mouse moves from the center of the screen and scale it down a bit and turnentity the ship with it.




Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#37]
Chroma,

MANY MANY THANKS!!!

The game is forming nicely. Basically you have to navigate an asteroid belt. Then you defend a BLIB ( http://www.boiledsweets.com/Blibs ) attack on Pluto. Then you go thru another asteroid belt to defend yet another BLIB attack on Neptune. Etc etc all the way to the sun




WedgeBob(Posted 2006) [#38]
Ahh yes, this is the way Asteroids was SUPPOSED to be played! Wish Atari would've had this type of technology during Bushnell's days. Gotta love the Intellivision and ColecoVision for being better than Atari...


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#39]
BSweets, I have a pretty nice laser sprite lib if you want me to post it. I was doing a mech type game about 2 years ago and I spent a lot of time getting the lasers to look just right. Lemme know.


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#40]
BSweets, try out this red turbo laser and the burst mode.

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/zamagames/Laser.zip


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#41]
Chroma,

that is UNREAL! MANY THANKS!


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#42]
The big problem I have is now to test for bullet/asteroid collision.

In you first code example the bullet was a sphere so could use sphere/mesh collision detection but even then every now and again a bullet seems to hit an asteroid but the collision isn't triggered.

You 2nd example uses a mesh so cannot use the in built blitz collision engine.

I was thinking of just using camera pick on the asteroid 'under' the cross hairs but that isn't great either.

Any suggestions? Thanks for you help...


mindstorms(Posted 2006) [#43]
There are a couple of collisions code in the code archives that don't use blitz collisions....Blitz collisions don't work when the thing that is supposed to be run into moves.

edit: here is one that I use from the archives, couldn't find the link

examble.bb


dcol_lib.bb:



Chroma(Posted 2006) [#44]
BSweets, gimme about an hour to find the code and put it in the laser example.


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#45]
Ok...first, make all your asteroids pickable. This way the laser will auto-rangefind and focus on the asteroid instead of just sending the laser to z depth of 200.

For the collision, make the lasers EntityType 10 and make your Asteroids EntityType 1.

Do a Collisions 10,1,2,2

Then do something like:

If EntityCollided(a/asteroid,10)
a\life = a\life - 1
;shoot particle effects at entityx(a\asteroid),entityy(a\asteroid), etc etc
Endif

If a\life =< 0
;Bust them apart or free and delete
Endif

It's working fine here and seems to be registering every hit.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#46]
So do away with the target grid?


OrcSlayer(Posted 2006) [#47]
Just for the record, sphere to polygon collision is very accurate it seems even when the target is moving. I use it for hit detection in my game and I've yet to see a missed collision...in tests I had it run over 50,000 hits on a moving polygon target with no misses...


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#48]
Definitely keep the target grid. Just in case the player doesn't have the crosshair on an asteroid, the laser still has to go somewhere. =)


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#49]
Chroma,

yeah just found that out :-)

Is your laser mesh a sphere then?

Still not getting the collisions to work.

It's not picking the asteroid. The lasers seem to be working correctly but the collisions just are being detected. I've set the entity type for asteroids and bullets and set the collision up. Then for each asteroid I check for a bullet collision...

The grid is obscuring the asteroids. If I disable the pick mode for the grid then the asteroids get picked ok. I have tried using the "obscurer" flag on each asteroid and even setting the entityorder so that the grid is at the back but still the grid seems to be picked first!


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#50]
Here's an example with collisions working.

Set the target_range variable from 200 to whatever the farthest asteroid can go in the +z direction. That way the target_grid is always behind the asteroids. The target_grid will auto-scale to the correct screen size btw.

Also the lasers are only going like 500 units out then dying. Check the HandleLasers() thingy and change the 500 to your taste.

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/zamagames/Laser2.zip


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#51]
Chroma,

thanks for all your help. Judging by the code you have supplied I would imagine you have a similar game in the making and would love to see it. Anyhow one final (hopefully) stupid question. If I rotate the camera (turnentity) the bullets are not positioned correctly. Any way to sort this?


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#52]
Nope, no game on the drawing board like this, just trying to help.

Soon as I get home I'll work on it and get back with you.


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#53]
k, just position the lasers at the camera XYZ, then rotate the lasers to the camera pitch,yaw, and roll, then do:

MoveEntity left_laser,-3,-2,0
MoveEntity right_laser,3,-2,0

Then fire the laser normally. That should do it.


Try this below. It changes the createlaser to make it so you put in the entity you're firing from, and now the x,y,z are offsets are where the laser will appear from the center of the entity.


Then call it like so:
	Create_Laser(camera,1,3,-2,0,PickedX(),PickedY(),PickedZ())
	Create_Laser(camera,1,-3,-2,0,PickedX(),PickedY(),PickedZ())



Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#54]
Chroma,

once again many thanks. I'm starting to wonder who is writing this game you or me :-)

Anyhow to show my thanks I would like to offer you one of my full commercial projects for free, take a look at my site and let me know.

Also would you be happy to allow me to continue to ask you stupid questions? Although I'm pretty experienced with Blitz perhaps my 3d math experience leaves a lot to be desired. I hope you can see from my site that I not only do finish projects but have an eye for detail and also have a flair for quirky projects.

I have finished some (so say the public) great applications and have even sold them (perhaps not in the volume I would have liked but it is just a serious hobby) so would be very welcome for your continued help and would certainly be happy to have your name in flashing lights in the finished project or even extend a percentage to you (but 5% of $0 is $0!). Basically I guess I'm wondering if you are up for a longer term collaboration -- I am pretty driven, have loads of ideas and would relish the opportunity to work with someone else. My existing co-coder has gone AWOL and do work better when I know someone else is into it too.

No pressure... and again thanks for your input!


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#55]
Sure I'm happy to help. Shoot me an email and let me know what exactly you wanna do or how you wanna do it. I have a billion snippets of code I've written in the past few years and it's like sticking your hand in a grab bag lol.

I used to be on a team with bigworm and world_creator a few years ago and it was a good time. Even though we didn't finish the rpg we were working on. =(


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#56]
Chroma,

awesome stuff. At the moment I'm trying to fumble together a kind of elite meets asteroids meets the usual Boiled Sweets weirdness in Attack of the Blibs.

I'll email you a link to current work in progress version when I have it a little tidied and created a clean installer etc (later today).

But for now the next question...

How to handle the laser so that a laser can auto track a target. So when an enemy is 'picked' and you fire the laser should always hit the target even if the target is moving. So basically homing missiles...

I guess I should storing the target entity in the bullet array then use tformvector each loop and move the bullet towards the target. Is that right? D'ya have any example code in your grab bag?

Or should I use the point_entity and point the laser each update at the target a move it on z axis?


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#57]
Do you want the laser to be a long beam that instantaneously extends to the asteroid? It'd be an auto hit so you wouldn't have to lead the targets. Kinda like a star trek laser (i forget what they're called in the show).


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#58]
I wanted a set and forget homing missile. I've got it working - it's great. This missile can ONLY be fired when a valid target is targeted and there can only be one homing missile active at any one time.

When I fire I store the targets entity. Then each update I use your point entity to point the homing missile at the target then move it a bit forward. WORKS GREAT. Nothing better than watching an enemy trying to out run the homing missile. Gives me an idea - some enemies will be able to drop chaff to throw off homing missiles :-)

Out of interest why is the laser mesh shaped like that?

I now have single pulse lasers, faster multiple pulse lasers, Elite military style lasers, a shotgun burst style laser and homing missiles!

Also is there a way to get the laser to always be up one way. For example if I scale then 1,2,3 when I turn the 'ship' although they are at the bottom of the screen (where they should be) the actual laser object is turned on its own z axis.

Yeah maybe a 'rail gun' style instant hit laser might be cool too :-)


OrcSlayer(Posted 2006) [#59]
Chroma: Phasors :-)

I have homing missiles in my game engine too, but I added an option for slow tracking, so they won't hit 100% of the time :-)


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#60]
Hmm...so you're saying the lasers are spinning on the z axis?


H&K(Posted 2006) [#61]
errr, shouldnt the laser be a "Billboard" sprite rather than a 3d object?


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#62]
Not according to Halflife, UT2003, Quake3, etc. =p

Using a cross-shaped mesh allows it to be viewed from many angles without having to bother with code to keep it facing the camera.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#63]
Chroma,

Yes they are spinning on the z axis...

I'm just implementing enemies firing back at you :-)

Seems to work great apart from the lasers don't look right as a cross when they are coming straight at you as you cannot see them properly. Perhaps in this instance a sprite would be better - any thoughts?


polygoon(Posted 2006) [#64]
If it's coming "straight at you", I'd imagine you'd have other things on your mind! ;O)

Actually, if you added 2 more polygons, and made it an asterisk shape then you'd be able to claim you were paying homage to that earliest of wire frame star wars games! ;O)


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#65]
The cross should also have a 3rd quad that is visible when the laser is coming at you. Make sure EntityFX 16 is enabled. On second thought, I might have taken off the 3rd quad. I'll check it when I get home.


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#66]
This here will look full even if it's coming straight at you. But it's more for a normal laser shot or rapid fire type laser. Are you talking about the instant beam stuff?

If the laser is what you're thinking then lemme know and I'll send it.




Chroma(Posted 2006) [#67]
Ok here's the 2 cross and 4 cross version. I'm not sure how the 4 cross will look (laser4.b3d) because I'm at work. But it 'should' look very full and look great coming at you. Both lasers are 3 units long and 1 unit tall/wide (kinda fat). Try doing a ScaleMesh laser,.5,.5,3 and that should look a lot more traditional.

That bitmap was made in mspaint cuz it's all I got at work. =( Replace it!

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/zamagames/laser24.zip


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#68]
Chroma,

it's go go go...


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#69]
Does that mean it worked? =p


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#70]
BSweets, for some reason the laser2.b3d is making my app crash. Is that one working for you?


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#71]
Chroma,

[edit]
yeah it crashes Blitz. Back to the drawing board with that one I think.

At the moment I'm using spritrs for the enemies and it looks kinda OK but could look better.

I'll send you my WIP so far tomorrow too. It's shaping up but still a long way to go...


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#72]
OK here is it. Please note...

THIS IS A TECHNICAL DEMO JUST TO SHOW OFF THE ENGINE SO FAR. This is far off from being a game, which is looking like it's not going to be an Asteroids remake but a Elite style game. I have listed a few ideas in the pipeline but please feel free to let me have your ideas etc. Many thanks for listening...

http://www.boiledsweets.com/Asteroids3d/AOTB-TechDemo1.zip

What's New?
-----------------
Blibs shoot back.

Blibs can either be hostile or non hostile. Non hostile blibs will become hostile if fired upon!

Ship now has a shield, when it gets to 0% you will be destroyed (game over code coming next)

Changed the ships thrust code. Cannot fly in reverse now and there is also no drag. The is space afterall

Added ship bolt-on, friend/foe scanner plugin. If this is purchased then non hostile blibs will be coloured
green in the scanner, hostile blibs will be red. By default your ship would not have this bolt-on.

Coming soon!
------------------
General : Do game over code!

Blibs : Each blib will have it's own firing pattern
Blibs : blibs will be able to regenerate energy therefore requiring sustained attack
Blibs : More blibs
Blibs : Some blibs will change course when hit
Blibs : Different blib explosion sounds
Blibs : Some Blibs will drop chaff to deter the homing missiles!
Blibs : Some Blibs can cloak themselves!

Ship : Laser temperature limit
Ship : Different laser/missile sounds
Ship : Detect ship/blib collisions

Ship bolt-on : shield scanner, can read and display a blibs shield strength
Ship bolt-on : shield generator, various types / speed etc
Ship bolt-on : smart bomb
Ship bolt-on : escape pod


Controls
--------
LEFT CONTROL = shoot
A / Z = thrust
Cursor keys = move (ELITE style)
1, 2, 3 & 4 = different lasers (laser no. #1 comes as standard, others will have to be purchased)
5 = homing missiles (can only fire one at a time AND when target is locked on, crosshairs turn green)
F10, F11 = FPS
F12 = screen shot
ESC = quit

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BLIBS MANUAL (WIP)

Your ship
---------
Lasers:
Comes with a standard laser. You can purchase better lasers.

Homing missiles:
Your ship can be armed with a few homing missiles. These can be purchased. Homing missiles are deadly! One homing
missile will destroy a Blib outright.

Blibs
-----
Different blibs have different shields, therefore require different amounts of hitting to kill them.
Blibs can either be hostile or non hostile. Non hostile Blibs will become hostile if attacked!


SpaceAce(Posted 2006) [#73]
That's a pretty cool demo. The thing I like most about it, though, is that it reminds me a lot of an ancient game called LineWars.

SpaceAce


Stevie G(Posted 2006) [#74]
Pretty good start Boiled! It's quite difficult to hit the red guys though. A&Z keys did nothing for me so basically sat on the spot which is probably why I didn't last very long :(

The bullets/laser fire gets left behind when your pitching fast so it's difficult to hit things at a high rotation speed. Should be easy enough to fix though, unless you intend to keep it like that?

Look forward to seeing this evolve.

Stevie


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#75]
The A/Z keys do increase/decrease forward movement but perhaps I need a 3d space field to give the effect of movement.

Not too sure how to fix the 'left behind' problem. The 'bullets' could go faster, that will reduce this but then might be too easy to hit the target. Do you have another suggestion?


Stevie G(Posted 2006) [#76]
Ah, so A & Z do work ... yeah, a starfield would improve the visual effect ... I honestly thought I was completely static ;)

Generally adding the velocity of the ship to the bullets themselves will resolve this kind of thing.

A quick solution would be to parent a pivot to the ship and rotate it local to the ship by a percentage of the amount that your ship is pitching & rolling, then fire the bullets at the point directly in front of this pivot. So if your pitch is increasing by 5 degrees per frame and your rolling at -10 degrees per frame, rotate the pivot by 2.5 degrees in pitch and -5 degrees in roll axis.

Make sense?

Stevie


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#77]
BSweets, whatever your camera speed is, add that to the initial laser speed.

initial_laser_speed = 2 + current_camera_speed

BTW, thats coming together very nicely!

The laser getting left behind under fast pitch rates is actually realistic. I don't see how you can change it without crippling the true accuracy of the laser.


SopiSoft(Posted 2006) [#78]
Looks good!


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#79]
Chroma,

I agree with your thoughts on the laser apart fom the additional speed thing. You car head lights don't light up faster, liht is always the same speed no, so shouldn't the lasers always leave the ship regardless of it's speed?. It is more realistic as it is. The thing is the better lasers are faster so if the player gets enough money (yet to code the reward system) then they can buy beter lasers. As it is there are homing missiles which are a one shot set and forget. Again the player will be able to buy a number of these depending on their financial status :-)

I'm working on the blibs AI at the moment. Currently they are hostile or non hostile. Not too sure that this is the best way to go at the mo, it might be better to have them so that there are an initial set of aggressors and the non aggresive become aggressive when the existing aggressors have been shot or when shot upon. WIP.

Also the blibs will retreat if their shields are very low.


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#80]
so shouldn't the lasers always leave the ship regardless of it's speed?. It is more realistic as it is.


Actually, it isn't. Because light is pretty much instantaneous (186,000miles/sec). In this case we're treating the lasers like actual bullets from a gun. For instance, when you're in a space ship and you're traveling 5 units per second and you fire a laser who's speed is 2 units per second, you would pass up your laser (undesirable). If you take your base ship speed (5) and add it to your initial laser speed (2), the laser starts off at 7 units per second. But in your perspective it's still going 2 units per second. And if you're ship speed is 0, then 0+2=2. Your laser would still appear to go 2 units per second.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#81]
Ok done, doesn't actually make a great deal of difference. The enemy lasers still look naff...

Gotta decide on the game format now before I proceed, i.e. this gonna be an ELITE style trading game with shooting. Or is it gonna be a smaller arcade type where you just have to clear level upon level of baddies..


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#82]
I'm in the same boat. I have the basics down but now what direction to take the game...shoot 'em up, or more of a hybrid RTS with shooter elements.


OrcSlayer(Posted 2006) [#83]
Chroma: Shoot em up? I thought it was a D&D game...

Are you talking Hack n' Slash vs. RTS/RPG style?


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#84]
My D&D game is on hold atm while I develop some space shooter tech demos. I'm trying to get the space shooter game developed and finished before the Christmas rush. :) D&D 83 is gonna take me about a year to finish.


OrcSlayer(Posted 2006) [#85]
Ah I see. Hmmm, space shooters then...that's a BIG area as far as how many options you have. I think they've made more kinds of space games than any other...


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#86]
Hey Chroma,

let's see a demo of what you have so far. If you don't want to share here there PLEASE email me a working exe. Many thanks.


Chroma(Posted 2006) [#87]
It finally hit me how the gameplay should go so it'll be a week or so before I have anything to show. :(


Morbius(Posted 2007) [#88]
Anyone have Chroma's laser code?

Thanks!


Yeshu777(Posted 2007) [#89]
Looks nice, one suggestion after playing the tech demo.

Could you have small alpha stars / particles to give more of a feeling of thrust. At the moment only what the radar shows gives you an indication of thrust.

Just a suggestion.


Chugs40(Posted 2007) [#90]
Looks and plays smooth on my machine :)

Like Yeshu said above could use more of a felling of thrust. I had trouble navigating around.


Chroma(Posted 2007) [#91]
Morbius, did you still need some laser code?


Morbius(Posted 2007) [#92]
Chroma:

Sorry I missed your post. Yes, I'd definitely like to see the code, if you still have it.

Much appreciated.

Mike


WedgeBob(Posted 2007) [#93]
Hmm, almost looks like a game that should be played on the Wii. Just my two bits...

And to reply to you a looong time ago, yes, I did play Asteroids, Astrosmash, and all those games, I've had plans on a space shooter myself, just needed the right facilities to bring some realistic stuff to shoot at.