BomBJacK Explodes On The Internet!
Community Forums/Showcase/BomBJacK Explodes On The Internet!
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| My Friends: This is my first official announcement regarding my very first video game release. I would love your feedback. Thank you. --Announcing the Official Release of BomBJacK v1.0--  Enter an exciting action-adventure world where you take the role of a mercenary for hire, set out on a mission to recover stolen technology from the evil forces of Binary-Zero. Using multiple jetpacks to soar through the universe, BomBJacK's unique "old school" feel and gripping game play will challenge the player for hours.   -FEATURES- Enjoy over 40 levels of finger-twitching, jetpack-thrusting fun on two difficulty settings, accompanied by: * The ability to customize your mercenary with five unique skins; * Many secret levels & hidden items; * Over ten grueling enemies; * Standard nuclear, fire, & ice bombs; * Six special high-tech suits, including the ultimate suit & solar armor, crafted from the rays of the sun; * Four detonators, including the secret remote detonator; * Several unique trophies to discover; Two hidden playable characters; and so much more! Can you handle the challenge, Mercenary? I dare you to try. |
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| downloading now. What's it made it? |
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| Looks pretty good, downloading now. |
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| :( :( :( I can't turn the freaking computer off :( :( :( :( LOL EDIT: And computers DON'T TALK!!! |
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| Nice! Some things I would change: - add proper installer images - add a windowed mode to the game (optional) - add apptitle to the game - convert ALL your bmp files to png (e.g. the bmp fonts used) - use the upx packer to compress your exe file (3,3 MB down to 700 kb!) - zip the final installer setup file P.S.: Looks like Blitz Plus? |
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| Hey there, Thanks for playing my game and for your feedback. Please keep it coming! Grey Alien & Grisu: This game was made in Blitz3D (though, yes, it is entirely 2D). Yo! Wazzup? - What, you don't enjoy a little computer sarcasm? Fine...fine...Hit the 'F3' key to toggle JARENZ off. I do have that included in the documentation and in the game About screens, but I am open to suggestions on making key controls more clear. Grisu: Thanks for the suggested changes. I have now added: - apptitle - full png conversion (font bitmaps included - thanks for catching this for me) - UPX compressed .exe file (wow, this is great) - zipping the final installer (makes good sense, why didn't I think of this?) Could you please help me with adding proper installer images? What do you suggest, and how is the best way to do it? I am pretty new to Innosetup. Also, Grisu, the windowed mode is going to be a little tricky because of the way I've written the game...Some aspects will need to be modified and I won't be able to make this change instantly. I definitely recognize it might be a popular request, and if this is the case, I will try to get the update out there faster. Thanks all, please keep it coming. -Gk2k Edit: I am also aware that the music keeps playing when the program is minimized and am working on figuring out how to change this. I will probably post to the n00b area for some feedback on this issue. :) |
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| - Does AppSuspended() exist in B3D? If so you can use it to pause the music when the game is minimized. - Further PNG optimisation: a) Reduce the color palette to 256 / 16 colors where possible. b) on top of that use tools such opti png on the png files: http://optipng.sourceforge.net/ - Inno Setup Installer Images: a) Create a custom WizModernImage.bmp and WizModernSmallImage.bmp images. Make sure they have the same resolution as the originals and max. 256 color / uncompressed bmp! b) Setup Usage: [Setup] WizardImageFile=e:\WizModernImage.bmp WizardSmallImageFile=e:\WizModernSmallImage.bmp |
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| The bad- I despise the music. It starts well, but the repetitve synth drum and 'wow' effect are irritating. At least have something obvious in the game that tells you how to turn it off. I know that info is in the readme. The sound effect that plays a few times at level start - I have heard this exact sound in another piece of software. Not a biggie, just make sure you have the rights for all you sounds. It starts off on level 2. Where did 1 go? The good- Like the graphics. Player controls work well. Off to have another go now I know I can turn the music off! |
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| Grisu- I could not get AppSuspended() to work. But thank you very much for the PNG optimisation information and the Inno Setup help. Nomen luni- I appreciate your thoughts. "Despise" is a pretty strong word, but I appreciate your criticism and can understand how it can become repetitive - perhaps a bit overpowering. This is fixed in the full version as it loops between four music tracks and adds a nice variety. I think you would find the other tracks, for example, more appealing. The track I left in the demo version I thought was most suitable for the intro / title / short demo. Also, instructions on disabling music are found under "About." I take no credit for the sound fx, though I guarantee they are freeware. If there was any room for doubt regarding this, it would be changed immediately. But I am 99.9% certain. I made the graphics and wrote the music (though I'm not sure I should be admitting to the demo music) ;) Level 2 is the first demo level. As you progress you will find that it jumps from level 2, 5, to 9, 13, and then 18. I wanted a nice sampling of what the game has to offer. I am happy you are enjoying it enough to have another shot, even without the music. Thanks. |
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| Haha yeah it is a pretty strong word, in retrospect, but don't let me put you off mate. As I said, the music starts well, and it is just one guy's opinion! |
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| Hey, I appreciate one guy's opinion. Now if I could get a few more...or even a girl's perspective. ;) Anybody have any marketing suggestions? I know there HAS to be a market for this type of game. |
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| Ok thank you, I hit enter thinking that there would be an option to turn it off ;) |
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| One of the sound effects is from Platypus for sure (not a good game to rip from as Idigicon are fiercely protective). Anyway I played it to level 13 but couldn't figure out how to get the bombs inside the sealed areas. I actually read the instructions before I played the game which may have told me how but couldn't remember by then. A hint dialog on the first level you have to do that would be good. Well done for finishing a game! Takes a lot of drive to do that. It's nice and fast and smooth but I found it quite hard on the second demo level with those balls flying round everywhere. The graphics are a bit "programmer art" and the music could be better. Also you could do with better fonts than Courier or MS Sans-serif or whatever it is in game. You know the yes no dialogs? It's hard to see which option is highlighted. They are both different colours but which is the "highlight" colour? As a new person to the game I didn't know until I chose the wrong option. Perhaps this could be clearer. The installer and uninstall worked great thanks. It's good you have a nag screen on the way out and the game is priced cheaply. To be honest though it may be hard to sell as it feels say 5-10 years old. With a complete graphical overhall and lots of attention paid to polish (even to such things as the loading screen) and making sure the full game takes 2-3 hours to complete you could put the price up to a normal $19.95 and get it out there. However, you may be better as treating this as training for your next bigger and better project. That's my 2 cents anyway. |
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| I agree with Grey. |
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| Grey, I really appreciate your review. Thanks so much. I am pretty happy to have it complete and to say I released a game, but I know what you mean. Maybe I can do something to change it, but I think I'll leave it as is and move on to my next project. It began as a Blitz3D learning project and grew to something greater...But still may not be cut out for great things. It has served as an invaluable learning tool in many respects, and hopefully someone will find it enjoyable for what it is. ...But keep your eyes peeled for my WoW killer. ;) Thanks also to Yo! Wazzup? for your feedback. P.S. Please let me know which sound effect is from Platypus and I will happily remove it. I do not wish to infringe on any other software. |
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| -Demo Revamped- I am offering a revamped demo, with a more gradual learning curve, and hopefully something more enjoyable. I have also included my full music score. If you have already tried BomBJacK, I encourage you to please have one more shot at the new download. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks! |
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| Sounds like you have a good attitude. Good luck with future games. I can't recall which sound was like the Platypus one and I've uninstalled it now. If you were to play Platypus you'd recognise it. |
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| Thanks for the luck. I am already planning my next game that might be much more suitable for one of the online distribution companies. Have to start somewhere, though, right? I still think my marketing technique using "the new old kind of fun" approach might work somewhere, though. I've talked with many people who enjoyed this game as it brought back memories of the true "old school" playing experience. The unique aspect of my game is that it is an old school challenge that nobody has ever seen before. |
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