Ranger

Community Forums/Showcase/Ranger

Foppy(Posted 2011) [#1]
I have finally completed my top-down 2D shooter called "Ranger", written in Blitz 3D.

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guA23wF9feY

Download (15 MB), more information and all-time hi-scores:
http://www.foppygames.nl

This is how I have described the game in the readme.txt file:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are a space pilot hired to rescue pilots imprisoned on an alien
planet. After landing you can pickup a few weapons and a medikit from
your spaceship, then move through the door to confront the aliens!

Your sight is blocked by walls, so you won't see an enemy until you or
they come round the corner. Bushes will block bullets when hit from a
distance, so you can use them as bunkers by standing in them or behind
them.

The prisoner can be found in the North. He will follow you most of the
time. You can press F to tell him to stay where he is, or press F again
to make him follow you. The goal is to lead the prisoner back to your
spaceship so you can both escape. If the prisoner dies or you are in a
real hurry, you can also escape without the prisoner.

Use the keyboard (W,A,S,D) to move, and use the mouse to look around and
fire your weapons. Select your current weapon using the number keys, or
the mouse wheel.

When hit you can receive up to three wounds, slowing you down. Using a
medikit (M) will heal all wounds you currently have.

On your way back from the prison, dead enemies towards the South will
respawn once.

After every mission, a more dangerous mission begins. If you rescued
the prisoner, extra ammo will be available at the start of the next
mission.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Controls are:

W,A,S,D: move
Left Mouse Button: use selected weapon
Right Mouse Button or Q: use knife
Middle Mouse Button or E: use grenade (hold down to throw further)
1...9 or Mouse Wheel: select weapon
F: make prisoner stop/follow
M: use medkit to heal all wounds and restore full energy
Escape Key: end game

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I started working on it in 2008, and while it didn't take all of my time it sure has been a challenge sometimes to continue. A lot of extra things could have been added but you have to stop somewhere. Thanks for having a look!



Last edited 2011


GaryV(Posted 2011) [#2]
Simply awesome!


Gabriel(Posted 2011) [#3]
It's awesome. The pixellated, procedural style of the graphics and animation makes me think of Another World. It's horribly addictive. I had better put it down now or work will be late getting done.


Kryzon(Posted 2011) [#4]
I don't think a static screenshot does justice to the fluid animation you got going on there!
I especially liked your touch with the elasticity of things; everything has a weight and bounces a bit when falling on the floor.


Steve Elliott(Posted 2011) [#5]
A Foppy game, it's gotta be good. Downloading immediately...

[Edit]
Very cool game :D

Last edited 2011


Warpy(Posted 2011) [#6]
Absolutely brill! I love the music, and the sense of kinetic energy from the gunshots and destroying trees makes it feel very solid.


Who was John Galt?(Posted 2011) [#7]
One of the few times I think a Mac was a bad decision. Video looks awesome!


Oddball(Posted 2011) [#8]
Great fun! Love the visuals. Unfortunately I get really bad slowdown when playing it on my Mac/Parallels.


Naughty Alien(Posted 2011) [#9]
..excellent..i like it A LOT...unfortunately, i have killed everyone, including prisoners..yiiii :)


Big&(Posted 2011) [#10]
What an awesome little game!!


Playniax(Posted 2011) [#11]
Wow! Love it!


col(Posted 2011) [#12]
Excellent game, very addictive hehe.


Difference(Posted 2011) [#13]
Very cool.


therevills(Posted 2011) [#14]
Very good Foopy.

Only thing I would change is the line-of-sight stuff, the other characters just appearing looks wrong... maybe some fog-of-war instead?


Tommo(Posted 2011) [#15]
Finally!
Can't wait to try it.


Foppy(Posted 2011) [#16]
Thanks for all comments! I am working on a small update, among which is a button to start playing in level 5 right away (skipping the easier levels).

maybe some fog-of-war instead?
The fog itself would then be appearing and disappearing as you move around, being based on the line of sight. It may look good, but this would be quite some work, while I am eager to "finish" this and start a game in Monkey! :D

Last edited 2011


therevills(Posted 2011) [#17]
Maybe just show the enemies then...


Who was John Galt?(Posted 2011) [#18]
Large square, 50% alpha or whatever, with a slit out of it rotated to the player. This would allow you to still be aware of the background all around but know where baddies would be occluded.

This is fantastic work. This is true 8 bit atmosphere!!!


Yasha(Posted 2011) [#19]
Oooo ooo ooo if you're updating it, can I request a feature? A pause button!

Otherwise, I loved it.

I thought enemies appearing and disappearing was what made the game great and different, so please don't remove this (as for combining it with some kind of fog-of-war or other indicator... no opinion).

Last edited 2011


Steve Elliott(Posted 2011) [#20]
Yeah, the enemies appearing from nowhere is a major fault really, still a cool game never-the-less.


Gabriel(Posted 2011) [#21]
I thought enemies appearing and disappearing was what made the game great and different, so please don't remove this

I completely agree. It's the best feature of the game, and once you realise that line of sight is integral, it changes the way you look at and play the game. You can take advantage of LOS to sneak up on the bad guys and take them down before they know you're there if you're clever about it.


Steve Elliott(Posted 2011) [#22]

I thought enemies appearing and disappearing was what made the game great and different, so please don't remove this

I completely agree. It's the best feature of the game, and once you realise that line of sight is integral, it changes the way you look at and play the game. You can take advantage of LOS to sneak up on the bad guys and take them down before they know you're there if you're clever about it.



Fair point. I need to have a few more goes. No I'm not addicted I tell ya ;-)


Foppy(Posted 2011) [#23]
I have uploaded a new version (same download address) with a few changes:

- new exe icon

The icon is thanks to James Monkman, creator of Robots DX - http://www.rgcd.co.uk/robotzdx/ .

- option on title screen to start at mission 5 right away

This is to allow people to have a quick game, skipping the easier levels. Of course when playing for a hi-score this is not the right choice.

- weapons without ammo (colored red) are not selectable
- number of grenades remaining always visible, next to bullet count
- player has slightly less energy
- slightly more enemies


Yeshu777(Posted 2011) [#24]
Very playable, love the overall feel of the game.


Tommo(Posted 2011) [#25]
You really should add multiplayer mode.

I thought enemies appearing and disappearing was what made the game great and different, so please don't remove this


Can't agree more, and I think a slight-visible state of character might be a good addition.

PS: fire interval of shotgun is too low, makes the shotgun too powerful.


Defoc8(Posted 2011) [#26]
awesome! :D


Yasha(Posted 2011) [#27]
http://jayisgames.com/archives/2011/04/weekend_download_180.php

Yay!


Grey Alien(Posted 2011) [#28]
This looks way cool, I missed it due to crunching on my game and just read about it on Indiegames.com. Congrats on the release!!! Hoe to play it soon.


mkg(Posted 2011) [#29]
Very nice ... smooth and addictive gameplay.


Doggie(Posted 2011) [#30]
Well, I'm currently ranked 96 but there's a good chance
that will improve. ;)


Anthony Flack(Posted 2011) [#31]
Looks brilliant.


Zenith(Posted 2011) [#32]
Love this game, Foppy. I've seen it from beginning development to now, you did an amazing job!


Yeshu777(Posted 2011) [#33]
Still playing this when I get the odd spare 10 minutes, great game.


Grisu(Posted 2011) [#34]
Will you correct the fog issue?


Foppy(Posted 2011) [#35]
It's not really an issue, but rather a design choice. :D