uDG: Icarus

[skyhawk]

download at http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.app.sit

keys are wasd and jkl (l doesn't do anything just yet)
if the game runs slowly for you, try using a low textures instead of normal. and turning particles to half.

Targetted machine is a 733MHz G4. Would like to hear otherwise (lower is better).

any suggestions as far as gameplay and graphics are welcomed (yes that background is just a template right now :cool: )

[EDIT] menu is navigable by arrow keys only right now. Was too tired to put mouse code in just yet

[JustinFic]

1.33 17" Albook hovers around 60 FPS. Never really got much lower.

400 MHz B&W G3 runs about 30 FPS normally, ~15 during firefights, and I was able to get it down to 8 on that last part. Turning particles off kept things around 30.

I also noticed on my Powerbook that my little guy drifts upward slightly, while on the B&W he doesn't. Something frame based where it should be time based?

Some gameplay suggestions:
- The color changing could be a little quicker. The speed is way different on the two Macs I tested on though so I'm not sure what the intended speed was.

- If you are planning on implementing chains (please do :love:) could you make the first shot be a single laser instead of a double?

- Enemy bullets should stand out more. The white ones are particularly hard to pick out.

Anyway, keep it up. As a certified Ikaruga addict I'm looking forward to seeing the finished game. And don't go easy on us either :ninja:

[phydeaux]

Never dropped below 59 fps on a 1Ghz Tibook. Hehe, though I know they're just a template, I still love the background graphics. They're at least very descriptive.

Surprisingly I haven't played Ikaruga before- is the color changing part of that? Do you do more damage to enemies of the same color or some sort of similar scheme? One thing that might be nice if you have time is to make a 2-p simulatneous mode- probably this was my favorite feature of Gradius 2/Life Force, since I played with a friend a lot. My second favorite feature was probably huge boss monsters with tricky patterns, if you can throw a bunch of those in.

I definitely agree with Justin that enemy shots should stand out more- though maybe it would be overkill, if enemy bullets flashed or something it might help- though of course you wouldn't want to ruin the graphics scheme you're going for.

[skyhawk]

the system is:
normal damage to same color units
2x damage to opposite color
die to opposite color
absorb (and fill up uber bar) same color

as for enemy bullets, I agree completely. Fixed in the next version.

[arekkusu]

Hmm... good starting point. No sound yet?

I'd like to see:
* fullscreen mode, so I get a solid 60fps instead of 59/60.
* working pause key
* scale your 1024x1024 bitmaps down to 512x512 at runtime, instead of forcing everyone to download stuff they'll possibly never use. gluScaleImage is fine for this.
* more blending. antialias *everything*, translucency is key!!!

[skyhawk]

>>Hmm... good starting point. No sound yet?
will have music only

>>* fullscreen mode, so I get a solid 60fps instead of 59/60.
runs into the same problem as Microbian: Fighter and BOB2. So without doing more work than I really like to divert from actually making the game, I'm afraid this will not come to pass
>>* working pause key
fixed.
>>* scale your 1024x1024 bitmaps down to 512x512 at runtime, instead of forcing everyone to download stuff they'll possibly never use. gluScaleImage is fine for this.
If you are familiar with it, I am using Holmes texture loading class (GLTexture). I am using it cause it is insanely simple (no, really, it is). So while scaling the bitmaps down would be the smarter idea, I'm afraid I can't do it because I lack the knowledge, and once again don't feel like detracting time from making the game to learn the technology
>>* more blending.
ok! :cool:
>>antialias *everything*
can't do this for the same reason I can't go full screen
>> translucency is key!!!
LONG LIVE TRANSLUCENCY!

[JustinFic]

>>Hmm... good starting point. No sound yet?
will have music only



Why?? :???:

Please tell me that was sarcasm. Loud explosions == good!

[skyhawk]

Why?? :???:

Please tell me that was sarcasm. Loud explosions == good!
bleh... fine fine... I'll see what I can find.... personally I detest sounds

[DaFalcon]

Then put in some prefs to turn the sounds off :P Most gamers expect sounds, and it'll certainly be better for your score if you include some good ones!!

[Max]

Skyhawk, why canít you anti-aliase your sprites? Your game doesnít support 8-bit masks? Anyway, Icarus looks promising. Right now, itís not playable... much too difficult! ;)

[Rincewind]

A nice adaptation of Treasure's Ikaruga.

[sealfin]

I'm pretty sure you weren't intentionally going for the Jeff-Minter-Award-For-Infinite-Regress-And-Trippyness, but you probably shouldn't play this on any box with only 8Mb of VRAM; behold...here (http://sealfin.sealfin.com/temporary/Award-For-Infinite-Regress.jpg)...you should see it moving.

[skyhawk]

Skyhawk, why canít you anti-aliase your sprites? Your game doesnít support 8-bit masks? Anyway, Icarus looks promising. Right now, itís not playable... much too difficult! ;)
cause they aren't sprites

I'm pretty sure you weren't intentionally going for the Jeff-Minter-Award-For-Infinite-Regress-And-Trippyness, but you probably shouldn't play this on any box with only 8Mb of VRAM; behold...here (http://sealfin.sealfin.com/temporary/Award-For-Infinite-Regress.jpg)...you should see it moving.
farkin awesome :cool:

[Max]

cause they aren't sprites

They arenít?!?! What are they?!?! :blink:

[skyhawk]

They arenít?!?! What are they?!?! :blink:
3D models

[Duane]

what does the switch-colors command do? I'm probably just too dumb to figure it out, but i sense a good reason, a reason to up the score.

[skyhawk]

new version up: http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.app.sit

small changes:
fixed pausing
made bullets easier to see
switching is 66% faster
added explosion sound (currently not togglable)

what does the switch-colors command do? I'm probably just too dumb to figure it out, but i sense a good reason, a reason to up the score.
the system is:
normal damage to same color units
2x damage to opposite color
die to opposite color
absorb (and fill up uber bar) same color

Over the labor day weekend I'll be designing up some nifty new paths and design another bad guy.

Can I get some suggestions as to what you find hard or easy so far?

[skyhawk]

still working on it. I've put in 1 new bad guy and 2 new movement schemes (of which I can create aboot a 8 different types of movement from each).
Now, I've started doing some more artwork for the game, since I realize there is a LOT of art to do... (I think I'll make the whole thing like 2 levels by contest end)
here is the artwork for the first level so far (50% actual size): http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icauslevel1-4.jpg
all of it is charcoal except the water which is charcoal on top of thick oil.

[skyhawk]

new build up, yes I am aware that ship is flying http://hobbes.resnet.tamu.edu/forums/html/emoticons/blush.gif
http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.app.sit

[JustinFic]

Ship?

Saw it on the blog, but I don't see it in the game. Does it only appear under certain circumstances?

Also, when you remove enemies that disappear off the screen, I can still hear them exploding. Particularly noticable on the two lines of many small enemies that appear with the pegasi. If I leave most of them I hear like 20 exploding at once that I never shot.

[skyhawk]

Ship?

Saw it on the blog, but I don't see it in the game. Does it only appear under certain circumstances?

oops my bad, download again. For some reason the old version was still up

[arekkusu]

The mouse doesn't track the menu options properly at the title screen. The scale is wrong or something.

When I'm not pressing anything, the player slowly moves up the screen. He ought to stay in one place if you're not moving him.

[skyhawk]

The mouse doesn't track the menu options properly at the title screen. The scale is wrong or something.
I've been putting this off.... *sighs*
*fixing*

When I'm not pressing anything, the player slowly moves up the screen. He ought to stay in one place if you're not moving him.
he should.... but for some reason it adds a bit of challenge to it.... do you think I should fix it, or leave it in?

[JustinFic]

he should.... but for some reason it adds a bit of challenge to it.... do you think I should fix it, or leave it in?

I vote fix- add challenge elsewhere. It should never be a challenge to control your own character.

[arekkusu]

Fix. Proper control is a staple of shmups.

[Sohta]

I agree, you should fix it. However, you can still make it happen when, say A HUGE MAGNET :wacko: appears at the top of the screen...

[skyhawk]

new version has fixed menu navigation with the mouse. Will add back button to option screen later

[drzeip]

didn't there used to be a shield or something? I cant go for more than 30 seconds without getting shot - and dieing after one hit.....:(

[skyhawk]

there was never a shield, but I will be adding in "lives" in the next version. I'm having trouble myself :D

[skyhawk]

http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.app.sit

few more encouragements like this and I might even finish this thing:
new version adds 3 lives (no visual representation of them yet)

[OneSadCookie]

Difficult? Nah...

I love the good/evil duality thing, the way good is immune to good and evil to evil, but that good weapons are more effective against evil and evil against good. Great idea :)

New version crashed on me starting a new game (I'd flown all the way to the end of the level the previous game, which I haven't done before):

Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (0x0001)
Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE (0x0002) at 0x00000000

Thread 0 Crashed:
0 libobjc.A.dylib 0x908311f4 objc_msgSend + 0x14
1 com.apple.Foundation 0x909f15d4 NSPopAutoreleasePool + 0x164
2 com.apple.AppKit 0x92dde9c0 _handleWindowNeedsDisplay + 0xf0
3 com.apple.CoreFoundation 0x90191ca8 __CFRunLoopDoObservers + 0x194
4 com.apple.CoreFoundation 0x90191544 __CFRunLoopRun + 0x18c
5 com.apple.CoreFoundation 0x90195e94 CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 0x148
6 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x927d5f88 RunCurrentEventLoopInMode + 0xac
7 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x927dc6f0 ReceiveNextEventCommon + 0x17c
8 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x927fe6c8 BlockUntilNextEventMatchingListInMode + 0x60
9 com.apple.AppKit 0x92dd227c _DPSNextEvent + 0x180
10 com.apple.AppKit 0x92de8c24 -[NSApplication nextEventMatchingMask:untilDate:inMode:dequeue:] + 0x74
11 com.apple.AppKit 0x92dfcf8c -[NSApplication run] + 0x21c
12 com.apple.AppKit 0x92eb948c NSApplicationMain + 0x1d0
13 com.apple.myCocoaApp 0x0000a5ac 0x1000 + 0x95ac
14 dyld 0x8fe1a558 _dyld_start + 0x64

[skyhawk]

I could not reproduce this bug.... if someone else could, I'd appreciate it. I will none the less look into it (I know what the problem is, but not how to fix it)


EDIT: new build up, hopefully fixed crashing bug.

[skyhawk]

small update:
Icarus now explodes in a bunch of feathers
Icarus now stays put

[skyhawk]

big update:
the Aegean Sea is now loaded ships that fire flaming arrows.
The basic patterns I'm setting now (and over the next week) are the ones I plan on using in final version.
level is now more colored (I plan to finish it up in my next long painting session)

also, try the game with and without particles and tell me if the arrows look better with or without the flames

[OneSadCookie]

I couldn't reproduce my previous crash report, but I got a crash at exit this time:

Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (0x0001)
Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS (0x0001) at 0x3ff00008

Thread 0 Crashed:
0 libSystem.B.dylib 0x9000239c szone_calloc + 0xdc
1 libSystem.B.dylib 0x90002ce4 malloc_zone_calloc + 0xc4
2 libSystem.B.dylib 0x900036ac calloc + 0x4c
3 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x9072817c examine_objects + 0xd8
4 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90722e18 _Unwind_Find_FDE + 0x94
5 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90721e54 uw_frame_state_for + 0x44
6 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90726814 uw_init_context_1 + 0x40
7 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90723f18 _Unwind_RaiseException + 0x34
8 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90727e64 __cxa_throw + 0x88
9 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x9072cdc4 HPLevelControlProperty::IsActive(HPPropertyAddress const&) const + 0x78
10 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90725d68 HPPropertyObject::HasProperty(HPPropertyAddress const&) const + 0x54
11 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90727dc0 HPDevice::HasProperty(HPPropertyAddress const&) const + 0x294
12 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90725734 IOADevice::HasProperty(HPPropertyAddress const&) const + 0x1a0
13 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x9072c160 HPDeviceSettings_SaveControlsFromObject(HPProperty Object const&, bool, unsigned long, CACFDictionary&, bool, HPDeviceSettings::ControlInfo const*, unsigned long) + 0x74
14 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90745898 HPDeviceSettings::SaveToDictionary(HPDevice const&, HPDeviceSettings::ControlInfo const*, unsigned long) + 0x70
15 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x907456dc HPDeviceSettings::SaveToPrefs(HPDevice const&, HPDeviceSettings::ControlInfo const*, unsigned long) + 0x20
16 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90745530 IOAPlugIn::DeviceIsDead(IOADevice*) + 0x134
17 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x9074531c IOAPlugIn::Teardown() + 0x3c
18 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x907452a0 HPPlugInTeardown(AudioHardwarePlugInInterface**) + 0x28
19 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x907451dc HALPlugInDeviceFactory::Teardown() + 0x30
20 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90745174 HALSystem::TeardownDevices() + 0x28
21 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x907450f8 HALSystem::AtExitHandler() + 0xa8
22 com.apple.audio.CoreAudio 0x90744ff0 HALAtExit::AtExitHandler() + 0x6c
23 libSystem.B.dylib 0x9002c7b8 exit + 0x58
24 com.apple.AppKit 0x92eadb9c -[NSApplication terminate:] + 0x1f0
25 com.apple.AppKit 0x92e773ac -[NSApplication sendAction:to:from:] + 0x6c
26 com.apple.AppKit 0x92eacc18 -[NSMenu performActionForItemAtIndex:] + 0x188
27 com.apple.AppKit 0x92ef1538 -[NSCarbonMenuImpl performActionWithHighlightingForItemAtIndex:] + 0x68
28 com.apple.AppKit 0x92ef7e68 -[NSMenu performKeyEquivalent:] + 0x104
29 com.apple.AppKit 0x92ed6ea0 -[NSApplication _handleKeyEquivalent:] + 0x124
30 com.apple.AppKit 0x92df4738 -[NSApplication sendEvent:] + 0xa5c
31 com.apple.AppKit 0x92dfcfb0 -[NSApplication run] + 0x240
32 com.apple.AppKit 0x92eb948c NSApplicationMain + 0x1d0
33 com.apple.myCocoaApp 0x0000a5ac 0x1000 + 0x95ac
34 dyld 0x8fe1a558 _dyld_start + 0x64

[JustinFic]

Either color the flames black/white or take them out. They look cool but it really confuses things.

[skyhawk]

ok I fixed a few small things:
no more flaming arrows
fixed collision rectangle on arrows
you should no longer crash upon reaching the end of the level, and then starting a new game
http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.app.sit

[skyhawk]

weekend update:
included the music
put more bad guys in their place (WHOO that last section is a doozy)
colored more of the landscape at the end
blacksmith smokes

http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

[JustinFic]

Really coming into shape. I dig it.

Some more ideas:

Have some sort of sound when I fire bullets (polish).

The arrows fired from the boats seem to all be facing vertically for their first frame of existence. Is there some sort of code that sets the arrow rotation that's executed after the arrow moves? I'm being nitpicky but I notice it every time I see the boat ;p

The difficulty curve seems a little off- the hardest part to me is still the boats in the beginning. The rest is cake compared to that.

Finally, you mentioned somewhere that all the enemies in the game are 3d models? They're screaming to be animated. Even just rotating the model a bit to lean in the direction it's moving would make a huge difference.

[OneSadCookie]

BTW, since this: http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/ikaruga/ seems to be the inspiration, perhaps you should mention that somewhere ;)

[skyhawk]

BTW, since this: http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/ikaruga/ seems to be the inspiration, perhaps you should mention that somewhere ;)
http://www.udevgames.com/index.php?option=com_devlist_xtd&profile=102 ;)
I'll added it into my credits eventually.

Have some sort of sound when I fire bullets (polish).
how about when the bullet hits something? (to me, this would be a little less annoying and more feedback)

The arrows fired from the boats seem to all be facing vertically for their first frame of existence. Is there some sort of code that sets the arrow rotation that's executed after the arrow moves? I'm being nitpicky but I notice it every time I see the boat
I'll see what I can do.

The rest is cake compared to that.
I'll see what I can do about that. But yeah, the boats have to be in the water.... I could perhaps move the water section up some (yay for lengthing my game), but yeah... first thing Icarus does is cross the aegean sea.

[DavidJJ]

Grr, want to download, can't... download... off the supplied link. Darn dyndns :mad:

I can host builds, Skyhawk, if needed for free. Dual OC-3 pipes in and pretty much limitless traffic. I'd be happy to help if you wanted a more stable place to put Icarus.

[skyhawk]

Grr, want to download, can't... download... off the supplied link. Darn dyndns :mad:

I can host builds, Skyhawk, if needed for free. Dual OC-3 pipes in and pretty much limitless traffic. I'd be happy to help if you wanted a more stable place to put Icarus.
try again, it should be up by now. http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

this morning my college had a major network outage, we were back up in 3 hours

[DavidJJ]

Got it at home ... firewall at work :wacko:

[funkboy]

Never disappointing man. Outstanding job, the level is really coming together - those arrows freaked me out, there were so many of them!

[isgoed]

Yeah, nice game. The gameplay is well ballanced. Allthough I never got killed (Is it even possible?) Is it normal that when I reach the temple the game will keep at that point (meaning it did not go any further , to the next level or back to the menu). There is only 1 level?

I got about 20FPS on a PB 550mhz (16mb ati7000). The particles made the game real slow, to 9 FPS (and all movement slowed down also; speed = fps dependent). On easy scenes I did get 60FPS though.

oh, and my screen is only 768 pixels high

[skyhawk]

Yeah, nice game. The gameplay is well ballanced. Allthough I never got killed (Is it even possible?) Is it normal that when I reach the temple the game will keep at that point (meaning it did not go any further , to the next level or back to the menu). There is only 1 level?
the temple is where the boss is, but in the current version he isn't there (he is there in the in house version (need to finish up his AI)). After you beat the boss, the level will end.
Unfortunately due to uDG time constraint, I have only had time to paint one level. If I win anything, I will most likely add the other 2 that I want (the final boss is great :love: )


oh, and my screen is only 768 pixels high
good thing that window is resizable. I've been considering starting the window only 768 tall....

[skyhawk]

small and big update:
added cerberus heads. I still need to paint the body. I am happy with the way he came out. I might do some minor tweaking. I also have a nice readme now.
from here on out, I'm only tweaking and adding a bit of polish.
http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

[skyhawk]

small update:
colored temple
placeholder (I hope) for cerberus's body
sparks bounce off objects when you hit them
cleaner credits
back button on option menu

still in the process of deciding what to put in that spot near the end

http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

[JustinFic]

still in the process of deciding what to put in that spot near the end

If this is the only level you put in before the voting period, put in everything :)

Suggestion for the boss- make each head have less life, but make me kill all three heads. Is it possible to put in some sort of enemy health bar similar to Ikaruga? After a minute or two of unloading on this guy I was getting sort of curious.

The boss explosion rules.

Also, reset the player's position when they die, or have them fly back in from the bottom of the screen. It's a little disorienting to die and still be right there.

[skyhawk]

I was busy today :)
fixed issue with option screen
lowered delay on cerberus head
added boss life bar
made Icarus flip faster
lowered amount of hitpoints of most enemies
added # of credits left at bottom
made Icarus move a little faster
more feedback on certain enemies

http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

[skyhawk]

pushing in hardcore programming time, version .97:

added chaining
more sounds
added scoring system
added a block of plagues at the end for mad chaining bonuses


http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

also, posts your high scores (along with your maximum chaining)
my personal best is 17220 with max of 9 chains

[phydeaux]

The boss explosion made my computer have a heart attack, but yeah, it looked damn cool for the entire three or four minutes it lasted.

I think the boss is a bit too easy- my strategy was just to stay black and sit under the left black head- the white head only did the 'sprinkler' move once, so at that point i had to switch to white to absorb one bullet, but that was the only hitch in this strategy. Making that sprinkler attack more common, or making it so black vs black did no damage would keep players on their toes.

I think the music and sound are fine, I initially thought the metal-ish music was inappropriate for the theme, though I played a few more times and grew to enjoy it more (contrary to that one frog game where you eat bugs, which is an activity that doesn't rock quite as much as blowing things up, though I hadn't made a comment about that yet.)

Also, the alpha transparency on your folder icon doesn't work on my computer, and it has a white box in the background. I don't know anything about folder icons, so it may or may not be avoidable.

[JustinFic]

The boss explosion made my computer have a heart attack, but yeah, it looked damn cool for the entire three or four minutes it lasted.

I find that kind of cool- the boss explosions in Ikaruga also cause my Gamecube to slow to a crawl. However, I doubt that a lot of people will get the in-joke (if it was intentional) and just see a real slow explosion.

The boss needs to be way harder. More bullets everywhere of both colors! :ninja:

And it may be a little late for gameplay suggestions, but is it possible for the first shot fired per j-press to be a single centered shot? Ikaruga does this to help with the precision chaining, and it's noticably frustrating at the last block of little guys.

I wasn't able to play for too long, but I was able to get a few 10 max chains. I have the first half down to a science but at the second half it all goes to hell ;p

[skyhawk]

1.0 finally!
made the end explosions less laggy
fixed line in texture problem (thanks keith)
added difficulty settings

but with the addition of these difficulty settings, it makes me realize how sorely I need the ultimate weapon... It is just that the ultimate is much too complex to program before monday morning.

as always: http://sky289hawk1.dyndns.org:8080/Icarus.sit

my new high score is 23,035

[Najdorf]

the game is good, but it's ridiculous you need a G5 to play it and it's only one level :-(

[skyhawk]

the game is good, but it's ridiculous you need a G5 to play it and it's only one level :-(
it is perfectly playable on a G4

[JustinFic]

It's running just fine on a 1.3 GHz Albook.

BTW, new high score is 66,505. Max 13 chain plus the last boss :ninja:

[PowerMacX]

it is perfectly playable on a G4

Except for the final boss explosion, but since that's the end it doesn't really matter :)

[skyhawk]

Except for the final boss explosion, but since that's the end it doesn't really matter :)
*sighs* I need to put this in the FAQ, it is SUPPOSED to be like that


BTW, new high score is 66,505. Max 13 chain plus the last boss :ninja:
:cry: I envy your playing abilities

[PowerMacX]

*sighs* I need to put this in the FAQ, it is SUPPOSED to be like that

Then why does the ending animation run a lot smoother when I turn particles to half? :???: (Rage 128 Pro)

[skyhawk]

Then why does the ending animation run a lot smoother when I turn particles to half? :???: (Rage 128 Pro)

because I don't entire control over the hardware my game runs on.

In Ikaruga, when you destroyed the boss, everything slowed down to massive explosions everywhere. But because the hardware is controlled, they could EXACTLY choose the slow down.

Little known fact: Ikaruga is frame based

[PowerMacX]

I know ;) All I was trying to say was that (responding to that "needs a G5" post) for most of the game, you didn't need a fast mac or graphics card. And since the ending animation appears after you win, it running a bit slow on older hardware is no problem at all. The game ran very smoothly on my G4/Rage128Pro :)

[skyhawk]

The game ran very smoothly on my G4/Rage128Pro :)
you serious? That is very reassuring to know.