#72104 - Chaotic Harmony - Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:08 pm
I've finally got my first GBA game at a playable stage. There's still a lot of work still to be done, but since I'm taking a little break from coding, it could be a while before it's finished.
Here it is!
I'm looking for some suggestions for the final version - some of the things I'm going to add are:
- Sound effects and music (absolute priority)
- New graphics
- 4 new tracks (see here for details)
- Different lives system (health instead of lives)
- Variable difficulty levels
If anyone reading has any other ideas, please let me know.
Enjoy! I had a lot of fun making this!
[edit] I discussed the project previously in this thread.
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#72119 - isildur - Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:47 pm
Nice. It has potential to become a cool game.
Suggestions, maybe have a menu before starting the game. And be able to replay without doing a reset.
The collision detection could be better, allowing your car to touch other cars without crashing if it was not colliding at high speed. That way you could bump other cars to toos them asside.
I was not able to go far in the game because i crashed after only one second.
Nice work anyway. :)
#72137 - gauauu - Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:12 pm
holy crap, that's hard. I die every 1/2 second or so. Is it even possible to make it past the 2nd yellow car without dying?
Is there something I'm missing that makes it possible to stay alive and not die immediately?
#72144 - keldon - Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:49 pm
| gauauu wrote: |
| Is there something I'm missing that makes it possible to stay alive and not die immediately? |
Gaming talent and skill !! (only joking). Honestly though, the game does not reward the players reactions but instead forces them to memorize a sequence.
I really like the game and system; but would suggest you think about redesigning the scenes so that there is more of an opportunity to react to the situation at hand. For example some of the cars behind force you in a direction that you later find is going to be blocked by another car on the right. And when you get to the S bend by the grass; two police cars come out from nowhere and block your path.
However regular checkpoints might allow you to keep the game how it is as the game is was lots of fun and challenging to play the way it is. Although I gave up after the 4 or so intersections when and the road splits into two and you have to dodge 2 parked police cars on the top and weave through a little gap; with a yellow car at the bottom.
#72149 - Chaotic Harmony - Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:48 pm
Heh, I'm sorry, I guess it's pretty tricky.
Just to point out, BTW, when you crash your car, you can reposition it and press A to keep playing until you run out of lives. Just thought I should make that clear - the old version had a "YOU HAVE CRASHED" notice, but I thought the game flows better without it.
| keldon wrote: |
| the game does not reward the players reactions but instead forces them to memorize a sequence. |
Unfortunatly, (and I'm really not making excuses here, I promise) the thing that gets the most complaints about the game is sorta the point of it - you're supposed to crash over and over and learn what's up ahead. It's hugely inspired by Road Course for the C64, which did exactly the same thing. I know it's fustrating at first, but after a while, you kinda get into it!
Incidently, it is, believe it or not, entirely possible to get from one side of the level to the other without losing any lives, though it is quite difficult to be fair.
Though when I originally made the game, (it's a remake of an old game of mine), I was so used to the way the track worked that it didn't occur to me that other people would find it very hard at first, so I made the default difficulty a little too tricky... and I guess it's still too hard. I'll implement difficulty selection tonight and update the rom before I put it to one side. I'll also put in a menu and a quick restart option while I'm at it!
Thanks for trying it out, btw!
_________________
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#72156 - Palamon - Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:29 pm
I think Putting the you have crashed notice with a "repostion and press A to continue" would be good
I really liked the vertical traffic section though, all the cars going up looked cool.
For your heath system that's not there yet, is it going to be more of a getting hit subtracts health but you keep on going, maybe with alittle invincibility?
For your first game, Good job.
You got the speed and controls very smooth, and not fustrating.
I mean most of the difficulty is in the level layout (where it should be) and not in controling your character or trying to understand what is going on in the screen.
It's just that the level difficulty is a bit high.
Personally, I find the "memorize the path" thing a bit annoying. It's ok low doses though, and where I can stop and think about it, instead of slipping up and having to do it again.
I prefer driving games that react to me more and allow more control, like being able to control your speed, maybe even turn around and go back or take different roads.
Have crashes alittle bit more dynamic, like you get bumped off course, lose some speed and some heath.
Have the police cars chase you and move to try to block you or bump you off the road but not with not a set driving path (actual enemy AI)
But that's alot of work, too much work for a first game and it dramatically drifts away from your first game concept.
My first game had two goals, bring a basic game idea to life, and exercise basic gba programming concepts, which I did in mine, and I think your game achieves the same.
Although I lost interest in making mine beyond the complete demo level stage. (didn't feel like making a bunch of other levels)
#72168 - keldon - Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:42 pm
| Chaotic Harmony wrote: |
| keldon wrote: | | the game does not reward the players reactions but instead forces them to memorize a sequence. |
Unfortunatly, (and I'm really not making excuses here, I promise) the thing that gets the most complaints about the game is sorta the point of it - you're supposed to crash over and over and learn what's up ahead. It's hugely inspired by Road Course for the C64, which did exactly the same thing. I know it's fustrating at first, but after a while, you kinda get into it!
Incidently, it is, believe it or not, entirely possible to get from one side of the level to the other without losing any lives, though it is quite difficult to be fair. |
Ok, that is fine for me. I mean I did suggest being able to continue for that reason - I actually enjoy these types of games. I mean I got as far as I did by starting each time and memorizing it without continuing, but now I know that; I can progress faster.
EDIT: I didn't even notice that you had more than one life ^_^
#72202 - tepples - Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:57 am
| Chaotic Harmony wrote: |
| Unfortunatly, (and I'm really not making excuses here, I promise) the thing that gets the most complaints about the game is sorta the point of it - you're supposed to crash over and over and learn what's up ahead. |
I'll play this game as soon as you install StepMania, download the DDR Extreme (Japan PS2) pack, and and get a full combo through the final fast part of "MAX. (period)" on standard or heavy without using any slowdown mods.
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-- Who?
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-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
Last edited by tepples on Fri Feb 17, 2006 2:00 am; edited 2 times in total
#72207 - keldon - Fri Feb 17, 2006 1:25 am
| tepples wrote: |
| Chaotic Harmony wrote: | | Unfortunatly, (and I'm really not making excuses here, I promise) the thing that gets the most complaints about the game is sorta the point of it - you're supposed to crash over and over and learn what's up ahead. |
I'll play this game as soon as you install StepMania, download the DDR Extreme (Japan PS2) pack, and get a full combo through the final fast part of "MAX. (period)" on standard or heavy without using any slowdown mods. |
Would I still qualify for your challenge if I use a speedup mod ^_^
| Quote: |
| Incidently, it is, believe it or not, entirely possible to get from one side of the level to the other without losing any lives, though it is quite difficult to be fair. |
There was a mickey mouse game released which could only be completed by using a cheat; unless you had positioned your character so that he could jump from the very last pixel of the platform.
#72219 - tepples - Fri Feb 17, 2006 2:05 am
| Chaotic Harmony wrote: |
| Incidently, it is, believe it or not, entirely possible to get from one side of the level to the other without losing any lives, though it is quite difficult to be fair. |
Find some way to add a bit of randomness to the level and see if that remains true.
| keldon wrote: |
| tepples wrote: | | I'll play this game as soon as you [...] get a full combo through the final fast part of "MAX. (period)" on standard or heavy without using any slowdown mods. |
Would I still qualify for your challenge if I use a speedup mod ^_^ |
No, x1.5 mini hallway doesn't count either.
| keldon wrote: |
| There was a mickey mouse game released which could only be completed by using a cheat; unless you had positioned your character so that he could jump from the very last pixel of the platform. |
The second level of The Lion King for Sega Genesis and Super NES had a similar problem with requiring exact timing of double jumps, which is not very suitable for the under-10 audience at which the game was marketed. Do the Pixar games suffer from the same lack of difficulty balance?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#72227 - gauauu - Fri Feb 17, 2006 2:29 am
| Quote: |
Find some way to add a bit of randomness to the level and see if that remains true. |
Obviously not, but if the design goal of the game was to make a game that you had to memorize, I think it's a fair assumption.
The original Ninja Gaiden was frustratingly hard...you had to have the game just about memorized to get anywhere quickly. If there was any randomness, it would have been too hard.
If it really is possible to get past that 2nd yellow car without dying, I'll give it another try :)
#72284 - Fatnickc - Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:53 am
| gauauu wrote: |
If it really is possible to get past that 2nd yellow car without dying, I'll give it another try :) |
Hint: Go up on the pavement, just after the police car does, and then go down as soon as you can so you don't bump in to the pot-like thing.
Edit: I just got to around where the lorry is parked on a one-way street. I like this game!
Edit 2: I got up to the forest bit. How on earth do you get past the police car blocking you?
#72286 - keldon - Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:16 am
I think I'll post a screen shot of where i got to . . i've got past the bit where there is a car that goes around a round a bout.
#72287 - Fatnickc - Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:19 am
| keldon wrote: |
| I think I'll post a screen shot of where i got to . . i've got past the bit where there is a car that goes around a round a bout. |
How do you manage not to crash into the car at the bottom of the forest?
#72292 - keldon - Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:10 am
| Fatnickc wrote: |
| keldon wrote: | | I think I'll post a screen shot of where i got to . . i've got past the bit where there is a car that goes around a round a bout. |
How do you manage not to crash into the car at the bottom of the forest? |
In general stay ahead of the track as much as you can.
---
Is that green tank the final boss?
SUGGESTIONS:
- Clock / Timer + Score
- Turbo button (if you have score, this will make it rise faster)
#72295 - keldon - Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:47 am
VBA movies
http://klo.dkauk.com/tmp/aa.zip - - made many early mistakes
ttp://klo.dkauk.com/tmp/bb.zip - - here i fixed up a bit, but got careless at the end
ttp://klo.dkauk.com/tmp/cc.zip - - made it to boss after losing only one life; silly mistake
I'll do better when I get back from my trip. I can get up to the tank without getting hit once. I still need to show you my 'cruising' technique through the vertical cars where I carefully position the car and just cruise through - only changing position when necessary.
#72325 - Chaotic Harmony - Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:55 pm
Heh, I'm glad it's gotten such a response.
I've made a few slight changes - it should be quite a bit easier now - I've posted about it on my website.
keldon : Thank you very much for posting the videos! I won't be able to check them out until I get home, but I'm looking forward to seeing how you approached it! BTW, once you get past the green tank, you've won, that's it.
tepples : I don't know what you're talking about, but you don't need to play it if you don't want :( I can't imagine that it would appeal to most gamers.
Thanks, everyone, for trying this out. Hope you like the new version!
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#72327 - keldon - Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:12 pm
My videos - I believe - will only work with the old version of the game.
#72366 - isildur - Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:33 am
Wow! great improvement!
#72376 - Palamon - Sat Feb 18, 2006 1:28 am
Yea, the health really makes a difference. It really lowers the fustration level of getting hit to just the right level, and makes the game pretty fun.
#72384 - gauauu - Sat Feb 18, 2006 3:38 am
ha. about the old version....I just now realized you can drive off the road. The first time I tried it, I guess there was one of the barrels there or something, since I thought Hmm, I guess you can't drive off the road.
That really makes it easier.
#72406 - Fatnickc - Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:21 am
It's easier now, but I'm going to carry on playing the original version, as I was enjoying working out how to do it.
#72621 - Chaotic Harmony - Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:15 pm
If you don't like the health system, try "VETERAN" mode out - you've only got three lives, so it's harder than the previous version, but it's basically the same thing. In "PRO", you've got three lives with 2 pieces of health each, (i.e. basically 6 lives, so it's the closest game option to the older version.)
Thanks for the videos! I'm impressed!
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