Asteroids Revolution - All A.i.'s Are In!, [|||||||||||||||.....]81% update11/02/06 Options

[Sinaz]

Screenshots




screenshot: Stupid Hard difficulty mode

screenshot: Options screen

This is:
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>ASTEROIDS rEVOlution</span>

A classic game revisted. What's so different? Play it and find out. Suffice it to say, you'll notice as soon as you see the title screen. (It is a fully 3D implementation where the wrapping playing field is a fully navigable sphere.)

This is a tech-demo test bed for my next project, which is currently under pre-production.

And without further ado:
CONTROLS:
LEFT / RIGHT : turn Wedge Blazer
UP : thrust Wedge Blazer
DOWN: brake Wedge Blazer <--new!
CTRL : fire cannon
ALT: warp! <--new!
ESC : quit current game / exit program

On highscore entry:
LEFT / RIGHT : cycle through letters, hold for a second to cycle quickly
ENTER : advance cursor / commit name
BACKSPACE: backspace cursor

Certain EASTER EGGS are available for debugging
To access cheats type "cheat" at any point in the game
Then enter the following cheatcodes without quotes:

"egg0" = unlock "Stupid Easy" difficulty in options.
"egg1" = unlock level select in options.
"egg5" = unlock "Stupid Hard" difficulty in options.

DOWNLOAD v0.341b <- Micro-update
DOWNLOAD v0.341b for Vista users
-Chased down a small memory leak and plugged it
-Fighter and Interceptor-type Intruders implemented
-Highscores set to challenging increments
PRIORITY TASK:
-Optimize object spawn coding to reduce hiccups at extremely high levels (with extremely high active object counts.)
-Optimize ds handling (write "librarian" system)
-Chase down forced exit bugs
-Implement TARC archiving dll

Old versions:
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>
DOWNLOAD v0.332b - micro-update
-Bomber-type Intruder implemented. NEW: tweaked a.i.
-Various special/particle FX implemented.
-more visible bullets
-Fixed cheat menu access bug
-Added thruster and oms jets effects
DOWNLOAD v0.32b
-Options fully functional
-Cheat system in place (but not 100% implemented)
-Warp controls added!
-Level progression implemented!
DOWNLOAD v0.31b
-Added working highscore system
-All menus navigable
-Finished Billboarding tasks
DOWNLOAD v0.3b
-Begun programming of interface and menu system
-Added quaternion Slerp functionality
DOWNLOAD v0.21b
-Added score, lives, 1-up condition (every 10,000 pts. - subject to change)
-Fixed disappearing asteroid bug
-Added Ship vs. Asteroid collision
DOWNLOAD v0.2b
-Optimized transforms
-Added Asteroids, Bullets, and Bullet vs. Asteroid collisions
-Simplified Bullet art
-Capped speed and rotation
DOWNLOAD v0.11b
-Refined movement code; momentum loss now works properly in all directions.
-Added cannon. Press CTRL to shoot. Bullets inherit ship's momentum plus an impulse of speed.
DOWNLOAD v0.1b</span>

This post has been edited by Sinaz: Jul 7 2008, 06:51 PM

[ChubbyMonkey]

It's looking nice... The star system is great, I haven't a clue how you did it...

Anyway, good luck with whatever game you're making

You've made me curious now... I hate it when people have a new I.P

[Sinaz]

It's looking nice... The star system is great, I haven't a clue how you did it...

Anyway, good luck with whatever game you're making

You've made me curious now... I hate it when people have a new I.P

UPDATED!

Thanks, the spherical playfield is part of the 'tech' that I am 'demo'-ing.

Pretty soon, I'll have a working Asteroids clone. Check back often.

PS - I tweaked the controls. Now there is more momentum in both movement and turning. The turning is kind of fun because it requires finesse, but also lets you execute some high-manueverability movement. Just remember, for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.

Also - per the original Asteroids game, the ship's momentum is not conserved... so that means there is a slight amount of friction in space . However, unlike the original Asteroids, the momentum is present in turning which makes the ship feel like it is exhibiting some of the properties of vectoral space flight.

This post has been edited by Sinaz: Oct 20 2006, 06:47 PM

[ChubbyMonkey]

Ok, an update...

Realistic controls now, very realistic, it's actually difficult to turn in the right direction, and takes only tiny nudges of the controls, as it should/would be.

The problem is that when you leave the turn on for a while, it goes freaking crazy... there should be some limit or something. I was turning so fast this ship gave the illusion of a pentacle at one point.

Shooting is a bit weird... realistic, but I don't really like the fact they strech longer the faster you go. Perhaps it would be more interesting to ditch that way and work some sort of motion blur for them, so that the length of them would be relative to the speed, as you planned.

I dunno... I think that it would work better like that anyway.

[Sinaz]

Ok, an update...

Realistic controls now, very realistic, it's actually difficult to turn in the right direction, and takes only tiny nudges of the controls, as it should/would be.

Thanks.

The problem is that when you leave the turn on for a while, it goes freaking crazy... there should be some limit or something. I was turning so fast this ship gave the illusion of a pentacle at one point.

I am definitely taking this into consideration. I just remember playing asteroids and holding the accel button in, and the ship eventually going stupid fast speeds. I kind of like that you can just go wacky with it.

But you've made the motion, and if someone seconds it, I'll make a limit.

Shooting is a bit weird... realistic, but I don't really like the fact they strech longer the faster you go. Perhaps it would be more interesting to ditch that way and work some sort of motion blur for them, so that the length of them would be relative to the speed, as you planned.

I dunno... I think that it would work better like that anyway.

It's not that they stretch longer the faster YOU go, it's that they stretch longer the faster THEY go. Try accelerating in one direction, shoot off two shots, see thier comet tails, then turn around and shoot two shots backwards. The backwards shots will be moving inherently slower (and may not even have the velocity to actually move away from you.)

Anyway, the speed needs to inherit or else you'll fire shots in front of you, and they'll drift behind you. I'll look into changing the graphics method.

[CopyrightTatska]

Oh man, absolutely cool. Great engine and smooth motions. Controls were easy to learn, but hard to master. 'Nuff said.

10/10 for engine.

[SunTzus]

LOL your star system was tricky and manipulating. You had 2 different depths for the stars. That is really tricky but it made the game visually appealing LOL, but the controls were very neat and I could make stars and many other patterns with the ship if you make it turn around enough.

Good Engine 9/10

[Sinaz]

LOL your star system was tricky and manipulating. You had 2 different depths for the stars. That is really tricky but it made the game visually appealing LOL, but the controls were very neat and I could make stars and many other patterns with the ship if you make it turn around enough.

Good Engine 9/10

The thing is... the game is pure 3D. The starfield is a scattering of vertices on a spherical radius.

I got the asteroids in, but I'm having trouble billboarding them. Also, I have been testing and cannot keep the framerate playable with the required number of asteroids that will eventually be in the game.

I'm working on it, but the next update might be a week away.

Oh... and, as for the speed limits, I added them (not to the current release, but the next one). I put a exponential fall off in the accelleration... so technically, you can still accellerate to infinity, but it takes exponentially more thrust to accellerate the faster you are going. Also, I capped out the turn speed at something that felt natural.

[Sinaz]

UPDATED!

Reworked and optimized a lot of the movement and transform code.

Added asteroids and bullets and bullet vs. asteroid collisions!

It's still not working right though. I have to do my own collision, and sometimes the spawning of the smaller asteroids doesn't always work appropriately.

Comments on the new controls? I think the turning is a little too sensitive now... so give me feedback on that.

Notice that the speed of movement is capped. Speed actually isn't capped, but the faster you are going, the more thrust it takes to accellerate... so it falls off rapidly.

Ok... again, feedback!

I'm working on the billboarding code so DON'T report it as a bug... I know and I'm working on it.

[wazu_games]

I agree about the turning, but this is just remarkable!

I am astonished! Did you have the player actually stay in the same place but have the world rotate, or what did you do?

That was so good, I can't wait for this to be finished...

Just a thought, but I like the graphics at the moment...

[Sinaz]

I agree about the turning, but this is just remarkable!

I am astonished! Did you have the player actually stay in the same place but have the world rotate, or what did you do?

That was so good, I can't wait for this to be finished...

Just a thought, but I like the graphics at the moment...

Thanks! I forgot to tune the turning, so it's still really twitchy (challenging!)

Actually, it is fully 3D. Everything in the world (space?) orbits the world origin. The camera chases the player. All objects move based on an angular momentum strategy... so imagine, every object represents a ball that is rolling in place, with the graphics stamped onto the positive z pole.

I am progressing rapidly! I think I should be to a real beta release this weekend... then hopefully I'll finish it before I take my vacation to London.

Oh, almost forgot... UPDATED!!! check out the first post!

[Sinaz]

UPDATED!!! ...IN A MAJOR WAY!

Ok, simply looking at the screenshots will clue you into the updates.

I couldn't keep this to myself, so I might have made this release a little prematurely. I make no claims about it's level of bugginess.

Some things work, some do not. This isn't necessarily a test release rather than a show-off-release. The game should never die... you'll just find that you can't access some things... or the game won't end after your last guy (or maybe it will.. I forget what I implemented there.)

Also notice that I have no discepline for addressing my priority tasks (lol).

But, the game is turning out to be damn cool, and my girlfriend is seriously annoyed with how much time I am spending on this.

[Sinaz]

UPDATED!!!

This game is pretty stable. I haven't encountered any errors. I currently do not notice any 'bugs' except for functionality which simply hasn't been programmed yet.

Current Features
Title screen and highscore screen operate in an 'attract mode', cycling back and forth.
Working game mechanics for control, shooting, scoring, collisions, etc.
Working top ten highscore system, including initial entry, and saving between games.
Quit in the middle of a game (ESCAPE) back to title screen.
Exit game from titlescreen (ESCAPE).
Ship is invulnerable when game starts, and won't become vulnerable unless it spends one whole second outside the collision detection of an asteroid (prevents starting game inside an asteroid.)

TODO list
Finish the options. Once the options are done, I can implement skill levels, which will allow me to actually let you start a new level after destroying all the asteroids.
Create and program the 'intruders'.
Create and program fx like exploding debris, warpy stuff, and general neat-o looking visuals.
Implement 'warp' system (that allows you to teleport to a random location.)

And I have some ideas for unlockable easter-eggs that I will add just before final release.

Oh, and I gotta call my friend up and ask him to start thinking about composing some arcady music for it. And make sound fx.

Neat things to do with the game in its current state
Get a high score. The text entry system was a serious pain to implement due to confusion of how strings count characters. So, definitely check it out. I set default low score to 100, so, seriously... blow up two asteroids and you rank on the top ten! I'll reset the scores to something more challenging closer to release.

You can open the highscores.ini file and tamper with it and set yourself at the highest score with something like... 9bajillion points! That'll impress your friends. The final highscore chart will reside within an encrypted archive and be (relatively) tamper proof. So cheat while you can!

Start a game, and try to get inside an asteroid before the phase shield wears off. You can cruise around in side of the asteroid indefinitely without dying. If you shoot your cannon, the pieces will split away from you and you will revert back to a solid ship in a second.

Just fly around and enjoy the 3D wrapping room.

Now that the game is mostly playable I'm interested in hearing more comments about how to finesse the controls and game play. Is it too fast? Too slow? What options would you like to see? How is the framerate on your computer? Any comments are open for discussion, and I look forward to reading them.

And finally, THANKS and enjoy! Stop back often for more updates.

[Wowza]

Classic. The graphics look pretty good but, what is new in this one that there wasn't in the other games?

[Sinaz]

Classic. The graphics look pretty good but, what is new in this one that there wasn't in the other games?

A 3D wrapping environment. Plus, once I'm done it'll have a slew of difficulty levels, with more possibility for ramping up the depth of the game play.

But, really, the whole game is a tech-demo for the 3D revolving system. though it looks like 2D vector art, it's really running a completely 3D viewport and managing all the objects in 3D space. I'm creating asteroids so I can demo the technology while keeping my intended project under wraps. I envision being able to track upwards of 200 objects utilizing quaternion motion... when I convert the scripting to a dll, I hope to get many many more.

This post has been edited by Sinaz: Oct 26 2006, 09:39 PM

[FredFredrickson]

I am curious, the movement definitely looks like 3D to me, but you are, in fact, only going to be mapping things around a spherical area?

What I mean to ask is, the ship will not be able to fly towards or away from the camera, just across the surface of the spherical movement you have defined, like moving over the surface of a planet, correct?

[Sinaz]

I am curious, the movement definitely looks like 3D to me, but you are, in fact, only going to be mapping things around a spherical area?

What I mean to ask is, the ship will not be able to fly towards or away from the camera, just across the surface of the spherical movement you have defined, like moving over the surface of a planet, correct?

That's exaclty the kind of thing it can be used for. Technically, every object behaves like it is rolling via angular momentum in a fixed position. The starfield is an exception. It is stationary to help createa reference point for motion. The camera is actually Slerping to a position above the player object which causes that graceful lag at highspeeds.

If I shrunk down the starfield and gave it a visible surface, it would appear as though everything is skimming over the surface of a planet.

What I intend to use it for is a game that plays kind like Asteroids upon the spherical playfield, and the "boss" of the level will be stationary in the middle of the space, which you will engage from "orbit".

Every object has an altitude value, so technically, I can cause every object to ascend or descend within the sphere, even the camera... at one point, I had the bullets losing escape velocity and decaying into the middle of the world... but the vector graphics made it hard to interpret it visually.

Probably when I get closer to finishing, I will incorporate asteroids on multiple stratispheres that you will have to navigate to... that won't come until I can speed up the quaternion calculations... hopefully relegating them to c++ functions via a DLL will afford me the speed I need to up the ante with the number of objects.

[FredFredrickson]

Sonds good, thanks for answering my sort of vague question! I'd be interested to see how this works in conjunction with the DLL. Good luck with the programming!

[Sinaz]

Here's another significant update.

You can now play the game and progress through levels!

This means that highscores are now achievable becuase the asteroids refresh after they are all destroyed. The amount of asteroids that refresh is based on the level. there are 28 levels of varying Asteroid spawning, and an additional 22 levels where the asteroids start with HEALTH! After level 51, nothing changes anymore, and the levels go on indefinitely... though I intend that after level 51, intruders (which aren't implemented yet) will spawn more aggressively.

You'll notice that in the options menu, certain features are labelled as -LOCKED-.

To unlock them, use the easter egg cheat codes I listed in the first post. Three of them are available for debugging.

I have 10 of them ready, and eventually when the highscrore scale is worked out, you'll learn the REAL cheat codes when you beat specific highscores.

The "warp" feature now works, so press "ALT" to escape certain doom.

If you want to see how crazy the game can get, unlock the level select and "stupid hard" mode, set level to 50 and play in stupid hard mode.

Keep shooting the asteroids. In the highest levels, asteroids have health based on how big they are.

Have fun! Report anything you want, bugs, errors, problems, suggestions, wishlists, highscores, tactics, whatever!

This post has been edited by Sinaz: Oct 27 2006, 08:13 PM

[Sinaz]

UPDATED!!!

I finally added some bad-guys. The first type of Intruder is implemented. This flying saucer warps in at a random spot if you dawdle too long and begins firing 4-way bursts of bullets, then warps back out after spending a specific amount of time harassing you. If the enemy bullets hit an asteroid, the asteroid gets pulverized, but you don't get the points. Also, they will destroy your ship. I forgot to implement a collision detection between ship vs. intruder, but oh well, I'm working fast and loose now.

The intruder is squirly and hard to hit if you get close to him - and he really ups the danger level in harder levels as they tend to split a lot of asteroids and spawn pretty often to boot.

Also, I added some special effects. Mostly just some particle effects to pretty up the destruction of asteroids and intruders. But there is a nifty "warp" effect for whenever your ship (or an enemy's) materializes.

And, the bullets are now much more visible.

[edit]
Fixed the cheat menu access. Just type "cheat".
[/edit]

This post has been edited by Sinaz: Oct 30 2006, 10:17 PM