[GMC Jam #9] SBX:Invasion - Entry 3 - Completed

SBX:Invasion:

  Well the entry is submitted on the contest entry page, and I got the first five waves of the game done.

  It's just a short demo, maybe 10 minutes or so, but it'll work for now.

  Here is the MediaFire Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?bp1l7u6i1pblg8v
  And here is the Sandbox Page:
http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/211944-gmcjam9----sbx-invasion

There isn't any sound in the game, and there are lots of things I want to add, but for now it'll give you a taste of things to come.

Today I woke up a bit late but I spent the last five hours getting the game ready for submission.  I spent the last hour before submitting it balancing resource management and acquisition from enemy drops.  There is a small random factor in how much you will overall get from drops, but I think I narrowed it down so that you shouldn't have so many resources the game is a joke, but you aren't resource starved all the time.

Things I still want to add:- More Stuff!  More Turrets, Generators, Walls and Buildings
- Interaction with Buildings (i.e. Be able to build more Miners from 1 building, etc)
- Explosion Effects
- Pause Menu - including cost descriptions of the basic items when you pause.
- Add costs to the Hud when items are selected (somewhere)
- More Items (other than the Build Item)  such as an item destroyer, an extra weapon, speed boost, other things to help assist you.
- A MiniMap (with enemy locations, ore locations, base and turret locations on it)
- More Levels!  With varying locations of portals and the base, limited resources and tougher enemies.
  note:  I might include more items in later levels too and keep the starting items for the first level limited.

Well, try out the demo and let me know what you guys think!

Cheers
~WakeskaterX~

[GMC Jam #9] SBX:Invasion Update 2

SBX: Invasion:

  So far things are going well.  I've had issues with views and had some bugs in the inventory system but at least for now I ironed out most of the bugs.  The player side groundwork is nearly complete, I need to add functionality to Turrets and Buildings and I'll need some way for the player to click on buildings and use the assets they provide.  (Such as making extra miners for the mining station, etc etc)

  The biggest thing that I probably won't get done before the competition is over is:  More information.  As an RTSish Tower Defense game, I know the player will want more information but coding that in with the type of view system Game Maker has takes some time.

  I think I will add a pause screen that shows the costs of items and gives information when you pause so that players can look at that if they need a reference.  Also there is the game help file with F1, but i know for the Jams not a whole lot of people read that.

  Well I have some screen shots!  Here you will see the two different modes (short and long flight modes) as well as the engine particle system and the GUI.  Two of the items are the Turret, and the Generator which powers turrets.  (This functionality still needs to be added in).

  The goal for today is to finish the core elements of game play so that tomorrow I can work on the wave system and start tuning costs/balancing enemies and defensive structures.

  The demo for the GMC Jam will be missing some ideas I have for the game as well, but they'll take a bit too long to implement so (like Player HP) they are canned for now.

Cheers!

~WakeskaterX~

 

[GMC Jam #9] SBX:Invasion

SBX: Invasion:

  I decided last minute to participate in the GMC Game Jam #9 and my entry is SBX: Invasion.  It's going to be a base defense game and I have spent the past 8 hours tonight (until 6am) programming some of the core features and designing new art assets.

  The game will feature a new ship modeled after the 3d model I made earlier.  Here is a little sample:

  So far I have the auto resolution for the screen size working ( i think ), I have programmed the initial stages of the building functions, I have got some zoom features for the view port to give better versatility and range on looking around, and a bunch of other small things I have got done so far (Like a particle system for the boosters)

The big things left are:  Enemy AI, Base System and graphics for all the items available to build, A Wave system to sent out enemies periodically and the GUI.

Some other things to note:  The Ship has 2 modes:  Long and short range, the graphic changes for the ship on each one and your maneuverability changes as well.

The contest ends Monday at 5PM so you can expect a working demo by then.  

I'm now completely and utterly exhausted and need to sleep some, but tomorrow I hope to get another large chunk of the game done.  

Kind of a last minute decision to join the Jam, but I had the weekend off so:  Why the heck not?

Also the Topic for the Jam is:  Science gone Wrong

and the handicap is:  You cant use any humans or humanoids in the game

So I'll leave out the characters from SBX2 and focus on game play and make a little tutorial or intro scene to explain the controls and the game.

Time to crash,

Peace,

WakeskaterX

 

[SBX3] Fighter Concept Art

SBX3:
  No, that isn't a typo.  Although SBX2 is far from completion, I have been playing around with Blender and have been practicing making 3d images and objects.  SBX3 is going to be a 3d game and it'll be made in Unity, and I have some ideas about it so far, but I drew out some 3d sketches and schematics for creating a 3d model for one of the fighters in SBX3 that I'm planning to make, SO I thought I'd share it.

  SBX3 is far, far down the project pipeline so this is just something I did in my spare time that I'll come back to later.

  Here are four sketches on graph paper of the A-Class Fighter for SBX3 (tentative title).

  The first sheet here are the dimensions and design of the main frame of the ship.  This includes:  The Frame, the Cockpit, the Shield Core, the Generator, the Jet Engines, the Cargo Hold and the Wing Mounts.  Also there are corridors between the segments of the ship  (and some landing gear).  A side, top and front view are shown here.

Design 1:

  The second image is the design for the lower wings.  The ship will have four wings total, two upper and two lower wings.  Each wing will both be useful in atmospheric flight as well as space flight.  Small boosters are tacked on to the bottom of each wing to enable them to be useful in space flight maneuvers.  This design sheet includes a top view of the fighter + the wing overlay and then a flat view of the wing for dimensions.

Design 2:

  The third image is the second wing layer.  The upper wings provide additional maneuverability and protection for the core of the ship.

Design 3:

  The last image I have made at the moment is the top armor layer.  This sheet of armor sits on top of the frame protecting the core, generator, hold and corridors.  It isn't added to this drawing yet, but the armor will also have a mag-lev mounting system for magnetically levitating weapons that will float above the ship.  Think fifty caliber machine gun turrets floating in mid air.  I also have to add the bottom layer of armor but that'll be fairly simple and I just haven't made the drawings yet.

Design 4:

  Well that's all for now, I'll start working in Blender on this project both to help me practice working with blender and to help get some things done for SBX3 when I finish SBX2.

  Thanks for reading!

~WakeskaterX~

[SBX2] Level 3 Secret Area

Personal:
  Well I've spent a little bit of time lately working SBX2.  A midst all of the things going on I actually set aside some time to get a few things done.  Work is boring still but pays alright, the wedding coming up soon is taking a lot of planning.  A lot.  That's... fun.  Sorta, exciting for sure but there is a lot to get done.

  Other than that still trying to get a job in the game industry, but I've not been applying as much because of the wedding soon.  After I get married I'll be putting in a lot more work into trying to get a job in the video game industry.

  I've picked up a book on blender and have been working through it to start making 3d models.  Once I finish the book and start working on a few of my own projects I'll post them up here.

  Also I've got quite the guild started for Topia online and eagerly await the upcoming beta to push this thing to the limits.  Our guild has scripters ready to see what we can do with the game.

  I also plan to take out the Japanese Text and make a new blog in Japanese and update it a little less frequently than this one.  I don't like how it clutters posts up.  I might provide a link to the Japanese Version for posts that have a parallel post on my Japanese blog.  This will be done at some point in the next few weeks I think.  (edit:  I have moved all the Japanese posts to here:  sbxJapan.blogspot.com )

SBX2:
  Some new things have been added!  I have a new area that you can find in Level 3 that is a platforming area and added the graphics for a new character.  His dialogue / what he does for you is not in the game yet and when I add it you'll see what happens!

But for now you can meet:  Ol' Ray 

Here is his Dialogue Portrait:

And here is his sprite in the level:

  Talking to Ol' Ray will open up a new area after you beat level 3 with a special Mini Game!

  For now it's gonna be a secret but you should enjoy a fun side game in the game once I release it.

Also I have added new collectibles in the Secret Area of level 3 and you will be able to start looking in the explorable platform sections with items you acquire in other areas.

I will probably touch up Ol' Ray's portrait, there is some work left to be done on it, but hope you like!

Look for new stuff soon, my unofficial resolution is to get more work done on my projects.

Cheers!

~WakeskaterX~