Charge (Here we go again...)

XianForce · Post by **XianForce** » Sun May 23, 2010 9:48 pm

So almost a year ago, I attempted to make a SHMUP that I code named Charge (I'm not even really sure why anymore...). After being plagued by terrible coding style and less than mediocre planning, I stopped developing it. After that, I started getting better practices, worked on a few other projects, and made a framework for me to use SDL with.

So now I've decided to return back to my failed project, and make it =D. I've gotten a considerable amount done I'd say, but for any screen shots, you can check out my blog: http://xianforce-dev.blogspot.com/

I also just posted up a video about it. Two things about the video I'd like to apologize for: Firstly the frame rate is terrible (my CPU clocks in at about 1.8 GHz....), Secondly the audio levels may have been too high when recording, so there are some parts where there is an 's' in the word I'm saying and I make a "ssss" sound, and it ends up being high pitched (or so I thought...). And just as a third thing I just thought of, I have a boring voice =D.

So for this 'game' I plan to have 5 different enemies as of now.

-Grunts
-Drones
-Revenants
-Protectors
-Motherships

So the object of each level will be to destroy all the enemies. Grunts will have the worst AI, which I imagine will be mostly random behavior. Revenants will have the highest overall AI, and Drones will be somewhere in between Revenants and Grunts. The Protectors will have AI similar to that of Revenants, but they will detect if a bullet is heading for a Mothership, and will try to take the bullet if they can. Motherships will not shoot, but they will have the best dodging of any of the other 4 enemy types.

Motherships will also create more enemies. It will create 1 enemy of random type (besides mother ship) every specific time interval, which will be determined based on the difficulty level.

At the moment, I'm almost ready to begin programming the AI. I have two more things I want to implement: A Powerup System and a Level System. I have a Level class, but I'm a little unsure of how I want to handle all the levels, so I'm going to put more thought into it before I actually code it.

Once I get these two things done, I imagine I'll release something, and then begin content development =D.

Well thanks for reading, that's all I got for now!

avansc · Post by **avansc** » Sun May 23, 2010 10:21 pm

Nice, don't think your voice is boring, you actually annunciate very well.
keep it up.

XianForce · Post by **XianForce** » Sun May 23, 2010 10:41 pm

avansc wrote:Nice, don't think your voice is boring, you actually annunciate very well.
keep it up.

Haha, thanks =D

LeonBlade · Post by **LeonBlade** » Mon May 24, 2010 12:14 pm

Don't worry about your voice, mine is boring as well heh...
But like, it's better than most people I think, because most people have low quality or just not talking at all.

Good video, I'll be watching.

Post by **dandymcgee** » Mon May 24, 2010 1:49 pm

Looks like a fun idea, I hope something continues to come from it.

Post by **short** » Mon May 24, 2010 2:41 pm

Your voice is easy on the ears. I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you I like listening to your voice that didn't say homo.

XianForce · Post by **XianForce** » Mon May 24, 2010 5:21 pm

short wrote:Your voice is easy on the ears. I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you I like listening to your voice that didn't say homo.

Haha... Yeah I have moments like that all the time, except I usually end up posting nothing. I think for the next video, I need to turn down the audio levels so that high pitched 'ssss' sound isn't there.

Am I the only one that thinks that's real annoying? It could be because I'm using headphones and not speakers, but it really starts to give me a headache >.>

Post by **dandymcgee** » Tue May 25, 2010 8:35 am

XianForce wrote:
short wrote:Your voice is easy on the ears. I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you I like listening to your voice that didn't say homo.
Haha... Yeah I have moments like that all the time, except I usually end up posting nothing. I think for the next video, I need to turn down the audio levels so that high pitched 'ssss' sound isn't there.

Am I the only one that thinks that's real annoying? It could be because I'm using headphones and not speakers, but it really starts to give me a headache >.>

Yeah, it's painful in headphones, but sounds fine on speakers.

XianForce · Post by **XianForce** » Tue May 25, 2010 8:56 am

dandymcgee wrote:
XianForce wrote:
short wrote:Your voice is easy on the ears. I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you I like listening to your voice that didn't say homo.
Haha... Yeah I have moments like that all the time, except I usually end up posting nothing. I think for the next video, I need to turn down the audio levels so that high pitched 'ssss' sound isn't there.

Am I the only one that thinks that's real annoying? It could be because I'm using headphones and not speakers, but it really starts to give me a headache >.>
Yeah, it's painful in headphones, but sounds fine on speakers.

Alright I'll try to fix that next time around =p

XianForce · Post by **XianForce** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:13 am

Alright, with my entry for Moosader's competition done, and all my family vacationing out of the way, I've resumed work on Charge.

So today I got quite a bit done. I added in the 5 different types of enemies I have planned (they are really just place holders though, they all use the same states as of now), I added a Level loading system, I added a Powerup System, and lastly I added a Health System.

I made a video, but my internet is really unreliable right now, so I don't feel like uploading it. Besides, I made the video before I added the Health System, so I want to remake it anyways.

So tomorrow I hope to have a video... If my internet keeps going down though, my progress will be fast, due to a low number of distractions.

Anyways, the next task I have is to code some AI. What I imagine is that I'll have 'shared memory' for the Revenants, Protectors, and Motherships to use

Grunts - Mostly random behavior
Drones - No random behavior, but operate alone
Revenant - No random behavior, operate as a team
Protector - Very much like Revenant, but also tries to take bullets for the Motherships
Mothership - Just dodges for it's life

So I can see the last 3 using the shared memory a lot =D. I also have to program all the different states, and put some path execution states in.

After that, I think I'll whip up some type of score display off to the side, so you can see lives, health, score, level, etc.

Then I can map out all the different weapons I have planned, and then design all the levels. Finally I just have to polish it all up =D.

So that's my update for now, hopefully I'll have a chance to post a video tomorrow. Ciao!

Website · Post by **MrDeathNote** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:59 am

Nice work dude, looks like its comin along nicely

XianForce · Post by **XianForce** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:56 pm

I got a new update up finally: Video Link (Youtube)

I've had this video done for a while now... I just haven't uploaded it haha. I've implemented a Health System and a Powerup System =D.

I'm really trying to plan out the AI for the game. The biggest thing I want to focus on are groups. I planned them out a little bit, but once I started coding, it got real messy, so I wiped it, and now I'm going to start from the beginning and plan it more in-depth.

If anyone has any tips, tutorials, articles on AI, please share haha =D.

Well I guess that's it for now... Until I get some more ideas/knowledge concerning AI, I don't think I'll have any updates, as everything will just be on paper.

Elysian Shadows

Charge (Here we go again...)

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