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Posted By
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Message
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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30th August, 2013 at 30/08/2013 20:27:55 -
WF is impressive. I gave it around one hour of play, and will probably return to it. Thanks for that link.
The enemy's fire patterns in WF gave me some ideas, but I need to completely re-evaluate how my aliens move and shoot before I can integrate them. I was going to do that anyway since I've decided to model the AI after Darwin's Curse.
Hopefully, my game won't require bosses. If I design this right, each wave of aliens should provide a unique challenge.
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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7th September, 2013 at 07/09/2013 01:57:27 -
Download it here:
http://www.misterdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/INE_DEMO_4.zip
This demo has added the following:
More points to distribute to the player’s ship.
More range (1-5) for each system on the ship.
Improved responsiveness of player ship movement.
New movement AI featuring 4 different patterns (straight, tight/loose zig-zag & edge bounce).
Alien AI dodge option: Aliens might move out of the way when you fire.
The player’s firing rate is now working correctly.
The ship’s power generation should be smoother.
I didn’t expect to have the new movement patterns done, but I somehow managed it. In the future, I will add a few different movement patterns, and perhaps modify alien dodging a little. For the most part, I’m pleased with how it has turned out. Alien movement is now predictable after you watch the pattern for a little while, and that’s what I wanted.
The Future
The next step is to re-work the alien firing routine. I have most of it planned out. Aliens will fire only if certain conditions such as player distance, and their chance to hit is right.
Future versions will also give the aliens an energy supply. This means that when an alien’s energy is low, it will decide whether or not to spend its remaining energy on movement/dodging, or firing. It will be one of the AI options.
All of these changes are meant to keep the player on his or toes, and to provide a fair fight. I want there to be a little anxiety when you first encounter the alien waves. Then, once you fight them for a while, their abilities will become predictable, and you can create a strategy to defeat them.
Eventually, this will lead to my greatest challenge: Letting the aliens “evolve” from round to round. Again, I have the basic idea planned out, but fine tuning it should take a while.
 Edited by Chris Donovan
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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16th September, 2013 at 16/09/2013 02:19:42 -
The Results of Feedback
I was fortunate enough to get a lot of detailed feedback from S-M-R from The Daily Click. He mentioned several things in I.N.E. that needed to be addressed. So, instead of moving directly on to alien firing routines, I had to spend some time to fix them:
Removed the alien spawner object at the top of the screen.
Added a sound effect and text graphic notifier for when power goes to zero.
Added a sound effect for the blaster when power is at zero.
Added a sound effect for thrusters when power is at zero.
I.N.E. now indicates when a new alien wave starts and the wave number.
“Sticky” Movement
S-M-R noted that movement is still off. In my mind, it isn’t, but that’s not what’s important. I think the problem is that anyone playing the game isn’t aware of how the ship is supposed to move. I guess they can’t read my mind!  Two major factors are acceleration and deceleration. The ship actually builds up momentum, so when you switch direction, it doesn’t respond instantly. Additionally, if your ship’s battery is at zero, you will not be able to shoot or change direction. These factors are what make it move oddly when compared to others in the genre. I need to add visual and audio cues to make the ship’s movement easier to understand. If I can’t do this, I may have to abandon this movement concept if people don’t like it. Thanks for pointing this out, S-M-R.
DOA Aliens
I also discovered a problem where alien waves would spawn with zero hit points, and just explode at the top of the screen. This is mostly fixed, but I have to test it further.
Prepping Guns
I did manage to stick to my agenda and at least set up the new alien firing routine. Technically, it should work, but in reality, they don’t always fire, or fire way too much. That’s okay. I fully expect failure when trying something new. I just have to go through the new stuff and see where I should have used a < sign instead of a > sign. I haven’t even added the alien batteries yet, so they have unlimited fire power. That will change.
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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21st September, 2013 at 21/09/2013 04:26:10 -
Demo 5 is up. Download it here:
http://www.misterdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/INE_DEMO_5.zip
Here are the current changes:
Removed the alien spawner object from the top of the screen.
Added a wave counter and sound effect for each wave.
Added a sound effect and graphic when battery powers hits zero.
Added sound effects for when the blaster or thruster is used without available energy.
Added a thruster graphic and sound effect.
Aliens now fire when within certain parameters (distance from player, horizontal firing range, firing frequency and available power).
Adjusted incoming damage, from blasters and collisions, to the player’s shield & ship.
Faster movement response for the player’s ship when standing still.
The Next Update
The next update will be devoted to polishing the existing game. I have been too eager to add new features when the old features haven’t been perfected yet. I do this because sometimes it’s more rewarding to move on to a new challenge instead of staring at the same old problem for hours. Sometimes, it’s the right thing to do, but I’ve let some things go for too long. This means that I need to go over every part of the game so far, and make the necessary fixes/adjustments.
The Future (or The Next, Next Update)
Although I really want to work on the alien ships’ special abilities, I need to focus more on the basic parts of the game. So, once I’ve polished the existing game, I’m going to try adding the following in order:
Damaged aliens will suffer a penalty (energy loss?).
The player’s ship will be damaged when it collides with the border.
The Deflector ship component will be removed. It will eventually be replaced with a choice of special abilities which you will be able to research and equip. The deflector may return as one of these abilities, but as it is, I don’t find it very interesting.
Destroyed aliens will drop resources that can be picked up.
When all 10 waves are done, you will be returned to the ship yard and allowed to upgrade your ship.
The aliens will be redesigned every ten waves, but the process of redesigning will be very rough since this is the core concept of the game and it will require a lot of work. It will be necessary to get something in place until I have time to work on it exclusively.
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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6th October, 2013 at 06/10/2013 16:00:07 -
Demo 6 is up. Download it here:
http://www.misterdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/INE_DEMO_6.zip
Before I go on, I have an offer for you. If you give me feedback on my game, I will give you feedback on a game that you made. Let's help each other out.
Finally, this is starting to feel more like a game, and less like an experiment. Some destroyed aliens now drop resources that the player can pick up. If you survive all of the alien waves, you’ll find yourself back in the ship yard with any resources that you managed to pick up. New waves of aliens are waiting for your return to the front lines.
But wait, there’s more:
The player’s ship now smoothly accelerates and decelerates now.
The Deflector option has been removed (to be replaced with special abilities later).
The player’s ship bounces off of the edge of the screen and takes damage.
Alien Dodging is less of an advantage (less duration and higher energy cost).
Aliens will save energy for weapons, or movement, depending on their generated preference.
The player’s energy regeneration is faster.
Aliens don’t arrive as fast on the screen.
The player’s ship is more durable.
Aliens randomize their construction/strategy a little every 10 waves. This method is crude, and will probably gets an update all to itself later.
The Next Update
My original goal for this demo was to fix major bugs and balance different factors. I’ve fixed all the known bugs to date except for “Runaway Aliens,” that leave the left and right edges. When it comes to balancing the game, I’ve realized that I can’t balance different systems until they’re all in place. So, I’m moving forward with the aliens’ special abilities. At the moment, there are 14 special abilities, and the aliens will have two of them in each generation. Some, are already in place, but here is the complete list:
Independence
Phasing
Flaming
Stealth
Hordes
Illusionary
Reflective Armor
Kamikaze
Ultra Light
Durable
Explosive Blaster
Guided Blaster
Warp
Reserve Power
The Far Future
Special abilities for the player are on the To Do List for the distant future. After that, I’ll attempt to balance all of the systems. The next thing on the list will be to generate alien graphics that are based on their construction.
NOTE: I left a debugging cheat in the demo. Press F5 during battle, and the next wave will be your last.
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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21st October, 2013 at 21/10/2013 00:36:28 -
Demo 7 of my new space shooter, It Never Ends, is available on my site:
http://www.misterdonovan.com
The aliens now have 2 out of 14 special abilities each wave. Special abilities include: stealth, illusionary ships, armor, flaming armor, guided blasts, explosive blasts, kamikaze pilots and more.
Please send feedback.
Thanks.
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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4th November, 2013 at 04/11/2013 00:51:09 -
I have just uploaded the 8th demo of my game in progress, It Never Ends, which features evolving aliens. If any of you liked shoot 'em up games from the 70's and early 80's, give it a try, and send me feedback. The graphics are crude place holders for now. The same is true for sound effects.
The game is very playable now, except that you can't win. I also need your feedback to make adjustments.
Just post a link to a download of your game in progress, and I will be happy to send you feedback first.
Download it at my site:
http://www.misterdonovan.com
FB Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/It-Never-Ends/700912539924816
Thanks.
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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Chris Donovan
Registered
15/06/2003
Points
448
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19th November, 2013 at 19/11/2013 04:46:57 -
Demo 9 is now available. There is a full list of changes on my site, but to sum it up, it's no longer super impossible to play.
Just post a link to a download of your game in progress, and I will be happy to send you feedback first.
Download it at my site:
http://www.misterdonovan.com
FB Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/It-Never-Ends/700912539924816
Send me feedback on my latest game, It Never Ends.
http://www.misterdonovan.com/it-never-ends/info/
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