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Work in Progress / Quazatron: My mini-WIP

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StevetS
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Posted: 16th Dec 2008 20:35 Edited at: 16th Sep 2010 14:48
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Thought it was about time I pulled together a bit of a mini-WIP for my Quazatron remake which I’ve been working on (and off) since the dawn of time. Its at a stage where I know I’m going to finish it, its just a question of when (to fit in with family, kids, etc).

Quazatron, for those who don’t know it, was released as a sequel on the ZX Spectrum to the Commodore 64 game Paradroid and has the player in the role of Klepto, a renegade droid tasked with thwarting an attack by a citadel of nasty robots bent on the destruction of Earth.

The player has to move across 8 levels destroying the enemy droids and stealing their equipment for upgrades.

I've attached a few screenshots below:








The main game is played on 3d levels linked by teleporters and populated by the enemy robots. Each of the levels contains power recharge points (for replenishing power, surprisingly!), computer terminals (for accessing locked lifts and information on levels and enemy droids) and the lifts themselves for moving between the levels.

The player wins the game by terminating all the droids on all the levels by either shooting them or grappling with them (to short circuit and steal their equipment).

Grappling with the droids initiates a sub-game where the player goes head to head against the droid ai to overload its circuits by taking control of a majority of circuit nodes. If the player wins the grapple they have a chance to harvest and interface the equipment of the defeated droid.

The grapple game currently looks something like this:




The range of equipment available requires the player to balance their power drain with weapon and equipment usage. If the player loses all power they die, they can also be shot by the enemy droids or defeated in the grapple game. There is also a timer (60 minutes) in which the player has to achieve their objectives or the citadel reaches earth and the game is over.

I've put a basic website together which gives a bit more info on progress and background:


http://www.groovyboarder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

BETA version uploaded for testing - check down the posts for it!

16-09-10 Edit: Beta version removed following receipt of comments.

Final version will be uploaded to the Program Announcement Forum once they're addressed.

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wildbill
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Posted: 16th Dec 2008 21:05
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Just a quick look. It looks absolutely fabulous.
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Virtual Nomad
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Posted: 16th Dec 2008 22:45
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very nice! and, the accompanying (WIP) website is inviting and informative

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K RIO
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Posted: 17th Dec 2008 05:35
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Seems good...hum are you in need of any music...cause seems a little bland without some retro style music. If you want some i can provide you with some that i will make for you for free

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StevetS
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Posted: 17th Dec 2008 14:07 Edited at: 17th Dec 2008 14:07
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Quote: "Seems good...hum are you in need of any music...cause seems a little bland without some retro style music. If you want some i can provide you with some that i will make for you for free"


I've added a couple of basic sounds but not spent a lot of time on them as yet. Also not thought too much about music but its something I'll get too. Am thinking of one tune for the menu's and another for the game itself - will get round to them once I've finished the main code.

I did get Dance Ejay as I thought it might be useful but its a bit too 'high energy dance' and not really retro enough.

Might give you a shout when I get round to it, thanks for the offer.

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K RIO
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Posted: 17th Dec 2008 22:10
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alright well im here whenever

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tiresius
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Posted: 17th Dec 2008 23:06
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That looks really cool I never played the original.

How are the levels generated? Do you have them as separate models from a modeler like Milkshape or do you build them with your own home-grown level editor for the game?

I'm not a real programmer but I play one with DBPro!
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StevetS
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Posted: 18th Dec 2008 13:51
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Quote: "How are the levels generated?"


Hi there, I'd intended to set the levels up by creating a level editor, and thats the way the first couple of levels were generated (there's only really 6 tile types). However, the way I'd created it, with identically sized tiles, meant that the flat areas of levels end up consisting of say 6x6=36 tiles when they could really be made from one longer and wider tile (cuts down on the amount of data per level).

I need to address this issue on two of the levels and regenerate them (to match the others) to cut down on the number of faces as there is a noticeable difference.

To answer your question though the majority of levels were created in Anim8or and Milkshape and are loaded into the game as individual static dbo objects.

Each level is loaded the first time the player accesses it rather than when the game is first initialised (to cut down on upfront loading of the game) and takes around 1 to 2 seconds to load as opposed to 8 to 16 seconds should all levels been loaded at once.

The dbo format for models is sooo fast

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Mr Tank
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Posted: 18th Dec 2008 15:34
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You seem to know what you're doing! I look forward to playing it.

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StevetS
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2009 20:53
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Have incorporated the grapple sub-game into the main code and ironed out a few bugs and clashes (bad variable management!! ).

Have also updated the website with links to the youtube WIP vids.

Hopefully will post a new vid this week (once I buy a full version of fraps).

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StevetS
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 15:18 Edited at: 18th Jun 2010 02:12
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Added a new vid on youtube.

Incorporates the grapple sub-game into the main code and shows it running.

Removed on update!

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tiresius
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 17:17
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Looks good. When entering new levels they load pretty quit. Nice job on that part.

Need some explosions when killing robots.

I'm not a real programmer but I play one with DBPro!
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StevetS
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Posted: 5th Feb 2009 09:17
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Thanks.

Yes, I've not really added any effects in as yet, and the different weapon effects and robot explosions will be the first. At the mo all the weapon effects look the same and I'm hoping to have laser and particle weapons looking like they should (or how I imagine they should! )

Also, most of the enemy robots have shielding so I'm intending to have an effect when the shields are hit (and being depleted) - probably a ghosted clone of the robot model, slightly scaled up and coloured depending on the shield strength remaining.

When the shields are depleted the player fire then depletes the chassis condition until the robot is destroyed. I'm wanting the explosions to be quite meaty and satisfying and as each model is generally no more than 8 or so polygons I'm intending to have them break down into their component parts and bounce off the level (with a bit of randomness thrown in), rather than a fire and smoke masked explosion. Will have to see how it goes tho.

All of the other effects still need adding as well including active teleporters (intending to have beams shooting into the sky to show which are active) and active power conduits (very localised lighting/spark-like effect from each power node).

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StevetS
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Posted: 18th Apr 2009 12:25 Edited at: 17th Jun 2010 01:30
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Just a quick update on this one. I'm still working away on it - lost a bit of work last month when my new PC packed in and I ran a system restore which wiped my partitions(!) Luckily I'd recently backed up the main code but lost a few models and textures which I've almost got back in place.

Been working on the robot shielding and explosion effects and will post a vid showing their current working states. Not awesome but I'm quite happy with them for now:

Elliptical shield effect when a player hits the droids shield
Particle spark-type effect when a player hits a droids chassis (shield depleted)
Droid explosion when the npc droid chassis is destroyed.







Will also hopefully get the website updated with a few more pics (once i reload my ftp software). DONE

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Dragon Knight
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Posted: 19th Apr 2009 01:49
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I had a look at one of the videos, my only advise is try rotating your character via 360 degrees, 1 / 2 degrees at a time. Currently it seems very sharp. Just a simple rotate object Character,0,YAngle#,0 then have it so left key and right key dec / inc YAngle# by 1 or 2.


http://www.hybridwolves.co.uk
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StevetS
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Posted: 12th May 2009 14:30
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Thanks for the comments. Yes, the movement direction changes are currently instantaneous, the movement speed is also a lot faster than that in the final game. I've set them so to allow me to move round the levels quicker when testing. One of the vids also shows klepto flying across the level that will also be disabled in the final build.

It's a good idea though, I could split the different drive types into rotational (for the lower grade models) and directional (for the better ones), with differing speeds and inertia for each type.

I've spent a lot of time tweeking the power management (power drain, gain, speed, inertia, shield and weapon energies, etc). Its a pig to get just right without being over or under powered while still retaining noticeable differences between the available equipment!




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StevetS
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Posted: 24th Jun 2009 14:30 Edited at: 24th Jun 2009 14:33
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Updating the grappled item select system at present. The image above is from the 2nd version which is basically full screen 3d.

The text info on the available items doesn't look too good when pasted onto 2d plane objects so I'm updating to a combined 2d/3d system with the text generated from standard font images.

(Now that 95% of the programming is complete I'm concentrating on tidying up the visuals and improving textures before issuing for testing).

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StevetS
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Posted: 4th Aug 2009 14:35 Edited at: 17th Jun 2010 01:32
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Managed to get some work done on this project last month despite Fallout 3 monopolising my very limited 'computer time'!

Now that the programming is pretty much complete I'm concentrating a bit more on the graphical side and replacing the placeholder graphics screens and textures I've been using.

Created a more interesting loading / splash screen (well...more interesting than the one I had):


This is the final layout and fonts for the item selection screen (when you win a grapple with another droid and get the chance to steal some of its equipment):


This is the first menu screen when you access the computer terminals. This branches into sub-menus depending on your security level and degree of progress through the game:

The terminals are used to activate teleporter shafts, shut down levels and obtain info on the levels and droids encountered (within the range of the players security level).

Programming progress wise I've completed the game font data, added the main loop timers (limited to 40 fps or cycles per second) and tweeked the player and npc droid movement speeds to suit. The movement speeds are determined by the chassis, drive, power source and other equipment used by the player or droids.

I've also added most of the sound effects and am still playing around with FL studio (the demo) deciding whether I really want to spend $99 on software just for doing 8-bit style plinky music.

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tiresius
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Posted: 4th Aug 2009 17:24
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This is looking really good! Your game levels look a little like mine (marble platformer) except the textures are so much nicer. Is there a demo to play? I didn't see a link.

Quote: "added the main loop timers (limited to 40 fps or cycles per second) and tweeked the player and npc droid movement speeds to suit."

You are using timer-based movement correct? If the player's computer is super slow and the game runs at 20 FPS, the enemies and player still move at the same speed? If not then you should look into doing that.

I'm not a real programmer but I play one with DBPro!
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StevetS
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Posted: 16th Aug 2009 09:44
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Thanks tiresius! The textures are pretty huge right now (3MB per level map!) and I'll probably need to look at reducing / compacting them once I get through to streamlining the code and media but I don't want to lose any of the 'crispness' if I can get away with it.

They were almost totally made with Paint, though I have recently discovered GIMP 2 which is a real impressive and free art package! And its easy to use too. Can definitely recommend it.

Timer-wise, I'm currently only limiting the max speed to 40fps but at some point I should really look into compensating for slower speed pc's as well - not quite as straightforward tho!

Mind, the closer I get to completing the game, the less happy I am with the overall movement and collision! Once I've got everything else bottomed out and complete I think I'll be reviewing this and overhauling it. I'm toying with the idea of another go with dark physics which was working quite well in a few level tests except for the odd model randomly flying off into space every now and again!

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StevetS
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Posted: 5th Sep 2009 18:04 Edited at: 28th Jun 2010 23:27
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Typical! I just manage to complete my database allocation for droids, equipment, player, etc, etc, and Dark Data appears! Sounds like it might have saved me quite a bit of trouble.

Anyhoo, I've attached a few of the subscreens from the terminal menu system. This is the data the player can access (depending on their security level) to obtain info on the droids and equipment ingame, as well as activate lift systems and shut down levels.


This screens shows information on the current equipment installed on the player's droid. It also shows a graph of each installed item for a comparison with the best and worst in the range.

This sub screen shows data and equipment installed in each of the enemies droids. Access to this information is restricted by the players security level which they will need to upgrade through the grapple sub-game to gain more info.

This sub-screen allows the player to view the description and stats for all the equipment ingame. Again access is restricted by security level.

This is a map view of the current level. The only time the player is able to see the whole of the level along with the positions of lifts, terminals and power recharge points.

I'll update more as I go along - still have the lift and level power interaction sub-screens to complete.

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Darth Kiwi
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Posted: 6th Sep 2009 14:56
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I just stumbled across this and I have to say, this whole project looks very well done and pretty well polished. Just looking at the screens, I can see there's a great Tron/retro feel to it.

Can't wait to play it!

Secretary of Unknowable Knowledge for the Rock/Dink administration '08
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StevetS
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Posted: 14th Sep 2009 02:02 Edited at: 17th Jun 2010 01:34
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Thanks It's a very retro look I'm aiming for (big, bright and chunky!)

I've just completed the last of the terminal data-screens which are tied into the power and access management system of the game:


This menu allows the player to view the level data and activate teleporter cores (if they hold the correct key!). These allow access around the levels and keys are held by certain droids which must be destroyed or grappled to get them.


This menu shows the available power reserves on each of the levels and allows the player to activate access to the power cores. Once they are activated on each level the player will be able to recharge from them but they will deplete with time and with use.



This sub-menu shows the active status of all 8 levels. Once all droids are destroyed on each level the player will need to access a terminal and shut it down. Shutting down the levels is crucial to completion of the game and also provides a score bonus. Shutting down the levels however, will also terminate core power supply on that particular map, meaning the player won't be able to recharge on it thereafter.

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StevetS
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Posted: 23rd Sep 2009 15:19 Edited at: 18th Jun 2010 02:13
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New vid uploaded to Youtube showing the terminal menus and item databases incorporated into the game:

Removed on update - check out the latest post for the up to date vid.

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StevetS
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Posted: 14th Oct 2009 00:59 Edited at: 30th Jan 2011 12:09
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I've at last updated my teleporter base models (to suit a circular rather than square teleportation beam!) Added teleporter beam models with animated textures, showing which are active and available for the player to use:


Also added into the code which creates a virtual 'backup' of the player (sort of like an extra life) so that should they lose a grapple they'll revert to their backup copy but with much reduced power and equipment.

I've also managed to get a half decent scrolling text working. This scrolls along a message line above the main display, providing useful info to the player. Originally had this in the main game timer loop but was waaay too slow (doesn't show up too well on the screen shot, but it scrolls from right to left and off the screen within the text window):



It's the bit that says "Grapple Mode Toggled"

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StevetS
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Posted: 23rd Dec 2009 15:30 Edited at: 23rd Dec 2009 15:31
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Still working away on this and hoping to get a bit done over the Christmas break (presents allowing!). Not too much progress since last post but its still very definitely a live project:

1. High scores ingame
2. Lighting effects added for level shutdown (basically goes a bit darker(!) when all droids on a level are destroyed and the level power is shut down).
3. Corrected a number of bugs relating to tracking the keys held and activation of teleporter lifts

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Satchmo
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Posted: 31st Dec 2009 21:01
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Looks really cool, never played quazatron but still looks fun.

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StevetS
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Posted: 15th Feb 2010 13:44
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Thanks!

I've been trying to optimise the gameplay and tidy up the code a bit more. Been away for a while but am hoping to get back to it.

I'm itching to start on another project but know I need to get this one done first or I'll never quite finish it.

I've got another vid to post showing the updated effects, high score and speed increase in the sub-game, along with a few more sounds.

I've also added some background music in (purely for the vid) as its amazing how much it improves the atmosphere.

Just need to record a decent clip without dying too fast! (Bit more balance required too!)

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jfroco
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Posted: 15th Feb 2010 19:16
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Hi StevetS,

First of all... amazing job!! I'm looking forward to playing the final version: Quazatron was my favorite ZX game back in the 80's, so please finish it

Do you think your game would benefit using an isometric camera? I've tested the code that Math89 posted here: http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=160985&b=1 and it looks really great.

Best regards

JF
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StevetS
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Posted: 30th Mar 2010 14:38 Edited at: 18th Jun 2010 02:17
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Hi jfroco, thanks for the comments.

I checked your link out and it looks like a good idea for a potential view option in the game - doesn't skew it like the standard view does. A couple of people have said they think the view is too close to the player droid as it currently stands so I might look at this.

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StevetS
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Posted: 18th Jun 2010 02:19 Edited at: 18th Jun 2010 02:22
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Eventually updated the youtube vid and posted!

Also updated the website a bit on the progress and added some background to the grapple sub-game.

Youtube vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcpdn4N_aAM

Grapple Background info:
http://www.groovyboarder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Grapgame.htm

Tidied some of the dead links on this thread too!

It's still got its limitations and needs tidying but I'm pretty much just tidying up the loose ends now!

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JLMoondog
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Posted: 18th Jun 2010 10:34
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I love the look of this game. It's so very retro NES style. I like how you can either kill an enemy or 'grapple' him mini-game style.

My only crits; seems like the player slides too much. Wondering if you thought of keeping him moving with the levels grid? He would still move smoothly across the level, just when you hit 'forward' once he'll move forward one grid space smoothly and stop.

Another thing the camera seems a little close. It's not too bad, maybe have the option for the player to be able to zoom out or in with mouse wheel.

Great stuff.


JLMoondog's Turbo-Store
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StevetS
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Posted: 23rd Jun 2010 14:36 Edited at: 16th Aug 2010 14:28
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Josh,

Thanks for the comments.

The sliding issue is down to the momentum and is worse when using a light chassis and higher output drive unit - moves faster but becomes harder to control (can fall off levels). It does look a bit too 'glidey' at the mo. Maybe need to scale up the momentum decay a tad. I've still got a bit of work to do on the movement so will have a look at this.

I've played around a bit with the camera position and I like it where it is, but you're not the first to comment on it so I think I'm going to have to pull it back a bit The original does show a lot more of each level (around a 1/4 to a 1/5 of the whole map) where as at present my camera is pretty much right behind the player.

Will look at incorporating a larger view with jfroco's comment and link to Tiresius' thread above.

EDIT:

I've revised the player viewpoint to move it back away from the droid which opens up the levels a bit more and shows a little bit more of whats going on around the player:



Doesn't look hugely different, but I'm not wanting to zoom out too far.

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StevetS
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Posted: 20th Aug 2010 00:21 Edited at: 16th Sep 2010 14:50
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I'm pretty much ready to issue Quazatron as an initial beta so thought I'd pull together a bit of a manual.

Should hopefully get the game uploaded in the next day or two for testing and comment.

Edit - Changed the font colour to something more readable!

16-09-10 EDIT: Manual removed pending completion of game and issue of final manual

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StevetS
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Posted: 20th Aug 2010 18:31 Edited at: 16th Sep 2010 14:49
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I've attached the initial Quazatron Beta for comment and testing.

The file is just over 14MB and will run as an exe without installing anything onto your system (uses Smartpacker Pro).

Would be grateful for any comments, especially on the following:

1. Does it work, and if so does it run smoothly? What's your spec?

I've tested it on as many systems as I can and its pretty much just about passable on my mother-in-laws Celeron 3.33 with 512MB ram and onboard Unichrome Pro 3d/2d chip (grapple game stutters a bit). Won't run on a netbook. Oh, and couldn't get it to work on my Windows 7 system as it was looking for the DX9 dll (my work machine is DX11 only).

2. Is the balance about right or too easy/hard?

I can pretty much beat the grapple game against a like-for-like enemy 90% of the time but I've been playing it for quite a while!

3. Any bugs or particular issues?

There are still a few minor things to do coding-wise but the game as it stands should be prettymuch playable all the way through.

Oh, and last thing - please read the manual (attached to the post above)! It should help explain whats going on.


Cheers,

Steve.

16-09-10 EDIT: BETA version removed following receipt of comments to address (many thanks!).

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StevetS
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Posted: 24th Aug 2010 13:50
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No comments anyone? I'd really appreciate some feedback, thanks.

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Bursar
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Posted: 24th Aug 2010 14:53 Edited at: 24th Aug 2010 14:55
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Haven't tried the game yet (but will do tonight!), but the first comment is about the manual. Orange text on a white background, displayed on top of a yellowy/orange watermark type logo is difficult to read!

If you changed the text colour to black (or lost the Q logo's in the background), it'd be a bit easier on the eyes

Edit -> Why isn't there a WIP post over at RR? Or have I missed it?
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StevetS
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Posted: 26th Aug 2010 12:18
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Bursar,

Many thanks for the response!

Yes, the manual has come out a little garish. It looked ok in Word - the watermark was a very pale barely visible yellow outline but it looks like its brought it in as a full image when I've exported it as a PDF. Will have a look at this before I repost it.

I do have a thread on RR but I've not posted the beta there yet as I wanted to get my fellow DBP coders comments on it and have a chance to address them before it leaves the safety of the Dark Basic community.

As it is though I've had no response at all, good or bad, (other than your good self) so I'm going to post the game there as-is and see if it gets more interest. Any comments are better than none and it is a bit of a niche game - no-one under 25 has probably ever heard of it!

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StevetS
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Posted: 16th Sep 2010 14:53
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Many thanks for the help and comments developing my version of Quazatron

I'll close out the beta with the comments received and issues noted from the Beta download (not too many but all useful):

1. Simplify the controls - the Main issue so far
2. Improve item selection and impact on player status
3. Address playability/difficulty of the grapple game - going to add the option for the player to flip sides on the grapple (or more likely flip the grapple board round).

There's not a lot of work required to address these - should be able to get them completed in one or two sessions though my day jobs 7 days a week at present (got a couple of project deadlines for the end of the month) so its going to be a few weeks before I get them sorted.

Many thanks again for the help with this. I'll post the final version in the Program Annoucements forum.

Cheers,

Steve.

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rogue72
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Posted: 23rd Sep 2010 12:32
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oh this brings back memories ,
i remeber staying up all night playing this on the speccy

its also from my favourite game makers (ST / AB)

looks very impressive, and even the monochrome-equse
spectrum style looks great

looks like i just missed the download

look forward to trying this

keep up the good looking work
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RebelXXX
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Posted: 1st Oct 2010 11:44
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damn, looks like I've missed release
Looking forward to play such game again...

Is there any possibility to download it ?

That remake should be the best for this game ...


-=Rebel=-
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StevetS
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Posted: 14th Oct 2010 23:23
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Hey there!

It's not released as yet. I'd issued a pretty-much-complete beta version for testing and comment and had some useful info back which I need to address.

Should have it up pretty soon.

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MASTER OF PUPPETS
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Posted: 23rd Oct 2010 09:05
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I love how bright and colorful everything is!!!
This looks wonderful! Can't wait until its done!!!

I tend to get lesser results when attempting cartoony stuff like this...

Do you just ramp up the objects specular values or what?

metal is not music but a way of life...all hail to the reigning king METALLICA!!! [EDIT] ...well... up until "Load" came out.
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StevetS
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Posted: 19th Dec 2010 20:24 Edited at: 19th Dec 2010 20:34
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Hi there,

Thanks for the comment and apologies for the delay in getting these final issues sorted.

The project is still live but I've been working 7 days a week (and some silly hours!) trying to keep my day job (along with a lot of people at the mo) so DB programming has pretty much been pushed way down the list with a lot of other things.

I'm on my hols now for Christmas so I'm hoping to get back in and do the last couple of things to finish this in the next couple of weeks.

On the styling I've tended to stick with basic and simple block prime colouring without any gradient fills or shading to try and keep them as retro'-like as possible. The lighting is also basic and bright without any fancy effects.

More advanced lighting and shadowing is something I'd always originally intended looking at adding in once the game was completed but I now think it'd take from the effect rather than add to it so I'm going to leave it as is.

Cheers,

Steve.

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StevetS
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Posted: 26th Jan 2011 13:54 Edited at: 30th Jan 2011 20:28
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Managed to find a few afternoons over the Christmas hols to address the last of the issues:

Added ability to flip the grapple board during the count-up - lets the player choose which side they want to fight with.
Changed a couple of the key assignments to keep it consistent
Grapple commence effect added - zooms into klepto when the grapple game starts. Doesn't really do much but is a bit of an 'fx'!
Complexity of the grapple layout now varies depending on the level difference between Klepto and the enemy droid.
Player view pulled back a little bit more (again!) following general opinion
Droid unit data screen updated / simplified - Removed the graphs as they didn't really tell you anything. Replaced with simple numeric stats
Low power/weight warnings added to grapple item select screen and tickertape message. Gives you a bit of advance warning if the component you're swapping in is going to excessively affect performance (in terms of power/speed)
Textures modified to reduce quality loss in final version - combination of bmp/jpgs used. I have high res textures for everything but I want to get the full game down to under 20Mb so I've had to accept some reduction in quality but it doesn't really take from the overall effect (adds to the retro-ness!)
Techno-style 80's music loop added to replace current temp tunes. Gone with a single tune (praise be it can be turned off with the 'm' key once you've heard it once!)

Could go on forever tweaking and adding but I'm going to draw a line under it and will post the final version onto Program Announcements before the end of Jan.

EDIT: Link to game in Program Announcements:

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=181020&b=5&p=0

Cheers,

Steve

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