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AppGameKit/AppGameKit Studio Showcase / [WIP] Tumble Match (T1 Basic)

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David Gervais
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Posted: 17th Feb 2014 21:48 Edited at: 26th Feb 2014 22:01
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***** ATTENTION AppGameKit FANS *****

I updated the Download attachment and I need some feedback on gameplay.

As noted from current feedback, I removed the +1 Multiplier from the bonus spinner, now you need to get the top 10 cubes (top 4 rows) pyramid shape all the same color to get the +1 Multiplier. (It's not easy, but you get a feeling of achievement when you do manage the task.) This change in the scoring needs testing to see if placing the multiplier here makes it too difficult.. Feedback needed, please give it a try.

I also changed the background, put a slowly rotating planet on the bottom. (well, slowly rotating on my machine, I need to know if it spins too fast on other machines.)

Did I say I need Feedback? ah yes I did, but it was worth repeating

Thanks for helping make my game better.

Cheers!


Hello there,

Well, here is my latest work-in-progress. Another game from my gamepack updated and rewritten for AGK. Download of the WIP is attached. And here is a sample pic to get you interested in the download.. (game is 1024x768. this sample is smaller to fit the forums better.)



*** GAME UPDATED ***
*** Now Includes HIGH SCORE TABLE!!***


When you run the program, press 'Start' button, and it will give you a new set of balls, (no pun intended) shuffle the color values, and generate a random tableau. Then it changes to a 'Drop' button.. which will (when pressed) drop a ball that will 'Tumble' it's way down the board and activate a chute.. the number value in the chute is how many 'bonus' actions you get to play.

the Bonus Spinner will drop down and roll a random action.. the actions are as follows..

'Spin' you select a cube to spin (changing it's color) Note the cube will always spin to the left, so the color that you can see peeking on the right side will be the new color.

'Lock' you select a cube to lock,.. simple.. I suggest you keep an eye on the color values and lock the higher point value color.

'Magnetize' you select a magnet on the left or right side of the board to 'activate' it. Magnets force the ball to tumble towards the magnet. hint: if you manage to get all the magnets on one side or the other of the board you virtually guarantee a minimum of 3 'actions' this helps to get higher scores.

'Color Swap' the different color bonus balls allow you to convert any other color cube to the target color. it can make a huge difference in getting full rows of the same color for maximum bonus scores.

Remember the number in the chute that the ball dropped through is how many of these actions you get to take. (ie, ball drops in chute with '3'.. bonus spin shows the 'lock' action. this means you can 'lock' 3 cubes.


Notes:

Still on my 2 Do List..

1) Add 'Free Ball' Bonus for getting the middle row all the same color

2) Add the 'Game Over' splash and ask to play again or quit

3) Add more sounds

4) And the big one.. Code in the 'How To Play' to show beginners how the game works.


And that is it in a nutshell, let me know if you encounter any problems or manage to crash the program. I've done some extensive tests and that one bug I ran into seems to have been chased away.

Thanks in advance for any feedback,

Cheers!

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David Gervais
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Posted: 24th Feb 2014 15:31 Edited at: 24th Feb 2014 15:45
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GAME DOWNLOAD UPDATED!!!

Now Includes High Score Table!!

Grab the Game and start posting your High Scores!!!

Here's mine...




Cheers!

P.S. Original post updated to reflect the current game status.

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Van B
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Posted: 25th Feb 2014 12:44
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Wow, I'm embarrassed to tell you my high score!, 13k

I think I need that how to play button working, but I did have a fairly decent board near the end, a few more rounds and my score would have been much better, I know it

It's incredibly well presented, graphics are all top notch, it has to be the cleanest app I've seen for a long time.

The only thing I'd say is I wish the backdrop was animated, like if the space backdrop was slowly rotating, that would really suit the music I think. As it is, I just feel it's a little bit static, there's plenty going on when the ball is dropping, or the bonus is being calculated - but I think something subtle would being a little more life to it. Ohh, and if we could do a MarioKart style bonus award speedup, that would be great... like click on it to speed up the process. People with promising board layouts might get impatient!
It took me a little while to realize I had to drop the ball, maybe that button could be more obvious.

It's definitely the sort of thing that would play well on a tablet I think, people do like their difficult puzzles on iPad especially.

I am the one who knocks...
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David Gervais
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Posted: 25th Feb 2014 23:28
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Finally some feedback, Thanks VanB I'll try adding a slowly rotating space background and see if it adds to the feel of the game,.. might just make things a bit too busy, but I'll test it..

Hmmm Click on side panel to speed up scoring.. interesting, very interesting..

I'm almost done the 'Free Ball' part and that can make a huge difference for high scores.. while testing I got my first score over 100k.. but that should be very rare, and I need to 'Unlock' any 'locked' cubes on the free ball row, if you get a free ball.. keep things honest. (that's how it worked in my QB45 prototype.)

Thanks again for the feedback.

Cheers!

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David Gervais
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 03:32
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Here is a WIP Test Version,... V0.6

I added the Free Ball Bonus for getting line 6 all the same color. and I also am trying out the rotating background to see how it goes.. Seems to play fine on my machine, but getting the rotations in the correct places in the code took a bit of trial and error.

I need people to try this version out and let me know if they see the background stuttering (badly, or just slightly) I'm not sure it will run the same on all comps.

Cheers!

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Van B
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 11:33
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On my PC at least, the rotation is smooth, but way too fast - like 10 times the speed!
Also the backdrop has a lot of black in it - damn I sound like a nag... What I was thinking was a very slow relaxing orbit, like originally the space scene was more gassy and brighter, if you had just a big starfield like that, you could position and offset so the centre point is at the right of the screen, then when you rotate it, it would be more like an orbit, really slow rotation to match the music (probably timer based).

I scored 23k this time, got the bonus ball line all yellow and managed to keep it yellow a lot of the time, so lots of bonus balls

I am the one who knocks...
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fog
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 16:05
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Very nice. I like the mix of random abilities handed out to the player

I got 54k on my second go (on the old version without bonus balls) but can't get anywhere near that again because the scoring system is pretty broken IMHO.

A high score essentially just depends on how many score multipliers you get so handing them out totally randomly (unless I'm missing something) makes everything else you do kind of worthless.

As a rule, score multipliers should only be handed out for acts of skill or at the very least something the player can influence.

Also the first magnet doesn't seem to do anything. A bug?

Very good stuff so far.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 18:30
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Hello again,

Timer based rotation? I don't think that would fit in my code.. and me thinks ALL the code would need to be redone with timer code in mind from the start. But My mind does not handle 'parallel processing' very well, I'm wired for 'Sequential' programming. that's why I build my games from start to finish. not from the middle outwards.. Don't make my brain Implode!! lol

1..2..3..4... Intro,.. main screen, exit button, music toggle,.. (I use the How to play button as a way to test functions as I go.) the start button,.. when you press start,.. reset the balls, randomize the color values, generate a new tableau.. switch to 'drop mode'.. press drop.. send a ball tumbling down the tableau.. spin the cubes as it falls based on which side of the cube it falls, when it drops into a chute, assign a value from 1 to 5.. drop the bonus spinner,.. each bonus action has it's own function (in the case of 'Spin', 'Change Color', 'Lock', and 'Magnetize' the program stays within this function until the player makes the correct number of changes.) then check the tableau row by row for scoring based on color value and bonus if all the row is the same color.. free ball etc.. add up all the scores each round, then when no balls left , multiply the game score by the multiplier to get the final score..

See.. My brain is Sequential..

so as a quick fix, change my angle increment from 0.1 to something like 0.01? (On my comp that would mean like 20 min per rotation if not more.. LoL)

...

fog, thanks for the feedback.

the top cube can never be influenced by the magnets, neither can the bottom row, it's the 7 rows between them that can be 'influenced' when you say the first magnet does not seem to work, is it because you thought it affected the row above? in this case the single cube? I thought that my placement of the magnets helped to give a visual clue as to the row they affected. when the ball drops on the second row for example, I check for magnet influence if a magnet is active I tumble towards it,.. if not, I do a random(1,100) and if > 50 tumble right else tumble left

Do you think that I should place the multiplier as a row bonus instead? There are lots of options.. could also make the top 10 cubes all the same color as the trigger for the multiplier. kind of like getting the top of the pyramid all matching to inc the multiplier..

Any ideas?

Cheers!

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Funnell7
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 21:25 Edited at: 26th Feb 2014 21:29
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I thought I'd give it a little go and have ended up playing a lot more than I intended ha... Its a solid game, I enjoyed it! I wish you had updated the original post with your most recent version, I wondered why the 'Free Ball' wasn't working lol. I still managed a top score of 57560 though

A few observations;

- Getting either the Magnet or Lock on the very last turn is kinda pointless, and need I say it, annoying... Maybe restrict the bonus on the last turn to bonuses that actually matter?

- I didn't like the fact the magnets had to be used. For example, I had the entire right side 'magnetised' and wanted to leave it that way, but getting more magnets meant I had to change it. Maybe you chose for it to be like that?

- Landing in the 2, 3, 4, or even 5 'hole' to then only get 1x multiplier is really annoying, what a waste ha!! Maybe increase the multiplier by which hole you landed in? Or if not, I think the multiplier needs to be revisited, as fog has mentioned, this either makes or breaks your game. Its too influential on final score.

And lastly, I think there needs to be some more skill involved some how, not quite sure how, but I'll have a think... I also agree with Van about having a 'speed up' button when adding the score up etc...

Actually, (this is definitely lastly), get this on phones, I'd enjoy playing this on my Android.
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David Gervais
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 22:26
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Hello Funnell7, thanks for the feedback.

This time I updated the original post.

Think of getting the magnet on the last turn as a reminder that this is both a game of chance AND skill. This is working as intended.. when you get a full set of magnets on either side, and then get more magnets to place you need to be smart about how you 'toggle' them. Another thing about getting a magnet on the final ball.. what if you got a free ball? sometimes if you don't have a full set of magnets and the free ball line is set, that final set of magnets might make a diff in the next roll. But, that said, I'll give it some thought.

Note: the same thing applies to the 'Lock'.. on the final ball it does nothing to add to your score. so it might need an exemption also.

The +1x multiplier has been moved onto the playfield. you need the get the top 10 cubes to gain the +1.. I've managed it a few times, but it's not easy. I's a rough cut, no bells or whistles or eye candy to go with it, but it works and server for testing.

Speeding up the scoring is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure where to insert the code to check for mouse clicks while it's doing the scoring.. there are allot of timers and loops there. I'm not an expert coder.. I tend to throw things in to make it work, without thinking about how beautiful the code is. This game is a bit more complicated than my first game Target Dice.

I have a Nexus 7 and I am planning to do games for that platform, I just need to get familiar with how input works on the tablet.. just scanning the multitude of commands to handle input on a tablet made me decide to start with windows games and ease my way into tablet games.

Again thanks for the input.

Cheers!

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Van B
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 23:03
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Managed to score over 80k, it get's very addictive - One more game, this time I'll get the free ball line then lock up the line underneath with the highest scoring colour, I just need a good start... (good start never happens )
I think adjusting the bonus multiplier will make the game much fairer. Like there's a number of strategies for getting score, but the multiplier just seems to be the governing factor, it should be really difficult to get a multiplier I think.

Tablet input for this should be quite straightforward, if you get stuck or want an example, just ask. It only really get's a bit tricky when multiple inputs need to be checked, but no need for that with this.

I am the one who knocks...
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Funnell7
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Posted: 26th Feb 2014 23:40
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The version I played didn't have the 'Free Ball' so hadn't thought about it too much. But I see where you are coming from, if you get a free ball on the last go then the Mag and Lock are relevant...

As a quick hack, if you simply find and replace every occurrence of GetRawMouseX() and GetRawMouseY() with GetPointerX() and GetPointerY() (respectively) then it will work on both Windows and phones/tablets...
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David Gervais
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Posted: 27th Feb 2014 00:58
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O..M..G.. that suggestion worked out of the box.. search and replace GetRawMouseX() > GetPointerX() and same for the 'Y'.. broadcast it to my nexus and played a few games..

one problem.. the game pieces and buttons are 'TINY' on my nexus LoL. but the game looks great on my high rez nexus 7.

off hand.. no need for the cursor on tablets, and that would chop out a ton of code.. and with the cursor I have no need for the particles either.. I'd have to rethink how to make it a bit more intuitive.. like have arrows point to where you should press.. etc.

But it was cool to see it running on my nexus.. I think on a tiny phone it would be next to unplayable.. way too small. Scale and use of the touch screen would make all the difference.

thanks for that tip. Now I'll have to design a fun game for my nexus Or redesign this one to have 2 screens,.. one for the play and one that scrolls in from the side for the scoring.. that might help.. and to make the cubes a bit bigger, it might be necessary to chop off the bottom 1 or 2 rows... you got me thinking now

Thanks for that..

Oh and my first game on my nexus I got 55k score. got the multiplier up to 4x LoL

Cheers!

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Funnell7
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Posted: 27th Feb 2014 11:24
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No probs... I played it on my Samsung S4, I agree the buttons are tiny, but not unplayable, I still managed to have a few games
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Van B
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Posted: 27th Feb 2014 13:59
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There's always that viewport zoom and scroll... like, when your playing on a tablet, and you have to use a powerup - you could zoom the part of the screen with the boxes.. which should bring the box pyramid into full view. You could then scale those boxes as well during that time to make things even clearer. Once all the powerups have been used, zoom back out to full view for the next drop.

I am the one who knocks...
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David Gervais
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Posted: 27th Feb 2014 18:10 Edited at: 27th Feb 2014 18:12
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Can someone test how this looks on other devices? Attached is Just a bitmap of the new Android Version of the game that I'll do after I finish the Windows version.. feedback on weather the cubes are still too small or not, visual appeal.. etc.. bottom part is for the scoring.. it will update as the game scores each row..

Top right button is the 'Start / Drop',
Bottom Right is the 'exit' button,
Bottom Left will be the 'Help' button
above that is the music toggle

above the exit will be the Multiplier indicator 1x, 2x, 3x etc.. as the multiplier goes up.

some quick code to get you going to test this image..



back button on android or escape to exit app.

Cheers!

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Funnell7
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Posted: 27th Feb 2014 18:33
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For me (Samsung S4), I think it is absolutely fine, yes the cubes are on the small side, but definitely not unplayable IMO...
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fog
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Posted: 27th Feb 2014 21:23
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Never mind being small on mobiles, the PC version takes up less than a 1/4 of my screen.

Can I suggest you don't change the points values of the colours between games? The board is randomised so it serves no real purpose.

The benefits of this are:

The player doesn't need to keep checking the value of each colour (ie, red is always 25pts)

The order of the colours can match the order of the colours on the cubes. This is important as its very difficult to see the next colour on the cubes themselves.


Also I downloaded the latest version and I'm not a big fan of the new multiplier or extra ball systems, but maybe that's just me.

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