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NaGaCreMo / Volcanic Adventures: Birth [NGCM 2015]

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MrValentine
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Posted: 30th Dec 2014 22:44 Edited at: 15th Jan 2015 18:26
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So I have begun working on Volcanic Adventures: Birth [VA:B]

I set up a blog here https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/

Aside from talking about what I do in my free time and getting my development environment set up to go... I managed to fiddle with Normals and Shader fx's using a base texture, specular and normal through a shader... I could also just stage the layers...

The beauty is I am using .dds files...



I also discovered some other various bits that should help me make the game look prettier while keeping the frame rate high...

I cannot reveal the secret weapon about the game just yet, at least not until I get it working...

I need to create a level builder of sorts or get very familiar with a modelling app asap...

The main thing for me is I have less than 2 weeks to complete my project as I am submitting it to an event midway through January... hopefully have it showcased at an international event...

I need to create a medium length level, get familiar with BWTerrain and get familiar with DDyn too... all hopefully in the next few days... but I am feeling lazy... or not well...

Anyway I will keep my blog updated first before updating here throughout production... [It does take time to write it actually as it is all done manually, including the RSS]

I might put together a GDD and PDD quickly but might not refer to it during production... as I still have the original game and source code to keep me focussed...

Anyway I hope I can get a demo for you all to try soon... hopefully by the 5th of January... that is my midway mark, I intend to submit on the 10th...

Some updates...

The other day I completed this...


Earlier this night er morning I started with this...


And then got my world builder going...


Time for some sleep...

Thanks for reading...

MORE UPDATES IN POSTS FURTHER DOWN

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 1st Jan 2015 17:41
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cool! i see your still working mostly with dbp.

im just using dbp for building tools but am mostly pushing my 3d efforts with agk.

i have actually manually coded 3d animation and rigging within agk since i didnt want to wait for tgc.
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Yodaman Jer
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Posted: 1st Jan 2015 19:09
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This looks really cool, MrV! Will definitely be watching this!

And thanks for not giving up on NaGaCreMo! Cheers


It's back, baby!
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MrValentine
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Posted: 1st Jan 2015 19:40
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Thank you guys I have since last post added lights and had some sleep after doing a lot of testing and cleaning up of code...

I just need to do the final bit for day one which is the storing and retrieval of object data...

In future this will evolve into a full blown bespoke editor with real time physics, if you recall one of my old projects called Dynamic World Editor or something... Will hunt it up again but yeah I will leave this editor in a crude state until I submit the game for EGX in 9 days time!

I would not like to see NGCM moved, the challenge is the fun bit, we are all busy... And need to make something... Adds to the fun factor I'd say

I am waiting for AppGameKit to hit its Physics engine part, then I will develop the game in that and keep DBPro as my editor... But not sure about reading files in AGK....... I like using ini or xml files...

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MrValentine
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2015 06:23 Edited at: 15th Jan 2015 18:27
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Project Update:

Will word this slightly different than the blog post... find the link in first post...

This post is some six hours late, was delayed for reasons that need not be mentioned, but I got quite a lot done in the first day!

Side note, I have not been playing with the image exports enough to optimise the blog much as it would take extra time, might do it after I submit...

I got the TDD started...


Added lighting...


Got the saving and loading of level data working...


Ran another test...


Came out pretty swell!


Time for a little rest...

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MrValentine
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 00:44
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Project Update:

Added a video update today...

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon.html

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 04:37
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nice! what genre is this game going to be? Is it sort of puzzle based or strategy based? Have you ever tried using blue gui?

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 04:48
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It is a P A R genre

Puzzle Adventure Racing

At least for now... Can even be considered a Platformer

Thank You! It means a lot to have feedback!

BGui, no I know of it for some four years but not looked at it, I understand it is free now? Is that Royalty Free or Fee Free?

Also I understand you and WLGfx have collaborated in some way or another before he told me when I visited him...

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 17:17
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Quote: "WLGfx "
hes the mastermind behind my 3d tile engine that i converted from darkbasic to agk. Its such simple code yet brilliant!

blue gui is royalty free. They took out the start registration key completely.

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 18:02
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Sweet 🍬

Where does one fond the thread for BGUI?

Hoping to add those features mentioned in Video On later tonight...

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 18:19 Edited at: 4th Jan 2015 18:23
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i think you tagged in on this thread from the past.... but it is this one.

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=198156&b=8

and has been getting upgraded!

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 4th Jan 2015 18:36
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Looks like it is more functional... I might have a play after the 10th... I do want modify boxes for the values... especially after I add mouse movement to objects...

Thanks!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 5th Jan 2015 00:28
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Project Update:

Day four and I added in the loading of levels...

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon2.html

Made a video as it takes less time and shows more visually...

I forgot to mention that I will be adding the adjustment of the spawn point as well...

Thanks!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 5th Jan 2015 05:28
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Project Update:

Early into Day 5 and another video, added position for spawn movement on the y axis and also save/load interrupt... the last bit is mentioned in the text below the video...

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon3.html

I sound really tired...

Probably a good idea to move onto the controls at this point now...

Also I can write the GDD about now... as I think I have nailed a visual design idea into my head after reaching this point...

Hmm Sound is going to be tricky...

Thanks!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 00:54
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Project Update:

12 hours~ delayed but here is another video

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon4.html

Tired this the time again...

Quick post here...

Thanks!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 10:01
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Project Update:

So I made more progress today, another stage of my TDD complete...

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon5.html

Yup another video...

I trust this one will have people excited!

I need to run through my TDD again as I am once more a day ahead of my schedule! sort of...

Thanks!

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baxslash
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 12:59
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Looking great Mr.V!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 13:18
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Thanks baxslash!

Always means a lot to me when someone with much more experience than me, says positive things about my coding work

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Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 16:56
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I feel so stupid, because I didn't realize at first that this was a marble madness kind of thing. I had overlooked that the ball was the player, and thought that screenshot was just a view of a texture on a sphere. I had been wondering what the heck you were going to be using all those flat squares for, but now I get it.

This is looking great, and it is nice to see that you are spending the time to get your basic level editor functioning so well.
That will save you a lot of time in the long run, especially when expanding the game in later versions.

Well done.

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 7th Jan 2015 01:21
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ah! ce... i feel stupid too lol! I didnt realize it was like marble madness either.... hehe

i see lots of progress here! keep it up!

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 7th Jan 2015 05:04
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Yip, although I never [Don't think I have] actually played the game I did once see either screenshots or a video of it

I have a surprise coming up soon... Should be achieved in the next 48 hours...

I just need to change the angle stuff to manual entry things as well and then I can crack on with adding Joy Pad controls, I will only support the XBOX 360 joy pads for the time being but think including any controller support would be a wise choice in future...

I might be delayed for certain by two days I think... yesterday I was awake for almost 24 hours.......

OOOOh I almost slipped up and revealed the secret just you wait

Thank you a lot guys!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 8th Jan 2015 00:57 Edited at: 8th Jan 2015 02:44
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Project Update:

Super Snappy update!

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon6.html

Wanted to get this posted to count as an update for the 7th!

Got File management / Save Load - advanced!

Some hiccups in the video, going to work on them now...

Thanks!

EDIT

Turns out I just needed food and I was very tired when doing the video, I was rushing this so quickly I did not realise I pressed Save and not Exit...

EDIT

Found a bug...

SaveExport()

SaveExportOnExit()

No idea why but DBPro thought these were the same command and it executed the first one when I called the second...
My head hurts after doing this save load thing... it is still roughly 95% complete...

EDIT

YAY SAVING AND LOADING COMPLETE!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 9th Jan 2015 00:59
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Project Update:

SURPRISE!

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon7.html

Ignore the jerky video, will switch recording methods soon...

Thanks, comments welcome

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 9th Jan 2015 03:23 Edited at: 9th Jan 2015 03:24
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i had trouble playin that video back....had allot of pauses in it but it may have just been my internet acting up.

what are you using for lighting that it only follows on 1 camera? or did i mistakenly mis heard from the pauses i was getting in the video?
would a fog setting work better with 4 cameras instead of using lights?

everythings lookin cool! hopefully i get some coding time this weekend

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 9th Jan 2015 03:49
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I am still new to using fog, and find it difficult to think how it would work with four players... That is why I am using all 8 hardware lights...

Yeah, umm for some reason today the video encoding is not playing ball with me, might just be me being tired and not setting it up right...

But thank you for taking the time to watch it!

I fixed the light issue as well as the controls!

Pretty silly, light I was creating 12 lights forgetting that you can only use 8 in DBPro [I think newer hardware does support more no?]

The controls even more funny, because I was in a rush to get the video done before midnight UK GMT, I only had 1 player control setup around 22:00 and by 23:15 had duplicated everything four times... But in the main loop lol forgot to adjust the Function call names, basically I was calling JoyPad1 controls four times hahahaha

I still have a massive hurdle ahead of me for the next few days, I think I will re-encode all the videos after midway through January, as I want to focus as much of my time as I can to get this submitted for EGX by the 12th!!! Had clients contacting me to come over and fix stuff and asking me to invoice them lol but I am more concerned with this project

I should have a four player Demo out by the 12th!!!

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 9th Jan 2015 14:07
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nice!

fog just throws a light cut off at a certain distance....so it should work properly for each camera. yeah 8 lights is the max but the trick if you need more than 8 is to move them around to the ones that are closest to the cameras. you could setup a bunch of fake dumby objects....hide them, then position the 8 lights to the closest ones to the players. 4 players? dedicate 2 lights to each camera then...

looking forword to trying your game out!

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 9th Jan 2015 22:54
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I managed to burn myself out a little...

Yeah I applied two lights per player object, one above and one below...

Considering playing more with the lighting soon...

I need to create a menu and create four game modes next...

I have another trick in mind... But now feel I might not have the chance to get the game 🎮 as far along as I would have liked to before submitting it for EGX...

Oh well, posting a video shortly...

Thanks!

(PS. Can you show me an example of using fog on all cameras? But I think I will be reducing the ambient light to get a similar effect... I understand fog has its issues...?)

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MrValentine
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Posted: 10th Jan 2015 00:58
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Project Update:

Man what is it with me and getting these out minutes before midnight?

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon8.html

Another choppy video for that I apologise, but I will work on it as soon as possible!

Thanks!

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MrValentine
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Posted: 10th Jan 2015 18:44 Edited at: 10th Jan 2015 18:45
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Project Update:

Some considerable Alpha gameplay!

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/videoon9.html

Comments and feedback much appreciated!

EDIT

Mind you I tried making the video lower bandwidth friendly, but I still need to find a good setting for exporting the videos...

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 10th Jan 2015 20:04 Edited at: 10th Jan 2015 20:05
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hey quick question... do you plan on having the planes connected? i could help you with some vertex code manipulation if ya like. This would get rid of any gaps the peices may have.

game is looking great!

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 10th Jan 2015 20:11
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Thank You!

Umm that sounds awfully tempting to take up {^•^}

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TheComet
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Posted: 10th Jan 2015 23:15 Edited at: 10th Jan 2015 23:20
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Nice work!

Good suggestion by SoftMotion. It wouldn't be that hard to do either, the following code should serve as a starting point. You'd have to modify your physics code a little because the level would be only one object instead of many different objects:



If you absolutely require the planes to be separate objects then I can knock something up, but I think it'd be a little more complicated because you can't lock two object's vertexdata at the same time.

I like offending people. People who get offended should be offended. -- Linus Torvalds
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MrValentine
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Posted: 10th Jan 2015 23:46
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WOW! Thanks guys...

I chose to make an editor because it was faster than me getting used to using Blender or MilkShape3D, when I get more time to play with them I can utilise their toolsets and apply a single mesh to the entire map, however...

I want to use effects on the level data and allow manipulation of each surface, so I might enhance the editor, and see if it is possible to add the vertex modifiers...

Thanks so much you guys!

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 11th Jan 2015 03:19
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vertex snapping is pritty easy.... nothing crazy or anything.

if you looked at the matrix dlls from ian it also includes the ability to create an object from scratch.

If you didnt know much about vertex data... it looks like TheComet has provided you a nice example on how it works.

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 11th Jan 2015 06:45
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Umm... I will look into it at a later point, for now I have to get a slightly larger level created with end goal points... I might not have the time for a checkpoint system at the moment, as my brain is literally fried in the past few days... and Real World Work is lingering on my mind and I did not manage to go grocery shopping last night... bad...

Did you hear the music?

Left to do is the main menu, some art work for controls information, splash screens...

I found out that the next EGX is in March! so if I do get selected at all, I will have to drop everything else for 2 whole months and work on this...

Which I assume the feedback will be at the end of January, giving me just 1.5 months to work on it, so giving me half a month to get my other stuff in check...

Fun Times

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MrValentine
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Posted: 12th Jan 2015 00:57 Edited at: 12th Jan 2015 07:59
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Project Update:

I made a simple logo today, I am in the process of cleaning up the project in preparation for submission now...

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/logoup.html



Demo to come tomorrow!

Thanks!

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 12th Jan 2015 20:07
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dang....im in trouble.... im along ways away from any demo....

thats what i kinda figured when i started writting an rpg...

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 12th Jan 2015 20:31
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My Demo is probably out tomorrow now...

Not to worry, the deadline for NGCM is January 31st... My project requires jumping short for two reasons, EGX Submission and Life is calling...

Posted on your WIP thread midway through this message...

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MrValentine
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Posted: 15th Jan 2015 18:30
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Project Update:

Delayed due to poor health...

https://www.deepredonline.com/vabblog/egxsubmit.html

You can find the download link on that page!

Yes, the demo is out!

And now I shall rest some more...

I suppose one can say I achieved my NGCM of 2015!



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baxslash
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Posted: 16th Jan 2015 09:30
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Well done MrV! First success of NGCM 2015


Using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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MrValentine
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Posted: 16th Jan 2015 15:02
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Thank you baxslash! Let me know if you tried the demo out

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 25th Jan 2015 18:42
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i will try this out later today and give ya some feed back!

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 25th Jan 2015 19:31
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Thank you!

I have another project in the works too will post about it in a couple of days...

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SoftMotion3D
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Posted: 26th Jan 2015 06:21
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hey that was fun! i had to switch my joystick to directional pad as for some reason i couldnt get enough momentum to climb some of those steep hills.

great job! i like it

www.sheldonscreations.com
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MrValentine
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Posted: 26th Jan 2015 10:30
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Ah super! Yeah you have to build momentum before climbing

The level editor was a makeshift as I plan to make levels in Blender or Milkshape3D after studying them from top to bottom as I plan to add animation among other things

Just waiting on the results from EGX to see what the story is, as well as working on some more projects right now before continuing work on VAB

The aim is some ten to twenty levels each averaging at least 3-4 minutes on direct routes, if you played the original Volcanic Adventures build a couple of years ago, you would know one element of boosting

Eventually I will be making use of all buttons on the controller 🎮

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