itch.io

So level backdrops are currently single 24bit png format images, dimensions don't have to be POT or anything, so for example the largest level is probably ROOSA, which is 1267 x 1087, and the smallest is Wasteland at 576 x 464.

From these I then use sprite illuminator to generate a fake normal map for lighting, though if you really want to get into that stuff (or if you use 3D assets that you then bake down to 2D) you can paint/generate your own normal map data if you want to make it look a bit nicer.

You can also build much bigger levels if you want to - I can use a simple script to split the image into small chunks for rendering so you don't need to worry about that.

Dropbox is fine for us at the moment for sharing, I have everything backed up to a private SVN which potentially I can give access to in the future but for now dropboxing stuff to me would work fine!

Im afk at the moment. I'll give you resolution etc when I'm next at my desk!

Hi,

I haven't worked on this project for quite a while, it's in stasis as I've been too busy to work on it. Though it'd be great to have someone involved in creating new art assets, specifically environments as I'd like to extend the game with new battlefields, that might give me the drive to get back at it.

OK I'll look into that!

That's not a bad idea actually, where you can only use the points once to buy equipment/weapons for the next round. So you constantly have to do well to ensure you get better gear in subsequent rounds. Yea I'll think about that some more and prototype it.

That would make good sense mid-game, too. Currently you can land on a pad and hit start (enter on keyboard I believe) and it will allow you to switch to other weapons that you can afford. I like the idea of switching setups mid-game, but it has the effect of making the initial pre-match setup screen a bit pointless. But if you get awarded points for kills and can then land on a pad to spend those points on switching to a different weapon that'd work quite well I think.

Weapon balance I'll work more on, I do like the flares - the main problem is finding people to play the game with to actually test the weapon balance, we need a group of people that want to play regularly together to work on smoothing that out.

Hey,

Thanks for checking it out, yea I really enjoyed the original game years ago and thought it was a cool side project to make a new version.

On adding more stuff; I will add (or at least finish) some features from this point - there's some bugs and such that need fixing and some bits of art that need sorting out here and there, and some easy-ish wins to be had in terms of improving the AI and multiplayer features. Beyond that it depends on the combination of how much interest there is (so far you're one of only 3 people to download the game and the only person to pay for it lol) and how much free time I find myself with. But with that said;

>>Will there be bindable keys?

Yea I plan to add this at some point, it's not a massive job. I designed the feel using gamepad primarily as I think that works better for the game, but I imagine a good number of people like keyboards.

>>Will there be a progression and cash system like the original?

I did intend on putting in a single player progression mode of some sort, though likely not cash based. I imagined more that there would be further weapons and equipment/abilities/ship colours that could be unlocked by playing through tournaments. I'd have to make sure everything was quite balanced as I like the idea of the difficulty in the game being about learning to pilot the ships rather than in acquiring more powerful weapons/faster ships etc.

>>Will the different ships get different stats?

Probably not - I always disliked different ships having different capabilities, I like to think of the ships as a visual character and then your play style is selected by what equipment you choose to put on it.

>>The "enemy-ship-hit" sound

I always liked the one from the DOS version of the game - that metal clank sound - but I had some trouble ripping it from the original game. It's not in the source drop I got from the original devs and I haven't figured out how to isolate it yet. I'll look into that further when I get some time, as it was one of the most strangely memorable parts of the original game.

>>Grenades/flares

I need to spend some time refining weapons, there's a lot with weapons/equipment that needs improving/balancing. The flare in particular is tricky because it can be abused so easily.

>>The controls and the game seem a bit stuttery

On keyboard or gamepad or both? It's quite smooth here but I rarely use the keyboard for testing, I'll spend some time in the coming days looking at it closer.

Feel free to give whatever comments/suggestions you have, happy to listen!

Post bugs in here, yo.