Cloudburst: GG private release
by Fenrir Wolf · in Torque Game Builder · 03/11/2005 (1:32 am) · 55 replies
Whoo! I am finally done with this suckah! There's more I could add, but I've already spent nearly two weeks on it, I need to move on. :)
In case you haven't seen my .plan, Cloudburst is a side-scrolling shooter that follows the traditions of fine games such as Gradius, ThunderForce, and R-Type. The gameplay mechanics are a mixture of old-school (slow, big sprites) and new-school (lots of bullets). It also features what is commonly called a "scratch" system, where performing death-defying stunts near bullets nets you more score.
By default, easy mode is playable. If you beat the stage, it unlocks hard mode.
UPDATE2: The OSX version has been released! See further in this message for the download link.
UPDATE: v1.02 has been released. This is a very minor fix over v1.01, which enables gamepad support. For those who already have version 1.01, you can just download the patch and unzip it into the same directory as Cloudburst. (Make sure recreate directory structure is turned on for your uncompressing program!)
Here's a download link: Cloudburst (v1.02 private release, 6.8 megs)
The patch: Version 1.01 to 1.02 patch (14 k)
And the OSX port: Cloudburst v1.02 for OSX
Please let me know if it works or not! I've tried to make this distribution as platform neutral as I can, but, well, this is my first released T2D game. You'll need a somewhat beefy system to get the best out of the game; Id' say a minimum of a 1.4 GHz PIII and a GeForce 2/Radeon 9200 video card. However, if you have something else and it works, be sure to give a shout.
Depending on how people feel about CB on here, I will do a full public release. Feel free to pass the URL on to friends you know who might be interested, though.
And here is a screenshot!
A slightly older screenshot, I might add. I've improved the look of the player's bullets and changed that ugly debris.
In case you haven't seen my .plan, Cloudburst is a side-scrolling shooter that follows the traditions of fine games such as Gradius, ThunderForce, and R-Type. The gameplay mechanics are a mixture of old-school (slow, big sprites) and new-school (lots of bullets). It also features what is commonly called a "scratch" system, where performing death-defying stunts near bullets nets you more score.
By default, easy mode is playable. If you beat the stage, it unlocks hard mode.
UPDATE2: The OSX version has been released! See further in this message for the download link.
UPDATE: v1.02 has been released. This is a very minor fix over v1.01, which enables gamepad support. For those who already have version 1.01, you can just download the patch and unzip it into the same directory as Cloudburst. (Make sure recreate directory structure is turned on for your uncompressing program!)
Here's a download link: Cloudburst (v1.02 private release, 6.8 megs)
The patch: Version 1.01 to 1.02 patch (14 k)
And the OSX port: Cloudburst v1.02 for OSX
Please let me know if it works or not! I've tried to make this distribution as platform neutral as I can, but, well, this is my first released T2D game. You'll need a somewhat beefy system to get the best out of the game; Id' say a minimum of a 1.4 GHz PIII and a GeForce 2/Radeon 9200 video card. However, if you have something else and it works, be sure to give a shout.
Depending on how people feel about CB on here, I will do a full public release. Feel free to pass the URL on to friends you know who might be interested, though.
And here is a screenshot!
A slightly older screenshot, I might add. I've improved the look of the player's bullets and changed that ugly debris.
#42
Robert V Frazier
03/14/2005 (6:22 am)
I think I just failed to tell WinZip to replicate the directory structure in the zip file. Tried it again here at work, and everything came out fine. If anyone else gets stuck where I did, here's the correct directory structure:cloudburst_v101
common
client
prefs.cs
data
effects
bossexplosion1.eff
bossjet1.eff
bossjet2.eff
charging.eff
clouds1.eff
clouds2.eff
damageflare.eff
explosion1.eff
explosion2.eff
finalbossexpl.eff
hurt1.eff
jetflame1.eff
laserflash.eff
powerupgrab.eff
redeye.eff
shiptest.eff
simpleexplosion.eff
tf4death.eff
maps
level1.map
scripts
prefs.cs
prefs.cs.dso
sounds
opening.gwm
song1.gwm
song1.gwm
initial.gws
changelog.txt
cloudburst.exe
common.gwp
data.gwp
glu2d3d.dll
OpenAL32.dll
opengl2d3d.dll
readme.txtRobert V Frazier
#43
03/14/2005 (6:41 am)
I'd love to try this on linux. It's the only system I use for gaming. :-)
#44
And what does the 2x multiplier mean? Are double the points being added to my score or do I need to kill an enemy or pickup a power up to get 2x normal points?
03/14/2005 (12:46 pm)
Hows the danger multiplier points decided? I see points added to my score when enemy fire crosses the player ship. From there is it the length of time crossing the ship or the closer to the kill zone collision box that bumps it up to 2x?And what does the 2x multiplier mean? Are double the points being added to my score or do I need to kill an enemy or pickup a power up to get 2x normal points?
#45
03/14/2005 (1:33 pm)
@Robert: Yes, exactly, that's correct. Glad you got it working. :) (BTW, if you wrap stuff like that in a (bracket)code(bracket) tag, it'll do the equiv of adding around it and uses a mono-spaced font.
@Keith: I don't have a linux code I could compile it on, though, so doubtful I will ever get it working on there. (Well, I have a linux server but it hasn't got a 3D graphics card.)
@Joe: How it works is time. 2x means that you are gaining double the points for being near a bullet than normal. The more time you spend near bullets, the higher that multipler goes, which means the more score you get. If your ship isn't near any bullets, then that timer will quickly count back down. So it's actually imperative you always come close to touching bullets, even if you can't maintain it -- Just to keep the counter from lowering your multipler. (You can tell you are gaining time when you hear that buzzing sound.)
#46
Replicated here: Patch for version 1.01 to bring it up to 1.02 (14k)
03/14/2005 (7:37 pm)
I got the gamepad to work! Come to find out, I needed to set $enableDirectInput in order to get the DI joystick stuff to work. That wasn't covered in the original gamepad resource. Anyway, I've uploaded the original post with the necessary links for download. (Thanks to TheAce of MGT on #gg for pointing this out to me.)Replicated here: Patch for version 1.01 to bring it up to 1.02 (14k)
#48
Cloudburst v1.02 for OSX
System requirements: Not sure. Runs okay on my Mac Mini. (Radeon 9200, 256M of RAM, OSX 10.4)
03/16/2005 (12:33 am)
Alright, here it is, the OSX version of Cloudburst!Cloudburst v1.02 for OSX
System requirements: Not sure. Runs okay on my Mac Mini. (Radeon 9200, 256M of RAM, OSX 10.4)
#49
03/16/2005 (1:27 pm)
@David: So are you gonna share the arcana of getting gamepads to work? :) Good job on this. I love those huge explosions!
#50
03/16/2005 (2:21 pm)
Jason: It was just this resource: Gamepad/Wheel/Flightstick support for Torque. You just need to add $enableDirectInput=true; somewhere inside your script, before the canvas is created. Then, afterwards, do enableGamepad(); and now you should be able to bind the gamepad just like you would the joystick or mouse.
#51
Using OpenGL in options menu, the start button on my gamepad is the fire and works fine. The thumbstick maybe moves the ship one pixel if at all, really does not work.
Using DirectX in options menu, the start button is the fire and again works fine. The thumbstick now legitimately works and will move the ship left, right, up, and down. Diagonal direction is not supported making thumbstick less desirable than thumbpad or keypad.
Curious, did you add support for diagonal movement in 1.02?
03/16/2005 (2:38 pm)
David, just some gamepad feedback for your future projects...Using OpenGL in options menu, the start button on my gamepad is the fire and works fine. The thumbstick maybe moves the ship one pixel if at all, really does not work.
Using DirectX in options menu, the start button is the fire and again works fine. The thumbstick now legitimately works and will move the ship left, right, up, and down. Diagonal direction is not supported making thumbstick less desirable than thumbpad or keypad.
Curious, did you add support for diagonal movement in 1.02?
#52
Cloudburst is probably confused because DirectInput says it's a gamepad, but it's not behaving like the sort of gamepad it wants.
Just keep in mind, it's very very very basic support, as it just assumes button0 is the fire button and that the first x/yaxis it finds is the main D-pad. The PROPER way to do this would be to have some big, complicated keyboard/joystick config screen where you could select the joystick, buttons, axis and so on. I plan on eventually getting around to writing that sort of dialog (I'll need it for my future games), but no estimations on when I finish it.
Diagonal movement has been in the game since version 1.00. It works with the keyboard, and my gamepad. (Which is a Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad.)
(EDIT: Oh yeah, you're the one with the Xbox to PC adapter. Something like that would definitely need a config screen because I am sure it's not mapped like normal gamepads are. ie: button 0 is ALWAYS labeled button A.)
03/16/2005 (2:45 pm)
Joe: I'm not sure what sort of controller you are using, but the sort of gamepad support I added works for so-called pure gamepads. ie: The sort of with digital input, through a d-pad. The input routines assume that they're getting on-off signals from the d-pad and not the standard joystick/thumbstick smoothly varying type. Since you're saying "thumbpad" I assume you're using a gamepad that has one of those PS2/Xbox style thumbsticks, and if so that doesn't return digital values.Cloudburst is probably confused because DirectInput says it's a gamepad, but it's not behaving like the sort of gamepad it wants.
Just keep in mind, it's very very very basic support, as it just assumes button0 is the fire button and that the first x/yaxis it finds is the main D-pad. The PROPER way to do this would be to have some big, complicated keyboard/joystick config screen where you could select the joystick, buttons, axis and so on. I plan on eventually getting around to writing that sort of dialog (I'll need it for my future games), but no estimations on when I finish it.
Diagonal movement has been in the game since version 1.00. It works with the keyboard, and my gamepad. (Which is a Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad.)
(EDIT: Oh yeah, you're the one with the Xbox to PC adapter. Something like that would definitely need a config screen because I am sure it's not mapped like normal gamepads are. ie: button 0 is ALWAYS labeled button A.)
#53
If you ever create a config screen. Create a resource on what and how to look for the controls available on a controller.
Thanks.
03/16/2005 (3:11 pm)
Yes, xbox controller. I'll set to use the thumbpad to gain diagonal movement. So far to date, Halo has been the best pc game that provided support for my xbox controller. All 13 controls could be configured.If you ever create a config screen. Create a resource on what and how to look for the controls available on a controller.
Thanks.
#54
One note though: When I destroy the large ships with the turrets the explosion noise has a loud ring to it. Sounds not unlike some feedback resampled at a low bit depth. Is the sound supposed to be like that? Or is this an issue with the Mac's OpenAL version I'm using?
03/17/2005 (7:30 pm)
I just tried the OS X release and everything seams to works OK. I like the game! Nicely done!One note though: When I destroy the large ships with the turrets the explosion noise has a loud ring to it. Sounds not unlike some feedback resampled at a low bit depth. Is the sound supposed to be like that? Or is this an issue with the Mac's OpenAL version I'm using?
#55
03/18/2005 (5:01 am)
Thanks for the info David regarding linux. Now all you need is a linux coder to port it for you. :-)
Torque Owner Fenrir Wolf
@Robert: That really sounds like what Melv and Charlie are talking about. You should unzip the game and get two directories named "data" and "common". They'll have files in both.