Blog for Norv Brooks at GarageGames.com

SmokeJumpers Still Alive!

Norv Brooks — 2008-07-16T19:36:36+00:00

For those of you that still have an interest in SmokeJumpers, thanks and here's a brief update. In tweaking, debugging, etc. towards putting together an alpha demo I became aware that there were a few features I felt that should be added. In addition to directing a squad of smoke jumpers to build a fire break the player needed to be able also to direct the squad to fight a low level fire directly. I have this added now and want to add 2 more features before the alpha demo. I want the player to be able to re-direct a squad including a command to flee to the safe zone and also to be able to move the location of the safe zone (represented by the green flag). I've included a collage of screen shots showing the direct attack on a fire.
This project has taken much, much longer than I had ever hoped and my concern is that people may begin to think that SmokeJumpers is vaporware. I have every intention to see this project through to conclusion.
Thanks again for your interest,
Norv

SmokeJumpers - still going forward

Norv Brooks — 2008-05-31T05:27:56+00:00

I recently was able to progress from one Wildfire assignment back through the Base Hub back into another Wildfire assignment a multiple of times. This process is how you progress through a level by scoring points for each Wildfire assignment completed and using the Resource Points obtain to grow your Smoke Jumper teams. So, it was good to progress, but of course with the progression came more bugs to light that need to be fixed. Also, made evident the need to adjust & tweak the score values that can be obtained. Slowly getting there.

SmokeJumpers - still going - update

Norv Brooks — 2008-05-04T17:03:59+00:00

My "SmokeJumpers" project although progressing slowly is still progressing. I finished the assignment that I had out of a temp agency which helped to pay bills but reduced development time. However, I have done work on the project and some progress has been made.

I think one of my problems while participating in the Dream Game competition and actually a long standing issue for me is that I don't focus on the level of production value needed for the particular stage I'm currently working on. As an example, developing a working prototype (demo) for the alpha stage which was what was needed for the stage of the Dream Game competition that I failed to meet, I believe was primarily due to not being satisfied with getting a functioning game that could be played and evaluated. Rather, I tried to get closer to a beta level on too many areas.

My son & I for a little more than the last year have been developing board games and what I've learned in designing these games has been a good lesson for me in computer game development. Mainly to simplify and get a working prototype to test early to find out what is working & what isn't and importantly "is it fun?"

Here's the link to a game we have in development & publisher seeking:

roadsofrome.blogspot.com/

For you game designers out there, if you haven't dabbled in board games, I highly recommend it. Board game design is more focused on game play rather than computer technology and production values. Here's a link to a You Tube presentation by Matt Leacock the designer of "Pandemic" a very popular current board game. The presentation discusses the above subject.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdTVcFo2EQw

Back to SmokeJumpers. Here's a couple of screenshots of the most recent progress in the area of scoring a wildfire assignment & displaying the score. Before I can release an alpha demo, I need to refine & tweak this area some more as well as some work on the Base hub where the player manages their resources.

Before wildfire assignment:

Wildfire score:

After wildfire assignment:

SmokeJumpers January Review

Norv Brooks — 2008-02-02T01:47:10+00:00

Good progress has been made in fixing bugs and correcting AI logic flaws. Enough progress I thought to do some work on the Wildfire Assignment Results window. As can be seen in the two screen shots of window examples below, the results are delivered through a TV field journalist reporting on the wildfire status. This is will interject a human element as to what affects a wildfire has and the extraordinary efforts of fire fighters. The window includes a See Score button for the player to see a break down of the score for that particular assignment. The score break down window is yet to come.

SmokeJumpers still meeting the challenge

Norv Brooks — 2007-12-31T06:25:22+00:00

The AI for the wildfires behavior is the key to the game play for SmokeJumpers. How fast the wilfires move, how intense the different elements of fire are, which direction they will move and whether they will be stopped by handlines built by the smoke jumpers, by fire breaks made by aerial drops or by roads & creeks are all determined by the AI. So, it's very important for making the game play challenging and fun for the player. It's taking me longer to code the AI than I expected because it's more complexed than I had envisioned. But, I'm almost there and once it's developed it will drive most of the wildfire assignment portions of the game. When I get it completed enough to make the game play work, then I will move on to coding the determining if the smoke jumpers have completed the assignment and scoring it to award team & individual experience, leadership and public relations points. Though coding of the AI is very important to the game, it's not very interesting to report on.

Wearing all the hats as a one person indie developer can be frustrating at times because of the slow progress, but it's rewarding when you reach milestones. I think being a part of the MyDreamGamesRPG's Dream Games Contest has been an aid in keeping on track and somewhat on schedule, but there's still a lot of work left. Having read some of the other's progress blogs, I know that others are also meeting up with their own challenges to progress. It's good to see that there's still several committed to finishing their projects.

SmokeJumpers video clip

Norv Brooks — 2007-12-20T17:35:46+00:00

To see a short video clip of some of the game play of SmokeJumpers click on link below. To reduce the size of the video file some portions of the action has been edited out. The video starts at the wildfire assignment screen then takes you to the wildfire location showing the construction of handlines, some UI and a retardant drop. It takes several seconds to load.

members.dslextreme.com/users/vronsoftware/SJvideoClip.swf.html

SmokeJumpers - slow but steady

Norv Brooks — 2007-12-02T15:16:28+00:00

Progress in the month of November was slow and undramatic. The

time has been spent refining, cleaning and debugging code for the

features at a wildfire scene that had already been added. More work

on the code is needed as well as some work on the User Interface. In the

game section below is a screenshot of a retardant drop which has been added.

SmokeJumpers - End of October Update

Norv Brooks — 2007-10-31T00:08:14+00:00

The focus in October was on local support that becomes available

to the player such as fire engines and water drops by helicopters and

fixed wing tankers. In Level One the local support is not available

at the beginning of a wildfire assignment but depending upon the

assignment may become available after a delay. Here's a few screen shots

of this new features.

For more pictures & info go to:
members.dslextreme.com/users/vronsoftware

Good SmokeJumpers progress in Sept.

Norv Brooks — 2007-10-02T14:29:20+00:00

Good progress was made in September. The wildfire's behavior AI

and the building & display of fire lines coding is in; as well as the

coding for determining if the fire lines will stop the wildfire's progress.

Also, the new User Interface has been added (see screen shots below).

A weather window display current wind speed, wind direction and

humidity. The weather window can be toggle with a tile information

window. By holding down the Control button while right clicking

on a grid tile the terrain & fuel info is displayed. If there's a structure

in the tile, that is displayed and if there are fires in the tile that information

is displayed.

SmokeJumpers - August Report

Norv Brooks — 2007-08-31T04:46:29+00:00

Good progress has been made on the smoke jumpers' AI & behavior when moving to & building fire lines. The Player selects a fire line configuration from the Hand Radio UI and the cursor turns to a fire line configuration. Then the Player moves the cursor to the location for a fire line to be built and left clicks. The smoke jumpers move there and build the fire line. Then Player selects another location & configuration for a fire line and so on. When the fire line in the last screen shot below is completed the wild fires are contained. Of course, under certain circumstances wild fires can jump over a fire line, but that's yet to be devloped.