The Dregs of War

[XenElement]

I find that it's difficult to have to run back and forth to aim. I mean, to throw it farther you can take a running start, etc.

If you had 2 timers instead say, or a counter, like this it might work:

var grenadeTime:Timer = new Timer(5000) // 5 second timer on grenade
var aimCounter:int;

// If S is pressed
function launchGrenade() {
aimCounter = 0;
var grenade = new Grenade();
Dreg.addChild(grenade)
//etc etc, whatever you'd put here
addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, checkGrenade);

}

function checkGrenade(e:Event):void {
if (sKeyDown) {
aimCounter++;
}
else
{
grenadeSpeed = grenadeSpeed*counter.
throwGrende() // Whatever the actual trajectory calculator is
removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, checkGrenade);

}

}

Etc Etc, then you clean all you vars up, and whatever. I guess I'm not sure what you mean awooga when you say you can't do both.

[redjag]

Are you proposing that the grenadeTime starts after the throw? Then you can't let seconds tick off the fuse before tossing it and having it explode at just the right moment. Or are you saying they start at the same time? Then you lose fuse time while adjusting your aim.

The Awooga's mechanics let you throw it short (by crouching), medium (by holding up), and long (a normal throw).

[TOdorus]

I didn't think much of it, because I had the same internal discussion when working on Marshmellow, so I understood Awoogamuffins argument beforehand. The thing is that both systems are timebased. The time you "cook" the grenade before you throw it and the time you hold the key to influence the force. So you've got to choose in the end.

[XenElement]

Ah... Huh. I hadn't noticed the crouch/up thing. Hmm.

Well, that is an interesting note. I see now. Huh. It still seems like there should be a better way to do this, but hey.

Nevermind, it seems Awooga is one step ahead. Thanks for pointing that out redjag.

<<< Slow :P

[XenElement]

Hum, yeah... I dealy you could have some sort of aiming system, but that might get too complicated for an average player.

You could do something like this:

O \
|o )
^ /

and Have a red square/ target where that line is that you can move up and down with the arrows. I dunno, looks like Awooga has it covered already ^_^

[Awoogamuffin]

Wahey! That was fun - nice to see I wasn't the only one left scratching his head over the whole grenade control issue. Who'd have thought these sorts of things could be so complicated?

Anyway, now there's a mini-map, armour, and a window to climb through. W00t!

Check it out!

[XenElement]

Nice! I like the commando feel that the armor gets, and I love how you implemented the mario like wall disapearing thing. Whatever you'd call the secret zone.

A few things I'd say need tweaking, and then you could pretty much start on the levels! I see da makings of a great game here!

Tweax:

When Jumping, I've noticed that to reach the height of the first peg, you must jump straight up. That kind of bothers me, I've jumped back and forth past it a few times before having to resort to jumping straight up.

As for the grenade thing, I'd make the up arrow throw the grenade farther instead of up since otherwise to get it to go farther you need a running start. Which I guess is not a bad thing, just a matter of preference. If you decide to leave it as is, I'd tweak the upward throw animation because Dreg's arm goes farther than the grenade is released. Know what I mean? The angle's just not quite right.

Very sorry to create more potential work for ya, but hey.

Good job! I'm lovin' it! (Not a McD's fan, but W/e)

Cheers!

[redjag]

I kind of agree with Xen on the "up" throw, but when I thought about it more the fact that it goes up opens more tactical throws depending on the level design. I really like the minimap, good work on that.

[XenElement]

Yeah, the minimap is great. Kinda reminds me of a way better version of the metroid one.

Well I just feel that the up throw doesn't go far enough to be of much use by itself.

What I mean is, what about that throw makes it better than just jumping and throwing? You can jump and throw higher. If you jump and throw, it also goes farther.

I guess there could be an enemy right on the ledge that you don't want to give the chance to hit you, but in order for the up throw to work, the ledge would have to be pretty low.

I dunno, whatever your preference is at the moment awooga, go with it. I think it's at the point where everything that you can fix will make some people happy, and some people annoyed. The question is, which choice makes more people happy

As for jumping, I think it's the sequencing. Your physics engine has actually some of the most realistic platforming jumps that i've seen, but that might be the problem.

If you want to go for realistic you're fine, but the part I talked about in the other post where I couldn't reach the peg? That occurs if I press left or right before jumping. If I press it after, dreg reaches his full height.

I guess what I'd compare it to is mario, where you reach the full jump height whether you take a running start or not.

huh. I dunno. Just go with what you think :P

[Awoogamuffin]

Helloooo!

Thanks for all the attention!

So Xenelement - I agree, I might need to tweak the up throw a little to make it more useful, but that depends on level design, so I'll wait till I figure out exactly how best to use it.

As for the jumps, Dreg is kinda inbetween Mario and the original prince of persia - in the latter game there's a clear difference between high jump and long jump. Hopefully people will figure it out wiht Dreg...

Anyway, now we have shops and money and a cooler map and stuff!

Check it out and tell me what you think!

[Awoogamuffin]

Hmmm... I thought I'd posted my latest update on here earlier, but obviously not!

In any case, thanks Todorus for the comments on the blog - I've made pretty much all of the changes, apart from the whole left hand controls thing (surely left handed people are used to using the arrow keys in games, no?)

I've also added a health dispenser - press Q to use it (but you have to buy it in the shop first, of course!)

Tell me what you think!

[Awoogamuffin]

Hullo!

Look! A new Enemy!

Ooooooooooooooh!

[XenElement]

Very nice, I like how he is still able to interact with something shorter than him, with out cheesy looking hit errors.

One thought: I was busy killing myself with grenades and I came upon an interesting note:
(By the way I enjoy fake killing myself. It's funny.)

Shouldn't Grenades blow up other grenades? And make the espwoshin bigger in the process?

Huh. I just think, other than killing yourself faster, that might actually be useful later in the game. High level enemy, need 3 grenades at once to kill or something.

[TOdorus]

XenElement, that idea becomes really cool when you have something like mines,exploding barrels or exploding whatevers.

Chain explosions rule!

About the new enemy. Excellent stuff, although I wouldn't like to have them in a small space. They'd do their tackle all the time and I'd be helpless

I really didn't notice the running animation bieng so wonky in the actual gameplay, really I'm not that much of an animator, but one advice I can give you is to keep the head more still. "Where the head goes, the body will follow", is something my sensei once said and they're words to live by (pretty weird when you experience that for the first time (around 1:50)). If you would wobble your head like that you would lose balance quite quickly. I have no idea how to fix that spine popping in and out, though. Allthough you don't seem to be to far off.

[Awoogamuffin]

Hello! Long time no speak

I've been working on various aspects of the game, mainly just trying to figure out how much I can squeeze in before my computer fails and can't keep up.

Sorry this is taking so bloody long - I won't blame any of you if you're just too sick of the damn thing to follow anymore! I promise I'll finish it eventually!

There's lots of background stuff and a new enemy. Be sure to tell me what you think!

Check it out

[XenElement]

Huh! Very nice job! I'm starting to see those sick animator skills of yours come out in the game now!

Couple things that are a bit on the annoying side:

The gravity zones need to be tweaked, I hadn't noticed this as much in the earlier versions, but I'm assuming that since they were less amazing, they weren't as obvious.

Dreg when jumping up into a gravity zone that reverses, actually ends up getting stuck, and falling back the way he just jumped. It's a bit frustrating, since it can take about 5 tries to get up onto the ledge or whatever. Maybe make the gravity switch a bit slower?

I dunno, I'm not 100% sure how you work this thing.

Fighting:

Dreg feels a bit slow with his punches etc. It almost feels like it's lagging, or something. It's not that bad, maybe that's the style, but it feels too slow for me. Lower the time for not being able to punch again maybe?

Ugh. anyway, don't take my criticism as an insult, this is really an awe inspiring game. I'm looking forward to seeing this on all the top portals.

Also, it's not just a game. It's a work of art!

Cheers m8.

[TOdorus]

I agree on the gravityzone in the beginning. That may be a bit too hard as a first level Players need to get used to it, but I assume you have this planned out.

I like how the city is bristling from an art point of view. From a gameplay point of view, it's annoying as heck. As a gamer I split the game into actual gameplay elements I can interact with and filler. As it is now, this split isn't obvious, as there is no visual clue to what is what. May I suggest using thick lines for actual geometry/enemies, maybe another palette?

Didn't know if you already picked up on this one, but it seems that it may serve for inspiration: Shank

[Awoogamuffin]

Hello everybody! I'm back! Muaahahahahaa!

I can imagine some of you thought I'd given up on the game, but far from it! Though it's true I had a bit of a Dregless month as I dealt with moving and some job-related stuff, I got back into it, but didn't want to update until I had quite a lot of stuff done.

Anyway, I've started work on the game proper, as well as adding a few new features. The map is a bit more useful now...

So yeah, is it too easy? too hard? too boring? how is the flow? I thought the beginning of the game should be light on combat, and maybe in the next level a few more enemies will start popping their heads round the corner. The idea is that I want to give the player time to find the health powerups, and maybe buy a couple of armour upgrades before getting into some serious fist fights.

Be sure to tell me what you think!

Play it here

[XenElement]

Absolutely Love the gravity shifts still. Great job on this new version too, the art is beautiful!

Still have two complaints; The jumping is kinda annoying, you almost have to stop moving and then jump in order to jump high enough. Maybe make the jump height:distance ratio vary on dreg's velocity instead of whether or not the arrow is presed before jumping?

Also, I had some problems with wall jumping, in that I couldn't jump. also there's an angled wall where if you slide down it dreg glitches. It's one of those 45 degree angles early on.

Anyway, still playing through it atm, i can't wait to see it on kongregate or wherever you decide to release it.

By the way, welcome back!

[Awoogamuffin]

Hey Xenelement - yeah, the jumping is pretty much taken from Prince of Persia, and I can understand that a Mario fan would find it tricky. I liked the methodical PoP thing of stop, and jump to go high, or run and jump to go long... But not I'm wondering if I should reconsider... Anybody else got an opinion on this?

Also, you get the wall jump later if you talk to Dr Fwibbles, so it's normal if it's not happening now.

Some people on other sites have mentioned falling through the world into a white void. Has this happened to anybody else?