Another two weeks have passed, and as the development goes on forward, and the summer holidays begin, it is time for another update.
As a starter, I must say that this update comes with a list with more new content than bug-fixes, opposite to the last update which had more bug-fixes than content. Again a complete changelog can be found at the bottom of this post.
Features:
One of the first thing you probably see on the left screenshot above is the big brown box at the upper center of the screen. Explaining this with words would be so easy and boring, so instead I will ask you to take a look a bit further down, behind that cyan Square (which is the player).
I guess that you have an idea of what that brown thing is, and yes, it is a sign. Signs are simple, yet quite necessary objects. As soon as you move in front of one, its message will be shown at the top of the screen. The signs adds the possibility to write down information which the player can read in game. These signs can hold almost any text you would want, as they adapt their dimensions to the message written on them.
In this same screenshot I've also added some "non-sign"-text, which is another new feature. These texts will always be present at their given positions, and can be set to a selection of different colours.
On the same screenshot, but a bit further to the right, lies a button. This button is used to open the trapdoors directly below the text, but can really be connected to anything that can be turned on/off (currently only trapdoors and teleporters). There are currently two types of buttons, those that only keeps their targets active while you keep them pressed, and those which work more like switches/levers.
The right screenshot here is only for good measure, and only shows things mentioned above or in earlier posts. It also displays a new test-texture (made by doppler).
And now, here is the promised changelog:
Features:
• Added rock wall tiles.
• Added trapdoors.
• Added a new explosion effect.
• Added FireBammers.
• Added simple buttons.
• Added toggling buttons.
• Created an error logger.
• Created a sound effects player, though there are still no sounds in the game.
• Added in-game signs.
• Added in-game texts.
• Added a temporary startup Menu. A more awesome one is planned.
• Updated the in-game font, which is used for texts, sign messages, the loading screen, etc.
• Made it possible to control the player mid-air.
Bugs and performance:
• More efficient (and much shorter) collision code for players and enemies.
• Shorter (and safer) code for texture loading.
• Some files have been reorganized into other folders with more logic names.
• The Players health could fall below 0.
• The game locked in an eternal loop when the Player ended up inside a tile.
• Collision bugs with trapdoor tiles.
• Rewrote the collision system, which resultet in extreme collision bugs, which have
been fixed as well.
Suggestions, feedback and help
Now that I've come this far in development, I will open up myself for suggestions and help. As I've mentioned in the summary of this page, I'm not the best at graphical art. This is one of the reasons for me now asking for feedback regarding the look of the currently implemented featuresm such as tiles, the (black) background, the enemies, etc. If there is anything that you feel does not look good, please send me a PM or post in the Forum. I'm also open to suggestions of all kinds. Further, I will love to get suggestions on music/sound effects, as well as help with the level designing.
/ Komposten
(Final note: You will probably see an Alpha version being released with the next update.)
Nice work. Can't wait to get my hands on that alpha.