After the first arcade version release I decided it was time to figure out what was wrong with the game. A big part of my problem was how hard it was to CHANGE the game. It had gotten to the point where it was so tightly coupled, that making changes, particularly in the animation and character arenas were tough.
Moreover, because there were problems with lighting, terrain and graphically complex environments on low end computers, it just didn't feel right to continue working on new maps etc, without having the engine optimized properly. (It would just require rework)
I do all my testing after development on a laptop with an intel hd4000 graphics card which should be just about the worst experience possible. And if I can't get a solid frame rate on that computer, it's back to the drawing board!
So here we are now with a brand new version with improved lighting, improved playability, easier-to-animate characters and a ton of fun new content.
Hopefully, at this point, I'll be entering another month long sprint of just doing new content creation, asset design and map layout.
Speaking of which, if anyone has any music you've created that you're just itching to get into a game, please feel free to hit me up.
Also, if you'd like to try out the Astronaut model for yourself, check out the web player link for it below. Be warned, its over 150 megabytes!
Play this outdoor map with the Astronaut Here
Feel free to leave comments below about the game.
Looking good man!
Thanks much! Its coming along!