{"assets":[{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/NoddyPlanets-550x299.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/d5efa059a7aaa3de2fac3595bf6b00e8.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Shot14.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/ac556969866b3b8baaaa6dc4c865cf0d.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Shot1-550x413.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/71305b3d2b8954ba9aa4c164bac7f627.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Shot2-550x414.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/a11c95d94a4398cfcb8560627bba0fd1.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Shot3-550x414.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/31db55b710287aa3488e0c551ddd2cd5.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Shot41-550x414.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/d2cdf0e3be622d747fbb1b1e293ab1fb.png"},{"original":"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Shot14.png","local":"\/data\/posts\/2014\/08\/ac556969866b3b8baaaa6dc4c865cf0d.png"}],"author_link":"author\/dragonxvi\/","author_name":"DragonXVI","cat":"LD #30","categories":["LD #30"],"comments":[],"epoch":1408964580,"event":"LD30","likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"82589","p_author":"DragonXVI","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"293321","p_title":"Good News Delivery Co. : How it was made + Retrospective","p_cat":"LD #30","p_event":"LD30","p_time":"1408964580","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1408665600","event_key":"24","event_name":"LD30"},"source_url":"2014\/08\/25\/good-news-delivery-co-how-it-was-made-retrospective\/","text":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

48 Hours & lots of swearing later, Good News Delivery Co. was finished. This post\u2019ll cover in vague details how it was made, the problems that nearly killed it, and thoughts going forward. Lots of in progress shots & code\/art discussion inside!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Theme<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cConnected Worlds\u201d wasn\u2019t my favorite choice of the themes this time. \u00a0There were a few near ideas I had for others (one involved jam-based weaponry) but come Saturday Morning I was kinda left curious what to do. \u00a0The obvious choice was a dual world mechanic of some sort, or something where you warp between different worlds Stargate-style. \u00a0In the end, quickly decided on something involving Space.<\/p>\n

The Art<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"NoddyPlanets\"<\/a>

DragonXVI\u2019s noddy guide to basic planet graphics in Paint.net<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Shot14\"<\/a>

All my spaceships look like they were designed by a 5 year old.<\/p><\/div>\n

Luckily, Space is one of those popular settings in games where\u00a0it\u2019s fairly easy to generate something quite nice looking with minimal effort. \u00a0Above is my standard process for making simple planets. \u00a0A starfield can just be black + noise + contrast + clouds for nebula too. \u00a0The planets in GNDC actually split the lighting & atmosphere layers above so I can \u2018dynamically\u2019 light them so they\u2019re lit from the sun.<\/p>\n

\"Shot1\"<\/a>

First day early progress: Basic space graphics & ship movement<\/p><\/div>\n

The Development<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally I\u2019d set it up so the planets orbit the sun or each other (for moons), and they\u2019re dynamically \u2018lit\u2019 according to their position. \u00a0This was abandoned early on (anyone checking the source will not the \u2018Orbiter\u2019 script still exists but is disabled for most planets) as I didn\u2019t want the game \u2018level\u2019 moving about too much. \u00a0Keeping everything still makes it easier to navigate and balance for gameplay.<\/p>\n

With a ship flying about it needed something to do, and then came the idea of ferrying cargo back and forth between planets \u2013 ala Connected Worlds. \u00a0The obvious inspiration was Futurama\u2019s \u201cPlanet Express\u201d. \u00a0So I whipped up some cargo graphics, dropped \u2019em into the game and coded up a way for the ship to collect them and attach them to the last point in a chain, connected using Unity\u2019s 2D Hinge joints.<\/p>\n

\"Shot2\"<\/a>

And at this point it was unplayable<\/p><\/div>\n

Difficult to control snake of cargo wobbling your ship about? Sure might be some game in that, let\u2019s go for it.<\/p>\n

Spent much of the 2 days arguing with Unity\u2019s physics engine, tweaking masses & torques & the effect of\u00a0the planets gravity fields to try and get something reasonably fair (jury\u2019s out if I actually managed that :p). \u00a0The next big problem was getting around \u2013 The solar system was quite sizable and I wanted quite a few planets, so I decided to implement a minimap.<\/p>\n

\"Shot3\"<\/a>

No idea what the thing in the middle was supposed to show. I only used the top bit.<\/p><\/div>\n

Minimaps are quite simple once you get the deal. \u00a0Basically it takes a central point (The player\u2019s ship on the left, the sun on the right), and calculates each important game object\u2019s position relative to that. \u00a0Then we divide that by a \u2018range\u2019 (the left minimap\u2019s range is shorter than the right) and multiply that final offset by the size of the minimap graphic and hey presto! \u00a0I also multiply the \u2018blips\u2019 alpha by the distance-from-focus \/ minimap-range so things fade out as they reach the edges of the minimap. \u00a0Didn\u2019t mean to have two minimaps, but didn\u2019t know what else to put on the right hand side and quite liked the symmetry of it. \u00a0I figured a full solar-system map might be quite useful?<\/p>\n

Still in a GUI mood, I decided to whip up a quite text log to print out current objectives and keep the player notified on what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

\"Shot4\"<\/a>

The randomly generated cargo names were quite fun. Essentially {Storage-type} of {adjective} {nouns}<\/p><\/div>\n

Nothing special there, just a list of 4 strings that scroll as they\u2019re added and work a bit like a queue.<\/p>\n

Last thing on Day 1 was a bit more navigation aid. \u00a0The Minimaps weren\u2019t brilliantly useful stuffed down in the bottom corners of the screen, so I decided to do a good ol\u2019 guide arrow. \u00a0I wanted to make it quite flashy, so it points in the direction of your current goal when far away, then switches so it hovers over the target when close by (This is fairly old. \u00a0I think even the first GTA\u2019s objective arrow did this) and animates nicely between the two states. \u00a0This wasn\u2019t the last of the blatant TELL THE PLAYER WHAT THEY NEED TO DO visual feedback I ended up including, as later on I also made the destination planet pulse\u00a0bright green too.<\/p>\n

Day two began with morning sound & music creation. \u00a0The music was quickly whipped together in FL Studio after figuring out the Chorus on the first night. \u00a0It\u2019s a fairly simple \u2018catchy\u2019 dance-track thing.<\/p>\n

\"Shot6\"<\/a>

What FLStudio looks like when you don\u2019t name anything ever or use proper automation or anything.<\/p><\/div>\n

Since this was on the clock, the whole thing was made in 1 hour and uses a fair few default drum loops shipped with FL Studio (Which is the audio equivalent of Photoshop lens flares, but DON\u2019T CARE NO TIME! :p)<\/p>\n

With music & sound out the way I still hadn\u2019t actually got a working game. \u00a0You couldn\u2019t lose and you couldn\u2019t make any money, so I quickly shoved in a score & a timer.<\/p>\n

\"Shot7\"<\/a>

I *really* like Unity\u2019s new particle system. If it wasn\u2019t obvious.<\/p><\/div>\n

Also added some better feedback into what cargo is within pickup range, since before this you just had to mash the pickup button and hope you were close enough. \u00a0This\u00a0bit of UI alone improved the game about 3 times over at this point.<\/p>\n

At some point I also wanted to add a Black Hole. \u00a0Did the visuals for it, but in the end these ended up as harmless \u2018gravity wells\u2019 that just pull your ship in a bit. \u00a0Didn\u2019t have time to implement any special way of throwing stuff into it, but for a brief time they were a valid destination for delivering cargo to.<\/p>\n

\"Shot10\"<\/a>

A big purple swirly thing in space.<\/p><\/div>\n

Before tweaking the various physics parameters, these guys could actually pull you in with such force that ships carrying more than 4 cargo couldn\u2019t escape at all and you had to eject cargo and pretty much leave it.<\/p>\n

At this point, most f the game was in & functional, but I had two other things I wanted to get in since flying between planets and dropping stuff off was fairly simple. \u00a0I wanted obstacles & enemies! I wanted asteroids & PIRATES!<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t end up getting to do the asteroids.<\/p>\n

But the pirates?<\/p>\n

\"Shot11\"<\/a>

Yar har, fiddle-de-dee.<\/p><\/div>\n

The pirate ship graphics is pretty much just the player\u2019s ship with some bits added & painted blue. \u00a0The turret tracks independently in a similar way to Hot Diggity\u2019s laser turrets. \u00a0The pirate AI is pretty simple:<\/p>\n