Getting into my first LD ever, hopefully something that will keep happening.

Chosen squad:

Visual Studio 2010, C++, SFML 2.0 with a side order of GIMP and SFXR

I’ve noted some ideas for gameplay and started working on the game itself, got some basic graphics and input done.

Stream can be found here: http://www.twitch.tv/ananace

22 hours left on the clock, I’m about to go sleep, and the game is not close to playable because of some hidden bug.

First thing tomorrow is to throw away my QuadTree and use a grid instead, hoping that will help.

After many hours of head scratching and a small bit of hair pulling I’ve managed to get a working version of my game done.

The last few hours were a real nightmare, a small bug popped up that caused the game to drop below single digit FPS when spawning enemies. Something that’s quite vital for hack and slashes.

One bug remains that sometimes, without any specific reason whatsoever, kills the game when you die.

I can live with that, seeing as the (are there even any?) circumstances are quite rare.

The submission page

So, Tiny Hack/.  A hack and slash with a 10×10 pixels world (Although any size should work)

What went right?

• The hastily drawn graphics turned out really nice and fitting to the overall theme.
• My first plans worked out surprisingly well.
• The tea tasted excellent.

What went wrong?

• Some horrible game-breaking bugs managed to sneak their way into the code, forcing me to spend more time hunting them down than making better gameplay.
• Didn’t start off with a actor based system so I had to spend a lot of time fixing that.
• Too much code ended up in the game class, making it annoying to work with.

What didn’t make it?

• A better aiming system, originally planned to be mouse/second stick controlled.
• Monster drops, to be used for upgrading your weapons.
• At least three more spells.
• Better monster AI (They were supposed to target the player when he’s close).

So, in retrospect;

I should probably have chosen something simpler as my first Ludum Dare game. When there was 14 hours left on the clock I realized a rogue-like would’ve been a much better aim.

Well, let’s see if LD#24 goes better than the last one.

C++ and SFML, with the help of Visual Studio 2010, GIMP, and Blender.

It’s on now.

Tags: C++, entry, sfml

So, I’ve now been working on this game for a day or so, the last half a day having been wasted due to me getting sick.

Still, a multi-headed snake on a leaf must be considered some sort of progress.

What still remains to be seen is if I can at least get some type of enemy into the game before the deadline.

Tags: progress, screenshot, snake

Since it seems like I’m not going to be able to complete my entry enough to be able to call it a game without cringing, I think a surrender is in order.

If only this stupid cold could’ve waited a few more days before robbing me of my ability to think properly, then I could’ve at least have had the pleasure of seeing my entry get voted up to the top. Or, which is more likely, the bottom.

Better luck next time I suppose.

I might put up the source and chronolapse anyway if people want me to.

Tags: Surrender

Right, third LD time I guess.

Still going to go with C++ because I love that language. With the help of Visual Studio 2010, SFML, some home-grown libraries and a fair amount of code snippets just wanting their glory.

Let’s hope this one works out better than the last, where I got sick halfways through and was forced to quit it.

Stream will be available at http://twitch.tv/ananace and this time I’ll remember to run a timelapse program in the background, I want a nice video after all.

Good luck to the rest of you people I guess.

Tags: C++, ld25, sfml

Well, since people seem to love showing off their assortment of desks and foodstuffs I guess I’ll have to join in on the craze.

Have a picture of what’s going to be my battlestation for this upcoming dare:

Click me for bigger image

All that’s needed now is some food for me to paparazzi too 😀

Tags: deskphoto

So I figured I have enough of an idea to start working on it, drew up a few preliminary images and started coding up the absolute base of what my game needs to be playable.

You’re the head of an evil empire bent on world domination, and you’ve even managed to collect some minions that you’ll be able to send out into the world so they can complete nefarious activities for you. Safe back in your evil lair you’ll be able to watch as your minions slowly but surely take over the world, one country at a time.
Just watch out for the different law agencies that will want to stop you, keep your activities spread out over the globe to keep the heat off you.

Still nothing to show for it, but I did find something interesting by looking outside when making a cup of tea…

There’s a veritable snowstorm going on outside

Tags: idea, weatherphoto

So I’ve fixed a few annoying bugs and gottens something that while not yet playable at least is heading on the right track.

All I need to do now is implement minions and add a few more nefarious activities.

Also, since people find it interesting; Have a picture of my breakfast:

Tags: 2D, C++, deskphoto, foodphoto, progress, screenshot, sfml

I feel like this is really going well, drawn up russia and finland as well and started getting more gameplay-ish aspects done.

The UI still neesd a lot of work, but I’m confident something enjoyable can be gotten from this. If you want to sneak-peek a bit on the progress, a windows demo is available HERE. (Though I’ve heard it works in wine, so go right on ahead you linux people)

Tags: C++, demo, progress, screenshot, Windows, wine

I’ve managed to create all of the important parts of the world now, so I have the time to sit down and create menus as well as an agency system.

Right now each country is just that, a country. When I get the agency system done they will all be part of one of the agencies in the game, and when you anger one country you anger the entire agency owning that country.

So to keep a steady flow of money and minions going you’ll have to keep your nefarious activities spread out across the world.

Tags: progress, screenshot, update

So I managed to finish myself a game for this Ludum Dare, which must mean that I’m more of a villain than an evolutionalist (Considering I fell ill the last LD).

You all better test my little world domination simulator now, or as I’ve lovingly nicknamed it: “MiLWaDS”

If you don’t have windows then I’ve heard it works well in wine, and I might have a possible linux build coming of it.

Timelapse will be put up as soon as it finishes uploading, and then you’ll be free to observe me sleeping half the time away.

Read more and get the download here:
http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-25/?action=preview&uid=10247

Tags: C++, final, finish, game, ld25, screenshot, Windows

So after having worked on MiLWaDS for many (As many as 48 even) hours now, I feel like a short post-mortem might be useful.

So MiLWaDS, or as it’s really called; “My Little World Domination Simulator”, don’t ask about the ‘i’ and the ‘a’.
I was in luck about the theme choice because this is a game idea I’ve been wanting to make for a long time, a sort of demake of the world domination part of the RTS Evil Genius. Using the minions you gain through recruiting efforts you’ll slowly but surely complete nefarious acts and villainous deeds on the road to complete global domination.

Decided to again make my game in C++, because I figure that using a tool I’m comfortable with is better than using a simple tool that I’ve never used before. Plus, with building it in C++ I was able to use the Yarn engine I’ve been working on for university projects, which also lead to some interesting features being available that I had absolutely no use for. Full angelscript based script engine support and google breakpad exception handling among them, I did use other parts of it though. And SFML, let’s not forget SFML.

Just like last time I was in my tools are;

• Visual Studio 2010, for writing my C++ code.
• GIMP, for all my art.
• Blender, for 3d-modeling, even though I haven’t really needed them.
• Spotify, because music helps creativity for me.

So some thoughts afterwards;

What went well?

• I love the simple but still stylish color scheme I managed to create early on in the development process, simple dark-grey with cyan borders worked well and gave the game a sort of hollywood-hacking feel.
• Loading the data from basic csv style formats worked much better than I expected it to, at point I was hoping to instead save them with JSON but decided against that to save the time need to implement something like that.

What went less well?

• The agency system ended up having far too many parts that never got used, I delegated too much work to them in the design phase.
• I never got my minions fininshed completely, each minion was supposed to gain in strength when levling up them as well as being able to specialize in different abilities.
• I ended up breaking Kunlaboro (An entity system I’ve been working a bit on) enough that I had to add triply redundant error checking to most messages. Since I was low on time I didn’t really want to try to get a clean clone done of it either.

Play the game here: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-25/?action=preview&uid=10247

Tags: C++, compo, final, ld25, post-mortem, postmortem, screenshot, sfml, Windows

So I’ve decided to attempt another Ludum Dare, see if I can increase my 66.666666(repeating of course)% completion rate.

My earlier games include Tiny Hack/ (LD#23), and My Little World Domination Simulator (LD #25).
I’m hoping that I won’t end up with a severe cold like in LD#24 (Evolution), though I think I’ll stick to my usual tools.
Maybe I’ll even see about packeting a Linux version before the deadline this time, I’ll just have to set up a proper Linux build environment that isn’t too bleeding edge. Ubuntu LTS maybe, comment if you have a better idea.

Language: C++
Framework: SFML with my own creations named Kunlaboro, and the core part of Yarn if I’ve managed to get it open-sourced at that point.
IDE: Visual Studio 2010, and Sublime Text 2
Art: Gimp, and possibly Blender
Sound: Not the slightest clue, possibly Audacity and Windows sound recorder
IRC: irssi, the client of the future, on my laptop over SSH.
Timelapse: Possibly Chronolapse, might also use a small tool I found called simply Timelapse
Broadcast: XSplit, since I really like it.

You’ll probably be able to find my broadcast at http://twitch.tv/ananace once the Ludum Dare starts, I’ll be sure to set the game correctly so I show up on the sidebar. Music should be expected on the stream, but you’re free to mute it.

Hope to see you there

What I’ll be eating while waiting for this LD to begin:

Pasta with a tomato sauce that contains bell peppers and mozarella cheese, topped with mozarella cheese and basil.

Tags: final, foodphoto

After most of the first days frantic coding, I’ve taken a short break to cook myself something simple.
I’m a bit amused at myself when I realize that an advanced omelet is the simplest thing I can think of to cook…

Eggs, shredded cheese, finely chopped ham, fresh basil, thyme, and just a dash of coriander.
Topped with mozarella and tomato.

Damn, this is tasty.

Also, here’s a small screenshot of my game progress:

Tags: C++, compo, foodphoto, motivation

So, spent lots of time and work on the sort-of-game idea I had for the theme. Math was involved and sketching occured, evidence can be found here:

All in all, I feel pretty good about how the game is coming along, haven’t started making it look good yet. Gameplay goes first.

If you want to try it out, there are two builds available here:
Windows 32-Bit build
Linux 64-Bit build

There are a couple of command line switches you can use:
-f Fullsceen
-b Rebind all controls before starting the main loop
-r WxH Specify resolution
-m 0-100 Specify music volume
-s 0-100 Specify sound volume

Standard controls are WASD, and if you’re using -b then you can bind to both keyboard and joystick controls. It’s been tested with both an original Xbox Controller S and the Xbox 360 controller.

Also, I know that something is strange about collisions, at times they don’t seem to register at all. This is a bug that I’ve spent too much time trying to track down, and so sort of decided to leave it there until it becomes a more pressing issue.

If you happen to have a 32-bit Linux system, then you could try to build the game yourself. The source is available on Github (C++) and it uses CMake to build, you might need boost and SFML 2.0 (Don’t know if the RC works since I’m using the latest git myself).
There’s a small issue with the CMakeLists file so you might also have to set Kunlaboro_BOOST to On in your cmake cache for it to build properly.

Hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this (And maybe even enjoyed what exists so far of the game). Please comment.

This is Ace, reporting to bed.

Tags: C++, compo, demo, game, journal, linux, progress, screenshot, Windows