ShellShock, a game being developed for BYOAC

[AtomSmasher]

First release is ready! This is really more of a compatibility test, but I want people to try it out.

Very cool.  Runs great on my machine.

[Xiaou2]

you should add a reverse accelerate button.   It became anti-intuitive without it.

[JoyMonkey]

Awesome work! 

I love how the caterpillar tracks move perfectly against the ground! 

[ahofle]

Looks like a great start!!  Runs great for me too!

[Pongo]

Sounds like good response so far!

I didn't put a frame counter in (will do for the next build) Does everyone feel it's running at a decent speed? This obviously only applies to those with older machines. I'm a bit curious to know how far down the CPU ladder you can go before it lags.

Controls. How do they feel? Does it turn too slow/fast? Do you like the way the barrel is raised/lowered, or would you like to see a different configuration? Adding reverse is very easy,... I took it out though when I moved the acceleration to a button from the sticks, but it's still there,... just not mapped in. Eventually, you will be able to configure your own keys if you want to set it up a bit different. I'll also try to make everything as cab-friendly as possible.

Does the dynamic camera make sense? hopefully it addresses the issue that Xiaou2 mentioned up a few posts ago. It shouldn't really matter if the shells go off the top of the screen a bit,... they'll still come down.

Any graphical errors? I'm aware of the barrel colliding with the wall issue.

[headkaze]

Fantastic! It ran great on my notebook (P4 3Ghz / ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 / 512 MB) at max res 1280 x 800 x 32.

I love the way the controls work and the dynamic camera works really great. I'm very impressed!

One suggestion, although it might not be a good one, is allowing the tank barrel full 180 degree rotation so if the enemy is chasing after you you can shoot directly behind you. I don't know if that would improve the gameplay though.

No graphical errors I could see and ran very solid Looks like it could be a really fun game!

[Xiaou2]

 With 2 people onscreen, they are both 2 close to the edges of the screen
when moving away from each other.  You basically cant see ahead far
enough to see where you are going.

 The camera would need to be adjusted to leave half screen for each player in
any direction.   Also, theres too much zooming.  Instead of realtime zoom at
every degree...  change so that it only zooms when the space change is more
dramatic.   IE: zoom in when tanks move more than 4" travel.   Too much
zooming will make peoples eyes go batty, and cause nausea.

 Im still not overly sold on the 3d aspect.   An option for Top view might be
a welcome option.  Options to turn off camera zoom may also be welcome
(no zoom = fully zoomed all the way out, and does not change)

 Tank should recoil backwards a bit after fire has been pressed.

[ahofle]

One suggestion, although it might not be a good one, is allowing the tank barrel full 180 degree rotation so if the enemy is chasing after you you can shoot directly behind you. I don't know if that would improve the gameplay though.

Haha I like that idea too.  Maybe have it as an option that can be toggled or something.

I just tried it on my old Athlon XP 2000+ with an ArcadeVGA2 AGP version (ATI 9250 I believe)  and it works flawlessly there too!  Nice that you aren't using anything too exotic in terms of graphics.  I give it the mediocre-arcade-cabinet-PC stamp of approval. 

I think you have a real winner here once you polish things up.  The turret angle adjustment is even better than I imagined. 

Tank should recoil backwards a bit after fire has been pressed.

It already does.

[RetroBorg]

Just gave it a go, I liked it. 

I agree with the suggestion about the 180 degree turret too.

I was really hanging out to shoot though.

Also looking forward to sound.

I'll being following this project closely.

[patrickl]

Oh that is seriously cool.

I think I would miss reverse on the tank.

I guess it would be more suitable with a double joystick setup, but then who has that on his cabinet and then the turret joystick would need a fire button too.

I always liked the Wii version of this game too (included in the Wii Play games). It has different types of tanks with different armament (shots, missiles, mines etc) and differences in strategy (shoot once vs shoot a lot, fixed position vs moving). In the Wii version it's double controller too. The nunchuk controls the base and the wiimote the gun.

[ahofle]

You know I played this a bit more with arcade controls and I think it would be better to have the joystick only for motion (and two buttons for turret up/down), preferably similar to how a 3D platformer like Super Mario Galaxy controls in that you point the joystick in the direction the tank goes (as opposed to left/right/forward).  Not sure how hard that would be to implement though (or even feasible for tanks).  I found the left and right confusing in the 3D environment especially when you are heading towards the bottom of the screen.  I also found myself inadvertently moving the turret up and down while trying to drive around.

[jfunk]

I love how the tanks have a bit of speed to them.  They don't feel slow and cumbersome to me.

I also love the dynamic view.  The only issue I had with it (on my widescreen monitor) was when I had both tanks in the bottom corners.  I couldn't see the one on the bottom right at all.

Would it be possible to make walls/obstacles slightly opaque and show the shadow of the tanks behind them?  That might make the obstructed views a bit easier to handle..?

Looking good so far!  I have no comments about the controls at this point, although I do wish there was a way to move around while shooting in a different direction.

Looking forward to more!!

[Pongo]

Just letting you know I'm reading the comments and taking different things into consideration. The next version will let you shoot, so I'm sure it will be a bit more entertaining than the current build.

Also, I will add the reverse control back in on the next build so the buttons will be forward,reverse, and fire. I think I will leave the turret front facing for a bit. Adding reverse back in will let you fire behind you, so I think that should work.

Anyways, I'm getting a serious amount of work dumped on me at the moment, and vinyl cutting in the evenings, so I'm not sure how much time I'll get in the next few days. Hopefully by next week I will have a new build to show, but that may slide a bit.

Next build features:
 -redo control code a bit,... I want to restructure it so things are easier down the road.
 -firing shells
 -reverse
 -tweaks to camera


to do at some point (but maybe not in the next build)
 -Come up with a name
 -Create title screen and selection menu
 -Add Sound FX
 -collisions between tanks
 -.ini system for keys and graphics resolution

[patrickl]

That's way to much side stuff.

[Pongo]

Looks like I have my reading material for the weekend!

from what I've skimmed through, it looks well thought out, but also way above the goals for this current game. My main rules with the current game deal with simplicity,... simple controls, simple graphics. Anyone can pick it up and play right away, and it has to be designed to run on a cabinet with just a few buttons. My CP has 6 buttons per player, but I'm trying to design this for 1 stick/3 button play.

Also, I need to keep this simple so that it will be finished. I need to have this completed within a fairly short time frame. (I'm hoping within a month or two, and remember I am the only developer on this,... Programming, sounds, graphics,...)

[SGT]

Pongo,

I like where you're going with this.  Keep up the good work. 

[Pongo]

  That's all I'm going to say about it. Take it as you will.

Did a bunch of grunt work today. It's the stuff I really hate doing, but needs to be done to make things work in the end. The ini system is all written now though, so it will be easy to work that in. Next up,... projectiles.

[polaris]

Pongo
i can offer no help but want to show support, i like the way this game is going. 

[Pongo]

Just letting me know you're playing it is support enough for me.   

I'm having WAY to much fun at the moment, and I can't help myself from making little "Blam!" noises whenever I fire. (I should really record myself doing it and put it in one of these early tests.

.ini stuff is almost completely in the game code now, and tonight I've got a basic particle system working. That will cover everything that sparks or smokes in the game eventually.

Ok,... bragging/total geekdom here,... but the really cool thing is that I wrote most of the particle code on my DS! (yes, THAT DS) I had some time to kill and no computer near me, so I started up a new .txt file on my M3 card and started typing. Took me a bit to make it right once I transfered the file to my PC, but I think I will be doing more of this in the future. I have very little free time, so I try to make the most of it when I can. (I really need a small laptop!)

[polaris]

Just letting me know you're playing it is support enough for me.  

umm
ive not downloaded it and the link is gone, just liking the ideas, and the look of it in particular.
when i do get it , how do i run it?

[Pongo]

oops. I pulled the link earlier.

Will send you a PM.

link will return when I get the next build ready.

[headkaze]

How about Panzer!?

[loadman]

How about Panzer!?

:-)

I like this whole concept.

I would love to see this game go online using the BYOAC forum login

Imagine if you had a "problem" with another forum member.

You can say.... "Let's take it outside................................. of this forum and sort it out with a game of Panzer (or whatever the name is)"

See Attached pic      Could be fun 

[rovingmind]

or how about

COMBAT 3.0

[polaris]

ok no surprises here, i cant get it to work.
using mame89, could that be the problem

[AtomSmasher]

or how about

COMBAT 3.0

COMBAT Evolved

I know it was the tag line to Halo, but it seems to work.

[SGT]

ok no surprises here, i cant get it to work.
using mame89, could that be the problem

You don't run it from Mame.  Its a stand alone program.  Just unzip it and then double-click BYOAC_Tanks_01.exe.

[polaris]

ok no surprises here, i cant get it to work.
using mame89, could that be the problem

You don't run it from Mame.  Its a stand alone program.  Just unzip it and then double-click BYOAC_Tanks_01.exe.

cheers, silly me, the read me mentioned mame controls and i assumed incorrectly.


ITS AWESOME!

[Pongo]

I like the Panzer mockup with the black/white split. Might be a start for the logo.

Last night I was trying to think of some names too:
Shellshock! (My current favorite)
Tank Blast (doesn't make a lot of sense, but my last few games have been named RC Blast, and Neon Blast)
Mini Tanks (Too generic)

I'm trying to avoid anything that's got huge trademark stuff on it (like Combat for example)


Oh, and network stuff isn't out for sure, but it will definitely be one of the last things I can get in here. (No promises,.. I haven't written any network code before) It would be pretty cool to play that way though, so I need to look into it.

[M37R01D]

Thats awesome, to bad I missed the 1st release, but keep up the great work!!

[Pongo]

Sorry about pulling the link.

The next release should be this week, and it will have quite a bit of new things in place so it will be worth the wait.

[polaris]

pongo
i cant imagine how much work this takes, please take anything i say as suggestions only.

i cant help but feel the joy should control forward and back, and have buttons for turret up,turret down and fire.
i did find it a bit tricky to control.

[headkaze]

I like ShellShock!

[Pongo]

i cant help but feel the joy should control forward and back, and have buttons for turret up,turret down and fire.
i did find it a bit tricky to control.

That's what I thought would work best at first too. It works really good with the keyboard, but once I tried it with the sticks I didn't like it very much.

The good news is that all the controls will be configurable, so you will easily be able to set it up that way if you wish. (This will be in place for the next build hopefully later this week)

Tons of progress today,... I managed to work on things while watching both the football games. Most of it is under-the-hood stuff, but it will really help out eventually.

headkaze: nah,... I'm going to do shellshock like the first panzer logo you did (with the black and white and the angles)

[unclet]

I think the name should be "Shell-Shocked" with the "dash(-)" and the "ed" at the end.

I will keep an eye on this thread .... game looks like fun ..... and I like "simple" fun.

[saint]

Bunch of un-necessary thread-drek removed. If you don't like the way this one is going please just don't participate. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product!

--- saint

[Pongo]

A big thank you. 

[unclet]

Few questions:

1) Will the playing field be flat all the time or we you being introducing hills and valleys for the tanks to roll over?  Possibly some spots of water or loose sand to slow the tank down when it goes through it?

2) Will the entire background scroll thus allowing for a wider playing area to be designed?

3) Will there be a game option to allow the tanks to be able to move out of the screen and come in the other side to surprise your enemies from behind (if you do not implement #2 above)?

[Pongo]

1. With the current engine, I will be keeping things flat.

2 and 3. I'll send you a PM with a link to the first demo. It'll make more sense.

[unclet]

Got it ..... thanks !