PDA

View Full Version : 21: GravWarp



Nandrew
24-12-2008, 10:02 PM
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/3422/v1screen1hm1.pnghttp://img114.imageshack.us/img114/484/v1screen2sr3.pnghttp://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3605/v1screen3uj9.png


GravWarp Mobile Prototype 1.0
Because version numbers are ALWAYS cooler

Righto, so basically I've got it in my head that I want to make a nice and proper game based on my comp 20 entry (otherwise known as =D).

GravWarp is a spiritual successor to that game, fiddling with *some* of the rules and dynamics but still keeping with the main idea: get your little dudes to the proverbial "maze exit", negotiating obstacles and traps with the help of gravitation points.

This is my first project in Flash, so I ask you to forgive me for performance issues and any blatant shortcuts that are taken. I kinda realised how horribly I structured my code after finishing everything, but it seems to get the job done for now. And hey, I got excited enough to code in some gravity distortion effects (primitive shapes are *so* much quicker to draw with this thing :P).

Arbitrary button pressing and the like is done with the mouse (yeah, as I said, shortcuts. Blegh) but the main game uses the NUMPAD to control gravity points situated around the screen. As it so happens, these points are laid out in a visually similar manner to the numbers on a cellphone keypad. Convenient, huh? You can also use the mouse to toggle grav points. Don't know why you'd want to, though - I just find it easier because I'm working with a laptop keyboard.

Here's the link: http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/data/files/670/GravWarp.swf

I recommend that you right-click, save the link and load it up in your own Flash Player/debugger. You CAN just left-click and run straight from the browser, but since this is a plain ol' SWF file (and I don't know 100% what I'm doing yet) it could stretch/distort if you run it in the browser window. Won't be a trainsmash, but let this be your warning.


(--CHRISTMAS EDIT, YAY!--)

http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/download.php?id=671

My merry Christmas gift to fellow Game.Devvers is this zipped version of the game, containing the original .SWF as well as a sample html page so that you can run it in your browser without it looking hideous. Convenient for those who don't have a Flash Player on their system.

Simply click on "index.html", and either play the game or report the problems you come across. :P

(--NINJA JANUARY EDIT--)

Because of some l337 haxxor's gigantic ego and his/her insatiable desire to screw up random Websites, there's now an alternative hosting for the game on Quickshare.

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/rw1km33h/GravWarp.zip.html

Nandrew
25-12-2008, 09:51 AM
Zipped version with sample browser page added -- should stop the distortion / stretching problem for those who have to run it in a browser window.

Now you can play it all pretty-like (or at least not hideously-stretched-out-like ;) ).

See first post for link.

dislekcia
25-12-2008, 02:25 PM
ZOMG! You switched the design around quite a bit :)

Ships need trails BTW. Going to see how far I can get tonight.

liquid.silver
26-12-2008, 05:34 PM
very cool idea. rather difficult with clicking and not being able to use a keypad (also laptop here). some other keys might be appreciated :)

it looks really cool with the distorting levels. you've kinda got einstein's theory of relativity going there with gravity (i speak under correction on this one).

just for interest's sake, i kno it's not required, could this run on a cell phone almost as-is?

EDIT: oh and i forgot to mention i was really happy about not having to open a vm to play this. flash ftw! :)

Nandrew
27-12-2008, 06:58 PM
Hehe, space-time distortion? Yeah, I do kinda visualise it like that, but if we were to get serious about it my physics model is *way* off. :P

I also stand to be corrected, but ... I think that this game would only require minimal adjustments for cellphone use, yeah. I've not actually attempted this sort of thing yet, but dislekcia has already completed a cellphone project using ActionScript, so I'm assuming the changes wouldn't have to be too hectic (touch wood). I'm thinking that key bindings would just need adjusting and, well, the code would probably have to be optimised (dunno how fast a cellphone can calc stuff, really).

liquid.silver
27-12-2008, 07:28 PM
space-time distortion
that's the phrase i was looking for. it's really just the way the grid warps that gives me that impression, but it's still cool.

i've rather curious to see how easy this is to port to a mobile platform. might strongly consider this as my next development environment if i can write basically one piece of code for pc and cell phone.

one thing i have noticed is that when a few of the buttons are depressed (even at only 2), the play area becomes very small and i can hardly see what's going on.

Nandrew
27-12-2008, 07:39 PM
Valid point. I typically only depressed at max 3 button during playtesting, and I always knew what was going on anyway. I'll see if I can tweak with the pull visuals a little in the next version to accommodate the visual difficulty.

dislekcia
28-12-2008, 01:04 AM
Valid point. I typically only depressed at max 3 button during playtesting, and I always knew what was going on anyway. I'll see if I can tweak with the pull visuals a little in the next version to accommodate the visual difficulty.

I like how your grid deforms and provides an "angle" to gravity. I think I just miss the different types of points that you had in =D, the rotators and the difference between pushers and pullers. I think you might be affecting too many of the points with your button distortion effect at the moment in an effort to show that the whole grid is affected, maybe you should look at putting in arb particles that can show players the general gravity direction all the time?


i've rather curious to see how easy this is to port to a mobile platform. might strongly consider this as my next development environment if i can write basically one piece of code for pc and cell phone.


I also stand to be corrected, but ... I think that this game would only require minimal adjustments for cellphone use, yeah. I've not actually attempted this sort of thing yet, but dislekcia has already completed a cellphone project using ActionScript, so I'm assuming the changes wouldn't have to be too hectic (touch wood). I'm thinking that key bindings would just need adjusting and, well, the code would probably have to be optimised (dunno how fast a cellphone can calc stuff, really).

Flash Lite for mobile devices is what you'd be targeting. We're currently doing research to find out what the market size and penetration for phones that support Flash Lite is. FL 1.0 is pretty limiting, 2.0 is better and 3.0 is too new to be worth aiming at. 2.0 uses AS2, so it's best to target AS2 for the initial development and then you're sure your game will run on phones as well as PCs. It's the PC that comes free, not the phone ;)

Nandrew
28-12-2008, 12:39 PM
I'm currently using ActionScript 3 with the regular FLEX spiel for Flash development, and I'm not terribly well-versed in other Flash versions / codes / things.

If I were to use Actionscript 2 for Flash Lite, do you know what the most significant changes/drawbacks to watch out for would be?

dislekcia
28-12-2008, 12:55 PM
I'm currently using ActionScript 3 with the regular FLEX spiel for Flash development, and I'm not terribly well-versed in other Flash versions / codes / things.

If I were to use Actionscript 2 for Flash Lite, do you know what the most significant changes/drawbacks to watch out for would be?

Th biggest change is that your methods of adding objects change a little. From the AS3 tutorials I've seen, AS3 is slightly kinder and more OO. AS2 can get a little annoying about pointers and finding references sometimes. That said, you shouldn't have too much difficulty porting code over, unless the drawing functions have changed too.