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So what next...?
Posted by Glenn on Saturday, 20 June 2009 8:06pm
Now that we are on another development cycle, we have to decide what to do next. Justin and I have been discussing the merits of scripting over the last few months and decided that the best way to increase the amount of game content, including missions and units, is to allow scripting. This means that users can also have a go at making their own contributions to the game.
The consequence of this is yet more code refactor. We seem to spend a lot of time ripping old code out and putting new code in. The fact that this is relatively simple means we must have done something right, but the mere fact that we have to chop and change at all is a good indication that a lot has been learnt on this project.
In case you're wondering, the scripting language we are looking at is Lua. If it's good enough For Star Wars: Empire at War, then it's good enough for us.
Voting for the Homebrew Idol 2 comp has started
Posted by Glenn on Sunday, 14 June 2009 11:05am
Just letting everyone know that all the final entries are in for the Homebrew Idol 2 comp. There looks like a great selection to help burn some of your free time.
...and if you think Apollonia should win, then vote for it!
Regardless of the result, Apollonia and its underliying libs aren't going away anytime soon. There is way too much stuff to do on it yet.
Cheers for any support.
Apollonia 0.04a is available
Posted by Glenn on Friday, 12 June 2009 11:55pm
Courtesy of a 5 day bug fix period for all entrants to the Dashhacks Homebrew Idol 2 comp, we have made some code optimisations and re-released.
We're pleased to say though, that this is the fastest/smoothest the game has ever run. Sure, when the action gets insance, the FPS suffers a little, but it is definitely an improvement over prior releases.
Changelist for Apollonia 0.04a
- Code Optimisations
- Explosions from tank shells hitting buildings are visible more often
- Thinner air strike targeting circle
New known issue is when everything except the hud turns white. I've had this happen once on "Instant Action" but nowhere else.
Apollonia v0.04 released!
Posted by Glenn on Sunday, 7 June 2009 10:05pm
Pleased and relieved, we have released our entry into the Dashhacks Homebew Idol 2 competition.
The changelist is as follows:
Features
- Chase camera - The default camera view is from behind the helicopter, rather than from isometrically above. The original (retro) camera view can be selected from the controls screen.
- Player profiles - Player names and data can now be saved to a database.
- Enhanced particle effects - These are used for missile impacts and bullet to ground impacts.
- Airstrike! - An A-10 Thunderbolt II can be called using L+R trigger. Includes audio.
- New Apache model.
- Ingame messages can be printed to the HUD.
- Briefing screens - To add meaing to the madness, there are short mission descriptions for each mission (excludes Instant Action).
- Three new missions.
- Friendly tanks.
- Player Statistics - Mission data is saved to a player's profile. This includes flight time, accuracy, deaths etc.
- Post mission score board - The score board summarises statistical data of a just completed/failed mission.
- New Ammo and Health display on the HUD.
- The player helicopter can start some missions airborne.
- New factory building.
- Existing buildings have been scaled more accurately.
- Tweaked existing missions so that the player is less likely to be overwhelmed.
Under the Hood (for your interest)
- Particle Engine, Terrain and rendering optimisations.
- Splash Screen fixes.
- You can now shoot through destroyed buildings so that units inside them can be hit.
- Using the sqlite database for player data.
Known Issues
- Sometimes there is incorrect textures loaded (very elusive).
- Three Player Profile limit.
- High memory usage. Beware of too many PSP background processes.
- Suspend mode not supported.
- There is a delay between the mission being won/lost and the scoreboard being visible. This is because of the time taken to write data to the database.
- Slow load times; about 8 seconds (minus Sony logo).
- Some instances of near plane clipping of the terrain resulting in small amounts of unrenedered terrain.
You know those Neo PSP-Motion devices?
Posted by Glenn on Tuesday, 2 June 2009 9:18pm
I forgot to mention it, but recently our *cough* 7th place prize from the NEO competition arrived. From the prizelist on offer we selected the PSP-Motion kit.
This chain of events was all kind of amusing because we of course were after the $300US prize and because extra points were awarded to those who supported the motion, we endeavoured to support it. There was no way we were going to get it to work of course, because we didn't have the device, nor knew anyone who had one. However, by doing so crap in the comp, helped by no PSP-Motion support, we ended being offered lesser prizes which included the PSP-Motion.
In short, I hope to get the PSP-Motion running with our game some time. Goodness knows who has forked out $x for one, because I don't even know any games that support it. It's a hilarious thought that our game could encourage people to go out and buy one. We're fortunate to have gotten one for free.