SkillGrid - new AGA game in the works

[saimo]

Third totally different version of background graphics. This is just a proof-of-concept, and the final graphics will mosy likely look different. As a bonus, this video also gives a glimpse of the reworked boss graphics.

[ Show youtube player ]

[saimo]

The game is getting closer and closer to completion (in fact, there is almost no floppy disk space left)!

[ Show youtube player ]

This juicy eighth preview demonstrates these new features:
* UFOs escapes feature (if 30 UFOs escape in a row, it's game over - see double-UFO bar in the HUD);
* DAMAGE cell (broken shield; halves the shield level);
* HALT cell (halts the spaceship for 2 seconds; see hand bar in the HUD);
* NUKE cell (destroys all the UFOs on screen);
* TURN cell (changes randomly the direction of all the UFOs on screen);
* UFOs/FAST (makes the incoming UFOs move on average at fast speed);
* UFOs/SLOW cells (makes the incoming UFOs move on average at slow speed);
* two new UFO types;
* reworked boss graphics and sound;
* reworked backgrounds graphics (still temporary);
* adapted/updated HUD;
* better explosion sound;
* better boss AI;
* more points awarded by boss;
* a resurfaced glitch that causes sprites to be occasionally rendered in the wrong (and hardware-wise theoretically impossible) colors

https://www.retream.com/SkillGrid

[Gzegzolka]

Awesome

[saimo]

@Gzegzolka

Thanks


@all


I have about 100 kB of RAM and 4 kB of floppy space left, and I'm trying to come up with something to use them and make the game better before releasing it.
One of the options I'm considering is adding a little sub-game based on this dot-matrix engine I wrote a few months ago:

[ Show youtube player ]

I've been itching to make a game with it for a long while, but I never came up with an idea that convinced me. This really feels like the proper occasion to use it.

For the tech geeks...
This engine for AGA Amigas displays 4 colors (+ background color), has chunky dots (i.e. each dot can be written or read with a single byte memory access), and doesn't require any chunky-to-planar conversion (i.e. it's almost as if it were a hardware native video mode). I have a few variants of it, including one that has non-dotted background graphics.

For the curious ones...
Computer simulations of pinball dot-matrix displays fascinated me ever since I saw Pinball Fantasies. In fact, I've faked them in a couple of my games (an unreleased game and the old versions of MeMO) and even based a whole game (Huenison) on them. Less than one year ago I pulled my A1200 out of the closet and powered it up again. It had been many years since I had coded something for it, and this is one of the results of the experiments I started doing on it.

[saimo]

It's time for another update...

Major piece of news: as you can see from the pictures kindly provided by RGCD and Tony Aksnes, SkillGrid has been adapted to the Amiga CD³²!







Other changes:
* added missiles;
* changed the way the MULTIPLIER cell deactivates;
* changed the behaviour of the REPAIR and DAMAGE cells in Music Mode;
* made timer tick when 10 or less time units remain;
* refined gameplay parameters;
* multiplied points by 5;
* added pause;
* added 4 new UFO types;
* touched up some graphics;
* made screens transitions 100% smooth;
* made many internal improvements/optimizations/fixes;
* improved/adapted/extended manual.

Note: the sub-game idea based on the dot-matrix engine mentioned previously had to be dismissed due to lack of space.

[Amigajay]

Nice news Saimo! Will this be freeware, are will you be publishing it via RGCD or another publisher?

[saimo]

Originally Posted by Amigajay

Nice news Saimo! Will this be freeware, are will you be publishing it via RGCD or another publisher?

It's going to be commercial, but whether it will be digital or physical is still to be decided. However, a physical release would be definitely taken care of by RGCD, and it will consist of a package including a CD, 2 floppies, and a nice manual.

[Gzegzolka]

Cool I would love to buy digital version.

[hooverphonique]

Originally Posted by saimo

For the tech geeks...
This engine for AGA Amigas displays 4 colors (+ background color), has chunky dots (i.e. each dot can be written or read with a single byte memory access), and doesn't require any chunky-to-planar conversion (i.e. it's almost as if it were a hardware native video mode). I have a few variants of it, including one that has non-dotted background graphics.

Awesome

[NeoHippie2016]

I would buy a Digital Version, too!

[saimo]

New video preview... and there's a lot to see in it! In fact, it shows many of the changes from the (massive) changelog below.

[ Show youtube player ]

CHANGELOG
* Changed music from 14-bit mono to 8-bit stereo.
* Improved audio tracks mixing.
* Added mothership fight.
* Added asteroids.
* Added DOUBLE FIRE cell.
* Added screen flashing when the NUKE cell is caught.
* Made NUKE cell cause a 1 unit damage to bosses.
* Improved destruction sound effect for NUKE cell and boss.
* Made various changes to the effects of cells.
* Restricted the types of cells to a selected subset during the first 30 seconds of play.
* Made the boss weapon mouth and bolt flicker to give the former a more dangerous feel, and make the latter easier to see.
* Improved transformation of bosses.
* Added a little graphical effect to the boss.
* Changed pitches of cell catch sounds (making them more distinguishable and shorter).
* Added speech warnings.
* Added looping to alarm sound.
* Increased the minimum scrolling speed so that it can never become (dangerously) too slow.
* Changed title / pause / game over screens.
* Made various other improvements/optimizations/fixes.

(So you've spotted the RGCD logo in the title screen and you're wondering if that perhaps means that the game is going to be released also as a cool physical package? Hush hush... don't tell anyone, but rumor has it that such a package will contain the floppies for Amiga 1200 and Amiga 4000, as well as a CD for Amiga CD³²!)

https://www.retream.com/SkillGrid

[saimo]

Want to read a cool preview from someone who tried the game first hand? Just check out this cool blog article by Tony Aksnes!

By the way, work on the packaging is about to start, so hopefully you'll be able to get the game from RGCD Q1 2019

[vulture]

That's great news! I can't wait for the digital dl to become available!

[kriz]

Interesting, is it random every time since it is endless or ?

[saimo]

@vulture

Thanks! The download will be available at the same time as the physical edition.


@kriz

Sure, it's (heavily) random.
Point of curiosity: even the stars on he background are rendered randomly every time the game is started (that's to make the background picture compress better).

[saimo]

Great news: development is complete! Now work on the packaging for the RGCD release has started.


Click to enlarge.

CHANGELOG

* Added skull baddie.
* Added milestones.
* Fine-tuned gameplay parameters.
* Improved boss and mothership AI.
* Added blinking halt sign.
* Added danger warning for when the shield is really low.
* Redrawn a couple of UFOs.
* Improved asteroids graphics.
* Made various optimizations/improvements/fixes.

https://www.retream.com/SkillGrid

[NeoHippie2016]

Yipiee!! another Amiga and Christmas Release...

[saimo]

Originally Posted by NeoHippie2016

Yipiee!! another Amiga and Christmas Release...

I wish it were possible! Preparing the packaging and producing the copies takes time, so it's impossible to have them ready before Christmas. They will be available some time in the first quarter of 2019.

[NeoHippie2016]

And as download & preorder?

[saimo]

The download will me made available at the same time as the physical package.
Preordering won't be necessary.