DarkGalaxy

WIP games, tools & toy projects
#1

My latest project I’m about to get bored of:


http://www.angryoctopus.co.nz/dark_galaxy/screen_1.png

Took a ridiculously long time to get it to look quite that bad, tried lot’s of different iterations of 3D engines to get the look I was after and have it work at galactic scales (tried variations on z-buffer’s, depth sorting etc). Finally got something that didn’t have artifacts and was fast enough. I wanted wire-frame hidden line removal but with complex models to give it a look somewhere between Elite 1 and 2.
The good thing is the output of my current engine is just a set of line draw commands so could be used for Vectrex style glowy lines but with proper hidden line removal.

Controls are WASD + Shift (accelerate) and Ctrl (break)
Also mouse for clicking on any stars/planets to get it’s distance (and crappy randomly generated name).
No FTL yet so if you want to fly to another star system you’ll probably arrive around the time I finish the game (several hundred years).

#2

I’m a huge fan of elite so I hope that you don’t abandon this project.
(I’ll have a closer look at it after work today)

#3

Oh man, I spent so many hours playing Elite on my C64. I don’t know anyone who didn’t pretty much run guns and drugs exclusively in that game. The cops were just so easy to take out.

#4

Have a look around at www.bootlace.co.uk, he had some downloadable java source for his elite remake, it might help or give you some ideas for yours. ps: I cant access the site right now (am at work) otherwise I’d post a direct link.

#5

@SwampChicken Can’t find anything on that site related to elite, other than it’s his favorite game.

@sproingie Believe it or not but I’ve never actually played any of the Elite games, I just like the graphical style and space traders in general.

Game play wise I aiming for something closer to privateer (Newtonian physics in space != fun). I was even thinking about dispensing with real time combat altogether in favor of a more JRPG style turn based combat. Although I love space traders (spent many hours playing privateer) the combat is usually rather boring.

#6

WC: Privateer was my favorite game. :slight_smile:

#7

One question I would like honest feedback on: Is this too retro? Do you think the graphical style would prevent all but nostalgic geeks from giving it a try?
Do some graphical styles age better than others?

#8

Is it too retro… hmmm.

For the graphics, I would say the biggest issue with the current style is that planets and the sun are only outlines, which makes it hard to actually notice them if you are too close to them. So currently, I think you need to at least change how the planets and suns are shown.

As for the retro look… hmmm
I really don’t know. If the game is fun to play, I would enjoy playing it once the planets are easier to spot and not care about the lack of shiny ships and planets. That being said, I do like eye candy. …

You probably should concentrate on gameplay and have a little game and show it off on some space game forums (Vegastrike maybe? Privateer Gemeni gold?) and see if they think the lack of graphics is a gamebreaker or annoying for them.

#9

I agree the planets are a little hard to see and I was planning on adding continent outlines so they stand out a bit more. Also as you suggested it might be worth canvasing on a more targeted forum.

Thanks for your comments.

#10

option for inverting W&S? ;D

#11

Seeing graphics like that still makes me go weak at the knees. Thirty years ago there was nothing in the universe that looked cooler…

It will prevent a lot of people from playing. But those same people would never play a ‘space trading’ game anyway, so it’s no loss.

More relevantly, it won’t prevent ‘indie’ fans from playing, and they’re the ones most likely to be interested. (Try posting the demo on TIGSource if you want to test that assertion.)

At the end of the day, I think the graphics look good. Whether people play the game or not depends exactly on that: the game.

Simon

P.S. That all said, on the question of using pixelated lines versus glowy lines, I’d have a slight leaning towards glowy lines. They look the way I remember wireframe graphics looking, rather than how they actually looked. But it’s a very small preference. Pixelated is good too. :wink:

#12

I think your probably right my big problem is finishing and that’s what I should concentrate on rather than worrying I’m building games only I would find appealing.

#13

I support this game, please don’t let it die! :o

Would be awesome if you could post more screenshots, even if it’s only art concepts. And if you could, a video showing some gameplay would be a blast! :slight_smile:

Keep it up! :point:

#14

I love old school 3D.

#15

Here is another game I am working on using the same engine. It will be a more arcade-style retro rail-shooter. This time the lines are drawn at a higher resolution and glow-filtered. It runs in a regular sandboxed applet and uses fairly minimal CPU.

#16

The glow filter looks really nice in your screenshot. :slight_smile:

#17

I just drooled over my keyboard.

#18

New Version:

  • Added continents on planets.
  • Added Wing Commander like Radar (don’t like the Elite one)
  • Added basic collision detection

It seems Markus is also considering an Elite like space trader for his next game.


http://www.angryoctopus.co.nz/dark_galaxy/screen_3.png

#19

Boooo, I love the Elite radar! Also, any chance of using the higher-res glowy lines, maybe as an option?

#20

Sorry but I just think the elite radar is a waste of space and not as useful for centering on a target. As for a glowy option, sure, why not. I still prefer the pixelated look and a few things that use pixel coords (such as the radar/fonts) would need some work but here you go:


http://www.angryoctopus.co.nz/dark_galaxy/screen_4.png