Lost Drops build 2

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#1

Hi all,

I’ve uploaded a new version of Lost Drops. The game contains only 4 levels in this version. More levels should follow soon. Here are the improvements in this version:

Game Play

  • The game is now saved after each completed level. If the player quit the game in the middle of a level then he will lose his level progression. The game menu allow to continue a saved game or start a new one.
  • New power up items: yellow and red fusion balls. Collect 50 yellow balls to acquire a new life. Each red ball is worth 4 yellow balls.
  • Contextual poping window help to teach the player how to play.
  • All the levels in this version contains 5 drops instead of 10 to let the player learn the game more quickly.
  • New key bindings: Ctrl to shoot and space to jump
  • The water people (blue creatures) now run towards Daran if it’s been shot in the back.
  • Daran can move horizontally while jumping and shooting at the same time.
  • All levels have been rebuilt and level 4 is completely new.

Minor Visual Enhancements

  • Hero energy ball has been redesigned.
  • Some scenery fixes.

Some bugs have been fixed also.

As always, your feedback is always appreciated and play all the levels as much as possible. Now with the game save feature you can play the game multiple times. And, is the game fun?

Thanks

#2

Hi, many enhancements in this version !

Contextual poping window is nice, now I’d like to have an arrow indicating where is the nearest water tree…
5 drops is better than 10… but why 2 trees ? (they can’t be completed)

ctrl to shoot : I don’t like it (a matter of taste i know).

I’ve played up to level 3 (not much time to play) : there is an error in the level "title "(enought). This level is harder, especially the holes at the bottom on which I keep falling… may be you could remove a bit of inertia to stop walking sooner ?

Some suggestions for an improved experience :

  • a level map as HUD ?
  • an arrow pointing toward the nearest tree

… I’ll continue the list when I have more time !

Lilian :slight_smile:

#3

No…no…you got that wrong. Bind “up” to jump, not “space” or any other fancy key. I just can’t handle it this way… :wink:

#4

No…no… don’t change it!

Erhm… make it adjustable? :slight_smile:

#5

Of course he should… ;D But i’m still wondering how one can prefer controls where i need both hands to move and jump to controls where you can do it one handed. ???

#6

[quote]now I’d like to have an arrow indicating where is the nearest water tree…
[/quote]
Well I don’t know. I think that discovering the trees is part of the gameplay “quest”. Are you suggesting to display an arrow in the popup or some kind of blinking arrow for a short delay?

[quote]5 drops is better than 10… but why 2 trees ? (they can’t be completed)
[/quote]
Well, again it’s part of the discovery of the trees…The game is also some sort of memory game too in the sense that he must match drops to the appropriate leaves so having multiple trees make sense.

[quote]This level is harder, especially the holes at the bottom on which I keep falling.
[/quote]
Hum…I tough it was not too hard but maybe I’m wrong? And I like the inertia effect like in Super Mario. This raises the level of stress and I like it… :slight_smile:

[quote]Some suggestions for an improved experience :

  • a level map as HUD ?
  • an arrow pointing toward the nearest tree
    [/quote]
    Yes I was still wondering if a map is necessary. Sorry but what is HUD? And could you elaborate a bit more concerning the arrow please?
#7

Well well, I was sure at least someone wouldn’t be happy with the new key bindings! :slight_smile:

I understand your points EgonOlsen and Riven. I rather let the player configure it but my home made game menu is consuming me too much time each time I need to add something. Now just to let the player type the letters he wants to configure keys would force me to create a complete font, because I generate text as static images and I know that it’s bad but you know how time is precious… :slight_smile: Any idea? Anyway, I think I’ll change jump binding for up arrow. Good idea.

By the way EgonOlsen, having 2 hands to move and jump is really a matter of taste. I’m used to use the right hand to move only and the other to do the rest but anyway you’ll be satisfied in the next build :slight_smile:

wow, I’ve just realized that I’m now a JGO Ninja…rubbish thing :wink:

#8

maybe have an arrow pointing to the tree after you’ve found it once… :stuck_out_tongue:

#9

I hate the jump key near the movement keys like that. I want the jump to be my thumb and the arrows or WASD to be movement. This makes it easier to coordinate a running jump, or moving in the air after a jump. As well, there are less mistaken key presses when the jump is separated. (Again personal opinion) :slight_smile:

#10

Good point too CaptainJester. Z and X are not really appreciated even tough it makes sense if you compare it to holding a joystick. CTRL and SPACE seem to make problems too. And what CaptainJester said is truly valid as well. What are other the options now ???

#11

As a reminder, any feedback is really appreciated. Is the game good or bad? Is it fun? Any problem or improvement you think of?

Thanks for testing all.

#12

You should provide a Windowed Mode. I can’t play it because the screen is showing triple. But maybe it will work with my new video card - when I get it in the next two days.

#13

Loved this game, very funa nd smooth.

#14

Jamison,

I’ll try to put the window dialog to provide start options: window or fullscreen mode. My goal is to have the next build by next Wednesday. I can’t really deploy a new version right now since I’m in the middle of something…

Thanks for your comments MickeyB! :smiley:

#15

Okay, I finally had a chance to play this game now that I got my new ATI video card. And it’s great! You did great work on this, TheAnalogKid. It’s pretty hard, but hey, I generally make hard games like this too. I love it!

Just at an interest, how did you animate the animations for the character and enemys?

#16

Thanks Jamison.

Which parts or levels did you find that hard ??? Maybe when you’ll have the map feature you’ll find the difficulty ok? And, how do you qualify your player skills? As a reference, I have Super Mario Advance: Super Mario World 3 on GBA and I can say you that this game is really really harder than mine. Ha! Maybe the first levels are too hard.

About the animations, I used Moho (http://www.lostmarble.com/). It’s a basic cartoon animation tool. It does the job for me since I’m not a graphics designer but a pro wouldn’t use it since the tool doesn’t offer advanced features.

#17

It was level 2 I think. But not to worry. I think hard games like that are awesome. The more a person plays, it becomes second-nature, so it gets easier. Oh and what I thought was hard is that the orange drops that only have 10 seconds to get it to the proper water tree, we’re hard to get there in time since there was a lot of enemys and high platforms to jump on. But it’s still great; keep it hard. I’ll play more, and eventually beat it. :slight_smile:

I’m gonna need to check out that Moho; I’m no artist either. So I’m in need of something that I could animate cartoon-style sprites. Thanks for the link.

#18

The problem is that my game needs to be not that hard since I target casual gamer, which I assume are not hard core ones. I’ll revise the level of difficulty. And by the way, the timed drops are at level 3 so you’re better than you think in some way. :wink:

#19

Hi all,

a new version of the game has been deployed. Here are the new features/fixes:

  • as previously mentionned, the player now has the possibility to browse the level at any time by pressing letter m. This should help the player to figure out where are the water trees and drops and figure out the strategy to fight/avoid enemies.
  • added level 5: include 2 new water people that can either throw poisonous bubbles or trapping bulles
  • level 1 has been lighly modified about some enemy and item positions
  • level 3 and 4 have been modified to lower the level of difficulty (anyone has tried level 4?)
  • Horns creatures now look better: they are shaded and the outlines have been removed
  • music fades out on level completion
  • some fixes have been done concerning the moving areas of enemies

So take a look please and don’t be shy to share your feedback! :slight_smile:

Thanks everyone

#20

Ubuntu Linux, Java 1.5.0_06

java.lang.NullPointerException
at waterquest.gamestate.Game.releaseLevelResources(Game.java:432)
at waterquest.gamestate.Game.dispose(Game.java:439)
at game2d.GameStateHandler.freeResources(GameStateHandler.java:80)
at game2d.Game2DContext.dispose(Game2DContext.java:168)
at waterquest.GameContext.dispose(GameContext.java:62)
at waterquest.GameInitialization.disposeGame(GameInitialization.java:206)
at waterquest.GameInitialization.(GameInitialization.java:107)
at waterquest.GameInitialization.main(GameInitialization.java:218)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:585)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.executeApplication(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.executeMainClass(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.continueLaunch(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.handleApplicationDesc(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.handleLaunchFile(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:595)

Also got some stuff in the Java console:
Java Web Start 1.5.0_05
Using JRE version 1.5.0_06 Java HotSpot™ Client VM
User home directory = /home/scottpalmer

c: clear console window
f: finalize objects on finalization queue
g: garbage collect
h: display this help message
m: print memory usage
o: trigger logging
p: reload proxy configuration
q: hide console
r: reload policy configuration
s: dump system and deployment properties
t: dump thread list
0-5: set trace level to

/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for GtkMenuItem::shadow-type' /usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine "clearlooks" is unsupported, ignoring /usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for GtkMenuItem::shadow-type’
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine “clearlooks” is unsupported, ignoring
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for GtkMenuItem::shadow-type' /usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine "clearlooks" is unsupported, ignoring /usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for GtkMenuItem::shadow-type’
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine “clearlooks” is unsupported, ignoring
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for `GtkMenuItem::shadow-type’
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine “clearlooks” is unsupported, ignoring
20-Apr-2006 12:23:37 AM waterquest.GameInitialization initializeDisplay
WARNING: Display change is not supported.
1.5 NanoTimer selected.
Ticks/Second: 1000000000
20-Apr-2006 12:23:43 AM game2d.GameSession loadSavedSession
SEVERE: gameSession.properties (No such file or directory)
20-Apr-2006 12:24:09 AM game2d.GameSession loadSavedSession
SEVERE: gameSession.properties (No such file or directory)
JInput plugins: net.java.games.input.LinuxEnvironmentPlugin
Found 0 controllers.
20-Apr-2006 12:24:10 AM waterquest.GameLoader loadNewPlay
WARNING: JInput initialization failed. Defaulting to AWT keyboard handler.
JInput plugins: net.java.games.input.LinuxEnvironmentPlugin
Found 0 controllers.
20-Apr-2006 12:24:12 AM waterquest.gamestate.Game
WARNING: JInput initialization failed. Defaulting to AWT keyboard handler.
JInput plugins: net.java.games.input.LinuxEnvironmentPlugin
Found 0 controllers.
20-Apr-2006 12:24:12 AM waterquest.GameInitialization
SEVERE: Error while loading new game.
java.lang.RuntimeException: Error while loading new game.
at waterquest.gamestate.NewPlay.render(NewPlay.java:48)
at game2d.GameStateHandler.render(GameStateHandler.java:57)
at game2d.TickAnimator.run(TickAnimator.java:99)
at game2d.AbstractAnimator.start(AbstractAnimator.java:110)
at waterquest.GameInitialization.(GameInitialization.java:99)
at waterquest.GameInitialization.main(GameInitialization.java:218)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:585)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.executeApplication(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.executeMainClass(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.continueLaunch(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.handleApplicationDesc(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.handleLaunchFile(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:595)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Controller buttons not found.
at game2d.JInputHandler.(JInputHandler.java:40)
at waterquest.gamestate.MapScroll$JInputKeyboardHandler.(MapScroll.java:215)
at waterquest.gamestate.MapScroll.(MapScroll.java:56)
at waterquest.GameLoader.initPlayStateObjects(GameLoader.java:291)
at waterquest.GameLoader.loadNewPlay(GameLoader.java:252)
at waterquest.gamestate.NewPlay.render(NewPlay.java:46)
… 16 more

/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for `GtkMenuItem::shadow-type’
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine “clearlooks” is unsupported, ignoring

Java Web Start Error:

null

/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for GtkMenuItem::shadow-type' /usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine "clearlooks" is unsupported, ignoring /usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:7: Failed to parse property value " GTK_SHADOW_NONE " for GtkMenuItem::shadow-type’
/usr/share/themes/Human/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:58: Engine “clearlooks” is unsupported, ignoring