Missile Defense (missile command remake)

WIP games, tools & toy projects Archived Projects
#1

http://javagamesfactory.org/attachments/game/Missile%20Defense/game-screenshot-medium.png

Ah, I’ve been having a bit of fun working on this game Missile Defense (a remake of Missile Command), and thought it was time to post an alpha over on JavaGamesFactory (3 cheers for that place!).

Controls:
‘Space’ to start the game
‘Esc’ to quit at any time
Click the mouse to fire missiles

Play now: http://javagamesfactory.org/jnlp/Missile%20Defense/alpha.jnlp
…or…
View the game page here: http://javagamesfactory.org/views/view-game?name=Missile%20Defense
Controls, approx. system req’s, etc. are all there, and the download link. Nifty!

#2

It doesn’t seem run under linux, downloads all, but no window appears after starting app. I’m trying to get some error message, but the console closes before i can see anything.

#3

Nuts.

There was a similar problem on Mac, where, even if you had the latest 5.0 java installed, it would try to run it under an earlier JVM (and therefore not run). I’m pretty sure I checked that stuff in the .jnlp file, but this is actually my first web-started app, so I suppose it could be a number of things.

The game should go into full-screen exclusive mode. Does it attempt to do that, and then crash, or does it just never seem to do anything? Does WebStart even ask you for the “all-permissions” thing it needs to go into full-screen exclusive mode?

#4

The screen initializstion is a bit wierd - takes a long time to see the game screen and a lot of that time it is showing a blank white screen.
Similar problem when exiting… the game half exits but leaves a blank white fullscreen window around forever.

What do you have in the JNLP file for Mac?
Are you aware of the issue of “1.4+” NOT giving Java 5 on Mac unless the user changes some priorities? The solution is to use two tags in the XML, the first specifying 1.5+ then the next specifying 1.4+.

I posted about that somewhere on these forums.

#5

it asks for permissions and then exits, it did not try to go fullscreen :frowning:

it seems to throw no exeption, but i can’t see a thing before it closes, why don’t you log some debug to some file :slight_smile:

#6

[quote]Are you aware of the issue of “1.4+” NOT giving Java 5 on Mac unless the user changes some priorities?
[/quote]
Yeah, I ran into that at work - where we’ve got Macs for me to test this on. It worked fine on my machine, but not on someone else’s - I had forgotten that I had to manually change the preferences. I wonder if the easiest way around that is to comile it for 1.4 instead of 1.5.

[quote]Why don’t you log some debug to some file
[/quote]
I’ll get on that right away. I should have figured as much was required when I went public. For shame. :slight_smile:

#7

Of course the problem with changing the compiler target is that I’ve already adopted a very Java 5 coding style (generics, and for…each loops everywhere). Any other ideas?

#8

If you are using 1.5* or 1.5+ in your JNLP than it should work for anyone that has Java 5 installed - even on Mac - with no changes to the prefs.

Otherwise, look into using something like Retroweaver to make the Java 5 code Java 1.4 compatible.

#9

Here’s the jnlp file - it looks right to me. Am I crazy?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<jnlp
 spec="1.0+"
 codebase="http://javagamesfactory.org/attachments/game/Missile+Defense"
 href="http://javagamesfactory.org/jnlp/Missile+Defense/alpha.jnlp?overrideversion=3"
 >
	<!-- Last-Modified header will be set to: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 02:23:23 +0100 -->
	<information>
		<title>Missile Defense</title>
		<vendor>Author: kul_th_las</vendor>
		<homepage href="/views/view-game?Missile+Defense" />
		<description kind="one-line" >A remake of Missile Command.</description>
		<description kind="short" >
This games is currently in the testing phase. There's no sound, but much of the art in in place. The game does not currently end, and cities do not currently take damage (a small fix), but the demo is  a fun little thing to play anyhow.

Controls:
'Space' to start the game
'Esc' to quit at any time
Click the mouse to fire missiles

Known bug: occasionally crashes on Windows because of a DirectX problem. If it happens to you (e.g. the game doesn't start), just try running it again. I'm trying to track it down.
Known issue: The game currently starts on "Stage 4" (as opposed to "Stage 1", as one might expect).

System Req's (approx):
800Mhz / GeForce2 or better / 64MB RAM

Game NOT tested on Linux.
</description>
		<icon href="game-logo.png" />
		<offline-allowed/>
		<jgf-release-type>alpha</jgf-release-type>
		<jgf-release-version>3</jgf-release-version>
	</information>
	<security>
		<all-permissions/>
	</security>
	<resources>
	</resources>
	<resources>
		<jar href="alpha%2F3%2FMissileDefense.jar" />
	</resources>
	<resources>
	</resources>
	<resources os="Linux">
		<j2se href="http://java.sun.com/products/autodl/j2se" version="1.5.0+" />
	</resources>
	<resources os="Windows">
		<j2se href="http://java.sun.com/products/autodl/j2se" version="1.5.0+" />
		<j2se href="http://java.sun.com/products/autodl/j2se" version="1.5.0+" />
	</resources>
	<resources os="Mac OS">
		<j2se href="http://java.sun.com/products/autodl/j2se" version="1.5.0+" />
	</resources>
	<resources os="Linux">
		<j2se href="http://java.sun.com/products/autodl/j2se" version="1.5.0+" />
	</resources>
	<application-desc>
	</application-desc>
	</jnlp>
#10

I also changed the code to help address the white-screen on close issue. I haven’t had a chance to test it on Mac, but let me know how it goes.

#11

I think it is incorrect to specify the minor revision with the “+” argument.

i.e. “1.5.0+” is illegal “1.5+” is okay.

Somebody correct me if I’m wrong.

#12

Alright, I’ll see if I can change that. The jnlp is auto-generated from JavaGamesFactory, so I guess I just have to figure out how to upload a custom jnlp.

Thanks for checking this out, by the way. I really appreciate the feedback!

#13

New version, alpha v.4

It’s actually a game now (it can actually end). You still have infinite missiles, which will not be the final way things are.

Enjoy!

#14

It’s looking pretty good and it’s fun. My only complaint is the cross hair takes to long to track the mouse position, not sure if this is intentional or not. It’s ok when only one missle is comming down, but when you have two or more targets it’s very difficult because of it.

Sound would be nice - I want to hear those missles going off and expoding :slight_smile:

#15

Ah, yes the tracking. It’s absolutely intentional. Powerups during the game are coming, and tracking speed is one of them. It’s interesting that some people feel it adds to the challenge, and others just find it annoying. Hm. Once the powerups are in, I wonder if that perception will change.

Sound is definitely coming, but it’s been pushed off a bit. I agree, the game could be better with sound, and I always intended to put it in since the beginning.

#16

I had a chance to put in a couple of new features. There are now powerups, and some crude art updates. It’s definitely more fun, I think. There are now a limited number of missiles - so beware. When you get to higher stages you’ll find that they go quickly.

Check it out (the link in the first post still works).

#17

Another minor update. All upgrades are working as of alpha v0.6.

Sound is getting even closer. Any changes to problems with Linux/OS X?