Thanks for playing!
The BMP trace sounds interesting, but this one must be audio-only I'm afraid.
Forum posts
Thanks for the feedback & testing, guys!
I really like the idea of adding in sound physics. I could mess with reverb or something to signify the size of a room. Might give it a shot if I have the time over my other coursework.
Still though, you really are meant to be bumping into stuff in this one. It's the only way to understand your environment and the mechanics are built to facilitate that. You can easily tank a ton of damage before you die, plus your health regenerates. I should have made it clearer in the intro though, I've noticed a lot of the testers felt uncomfortable about it.
For the controls I wanted it as simplistic as possible. I think that if the game had free character rotation, it would be far too easy to forget which direction you're facing in the end. Do you think limiting the player to 4 directions is actually game-ruining, or is it a matter of adjusting to it?
As for not knowing how far you've gone, the beeper/detector/plot convenience device is meant to show how close you are to the pods.
I really like the idea of adding in sound physics. I could mess with reverb or something to signify the size of a room. Might give it a shot if I have the time over my other coursework.
Still though, you really are meant to be bumping into stuff in this one. It's the only way to understand your environment and the mechanics are built to facilitate that. You can easily tank a ton of damage before you die, plus your health regenerates. I should have made it clearer in the intro though, I've noticed a lot of the testers felt uncomfortable about it.
For the controls I wanted it as simplistic as possible. I think that if the game had free character rotation, it would be far too easy to forget which direction you're facing in the end. Do you think limiting the player to 4 directions is actually game-ruining, or is it a matter of adjusting to it?
As for not knowing how far you've gone, the beeper/detector/plot convenience device is meant to show how close you are to the pods.
I don't see any problem in this whatsoever. For one it sounds like something that could teach kids the fundamentals of level design without overburdening them with all the advanced tech stuff.
Honestly I would've figured you of all people would love this.
Honestly I would've figured you of all people would love this.
Never learned to map for Source, but I could help out with code if need be.
Urby's made a really well-designed map for this. The room itself has a much more interesting shape & the obstacles were placed in a much smarter fashion.
SpaG: That's a pretty good time, most of the folk who tried it earlier couldn't finish at all. Thanks for giving this a shot & for the feedback!
SpaG: That's a pretty good time, most of the folk who tried it earlier couldn't finish at all. Thanks for giving this a shot & for the feedback!
Nice! Add in some random tags/scribbles all over the place to get the messy urban look going. Usually for each big piece, a writer would also leave at least 3-5 tags in the area. Lots of maps overlook that.
As part of my uni coursework, I had the task of creating an audio-only game, i.e. the gameplay in it has to be 100% audio-based. I've more-or-less finalized the game itself, but I'm still struggling with the level design.
The lecturer for this module is blind, so the game absolutely must be playable w/o any visual data (apart from a text-based readme or something), and I'm worried that the level I've made is too complex to finish without actually seeing it.
This is where you come in. The game is 2D, tile-based and reads its level data from a bitmap with various colors representing different tiles. So if you're bored or up for a little challenge, it would be awesome if you tried designing a level for it.
Download here (4Mb)
[m]Premise[/m]
The whole thing is meant to be set in a spaceship, which has been attacked by <insert generic alien>, causing the main power to shut down, as well as causing general damage to the ship. The player is stranded in a pitch dark room and has to get to the escape pods, which are on the opposite end of the starting area.
The room itself is not a straight shape and there are two kinds of obstacles you must navigate through (spilled chemicals & dangling electric cables). Luckily you also have a <insert plot convenience device>, which beeps more frequently the closer you get to the escape pods.
[m]How to play[/m]
There are four directions of movement, each controlled by the W/S/A/D keys respectively. Note that moving in any direction will make your character face that direction. I wanted to keep the movement as simple as possible for this one.
The closer you get to the escape pods, the more frequent the beeps will become.
Also the obstacles (chemicals & electric cables) are solid (impossible to pass through), so note that if you hear yourself being fried by toxic waste, you're just pushing against the obstacle w/o actually going anywhere.
Finally, your health will regenerate slowly, so don't worry about running into obstacles too much.
[m]How you could help[/m]
Open up c0a0.bmp in the Levels folder first to get a rough idea on what the simple format is. Below is a more detailed description:
I know I'm kind of asking you to do a part of my coursework for me, but I figured it'd be an interesting enough challenge to post up.
If you don't have the time to design levels, do give the actual game a shot.
If you have any questions, post 'em here. Looking forward to your feedback & levels!
GL & HF!
The lecturer for this module is blind, so the game absolutely must be playable w/o any visual data (apart from a text-based readme or something), and I'm worried that the level I've made is too complex to finish without actually seeing it.
This is where you come in. The game is 2D, tile-based and reads its level data from a bitmap with various colors representing different tiles. So if you're bored or up for a little challenge, it would be awesome if you tried designing a level for it.
Download here (4Mb)
[m]Premise[/m]
The whole thing is meant to be set in a spaceship, which has been attacked by <insert generic alien>, causing the main power to shut down, as well as causing general damage to the ship. The player is stranded in a pitch dark room and has to get to the escape pods, which are on the opposite end of the starting area.
The room itself is not a straight shape and there are two kinds of obstacles you must navigate through (spilled chemicals & dangling electric cables). Luckily you also have a <insert plot convenience device>, which beeps more frequently the closer you get to the escape pods.
[m]How to play[/m]
There are four directions of movement, each controlled by the W/S/A/D keys respectively. Note that moving in any direction will make your character face that direction. I wanted to keep the movement as simple as possible for this one.
The closer you get to the escape pods, the more frequent the beeps will become.
Also the obstacles (chemicals & electric cables) are solid (impossible to pass through), so note that if you hear yourself being fried by toxic waste, you're just pushing against the obstacle w/o actually going anywhere.
Finally, your health will regenerate slowly, so don't worry about running into obstacles too much.
[m]How you could help[/m]
- Download & test the current build of the game with my level (without looking at the level bitmap). Post whether or not you managed to finish it, and the time it took you to do so (displayed ingame once you finish it).
- After doing the aforementioned, you can fire up MS Paint and try creating your own level. Keep in mind this is ultimately geared to be played by a blind person, so the difficulty must reflect that.
Open up c0a0.bmp in the Levels folder first to get a rough idea on what the simple format is. Below is a more detailed description:
- Each pixel represents a single 2D tile in-game. Every object including the player is 1x1 big (think Minecraft)
- The size of a level/bitmap is not limited to any particular dimensions, but note that any level must have a 2-thick white border around its edges to prevent crashing (lazy collision detection system)
- To launch a custom level, open the "custom_level_example.bat" file and change "sample.bmp" with the name of your level. All levels will be loaded from the "Levels" folder.
- Each obstacle, escape pod, and engine sound tile emits sound.
- If you want to simulate a pool of chemicals, you really only need to draw its outline (see c0a0.bmp for multiple examples). That will use up less resources, as each tile plays its own sound.
SolidThat's about it.
White (255, 255, 255) - Wall
Red (255, 0, 0) - Escape Pods
Cyan (0, 255, 255) - Electric tile
Pink (236, 0, 140) - Chemical tile
Non-solid
Green (0, 255, 0) - Player Spawn
Yellow (255, 255, 0) - Emits ambient engine sound
Black or any other color (0, 0, 0) - Non-solid floor tile
I know I'm kind of asking you to do a part of my coursework for me, but I figured it'd be an interesting enough challenge to post up.
If you don't have the time to design levels, do give the actual game a shot.
If you have any questions, post 'em here. Looking forward to your feedback & levels!
GL & HF!
God damn that lighting is sexy.
The podcast Striker's quote is from was awesome. One of the best all-round Gabe interviews I've heard. Nice find!
Talent is nothing.Why?
While Valve's an awesome place for the gods of the industry to prosper in their collective genius, I still think their company structure could work with less experienced talent. If I ever start my own game dev thing, I'm definitely going to try some of the stuff they're doing.
Great read btw.
Great read btw.
Camel - Long GoodbyesGreat band.
Lanterns on the Lake - You're Almost There (Young Montana Remix)
Groundislava - Final Impasse (take two)
Sunday chill on a Monday morning.
Seeing how the last two compos barely had any downtime between then, we just want to give you folks a bit more time to catch up with your personal projects, etc. before the next one.
Something atmosphere/ambience-focused?
You'll want to use a func_tracktrain, as it automatically aligns itself in the direction of the path you give it (i.e. rotates when cornering, etc.)
That sucks man, sorry for your loss.
Nipper's a legend. Good luck getting in touch. 
Very nice!
Nope, this. Love the intro.
Hahah, loving the Pulp Fiction pic. 
Results! You've all produced some really quality stuff for this one, bloody good job guys. Sorry if you didn't end up winning, it definitely wasn't easy choosing the top 3. 
The CS:S test server is still up and should be for another few weeks, so feel free to pop in if you'd like to have a go at the Source entries!
IP:
85.236.100.4:37315
The CS:S test server is still up and should be for another few weeks, so feel free to pop in if you'd like to have a go at the Source entries!
IP:
85.236.100.4:37315
Seems to be. Gave him a warning.
Sorry about the delay guys, they'll be up this weekend. We've decided on the winners, the prizes are ready, so it's just a matter of writing it all up.
Hm, I was pretty sure it logged the IP as well. Might be wrong. :<
I mean, if you're not logged in you can still view the siteIt bans your IP as well, so he should be totally blocked.
But yeah, let's see how he does after the ban expires. If things go back to normal there won't be any permanent bans.
Agreed, had a blast!
On TV I'm watching Homeland. That's much more up my street. Also makes me wonder what's with all the brits pretending to be Americans these days...Amazing show.
Playtesting commences in about an hour! Everyone's welcome to join!
Get the maps here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/fyvod7 (CSS)
http://twhl.info/vault.php?map=5746 (1.6)
http://twhl.info/vault.php?map=5750 (CZ)
EDIT:
Sorry for the server screwup guys, we'll be moving the playtesting to tomorrow night. Multiplay's custom content system is horribly slow. :/
Get the maps here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/fyvod7 (CSS)
http://twhl.info/vault.php?map=5746 (1.6)
http://twhl.info/vault.php?map=5750 (CZ)
EDIT:
Sorry for the server screwup guys, we'll be moving the playtesting to tomorrow night. Multiplay's custom content system is horribly slow. :/
Yeah, exactly. They modified the BSP format and embedded the sound physics stuff in a new compile stage. Much like VIS/RAD. Dynamic reverberation, etc. It was really cool.
plus realistic sound physics in gameBattlefield 3 (Frostbite 2) does a pretty sweet job there. There was also an independant research team that implemented some incredibly advanced sound physics into the Source engine. Can't seem to find their video with it though.
Haven't noticed anything like that myself, Cap'n
Submatic & FreeBird - Endless Night (feat. Snowflake)
Submatic & FreeBird - Endless Night (feat. Snowflake)
Really nice work on the texturing, Bruce. Loving the little highlights, etc. Gives the structure a smooth look.
Mine's a screenshot from Dear Esther.
Conjunto Acere - Acere
From the Tropico 3 ST. One of the best non-original game STs ever by the way. Awesome tune.
From the Tropico 3 ST. One of the best non-original game STs ever by the way. Awesome tune.
I've enjoyed it so far, but what makes it a fun experience for me is getting a chance to play an oldschool mindless pure run & gun type of shooter for a change. Brought up a fair deal of Quake/Doom nostalgia.
I couldn't tell if it's a good remake or not though. I've only played the first one briefly ages ago.
I couldn't tell if it's a good remake or not though. I've only played the first one briefly ages ago.
Spent the evening playing Serious Sam: BFE co-op
Good times.
Good times.
sv_lan 0
Use a multisource or changetarget to disable them temporarily.
Glad to hear it worked. ^^
Glad to hear it worked. ^^
What Dimbark said, except using NULL + appropriate trackchangers for your path_tracks that would control where you're taken based on the current floor.
You can't have a completely clip-textured brush entity afaik.
You can't have a completely clip-textured brush entity afaik.