Who's up for a group challenge?

[albinopapa]

I've been trying to setup an framework for the game. Have added a Joystick class so for those of us that have joysticks or gamepad controllers will be able to use them. It's not a very robust or "safe" class as I don't fully understand parts of it, it might fail on someone else's setup. That being said it was simpler than I though it would be. 2 structs and 2 functions to get what I needed.

I've also been trying to add custom fonts instead of a sprite based font. I have been using the DrawLine function and making up the points until it looks like a letter. I will make them scale-able after fleshing them all out.

The framework will hopefully help figure out what classes and functions we will need. Will post something on Wednesday.

[LuX]

Couple of questions:
- What directx version(s) will be supported? Assumption: Dx9
- Quality: Will the game be Chili framework based ( pixel based ), Sprite based ( partially pixel based ) or 3D based ( all the above and ability to use shaders )?
I'm assuming it's chili based since that would be the easiest way. At least to begin with.

[albinopapa]

Couple of questions:
- What directx version(s) will be supported? Assumption: Dx9
- Quality: Will the game be Chili framework based ( pixel based ), Sprite based ( partially pixel based ) or 3D based ( all the above and ability to use shaders )?
I'm assuming it's chili based since that would be the easiest way. At least to begin with.

Yes that one, lol.
Yes, I figure modifying chili's framework as the project and skills progress. So starting off, we use the chili framework.

[Conflictus]

How are the power-ups obtained (assuming we use them)? We could have them floating across the screen or hidden inside some object that requires destroying to release it. After which we could either have the ship collide with them or shoot them to obtain. We could also offer power-ups between levels as something that can be purchased by means of some credit system based on how well you performed on the previous level. Do we want to allow enemy ships to have the opportunity to obtain and make use these power-ups as well? If so, does destroying the enemy ship release the power-up to be used again?

[albinopapa]

I like the idea of power-ups for the player.

We could make it so the player has to reach a certain score and between waves to add boosters, upgrade weaponry, more shields.

I think I like having the enemies just programmed with certain weapons and responses for now.

This is a group project and would like to hear from all of you on what features you want for game, what do you want it to look like, how do you want the game play to be?

[LuX]

How about something more "original": based on Conflictus' idea; enemies would grant the player a temporary power-up. Say there's an enemy that shoots bullets, or what ever, killing that enemy would give the player for the next 15 seconds or so upgraded bullets/double shot... Killing more enemies of the same type will grant a greater power-up and refresh the timer. Similarly a fast moving enemy type could grant a speed boost for a duration. A tanky type better armor... Status and duration bar could be visible in the HUD.

More options:
-Killing more of the type would increase the duration, but by a smaller length ( 15 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 5... ) instead of refreshing.
-As levels advance the power-ups will last longer... or less.
-Killing enough of the same type before the buff runs out ( say, 5-10 ) would grant the power up permanently for the rest of the level
-The kill multiplier will stop upgrading after 3 consecutive kills, but upon reaching 8 kills in a row would enter an overpower mode for a longer time, during which the upgrade is significantly better.
-Surviving a level without dying would give a permanent increase in health.

[Conflictus]

I really like the idea of acquiring buffs with diminishing returns from killing specific enemy types.
I wasn't sure at first if i'd like the idea of allowing permanent buffs / health increases, but it might not be as overpowering as I first thought. I could see it working out.

How should shields work (assuming we include them in the game)? Will collision damage instantly kill the player? Are there any situations that might lower the shields? Specifically, I was considering the prospect of allowing the player to use a massive energy attack that wipes out a significant portion of the screen at the cost of losing the shields until energy is replenished to bring them back up. I'm thinking enemy weapons fire should also drain the shields until they drop. Perhaps something to the effect of normal weapons fire taking away 1% of the shield and bombs or similar taking 30-50% or so. How vulnerable would the ship be without shields? Would a single hit to the ship from any weapon be enough to kill it? Do we want to allow the player's ship to recover energy over time to replenish the shields or should they be required to obtain some item or power-up for that purpose? If we allow for multiple lives and the player dies, what % of the shield strength should be available when they return?

[albinopapa]

Good idea, I like it.

Power-Ups suggested:
Multishot/Scatter Shot,
Speed Boost,
Armor/Shield boost
Increase Fire Rate

-Killing more of the type would increase the duration, but by a smaller length ( 15 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 5... ) instead of refreshing.

Depends on difficulty desired and how many ships of a certain type are spawned

-As levels advance the power-ups will last longer... or less.

Depends on whether the enemies get stronger or player ammo deals more damage

-Killing enough of the same type before the buff runs out ( say, 5-10 ) would grant the power up permanently for the rest of the level

Let's do 10

-The kill multiplier will stop upgrading after 3 consecutive kills, but upon reaching 8 kills in a row would enter an overpower mode for a longer time, during which the upgrade is significantly better.

This plus previous would definitely be considered overpowered

-Surviving a level without dying would give a permanent increase in health.

I like this one the most.

As far as shields/armor goes, I think shields would be welcomed, Regenerate at maybe 1% per second, shield boosts could help regen faster. Last ditch weapon blowing up the shields is a little less harsh than say self-destruct, so we can go with the exploding shield.

What about the levels? Are there distinct levels? Are there going to be waves?
Controllable camera, Scrolling camera or Static camera

[SpaceAnimation]

These above ideas are great!

The idea of completing a level without any damage to permanently acquire an increase in your health gauge is probably the best idea yet!!

So what game do we have in mind exactly?

• A space shooter...
• How do we move around on the screen?
  ---- Something equivalent to geometry wars...
  ---- thus we are contained inside a box and the difficulty is ever increasing
  ---- OR should we introduce scrolling for a game more equivalent to space invaders
• My suggestion for game play
  ---- The player is a vehicle that is moving forward
  ---- this is implemented via the illusion of the screen scrolling towards the player
  ---- yes kinda like 'Space Invaders' (good old Atari)
  ---- ...though we give the enemy the ability to move
  ---- ....yes, like the characteristics of the enemies in 'Geometry Wars'
• Sheilds
  ---- Graphics could display the shield
  ---- given the damage from the enemy the shield will deteriorate
  ---- the shield could change from a transparent blue haze to a transparent red haze
  ---- once red rapidly flash and fade away
  ---- hows that for dramatic...hehe!
• Weapons
  ---- Does a weapon upgrade just automatically increase players fire power
  ---- OR should we have to physically go and get out new weapon
  ---- ...like in 'Mario Kart' - so to speak - where we have to collide into a mystery box
  ---- OR should we have a combination of both, just to make it even more interesting
  ---- Mystery weapons have a limitation of use given by the amount of bullets
  ---- OR its quality over use, thus we can repair a weapon iproving its damage rate
• Enemies vs Player - "The game wants you dead" - quote from Geometry Wars review
  ---- as the game levels up we want enemies equally getting more powerful
  ---- OR increasing in numbers
  ---- OR ... yes a combination of both ... ahahahaha!!!!!!
  ---- better weapons vs better weapons
  ---- so the question is? how do we control the strength of the enemy over the player
  ---- we have to keep the player favorable over the enemy
  ---- in other words we have to make the game playable
  ---- ....so what type of control do we set into play to achieve this quality
  ---- ....special weapon needed in order to overcome the sheer numbers of the enemy
  ---- what makes the player more favorable over the enemy
  ---- ...well its AI over Human Intelligence - which is more elegant...
  ---- yup, you just cant implement skill, and that is what make a game worth playing
  ---- ...as the enemies get harder the player just needs skill:
  ---- faster reflexes, strategy, map knowledge, what weapons are needed to annihilate the vermin
• Each level needs a Boss
  ---- classic 'Super Mario Brothers' style
  ---- how to implement a Boss...

Anyways, these are the questions and thought that are running through my mind after reading this forum....
Hope some of my ideas are welcome and can inspire some more thought...

[Conflictus]

Should the difficulty of the current level be scaled based on how long the player has survived without dying? This might allow for more flexibility to include things that might otherwise be considered overpowering.

Do we want to include asteroids? Perhaps they move along a linear path until they either exit off the opposite side of the screen or crash into something. If we allow asteroids I think the enemy ships should have the possibility of being destroyed by them as well, however, enemy ships destroyed in this manner shouldn't increase the player's score in any way.

1% per second regeneration and power boosts for the shields sounds good. Assuming we go with the 'exploding shields', i'm considering it to be a point blank area of effect based around the player that extends to a certain range. I would treat it similar to the effect that bombs have in red plane 2, which along with dealing damage to targets also negates incoming gun fire for a very brief duration while the explosion is on the screen. I would suggest that the exploding shields only be available when the shields are at 100% and upon coming back from death the shields start at 70% (or whatever everyone agrees on). That way there's an incentive to stay alive and limits abusing the ability.