Little Gods
by Jason McIntosh · in Torque Game Builder · 05/04/2005 (11:50 pm) · 76 replies
A very early shot from my upcoming game, Little Gods.
The background is very animated with a lot of layers and has quite a few things that happen at random intervals, like that little guy sailing across the screen.
There's also a bigger version of this image.
The background is very animated with a lot of layers and has quite a few things that happen at random intervals, like that little guy sailing across the screen.
There's also a bigger version of this image.
About the author
#44
I played and enjoyed the demo. The game has a really nice look to it. Congratulations on the hard work!
I did run into a bug the first time i ran it where i pushed either f1 or f2 and looked like i got into the level editor. After that, i couldn't get the game going again until i killed the process and restarted.
The game looks like it could get really fun when some hectic action gets going on the screen. Maybe you should think of a way to allow a busier level and/or harder opponent in the demo.
The totem 'color order' idea is cool. One thing i couldn't confirm during my play..........Can your totem 'progress' be reset if you pick up the wrong sequence of colors? It looked to me like it didn't really penalize you for getting totems out of order. I may be wrong here though.
The only other constructive criticism i can add is that it feels a bit odd at the beginning of the level when you have to wait 10 or so seconds for the balls to begin appearing. It looks as if you are using this delay to display the totem color order. IMO you should start the balls after a much shorter delay.
Nice use of particle effects as well. It appears as if you really used some t2d features to their full extent. For physics, are you fully relying on t2d's built in physics for your object interactions?
My son (5 yrs) enjoyed watching the game as well. He said he liked the fact it was kind of like 'air hockey' :)
08/25/2005 (8:39 am)
Jason,I played and enjoyed the demo. The game has a really nice look to it. Congratulations on the hard work!
I did run into a bug the first time i ran it where i pushed either f1 or f2 and looked like i got into the level editor. After that, i couldn't get the game going again until i killed the process and restarted.
The game looks like it could get really fun when some hectic action gets going on the screen. Maybe you should think of a way to allow a busier level and/or harder opponent in the demo.
The totem 'color order' idea is cool. One thing i couldn't confirm during my play..........Can your totem 'progress' be reset if you pick up the wrong sequence of colors? It looked to me like it didn't really penalize you for getting totems out of order. I may be wrong here though.
The only other constructive criticism i can add is that it feels a bit odd at the beginning of the level when you have to wait 10 or so seconds for the balls to begin appearing. It looks as if you are using this delay to display the totem color order. IMO you should start the balls after a much shorter delay.
Nice use of particle effects as well. It appears as if you really used some t2d features to their full extent. For physics, are you fully relying on t2d's built in physics for your object interactions?
My son (5 yrs) enjoyed watching the game as well. He said he liked the fact it was kind of like 'air hockey' :)
#45
-Edo.
* edit: I am affraid this is a full version feature btw :)
08/25/2005 (9:15 am)
@Ty: if you want more opposition, you need to unlock one of the more difficult opponents - each one has a difficult level easy/medium/hard.. and I am sure the hard one one will give you a challenging game.-Edo.
* edit: I am affraid this is a full version feature btw :)
#46
I intentionally chose more docile levels because people were getting overwhelmed by the action in some of them. I may add another more frantic level and unlock it once the tutorial is completed, though. There's some really fun stuff in the other levels from the full version.
The game will only give you totems in the correct sequence. This was a simplification to make the game easier, but it used to reset your progress if you got one in the wrong order. I may create an option to turn this back on, but it was generally overwhelming to beginners, so I removed it.
I agree about the start time of the balls, but it has been pretty low on the todo list. :) I will tweak it some.
Thanks for playing (everyone), and thanks especially for the feedback!
PS. Edo is right. You get 4 other opponents in the full version, and they're all more difficult than the ones in the demo, not to mention 5 other arenas with about 70 more levels.
PPS. Whoever said you couldn't do a full game in script only has never done a game in script only. It was no fun at times, but TorqueScript did the job (AI, fading objects, scaling, my own GUI system, etc). I did modify the engine some, but I didn't add any new gameplay objects. I'm not against using C++ but I like to avoid it as if it was sulfuric acid in my koolaid.
08/25/2005 (11:06 am)
Ty: Thanks for pointing out that about the editor. I just realized there's no help text once you're in the editor until you actually edit something, so I'd better add something there. :) Press F1 again to toggle out of the editor.I intentionally chose more docile levels because people were getting overwhelmed by the action in some of them. I may add another more frantic level and unlock it once the tutorial is completed, though. There's some really fun stuff in the other levels from the full version.
The game will only give you totems in the correct sequence. This was a simplification to make the game easier, but it used to reset your progress if you got one in the wrong order. I may create an option to turn this back on, but it was generally overwhelming to beginners, so I removed it.
I agree about the start time of the balls, but it has been pretty low on the todo list. :) I will tweak it some.
Thanks for playing (everyone), and thanks especially for the feedback!
PS. Edo is right. You get 4 other opponents in the full version, and they're all more difficult than the ones in the demo, not to mention 5 other arenas with about 70 more levels.
PPS. Whoever said you couldn't do a full game in script only has never done a game in script only. It was no fun at times, but TorqueScript did the job (AI, fading objects, scaling, my own GUI system, etc). I did modify the engine some, but I didn't add any new gameplay objects. I'm not against using C++ but I like to avoid it as if it was sulfuric acid in my koolaid.
#47
08/29/2005 (7:48 am)
I just wanted to announce here first that the Mac version is now running. After some initial "jogging my memory" of how Xcode works etc, the actual port consisted of only deleting the .dso files. It ran flawlessly the first run. Gotta love that about Torque. :)
#49
Thanks!
09/01/2005 (11:13 am)
Are there any tutorials around for deploying Windows and Mac versions of the software as in this game?Thanks!
#50
also currious, what type of changes did you make to the C++ code, and why?
09/01/2005 (1:05 pm)
@Jason: I think your game is really good, fun and creative. However I wish it got more coverage on the fourms here (your last educational title got no coverage)also currious, what type of changes did you make to the C++ code, and why?
#51
I recently built an OSX version of my current project, and despite some fairly complex engine modifications I was able to fix a small number of issues (minor bits in the custom engine code that differed between XCode and Visual Studio), drop in the scripts, graphics and sounds without touching a single one and had the game running on the Mac in about two hours start to finish.
One of the only hitches was getting sound to work, but it just required rolling back to an older version which someone has kindly written up a howto guide somewhere on the forums (again, possibly in TGE topics however).
09/01/2005 (5:54 pm)
Rich, there's a few docs for using XCode on Mac to produce an OSX executable but I think they're all TGE-associated materials so they may not be viewable if you haven't purchased TGE (until updated docs and/or TDN debuts). Otherwise the Torquescript files and all your assets should drop in nearly verbatim and just work.I recently built an OSX version of my current project, and despite some fairly complex engine modifications I was able to fix a small number of issues (minor bits in the custom engine code that differed between XCode and Visual Studio), drop in the scripts, graphics and sounds without touching a single one and had the game running on the Mac in about two hours start to finish.
One of the only hitches was getting sound to work, but it just required rolling back to an older version which someone has kindly written up a howto guide somewhere on the forums (again, possibly in TGE topics however).
#53
Something big I would like to change is linking schedules to scenegraph time instead of sim time. I hope Melv will add this to the pile of changes in the next update, though. :) I also plan to do C++ based scaling and fading code since the script versions can bog down on slower machines with many objects at once. Python is an enhancement that's almost done, though I did only a tiny amount of work on that since it was already in good shape.
@Rich: As Luke said, once I had compiled the engine in Xcode and patched a few things, the game ran without any modifications since it's 99% script-based. It's my favorite feature of Torque. :)
You'll need this for OpenAL to work properly:
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=8339
I ran into an issue where Tiger (OSX 10.4) users had no sound but the above seems to have fixed it.
09/01/2005 (9:16 pm)
@Jason S: Thank you! Glad you like the game. I made mostly bug fixes to the engine, as well as minor things like stopping the cursor from reseting everytime it loses focus (thanks to Edo for that).Something big I would like to change is linking schedules to scenegraph time instead of sim time. I hope Melv will add this to the pile of changes in the next update, though. :) I also plan to do C++ based scaling and fading code since the script versions can bog down on slower machines with many objects at once. Python is an enhancement that's almost done, though I did only a tiny amount of work on that since it was already in good shape.
@Rich: As Luke said, once I had compiled the engine in Xcode and patched a few things, the game ran without any modifications since it's 99% script-based. It's my favorite feature of Torque. :)
You'll need this for OpenAL to work properly:
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=8339
I ran into an issue where Tiger (OSX 10.4) users had no sound but the above seems to have fixed it.
#54
By the way, I downloaded Little Gods and it looks great! I'd register but I have no money. Maybe after I finish a game I'll get it.
-Peter
09/03/2005 (10:43 am)
I could use scaling and fading over time also. I'd like to see this in the next release. Of course, I'd rather just see the next release as soon as possible. Sigh...By the way, I downloaded Little Gods and it looks great! I'd register but I have no money. Maybe after I finish a game I'll get it.
-Peter
#55
09/06/2005 (5:53 am)
Thanks for the encouragement, Peter! :) And good luck with your game!
#56
09/08/2005 (6:56 pm)
I've updated Little Gods to 1.1.0. Some big changes and simplification of the interface, if you want to try it out. Still got some work to do to get things "perfected" but it's nice to be able to incrementally improve the game.
#57
www.griminventions.com
11/07/2005 (1:38 pm)
Little Gods is now at version 1.3 for Mac and Windows, and includes mouse support as well as some nice game options and interface revisions. Have fun!www.griminventions.com
#58
11/07/2005 (1:42 pm)
Hey Jason, this is a great game, i wish it got more press here on GG. I think LittleGods is much, much better than those Bejeweled clones that make the "Recent GarageGames News" section.
#59
Edo
11/07/2005 (4:11 pm)
Congrats Jason!! I am happy to see you breaking through with your game and that your original concept makes it through to a portal. Excellent!Edo
#60
@Edo: Good to see you snooping around here again! And thanks. (Yes, it will be on a major portal very soon. No announcement possible yet though.)
11/07/2005 (9:38 pm)
@Jason: I get the feeling that the game isn't "legit" in GG's eyes unless it's on a portal. Which is disappointing and kind of insulting. (Not that anyone who makes a game with T2D etc should expect anything from GG for it, afterall, they are licensing this great engine and are not obligated to publicize any games at all.) But enough about that. :)@Edo: Good to see you snooping around here again! And thanks. (Yes, it will be on a major portal very soon. No announcement possible yet though.)
Torque Owner Stefan
Just thought I'd inform you.