Moved to www.sionco.com/blog

I've decided to join my blog and website together on a new site using wordpress,
you can access the blog at :

sionco.com/blog

or the website at:

sionco.com

After a disappointing 10 months, no new game releases and a lot of unfinished games and demos, I'm currently working out my strategy going forwards.   But, I'll definitely get back to game programming 100%: continue reading at sionco.com/blog

still alive..

I'm still alive.
Currently considering whether to continue the racing game in 3D with monkey or change to Unity3D (which I've been looking at today) or to go 2D and overhead with the racing.

Car Racing Game, Still going...

I'm still going with the car racing game.

I've been beating my head on the table for a few days and wasted a lot of paper trying to work things out, regarding the AI movement, and how I am going to create the tracks,.

The computer car movement still needs to be improved, but it does look like I'm getting somewhere with track creation:

My two initial options where either to create the track as a flat 2D image, which would have been the easiest, yet least visually appealing option, or create a 3D track.  I've finally decided to go with the 3D track option and have made several attempts to create an initial track, that I can work with in this demoing phase, although I haven't added hills or trackside objects such as barriers.  But this means that I hopefully can add elevation to the track and give the game more options and possibilities for the future, such as I could have an American banked-oval style circuit or the Eau-Rouge section of the Spa F1 circuit?, that's if the game changes from being a BTCC/WTCC touring car based arcade racing game.

Touring Car Arcade Racing Game, Update of Afternoon 5

Seems like I get most work done on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as the last 5 entries have been on the nights of these days, interesting to know!

I'm still working away on my game. I call it a 3D arcade touring car racing game.  Im thinking of two possible names for it using abbreviations:

1. TCAR (Touring Car Arcade Racer)
2. TC-CAR (Touring Car - Championship Arcade Racer)

What do you think?

#Progress

As the screenshots below, I've added barriers to the game, I do this by driving to the start and end point of each race track straight and recording the position and angle of the car.  I store this in a textfile under the circuit name, and then the game loads the barrier positions and works out how many sections of barriers can be fitted between the start and end positions that I recorded.  I've also added trees, which are automatically created a certain distance behind the barriers.

It's not perfect, as it's only working properly down the x-axis at the moment, but that's a small fix to make in the future, the important thing is that the system is in the game. 

I've also created the sky dome  Which draws a graphic representing the sky on the inside of a giant 3D sphere that surrounds the whole game, this means that the sky is different in each direction.  The current sky graphic has been borrowed from Google images, and I'll eventually replace it with my own. 

#Fixes and Improvement

• Better checkpoint detection
• Improved the cars initial grid positions so they start all lined up in a 'zig-zag' way down the road as in top motorsport racing. (I still need to add the graphics to show the grid lines)
• Fixed a problem with the game creating too many checkpoints.
• Fixed a problem with the game increasing the car's current checkpoint at the start of the race before the car has reached that checkpoint.

#Latest Screenshots:

Update, Afternoon 4 on my touring car arcade racing game

Today, I've been working on three areas:

 I'd already implemented a basic system where I can drive around the circuit and record the path the computer cars should follow, but now I've added braking and acceleration areas. The computer movement is still not perfect and needs to be improved (especially the turning which is very jerky) but at least for the moment the computer cars don't whizz around the track at full-speed.

If this game succeeds and I manage to finish it (fingers crossed) I want this game to be editable and mod friendly, so I've created an easily editable file with all the car stats and drivers. So, the player will be able to change the characteristics of the drivers such as their names as well as of the car such as the car's speed, acceleration, braking and weight. Also, the Windows/Linux PC version should also allow the user to create and draw new car liveries (any maybe even 3D models for the PC version).

 Finally, I've implemented the system that keeps track of who is in which position, depending on lap-times and checkpoints, although it needs fine-tuning. For anyone who has followed my blog or seen previous posts, they will see that after the initial week, I have often lost motivation for games, when the coding becomes overwhelming, and therefore there are a lot of unfinished games on my hard-drive ( As shown on the basement section of my website).
This time, I think I've started to manage myself better through two tactics; the first, is that I've created a nice colour-coded spreadsheet with all the task I have to do, and organized them by 4 columns:

1. Priority: how urgent is it that I create this part of the game now.
2. Time: How long will it take me.
3. Difficulty: How difficult will it be to do
4. Importance: How important is it to the final game.

 This has allowed me to sort tasks out, with the most important at the top (such as the game engine) and less important ones at the bottom (such as little graphical touches) 

Also, I continue to watch races from the BTCC each night, which are very exciting and make me want to get back into the code. Below are some screenshots showing the different teams (currently just colour coded) as well as a temporary table of race positions in the second.

 

small update on my 3D car racing game

I've now added acceleration and braking points to the invisible path that the computer cars loosely follow, which guides them around the track, so now the computer cars don't go at 100% speed all around the track and slow down for the corners. It's a bit jerky, so will need improving in the future, but for now it's okay. Will be watching the BTCC 2012 review tomorrow as well as highlights of this years race for inspiration. Here's a screenshot of the current state of the game, using an above camera view, the computer cars race towards the first checkpoint:

3D Arcade Racing Game, 3rd Afternoon

I'm still experimenting with creating a 3D racing game, who knows if it will turn into anything serious or if it'll end up in unfinished demos/projects like most of my other attempts at games.

Today, I've added a system that allows me to record points around the track as a drive around to create a basic racing line for the computer (AI) cars .

Here are some screenshots:

Oops! My first attempt at adding more cars

More ordered, they're on the grid, but no movement yet.

Still haven't setup collisions yet

Lots of cars!

We have basic movement! With the computer controlled cars erratically going from point to point around the track.

I'm back. Just playing around...

A car on a 2D image of a track..

A car on a 2D track graphic

2 Cameras and it moves!

My first attempt at modeling a BTCC type racing car

Lots of cameras

I'm not sure what's happened here.

The new track model I made is a little small... and white...

That looks better!

Acceleration feels better!

A couple of corners

Testing the sky-cam

Zoomed out to the max!

Seren Nova 3D: Adding Gameplay

Just a quick update to show that the game is still in development and not dead!

I have two free weeks to work on my new 3D space shooter called Seren Nova 3D, so hopefully I can keep progressing.  I'm now focusing on game-play, such as what happens when the enemy or player is shot and collisions.

I'll keep you updated

Seren Nova 3D : More Enemies

After considering a few names, such as Space Falcon, I've decided to call my game Seren Nova 3D (Seren being Star in Welsh).  

In the development news, I've been working on the enemies and managed to get them to face and and shoot at the player.

3D shooter: Progress

I been working with the control system and thanks to some nice helpers at the Blitz3D forum learning about movement and control in 3D games, as well as some theory about the targeting system in Star Fox (aka Lylat Wars in the UK).

Now, thanks to this great help with working out the movement and adapting some code kindly given to me, I'm pretty happy with how the ship moves.

Over the weekend I haven't been able to stop thinking about the game and have come-up with some ideas for names:

Seren 1 (seren is Welsh for star) Serol (welsh for stellar, could use it with a name, such as the pilot or squadron) Galaeth (galaxy).

Regarding how it plays, I'm considering two game modes (ideally, I'd like to have them both): 1. A survival mode, where the player has to survive as long as possible and random enemies are created, this would be the easiest to implement. 2. Story mode, where the player has to travel to different worlds or environments, such as in a city or in an asteroid field. This mode will depend on how confident I feel in my programming abilities as I am learning 3D game development as I go.

3D Space Game: We have buildings!

I'm back working on my 'on rails' space shooter game.

If I do finish this game, levels will either be in space or above the ground on planets.  One question to do with levels that I've been thinking about are whether to have fixed pre-designed levels or randomly created ones.

The planet levels will be in different locations, such as above a city, in the mountains, above lava. 
So, today, I've been trying to create a city and playing with adding randomly sized and placed buildings in the level, and they work quite well in that once they disapear behind the level, they are moved into a random position in front of the player.

The player approaches a dense city

Inside the city

A city with 'thinner' buildings

3D Game 2013: Fire All Lasers!

I'm really enjoying using miniB3D with Monkey.  Even though I've just started I feel a renewed energy towards making games.

Anyway, today I've got pretty accurate laser shooting (the laser is currently just a coloured 3D tube) and also textures.

If this game does go anywhere, I would debate whether to use textures or just  basic colours for the models, because, I'd like to make a game with a graphical feeling similar to Star Fox (or Lylat Wars) on the SNES, as well as my graphic and 3D modeling skills not being great.

3D Exploration, now with proper targets...

I haven't done a lot of work on my 3D test game today, I've been busy with the lovely bureaucracy of Spain.  However, I improved the smoothness of the ships movement and added some better looking targets for the ship to point at.

As you can see, my 3D experiment is in the form of a basic 3D 'on rails' shooter in the form of Lylat Wars (or Star Fox for non-Europeans).

3D test, still going...

I've had a bit of a frustrating day learning 3D, but I have made progress.

I've managed to get some temporary targets (the red, white and blue objects) and for the ship to follow them, the ship can also be moved using the keyboard or a touch screen on a mobile.

3D, Testing the Waters

The previous posts were related to a 2D space project that I was working on.  I say that in the past tense, because I'm still not sure what I want to do.  I haven't released a game since January because I had stopped enjoying programming due to pressuring myself too much to work on a big project that had become overwhelming (Grand Prix Super Manager).   And although I've been trying different ideas in the meantime, I hadn't put any real time into any of the ideas.


Today, I've started to have a look at what it would take to make a 3D game using Monkey and minib3d.  I've set my heart on a simple space shooter 'on rails'.
It's my first real foray into 3D programming (I had tried a few years ago, but my programming knowledge was lacking at the time), and although I'm still not sure on whether it will lead to anything. So, here is today's progress:

The first screenshot shows a small 3D space ship model I created that currently only flies forward over some land, it currently runs on PC's through flash and mobiles using Android:

The second screenshot shows the a basic 3D ship model in the model editor which I'm testing out. 

No Deadlines...

This Time... No Pressure

Sheep Sim, Afternoon 3

Wow, I'm not far from finishing my sheep simulation game (called: Sheep!).  I'm trying to fight feature creep (which is when you keep adding little new things to a game and therefore it's never finished).

Updates:

New graphics for each sheep state, such as eating, walking, falling in love. I've also added a new watering animation.

In the game you can now sell sheep, and get a price depending on their age.  Also, you can get two sheep to fall in love and make a baby lamb.  

Two screenshots of the updates:

Sheep : The Sheep Sim Game - Day 2

Today, I've continued working on 'Sheep' a simulation game about keeping a flock of sheep alive and healthy.

I've added a button in the corner of the game, which when clicked brings up a side bar with various buttons that can affect the game.  The only button that currently has any functionality is the first one which allows you to water patches of grass to bring them back to life when after the sheep have eaten all of the grass in the patch.   However, the water costs money, so can't be used all the time.

Screenshots

Sheep, The start of a small game.

Today, I've started making a casual game for Android / Flash about a flock of sheep.
In the game you control a flock of sheep, you must keep them fed by keeping the grass under them green, stop predators, get your sheep to reproduce and sell them for meat before they grow too old.

Here are some screenshots of my current progress:

The current title screen

I'm still not too sure on the title, I'm also thinking of 'SimSheep' or 'The Life of Sheep'

The game screen.

The following screen shows what happens when the sheep eat the grass, it starts do die and become barren, this will be represented by different coloured squares on the field.

Hopefully, I can finish this game within a week. So, keep checking back for updates.

GPSM - Race Simulation . Overtaking & Accidents

This week, I'm finally starting to get some good work done on the race simulation part of Grand Prix Super Manager.

I've added basic overtaking to the game which, depending on many different variables, has currently has 4 outcomes ( a successful pass, an unsuccessful pass, a slight off circuit moment and a big crash). I'll eventually add more.

I've also added the possibilities of a random accident, with the probability depending on the weather, tyres, car condition, driver command, driver abilities. The current possible results are: locked tyres, a moment going off the circuit or a complete spin or crash. (Again, more will be added).

The bodywork and some parts of the car will also be damaged to a random amount after a crash.

Grand Prix Super Manager, Update

I'm back working on my F1 management game.
Unfortunately, progress has been very slow again, as I've been very busy. To be honest, I can't say when this will be finished as I don't have a lot of time to work on it, and there's a long way to go.

I've been working on the race simulation part, and mainly the overtaking, updating the car condition and the transition between the qualifying and the race.  As well as the in-race messaging system, which will provide text updates of what is happening in the race to the user (although the graphical display of the text isn't complete).

The screenshot shows a race in progress and some temporary output in the debug console.

Grand Prix Super Manager

Just a small update.

Yesterday and today, I'm back working on Grand Prix Super Manager.  

As mentioned before, I'm working on the grand prix weekend engine. 

I've implemented weather conditions, and lap times worked out from the tyre choice / condition, driver skills and car condition.

The screen below will look different in the final game, but it shows lap times, and the effects of having the wrong tyre (even though the times need to be changed). Also, I haven't implemented AI yet, for when the teams send out their drivers.

Grand Prix Hero. Follow the leader

Since the last post, I've only got back to working on my games today and have been working on Grand Prix Hero.

I've now got the computer cars to follow the checkpoints exactly, and all face the correct way!  Obviously, I'll want to make their movement feel more natural, but I'd like to work on other parts of the game first.

This is not my first time trying to make a racing game.  

The first one was in Klick & Play when I was 13 or 14, where 2 player controlled cars would race around a small circuit that fitted inside the screen.

I then 3 attempts using Blitzmax (screenshots below), although at the time my programming skills were far too low for an ambitious project like this:

An early blitzmax game (2006?).  I managed to create a level editor, but I gave-up after not being able to get the computer car movement correct.

I even did an expirement with a 3D game last year in BlitzMax.  I made the circuit myself and was quite pleased, even though the feel of the circuit (and look) felt like driving on ice.  I gave up after realising my 3D modelling and texturing skills weren't up to the job.

Grand Prix Hero. They Move!

After a weekend rest, I'm back working on my games.

Today, I've worked on Grand Prix Hero for two hours.  

The computer cars now move around the circuit, following the checkpoints, although I haven't sorted out the computer cars rotation yet.

blackberry

Over at the monkey forums.  I found this link https://bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/android/bpaa/https://bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/android/bpaa/ which packages Android games for the Blackberry PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 OS.  I will have to give it a try and report my findings.

website down

My website is down for 24 hours, due to 'high MySQL server load" (ie the forum) that's the problem with having a forum on a free host.

I might have to suspend the forum. I will have a think about it.

Grand Prix Hero Progress

Grand Prix is a 2D 1960's F1 based overhead racing game that I've just started making as my secondary project, (Grand Prix Super Manager is my main project).

Yesterday, I added the grid positions to the editor and the game, and added the computer cars to the game. Although, they are not perfectly lined-up yet (as shown in the screenshots below) I'm happy with my progress.  I've also added checkpoints to the editor and game, although the computer cars don't follow them as of yet.

The game can be played at different zoom levels, although, I'm currently not sure if I'll keep them both or select one of them: