More work on creating the level editor

After some technical difficulties with my workstation, I was able to get some work done on working the level editor in. Of course before working on that, I had to make sure the tile data gets consumed into the component design appropriately. It was weird working it in because for the longest it wasn't drawing correctly due to two factors. One factor being the offset for the tiles and the other was the origin for the tiles. I was so used to working the components with sprites that I forgot that tiles are usually drawn with the origin of 0,0 and not the center.

I got that squared away and at least started contemplating on how the level editor should look. I have used level editors before and the one I remember using the most was the Graal level editor. It was of course like mostly other tile based editors but then I started thinking back to Alec Holowka's video on the Monacle engine. I'm not sure if I want to take the complete idea of a path based background but it may suit my purposes due to the nature of the game. After I get the level editor in a working state, I will post some screen shots of it in use.

Level Editor Creation

I started work on the level editor once I changed the level data format. The new level data format will allow me to have layered tiles. These layered tiles will allow me to add detail like pavement with grass grown over or cracks in the pavement. I still worry about making things too bloated but I guess that shouldn't be the case since my game is considerably small compared to other projects. After I finish the basics with the level creator, I will work more on the car physics just to get the beast driving down the road.

I also talked with one of my best friends about our trip to Siege con. We planned to have something ready to demo around that time. That doesn't mean there won't be a demo until Siege con but it does mean there will definitely be a demo out by that time. I'm not sure what platform it will be available for at this time but I will try to have more information later.

Also, the link for Siege Con: http://www.siegecon.net/

Component Based Design

After playing around in Unity, I started to noticed that I liked the style they used for representing game sprites. It didn't seem to be sub-classed because each entity contained a list of components that could be add/removed independently. I checked around the internet to find this design method to be named Component Based Design. It is very similar to how Windows Forms keeps track of its controls. Once again, I found a concept being shuffled back and forward between business programming and game programming. Naturally, I started recoding Pizza Man to use component based design rather than sub classing. It didn't take me long to get near the spot I was at previously so it times to move forward.

Update for the sake

Putting up an update since the readers deserve an update to let them know the project is not dead. I am just working on reworking the engine to handle sprites more efficiently. I'm running into a problem that I am going to have to solve just by tossing a coin. The big decision is whether or not to have the tires as a separate sprite with a tie to the parent vehicle or have the tires just part of the vehicle class. I might end up choosing the latter but I need to nip this one real quick because its holding up progress.. DAMNIT... yeah!!

Late night posting

I decided to take a new screenshot since I finished recoloring the tile set. The tile set isn't much because it's only the road, grass and water. I will add in later but I figured the stock art needed some touching up. I'm starting to notice in order to get a nice effect that you must follow a pattern. This makes a lot of sense since things tend to happen in patterns (fractals).

Screen Resolution Locked

Not much as changed about the game graphically but some concepts have been set in stone. This game will only run at the resolution of 1024 x 768 which means it will be in 4:3 ratio. I figured that since this game is based off of older games that running it in an older screen format would do proper justice. I'm currently working on making sure everything gets properly updated to stop certain glitches from occurring (tires not keeping up vehicle). That damn update loop got kind of weird because positions needed to be updated due to positioning. I'm going to have to eventually have some of these variables hard linked instead of being a placeholder. After I get all of that sorted, I'll try to get a HUD up for a new screenshot. Hopefully after the basic mechanics are solid, the real design part can start.

Fixing some camera angles

I'm currently working on the engine and fixing some problems with the screen resizing. The next thing I want to work on is having the camera follow the player vehicle and giving the vehicle some physics. In the mean time, I figured I would put up a screenshot that showed the difference between the first version of sprites to the new version. I still have to work on the tile set but it's a good place holder.