At 8/16/12 09:24 AM, 4urentertainment wrote:

At 8/15/12 03:26 PM, Archawn wrote: Game screenshot

You need to finish that game.

*crossing my fingers and hoping for a winter release*

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone know what happened to zrb? I miss that guy.

zrb was great. It looks like his last post was in the Reg Lounge over a year ago... A lot of people I used to know seem to have just fallen off the face of the earth. Turtleco, HDXMike, zrb... I wonder what everyone's up to these days?

At 8/15/12 03:26 PM, Archawn wrote:

At 8/15/12 02:33 PM, funkycaveman wrote: Hey :) What's up? Has anyone got any projects on the go? Some CC entries? :P

Since you mention it, I'll shamelessly plug a game I just recently began working on again. I started it roughly a year and a half ago and for the past 9 or so months I haven't had any time to work on it. But summer's here and I now have all the time in the world.

I'm also making an Android app with my school's music teacher. Cool stuff.

Game screenshot

Summer is the best time for making games!

Screenshot looks awesome, reminds me of the style of 'Realm of the mad god'. You heard that Flash is no longer being supported on newer Android devices! It is all going to move to HTML5 and flash app development.

At 8/16/12 05:41 AM, Sam wrote:

At 8/15/12 02:33 PM, funkycaveman wrote: Hey :) What's up? Has anyone got any projects on the go? Some CC entries? :P

I've been working on a puzzle game with another programmer and an artist. We recently rewrote it in haXe/NME.

I would be interested to seeing how that turns out, i've had trouble selling a puzzle type game but it's an elaborate P+C more than a physics game of sorts.

At 8/16/12 11:39 AM, Archawn wrote: zrb was great. It looks like his last post was in the Reg Lounge over a year ago... A lot of people I used to know seem to have just fallen off the face of the earth. Turtleco, HDXMike, zrb... I wonder what everyone's up to these days?

I totally agree with you there, these people were the best and were always hanging around. A long time ago :(

At 8/17/12 01:10 PM, funkycaveman wrote: You heard that Flash is no longer being supported on newer Android devices! It is all going to move to HTML5 and flash app development.

That is 100% grade A bullshit.

The flash player is no longer being developed, because Adobe are focusing on AIR, making it so that creating native apps on Android and iOS with Flash easier and better.

I don't think Flash will be going anywhere any time soon. HTML5/Javascript, Unity, all that is good stuff and everything, but Flash remains the fastest and most streamlined set of tools with which to create games. Evidence of this is the last Ludum Dare, of 1,400 games submitted, the games made with Flash were on average a lot better than games made with anything else. And most of the winners were either made with Flash or Game Makers.

In fact, the flash framework is so efficient at making games that a lot of people are using it in non-flash games. A lot of iPhone or just generally games made with C++ and such use Flash for animation. I believe that's how Castle Crashers handled their art and animation. Everything is vector, and the vector data is taken from SWF's and converted to raster data during loading.

Apparently Bioshock also has SWF files in their source, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

At 8/17/12 02:16 PM, 4urentertainment wrote: Apparently Bioshock also has SWF files in their source, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Starcraft 2 and Assassin's Creed do. I remember seeing the Flash logo in the credits.

Do any of you have experience using game design docs? I feel like my current project is being hampered a lot because I didn't make one (and because of artists, but that's a different story). I had no clue what I was going to make when I started, and even now I don't know the full scope of the game or how much more code I have to write. I just downloaded a template of a gdd, but the amount of detail it wants seems kinda ridiculous while the game is still in the idea phase and even now once art and level design are mostly all that's left. How do you take an idea and basic prototype and turn it into what seems like a doctoral thesis?

At 8/17/12 01:10 PM, funkycaveman wrote: You heard that Flash is no longer being supported on newer Android devices! It is all going to move to HTML5 and flash app development.

I'm programming the app with the Java Android SDK, so regardless of Flash's status on mobile devices I have nothing to worry about there! :)

At 8/17/12 03:13 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 8/17/12 02:16 PM, 4urentertainment wrote: Apparently Bioshock also has SWF files in their source, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Starcraft 2 and Assassin's Creed do. I remember seeing the Flash logo in the credits.

Same, when I first finished the original Assassin's Creed I was surprised to see the Flash logo scroll past in the credits. I believe it was used for the game's menus or something. I wonder why there's such a preference for using Flash in a console game like AC.

So I was looking at my dumping grounds today, and I found something amazing. It has pages. PAGES. I always thought I had deleted my older dumps or something. I didn't realize there were multiple pages. I have dumps from when dumping grounds was first introduced. Oh, the nostalgia!

At 8/17/12 02:16 PM, 4urentertainment wrote:
I don't think Flash will be going anywhere any time soon. HTML5/Javascript, Unity, all that is good stuff and everything, but Flash remains the fastest and most streamlined set of tools with which to create games. Evidence of this is the last Ludum Dare, of 1,400 games submitted, the games made with Flash were on average a lot better than games made with anything else. And most of the winners were either made with Flash or Game Makers.

Apparently Bioshock also has SWF files in their source, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

I found the article on the BBC which stated that Flash is not available for Jelly Bean devices (newer devices). The quality of games depends on the developers at the end of the day and Flash offers some of the best tools available to easily create better games.

I think in Assassins Creed the SWF files were used in those puzzle sections you had to complete, like find the globe hidden in the painting and the other mini-game puzzles.

At 8/18/12 02:54 PM, funkycaveman wrote: The quality of games depends on the developers at the end of the day and Flash offers some of the best tools available to easily create better games.

Exactly. My philosophy is, if there's an easier way to do it, then do it. I used to scoff at game makers, exclaiming how they "weren't for real developers" until I played To The Moon. If a game made with a game maker can make other "real" games look like shit, then I'm all for it.

So, Ludum Dare is this week, who's up?

Kongregate just offered some prizes for Ludum Dare games, I was planning on entering all casual, trying to make a solo game in attempt to do art for the first time, get in the spirit of experimentation and learning, but this is tempting. Then again, Glaiel's game won with programmer art.

At 8/17/12 02:16 PM, 4urentertainment wrote: Apparently Bioshock also has SWF files in their source, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

I started seeing Flash logos on console games a while ago and I was like WHAT THE HELL IS THIS.

I kept my eye out and it was ScaleForm, which is the whole menu in Super Street Fighter, your floating inventory in Dead Space, a tonne o shit in Mass Effect, and long story short every 2D interface that looks cool.

Hey-oh
I haven't used Flash in ages, can someone tell me if Flash CS3 is ridiculously outdated enough to warrant getting a newer version?

Creative Suite 3 is about 5 years old, so that's pretty outdated. You'd probably get a pretty significant performance boost if you upgraded to the most recent version.

At 8/24/12 03:12 PM, Wurmy wrote: Hey-oh
I haven't used Flash in ages, can someone tell me if Flash CS3 is ridiculously outdated enough to warrant getting a newer version?

Oh, god, CS3 was horrendous. Upgrade to CS4 at the very least! CS3's lag issues and tendencies to crash alone warrant an upgrade.

At 8/24/12 09:04 PM, Archawn wrote:

At 8/24/12 03:12 PM, Wurmy wrote: Hey-oh
I haven't used Flash in ages, can someone tell me if Flash CS3 is ridiculously outdated enough to warrant getting a newer version?

Oh, god, CS3 was horrendous. Upgrade to CS4 at the very least! CS3's lag issues and tendencies to crash alone warrant an upgrade.

I quite liked CS3, although maybe that's because I just got used to its failings. I went ahead and got myself CS6. Do people use the right clicking very often? How does that work on computers that don't have the right click ability?

At 8/24/12 09:07 PM, Wurmy wrote: I quite liked CS3, although maybe that's because I just got used to its failings. I went ahead and got myself CS6. Do people use the right clicking very often? How does that work on computers that don't have the right click ability?

Don't all have right click capabilities? :|

At 8/24/12 10:18 PM, Sam wrote:

At 8/24/12 09:07 PM, Wurmy wrote: I quite liked CS3, although maybe that's because I just got used to its failings. I went ahead and got myself CS6. Do people use the right clicking very often? How does that work on computers that don't have the right click ability?

Don't all have right click capabilities? :|

I was thinking of Macs. Last time I used a Mac, to right click you had to hold a key and click the only button. That was years ago and I haven't used a Mac since, is that still true, if it even was?

At 8/24/12 10:28 PM, Wurmy wrote:

At 8/24/12 10:18 PM, Sam wrote:

At 8/24/12 09:07 PM, Wurmy wrote: I quite liked CS3, although maybe that's because I just got used to its failings. I went ahead and got myself CS6. Do people use the right clicking very often? How does that work on computers that don't have the right click ability?

Don't all have right click capabilities? :|

I was thinking of Macs. Last time I used a Mac, to right click you had to hold a key and click the only button. That was years ago and I haven't used a Mac since, is that still true, if it even was?

Apple recently improved their previously horrible mouse, so as long as you're not using a Macbook you're fine. Otherwise you can plug in a normal mouse and right click like there's no tomorrow!

At 8/25/12 09:08 AM, PSvils wrote: Well, I haven't started on Ludum Dare yet, still don't know if I will...but who else is doing something for it?

My first time making a game solo...and I have no idea what I've got. But look, it's a BANDANA!

Ludum Dare

I spent all of yesterday working on an entry, but this morning my computer crashed and I've spent the past several hours trying to restore it.

RIP chances of finishing

At 8/26/12 02:06 PM, Archawn wrote: Ludum Dare

I spent all of yesterday working on an entry, but this morning my computer crashed and I've spent the past several hours trying to restore it.

RIP chances of finishing

My friend's computer crashed this morning as well...was yours a Flash and Chrome-based crash?

Luckily we have the fastest internet in southeast US, so redownloading programs and games isn't too bad

I think I'm like 85% done coding this RPG, so I'll probably start trying to make my own 3 day games in practice for future game jams and LDs while I wait for my artist to exist more than once per week...Lesson learned: hardest part of game dev is getting random people on Skype at the same time

At 8/26/12 02:44 PM, MSGhero wrote: My friend's computer crashed this morning as well...was yours a Flash and Chrome-based crash?

It was actually Skype that caused the crash (or, at least, it was the first to go). I was in a call with a friend of mine and suddenly Skype stopped responding. I tried closing it, ending the task, etc. but nothing worked. Then, everything else froze up and I was forced to hit the power button. When it started up again, it prompted me to do a system restore, which I ignored because on several other occasions the same has happened and I've rebooted without consequence. This time the computer shut off--so I turned it back on and went through the system restore process, which took about forty minutes. It finished, restarted my computer, I logged on, and then Windows told me that the system restore had failed and that none of my files were changed or removed.

Oh, Windows, you capricious bastard.

I think... I can finally stop working on Closure now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQmu1Y5qGY

Aaand I'm done with my Ludum Dare entry!

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview &uid=11521

I'm having mixed feeling about making games solo. On one hand, I really enjoyed making art for the first time (or osing my art-virginity if you will), especially that magical moment when you zoom out and your work transforms from a few lines and colors to a character or an object.

However, working alone is hardly as fun and motivating as working with someone else.

There's a ton of ways I could have made this game better if I had worked harder, but I'm pleased with the result.

I wanted to make the music procedurally generated as well. I had a bunch of samples, and I was going to make it somehow choose certain samples of certain pitches at certain times, and perhaps increase the pitch or modify the sound depending on the situation in the game, but I didn't really have time for that. Ended up just making it play random piano samples on an ambient loop in the background.

SO, these are my after thoughts. Anyone else finished anything for LD?

So, while I wait for my RPG's artist and writer to exist once again, I wrote a typing game today (type the words before they pass you, no variety in words yet). Since this only took a few hours, what do you guys suggest I add (besides art, music, and title screen/game-related stuff). At the moment, I'm planning on making local high scores and more words. This is intended to be practice for game jams and stuff, so imagine a ~2.5 day timeframe left over on my end.

I'm already farther along than I thought I would get, so that's reassuring...

At 8/27/12 02:29 AM, Glaiel-Gamer wrote: I think... I can finally stop working on Closure now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQmu1Y5qGY

Sweet, can't wait for Closure 2.

At 8/27/12 10:17 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: Aaand I'm done with my Ludum Dare entry!

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-24/?action=preview &uid=11521

I'm having mixed feeling about making games solo. On one hand, I really enjoyed making art for the first time (or osing my art-virginity if you will), especially that magical moment when you zoom out and your work transforms from a few lines and colors to a character or an object.

However, working alone is hardly as fun and motivating as working with someone else.

There's a ton of ways I could have made this game better if I had worked harder, but I'm pleased with the result.

I wanted to make the music procedurally generated as well. I had a bunch of samples, and I was going to make it somehow choose certain samples of certain pitches at certain times, and perhaps increase the pitch or modify the sound depending on the situation in the game, but I didn't really have time for that. Ended up just making it play random piano samples on an ambient loop in the background.

SO, these are my after thoughts. Anyone else finished anything for LD?

Good job on that! I agree that working on something solo is not nearly as fun or motivating, but it pays off in the end to say "Look what I did all on my own!". As long as you are pleased with your creation, I'd call it a success :D

Doing art as a programmer is always interesting, especially when you don't necessarily have a history in art or animation.

I think is about time I become a bit more active in this thread. . .

I've returned. I doubt anyone noticed, but I'm announcing my return anyway :). Got caught up playing a lot of golf this summer. I thought I would drop my handicap from 20 to 10 easily, but it turned out harder than expected. It seems difficult for me to have a consistent good 18 holes. I usually do very well during the first 9, but then fall apart towards the end. Such a mental game, and I apparently have mental problems :D. Well managed to get half way to my goal regardless, so I'm at 15hcp atm. I guess I can be happy for that. Make up the rest next summer. Any other golfers here btw?

It seems like half the posts in this thread are either people announcing that they're back or people deciding to be more active in this thread.

sounds nice. post your progress here so we can see

At 9/2/12 02:09 PM, PSvils wrote: I finally started back on my zombie game/game engine.

Awesome, I look forward to seeing it when it's done!

And lighting too...phew, feels intimidating to look at my to-do list.

I know how that feels... I have a 35" whiteboard to the left of my desk that I keep a running to-do list on. Sometimes it's so packed I have to extend the to-do list to my smaller whiteboard.

But it's THE BEST feeling in the world when I start with such a mess of things to do, and a week or so later the whole thing's empty.

At 8/31/12 05:32 PM, ProfessorFlash wrote: I've returned. I doubt anyone noticed, but I'm announcing my return anyway :). Got caught up playing a lot of golf this summer. I thought I would drop my handicap from 20 to 10 easily, but it turned out harder than expected.

good to have you back ProfessorFlash.