At 12/23/13 01:47 PM, egg82 wrote: So I made a Priest deck called "Bullshit" which is every dirty Priest trick in the book. Thought it would be fun to record :P

Most bullshit thing I've ever seen was a lightspawn with every +health card the guy had and then x2 health. All of the cards I had that could possibly deal with that were at the bottom of my deck.

At 12/23/13 01:47 PM, egg82 wrote: So I made a Priest deck called "Bullshit" which is every dirty Priest trick in the book. Thought it would be fun to record :P

I think it went rather well xD

Yeah? Well I made a Chaos Theory deck that uses Darwin as it's core icebreaker and is powered through a tonne of Personal Touch upgrades and generates all its income from The Toolbox and Cyberfeeders. Beat that.

hi lounge. How've you all been this past year? :)

Most bullshit thing I've ever seen was a lightspawn with every +health card the guy had and then x2 health. All of the cards I had that could possibly deal with that were at the bottom of my deck.

Not me, I don't have them yet :(

Both of my Priest decks have one pretty fatal flaw: They have zero early taunt and almost no removal or silence. Any rushdown deck I face is almost a guaranteed loss, and every ranked match I've played so far is a rushdown deck.

Compile Time Fun

What do you do while your code is compiling? Do you just sit there staring blankly until it compiles? Read and work on other bits in the code? Make funny faces at your computer?

Joe takes about half a minute to fully load and start up, and there isn't that much you can do in 30 seconds, aside from reading webcomics. That's what I've been doing for a while, it's just enough to read the comic.

I've tried multi tasking before. Like I kept calculating on average, how much time I spend waiting for compilation per day, and what I could be doing at that time..but it never really worked out. Mostly cuz if I tried doing anything in that tiny time frame, I'd forget what I was debugging or trying to do in the code when I got back to it.

At 12/23/13 03:36 PM, KaynSlamdyke wrote:

hi lounge. How've you all been this past year? :)

Holy shit you're alive :D

Compiling for work projects takes like 2 minutes at the moment. And doing a full build is like 3-4 minutes, and next year I plan to add in some extra automated juiciness to my CI which will probably push it up to more like 10-20 minutes, maybe more if I can't figure out why iPad's are so shit with wifi XD

Eh. Compile time stuff I spend reading webcomics or any complain-about-my-paycheck kind of sites. Daily WTF, ClientsFromHell, NotAlways[Whatever]. Kinds of things that keep me happy to be still employed.

At 12/23/13 05:27 PM, 4urentertainment wrote: Holy shit you're alive :D

Indeed. Though the ancient Egyptian underworld tried to claim me last year.
Been keeping my head down. Changed jobs in July. Tended to focus on Facebook rather than forum usage. But hey, Merry Christmas Regs Lounge. I return to the Flash forum. Rejoice. Or be indifferent.

At 12/23/13 05:27 PM, 4urentertainment wrote: I've tried multi tasking before. Like I kept calculating on average, how much time I spend waiting for compilation per day, and what I could be doing at that time..

http://xkcd.com/1205/

Incremental compiles take 5-10 seconds right now, so there's not much I can do but stare. Sometimes I check twitter or fb if it hasn't been too long since I last checked. The worst is when I have to move a ui thing by a few px, compile, notice it still looks off, adjust the position again...

At 12/23/13 05:54 PM, KaynSlamdyke wrote: Eh. Compile time stuff I spend reading webcomics or any complain-about-my-paycheck kind of sites. Daily WTF, ClientsFromHell, NotAlways[Whatever]. Kinds of things that keep me happy to be still employed.

I try to shorten compile time when I'm not making a release build or a build for beta-testing purposes. For ex. remove all music, or most of graphical assets.
The last time when I was waiting for 4-5 minutes for my flash game to compile, I think I ran to kitchen and haphazardly devoured something, then ran back but came too early and was pretty upset with my timing skills. Long compiles do not happen often, so I don't have a plan. Probably will go to forums, of course, and brutally help people left and right. Or listen to music, idk. I don't have a job, never had one.

At 12/23/13 05:27 PM, 4urentertainment wrote:

Indeed. Though the ancient Egyptian underworld tried to claim me last year.

That very much reminds me of Frontier. Very.

Don't be that guy >:(

At 12/23/13 09:05 PM, kkots wrote:

Indeed. Though the ancient Egyptian underworld tried to claim me last year.

That very much reminds me of Frontier. Very.

Not sure how. Aside from the animation of a person walking along the screen and occasionally bumping into a random or scripted event, there's little they have in common. Titch and I are thinking of using the mechanic of inventory scrounging in another game along the lines, seeing as that was last year's game jammy thing and really only needs be seen as a prototype.

Still think the canopic jars are the cutest things ever.

At 12/23/13 09:59 PM, egg82 wrote: Don't be that guy >:(

It actually worked on me once, I had to concede because I had to go somewhere. If he'd ended his turns I would have beaten him in time :(

I just had two brilliant games though. The second one was great, you know what you both seem to draw the right cards at the right time and it's always a back and forth without one being on the back foot?

Spoiler: I won.

At 12/24/13 09:24 AM, KaynSlamdyke wrote:

That very much reminds me of Frontier. Very.

Not sure how. Aside from the animation of a person walking along the screen and occasionally bumping into a random or scripted event, there's little they have in common.

That seems to be a major gameplay mechanic in both examples, as I've noticed. Randomly encountering something does make it interesting and "replayable". But, well, that idea is too natural and obvious to compare it to anything.
Titch and I are thinking of using the mechanic of inventory scrounging in another game along the lines, seeing as that was last year's game jammy thing and really only needs be seen as a prototype.
What do you think about rotation of items, like in Help the hero! ?

Still think the canopic jars are the cutest things ever.

I'm allergic to cuteness. I did find the style in which those plants look somewhat attractive.
By definition of cuteness, I can't say that I wanted to hug or kiss those things, so no, they're not cute.

At 12/24/13 11:34 AM, Innermike wrote: Taking a break from code to doodle for a change, at this rate I may actually have things ready for screenshot saturday!

That's pretty good for programmer art. Better than a green square.

Even with all the changes I've made, my game looks the same as it did 3 months ago. Maybe after polishing I'll have a screenie to show, but by then it'll almost be release time.

Attempted to record some Hearthstone and just got absolutely obliterated in every match I played. Luck was not with me today at all :(

Usually I don't scrap videos that are just me being unlucky, but it was so awful it was more depressing than fun.

I don't understand. When is it OK to call a person a "programmer"? Whom would you call a "programmer", and whom you would not? What makes a programmer different from a non-programmer?

At 12/24/13 02:23 PM, kkots wrote: I don't understand. When is it OK to call a person a "programmer"? Whom would you call a "programmer", and whom you would not? What makes a programmer different from a non-programmer?

Someone whose brain doesn't explode when coding is a programmer.

At 12/24/13 11:59 AM, MSGhero wrote:

At 12/24/13 11:34 AM, Innermike wrote: Taking a break from code to doodle for a change, at this rate I may actually have things ready for screenshot saturday!

That's pretty good for programmer art. Better than a green square.

Even with all the changes I've made, my game looks the same as it did 3 months ago. Maybe after polishing I'll have a screenie to show, but by then it'll almost be release time.

The enticement of Screenshot Saturday half makes me want to overhaul the graphics entirely.

At 12/24/13 03:12 PM, VoidForce wrote: The enticement of Screenshot Saturday half makes me want to overhaul the graphics entirely.

It'd shave a good ~1.5-2MB from the current filesize (which according to ng is 202KB). If only the audio could be pieced together like the art can...I guess it could if it's an intro + looped bits + ending.

At 12/23/13 09:29 AM, kkots wrote: Let's imagine that you have an older brother.
var X=your older brother;
If, let's say, you made X go instead of you, and you made the game instead of X (X is acting only as your pass into the jam, X doesn't actually do anything), would that work??

Well, I'm not sure it would...

Merry Christmas reg lounge, have a good one and don't get to drunk.

At 12/25/13 06:34 AM, Sam wrote: Merry Christmas reg lounge, have a good one and don't get to drunk.

*too

Apparently I've had one too many.

At 12/25/13 06:37 AM, Sam wrote: *too

Apparently I've had one too many.

Christmas is a celebration about Jesus.
You know stuff about Jesus.
Jesus would disapprove you getting drunk in his day.

At 12/25/13 10:23 AM, kkots wrote: Christmas is a celebration about Jesus.
You know stuff about Jesus.
Jesus would disapprove you getting drunk in his day.

Maybe ol' Jesus is tired of people drinking all his blood at Communion. Maybe he'd rather them have a beer. I'd rather have a beer.

At 12/25/13 10:58 AM, PSvils wrote: Why? The man who turns water into wine for people to continue partying?

Yup!

Anyway, happy holidays everyone.

At 12/24/13 10:44 AM, kkots wrote: What do you think about rotation of items, like in Help the hero! ?

Hey I'm all for it. Especially if, yknow, rotating the item causes additional problems. Why yes you can rotate that fragile package or store your liquids with the lid facing down...

Happy Boxing Day everyone

At 12/25/13 07:25 PM, KaynSlamdyke wrote: Hey I'm all for it. Especially if, yknow, rotating the item causes additional problems. Why yes you can rotate that fragile package or store your liquids with the lid facing down...

Oh! You've just stepped on a minefield.
Here are a few more ideas, if you're interested.
1. Add gravity. All items fall downwards until they hit the floor or another item.
2. Upon falling from a great enough height some items will break.
3. The item is treated as fully removed from the inventory as soon as the mouse is pressed over it. You can catch falling items.
4. Some special thin and long items will break, if you put heavy load far enough from the supporting items which lie underneath. See picture.
5. As you have already pointed out, liquids will pour out, if they have a lid and are placed topsy-turvy, or if they don't have a lid and are turned over, same happens for any containers that are not empty.
6. Items can only be grabbed if there's a clear, straight, horizontal path leading to them from the top (the path may. To reach items lying in the bottom you may need to dig them out. It should be allowed to dump items on the ground and them put them back in a new, more convenient order.

Also I have an idea of an inventory system which fully works on a physics engine, meaning there won't be a grid dividing the space.

"Realistic inventory system" - OH MAH GOD

At 12/26/13 08:51 AM, kkots wrote: See picture.

The picture!!

*enters berserk rage*

At 12/26/13 08:51 AM, kkots wrote: "Realistic inventory system" - OH MAH GOD

Please tell me you're joking :P

Imagine RE4 with a system like this. And what if time expired (at a reduced rate) while doing all this? That adds a whole new challenge to something we all take for granted in games.

Come to think of it I'd love to see how this would work. Totally impractical for serious games but gawd would that be funny to watch.

At 12/26/13 05:02 PM, Archawn wrote:

At 12/26/13 08:51 AM, kkots wrote: "Realistic inventory system" - OH MAH GOD

Please tell me you're joking :P

Imagine RE4 with a system like this.

Holy crap, man! Another minefield, even larger!! *eyes start looking into opposite sides*

The belt/equipment system!

1. Inventory has a separate sub-inventory, playing the role of a belt. Items for quick use can be placed into the slots, lying under F1/F2/F3/F4 hotkeys. Maybe some passively used items, like ammo, can be worn on the belt too.
2. The whole alternative (active) inventory is displayed as a rotatable 3D character model with slots that highlight when moused over. A headlamp can be dragged to the forehead. A weapon to the hands. Secondary weapon to the back. Pistol to the waist. Ammo or maybe a whole ammo belt on the chest somewhere. Medkits into pockets on the vest. Knife onto a calf.
3. The character is actually carrying around a backpack, or a briefcase with all the passively stored items. In the game, the character would put it on the ground and slip hands into there and start digging in it. As a result, it's impossible to even look into the inventory while being on a ladder, underwater, on a very tiny spot of ground, etc.
4. Item descriptions are not displayed, and the player must remember where he put what things. For example, in roguelikes this can be dangerous when poison and a healing potion are in bottles that look alike.
5. When the character gets hit, or is knocked down, or takes a hit to his/her backpack in the actual game, or turns around, items are taking the hits as well, turning around too, and everything gets messed up, and some items may break. If there were explosives in the backpack, they would be likely to explode.
6. The player may put more items than the backpack can carry, but the top-most items will randomly fall out on the ground while the character is moving.
7. Backpack can be upgraded with a larger size, bullet protection, etc.
8. Large weight makes the character get tired more quickly or move slower, not be able to jump as high, etc.
9. The backpack is 3D. You can simulate this by using N separate backpacks, where N is the depth of the backpack in cells. Or you can simulate this by allowing the player to stack similar items together, in one slot, up to N items. For example, 2 potions together, 50 bullets in one slot, etc. I'm also thinking about an isometric display, but it would be too difficult to draw, let's say, an AK-47 in isometric view.
10. Storing, let's say, explosives in inventory near a, let's say, lit candle will instantly produce an explosion right in the inventory and end the game. Maybe intentionally turning over containers with liquids and pouring them into each other to create chemical mixtures and new potions would be a nice way to create an alchemy/brewing system right in the inventory.
11. Putting sharp objects, like knives, near the edges of the backpack or near anther fragile item will either create a hole in the backpack (and knife will fall out, with everything else that's near the hole) or destroy the item if there's good weight applied to the pointy end of the knife. Knives, swords, sharp things - they need to be stored in some kind of casings. For, example, trying to take a knife with hands when it is facing with its pointy end up, or trying to grab a sword by its blade is hazardous.
12. Every medkit is a sub-inventory which opens on top of the main inventory when you click it, and it has syringes and capsules inside it, and they have no description, and you must quickly pick the right stuff, so you need to know what is what in a medkit.
13. Some containers may be closed and require some sort of tools in order to open. And the tools can either be in the inventory too or put on the belt. And you need to pick the tool, and it would follow the cursor while carried.
14. A sight system in an inventory. Your eyes are on the top, and they're like sources of light. The items in the inventory cast black, semi-transparent shadows. So it gets harder and harder to see the deeper you try to look. When you clear things out of the way, more of the inventory is revealed. You can either move eyes around with the mouse cursor (like, they follow it automatically, but can't go inside the backpack anyway), or you can move the eyes into the infinity and let them cast vertical rays.

I made a mistake in my previous idea where I said something about having a clear, vertical (I said "horizontal" - that's a mistake) straight path to items. Well, I also meant that we, humans, can bend our hands 90 degrees from the arm, so I think that you can also grab items that lie a bit to the right or to the left from the path, 1 cell. Maybe you could also display the actual arm, animated. And make an animation of it how it gets cut by some edge of a sword while passing close to it. That also gives me an idea of a maximum range of reach - you can't reach too deep into the backpack, if it's obstructed.

15. If the player somehow dies because of improperly placed items, right before his death you are obligated to show a close-up of the accident happening in the inventory, otherwise the player won't understand what's happened.

I got tired... I'm sleepy now...

At 12/26/13 05:02 PM, Archawn wrote: Please tell me you're joking :P

Imagine RE4 with a system like this. And what if time expired (at a reduced rate) while doing all this? That adds a whole new challenge to something we all take for granted in games.

See the fun part of this is that if this is your Main Gameplay Focus, it's only just as complicated as your standard RPG. When your game focuses not just on carrying items, but how you carry those items, it can be pretty neat. Slowly you overwhelm the player not with the zombies or combat challenges, but with the simple problem of dragging a quart of water thirty miles when all you have are an deflated balloon and a thousand pointy knives...

A separate idea we've been kicking around is having to repair parts of a complex facility, through cannibalizing other parts of the facility (cut a fuse from one door to repair one important boondoggle... and then find a new fuse to repair that door). it's a different sort of resource management.

Bearing in mind this is a year where one of the biggest games in the indie scene has you stamping passport papers under increasingly draconian rules, the kinds of games where these kinds of mind-fucks of challenges are becoming all the rage.