(http://crystalshard.net/img/rodent1.png)
Indiana Rodent and the Raiders of the Lost Cheese
Current one-level demo (http://crystalshard.net/test/IndianaBeta.zip)
Older MAGS version (http://crystalshard.net/zip/I_RODENT.ZIP)
(http://crystalshard.net/img/rodent3.png)
A scrolling platform game in AGS. Your evil twin Rattoq has stolen the cheese! Can Indiana Rodent traverse the perilous platforms, bottomless pits, and lots of spikes to make it to the end? Of course he can, he's got infinite lives!
Made for this month's OROW and MAGS contests. This is the second version, which primarily should have better controls than the first. I'm planning on adding more levels (and enemies and stuff) later this year. Comments welcome.
The "key" sprite is still alive and kicking :-)
Dang, another game I would have loved to record my first impressions on but it's also made with an old version of AGS that doesn't support the Direct3D drivers that are necessary for recording with FRAPS. Never knew so many people were still using ancient 2.something versions :D
I'll just play it and write my thoughts down in this thread then. Looking forward to playing it!
Quote from: dkh on Fri 02/09/2011 11:25:39Never knew so many people were still using ancient 2.something versions :D
To my best knowledge, AGS 2 works on Linux, whereas AGS 3 does not. That's the main reason.
Oh ok, well, it's your choice.
First impressions:
LEFT and RIGHT controls feel sluggish, have the rodent accelerate and decelerate faster. You know these ice-blocks in lots of similar games that reduce your traction? Right now it feels like you're constantly on these. I DID get used to that after a while but it isn't very precise.
Allow the rodent to jump through the top of the screen instead of bumping against it. Not only is that the cause for many frustrating deaths, it also doesn't feel 'right' to me. Hard to explain.
If possible, try and fix the problems with getting stuck on ramps when you're not jumping and being stuck in walls when jumping into these.
There are some questionable level design decisions such as death traps in there but with additional levels that can be rectified.
Re-design the vanishing blocks so it's more obvious when they'll appear and disappear. Right now, when there's only a lower part of the block visible, you fall through them - and in general it's hard to tell if a block is appearing or disappearing. Maybe there's another design that clearly shows when the block is solid and when it isn't.
For reference, this is how Keen did it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGIDVLls1Xc
Apart from that, it's a great jump'n'run game! Very impressive and fun!
Is this using that tile system thingy that Dirk has shown me? Or have you built it from fresh? Either way, looks pretty cool.
Love the title! ;D
Reminds me a little of an old Atari ST game called "Mousetrap".
Quote from: Mods on Fri 02/09/2011 13:43:44
Is this using that tile system thingy that Dirk has shown me?
The what shown by who? :P
Nope, I built it from scratch.
Quote from: Radiant on Fri 02/09/2011 13:48:10
Quote from: Mods on Fri 02/09/2011 13:43:44
Is this using that tile system thingy that Dirk has shown me?
The what shown by who? :P
Nope, I built it from scratch.
Cool - aye abstauber was recently showing me a tile system that he says he's had available for people to use for a long while but they haven't used it - I was wondering if you had. Using a map editor AGS can import the levels and stuff, it was quite impressive. But I can't remember its name precisely. Good luck with Indy Rat...
Does it even use tiles?
Anyway, my first impression was quite frustrating, because I thought it would be some kind of Mario-type platformer.
But now I understand the concept of this puzzlejumper and enjoy it. Although it crashed on "Don't give up" after being minimized to tray. Damn.
Still - a fun game :)
@Mods: it's called PlaTENG. Mappy is the tile editor I used.
edit: Yay.... Cheesetopia! Once you get used to its controls, it's pretty easy :D
Downloading!
So much death... death music... permanently stuck in...brain
I didn't think the older controles were making the game too hard. But I guess I'm used to tricky platform games. Will be enjoying this I'm sure!
EDIT:
Well it was enjoyable again.
Will this get a real save function and more levels? The spawn points are nice but if you restart the game all progress is gone. It would be nice if you could save. Play to the next check point and quit. Then came back later to play some more.
This is very enjoyable. Kinda addicting actually. I want more levels!
I'm wondering, how did you go about implementing the slopes Radiant? I can see they aren't working 100% all the time but it works out okay. Do you have special 'end slope' tiles or something?
Quote from: abstauber on Fri 02/09/2011 13:59:26
Does it even use tiles?
Yes, it's a tile engine.
Quote from: Buckethead on Fri 02/09/2011 18:15:01
Will this get a real save function and more levels?
That's the plan.
Quote from: dkh on Sat 03/09/2011 19:39:12
I'm wondering, how did you go about implementing the slopes Radiant?
That was the most difficult part, really. It still needs some tweaking. There are basically three tiles, one is a square block, one is an upslope, one is a downslope. It needs lots of pixel checking to prevent the mouse from entering a wall.
Quote from: Radiant on Sun 04/09/2011 02:44:11
That was the most difficult part, really. It still needs some tweaking. There are basically three tiles, one is a square block, one is an upslope, one is a downslope. It needs lots of pixel checking to prevent the mouse from entering a wall.
Oh, you're using "real slopes" then? Impressive!
(I cheated in using 45° slopes and calculated my way out of this ;) )
One day you have to tell me how you did the meat grinder - I just love cluster foes!
Quote from: dkh on Fri 02/09/2011 12:03:01
LEFT and RIGHT controls feel sluggish, have the rodent accelerate and decelerate faster.
Yep. This is the most important part to get right, it'll take some fiddling on my part (and I'm sure some more demos).
QuoteAllow the rodent to jump through the top of the screen instead of bumping against it.
I'll implement vertical scrolling, how's that? :)
QuoteRe-design the vanishing blocks so it's more obvious when they'll appear and disappear.
Yeah, these were the best graphics I could get in one week. I've found a site that has more, though.
QuoteFor reference, this is how Keen did it:
<3 Keen.
Quote from: abstauber on Sun 04/09/2011 11:27:30
Oh, you're using "real slopes" then? Impressive!
I've got 22° slopes, too, for the next demo.
Quote
One day you have to tell me how you did the meat grinder - I just love cluster foes!
Basic trigonometry :)
(http://www.freewebs.com/spentertainment/AGS_SCANS/Indiana_R_04.png)
Indiana Rodent portrait, courtesy of Snake.
THAT'LL DEFINETELY BE MY NEW MSN AVATAR.
Gosh. Damn, the talent of these AGSers...
Quote from: Radiant on Fri 30/09/2011 17:49:14
(http://www.freewebs.com/spentertainment/AGS_SCANS/Indiana_R_04.png)
Indiana Rodent portrait, courtesy of Snake.
How ironic, I always thought Indiana hated Snakes :P
Nice game, I like it when I play something and think AGS made THIS? :)
Quote from: Radiant on Sun 04/09/2011 02:44:11
It needs lots of pixel checking to prevent the mouse from entering a wall.
I entered a wall when playing :(. It was after that first big jump where it says 'You can Make it!', I thought I had made it, but realized I was stuck in the wall.
Great game though, look forward to when it is tweaked and finished :)
We're looking for a music composer. PM me if you're interested.
The best kind of music would be some sort of retro chiptune, but other suggestions are also welcome. What we're looking for is one-minute looping music that plays during a level, and it would be nice to have two or three different tunes for varying levels.
Has been filled.
Level design is ongoing...
(http://s8.postimage.org/o1uessymp/rodent2.png?noCache=1322860003) (http://s8.postimage.org/bbq6fpqoh/rodent1.png?noCache=1322860003)
Really looking forward to this, I've played and finished the tech demo for what feels like the hundredth time now!
Very nice job Radiant!
Great to see another platformer being made.
The new level screenies looking nice b.t.w.
Q: is there a reason you can only jump once when keep holding the jump key, instead of continues jumping?
Edit:
Maybe it would be nice if an info (like a popup above the cheese saying "savepoint" or something) is shown shortly and then vanishes when you hit the savepoint.
(At first didn't got it why I couldn't 'pick up' that cheese....)
Progress report,
Coding: 90%
Graphics: 90%
Music: 60%
Level design: 30%
Quote from: └» Arj0n «┘ on Sat 03/12/2011 16:54:11
Q: is there a reason you can only jump once when keep holding the jump key, instead of continues jumping?
It's a design choice; I believe that most platformers I've played recently do it that way. One press equals one jump.
QuoteMaybe it would be nice if an info (like a popup above the cheese saying "savepoint" or something) is shown shortly and then vanishes when you hit the savepoint.
Yep, there will be hintboxes.
Music and Graphics just hit 100%. Thanks, folks!
I would like to have feedback on the gameplay. Please check out this one-level demo.
http://crystalshard.net/test/IndianaBeta.zip
It's coming along very nicely. I have problems with movement still though. (1) Indiana Rodent still feels sluggish, I would greatly increase the acceleration and deceleration, make him react more quickly that way. You know how there's lots of platformers with icey ground where you slip and slide sort of? The game currently still feels like your on such a surface throughout. (2) You jump higher when you're moving left or right? That feels very counter-intuitive. I think you should be able to jump just as high while standing still and just hitting the UP key. (3) The level design can be a little unintuitive. These sorts of spots where you can't see where to go next should really be avoided like the plague, I feel:
(http://i.imgur.com/FeGjm.png)
It's great fun to play, still, and I'm very much looking forword to a full release. You did a clean and excellent job for an AGS platformer!
Quote from: dkh on Wed 21/12/2011 14:54:12
These sorts of spots where you can't see where to go next should really be avoided like the plague, I feel:
If you set difficulty level to 'easy', there'll be little arrows to show you. Perhaps I should add more of these.
Also, thanks for the feedback. It's hard to get jump physics in a way that most people like (fwiw, jumping higher when you've got a running start is not uncommon in platformers, but that doesn't necessarily mean people like it that way...)
Oh yeah, getting the physics to feel just right is incredibly hard.
About the level design: I noticed the change in this regard when setting the game to easy difficulty, but that doesn't make a big difference, it's not about the difficulty (you can just move slowly on higher difficulty and you'll be fine anyways), it's just the way these spots make the player feel. Just feels wrong and out of place to me.
Heh, I'm getting all kinds of mixed reactions on the physics.
Note that having acceleration on the main character (as opposed to having him move at a constant speed when the key is pressed, and stop instantly when the key is released) is a deliberate design choice, because many famous platformers like Mario, Sonic, and Cave Story also do it that way. I do realize this increases the difficulty level, but that's why I've added easy mode.
Ponch reports he has no problems with the glide physics, and so do Mystic and Kconan. On the other hand, Frodo notes the difficulty in skidding when you stop (possibly gliding off the platform).
Some other points reported: the scrolling should be faster (because you can presently outrun it and go off-screen); and the platform behind the tree in level one should be in front of the tree instead (because it's hard to jump there otherwise). There was a suggestion for a weapon or other powerup; I don't think a weapon is very fitting here but I could go for e.g. a turbo or invincibility powerup.
More comments are welcome, of course.
This has been released! Please come to this thread (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=45049.0) instead.