I've uploaded the preview Spots program to the Downloads area (http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=9), with piccies in my Blog (http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?blog=948) :)
As I state there, its nowhere near finished - the main game is more or less finished, but there are a few display things to sort...
It crashes/stops working if I enter a new profile and then try to SELECT it. I don;t know if this was just a one off thing, or it's normal. Might even be a Windows 7 thing. Dunno. :(
It does however save the profile and I can then SELECT it and play with that profile if I restart. :(
It's a cool game (the AI is really cool), but the small size of the screen detracts. Even scaling this up would improve it no end.
Keep up the good work :)
You can change the screen resolution, but I haven't tested it in different resolutions yet (for example the menu text size doesn't increase, but the selecting shape does). I keep it at a small resolution so that I know everything will fit whenever a higher screen size is used.
I dont know why the profile crashed - it works here (with Windows 7 x64). However, its not an area that's been tested yet as more arcade levels are needed.
Most of the resolutions I tested worked very nicely, but when I put it on very high res (aka 1400x1050, 1400x900) some of the button's click areas aren't in the areas where they're drawn, but mid res works perfectly.
Whenever I select a profile it says "invalid value for the maximum number of moves" with a button taking me back to the main screen, so I've just used 'League' mode.
Great concept btw, and when you've finished the full thing, gfx and all, I'm sure it'll look great. Your AI (as Ian commented) is great as well! (It beats me every time...)
QuoteYour AI (as Ian commented) is great as well! (It beats me every time...)
As it should :)
I'll have to look at that message - looks like a key string is wrong :)
Exactly, possibly a file writing/reading error? I'm on Windows 7 32-bit BTW if it helps. It's strange that three Win7s should act differently...
Anything is possible :)
I've updated the title options to now look like :
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very nice. The black background looks a bit empty. Maybe you want a gradient or some stars blinking there?
In regards to just game-play, I generally had no idea how to play and so it's hard to test. :noggin: Looks like you need to put the missing instructions in there or a quick help tip dialogue for the initial moves. For example, when the level starts; "Welcome to Spots. Select the yellow spot and click on a gray square [|w/e] for [some reason]...". :whistle:
The instructions will be added at some point, dont you worry...
I haven't decided what to do for the background yet unfortunately.
BUG!
This froze my W7 X64 Dual Core PC when conflicting with my Firewall
Cant say I've had that trouble - what were you doing ?
Quote from: MrTAToad on 2011-Jan-12
Cant say I've had that trouble - what were you doing ?
Nothing in paticular my Firewall is in interacvtive mode so i can keep an eye on all inbound outbound activity any new activity needs to be authorised by me.
Just wondering why your demo attempts to make an outbound connection what is it trying to send?
EDIT...
Just read your blog think i know now from the screenshots why its attempting to make an outbound connection but you may want to look into why it freeze's PC when connection attempt fails or is denied.
It sounds as though the connection to GLBasic hiscore database couldn't complete. As its never failed here (and it has a short timeout anyway), I've no idea why it freezes for you...
New title screen :
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Just before I release the new beta, I've got a short video of the game running :
Nice to see this coming along so well. :)
Was that vid recorded with FRAPS? How on earth did you get such a good framerate WITH sound? I get really crappy FPS and stuttering with sound. Without sound it's merely OK. My memory, CPU and GFX processor aren't that bad either. Any tips.
Yes, its with Fraps. The video capture for movies is at 30 fps, with stereo sound. I do have a dual-core 3.06Ghz machine with a WEI (Windows 7 rating) of 5.5
The only thing I would recommend is make sure that the movie files aren't on the system hard drive - mine are, and it can make a difference.
I think I was probably pushing the machine too far trying to use 60FPS! D'oh! LOL. That may have been the problem! It's much better at 30FPS but oviously not full speed, but I do get good sound now.
My WEI for everything exact graphics was between 5.1 and 5.5. GFX was 3.9 due to using a laptop, although it is a dedicated gfx card and not integrated.
Cheers :)
30 is a good compromise - it doesn't affect graphically intense programs too much, which is good.
That looks really professional nonw. You should take some aid for the title screen image, or redesign it. It doesn't fit the professional look of the rest.
Awesome work!
Thanks for that!
I might re-design the title image later on, once everything else is sorted.
Now got a dedicated site for the latest testing files and pictures : www.spots.un-map.com
Another quick video :
And V3.0.0.1 is now available at www.spots.un-map.com
This is looking very good!
When the computer makes a choice, the flickering of the valid places to move is a bit annoying IMO. I would remove it for the computer player. For the humans, a quick fade might be cool. Or an decreasing rectangle that zooms in from the corners.
The flickering effect has now been removed for AI players.
That CPU player is way too good :P
Nice one :)
Yes, Hard AI is designed to beat everone :)
I suspect the orginal version used a medium setting for the arcade mode, and thats what I've set mine to now...
The latest version (3.0.0.3) is available at http://www.spots.un-map.com - give it a go!
Now on V3.0.0.5 - Hopefully I've fixed the foreign font problem (by saving my text files as ANSI and not UTF-8) :)
Here is the same screen in English, Welsh and Italian - I'll leave you to decide which is which :)
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Latest (and last beta for the time being) of Spots is now available!
Now got the linux version up and running :)