Review on latest GACK build(s)

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gernot66

I don't like to argue (much) about the new layout of the editor, i expect it's done to make it work with a touchscreen.
but personally i guess you can never be really productive with a touchscreen, but well i have no tablet and won't get no.
to me it's a bit like i would wearing gloves and like to solve a puzzle...

i really can't imagine to make such sprites without a precise control like a mouse.



i miss also the possibility to show the sprites/bg-tiles library as shown above,
it will be very hard to make backgrounds from a photograph or a similar large sheet
without a overview to all available cards ( ;/ "cards").




now to the real review of the features,

good is that you can determine the starting position now,
also i like "player power up" feature, that was a good idea.
i can see on your demo browser game that you have revived the keyboard controls, that's NICE
(unfortunately i still have to fumble around with the virtual stick in my GACK to test the games).
of course it's great that one can (could) now create standalones for various platforms.
one of the best features seems to me the possibility to publish them as a browser game,
i would find it extremely  8) to play once one of my games with a buddy online...

sad is mostly what i described already at front of this post.
the drawing tools & palette aren't no more on one single tab and that makes working periculous imo
(but i really see this as a convention to the possibilty to use the editor with a tablet.
personally i would think: "isn't it already good to publish them for a tablet, i assume not many will use it to edit a project").

cards and sprites are limited now to a size of 48x48, many projects i made with 64x64 background cards, they will get
loaded properly but i can't do such anymore(?). it was handy to fill a background quickly or to use pictures as background,
even when the sprites was sized 32x32 like for i.e. "Pixel Attack".

screen size is very small and it's sad that lower resolution won't be stretched anymore, right when i started to make such
lo-res projects this spring as "Galactic Invasion" or the even smaller "Pixel Attack"
(i already used for the former GACK release a low resolution on my PC to have a better view on what i work,
fullscreen was handy but it also stood in the way when you switch often between GACK and a paint prog.
or whatever you like to use along with GACK to manage the sprites/cards).

to get to the point:
i can set now the screen size only in blocks, this not only limits some of my projects, it simply destroys them.
already "Galactic Invasion" has a screen of only 4x5 blocks this undermines by far the 8x8 minimum we have now,
again not to guess of "Pixel Attack" which is even smaller.
if one asks now why i use such small screens, i'm a lazy dude  :zzz:
and well, the fun to shoot some aliens out of space is the same, i would say even better in lower resolutions,
it's more "authentic".

besides some games like "adventure" or what i newly started "Castle of Doom"
need a limited view to a large playfield, this is the tricky thing with them,
you won't see far and enemies appear suddenly.

i kow certain issues come from my behave to have no project shedule, i usually start with a idea and see how it works out.




nonetheless, i examined the various releases and stumbled over a possibility to publish a old .seuck project...
but also i was surprised that it won't work with a .gack project saved with GACK v1.018 (build24).
this leads to a small issue, because the "power up" sprites aren't present in a .seuck project
thus player2 appears after the first hit the same as player1.

in hoc signo vinces

gernot66

sorry, i really missed the "select" button in the sprites and background editor, my fault  :-[

it's just good that i opened my tutorial game "kit-man".
smaller game with less things, you can concentrate on what matters.
in hoc signo vinces