Sunday, July 31, 2011

Production Start-Up Log for 7-31-2011



If you've got a Nintendo 3DS then open up your internet browser and tap the following link:

http://www.bullockarts.com/miscjunk/sq3d/SQ3D0001.mpo

Pretty nifty, huh? Of course, its not real. I was just fooling around with layers in Paint Shop Pro 7. Exported two seperate images for the left and right eye, opened it up with my 3D imaging software and BLAMO! 3D Spikes Quest!

So now that you've seen this, answer me this, would you play the game if it could be viewed like that?

I could probably make it happen though it might cause terrible lag due to the screen being rendered twice. But wouldn't it be cool?

On to other news, today I'll be going on a rather long road trip. I'll be riding back seat with my laptop and other devices in tow so I should be able to do some coding for four hours straight. I'll be visiting relatives down on the gulf coast for the next three weeks though so my progress may be slowed a bit.

Still, keep checking in! I'll try to update as much as possible!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Test Demos #1 & 2 [ Old Releases ]

Here are the first two Test Demos as originally posted up in the Ponychan Thread before the creation of this blog. You can find more information about them in the readme.txt files located in the zips

These are just posted here just for the sake of logging them.


Demo #1

download: http://www.bullockarts.com/miscjunk/S.Q.%20Test%20Demo%20%231.zip







Demo #2

download: http://www.bullockarts.com/miscjunk/S.Q.%20Test%20Demo%20%232.zip

Production Start-Up Log for 7-30-2011






Yesterday I spent some time adding a few finishing touches to the config.exe code with the addition of a Display Driver selection menu and a few minor tweaks on the full screen resolution menu. One bug that I'm sure about but cant test atm is this:

- you start the game on one computer and you select the first option on the full screen selection menu.

- You then move the game on to another computer. The other computer's first full screen setting has different vales for width x height and depth.

- Game would probably error out because of this.

so for Demo #4, if any pony out there has multiple computers that may have different values for a certain mode, please test this out and let me know something.

Unfortunately I still wont release that demo until Wednesday so for now just go about your daily business.

In other news I've finally got around to fixing some bugs. I now have two different logs because of this. One log is for bugs and suggestions that have yet to be touched the other log is of the bugs that have been fixed each following a simple answer to the problem.

You can find these logs here:
Bug Log:
http://www.bullockarts.com/miscjunk/Bugs&SuggestionsLog.txt

Fixed Bug Log:
http://www.bullockarts.com/miscjunk/FixedBugsLog.txt

Today's project shall be to resume work on bug extermination. Currently working on ladder related bugs. I go through a can of Raid every hour. Its that tedious. :P

If only code in related image could really work then life would be so much easier. (code is a joke that only code bronies may only get. :P )

Friday, July 29, 2011

New Display Driver Option


I've just applied the option to switch display drivers. Meaning if you have more than one monitor connected to your computer and you'd prefer to use a specific one then you can simply set the program to use that monitor through the config exe!



For this example I'm using my Sony PSP as a secondary monitor and streaming the game to it through a program called PSPDisp. Its not the greatest way to play the game but it'll do as an example for right now

Production Start-Up Log for 7-29-2011

 
 
Since after the release of Demo #3 I've been busy logging bug reports. I've also been busy adding to the config system as you can see in the screenshot.

It still looks very basic with dull code-drawn graphics but as you can also see I've advanced the screen resolution system a bit. The program can now read your graphics driver and output what resolutions are available for full screen mode on your computer.

I've spent the whole of yesterday implementing this system. Half the day alone was trying to figure out just how to get the dratted scrollbar to work :P

It probably would had been somewhat easier using the Visual Basic gui system (I think its VB, I could be wrong) but I decided to just hard code everything through Blitz 3D. The system is now fully functional and I can now proceed to the next project which is a custom control system where you can customize what button layout you want to use to control Spike with. That project may take a few hours to complete but I've got all the time in the world. :)

Other news, Equestria Daily finally posted up the update concerning the Demo 3 release. I've been debating about whether I should send Seth every Demo update (once every Wednesday of course) but I cant help but feel that every demo release will really be news worthy. For example, I believe Demo #4 may only focus on the new config system and some minor bug fixes. Demo #5 on the other hand may have the addition of connecting additional maps via doorways and screen exits as well as moving platforms and a health system. Demo #5 would probably be much more newsworthy than Demo #4. Wouldn't you agree?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Demo #3 Readme Dox Updated

I've updated the Readme Dox in the Demo #3 zip. New content contains a new Bug Log with all current recorded Bug Reports and suggestions. You'll notice that all these are copy/pastas from Ponychan and the Dev Blog. This should let you know that your voices are being heard here :)

Also taking the advice of GabuEx (who has done an extensive rundown on bugs and advice on Demo #3) I've updated the main readme.txt with player control instructions.

All this done before the upcoming Equestria Daily post which could had possibly been disasterous if I had not made such changes (or probably not)

Thanks everyone for all your input so far! :)

Production Start-Up Log for 7-28-2011





so I've got my work cut out for me today. Plenty of bugs reported here and there. Most of them concerning animation, ladders and platform tiles.

There's also been plenty of good suggestions out there that I should probably consider.

Sometimes today Demo #3 will be announced on Equestria Daily so I'm expecting possibly more bug reports.

Oh yes. I definately have my work cut out. But it was to be expected!

Still, so far I am very pleased by the overall response on Demo #3

So today I'll be wondering around the internet collecting these bug reports and updating the log. And then I'll begin working on them one by one. There are so many other things that I want to do but I feel that certain bugs should come first.

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Spike's Quest Test Demo #3





Download: http://www.bullockarts.com/miscjunk/S.Q.%20Test%20Demo%20%233.zip

Spike's Quest Test Demo #3
Released on 7/27/11

This demo is to test the following:
- Spike's animation
- 3D/2D parallax background (optional through config.exe)
- New tile system allows more new tiles.
- Customized folder layout (do these custom folder themes work on all computers?)

Run the config.exe before running the demo and select which background mode you'd like to test. There's 2D and 3D mode and of course there's your screen resolution setup.

Spike's animation is still a bit buggy and it certainly doesnt look perfect just yet... Still a work in progress!

If you find a bug, check the bug log. If its not listed then report it!

That is all. Happy testing! :)

Production Start-Up Log for 7-27-2011

Hey guiz, guess what today is?

Today is Wednesday! And that means today is Demo day!




That means that today I'll be spending production time throwing together an executive file compiled with all my hard work. All for the sake of showcasing it and bug testing.

As always I'll try to have this demo up and ready for your downloading pleasure by 6:30 CE time (or Tennessee time) so be watching for it around then.

What's to be expected?

- Spike sprite. No more red box thing!
- 3D and 2D parallax background option
- New tile system means more new tiles
- Completely new customized folder view

With the demo I'll include a bug report file with currently known problems. If you find a bug check that list. If its not listed then report it.

That is all for now. Keep watching!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Production Start-Up Log for 7-26-2011






In the upcoming test demo I'd like for everypony to run one specific test for me.See the two screenshots? Notice there are two different background types here. One is your standard 2D background the other one has 3D cubes in the background.

What do I wish to accomplish with the 3D backgrounds you might ask? Well, remember one of the old DS Castlevania games - Dawn of Sorrow?

If not then have a look-see at this screenshot here:



Now doesn't that background look just awesome?

Now imagine Ponyville done up in a style like that. Yeah, that's what I'd like to accomplish here.

But the problem is that with some computers, mainly the older ones with crappy graphics cards often cant render 3D graphics from Blitz 3D created software. That's where this next test demo comes in. You can switch between 2D and 3D background modes in the config.exe so I'd like for you bronies to play around with it and tell me how well it runs on your machines. Does it work? and if it does then does the 3D effect the game's performance?

I'll try to have the demo ready for tomorrow (remember I post these demo runs every Wednesday). Until then be patient and stick around. there's more progress to be had! :)

Monday, July 25, 2011

S.Q. Customized Folder



Call it procrastination if you'd like but I've spent the majority of the day tweaking desktop.ini files and this is the end result of my work. Everything was designed and scaled to look pixelated giving it that old school game feel. ;)

I'll be using this template for future demos and eventually the final game. By then it might look totally better than what it does now as I'll continue to tweak it.

Production Start-Up Log for 7-25-2011




Yesterday I spent many painful hours trying to code the tile system upgrade. In fact I did not get the darn thing to function properly until late last night. Thankfully now that task is now behind me and I can now work on more other newer and exciting things! [/flutter_yay]

Now with the addition of the new upgraded tile system I've gone and added a simple parallax background system with just a couple simple lines of code. And then I went and completely fixed the slope tile function which was a little jerky.

And now I find that I'm having bug trouble with the ladder tiles. When at the top of the ladder you cant climb down for some silly reason. Such bugs are common after certain code overhauls :P but I'll deal with that today.

As for this morning I took a little break from the game to just clean up the production folder. Its truly amazing how messy these things become when in use!

More to come soon. Stay tuned

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Guest Submitted - Spike Walk Animation



I really dont like having to ditch the sprite I already was working on before (I was actually feeling rather proud of it) but this user submitted animation of Spike actually looks better. Same user is still anonymous atm but eventually I'll get his name for crediting.

I also had to request that for me to use his work that he'd have to limit this sprite to this project only. The request was not to be selfish or anything but rather I'd like for all things assoociated to this game to be exclusive to this game only. So I felt kinda bad when he had to go and remove this work from another project he was submitting it to. :P

Oh well.... business is still business I guess.

Opinions?

Production Start-Up Log for 7-24-2011



Lately I've been upgrading the tile system for the game and a bit of tweaking on the game engine. I've also fixed the snap distances of the ladder and I'm currently considering the sprite talent of another person other than myself.

The tile system upgrade will allow me to have more tiles in a tileset than what I was allowing myself before and I'd be able to assign each tile its own individual layer and obstacle type more easily (before this upgrade I was assigning these things manually which meant more code than what was really necessary) I'll continue working on this upgrade throughout the day and then I'll move on to other things.

If I do decide to let this anonymous user design the in game sprites then I can just focus on other things such as the tilesets and some other much needed code. I really wanted to make this project 100% my own but considering the amount of work that lays ahead I finally figured that things would probably progress faster if I let other people in on the work. And yes, that includes the in game music that I've mentioned a couple times already.

I still wish to tackle everything else alone. But if somepony else would like to contribute their talent to the project then I wouldn't mind seeing what you got. That's not a promise though.

Another person offered to try and port the game to the PSP as a homebrew game. So I guess that's another thing that can be considered as additional help.

More news to come soon!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

A PSP Port?



It may be way too early to say anything on this matter but somepony is offering to actually attempt a port of this game for the PSP. Of course even if he fails in doing so I'd still actually like to see one made.

I mean, how hard can it be to translate simple Blitz Basic code to another programing language?

Of course first there needs to be an actual game. But from what has already been seen and tested over on the Ponychan  /collab/ thread what are your thoughts of this possibly hitting the PSP homebrew scene?

Today's Workstation



I figured I'd do a little procrastination and show off my workstation for today.
Pic was taken with a Nintendo 3DS so of course the quality is going to be crap... :(

I'm using that little netbook for all my internet needs and the larger Acer for the project itself. There's a PSP right next to the coffee cup that's hacked. I use it to play GBA roms for inspiration. And another 'fake' PSP that I purchased off line for playing MP4 video files (every episode of MLP FiM has been saved from Youtube and uploaded to that little bootleg device)

Speaking of GBA games am I the only one who admires the graphical beauty of the GBA Castlevania games?

Friday, July 22, 2011

Spike Walks






So now Spike walks. Its not the final version of the walking animation but it certainly feels fluint enough to work. For a while now I was feeling that he didnt quiet look right but I'd like to get some opinions on that.

What do y'all think?

Finally a dev blog!

So I finally went and did it! A dev-blog for Project Spike's Quest!

Here I'll post up test demos and certain other updates. Should be fun!