Good Friends From Afar

A few days ago I came across Doom2D.org. It's a Russian based website that actually have their own flavor of a 2D DooM game. Theirs is primarily multiplayer split screen. Very fun concept and very creative implementation. I have been in touch with these guys for a little now and they are very nice and helpful. I hope that anyone interested in our game will give theirs a chance since it is fun. Especially if you have a buddy and want to frag them hardcore DooM style. I am adding the links in this post but will add them to a new section of links off to the side menu area really soon.

This site is in Russian, so if you have to translate the page to navigate.

Here are the links:
DooM2D Forever - Site
English Version Download - DooM 2D Forever game

Have fun with this game and pay some respect to the wonderful team that brought it into this world.

Neuntoter

Days Off and Coding Away

for the next 3 days I will be off from my normal job which will open up tons of coding time for the new engine and porting of the DooM 2D game. Hopefully tomorrow I am hoping to have enemy spawning and player projectiles ported over. Oh, all projectiles in the game now will not only be coded more efficiently, they will also be more bad ass since they will be utilizing additive blending. Normal speech.. a slight glow affect for fireballs and explosions instead of just a single sprite animation. Also, projectiles will give off particle based affects, like a missile giving off a trail of smoke. This was always in my plans of implementation but the original code was kinda clustered and prevented such things since calls to other functions and classes were essentially not built correctly. Now since I have the better knowledge I can code these better.

Now you guys and gals can see why I decided to do a rehash of the engine mid production.

Neuntoter

We Now Have a Level Editor

Yeah, this is exciting news because this will really help us speed up creating new levels for the new episodes. Although the creation of this did set us back a little for releasing Episode 1 but it is well worth it. While creating this I also added some new sweet features. Like ladders. Well let me explain better, ladders that you actually climb up and down instead of acting like stacked platforms. Also the levels are (background coding) more efficient so DooM 2D should run that much better. As an example, I dev the game on a 1Ghz X2 cpu and I did see a nice little boost in hectic scenes. The game is coded to run @ 60 FPS.

Well that's it for now

Neuntoter

Minor Updates

I found out that the weapon switching after levels is still broken and for the life of me I can't find the issue this time. It's a mathematical issue with arrays but when I modify the equation it either increments too much or not at all which means the weapon either switches to the next highest or previous lowest. Over all it makes no sense at all.

I did make changes to the health and level caps though. Now you can no longer hit above 100 health nor can you go above the ammo caps either. I played through with it like that and made (to me) a more enjoyable play through since you were really using ammo better. These updates should go live tonight for the demo.

Also tonight Nonulok and I will be working even more on Episode 1 which should introduce improved particles for when barrels, enemies and the player get hit. I am also thinking about creating another version of the DooM 2D game and make it so it is not stage based but having encounters. For example fighting boss after boss in either waves or a boss fight then next level which contains the next boss. Or even barrel puzzle levels. But These will truly intended for short quick plays for those that are always busy and on the go.

Please any one with comments or ideas by all means leave them. Now that the demo is out we would greatly love to hear what you the players are thinking and maybe even what you would expect in the future for this series.

Thank You

Neuntoter

DooM 2D Versioning

I actually made the mistake of thinking that when a game, whether it is a demo or an episode, would stay a fixed version with out updates and that the updates would then be released for the next episode release. WRONG..... Very bad idea, .. Why? When I die or go to the next level I go back to my hand gun, My bullets go through the bad guys head.... These issues have been fixed and I am told over and over that they are present in the game. Which as far as the player is concerned if the game or release that they are playing has these issues they have not been fixed. So solution. Going forward we will have a small version note section displaying what current version of the engine is out and what version of the current (individual game) version is out.

What this does. Engine updates means that something that effected all games was fixed and or updated and that game updates are things that effected that game in particular like GFX or sound FX fixes or updates. an update to a level or enemy found in that game etc.

Currently the version you are playing is listed in the top center screen, so you would compare that number to this blog pages current Engine version. So far not sure how we will be showing or giving the bug fix log but those are our plans and will be implemented within the week.

Thanks for your interests and patience

Neuntoter

Worked On Episode 1 a Little

Cleaned up some collision boxes for enemies, changed some sound FX to make more sense. gave the boss a better projectile animation. cleaned up alot of the highly used tiles to make them less redundant. Going to work on the shooting patterns for the enemies so each enemy in the level has a unique pattern and not the enemy type. So far it's cleaning up nice.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Demo.

Neuntoter

Demo is Released to the Masses

Today is a big day for us. The games (DooM 2D) demo is finally live for all to play and try out. The demo, once again, is gameplay, level design, and game flow. Once Episode 1 is released the level detail will be amped up greatly along with sounds.

Click Here for Download

Download and follow the install txt file. very straight forward.

Thanks all for sticking with us. we will soon be posting pics and other fun stuff.

Neuntoter

Download link fixed. -Nonulok

Quick Update

Just trying to get some more sound effects before it posts live (the demo). So in all honesty it should be out tonight which when it does go live I will make another post with the link.

Neuntoter

Demo Release

Oh, 1 day away and so excited. So far receiving some really good feedback from our testers. alot has been either updated to be smoother and better for gameplay and just added to change some stuff up for the new demo players. I have some big plans for this project in the future that will keep it simple, fun but hopefully addicting. Do not want to give too much away but will say that it should bring some back into the day lol if you know what I mean.

Neuntoter

Just a Few Days

Goes out to the masses in a few days (Friday), getting pretty amped up about it. So far I have heard positive things about it along with some annoyances, which I am currently smoothing out. The Demo release will (should) be free of these annoyances and a little prettier than the beta demo.

Neuntoter

A Little Late But Finally Out

This would be an official milestone.

The game (beta demo) is finished and sitting on a file server. Right now it is limited but will be full access next Friday to the masses. I am taking a risky guess but believe the Episode 1 release will be within 3 weeks, along with that we will try a 2 - 3 week release per episode but we will have to see how that goes.

Neuntoter

Crunch Time!

It's the night before our game's demo is released and we're staying up till it's done. This release WILL be coming out on Monday even if we have to stay up all night to finish it. We don't have that much left to do. Most of it is fixing a few graphical glitches and adding a few new animations. The coding is pretty much done...for now. The big thing is going to be level design. We have one level pretty much done and hope to get at least 2 more done for release. We're going to start with a limited release to a few select people for bug testing, then it's going live for all! Check back for a MediaFire link (or similar site) after a few days when we know everything is at least functional.

-Nonulok

P.S.
If you want to be a tester, E-Mail me at nonulok@gmail.com

Right On Schedule

Just like I stated last post, both Nonulok and I are right on schedule with the Demo Release. With a few modifications, It is being released as a Beta Demo. We will be selecting 6 or so testers. It will be released Monday 11-21-2011 to the testers. If all goes well with that, then it will go live to the masses within the same week.

What the Demo is:
A dumbed down version of the official Episode 1 release.

And what does that mean exactly?
Level detail will be minimal. Decor to bring out atmosphere will not fully be in place. Stages will be a little shorter. GFX may change.

What will stay the same from the Demo to the Episode 1 release?
The core of the gameplay mechanics.
The overall layout of the initial level pieces.
The animations and effects. (this also includes characters)

so essentially the demo is to test how the game is played on levels that will really exist and not just a "Tech Demo" level showing off capabilities. I believe that when showing off what an engine can do and then receiving a game that is totally different than your first go at it can be both very misleading and kill the experience. Both of which we do not want to do.

So recap. Demo = short level to test overall gameplay and control. Episode 1 release will be longer and better in visual appearance.

Neuntoter

Current Activities

Alright, a quick update as far as were we are and what we are doing.

DooM 2D:
Designing levels, polishing up some sprites. As far as the engine that runs the game minor tweaks will be happening here and there to fix or should I say optimize enemy AI a little more. Polish up the collision detection. And we still need to add music (which the demo will not have). But a 3 level demo is on it's way withing the next few weeks. I can actually guarantee that it will be out before December.

I will dub thee engine Basic 2D. That will be because the way it was programmed was mainly as a one style game sorta engine. We will release a few more games based upon this engine but that will bring us into the next topic.

Ground Zero Engine:
This I actually started the ground work on yesterday. This will be much more of a modular engine to keep it very versatile with how we will be able to utilize it. I am naming it Ground Zero because I am making it modular with the knowledge of when I want to test a new concept, there is my new module. So it will be used as a testing ground also. With this engine I am hoping to bring in more life as in FX, physics, and the likes. This engine will also be 2D. I believe our first mini game may actually be released as a personal test of mine while working on this engine, so the mini game will have some new features that DooM 2D will not be receiving.

That's it for now, all have a wonderful day

Neuntoter

Now for a big announcement

Nonulok and I both sat down and discussed the future of DooM 2D, and it came to this. We believe the game will do well as an episodic style game release. This will allow us to continue on making regular level releases on it, while improving it and start working on our commercial release game all at the same time and not kill quality in any of the products. Now with that being said we both drew up some levels that will act as the introduction for the on going story line that will be DooM 2D. With where everything sits at right now I would not be surprised to see something official in about 2 weeks or so. The demo will still be released as a short version of the first few levels release just to get all of your feet wet.

Questions, please ask away and leave comments.

Neuntoter

Big Announcement, Well... Sorta

I kinda took a step back from the programming end as a break I guess you could say. last thing I was working on was per pixel collision detection (Fun, fun). IMO, the game runs more than good enough to at least release a short demo of it to the public. Nonulok and I have to sit down and design the levels and add the music. After we release it there will of course be updates to it as we improve our engine and start to work on our new game which will be a very original title. The whole mini games thing will also start to happen so we did not forget about that.

I have also been working on an epic texture pack for Terraria based off the Castlevania series. It is actually turning out really well. More on that when I have a few more things completed. Well thats the update for now, thanks everyone.....

Neuntoter

Video Update

Nonulok and I ended up talking more business end then we anticipated, We now have a company name and some sound statements about the company and its goal for the gaming community. So unfortunately we did not get the video completed. But it should be this wed. that it will be posted. It will be short (compared to last one) but will go over the updates.

Neuntoter

NEW VIDEO SOON

not just yet so please no nude dancing in the streets or anything. This Sunday, Nanulok is coming over so we can record and edit a short but sweet video of the updates since last video and explain their functions. Show you some play footage and get people ramped up for the game itself. We are both very excited that we are this far and the progress we are making with this. We do want to thank everyone that has and will continue to tell others about this and those who are waiting for its release. Now not stating any release dates but it should not be too much longer.

Neuntoter

Currently Working On

Particle emitters and enemy spawners.

The Particle Emitters will be for some sweet multi-particle effects. Ex, smoke trails, fire (not based off sprite animation) etc. should be cool.

The Enemy Spawners, .. we all know what these are and do, need I say more. These will work wonders for boss fights. Adding kindle to the fire never has been so easy ... whu ha ha ha.

Neuntoter

Game Play Question

Kind of torn here. lots of enemies with lesser life or less enemies with more life for better battles. I know they both have their advantages and disadvantages which is why this is a tough decision. The coding makes this a very easy change so no extra programming time for this type of choice, it's more a level design type matter. Hell, we could even mix the two and make some levels have crazy battles and others levels like Contra style were you just go through it killing tons of guys. Hmmm, Think I just answered my question. Please, let me know what your thoughts are on this matter.

Neuntoter