[Prototype][Game a Month]Cube Miner

Ratel

Hey guys this will probably be my first actual game prototype post, going to try and not wall of text you. So I have been of the grid for a while now busy making my own engine using c++ and SDL, it is a struggle but one I would do again as I have a great passion for programming engines but this leads to my next point. As we all know engines are great but they are not games and with this I have decided to start using game maker to prototype small games while working on the engine, my aim is to make games and I also want to fail fast so I'm going to start a game a month seeing as I'm not that good with game maker yet then later try to amp it up to a game a week. So without further ado this months prototype is Cube World.

Objective: Collect treasure and clear the dungeon

Mechanics:
Must haves:
1. Generate random dungeon with multiple floors
2. Most of the walls are destructible (in a bind facing 5 monsters, break through the wall and pick them off one by one)
3. Collectable treasure

Hoped for:
1. Items for character (maybe a diamond pick axe, now where have i seen that before)
2. Level system
3. More than one monster type

Done:
1. Character cube is walking and facing the mouse
2. Destructible blocks are in place
3. Enemy cone of sight working, player can hide behind ground

To do:
1. Add some AI
2. Scoring system

Busy:
Trying to implement random map generation using BSP trees... If it takes up more than a week I think I should just hack the map and move on to other mechanics

Screenshots/Vid:


Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ktauspl9gae40w2/Cube Miner v0.0.0.5.zip

Controls: WASD and Left MB for attack and mining :)

Kobusvdwalt9

Hey,
Looks like a pretty good tech demo there. Not really a game yet.

You might want to change the name to something else. There is already a pretty well known game called cube world https://picroma.com/cubeworld

If you get stuck with the generation of levels, I have done a shitload of work with PCG in the past so I might be able to lend you some code. Just say the word.

Oh and I know you like making game engines but yeah for a game a month unity/gamemaker is really what you want.

Ratel

@ Kobusvdwalt9 Yip it's pretty much just a tech demo at this point, the name is just a temp one I'll change it in the week, any advice on Bsp trees or Dungeon generation would help I'm still stuck on it. I was really hoping to have it completed by today but I'm still learning and struggling with game maker lol

Kobusvdwalt9

Ok well this is a greet tutorial and this is how I do my dungeons and terrain.

http://www.vlambeer.com/2013/04/02/random-level-generation-in-wasteland-kings/ I mix that with
{cant find the other link will update when I find it}
But what is nice about that vlambeer way is that you guarantee that all the rooms and corridors are connected which is a common problem.

So what I would do if I were you is to create a 2 dimensional array lets say 100 x 100
Then I would create a "floormaker" in the middle of that array at 50,50
Floormaker runs 1000 times in which it chooses a direction and then empties that square.
The floormaker would have a 10% chance to spawn room maker and then room maker would have
The roommaker would clear out a random amount of blocks in width and height.
The roommaker would have a 1% chance of spawning another floormaker if there is less than 4 active floormakerss.

Then I would run a cleanup method across that array to delete blocks that aren't connected to other blocks and smooth out the
cave more.
Then lastly I would run a population script across the array that spawns enemies in random places. Or based of off conditions.

And here is a good pathfinding tutorial if you need it http://www.policyalmanac.org/games/aStarTutorial.htm

I have code for all of this so PM me if you want that aswell. Its a bit long to post.

-Kobus

Ratel

@Kobusvdwalt9 Thanks for the help, used your advice and the map generation is now taking shape slowly.
I'm happy so far with the results here is a screenshot:


I'm moving on to the AI and game objectives to make something fun.

Ratel

Hey guys here is an update so far, I now have a downloadable you can try out, allot has changed. It still isn't a real game but its allot closer than a few weeks ago, here are a few screenshots as well. The download link is available at the first post.

Let me know what you think so far?

Some screenshots:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gj5uzbcbktu66f3/Screenshot2.png
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j9yhiet31szb6d5/Screenshot3.png
and a video :)

Ratel

Hey guys the new version is up for download in the original post, there are alot of changes to this version, your goal is now to collect all the chests then you win, will try to add some last minute changes tommorow.

Kobusvdwalt9

@LittleBear Im glad to see this taking shape. Another trick I usally use in these types of games is to loop through the array to cleanup the landscape. So it would look like this :
for y = 0; y < 100 y ++
{
for x = 0; y < 100 y ++
{

// this one removes extra blocks that have no connections to them.
if (map[x,y] == 1 &&

map[x+1,y] == 0 &&
map[x-1,y] == 0 &&
map[x,y+1] == 0 &&
map[x,y-1] == 0 &&)
{
map[x,y] = 0;
}

// another thing thats cool is when you have spesific corner tiles that you place. this makes the whole cave feel smooth to run through but is not applicable everywhere.

// this checks if the block on the right is a solid and the block on the bottom is a solid. If it is I create a corner tile
if (map[x,y] == 1 &&

map[x+1,y] == 1 &&
map[x-1,y] == 0 &&
map[x,y+1] == 1 &&
map[x,y-1] == 0 &&)
{
map[x,y] = "C1" ; // Corner one
}

// then you just repeat that for all of the corners, but like i said its very case spesific. I like to use it in FPS's cause // you dont want to stick to the walls the whole time. I used it in my quaternion a tale of destruction prototype. Look at the edges

}
}

Ratel

@Kobusvdwalt9 Thanks for the pro tips dude! I will use them in the next map generator, for now I am done with this prototype for the month of May. I have done all I can for this months prototype, it has been a great learning experience.

The new and last build for this month is loaded and the link is in the original post above :) any feedback is appreciated and a screenshot or two will be added later today but for now sleep is needed -_-

MyComrades

I downloaded the demo, its really fun, difficult by fun, I think I might of found a bug; at random times the game would just freeze and stay that way, maybe its just the game conflicting with the operating system (I have Windows XP)

Cheatsi

Hey man the game looks really interesting :) , I'm really excited to see what you do with it. At this point the only thing I can comment on is the shooting range which is a little too short and the fact that for the player to do any type of damage the enemies need to hurt him first. The range can be made longer and to compensate for it the enemies can move faster.

I'm sure you have taken note of those problems and you planning on fixing them shapa :). Oh regarding level design i prefer the old fashion way if laying out every aspect of it because this way it is much easier to control the way the levels feel for players. Man i really like these type of games and If you need any puzzle ideas I'm happy to help design them for you SHAPA.

Ratel

@MyComrades Thanks for playing the game and the report, I think the freezing might have to do with the placement of the coins when you open the chest.

@Cheatsi Thanks for the playing :), yea the range for the attack is horribly short but I did it to motivate players to hide and break through the rocks :P I was planning on putting in a long range weapon but I ran out of time lol. The project was just a month push to see if I can make something playable so I don't think I will return to it easily but I do appreciate the comments none the less, it shows where my shortcomings are.

This month I am going to resurrect my old project I did for a competition a while back, the project is called Boost. I'll make a better post later on the new project.

For those who played the game thanks allot for the support and comments! For those who want to play the game I will leave the download link active.

Till the next post cheers :)