Dungeon Mage's Time log

Apr 13, 11:23 Ive finished my architecture stuff. Added in modes, MENU and GAME so far.
Ive also just added the KeyTime[] addition to Timer so i can tell if Im trying to process keys from this cycle only.

Apr 13, 11:56 Fixed a problem with bitmap.h and Keyboard.cpp in the ld_Win32 lib.

Apr 13, 12:16 Made some basic floor tiles and some circles for the characters.

Brief summary of gameplay concept:

• You can only change "oxygen levels" in a room up and down.
• The enemy creatures will move faster or slower depending on the amount of oxygen they have
• The characters you want to have live through the room will move at a steady pace.
• Thinking there may be an additional tool such as a flashlight you may be able to use to effect the other creatures.

Apr 13, 12:58 Finished my map loading and drawing routines and one test map. Took a shot of the progress.

Apr 13, 14:08 Finished having an hour break.

Apr 13, 16:28 Finished the first Actor (CivilianActor), and got path finding working so he wanders around the map.

Apr 13, 17:00 Finished the first Enemy (EnemyNorm) and have made it's movement speed based on the Oxygen level. Next need to make it be able to kill the CivilianNorm.

Apr 13, 17:39 Second enemey (EnemyReverse) works properly. Still need to code the death command for collisions with Civilians.

Apr 13, 18:36 Enemies kill the Civilian now. Civilian leaves a splat mark. Enemies speed varies properly. Space bar throws a Flash Bang which makes people forget where they just were and can change directions.

Apr 13, 20:34 Back from dinner and resting hands. Realized that my gameplay mechanic is going to suck, so Im having to rethink the direction Im going in.

Apr 13, 21:00 Half-way over. I have my new direction for my game. Instead of having a global value like Oxygen/Heat that makes enemies go faster, you have spells and they only work in a small area. You recharge them and can cast a speed or slow spell on an area and all Actors within the area react to it.

Apr 13, 22:40 I've added smooth movement, instead of moving by a tile each time. Also removed the flash bangs, and the oxygen percentage, and added speed modifiers (with timers) and a Fast Spell and Slow Spell that are triggered by left/right mouse clicks for a 2 tile radius effect. Currently there are boundary issues as they move through the walls. Fixing that. :)
Took a bit of time to refactor all the things I didnt like any more out. Very clean still I think.

Apr 14, 00:10 I've been working on making the spells work better, and then I had feeling that you didn't have enough control over the game. Even though it's about indirection, it felt too random. So now after you cast a spell on someone you have a 50% chance they will rethink what direction theyre heading in when they spell subsides. This actually breaks down to a 25% chance they will change directions if they are in a 2-way passage.
At this point the gameplay itself is almost done, so I just need to make it so that it's easier to reach a victory condition. Then I have to make it annouce wins and loses, and load levels. Then make it place the actors based on the level loaded at the init stage. Then I will work on the graphics, special effects, and sounds. Then I will try to do some gameplay polishing, if there is time.

Apr 14, 00:46 Path finding problem to leaving the level when a victory codition is adjacent is now finished. The next step is announcing victory/loss conditions and reacting to them.

Apr 14, 01:38 Victory/failure conditions work now. Level incrementing works. Victory/failure bitmaps display on the screen.
Remaining items order: main menu graphic, actor/background/fx art, sound, dynamic actor placement per level, more levels (balancing).

Apr 14, 02:01 Main menu graphic is done.

Apr 14, 02:34 Player actor graphics are done for running up and down.

Apr 14, 03:33 Sprite animations are now in place and working for the player. Going to implement this on the enemies, then do their graphical changes.

Apr 14, 04:57 Actor/background/fx art done. Need sound, dynamic actor placement, and more balanced levels.

Apr 14, 05:30 Dynamic actor placement is done. I made 2 progressively harder levels, but its still very hard and slow and random feeling.

I think Im calling it done at this point. Forget the sounds.