Defining Awesome

I feel like a sculpter slowly bringing out the core gameplay from Link-Dead. Working on sprites gives me something concrete to play with. It is changing all the time but I see a general movement into a Starcraft type of team-game were each team is totally different than the other.

I’ve come to a conclusion that there is no point in fixing bugs at early development stages. It is a waste of time because either the whole code will be rewritten or the bug will get fixed when working on other things. So I’ll now fix bugs only after major releases.

I seem to fail at making realistic looking rubble in maps. I can make concrete but something easier like a pile of garbage is hard. This is the first reason I decided to change the initial map scenery from destroyed skyscrapers to an industrial/factory setting. The second reason is that no matter how realistic an urban tower looks like it is ultimately boring and repetitive (although the concept of fighting in demolished cities is cool for me). I hope to have some new screenshots soon.

Rope will be used for hook, grappling hook and climbing ropes. It uses verlet integrated springs.

One of the weapons we are working on:

I got the map pixel renderer working through a script file. I used Angelscript cause its the fastest and easiest to use. It has a C syntax and I hope most modders will be familiar with it. This basically works like a pixel shader, so we pass texture information and details about how the tile should be rendered and we get a nice image from it

This is the simplest possible code just taking the color of the tiles texture.

Code:

Screen:

Lets do an effect with a second texture. How about a simple rust effect that appears on light areas of the texture.

Code:

Screen:

For some more interesting effects we use math functions. Here is a gradient effect using sine.

Code:

Screen:

I decided to move the tile rendering code into a script file. It will work like a pixel shader so you code how each map pixel is rendered.

Not updating lately cause I’m having too much fun. Victor is doing an amazing job and its so cool to see LD finally becoming my dream.

Working on guns in LD. I have to admit its the most fun part of playing games and the most fun part to make.
You can now specify the angle at which the soldier holds the gun. So for example he can carry a minigun at his waist.

We are working the soldier sprites. Here is an excerpt from the LD design document (which I had to write for the first time).

“The two competing factions are: The Tech-Militia & The Mutant-Rebels.

The Tech-Militia is the remains of corporations and people that were once in power. They are highly technologically advanced. Their main base is located in the Mother Ship located on orbit around the planet earth. They fall on earth in search of resources in Drop Ships invading the planet surface and Underworld. The Mother Ship is capable of assembling hi-tech armor, techno-biological transplants, futuristic weaponry and machines. The militia was once regular human-beings but the use of technological transplants makes them uncertain whether they are still human or not.

The Mutant-Rebels are the remains of ordinary people and soldiers who have long-ago forgotten who they were or what they fought for. Living on the radiated planet and underground has caused various biological mutations mainly evolved for survival. They are tougher and stronger than pre-war human beings. Their main enemy is the Tech-Militia which invades them and steals their resources. Nearly all of the rebel weaponry, armor and machines are borrowed and/or modified versions of the Militia items. Rebels specialize in taking whatever they can acquire and modifying it for their needs.”