Panjoust - A New Simple Platformer


Haha yeah, I have to quit being lazy and do a whole host of things. C++ and Blender are two of them.
 
Status update:

Had some hectic weeks, lots of work and social obligations. Also did a port of Crimson Fields for Pandora that took some time. Conclusion: did not get as much done on Panjoust as i would have liked.

BUT: I continued adapting Panjoust to properly run with OpenGL ES enabled. Background is now showing nicely, and some other cosmetic issues fixed.

So i'm currently investigating the last small issues, going to start on some other levels, and then it's about time for a second beta demo!
I need some playesting and feedback on the GL ES build since it has some small quirks, but also going to try and make it fun to play ofcourse :)

Lastly: I'll be posting updates every couple of days from now on on www.markoez.com, my very uglybeta, but functional, DevBlog and Projects page (complete restyling/structuring planned). I will still be posting periodic updates here though (like this one ; ).
www.panjoust.com will be more of a player page, with only major news (affecting gameplay/content), video's, manual, downloads and stuff like that.

Cheers!

MarkoeZ
 
Ah nice! Glad you had some time to progress the ES enabled build. I'm interested in playing with that! ;)

P.S. Sorry I haven't progressed much with multi-player SimpleJoy... vacations... they eat into work time ;)
 
MarkoeZ said:
[...]
So i'm currently investigating the last small issues, going to start on some other levels, and then it's about time for a second beta demo!
I need some playesting and feedback on the GL ES build since it has some small quirks, but also going to try and make it fun to play ofcourse :)
[...]

I tried out the 0.0.3 demo on the apps site. It's a good start. The wing flapping has a nice feel, but when you strike monsters, the griffin feels more like a pool ball bouncing around. Also, when I was hit by the monster, it felt like there was a large amount of space still between my sprite and the monster sprite. Looking forward to seeing the next beta posted to try it out. I like the backgrounds with the riders and dragon shadows flying around, a nice touch.
 
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Aaand back at work.

Yamara said:
I tried out the 0.0.3 demo on the apps site. It's a good start. The wing flapping has a nice feel, but when you strike monsters, the griffin feels more like a pool ball bouncing around. Also, when I was hit by the monster, it felt like there was a large amount of space still between my sprite and the monster sprite. Looking forward to seeing the next beta posted to try it out. I like the backgrounds with the riders and dragon shadows flying around, a nice touch.
I think you are right about the enemy bump. In the general development a lot of changes have been made, and this was still some old code. Changed it a bit.
i thought collisions were pretty solid in that demo, never had any complaints about that for the 0.3 version :S Although it could be a performance issue, i almost always run my Pandora at 800Mhz. If that is the case, the new GL_ES version should fix that.

General update:

Did more optimizations on the gles build, only major issue remaining is keyboard input since that was SDL based. But will get that to work somehow, only used in some rare places anyway.

Also, difficulty and player number selection screen now also fully functional for the main game (2 player gameplay still beta though, but no tv-out yet anyway). Currently working on implementing various advantages and handicaps for the difficulty levels. Wingflap limit is removed in wussy mode, like the arcade version, and now varying depending on levels above wussy. Planned: Timelimit varying, kill/scorecount advantage at low levels, enemy behaviour and number changed, etc etc :)

Had no time to work on the sites unfortunately. Again, if anyone knows a good way to design and maintain a decent blog and/or game page, please let me know (content management software?) Im quite a noob to such things :S

That about rounds it up. Cheers!!

MarkoeZ
 
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Well, i held this off as long as possible. But im going to need a new graphics guy :unsure: :

I'm not talking about anything elaborate like animated characters (although always welcome ; ), but i need someone to design new main menu buttons, level editor buttons, mouse cursor, etc etc...
Unfortunately i have no mail/msn/whatever adress of Amigo Bandito (and he has not visited any of the fora recently). Way too much has changed for the current buttons to suffice. I made some for the difficulty settings from an old template made by Amigo, looking acceptable i think (bit dull perhaps), but decent ones for the main menu, with selection highlights and matching the background, is just a bit beyond my capabilities. Something in the current style would be great, but i'm always up for pleasant surprises :)

It won't be a lot of work after the initial load, but i could really use someone that has (half) an hour (or more) available every week for a while, lot's of small stuff comes up while developing. So if you have the time, skill, and would like to join Panjoust and work with the Pirates (arrr, ahum ; ) , post here or contact me at typesomethinghere@markoez.com

Cheers!

MarkoeZ

P.s. Amigo, if you are reading this: Contact me! Also, you will still be listed as, and are still considered, a main contributor. Backgrounds, porks, cages and clouds are staying solid ;)

EDIT: Oh, and for those that missed it, New Panjoust Windows Playable Beta Demo (NPWPBD) online(Pandora sdl build has issues getting into the game, gles build impossible). For those that found it too difficult, try it now on wussy mode, no more flight limit! ;)
 
MarkoeZ said:
Unfortunately i have no mail/msn/whatever adress of Amigo Bandito
Have you tried sending him a PM? Unless he changed it, default behavior is to send an email to the user informing them they have a PM. Failing that, you may be able to ask ED for the private email he signed up with; may not help, if he's not checking email or has changed addresses.
 
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WizardStan said:
MarkoeZ said:
Unfortunately i have no mail/msn/whatever adress of Amigo Bandito
Have you tried sending him a PM? Unless he changed it, default behavior is to send an email to the user informing them they have a PM. Failing that, you may be able to ask ED for the private email he signed up with; may not help, if he's not checking email or has changed addresses.

If only it was so easy. Believe me, i tried my options before posting.

EDIT: That said: Amigo is still more than welcome to rejoin! It's just that i want to get another decent playable demo out there, and i need the main menu buttons proper at least.
 
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Hiya, activity has been a bit lower past weeks, but still slow and gradual progress to report.
2 player main game is working better every week. It's now possible to finish a level (although the other player currently dies, doh :p will fix), rocks behave normal, enemies link to the detected hero, heroes spawn sort of correctly, and some other small stuff fixed.
Next Todo: 2 player scoring screen, some on screen score and fix the spawning and finish bugs

Still in need of a button artist!! (or Amigo back)

Cheers,
MarkoeZ
 
It seems multi-joy is working... in a prelim state for Penjin, so hopefully I can discuss with you at some point, and we can prep this for TV-Out and USB control...

With multi-joy we really are in need of a button-mapping wizard of sorts...
 
PokeParadox said:
It seems multi-joy is working... in a prelim state for Penjin, so hopefully I can discuss with you at some point, and we can prep this for TV-Out and USB control...

With multi-joy we really are in need of a button-mapping wizard of sorts...

Woop woop, another step closer!

Good news :)

Cheers!
 
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Well, seems like im back at work :)

Finally got to test an OpenGL_ES build of Panjoust, and figured out the problem with the difficulty selection screen. Played a couple of levels on my new pandora using the gles build, and beside a few remaining glitches, everything seemed to run smooth. So im first going to iron out all the single player issues, and then continue with the 2 player and arcade modes. (What's the status on the A/V cables btw?)

For now i will make some placeholder graphics for the main menu screen, that will hopefully will be acceptable, but im still looking for a (button) artist.

Cheers!
MarkoeZ

EDIT: oh and can a mod PLEASE!!!!!!! remove the D from PanDjoust (Panjoust!) in the title
 
The AV cables are still not ordered, but they might be ready in a few months I guess now that production is going smoothly again.

To get a moderator to take notice, the easiest way would be to report your own post (see the little button on the lower left below it?).
 
Gruso said:

Aaah, thanks a lot :)

* General Update: *

Been busy as well. Bugs squashed:
-Platform hitting bug in single player (Was broken here since a 2 player addition)
-Hero Death bug on 2 enemytypes in single player (same story)
-Collision detection bug in the spikes based on image outlines (SDL->ES related)
-Random bird direction switching bug
-Pause menu touch input fixed
-Pause menu "Quit? Y/N" input mapped to shoulder buttons instead of sdl keys
-Some more, dunno now

Anyway, it's full steam ahead for another beta demo, because i need a lot of feedback on the gl_es build

Cheers!

MarkoeZ
 
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Update:

- With the help of PokeParadox (thanks for the millionth time : ) a transparency bug in the GL_ES build was found and solved, one of the last major bugs preventing another (this time hardware accelerated) demo release.
- Background enemy bug fixed
- Some more

I also tested the main game 2 player-1 pandora, and technically it works surprisingly well :) Still have to test it with another player, using the dpad for player one, and the buttons for player 2. Eventually, 2 usb controllers will also be supported, that's planned for the Pandora AV cable release (2 months? ; ).
Fixed a minor bug in spawning after death, only small stone dropping bug for player 2 remaining, but should be peanuts.

Conclusion: A new full playable PND demo is in sight, with all the new features. And 2 levels are already enlarged a lot, but i'll try to make some new ones as well to keep it interesting for you guys :) A non pnd demo will be released just before that to gain some feedback, anyone interested?

Cheers!

MarkoeZ
 
Hi MarkoeZ :)

Count me in for the non PND demo release !

Bye and thanks for all the hard work :)

Magic Sam
 
Well im mostly done coding for today, and wont do anything tomorrow due to other activities, so i thought i'd throw a buggy but playable build online.
Still bug in the text rendering, we're working on that. Also, the cause of the transparency issue has been found, but not fixed in all places yet.

The single player mode should be pretty playable and sort of bugfree beside the 2 mentioned above, and 2 player mode works as well, but some small bugs remaining there. Nothing too serious i hope though.

Anyway, if you're up for a slightly buggy beta GL_Es build: Get it here (windows too)

Cheers!

MarkoeZ
 
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