Weapon Parameter Graph Display completed. I'm considering whether I should add the Mission Parameter Graph Display upon it, but for now, I'm leaving it out. Anyway, with this new display added, the Starfighter Setup screen is changed (though most of you here probably have never seen it before).Here's a screenshot of the latest setup screen:<a href="http://img131.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vsascreen48al.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/1656/vsascreen48al.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>Each weapon has a great deal of data displayed. There are its stats - Damage, Area-Of-Effect, Heat Cost, etc. Aside from those, each weapon has "parameters" that guage "situational effectiveness". These include:NORM - Normal situations, where versatility and flexibility are important.MASS - Against masses & clusters of enemies and their ambushes.BOSS - Against bosses.LARG - Against large enemies.SHLD - Against enemies with Gigashield (special shield).DANG - In dangerous & desperate situations.TERR - In complex terrain.SPEC - The special ability of the weapon, giving a final tilt to all other factors.The core gameplay is relatively simple, but great strategy lies in choosing the right combination of weapons. This new graph display should help players out with that.I'd like to say more, but at this point, I'm sure that you guys are already sick of reading, so I'll leave writing the entire game overview for later. :)Design:
Easy Mode: Makes the game easier, but locks access to half of all missions, including the final story mission. Canceled for the time being. I figured that having smooth learning & difficulty curves is better than cheaply implementing difficulty levels.Next Priorities:
Graphics: Character Portraits & Scene Backdrops.
Script: Rewriting the dialogue for Act One.New GMG Review! <a href="http://gamemakergames.com/?a=view&id=4271" target="_blank">Read my review for Cursor Run at GameMakerGames.com today!</a>
The game looks really advanced and indepth compared to other GM games, I hope you can pull it off nicely :)
Thanks. =D As I've said, I'm trying to keep the core gameplay simple while adding a great deal of depth. I'll try to smooth the learning curve out enough to prevent it from becoming too complicated.Oh, and about the GMG reviews, I'll try to get one done every week. Not sure how long I'll last (most of the other reviewers are pretty much dead - some write one review per 6 months, which is completely absurd), but I hope to write a total of 12 reviews over the course of 3 months, at the very least. It is difficult writing reviews because you get next-to-nothing back in return. Maybe a fragment of notoriety, but even so, you will hardly notice it from this side. From these past weeks, I've learned that this is the reason why reviewers eventually stop after a while. There should be a section where reviews are showcased according to each staff member - maybe that'll light a little fire.In fact, your words of appreciation is the first response I've got. Thanks. [^^]
I\'ll find some time to write up a new one soon.Before I bore you to death with my sermons, let me first say that I\'m an official reviewer at GameMakerGames. Now interested?
The game looks really advanced and indepth compared to other GM games, I hope you can pull it off nicely :)
Oh, and you're a hero for keeping the reviews comin' at GMG, I never thought I'd see more than two reviews get done within the same month :O