Tom Proudfoot
Digital Designer
how did this get here I am not good with computer
Early Screenshot
- Thread starter Tom Proudfoot
- Start date
- Copy link Copy link
how did this get here I am not good with computer
*budd*
Member
interesting, how far along is this?
Tom Proudfoot
Digital Designer
Hey there, I did not notice your post. In return, I will offer a detailed reply!
Things are a little slower than I had hoped. It's a new engine, using a new graphics library which I have never used before and unfortunately a lot of the way things work in it are backwards from the way I have always done things for way too many years.
Basically, my old projects always ran the timing/logic loop at full speed and dipped out to draw the screen whenever it had a chance and this particular library is running the graphics loop at full speed and dips out to do game logic. This sounded like a fine idea at the time, but it is making me have to do a lot of things in this engine in a message-passing and frequently infuriating manner. But, it's getting there.
Most of the parts are in place - melee is in, fire combat is in, searching buildings & picking up stuff is in. The reaction stuff, which in a way is really the core of ATZ, is not done yet. After that is working, we can start taking a look at how the game itself plays, right now it's more like a collection of disparate parts.
Additionally, I lost the first two weeks of November to the thrilling experience of my first kidney stone, which I do not recommend to anyone. So I got, er, recovered from that and then bam, it's Thanksgiving. So I have a ton of catching up to do to make up for lost time, but I am typing away as fast as I can.
Things are a little slower than I had hoped. It's a new engine, using a new graphics library which I have never used before and unfortunately a lot of the way things work in it are backwards from the way I have always done things for way too many years.
Basically, my old projects always ran the timing/logic loop at full speed and dipped out to draw the screen whenever it had a chance and this particular library is running the graphics loop at full speed and dips out to do game logic. This sounded like a fine idea at the time, but it is making me have to do a lot of things in this engine in a message-passing and frequently infuriating manner. But, it's getting there.
Most of the parts are in place - melee is in, fire combat is in, searching buildings & picking up stuff is in. The reaction stuff, which in a way is really the core of ATZ, is not done yet. After that is working, we can start taking a look at how the game itself plays, right now it's more like a collection of disparate parts.
Additionally, I lost the first two weeks of November to the thrilling experience of my first kidney stone, which I do not recommend to anyone. So I got, er, recovered from that and then bam, it's Thanksgiving. So I have a ton of catching up to do to make up for lost time, but I am typing away as fast as I can.
Hey Tom,
thanks for the update! Looks like all parts will come together soon as you get more time to work on the game.
I have had several kidney stones passed or removed and I dont wish that to happen to my worst enemy.
thanks for the update! Looks like all parts will come together soon as you get more time to work on the game.
I have had several kidney stones passed or removed and I dont wish that to happen to my worst enemy.
*budd*
Member
thank you sir, will be following and look forward to more information.
*budd*
Member
some more info in general would be great. Tactical Zombie stuff, I'm down. I really want to know generally how close to finished is it. I'm surprised by how much i'm looking forward to this, i see lots of possibilities. A long campaign with different maps as different locations to travel to, adding/losing survivors, basing up/being overrun, human enemies.....i know it's a bit grandiose, but hey think big and long term.let me know when i can buy into early access. .
I know there are a lot of zombie games, but no turn based tactical that i'm aware of.
. I know there are a lot of zombie games, but no turn based tactical that i'm aware of.
Tom Proudfoot
Digital Designer
Hey there... been busy lately with a computer upgrade (it's only been 5 years, I GUESS it's time), and also pondering a switch to using Unity due to further annoyances with the graphics library (having a terrible time trying to control the camera, and some less important sound issues).
Unity is what everyone loves, and perhaps I should join the club, grumbledygrumbledy. When I gave it a quick whirl a couple of years ago it was awfully slow to accomplish anything on my computer, but... that was the old computer.
As for game stuff, it should be pretty much like the newest version of ATZ. One of the characters is 'you' (well, it's Tonya, it's always Tonya because she's the best unless you like more of a challenge), and you do different scenarios, sometimes choosing between a few types. In the scenarios you find friendly or unfriendly humans, and zombies, and items, and so on. In the boardgame it is basically endless (until everyone dies). Once we see how that works out in practice we can ponder having some structure to it but it's a great place to start the testing of everything.
Unity is what everyone loves, and perhaps I should join the club, grumbledygrumbledy. When I gave it a quick whirl a couple of years ago it was awfully slow to accomplish anything on my computer, but... that was the old computer.
As for game stuff, it should be pretty much like the newest version of ATZ. One of the characters is 'you' (well, it's Tonya, it's always Tonya because she's the best unless you like more of a challenge), and you do different scenarios, sometimes choosing between a few types. In the scenarios you find friendly or unfriendly humans, and zombies, and items, and so on. In the boardgame it is basically endless (until everyone dies). Once we see how that works out in practice we can ponder having some structure to it but it's a great place to start the testing of everything.
Tom Proudfoot
Digital Designer
After a few days messing with Unity, yeah, we'll be moving this over to that. I'll probably be able to recycle most everything and it has a lot of advantages. Farewell unnamed graphics library, you served me, uh, sort of ok?
*budd*
Member
how the game progressing?
Tom Proudfoot
Digital Designer
Most of what I had before has been converted over, and I'm getting pretty used to Unity now. Hopefully will have some more exciting info soon, once I get on to adding new stuff for a change. I think the change to Unity will be worth it in the end. It's especially cool to just push a button and out pops a Mac version. Whee!
*budd*
Member
Alrighty Tom its the monthly check in ....progress, screenshots, ect.ect.ect.
....progress, screenshots, ect.ect.ect.
Tom Proudfoot
Digital Designer
I thought I had automatic notifications set for this thread.... hrmmm, apparently not.
Well, anyway, I continue to slog my way through Unity. The actual game & interface is sort of a mess right now because I keep putting in all the independent pieces. Right now, for example, I'm working on the inventory screen so the game starts up with Professor and Marc in a hex, each one carrying waaaay too many items, and then I push a temporary key to pop up the inventory and it makes a giant popup screen with all their stuff showing, and you click on items to put 'in use' or dump back in the pack. I'm going to try dragging items back and forth to transfer from character to character, and that will be the New Unity Adventure today.
Fortunately each time I work on one of these screens it goes faster. There was a pretty big learning cliff to Unity after so many years of working in my own little bubble, but it's getting a lot faster. The first popup menu took me like two weeks just because of all the new stuff I had to figure out, it was crazy.
Getting used to the modular way Unity works with everything has also been a big hump to get over but I'm a lot more used to it now. Plus an actual graphics engine lets me do things I always wished I could do with my own halfassed Direct3d engine before, like clamp the map edges to the edge of the screen without messing with a bunch of ridiculous math I don't understand and then giving up and putting in a table graphic because I couldn't get it to work right.
The other day I compiled up an iOS version just to see what would happen and it totally exploded, I think the textures are too big for that right now. Time will tell what to do about that. I don't want to make a whole other 'branch' just for iOS, but it goes in the pile of 'get to that later'. But, right now the game is friendly for any completely silly resolution on a desktop, since I have all the graphics in there at their original boardgame resolution, so the 100% unscaled zoom on my 1920x1080 screen looks like this:
Those counters ought to be fine up to like 5000x5000 or so it seems to me. I usually run around at 66% or 50% zoom out to see more of the map. I was glad the scaling it seems to work ok when I have to reliquish so much control to Unity, especially since is a 2D game and I want things pixel perfect sometimes, I was worried about that at the beginning but it worked out.
Anyhoo, to sum up, progress continues and is accelerating.
Well, anyway, I continue to slog my way through Unity. The actual game & interface is sort of a mess right now because I keep putting in all the independent pieces. Right now, for example, I'm working on the inventory screen so the game starts up with Professor and Marc in a hex, each one carrying waaaay too many items, and then I push a temporary key to pop up the inventory and it makes a giant popup screen with all their stuff showing, and you click on items to put 'in use' or dump back in the pack. I'm going to try dragging items back and forth to transfer from character to character, and that will be the New Unity Adventure today.
Fortunately each time I work on one of these screens it goes faster. There was a pretty big learning cliff to Unity after so many years of working in my own little bubble, but it's getting a lot faster. The first popup menu took me like two weeks just because of all the new stuff I had to figure out, it was crazy.
Getting used to the modular way Unity works with everything has also been a big hump to get over but I'm a lot more used to it now. Plus an actual graphics engine lets me do things I always wished I could do with my own halfassed Direct3d engine before, like clamp the map edges to the edge of the screen without messing with a bunch of ridiculous math I don't understand and then giving up and putting in a table graphic because I couldn't get it to work right.
The other day I compiled up an iOS version just to see what would happen and it totally exploded, I think the textures are too big for that right now. Time will tell what to do about that. I don't want to make a whole other 'branch' just for iOS, but it goes in the pile of 'get to that later'. But, right now the game is friendly for any completely silly resolution on a desktop, since I have all the graphics in there at their original boardgame resolution, so the 100% unscaled zoom on my 1920x1080 screen looks like this:
Those counters ought to be fine up to like 5000x5000 or so it seems to me. I usually run around at 66% or 50% zoom out to see more of the map. I was glad the scaling it seems to work ok when I have to reliquish so much control to Unity, especially since is a 2D game and I want things pixel perfect sometimes, I was worried about that at the beginning but it worked out.
Anyhoo, to sum up, progress continues and is accelerating.
Similar threads
