Vote for Toad On Fire on Steam Greenlight!

[ecxjoe]

It seems like this might not be greenlit in time. I was hoping to put out a new demo and press kit to help with exposure, but it's taking longer to get to that point, as usual.

I'm still working to get a new demo out soon, though it's looking like another month or two until it's ready.

[Boromir]

I admire your efforts on pushing on with this to the finish. It inspires me to work harder on my own projects.
If there's any way I can help I would be glad to do so. It would definitely be really nice to see a FreeBasic game make it to steam.

[ecxjoe]

Thanks, Boromir. I may need some help with content soon (mostly levels and music). Not sure at this point, however. I'm mainly focusing on getting it to a point where I can release the next demo, then I'll have time to delegate tasks if people are still interested in helping.

[h4tt3n]

Please do keep on the good work! As Boromir says, it's very inspiring - I think most people would like to achieve a nice project like this, but not all (so far, including myself) will put in the effort to reach it. Also, I found it pretty cool of you to share your entire game project including source code and ressources.

Cheers, Mike

[BasicCoder2]

I think most people would like to achieve a nice project like this, but not all (so far, including myself) will put in the effort to reach it.

Yes, well done ecxjoe for coming this far.
I see you have added some extra cool game play since I last saw it on utube.
The hardest part of making any game is finishing it.
Keeping the game engine and graphics simple (retro) helps.
.

[ecxjoe]

Thanks, @BasicCoder2 and @h4tt3n. I'm still pushing forward.

[ecxjoe]

Progress Update, May 2017

It's been several months since my last update. I've been hard at work, trying to finish everything for the game. Though, nothing is coming easy. Each day feels like a drop in the bucket with progress. It seems like there's still a long way to go. It does, however, feel like it's coming to a close, like I'm over the hill. That's a relief, since for a very long time, it felt like the game had no direction, no end in sight.

Here are some notable updates.

New Themes







I've added a few new themes to keep the look interesting and fresh.

Overworld



Progress through the game now happens through an overworld map. In the demo I released a year ago, you progressed linearly through stages that consisted of a number of sub-levels. That is replaced with a overworld where you can choose which level to play next. It's still mostly linear, but occasionally you can choose a different direction.

Dialog



At first I tried to work the story in without any words or dialog. That proved to be quite challenging, to clearly communicate the story and motives of the characters. So I gave it a go and add in some dialog, as minimal as possible, and it felt right for the game. The first act is completely redone and feels like it sets everything up well and gives you some direction. I brought this to indie game night and got a positive response out of it and a few good laughs as well.

New Weapons



I've been experimenting with new weapons and weapon modes. One that works really well is shown above.You can charge your flamethrower and release a powerful blast. It's great for mowing down trees.


New Demo Coming Soon

There will be a new demo coming out sometime in the summer. I'll keep you posted.

[Boromir]

Great work Ecxjoe!
The progress is coming along very nicely. I like the new graphics variety.
The dialog system looks good too. It will work well to help tell the story. Writing humorous stuff into the dialogs can also help the game experience.
What is the size and bpp of your tiles? I'm not too good at graphics but I would make some for you if you wanted.

[ecxjoe]

Thanks, Boromir.

I'm not in need of help at the moment, but I appreciate it. The sprites are 16x16, 32-bit RGB tiles (no alpha).

[Lachie Dazdarian]

Just don't chuck this thing, or I'll kill you. :P

[ecxjoe]

Just don't chuck this thing, or I'll kill you. :P

This $%#@ life... we must chuck some things.

[ecxjoe]

Long night of game dev. I made another gif. Yeppie!
And it's almost 1am here. I should get some slleeeepps.

[ecxjoe]

Revamping the Fuel System

Fuel Limit Removed

In the lower-left corner of the screen, there was a fuel meter that showed you how much fuel you had remaining. If you ran out of fuel, you'd still be able to use the flamethrower, but at a slower firing rate.


The old way: when fuel runs out, fire rate and range decrease.

Fuel pickups were scattered throughout the levels that resembled gas cans. These were fun to pickup to restore your fuel.

Though, having a limit on fuel revealed a number of problems.

• Some testers often used up their fuel too fast.
  Some felt it takes away from the exploring aspect: instead of blowing things up to explore the map, you conserve fuel to fight enemies or other challenges that lay ahead.

Because of this, I've been back-and-forth several times on having a fuel limit and removing it. Unlimited fuel seemed slightly boring to me, for these reasons:

• No reason for the player to stop firing. Why not just hold the fire button down the whole time?
  Less pickups on the map (no gas cans), and no refuel stations in the overworld map.

So how do I address both sets of cons? I think I found a solution.

Enter Overheating

Change one: bring back unlimited fuel.

Change two: change the fuel meter to a heat meter. It starts empty, but goes up each time you fire the flamethrower, and goes down (cools off) whenever you aren't firing.

Change three: give consequence for overheating. When the heat meter maxes out, the player explodes and is in shock for a few seconds, unable to move. Then the player cannot fire until the heat meter drains all the way. The player is unable to use the flamethrower for several seconds.


New way: when heat meter maxes out, player is temporarily paralyzed (when black/gray),
and cannot fire again until heat meter goes down all the way.

Test

Nothing is complete without trying it out in the game, making sure it feels right. After testing several levels, I felt this could work. Though, time will tell. I found that with most changes, I have to live with them for a while to really feel them out and weed out any problems or annoyances that might come up.

[Boromir]

Once again, great work! I have been a little distracted from my game projects recently but every time I see the progress you're making I feel like I need to get back to them.

Here's to FreeBasic Game Dev!
Ezekiel

[ecxjoe]

Thanks, @Boromir!