It's competition time!

General discussion for topics related to the FreeBASIC project or its community.
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ssjx
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Post by ssjx »

I think i was seeing the long comp as more of just an extension rather than as seperate comp with it own requirements.

Anyway, whatever's decided, i'm sure i will put something together to enter to one or both! :)
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

Ok, these are my scores. With scores, I provided the comments. I just hope you won't use this against me. I'm only 100 % sure about the top three positions, but as I had to give each entry a unique score I had to make some...ehm, "hard" choices.

Sector Shock by Ryan: 15 points

A deserving winner if you ask me, but still not a convincing one. Ryan's entry did not surprise me since he already displayed himself as a very talented game designer with original and unique concepts in Red Jumpy Ball and Numbervold. Sector Shocks provides the most elaborate and original gameplay of all the entries, but it is not a game without flaws. The controls are a certain problem. Although I don't know what is the best way to solve them, I think it would be better to reduce them, and that means that projectiles should fly in the direction of the last movement. A game that takes time getting used to it, that's for sure. The gameplay IS fun, but does lack certain pace. I definitely think 25 levels are too much, although I don't know if the game gets more interesting after level 12, the level I reached (my second attempt). The graphical design is very good, imaginative (love the sun flares) and coherent. It certainly got me interested in HGE, and makes me regret for not exploring it sooner. I will definitely get back to this game later and try to complete it.


Vandris Escape by vdecampo: 13 points

A game that is brilliant in its coherent and clean retro design. The only thing that distracts are the normal sized sprites of saucers that represent the number of lives. Everything is so beautifully constructed in this game, from the main menu, look of the cavern, to high scores. The game is very challenging and addictive, but somewhat unfair (the turret projectiles) which is one of the reasons I have to score it lower than Ryan’s entry. Not that straightforwardness of the gameplay in Vandris Escape is a negative thing by itself. It just isn’t fair as one expects from such type of pure gameplay to be. Love the progress line in the bottom of the screen.


Invader FB: The Final Story by Change V: 11 points

This is a type of game quite few will probably score the highest, and I can understand that although not support. It’s sort of a “quick guilty pleasure” kind of game that usually lasts from 5 to 10 minutes and can be finished from the first attempt. I know many people like this sort of things and I can’t blame them. But the lack of challenge and play time is the main reason I personally can’t put this game above the top two entries. I love the usage of colors and scaling (multiput) in this entry, and it’s probably the best at that - graphical design. I would only rate Vandris Escape higher in this aspect, because Vandris Escape manages to deliver brilliantly coherent retro design. Invader FB wanders a bit in this. Second stage shown most potential and perhaps it should be extended in another game. I would definitely love to play more of that.


Aleofjax's entry: 9 points

Played it till stage 4. First of all, you entry is somewhat underdeveloped, and since quite fun managed to polish up their entries I have to score this negatively. I really like the concept (the strongest element of this entry), but as well as the rest of the design it’s underdeveloped. The controls need a revision, together with the gameplay. The game lacks some hazards and foes, and I wish crabs inertia also influences on the velocity of a throw, not just the relative position to the squid. Anyway, very quickly the game became a chore for me. Loved the splash effect and how you used the available sound effects. Lack of a title screen and options also scores negative points with me.


Orb by Kristopher Windsor: 7 points

A game that was close to beating aleofjax in my ratings, but not quite. The gameplay is relatively unoriginal, except for the rotating main object that shoots projectiles in that manner. The graphical design is the weakest part of the game, everything appearing throw-together in haste. The gameplay has some addictiveness, but attacking those swarms of squids coming from destroyed nests tends to get tedious, especially if they are placed in narrow corridors. I reached level 9 in my second attempt. I highly doubt I'll return to this game. The biggest flaw of the game are controls, especially related to jumping. An entry that would score much higher for me if it was stared sooner and better play tested.


Invaders – Drone Rescue by ssjx: 5 points

I have similar complaints on this game as on aleofjax’s entry. Interesting idea (although weaker than aleofjax’s), but very little was done to extend on this. I don’t like how the ships shoot randomly at me and the low speed of the saucer. I really like how the saucer hooks the drones and drags them, but other than that, not much. The game is simply too slow for my taste, and all of it becomes a chore very fast. Played it till level 3. The presence of a title screen and the cool high score feature would be a plus, but unfortunately in this case they don’t save the game from being very dull.


Amaranth by duke4e: 3 points

I’m sorry duke4e, but I simply couldn’t play this game. As I wanted to score other entries I had to do something with yours, and this felt like the only possible thing. The fact is, the graphics did not impress me, even in the “real gfx” version. I should just note that even without the graphics problem on my PC, I wouldn’t be able to test the game since it also runs too slow on my PC. Once more, sorry.
ssjx
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Post by ssjx »

Fair enough, the levels do get interesting after #3 but i appreciate the constructive criticism.
duke4e
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Post by duke4e »

@Lachie
Ko ce koga nego svoj svoga...
vdecampo
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Post by vdecampo »

Did anybody figure out Vandris Escape was an anagram for Space Invaders?

Or was it so obvious nobody answered! :-0

-Vince
KristopherWindsor
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Post by KristopherWindsor »

Nice naming trick; I was not looking for that. ;-)
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

I wonder if ciw1973 will post the results before Monday. This, of course, requires all your scores before that. Yeah, right. That'll be the day.
aleofjax
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Post by aleofjax »

He's got mine.

Nice anagram, btw. I totaly missed it.
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

Not public. Why?
ssjx
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Post by ssjx »

Here are my scores, i was just going to send them to ciw but thought i may as well put them here:

Orb (15pts)
+ Manic and original! (great 3rd level got it the top spot)
- Controls bit fiddly..

Final Invader (13pts)
+ Great cut scenes
+ Excellent 2nd stage! (would have got the same place if it was just that!)

Vandris Escape (11pts)
+ Simple but fun!

Aleofjax (space squids) (9pts)
+ Best use of graphics
- Bit fiddly to control

Amaranth (7pts)
+ Slick shooter (didn't need the fancy graphics though...)
(if developed further make the weapon overheat, i just kept the button down the whole time!)

Invatris (5pts)
+ Very good tetris
+ Liked the presentation (cool menus transitions)

Sector Shock (3pts)
+ Good idea
+ Good controls
- Invaders vanished too quickly to mount

The notes are minor comments i noted whilst playing, i didn't find anything really bad with any of the entries and the above is just the order they came out.
aleofjax
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Post by aleofjax »

Lachie Dazdarian wrote:Not public. Why?
Why not? :p

I hope I don't ruffle any feathers here, I can be pretty tough critic sometimes. Any and all criticism is meant to be constuctive, though. Everyone who entered obiously has some real skill with programming, and I hope my comments are taken as encouragement to continue improving. That said...

#1 Orb --
This one had very creative use of the provided graphice, and a unique, dynamic style of play. I really enjoyed it!

#2 Invaders - the final chapter --
I like the way this one progressed with mixed styles of gameplay, and a story to boot!

#3 Amaranth --
The best features of this one were the graphics mods and the paths that the enemy ships followed. I did notice lots of blacked out sections, though.

#4 Sector Shock --
I liked the concept of this one, but the controls are tough to get a handle on, and mounting a downed ship is a major headache.

#5 Invaders04 --
I'm glad he added the additional enemy that fired in a direction other than staright up; it really helped keep this game from becomming too tiresome.

#6 Invatris --
I give high marks to originality, and a hybrid clone just doesn't do it for me. This one was written well, and the user interface was smooth, but it lacked imagination.

#7 Vandris Escape --
I just couldn't get into this one; it seemed so completely generic. The only thing that kept it from being a cakewalk was the annoyingly close quarters in which you must navigate.

If I had to place my own, I'd probably put at 2nd or 3rd, but then I do have a creator's bias. Thanks for the compo, It's been fun!
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

Heh, such different opinions. I must admit that I find your likeness of Orb puzzling, as I found the gameplay rather shallow and unoriginal, and the controls quite annoying. But that's obviously just me.
KristopherWindsor
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Post by KristopherWindsor »

@Lachie Dazdarian:

I think you are looking more for polish than a fun / playable game, and polish vs. fun is just a matter of opinion. I know my menu system was *exceptionally* simple, but it worked, and somewhat kept with the simplicity in the original Space Invaders. Mysoft's menus were so much better, but maybe that is why he never finished his entry. :-P
The controls can be annoying *if* you don't figure out the jump control. Instead of allowing you to jump once every time you bounce off the ground, you can bounce once about every two seconds. This may seem odd, but it allows you to jump if you get stuck in midair because of the updraft.
For originality, it may not be that original, but it is a combination platform / shooter / (cheap ;-)) physics simulation, which can make the game play original.

Anyway, I will try to play and rank all of the other games today. ;-)
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

I think you are looking more for polish than a fun / playable game, and polish vs. fun is just a matter of opinion.
I beg to differ, mister. Maybe I subconsciously enjoy more a polished game, but I honestly don't value polish more than gameplay. I enjoyed my top 3 scored games the most, and as I explained in my ratings I really found the other ones less enjoyable to play, less exciting, monotonous.

I just found the gameplay in Orb somewhat...I don't know...incoherent...messy...difficult to define and learn. When you start spinning and zooming through a level all you can do is hold your fire and watch enemies die. I still think the jump feature is a flaw and could be done much differently, despite the updraft thing, like allowing the orb to move down in the updraft or resetting the jump when hitting the wall. Hmmm…play Within A Deep Forest and you’ll understand why I don’t like the physics in Orb.
vdecampo
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Post by vdecampo »

This is why my ratings were private! :-)

-Vince
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