Topic, Game "Captain Dan v Zombie Plan"

  It's thanksgiving here in America, so I'm going to take a quick second to say that I'm thankful that I finally (just now) finished the line of sight algorithm that I've been working on for the past week. Much frustration, but the end product is quite elegant :)

Anyway, I'll upload that soon I guess.


Thanks for the links jp, ultimately the methods you posted proved too slow, but they eventually led me to a better solution.

  it seems cool!
is it a type of maze game ?

  I think this one is very clear to explain line line intersection : line line intersection

This other one is similar but is clearer about how to test the that the interesection is really inside the line segments
((0<=Ua<=1) && (0<=Ub<=1))
segment segment intersection

So you have a segment line from the zombie to the hero.
For each block, you have to test the interesection of the zombie-hero line with its 4 sides. If one of these sides collides, the zombie can't see the hero.

To improve the performances, instead of checking ALL the blocs, you can exclude a bunch of blocks that don't have a chance to collide. You compute the square bound of the zombie-hero line segment, and you exclude all blocs that don't touch this square.

  Try as I might, I just seem to be no good at real vector math in Flash, have any good links to where I good school up on something like the system you suggest, jp?


glitch list for my own sake:
[FIXED, NEEDS TESTING] depth sorting
[FIXED] line of sight math
- better editor
- improve graphics
- better zombie physics (walk through walls glitch)

I think once I get all this sorted out I'll start adding late testers.

  coool thanks

  OK I will post a screenshot the sorting problem.

[edit] here it is :

I understand now for the line of sight. You should use a real line and compute the intersection between this segment and the wall squares. This is should be quite easy to implement and will not slow down the game too much.

  @jp and birjolaxew - I think your problems may be caused by the same thing, just in different instances.

@jp - I think you're right about touching zombies and dieing, or at least have them attack you. The zombies are a bit stupid right now though :P

I have a lot of depth sorting issues right now, if you could screenshot exactly what you're talking about though it would be a big help.

Also, I'm working on a demo to show you how my line of sight stuff works, I'll post it soon.

EDIT: here you go, this might give you a better idea of why the diagonal stuff works like it does.

http://ian.janasnyder.com/visionTest.swf

Other than checking for 2x2 squares every time it jumps over one row or column, I'm not sure how I could make a solution for this that very elegant at all.

  Everyone needs to understand that the point of testing is not so that you can play a game early but so that I can get good feedback for the parts of my game that don't work.

If you want to test the game just so you can play it for fun, I suggest you wait for the final product. If you are truly interested in providing exceptional feedback for a broken product (so it can be fixed!), then feel free to apply.

Late Testers:
cooltomer
doomlord
pikachu67
allycat369
zakko600
locostro
BenTen

  captain_404 can i be a tester please plis please pleas :)
XD

  sounds cool, can i be a tester because i love games with shooting the undead.

  @Captain_404: I was near a corner, in 2 level, but still so much behind the wall that the zombie should go by. Also i find it strange that all the zombies comes againts you when one of them see you. Maybe only make the closest zombies, try killing the player?

  I've spent about 20 minutes to play.
I don't have lag on the second level and I didn't noticed any zombie seeing through wall. Ninja, if you can reproduce it systematically, that would be very helpful to capture a video.

I made a level ( [lvlid=2033 removed] ) to make my remarks. I find it strange that the zombie can pass through diagonal walls. And also they can see through those diagonals.

Other remarks :
Gameplay : When the hero hit the zombie, even if he is behind it, maybe he should be caught.
Rendering : The head of the zombie seems to be always on a layer above the hero even when it should not be.

  Fixed most of the glitches, still to be done:

-zombies seeing through walls
-2nd level lag
-easier to make zombies

Also I want to bring the graphics closer to the final product in the next week.

  Alright so, to sum up the glitches found so far:

game:
--zombies see through walls
-*zombie's necks are flat sometimes
**zombies can be shot even after death
**winning when dieing after first level is completed
--2nd level lag

editor:
**resizes when testing levels (includes turning upside down)
-*deletion/creation tiles are messed up
**zombies hard to make

Did I miss anything?

Two stars means I know what's causing it and it will be fixed soon, one star means I'm not completely sure what's causing it, but have some idea, no stars means I'm completely lost.

The one that has me most concerned is the zombies seeing through walls. Did this happen in level 1/2/custom? Were you completely behind a wall or near a corner? How many zombies were there on screen? How thick was the wall?

How bad was the lag, ninja? Did it clear up after a while or did it seem to get slower and slower at a constant rate? Did this happen every time you tried to play it, or only once? Would it help you test better if I added a framerate counter?


I realize the editor is very hard to use right now, any suggestions you guys have for making it work more intuitively in the final version are more than welcome!

And thanks for submitting yourselves to something so incomplete.

Also, for the time being, when the editor resizes all crazy or turns upside down, press the "home" button.

  @birjolaxew: i know im a late tester and cant test the game yet but from all the criticizem (constructive)this game has a lot of fixing /working on to do

so good luck!:)

  I think it is really hard to make a zombie properly, and sometimes the zombies see me when i stand behind a wall. Sometimes when you shoot the zombie its neck is completely flat.

  When you test level it either becomes alot smaller or alot bigger.

  This game happens to be more violent than others?

  In the starting screen, you can still shoot the zombies after you're dead. After completing the first level, you automaticly win after dieng? In the second level, after a while it starts to lag big time.

  birjolaxew and ninja, don't be afraid to say bad things about the game. It helps me if you point out everything that is wrong with it. Things in gameplay you don't like, maybe some of the editor's controls, etc. I really want you to criticize me (constructively!) on the game's fundamentals. So please, don't be afraid to be mean :)


late testers:
cooltomer
doomlord
pikachu67
allycat369
zakko600

  this is too late i think but can i be tester i didnt comment at all on any of the games but ive been a member for some quite time now.

  Can I be a tester, most likely it would be late tester.

  Can I be a tester?

  Thank you. :D
Seems like a great game. I love the graphics.

  I've added you ninja, check your pm's for instructions.

  Oh sorry... Didnt see that pm. Now its cool XD
[Edit] Sometimes when you have tested the level you are creating it turns upside down! And i dont think the deletion/creation tiles is working.

  I want to be an early tester if i can. But i haven't provided much feedback for Push. I did a fine job a Jump Gear 2 ( I think ).

  Did you read the pm I sent you? I tried to explain how to use the editor in that.

Now you see why I have the early/late categories, eh? :P

  The editor is very hard to use. When you open the menu the icons is pure white! And when you place something is it almost impossible to see what it is as a newcomer. Also it took me several minutes before i found out it is possible to flee from the zombies by standing behind a wall.

  Ninja, you said earlier you wanted to be a late tester? Just want to make sure that you've actually changed your mind and I'm not just reading you wrong.

I've added you birjolaxew, I'll pm you an explanation of how everything is supposed to work in a bit.