D.va Dash Version 1.1! Project Conclusion.

Play here!
http://tinyurl.com/DvaDash
Note: You can save the webpage to your homescreen via the Chrome browser by opening the options menu and choosing 'Add to Home screen' unfortunately you still need a internet connection to access it.

Patch Notes:
Added:
-Tire explosion animation and sound when destroyed.
-Sound on coin pickup.
-Updated pause menu.
-End game screen on death.
-Additional sound effects.
-Tweaked platform spawn. The player should now always have a reachable platform to jump on.
-Added doors in the background.

Known Issues:
-Main Menu music does not play on mobile devices.
-Can still 'fire' when game is in a paused state.
-Sound lag (Mobile only)
-Sound Effect of 'Are you even trying?' plays only after restarting the game, and not when the end game screen appears like it should. (Mobile only)

Project Summary and Conclusion.
D.Va Dash started off as a small project I started playing around in with in the Construct 2 Engine. Its my first game in this engine and also the first time I have done any 2D art or animation. So I feel just for a little game to waste a few minutes on it came out really well!

I feel the gameplay is simple yet engaging enough for a good few replays in one play session due to the random placement of the platforms, coins and tires, especially after tweaking how the platforms spawn. With the tweak, I also feel the slowness of the gameplay has been fixed as there is much more going on now.

I have lots of ideas on how this game could be extended further. More art, more gameplay elements, different events that happen when the player reaches a certain score, etc etc but as this was only meant to be a mini project its taken up more time than I expected for a 2 week game. I am eager to return to developing Anti Grav Racing. I also would love for it to be a standalone app rather than a HTML5 webpage, but as I have no experience in HTML or Android programming I think I will struggle creating this. HTML5 to Android APK converters I have used haven't been very successful (No music, black screen) but I will keep an eye out incase I do find a away to make it standalone, as I would love to.

I really enjoyed working on this mini project! It was fun to make a fan game of an actual game I love to play, and I might share it with the Overwatch Reddit page to see if people like it!

D.va Dash v1.0 Feedback.

More of a informal note to myself for fixes and changes needed to be made.

Version 1.0 is live here!:
https://6b13ebfd4795475fd7d0bdd54c04aad99d2e9703.googledrive.com/host/0B7BJ3arWr-thMDdEZnVsWXlKeVE/ (Built for Mobile, can be controlled via PC though too with mouse)

- Player needs a dedicated platform to reach higher areas.
Solution1:
Reworking platforms to have two 'sets' one that spawns in the upper half of the screen and one in the lower, ensuring the player always has a reachable platform.
Solution2:
Having a platform always spawn on a reachable level to the player.

-Layer/Clipping Issues
Simple Fix: Pretty sure this is just down to the UI not having its own layer yet, and clipping with the newly instantiated objects. Very obvious when using the pause menu.

-Gameplay Speed/Control
Suggestion: Either increasing the speed of D.vas running to make gameplay more engaging or adding 'speed up and slow down' control. Personally I feel increasing the spawn of the platforms and/or tires will fix this but we will see. Note: Was maybe going to implement increase in speed based on score value. (Higher score = Higher speed = Higher difficulty)

Polish to add:
-More/Improved background art
-Sound effect for picking up coins and destroying tires
-Animation (explosion or something) when tires are destroyed

Known Technical Issues:
-Audio problems when running via hosted, mostly on mobile. Main Menu music does not play and some sound effects are delayed. Not sure why this is, might just be due to the HMTL5 host? Problems aren't present in-editor previews.

Mini Project: D.va Dash!

So, I picked up Overwatch recently. Yes I know, jumping on THAT bandwagon I see. Just between you and me, I personally preferred Battleborn in the beta stages, but Overwatch is really fun still and worth the pickup! Plus I can be a Korean girl in a battle mech, which can fly and explode and destroy EVERYONE! Whats not to like?  So inspired was I by this little mechanic of being able to pilot the mech but also hop out of it and blast things with a cute pink pistol I decided to make a quick and easy 2D sprite based game off of it!

Made using the Construct 2 engine ( a free 2D based engine) in some free time I had, D.va Dash is a simple infinite runner/platformer where you control D.va out of her mech, collecting Overwatch medals and avoiding deadly Junkrat RIP Tires! Nothing amazing just something you play on the pooper or to kill some time! Construct2 doesn't have many great export options for a free user (No standalone support, ew.) So I currently have a test build being hosted on Google Drive (HTML5) on the below link.

https://d5e4338a7152d35cf6a85a1be9b0bfccab08e145.googledrive.com/host/0B7BJ3arWr-thTlcwQWVidjVEZGc/

Please note this is a TEST BUILD. Not everything is finished, and while I plan to add touch support for mobile devices, there is currently no touch controls. Its also worth noting that this is my first attempt at a 2D sprite based game, with all hand drawn sprites and animations, so don't expect anything flashy.

I plan to hopefully get a more polished build out before returning to AntiGrav but we will see, this was just a fun little mini project done in a week or so.

Progress Report!

Hey all, been a while since the last post I know, apologies. I've been busy with work IRL and other stuff but I just wanted to confirm development is STILL continuing, the project has not been scrapped or abandoned. I just don't ave alot of free time to work on it efficiently currently, i am hoping I can come back to it soon in the coming weeks.

I also wish to start another project (prolly not a good idea to start yet another thing I know) and make a clone of the old Atari game River Raid! Either using Unitys 2D features or the Construct2 engine.

The last thing I was working on was the opponents AI pathfinding, it is rudimentary and simple but it works, I then plan on either finishing Track 1 with polish (more models, textures, etc) or getting a start on Track 2 and releasing 0.2 with it in graybox format, only time will tell.

Small Update, 14th July

Today I continued tweaking the AI ships until I was satisfied with the rudimentary behaviours for now. I also added more to the timers, adding individual lap timers that start and stop whenever you finish a current lap. I've got a bug where the lap times wont display on the end game panel that pops up, but the total time will.

My future plans for these tweaks include adding a position counter that displays if you are 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc etc. As well as hopefully start modelling Track 2 and Ship 3.

Lets hope it will be easier than these silly lap counters!

AI Update

I might be able to get AI working for 0.2 in a very simple form. I currently have a waypoint system in which a object follows it around. Still needs quite a few tweaks to make it seem more fun, and of course realistic. This AI may or may not stay as well, it all depends on how I get it working if at all.

I got the Ship Select function working!

Finally! After what I thought was going to be a seemingly simple (and embarrassingly it was) task eluding me for a couple of days, nagging on the back of my mind, unable to quite wrap my head around it I have successfully got both of the Ship and Track select functions working as intended. Selecting either the First or Second ship in the main menu will now load you with your selected ship in either Track 1 or Track 2!

Simple but hugely satisfying to have working, even if the code is a little bit hamfisted, I can always change that later to be more efficient, I'm just super happy to have my basic 0.2 functionality goals met which means I can move onto modelling Track 2, modelling Ship3 or maybe continue looking into AI. I'm not too hyped about coding my own AI from scratch as I don't want it to be completely rubbish but we will see! I'm unsure if 0.2 will have AI or not so I make no promises!

Theres still so much more I have in mind for this game now its starting to come along nicely, I think i will make a separate post for that soonish!

Track 2 Update!

-Gasp- Look! Its the brand new ship being flown and the very first version of the newest track! The newest ship has the exact same handling attributes as the Concept Ship which of course is subject to change! Its rather refreshing to be flying a different ship!

So if I've started on another track does that mean I got the track select working you might ask, and the answer is of course. The track select function actually turned out to be simpler than the Ship select (Which I am still working on) and so I implemented it. I can't say how finished Track2 will be upon 0.2 release, but It will at least be a functional graybox version of itself.

Original Track2 scribble!

Converting an Asset Store Model

I found a great ship model on the Unity asset store the other day, a great model of a starfighter type ship that I wanted to convert into a more racing type ship, so I imported the model into 3DS and started experimenting.

I wanted the ship to look more like a racing anti gravity ship, rather than a space travelling starfighter. To do this I deleted certain parts of the model I felt didn't fit a racing ship aesthetic. (The biggest of these is the air vents on the sides of the wings that I removed.)

I am also changing the texture and this is the first ship I am texturing for the Echo Technology team while using the original as a base, and changing the colours while adding team logos and the like.

V0.1 Download and V0.2 Aims

Please find below a link to download the very first build ever! Please keep in mind this isn't even an Alpha build, and is more just to signify the starting point for this project. Everything is subject to change and nothing is final.

V0.1 Download:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7BJ3arWr-thSnotWGhFZkl5dWc

V0.2 Aims:

For 0.2 I am hoping to get the Ship and Track select working so that when you pick a different ship/track on the main menu, that is the one you play as upon hitting start game.

Another aim is the possibility of AI racers so you actually have something to race against other than your own time, as well as a brand new track and various of little things like more textures being implemented and tweaks.