Vetra Games DevLog

Hey.  Happy new year,  happy Valentines, and blah blah bleh :P.

It’s been a while since the last (decent) post. So I’m here to give you a heads up on what’s cooking here at VG.

First cooking, another Swarmz update. This one, we shall call the “online” Alien Swarmz. Achievements, Trophies, the ability to carry your highscores and other stats with you, all, with a single account. Introducing the All-Awesome Game Jolt Trophies System.

Game Jolt is a nice site for developers. It offers us nice tools, like the trophy system. It saves us the pain of creating our own system. It also gives you the pleasure of being able to compete with your friends with a wide variety of these games. And we’re happy to announce that Alien Swarmz 1.5.3 will be compatible with this system at its launch.

Alien Swarmz 1.5.3 will feature trophies. Mainly. It will also feature the ability of carrying your settings, stats, and other nice things with you (your save file, basically), bound to your account. Perfect for school computers and the like. And the online highscore system will be improved. Nice.

Basically, most Vetra Games from now on will support this new system. So start making your Game Jolt account! You’ll find Alien Swarmz there. Or here’s the link: http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/arcade/alien-swarmz/156/

However, this is not what we’re here to discuss. We’re here to discuss much more awesome things.

Firstly, we’re here to announce that we’re researching into developing for portable platforms… like BlackBerry, for example. We’re not making any promises but you can start making up space for some of our games running on open platforms like Blackberry, Palm OS (doubtful), Palm webOS, and Android. We’re mostly sure about Blackberry, having the nesessary hardware to test the game on. We have Palm OS powered devices, but games in this platform by us shall be mostly experimental and it will be odd if we actually launch anything on it. webOS and Android powered devices may have support and testing through emulation, but, once again, no promises. Finally, we haven’t forgotten Apple. We have the hardware to test the thing on, but we lack the hardware to develop the thing on… we need a Mac. And we need an App Store license, which costs. So Apple is the hardest of the five. But don’t get your hopes down!

Another 2010 prospect is in the form of a completely new game. We’ve been talking with some people about how we can reinvent the platform videogame genre. After all, computing hardware nowadays is much more powerful than 15 years ago and platform games today should be much diffrent from 15 years ago. However, they remain mostly unchanged (we ourselves have made a platform game like that, Bort the Block). However, we’re not looking at flashy graphics here, we’re looking at squeezing some CPU power out of today’s overpowered computers. Yes, I think computers are overpowered. They run old, bloated operating systems like Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Those are old, and they have grown fat with age. So let’s squeeze some juice out of that spare CPU power in your computer. This is experimental stuff once again, but it could materialize!

Finally, the news you’ve been all waiting to hear… Legends of Warlords.

LoW is a complete marvel for us at Vetra Games. It represents the pinnacle of lots and lots of learning, design, storytelling, graphics, and music. And a bit of research.

So far, LoW has mostly been a one man project, with people comming in and helping out but not finishing what they started. Although the help of these people is EXTREMELY appreciated, and they all left something for LoW which shall make the game even better, in the end, their unfinished work has to be thrown out to the wastebin.

I started coding LoW at a certain skill of programming. Then I improved. And adding features that JUST WEREN’T PLANNED at the original code inception bloated the program and kinda replaced the original code, spaghettifying it. Too much loops. Thus, here comes the following news.

LoW’s development had been reset. It shall be rewritten from scratch, with not a single line of code from the old version.

The old game was powered by Vetra Game’s LOW server (the Largely Optimized Windowsserver). The new LoW shall be powered by the Vaanra server, a little inception of some leftovers by VetraSoft. It’s a UNIX-like server (okay, it’s a program, not an operating system), which tries to imitate the way a UNIX server runs with some cool Vetra technology on the mix. It’s incomplete, and it’s a concept. Basically, Vaanra is paper at the moment. But it’s a good concept. Thus, LoW shall now be powered by Vaanra instead of LOW. Nice.

We’re looking for anyone with experience in 3D modelling. Apply to ugriffin@vetragames.com

Yep. That’s Vetra Game’s little plans for the future. So, now, some blabbing. I’d like to introduce a device that both sucks, and that is actually the future of computing:

Looks familiar? Here’s why it sucks.

1. It’s a locked down platform. It’s not open like the computer I am on, which means Apple decides what apps can be installed on the device.

2. No Multitasking.

3. iPhone OS? For a Tablet?

And, here’s why it is the future:

1. iPhone OS. On a Tablet.

2. The touch. It took a device like this to make me realize that THIS is the future of computing. More later.

3. The simplicity. Forget about the troubles of today’s computers.

4. Minimal boot time.

So yeah. In my opinion, Apple made some critical mistakes (listed above) that stopped the device from being plain revolutionary. From reinventing the computer. You wanna know why devices like these (with some modifications) are the future? Simple. Yup, they’re simple. The computers of tomorrow will be driven by the touch interfaces that are the latest trends today. And, yes, like I also said above, computers are overpowered. A nice light operating system is what most people need. Nerds, Geeks, Graphic designers, programmers, and techies will probably keep buying computers like the ones you see today: fast. Powerful. Flexible. Hackable. Everybody else doesn’t need Microsoft Windows to check their Mail or do some work on the device. Here’s what the thing needs:

Physical keyboard. My BlackBerry Pearl 8120’s keyboard, even though it’s a half keyboard, is way better than my iPod’s full virtual keyboard. Make it a slide out keyboard like on the Nokia N97, which shall make the device a laptop-tablet hybrid and you’re good to go.

An Open Platform: Yes, the App Store ensures quality. But we also need stuff Apple doesn’t approve of, and jailbreaking is not the answer. Open up your device, Apple. Warn them about the security risks involved. And then let them install whatevery they want. It’s THEIR iPad after all.

Multitasking: A device that only does one thing at once is lame. Palm almost went broke for it. Don’t do the same mistake.

iPhone OS: It’s a mobile OS, Apple. iPhone OS’s lightweight system and touch are awesome. The fact that it was designed for a phone is not. Make an iPad OS, or Mac OS touch, or something MADE for larger, faster devices.

So yeah, people who NEED stuff that a slower computer can’t give them shall stay with their lappies, and stuff. People who want to watch YouTube shall migrate to the simpler, faster, sleeker stuff that Apple and Apple’s copycats shall soon offer. After all, who wants to wait two minutes to view Facebook?

In some three years you’ll see an increasing number of students working on their little new tablet. Real computers will also evolve, and become… touchy (with an included mouse for those who need it :P). But they will keep their two minute boot times. That won’t be avoided. But be prepared to watch your parents migrate to the sleek, fast (the irony), simple, and advanced new tablet device. Apple did the first step to the future. Too bad they tripped a bit, and Google or Microsoft might take the real loot.

-ugriffin.

Alien Swarmz 1.5.0 is out now! You may download it from http://vetragames.com/games/arcade/alienswarmz/

Alien Swarmz 1.5.0 introduces important new updates that make the gaming experience better, and lets you spread death amongst the Aliens with added efficiency.  Here are the changes introduced to 1.5.0:

New Game Mode: Featuring powerups, new enemy types, and new ways of playing, New mode has become my favorite game mode.

Horde Mode: Fancy battling Hordes and Hordes of Aliens? Horde mode is for you.

I also squashed some bugs, revamped the main High Score system, and…. *drums* added Online High Scores. I also added a PDF manual, so check it out.

Well, it turns out that some changes I made in Alien Swarmz 1.0.2 means that to update your High Scores to 1.5.0 easily, the script that I wrote to update it turned out to need around 800 lines of code in size. In some ways, Alien Swarmz being delayed is good news, considering that there’s more time to bugtest the now respectable size of the Alien Swarmz codebase, and its VERY respectable High-Score system in general.

To put it simply, you can directly upgrade to 1.5.0 once it’s out with even less hassle than the update to 1.0.2, as 1.5.0 handles this completely automatically. For all classic 1.0.0 users, I’d like to recommend that you immediately upgrade to 1.0.2, as compatibility with 1.0.0 will be completely BROKEN (or else risking around some 1000 lines of code in the upgrading system, something that will make bugtesting for a single guy with little time quite nasty).

The hard part in the game programming is over, most features are finished. 1.5.0 is missing:

Separating the New Mode High Score codebase from Classic Mode (I’ve done this for Horde Mode).

Power-Ups (for New and Horde modes).

Entire Online High Score system (please not another 800 lines please. I’m expecting some nice and healthy 40-100 lines for this. Could be less, depending on how much I can implement without compromising security).

High Score display screen needs to be separated for Classic, Horde, and New modes.

New documentation for the game, and a new EULA to prevent online hacking (although I doubt no one will ever follow it).

1.5.0. will prolly be ready for tomorrow evening, making a dual launch with the “News” page. It could be delayed again, 1.5.0 will come out when it’s ready.

Signing out,

ugriffin.

Firstly, happy birthday Vetra Games! You’re two today (9/9/09)! I’ll make a post on the News blog as soon as this is finished.

Secondly, I want to point you to this post:

http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/alien-swarmz/news/regarding-alien-swarmz/251/

Click on the ads! That’s pretty much the only revenue Vetra Games has got, and we really need it.

Secondly, let me add a few updates (if you read, then you’ll know that Alien Swarmz 1.5.0 launches today as a little birthday gift to Vetra Games.).

Online High Score system in doubt (I’m running out of time. If I can implement it bug-free in time, I will, if not, you’ll probably get it in 2-3 days time.).

3 Game Modes to choose from (Classic, New Mode, and Horde Mode).

New Mode will contain powerups, new enemies (as seen in the picture), and is generally going to be more of a challenge. Classic Mode is the ol’ Alien Swarmz down to the very code, being virtually untouched since the original Swarmz (which, by the way, you should not delete: I’m never releasing either 1.0.0 or 1.0.2 ever again, so you should keep them as collectibles. Horde Mode, as it’s name suggests, is about beating down an infinite horde of Aliens.

The High Score system has been revamped (still 5 slots, but it’s a better system in general). I’m going to take the sound settings file and incorporate it into Sysconfig.vhss if I have the time.

There’s a new menu, better help file, and the game has generally been revamped.

So far, I’m missing on the Online High Scores, and that’s it. If I can’t incorporate it into today’s launch, I’ll launch a new one as soon as it’s ready (1.5.0, build 2). So don’t get your hopes down yet. You WILL have the system, of that I’m sure.

Got to get back to work on 1.5.0. I’d love to get the High-Scores working by today.

-ugriffin

Ever wondered why people say laser pointers are bad if you point them at the eye? You’ve probably ignored this warning and maliciously pointed a laser at a friend or someone in the eye to try and piss them off. I did it.

Well, let’s just say that a while ago, I was sitting, quite bored, with a laser in my hand. A fly decided to buzz into my room, and, considering I hate flies, I decided to wait until the fly landed somewhere so that I could point the laser at it and piss it off. The fly, surely, landed, and I blasted it with my laser. That’s when I noticed the fly kinda dumbed down with the laser. Delighted (It was a fat and noisy fly, the kind that’s hatable to anyone), I decided to continue pestering it, until I noticed that the fly stopped responding to the laser. Intrigued, I grabbed a pen, and noticed that the fly had gone completely blind. I am not sure if this would have lasted, as I used the opportunity to get the fly out of my house, but the fly was blind. It couldn’t see at all. I could poke it, and only until the pen actually touched it did it react in some way. It refused to fly, preferring instead walking. It didn’t react at all when I did a slapping movement intended to make it react in some sort of way. It was blind. And this fly-blinding process took less than a minute.

Now, the human eye is larger, and, according to chemestry, there’s a Lethal Dose per gram, so let’s say that a human that weighs 50 kilos and a clone of that human that weighs only 40 kilos, the heavier human would take longer to poison. So it is kinda the same for the fly eye vs the human eye. But then let’s add that this laser is killing your eye off, unlike other substances, which become lethal only after a certain amount.

I recommend that you try this experiment at home. Maybe the particular fly I blinded was really unlucky, or maybe it was a huge coincidence (I haven’t repeated this experiment, although I’m planning to), but, please, don’t play with laser pointers.

Hello. This is the (again) new Vetra Games website. So, yeah, well, this is the first post. Nothing much to say, is there?

Ok, well, Vony Chaos, a game made by a good friend, launches today (or maybe tomorrow). You can get it while it’s hot here: http://vony.vetragames.com/

Cheers!