Iīve been working on and off in this, during lunch breaks or work breaks.

Itīs a simple vertical shooter for Windows. Space shooter, or whatever.
It is called Space Hell, because i am creative like shit.
Still, i learned a lot doing this, and also had fun.

Features :
- 6 levels, each with itīs own enemies and bosses.
- extra stage for bonus points madness
- power-ups, you can upgrade your shot twice, grabbing the "P" some enemies may drop. powering-up actually affects damage and points.
- point bonus drop-outs. grab the white diamonds for extra pointage.
- more musicah, following the same retro trend.
- new enemies, moving around the screen, shooting laser blasts at you.
- new bosses, to kick your ass.

- still featuring the same horrible graphics made entirely by me. Actually, i think i just completed a long goal of mine, make a game alone, entirely from scratch. Every single piece of it, was made by me.

Opinions are highly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Download : http://www.tibone.co.nr/tibcodes/games/spacehell061.exe (Installer, 1.3mb)
http://www.tibone.co.nr/tibcodes/games/spacehell061.zip (Zipped files, 1.3mb)

Windows only, sorry.
And donīt complain, go install windows on vmware, or wine, or parallels desktop, or whatever you use, just to play this, it is SO NOT worth it. hahaha.

Thanks again.

It reminds me a of Phoenix on Atari 2600, even the sounds a bit.

Neat for one person doing it all, thanks.

For a one man effort, you've done a good job. The power ups and unique bosses are a nice touch. Congrats.

All work and no play makes me..., well, you know the rest.

Nice little game for when I have a break. Good job and thanks!


> Iīve been working on and off in this, during lunch breaks or work breaks.
>
> Itīs a simple vertical shooter for Windows. Space shooter, or whatever.
> It is called Space Hell, because i am creative like shit.
> Still, i learned a lot doing this, and also had fun.
>
> Features :
> - 6 levels, each with itīs own enemies and bosses.
> - extra stage for bonus points madness
> - power-ups, you can upgrade your shot twice, grabbing the "P" some enemies may
> drop. powering-up actually affects damage and points.
> - point bonus drop-outs. grab the white diamonds for extra pointage.
> - more musicah, following the same retro trend.
> - new enemies, moving around the screen, shooting laser blasts at you.
> - new bosses, to kick your ass.
>
> - still featuring the same horrible graphics made entirely by me. Actually, i
> think i just completed a long goal of mine, make a game alone, entirely from
> scratch. Every single piece of it, was made by me.
>
> Opinions are highly appreciated, thanks in advance.
>
> Download : http://www.tibone.co.nr/tibcodes/games/spacehell061.exe (Installer,
> 1.3mb)
> http://www.tibone.co.nr/tibcodes/games/spacehell061.zip (Zipped
> files, 1.3mb)
>
> Windows only, sorry.
> And donīt complain, go install windows on vmware, or wine, or parallels desktop,
> or whatever you use, just to play this, it is SO NOT worth it. hahaha.
>
> Thanks again.
>

> Windows only, sorry.
> And donīt complain, go install windows on vmware, or wine, or parallels desktop,
> or whatever you use, just to play this, it is SO NOT worth it. hahaha.

Well, I did install Windows on vmware and it doesn't work under there, it says that it failed to init drawing surfaces, and either my graphics card doesn't meet the minimum req's for memory or I need to switch to a lower resolution.

I also tried it under Wine and it says Unexpected error occurred while running the game.

What did you program it in? What APIs are you using for graphics & sound? Any special libraries you're using, or is it just straight API calls?

I'd try it under parallels, but I don't have it yet and maybe it doesn't work under Leopard or something.

I've been meaning to set up my Powerbook to triple boot to Windows but I didn't have the time... Still I got to see a loading screen with a nice retro font :)

I'll try it when I can get my hands on a Windows machine, but as for now the only ones I can access are at work and they lock 'em down :/

Got any screenshots?

probably a dx8 issue?

iīll take a couple of screen shots, but itīs made almost entirely in paint, haha.


> > Windows only, sorry.
> > And donīt complain, go install windows on vmware, or wine, or parallels
> desktop,
> > or whatever you use, just to play this, it is SO NOT worth it. hahaha.
>
> Well, I did install Windows on vmware and it doesn't work under there, it says
> that it failed to init drawing surfaces, and either my graphics card doesn't
> meet the minimum req's for memory or I need to switch to a lower resolution.
>
> I also tried it under Wine and it says Unexpected error occurred while running
> the game.
>
> What did you program it in? What APIs are you using for graphics & sound? Any
> special libraries you're using, or is it just straight API calls?
>
> I'd try it under parallels, but I don't have it yet and maybe it doesn't work
> under Leopard or something.
>
> I've been meaning to set up my Powerbook to triple boot to Windows but I didn't
> have the time... Still I got to see a loading screen with a nice retro font :)
>
> I'll try it when I can get my hands on a Windows machine, but as for now the
> only ones I can access are at work and they lock 'em down :/
>
> Got any screenshots?
>

Good to see some cool stuff coming from CA homies.

As you may perhaps know, I write Flash games for a hobby (albeit I almost have no time to do much nowadays)... so maybe I can make some suggestions.

Do you use DirectX8 directly? I've heard it can be frustrating, and that it's best to use a wrapper. Or even another graphics library. Personally in C++ I've used Allegro, but SDL is very famous as well (just google for the links). A side benefit is that your code will be more portable as you don't depend on code from MS.

Check out Paint.Net for a great alternative to MS Paint... If you are after a retro style, you could use a limited resolution and zoom by 2x or 3x to get a pixellated look.

The bullets are a bit monotonous... they all fall at the same speed and direction.
I don't know what kind of animation code you're using... if it's object-oriented it will be easy to change. For example you could have a "spread" gun by shooting three bullets, and have the movement code move them like this:

1) y-=2, x-=1
2) y-=2
3) y-=2, x+=1

Or for more fancy effects, a bit of math can go a long way. For a wiggly bullet you can add a counter, then apply a formula like:

counter++;
x = Math.sin(counter/1000)*50

where "50" is the amplitude (how many pixel the bullet will wobble between), and /1000 is just to make the input counter have decimals (otherwise the animation won't be smooth).

Oh well I could go on an on... I will stop here bc I don't want to bore you with details as I don't know what direction you want to take the game. Just ask if you have a question and I may be able to help.

Myself, I mostly concentrate on programming, I need to team up with somebody to have nice graphics, otherwise I end up with horror graphics such as this: http://newsdee.com/swf/babeball.php :-)

My upcoming game is nicer than that (real graphics, Babeball is drawn by code) but I don't want to link here yet as it's a W.I.P. and it's not just my game. But if you or anybody wants to take a peek let me know and I'll PM you a link.



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Are you going to beef everything up? I'd love to hear some rockin music and better graphics. I had a hell of a time lining up my shots though - some of the little ships can fly right between your two shots.

The walking mosquitoes are awesome though.

> Good to see some cool stuff coming from CA homies.

Thanks.

> As you may perhaps know, I write Flash games for a hobby (albeit I almost have
> no time to do much nowadays)... so maybe I can make some suggestions.
>
> Do you use DirectX8 directly? I've heard it can be frustrating, and that it's
> best to use a wrapper. Or even another graphics library. Personally in C++ I've
> used Allegro, but SDL is very famous as well (just google for the links). A side
> benefit is that your code will be more portable as you don't depend on code from
> MS.

Well, i used the ms sdk, which is what i know how to work which, iīm not sure what you mean by 'wrapper' so i can be misreading your question.
I was thinking about learning sdl, i need some time to read the docs on it, and etc.

> Check out Paint.Net for a great alternative to MS Paint...
Yeah, i used paint.net. great little software.

If you are after a
> retro style, you could use a limited resolution and zoom by 2x or 3x to get a
> pixellated look.

I thought about doing this, and is something i will do later on, but i was just trying to get a game going and done.
But yeah, the 2x or 3x scale would give it a better luck.

> The bullets are a bit monotonous... they all fall at the same speed and
> direction.
> I don't know what kind of animation code you're using... if it's object-oriented
> it will be easy to change. For example you could have a "spread" gun by shooting
> three bullets, and have the movement code move them like this:
>
> 1) y-=2, x-=1
> 2) y-=2
> 3) y-=2, x+=1
>
> Or for more fancy effects, a bit of math can go a long way. For a wiggly bullet
> you can add a counter, then apply a formula like:
>
> counter++;
> x = Math.sin(counter/1000)*50
>
> where "50" is the amplitude (how many pixel the bullet will wobble between), and
> /1000 is just to make the input counter have decimals (otherwise the animation
> won't be smooth).

Bosses lasers do 'wobble' a litle and i have tried to make enemies movement more interesting, but i will be adding some spread guns, for sure. Nt sure what i will replace, however. But itīs something i have thought.

> Oh well I could go on an on... I will stop here bc I don't want to bore you with
> details as I don't know what direction you want to take the game. Just ask if
> you have a question and I may be able to help.

Well, no direction, specficly, i just trying to get some coding done, and trying to finish something. After a lot of time starting and stopping. But yeah, i will send you some pms, be sure of that.

> Myself, I mostly concentrate on programming, I need to team up with somebody to
> have nice graphics, otherwise I end up with horror graphics such as this:
> http://newsdee.com/swf/babeball.php :-)

hehe, well, now that i have some code to show, i might be able to get someone to do me some nicer graphics, we will see.

> My upcoming game is nicer than that (real graphics, Babeball is drawn by code)
> but I don't want to link here yet as it's a W.I.P. and it's not just my game.
> But if you or anybody wants to take a peek let me know and I'll PM you a link.
>
yeah, i will pm you, but i can only test stuff at lunch breaks or at home, so i wonīt be bothering you for at least a couple of hours, haha.

Thanks for the detailed input.

i wasnīt intending to change anything. Since i canīt do graphics, i thought that guitar driven music would sound off place, which is why i went the chippy way.
But, i was thinking about ripping some sprites and trying to make a "part deux" with a lot more interesting things.

and yeah, i put the shots just wide enough so the little guys can fly right through it. Of course, powering up, ends that problem.


> Are you going to beef everything up? I'd love to hear some rockin music and
> better graphics. I had a hell of a time lining up my shots though - some of the
> little ships can fly right between your two shots.
>
> The walking mosquitoes are awesome though.
>

> Nice little game for when I have a break. Good job and thanks!
>
>
> > Iīve been working on and off in this, during lunch breaks or work breaks.
> >
> > Itīs a simple vertical shooter for Windows. Space shooter, or whatever.
> > It is called Space Hell, because i am creative like shit.
> > Still, i learned a lot doing this, and also had fun.
> >
> > Features :
> > - 6 levels, each with itīs own enemies and bosses.
> > - extra stage for bonus points madness
> > - power-ups, you can upgrade your shot twice, grabbing the "P" some enemies
> may
> > drop. powering-up actually affects damage and points.
> > - point bonus drop-outs. grab the white diamonds for extra pointage.
> > - more musicah, following the same retro trend.
> > - new enemies, moving around the screen, shooting laser blasts at you.
> > - new bosses, to kick your ass.
> >
> > - still featuring the same horrible graphics made entirely by me. Actually, i
> > think i just completed a long goal of mine, make a game alone, entirely from
> > scratch. Every single piece of it, was made by me.
> >
> > Opinions are highly appreciated, thanks in advance.
> >
> > Download : http://www.tibone.co.nr/tibcodes/games/spacehell061.exe (Installer,
> > 1.3mb)
> > http://www.tibone.co.nr/tibcodes/games/spacehell061.zip
> (Zipped
> > files, 1.3mb)
> >
> > Windows only, sorry.
> > And donīt complain, go install windows on vmware, or wine, or parallels
> desktop,
> > or whatever you use, just to play this, it is SO NOT worth it. hahaha.
> >
> > Thanks again.
> >
>
>
>
>

> For a one man effort, you've done a good job. The power ups and unique bosses
> are a nice touch. Congrats.
>
> All work and no play makes me..., well, you know the rest.
>

> It reminds me a of Phoenix on Atari 2600, even the sounds a bit.
>
> Neat for one person doing it all, thanks.
>

> Well, i used the ms sdk, which is what i know how to work which, iīm not sure
> what you mean by 'wrapper' so i can be misreading your question.
> I was thinking about learning sdl, i need some time to read the docs on it, and
> etc.

Well last time I've looked at DirectX (back at version7, must have been in '99 or '00) several ppl online were complaining that the ms sdk was very convoluted and hard to work with. So many ended up writing "wrapper" code, i.e. a library that uses SDK to do its job, but you mostly avoid touching DX.

I would expect (hope), though, that in newer versions of DX, Microsoft has addressed this and the SDK is more intuitive.


> I thought about doing this, and is something i will do later on, but i was
> just trying to get a game going and done.

Sure. It is totally possible to spend forever on little stupid details and forget the main thing... guilty of it myself a few times :-P

> Bosses lasers do 'wobble' a litle and i have tried to make enemies movement
> more interesting, but i will be adding some spread guns, for sure. Nt sure
> what i will replace, however. But itīs something i have thought.

It's not simple to make enemy movement, outside of a fixed path. I'm struggling myself coding some bosses for my game...

> Well, no direction, specficly, i just trying to get some coding done, and
> trying to finish something. After a lot of time starting and stopping. But
> yeah, i will send you some pms, be sure of that.

Well kind of like myself.. I do have some specific projects but it's 100% for hobby... so it's mostly done whenever I have time, which, nowadays, is rare :-(
But if some of what I know can help I'll be glad to share.

> hehe, well, now that i have some code to show, i might be able to get someone > to do me some nicer graphics, we will see.

There's always sprite sheets from commercial games, too... :-)

> yeah, i will pm you, but i can only test stuff at lunch breaks or at home, so > i wonīt be bothering you for at least a couple of hours, haha.

No worries, same here...




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