So what is it? Well, it's a demo game, "Attack of the Mutant Greys", (for Windows PCs) written using my new Blitz Max Game Framework.
***Get it here***
http://www.greyaliengames.com/aotmg/aotmg5.zip (4.06Mb)
Also this new scrolling demo:
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http://www.greyaliengames.com/misc/scroller.zip (629kb)
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It's not a proper game, so don't expect it to play like one. It's just showing off the Game Framework.
Here are some keys:
The Game Framework is a couple of files that you can use in your games to ensure that they have everything you'd expect from a professional game such as: dynamic full-screen/windowed mode, totally smooth fixed rate logic timing, proper mouse cursor handling, ini file support etc. There's tons of stuff in it; take a look at the readme in the codebox at the end of this post.
I've spent countless boring and painful hours researching, programming and testing all the things that I think are important for a professional game to have and included them in this Game Framework so that you don't have to go through the same hassle I did! I'll be using this Game Framework for my next match-3 game, commissioned by an American company, which will be on all the major portals.
I'm selling this framework for $39 (U.S. Dollars) for a royalty free commercial licence. You can use the source code as you see fit for as many games as you like but you mustn't make it public. The Game Framework source code is well commented and I'll give you the source code for this demo as well which shows you how to use it. I'll answer support questions on this forum so everyone can benefit from the answers. Also I'll send free upgrades to customers as I enhance it over the next few months.
To buy it, send an email to info @ greyaliengames dot com and I'll tell you what to do next. (Please fix that email address first! I've put it like that to avoid spam bots grabbing my address. Or click on my user name and use the address in my profile.)
Here are some things to try out in the demo:
1) Notice how the UFOs, ship and bullets move totally smoothly in full-screen mode. Note: You might get vertical tearing if you have switched Vsync Off in your video card drivers.
2) Press F to dynamically switch to windowed mode. Notice how everything is still smooth and the same speed. If you see any vertical tearing, this is a BlitzMax/DirectX/OpenGL issue that Skidracer is looking into. It is only really noticeable on sideways moving fast objects, most games won’t have these.
3) Press D to checkout the debug display.
4) Press L for slow motion mode, then try T for Fast (max speed). Please post your FPS!
5) Notice how the title bar has an icon, so does the Alt+Tab task switching window, so does the task bar.
6) Notice how you can move the mouse in and out of the window seamlessly and also use the buttons on the title bar (this is NOT standard Blitz Max behaviour)
7) Try minimising the game, notice how the gameplay and music pauses until you refocus the game.
8) When you exit the game and reload it, it will have saved your settings in an ini file.
9) It does loads more stuff too, have a look at the frameworkreadme.txt.
Here's some more detail about the Game Framework; check it out, it does loads of cool stuff!
Please check out the demo and tell me how it works for you and let me know if you find any problems. Thanks in advance!
***Get it here***
http://www.greyaliengames.com/aotmg/aotmg5.zip (4.06Mb)
Also this new scrolling demo:
********
http://www.greyaliengames.com/misc/scroller.zip (629kb)
********
It's not a proper game, so don't expect it to play like one. It's just showing off the Game Framework.
Here are some keys:
How To Play ----------- Just move left and right and shoot the UFOs with Z, that's it for now... Press <Esc> to quit the game. Press <F> to toggle full screen/windowed mode. Press <V> to toggle VSync on/off. Press <D> to bring up the debug display Whilst in debug mode, press <T> to toggle full speed. Whilst in debug mode, press <L> to toggle slow motion. Whilst in debug mode, press <I> to toggle Flip modes. Whilst in debug mode, press <A> to toggle anti-lag fix. Press <P> to pause the game. Press <S> to toggle sound on/off. Press <M> to toggle music on/off. Press <-> and <=> to adjust sound volume. Press <F12> to take a screenshot. Press <Ctrl+X> to exit the game instantly.
The Game Framework is a couple of files that you can use in your games to ensure that they have everything you'd expect from a professional game such as: dynamic full-screen/windowed mode, totally smooth fixed rate logic timing, proper mouse cursor handling, ini file support etc. There's tons of stuff in it; take a look at the readme in the codebox at the end of this post.
I've spent countless boring and painful hours researching, programming and testing all the things that I think are important for a professional game to have and included them in this Game Framework so that you don't have to go through the same hassle I did! I'll be using this Game Framework for my next match-3 game, commissioned by an American company, which will be on all the major portals.
I'm selling this framework for $39 (U.S. Dollars) for a royalty free commercial licence. You can use the source code as you see fit for as many games as you like but you mustn't make it public. The Game Framework source code is well commented and I'll give you the source code for this demo as well which shows you how to use it. I'll answer support questions on this forum so everyone can benefit from the answers. Also I'll send free upgrades to customers as I enhance it over the next few months.
To buy it, send an email to info @ greyaliengames dot com and I'll tell you what to do next. (Please fix that email address first! I've put it like that to avoid spam bots grabbing my address. Or click on my user name and use the address in my profile.)
Here are some things to try out in the demo:
1) Notice how the UFOs, ship and bullets move totally smoothly in full-screen mode. Note: You might get vertical tearing if you have switched Vsync Off in your video card drivers.
2) Press F to dynamically switch to windowed mode. Notice how everything is still smooth and the same speed. If you see any vertical tearing, this is a BlitzMax/DirectX/OpenGL issue that Skidracer is looking into. It is only really noticeable on sideways moving fast objects, most games won’t have these.
3) Press D to checkout the debug display.
4) Press L for slow motion mode, then try T for Fast (max speed). Please post your FPS!
5) Notice how the title bar has an icon, so does the Alt+Tab task switching window, so does the task bar.
6) Notice how you can move the mouse in and out of the window seamlessly and also use the buttons on the title bar (this is NOT standard Blitz Max behaviour)
7) Try minimising the game, notice how the gameplay and music pauses until you refocus the game.
8) When you exit the game and reload it, it will have saved your settings in an ini file.
9) It does loads more stuff too, have a look at the frameworkreadme.txt.
Here's some more detail about the Game Framework; check it out, it does loads of cool stuff!
Blitz Max Game Framework V0.9 ============================= by Jake Birkett (c) 2006 Grey Alien Games Last Revision: 20/04/06 Introduction ------------ The game framework is a set of objects and useful functions that allow your game to do everything that you'd expect to see in a professional commericial game. Conditions of Use ----------------- If you have purchased this Game Framework, you may use it (or portions of it) royalty free for commerical use (however, the source code must not be made public). Example Framework ----------------- The example framework provided shows: - Files to Include - Constants to declare - How to initialise TGame - A basic game loop that uses TGame - Example functions to show how to call TGame methods Common Code ----------- As well as the TGame object (see below), a file called CommonCode.bmx is included. This contains many useful functions as well as the crucial ScreenWidth and ScreenHeight global variables. TGame Object ------------ The main object is TGame. It encapsulates all of the game framework global variables and global objects. TGame, and other objects, can be found in CommonTypes.bmx TGame supports the following: *Timing* - Extra smooth Fixed Rate Logic (an alternative to Delta Timing). Your game will run the same speed on all systems regardless of refresh rate/VSync and in windowed or full-screen mode. - If anything occurs which causes a big delay, such as loading music or changing screen mode or dragging the window etc., the Fixed Rate Logic will reset its timing variables to avoid any skipping caused by the time delay. *Full-Screen/Windowed Mode* - Switch between full-screen and windowed mode easily on-the-fly. - Automatically chooses graphics mode. Will reduce from full-screen 32-bit to 16-bit, then to windowed mode, and will finally error nicely if nothing is supported. - DirectX rendering lag has been fixed. - Option to prevent vertical tearing in windowed mode (on some systems). - Windowed mode has minimise button. - Windowed mode has a working close button. - The window is automatically centred on the desktop. - When game is minimised or focus is lost (even in full-screen mode) the game and music are paused, yet the screen will still redraw to avoid Windows overwriting it. The game and music will resume when the window is restored or refocused. - When the game is in windowed mode and the user clicks in another window, the game and music will pause and the screen will display "Paused" until the user clicks back in the window. - Moving the mouse onto the title bar will show the default Windows cursor so that you can click on minimise and close etc. This is NOT default Blitz Max behaviour! *Icon* - Icon will show on title bar, task bar, and when alt+tabbing. - Exe can have icon built in (needs some external work) *Ini File* - Important variables are stored in an auto-generated, auto-repairing ini file. This means that you can save options such as Full Screen On/Off, Music and Sound volumes, Particle Quality etc. and have them load in each time the game is run. The ini file is automatically updated whenever a user changes an ini variable, such as when they change screen mode or volume etc. *Debug* - Display Debug variables anywhere on-screen, including: - Logic Time - Draw Time - FPS - Desktop Hz - Game Hz - Fixed Rate Logic Ticks - Lag Fix (on/off) - Flip mode (-1,0,1) - Fast (on/off) - Slow Motion (on/off) - VSync (on/off) - Memory Allocated - Music Volume (0-100) - Sound Volume (0-100) - FPS Counter. - Fast on/off toggle. Good for testing maximum frame rate. - Slow Motion mode. Runs at 25% (or user-defined speed), good for testing movement and animation. - Toggle Direct X Lag Fix - Toggle Flip modes *Functionality* - Screenshot with F12. - Quick Exit key for developers. - Toggle VSync On/Off (user can do this) - Boss Key automatically minimises and pauses game and music, even in full-screen mode. - Sound and music on/off hot keys. - Adjust music volume and sound volume separately. - Pause Key. Also pauses and resumes music (if any is playing). Also shows a paused image on-screen (if an image is assigned). - Protection against two copies of game running at once. *Other Useful Types* - TMousePointer handles loading a cursor, getting mouse values once per logic loop (to ensure constant coords and button readings), supports offsets for where point is not in top left, and slides the game cursor smoothly off the edges of the window instead of leaving it at the last known position. - TSprite includes animation capability. - TButton with mouse-over graphic, sound and management code. - TGameSound incorporates name, pitch and volume. - TSoundBank for easy storage and retrieval of sounds. - TGameImage incorporates name, width and height. - TImageBank for easy storage and retrieval of images. *Splash screens* - Splash screen with fade image and sound in/out functionality. - Support for a publisher/portal splash screen. *Loading screen* - Loading screen with a loading bar supported. - After Loading is complete, the loading bar is optionally replaced with a "Click here to play" button. Future Possibilities -------------------- The following may be supported shortly: - Array of balanced sound channels. - Particle effects - Player profiles and management of profiles. - Mouse over menu items - Options screen - Mac and Linux support!
Please check out the demo and tell me how it works for you and let me know if you find any problems. Thanks in advance!