Once again I’m starting with an apology for the lack of updates, news, and general feedback of late. for various reasons I’m been rather distracted these past months. I had planned to “quickly” port two of my smaller games (PegIt and BombDunk) to iPhone as a way of keeping the output going as I worked on Sneech as more of a slow-burner project. Unfortunately (with various distractions) the project got left aside a little longer than planned!
Now, my puzzle game ‘PegIt’ is reaching the point of Beta/Release, I hope to pick up where I left off with Sneech. One of the first targets will be to put out a rough Windows and Mac beta, so you can all have a play! My iPhone framework has undergone some changes with the development of these other games, so it will take a bit of work to get the iPhone beta up and running again, but that wont be too far away.
It was great fun working on Sneech again, and I practically took 3 months out from all my other work to get the project up and running. Unfortunately I now have to juggle my various projects (as well as marketing, promotions etc.) to keep business flowing. I will find some big chunks of time to devote to Sneech again, particularly when it reaches Beta and I get close to an initial iPhone release. For the next few weeks I will be picking up the pace again.
I just wanted to let everyone know things are still go!
I’ve not done much with Sneech over the past week. I did go 3 weeks where I was working full time (60+ hours a week!) Now, I’m back to a day or two a week for a short while. Part of the reason was my iPhone game BoXiKoN got featured on iTunes, and sales shot up, and money started flowing, and I got a bit lost in the excitement!! I took some time out to make the most of the exposure while it was there. Now things have settled a little, but I realise I need to manage my development time a little better.
The other reason for the slow-down is actually good news… I’ve almost completed all of the features that are copied direct from the Amiga version. There are some more obscure things left to copy over, but most of the work left to do is redesign, and new features. This means I have to put some real thought into how things will work! This is a good stage to reach, but it’s taking a bit of time to adjust as new design is always tougher.
I’ll give you an example of a design change, and welcome any feedback.
The way Bombs worked in the original game was: you bought some Bombs, and then they got used up when you collided with other players. Most Bomb & Deflect action happened in the first minute or two (except for Bombs that people picked up.) Back then, we used joysticks where 4 directions and a button were all we had. With all the different weapons and power-ups, it was just not possible to work it any other way. Now, I’m thinking of doing things differently. I’m thinking of having an on-screen display (a Bomb icon), showing you how many bombs you have. Bombs would be activated at the start of the game, and activated whenever you decide to use one. Activation could be a tap (on iPhone), or a keyboard, or extra button on a usb controller. I can’t see much fault in this idea so far…
Extra design decisions follow: I thought it could be fun to actually see a black ‘Bomb’ icon on the head of your snake, or perhaps some kind of glow or other visual clue that you’re armed and dangerous! This could add a new level of excitement to the game because victims know exactly what’s coming, there’s no surprise. I think knowing you’re being chased by a bomb, is better than a surprise. Especially when the victim knows he has a deflector!!
Perhaps the Bomb takes 5 seconds to ‘initialize’ , making a locking sound, so everyone knows you’re loading up a bomb for use. Perhaps once a bomb is initialized, there’s no way back? Too much activating/deactivating would get boring.
Well, you can see that even a simple feature can take quite bit of thought, to get things just right.
As soon as I implement this new Bomb feature (and some other things), I will look towards releasing the game as Beta on the website for iPhone, PC and Mac. That could be 2 weeks away, but I think the move to open beta, and feedback is important at this stage.
While reconstructing Sneech I’ve been playing the original version on an emulator (WinUAE), making notes of features, sampling sounds, and generally reminiscing. Once in a while I come across something I’d completely forgotten about! It’s weird when it happens, but this week I rediscovered the “Foolish Bonus”…
Bonus money and points were awarded to players that did really badly… What fools!
This was one of the many places where the game rewarded players that were not doing so well. This is an obvious one, but there were less obvious “balancing acts” elsewhere. Its an important thing to do in a League that may last for an hour or so. You don’t want players to give up hope, so you give them a little reward, that may lead to a better match next time!
This could be a regular feature on the Blog; as I already have some more features we need reminding of!
Posted by SneechMeister on Aug 5, 2009 in Beta Releases
Sneech is now up to Alpha 012, although this and other revisions have not been released! There’s just too much changing so I’ve not been so keen to release new versions. It’s starting to stabilize now as the final features fall into place. I’ll explain…
The biggest news this past week is the game is now ported to Mac. Currently only Intel and OSX “Tiger” supported, but a Universal Binary will come too. If you run “Panther” and/or use a PowerPC Mac, let me know and we can arrange some tests. I do have an old G3 iBook myself, so I’m sure I can improve compatibility. This does mean Mac Betas will be released along side Windows and iPhone betas, so there wont be any delays there.
The Windows code has been completely rewritten this week. The Windows version previously used a Game Framework I’ve been developing for 8 years. I first created the Framework (known as Dexter), back in 2002 when I did the Mac port of Simon the Sorcerer 2! Since then, I’ve used Dexter for all my games, including commercial Mac ports, and all my shareware games. The Framework supported 8 different OS/Platforms, some of which don’t exist any more! It also supported other obsolete features such as 8bit rendering, and only did software rendering.
It was time for a fresh start, so all that code has been put to rest, and a new Framework (called Mandark) is being developed which uses OpenGL for rendering, and OpenAL for audio. The framework has already been used for my first two iPhone games (BoXiKoN and CornerChaos), but now the Mac and Windows versions are ready to roll. That means Sneech will be developed for all 3 platforms in parallel, (and a Linux version wont be too far behind.)
The move to OpenAL means more audio possibilities, so the sounds in Sneech are now played with dynamic pitch (drive sounds based on speed, and blockers appear with different pitches.) I will most likely support 3D surround sound in the near future also!
So, for the past week I’ve been working on all this System/OS code, which has been pretty boring and tough going, but now it’s back to core game development.
In addition to the above, recent changes to the game include:
CPU Players purchase their own Shop items.
After the final Match of a League, all unused Shop items are sold, and there’s a ‘Final Money Bonus’ round, which awards 1 point for every $50 you have remaining.
Interest is awarded on any money not spent in the shop.
The interest rate is variable (and shown in corner of shop screen.) The amount is based on how much money you have. So, if you’re very rich, you’ll get a lower rate. This is to discourage hoarding huge amounts of money, to benefit from exponential growth. It also helps award those who stay within a reasonable money range.
The Opening Doors “Portal” effect has improved, and now you can see all items that lie close to the other side, including other snakes, blockers and slip mats.
There is a (zooming into view) “Final Results” screen roughly copying the original.
Next to come is shop items, bombs, deflects, and more….
Latest alpha version of Sneech, running on windows.
This time I’m using Fraps to record the game, the quality of the RAW recordings are really cool, but I’m having trouble finding a codec that will keep the video quality. All the colour is washed out, and it’s a little bit blotchy. but It’s getting better!
I was controlling the RED snake. I got some early kills in! I didn’t last to the end but I won on points, yay!
This video shows off the new camera zoom feature, and a bigger arena which is not really viable on an iPhone. The doors are also opened near the end but the camera is zoomed in a bit too much to see them. I had set the game to “exaggerated camera” for the video, which was perhaps a bad idea. It looks fun though!
Posted by SneechMeister on Jul 24, 2009 in Beta Releases
(As usual, the testing of iPhone Sneech is limited to pre-registered testers only, so it will not install on any other devices. Feel free to contact me about joining in on the testing. The latest releases is available on the http://sneech.net/beta/ page. )
Another big update, with many changes listed as followed.
Added better League Set-up screen (similar to old Sneech Menu Screen) where you can select players, which CPU snakes you want (e.g. play against 6 x Mr.Pinks if you wish), and change the colour and mode (Learner mode not fully implemented) of your own Snake. You can also set-up a game with no human players and watch the game play out as a rolling demo (more demo, and “practice game” options to come.)
Worked on lighting/visuals. Added subtle shadows under snakes giving more of pseudo 3d look. Also worked on arena lights, as seen in the corner spot lights which affect lighting and shadows when you move past. I may also add some lighting to some new ‘blocker’ objects.
Speed and Size Bonuses, Kill and Damage bonuses, and Random Factor is awarded at the end of each game, similar to original.
Now, when you quit a game early, the game fades out slowly for 4 seconds and you see the remainder of the game in rapid fast motion (with no sound effects), so the outcome of the match is the genuine outcome, as if you watched it in real-time.
So, the game has taken a big leap towards being aesthetically complete, and I guess it’s about 85% of the way now. The next big feature will be the shop screen, the proper league results screen showing the winners, and some weapons/gadgets like Bombs and Deflects. I also need to add the ‘Kill Points’ display next to each snake at the start of a game.
I’m trying to find the right software to let me record videos of the game, and so far I’m not doing very well. I’ve recorded one video, but it has no sound and the timing is a little weird which makes the game look jumpy. Just imagine this is all smooth, and crisp, and has amazing audio!
iPhone prototype version….
As you can see, I made a foolish error!
This video was recorded from a windows version with iPhone size settings, so the screen size and visuals are exactly how you’d see it on iPhone, but instead I control it with keys. Unfortunately the keyboard input needs some work… but maybe thats just a poor excuse
The original Sneech was written in AMOS Pro, a type of BASIC geared towards rapid game development. I has planned to run some conversion processes over the original source code to extract at least some functions that could be reused. I hoped, at least I could recover some basic algorithms, and some long forgotten game rules, or scoring systems, that would make a port easier.
Unfortunately I’ve not really managed to extract much at all. I’ve copied some timings out, score values, some snake characteristics, player starting points, and some sample frequencies. but thats about it!
The problem back then was, even though I was trained to write wonderful structured, and formatted code, the system i was working on just didn’t make that easy or viable. I coded 100% of Sneech on an old portable TV screen. The screen mode was 320×256, so as to save my eyes from too much work, I tried to keep the source code tight, to reduce scrolling about!
I was also working on an Amiga with just 1Mb of ram (and floppy disks only!), but I was targeting minimum-spec as an Amiga A500’s with 512MB of ram. The most annoying thing about the AMOS language was the interpreted nature of it meant the cleaner your code was, the more ram it took up when running! I used to find all sorts of ways to make the source code uglier, and the memory requirement lower! (note: the compiler didn’t change this at all.) The use of short variable names like TL for tail, LTH for length, and so on, also kept the footprint lower. This was probably the last time I ever used GOTO in program, that’s how bad it was!
I thought I would take this chance to present to you the whole source code, unedited, with all the comments still missing (comments also caused runtime memory bloat so were of course not used!)
Here is the original AMOS source in text format: sneechpro.txt
Also, a version partially converted to C with some automated script I created. don’t expect it to look any less ugly: sneechpro-hybrid.txt
You can see from the source code that the very first lines I wrote were on the 14th of September 1994. So, lets see if the first iPhone version will get released before the 15th anniversary!
(I don’t expect anyone to do anything with the source code, but feel free to modify it if you like. I might be able to find the original set of data banks, if needed. Just let me know if you want it! )
Today Sneech reached a milestone, as I added the Random Factor! I’ve added the “Bonus Awards” screens where Speed & Size bonuses, Kill & Damage Bonuses, and the Random Factor is awarded. I have the general presentation, and sound almost the same as the original. (New Alpha due on Friday!)
So, I now have the game keeping track of kills, and damage. It’s been fun trying to figure out how it all worked, and I’m sure there are subtle differences. I’ve not been able to look through the original source code, because it’s just too complicated!
The way it works now is: Kill Points are shown at the beginning of a game as before. The points are based on how well each player is going in the league, plus some random factor. When a player dies, the Kill and Damage points are calculated, and awarded to those who deserve it. First of all, the Kill points are given to the player who made the kill, usually the one in close proximity at the point of death, or someone who inflicted damage very recently. However, if two players are equally suspect, the points are shared 50/50.
Next, the Damage points… The Damage points are a “runners-up” prize only, so anyone awarded the Kill points are excluded from the Damage award. Now… every time you crash into another player, the game keeps track of the number of impacts (and severity e.g. Bombs/Deflects.) When you come to an untimely death, the game calculates who inflicted the most damage to you while you were alive. If one player caused a significant amount of damage, that player is awarded 50% of the Kill Points. If the kill points were previously shared between two players (50% each), the Damage points are reduced to 33%.
Lets say victim Mr.Red has 100 Kill Points on his head… Mr.Green causes a great deal of damage to Mr.Red but Mr.Chrome makes the final Kill. The points will be: 100 points to Mr.Chrome, and 50 Points to Mr.Green. In another example, victim Mr.Red has 100 points on his head… Mr.Chrome causes a good deal of damage, but Mr.Green and Mr.Blue jointly make the final kill, the points are awarded as: Mr.Green and Mr.Blue get 50 Points each, and Mr.Chrome gets 33 points.
Of course, if a player survives the whole game and escapes through the exit door, no Kill points or Damage points are awarded to anyone, no matter how much damage has been given!
Yesterday I sent out emails to everyone that had emailed me about Sneech over the past 10 years! I’m sure some of those email addresses have long since gone out of service. Maybe those people will eventually hear about Sneech and get in touch — please do.
However, quite a few did get through ok, so that’s good!
I’ve been asked quite a few questions, and thought I’d go over some of the faq’s here, to clear things up.
Q. Will there be a Network mode to play over the Internet or LAN?
A. Yes! This is a core part of the current rewrite and everything I do takes into consideration the ability to play over a network. I’m not 100% sure the Internet will be fast (low latency) enough for sneech at high speed play, but LAN play should certainly be great! Also, on iPhone (in a future update) I’m planning Bluetooth head-to-head mode and probably Wifi mode too.
Q. Will there be support for other Phones, like N97, Palm Pre, Sony-Ericsson, Android etc.?
A. Not until the game project is highly tested, bug-fixed and more complete. Conversions to these types of devices may need a rewrite in Java, and may also require modifications that would cause the code base to be “forked”. Currently the iPhone/Windows/Mac versions share 95% of the code, so only a small piece is rewritten for each platform.
Q. When is a Windows/Mac Version available to try?
A. I currently develop/test Sneech in Windows, although it’s a bit rough (has poor keyboard input), and is currently set to mimic the iPhone screen size (480×320). Maybe in 2 weeks time I’ll rework it a little, for a bigger screen (maybe 800×600), and improve the keyboard control, and make it available on this Blog. A Mac version would take another few days. Once I get a little further with the game I’ll keep you posted!
Q. How about a Linux version?
A. That should be simple to do, but I just have to prioritise my time, so a Linux port would be done once the project matures on Windows/Mac.
That should cover most of the popular questions…..
Just a quick note about pricing. The iPhone version will be released at 99c, and then there will be regular updates adding advanced features, hopefully leading up to (but not promising yet!) Bluetooth and WiFi play, where the price may go up by a dollar or two.
Sneech on other platforms wont cost much more, and it will be free to anyone who played the original
The way Bombs worked in the original game was: you bought some Bombs, and then they got used up when you collided with other players. Most Bomb & Deflect action happened in the first minute or two (except for Bombs that people picked up.) Back then, we used joysticks where 4 directions and a button were all we had. With all the different weapons and power-ups, it was just not possible to work it any other way. Now, I’m thinking of doing things differently. I’m thinking of having an on-screen display (a Bomb icon), showing you how many bombs you have. Bombs would be activated at the start of the game, and activated whenever you decide to use one. Activation could be a tap (on iPhone), or a keyboard, or extra button on a usb controller. I can’t see much fault in this idea so far…
The Windows code has been completely rewritten this week. The Windows version previously used a Game Framework I’ve been developing for 8 years. I first created the Framework (known as Dexter), back in 2002 when I did the Mac port of Simon the Sorcerer 2! Since then, I’ve used Dexter for all my games, including commercial Mac ports, and all my shareware games. The Framework supported 8 different OS/Platforms, some of which don’t exist any more! It also supported other obsolete features such as 8bit rendering, and only did software rendering.
The move to OpenAL means more audio possibilities, so the sounds in Sneech are now played with dynamic pitch (drive sounds based on speed, and blockers appear with different pitches.) I will most likely support 3D surround sound in the near future also!
The original Sneech was written in AMOS Pro, a type of BASIC geared towards rapid game development. I has planned to run some conversion processes over the original source code to extract at least some functions that could be reused. I hoped, at least I could recover some basic algorithms, and some long forgotten game rules, or scoring systems, that would make a port easier.
Today Sneech reached a milestone, as I added the Random Factor! I’ve added the “Bonus Awards” screens where Speed & Size bonuses, Kill & Damage Bonuses, and the Random Factor is awarded. I have the general presentation, and sound almost the same as the original. (New Alpha due on Friday!)
