Another Update

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!

Sneech Alpha 012

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….

Sneech Alpha 008 Released

(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.

1. 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.)
2. 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.
3. Speed and Size Bonuses, Kill and Damage bonuses, and Random Factor is awarded at the end of each game, similar to original.
4. 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.

Only a few more sounds left to add too!

Sneech Alpha 007

(The testing of iPhone Sneech is limited to registered testers only, but feel free to contact me about joining in. Apple force developers to limit ‘Beta’ versions to their Ad-Hoc system, which requires registering your Device with me, to be added to a list, which then lets you install subsequent releases.)

As usual, all releases are available on the  http://sneech.net/beta/

In Alpha 007, I improved the AI quite a bit. I added individual characteristics so each snake can have different style and preference. They will also start attacking you, but it’s basic stuff now. It’s more like “follow” you

I added a Shrink pickup (Red Box), just because I thought it would do no harm to have them! It’s hard to imagine when you might want to shrink down a size or two, but I’ve taught the CPU players to use them when they’re feeling too big The Shrinker shrinks you down by 33%.

I added the “Reverse” feature which is currently only usable if you “self-reverse”. It happens when you wrap yourself up into a dead-end and the head is surrounded by your own body.

I added explosion patches (damage “decals”) so when you kill a player e.g. Mr.Green, it leaves a green ‘burn’ patch. I tried to make it subtle and not too cheesy. I think it looks good. They shrink and fade away after a while. I will add more Decals later, for things like bombs which will leave smaller ‘burns’.

More sounds have been added, a new font (will be improved), and lots of cosmetic changes, and hidden changes under the hud!