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….
This is all very exciting news. I cannot wait to play some of the new code.