*BOOM* – A Sneech Update

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.

Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

2nd Sneech Video (Alpha 009)

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!

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!

1st Sneech Video

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

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!