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[Feep]

The release trailer looks awesome! Hmm... I'm going to look into your suggestion of not using XACT - any good resources explaining the way you're doing it?

SoundEffect API (introduced in XNA 3.1): http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ashtat/archive/2009/06/15/soundeffect-api-changes-in-game-studio-3-1.aspx

Essentially, you can just call a static method .Play() for the simplest playback, or create an instance for more nuanced behavior.

MediaPlayer/Song API: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.xna.framework.media.mediaplayer.aspx

Create a song, play it in the MediaPlayer = D

 

[OldmanAndroid]

Congrats, those are some pretty amazing figures. I guess being the only Lacrosse videogame in the world is pretty lucrative!

We attempted a Lacrosse game a few years ago. It was called Cosmic Lacrosse....we were in mid-development when the first College Lacrosse game dropped on XBLIG. Our biggest hurdle was the AI for the Offensive team ("computer" controlled). We've since started a simpler game (called "Edgar", almost done), learning AI and networking features we can now apply to Cosmic Lacrosse.

Our game was 3 on 3 arcade from the ground-up though...it was originally hockey, but we wanted to do something different. It was class based as well, like the old "Ice Hockey" game for NES, but we had it so you could switch out classes on the fly. And each class had a super move.

We def still plan to reboot this....would hate to waste all the art/animations.

Very rough early video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE9d_QciBZc

 

[Kafel]

I remember your game.

Maybe you should take another approach with it : create a violent, futuristic sport. It fits better with your charac design anyway.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Posted this in the Minecraft OT but that Fortress Craft game is starting to look really good.

Video 1, Video 2 and Video 3

Note: in video 1 and 2 the mobs where made in like 2 hours so they will look better (and not 2D)

 

[erpg]

Whoa. Any info on what they're planning? Even though I'd love a straight clone of what Minecraft is doing right now (resources, creeps), I can't imagine they'd do it.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Whoa. Any info on what they're planning? Even though I'd love a straight clone of what Minecraft is doing right now (resources, creeps), I can't imagine they'd do it.

He states a few things here, he will be making episodes that will be out every Month for 80msp (I think he is only doing up to 8 chapters)

 

[erpg]

No save transfers and chapters. That's unfortunate, but I guess he can't do much else with Indie Games.

 

[wwm0nkey]

No save transfers and chapters. That's unfortunate, but I guess he can't do much else with Indie Games.

Sadly, still for 80msp its really not that bad at all. Though he wanted to just charge $15 for all of it in 1 which wouldn't have been bad.

Still though the game has amazing water!
Video 1 and Video 2

 

[BMX Bandit]

Avatar Adventurers Online...man. This guy basically took a bunch of concepts from FFXI and made it into an indie game. If he had someone do the art for him(or someone else do the art if he hired someone) this could have been pretty awesome, but as it is the enemies and world look pretty damn rough to say the least.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Avatar Adventurers Online...man. This guy basically took a bunch of concepts from FFXI and made it into an indie game. If he had someone do the art for him(or someone else do the art if he hired someone) this could have been pretty awesome, but as it is the enemies and world look pretty damn rough to say the least.

To be fair he pretty much was about to hit the memory cap (needs to be upped!)

Though if someone here is good with art and what not they should try and contact him and offer their services because the gameplay really isnt bad at all....everything else not so much.

 

[BMX Bandit]

To be fair he pretty much was about to hit the memory cap (needs to be upped!)

Though if someone here is good with art and what not they should try and contact him and offer their services because the gameplay really isnt bad at all....everything else not so much.

Ah, yeh. Good point on the memory cap. He certainly borrowed a lot of context from FFXI(space brings up chat even on the chatpad), but yeh. Getting over the art is a huuuge hurdle. Online is disabled in the trial but if that works fluidly this would be quite solid if he could just get better looking models for the monster/world.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Ah, yeh. Good point on the memory cap. He certainly borrowed a lot of context from FFXI(space brings up chat even on the chatpad), but yeh. Getting over the art is a huuuge hurdle. Online is disabled in the trial but if that works fluidly this would be quite solid if he could just get better looking models for the monster/world.

I think they will probably up the memory limit when they release the Kinect and Achievement version on XNA.

 

[barkers crest]

I think they will probably up the memory limit when they release the Kinect and Achievement version on XNA.

At one point I was optimistic about the possibility of achievements for Indie games, then I turned on my Xbox and flipped through the new release list for Indie games and realized there is no way we'll ever get them.

 

[BMX Bandit]

I think they will probably up the memory limit when they release the Kinect and Achievement version on XNA.

Here's to hoping they do that. I really like the indies channel and now that it seems pretty strict on needing a big publisher to get a full XBLA release they should be allowed more freedom on file size and such.

 

[toythatkills]

I think some kind of limit is advisable, just to encourage people to optimise their code.

Has anyone played Old School Destruction? The loading is just amazing. If I discover that it took less than four minutes between pressing start and the game starting, I would be astounded. Here's a quick outline of the plot:

Oh noes!!!! Invation!!!! Gameplay is pretty bad. You roam around a 3D environment that looks rubbish, when for the amount of time it took to load you're expecting it to actually be generating a real world or something. Right stick aims, but in a really peculiar way. It controls a cross-hair and when you pass over an enemy it auto targets, you then fire with a trigger to shoot really pissy little bullets. The other trigger fires grenades, when the game feels like letting you. Not great. Or good. Or average. Or passable. I'm not even sure it's as good as "bad."

IonBall is good, but it's still just Arkanoid. I like the bosses and the upgradable nature of the gameplay, as Arkanoid games go it's definitely one of the better ones... but it's still just Arkanoid.

Googly-Eyed Splitters is a 2D platformer set in small self-contained levels. It starts off ridiculously slow paced and really boring, but then introduces a mechanic where you can split your character in two and fit in smaller gaps, help the other half out with switches, etc. Each thing is controller with a different half of the controller. At that point, the game gets really cool and puzzley. It never controls brilliantly, to be honest, but definitely stick with it until the end of the trial when you give it a go, because it gets better.

 

[wwm0nkey]

At one point I was optimistic about the possibility of achievements for Indie games, then I turned on my Xbox and flipped through the new release list for Indie games and realized there is no way we'll ever get them.

Well even though achievements are a long shot they COULD do a system where you can choose to put achievements in your game and if you do put them in there the achievements need to be reviewed.

 

[toythatkills]

Well even though achievements are a long shot they COULD do a system where you can choose to put achievements in your game and if you do put them in there the achievements need to be reviewed.

That changes the peer-review process entirely though. Games aren't supposed to be judged on quality.

How do you decide whether an achievement is worthy? Sometimes it'll be obvious (press start, 1000 points!), but where would you draw the line and how would you police it?

 

[barkers crest]

That changes the peer-review process entirely though. Games aren't supposed to be judged on quality.

How do you decide whether an achievement is worthy? Sometimes it'll be obvious (press start, 1000 points!), but where would you draw the line and how would you police it?

Yeah, it really starts to seem like too much of a mess to work. If one at any time goes through the new release list ( 50 total ) you could probably count on one hand how many of those games actually deserve/could make decent use of achievements.

I always thought they needed to add a tier for Indie developers that have proven professional work that allows them access to achievements...but I bet a lot of developers would cry foul/elitism.

If MS ever does get this sorted out and provided Indie developers some kind of option for achievements I could really see the Indie games channel taking off. I hope it happens one day and am anxiously awaiting GDC to see if they have any news on version XNA Next.

 

[wwm0nkey]

I just wonder when they are going to announce Kinect support already. Damn thing can get more use from the indie channel than Microsoft's support for it.


Oh also Fortress Craft should be out around Sunday or Monday.

 

[toythatkills]

With a vibrating controller, devs went straight to "massage" apps.

I dread to think what they'll do with Kinect

 

[Kafel]

I just wonder when they are going to announce Kinect support already. Damn thing can get more use from the indie channel than Microsoft's support for it.

Is there a XNA panel at GDC ? Maybe it's not the right event though, they should do it at an indie-focused event.

Oh also Fortress Craft should be out around Sunday or Monday.

What ? Already ? I hope he puts a tidbits in the first chapter or people will get bored quickly.

 

[Kafel]

With a vibrating controller, devs went straight to "massage" apps.

I dread to think what they'll do with Kinect

I hope MS will set a delay to release Kinect games once they make the tools available for indie devs. Otherwise I'm sure most of them will release quick shit to be first to offer a Kinect experience.

 

[barkers crest]

Is there a XNA panel at GDC ? Maybe it's not the right event though, they should do it at an indie-focused event.

Then announced XNA 4.0 at GDC 2010. There is going to be an Indie Games panel but that was put together by developers and is separate from anything Microsoft will do.

 

[LocoMrPollock]

I think global achievements would be possible for MS to implement, though I can't really think of anything besides milestone achievements. It would still give a boost to the service and expose more to the games that otherwise wouldn't give them a chance.

 

[Dark Octave]

I think 50 points per game would make sense and have a special review space for them.

I really like that space lacrosse (I can't even spell it) game someone posted earlier. I don't know one thing about the sport, but I would have at least tried it.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Came across this on Twitter.

http://gamedeveloper.texterity.com/gamedeveloper/201102#pg6

Game Developer's top 10 XBLIG for 2010. I was happy to see Soulcaster 2 get a mention.

 

[SmallCaveGames]

Ah, yeh. Good point on the memory cap. He certainly borrowed a lot of context from FFXI(space brings up chat even on the chatpad), but yeh. Getting over the art is a huuuge hurdle. Online is disabled in the trial but if that works fluidly this would be quite solid if he could just get better looking models for the monster/world.

I think you can probably do more with the space, using a more artistic set of terrains/graphics than shown there but I agree that the cap is a bit tough. It's looming over us too - so far we're okay though. (check out our video of our terrain/editor if you're interested in seeing what I mean - that's all easily within the limit)

Ionball is probably the best Ark spinoff on the system now. Considering a purchase - would been easier at 80MP of course.

 

[HadesGigas]

Ionball is probably the best Ark spinoff on the system now. Considering a purchase - would been easier at 80MP of course.

The sound effects in Ionball annoy me, which is pretty bad in a Breakout game because it's pretty much just that one sound effect over and over.

 

[toythatkills]

Try Cuckoo Crack if you want truly annoying sound effects. Gameplay is bad. It's vaguely Helicopter Game like, but with less in the way of obstacles. You just have to avoid trees - well sometimes you do. Sometimes you can fly straight through them and nothing happens, other times you'll crash. Genius design decision. To score points you have to drop eggs into nests but you have to be pretty much on top of the next to do so or falling too far will mean they'll break and you'll score minus points. Sometimes, there'll be a nest at the bottom of the screen and it's impossible to drop an egg in and then gain enough height to avoid crashing into the tree. Rubbish.

I was emailed a link to this website I'm gonna share with y'all.

http://www.xboxindiegames.co.uk/

It's a really nice catalogue of all the XBLIGs currently available, I used to go there years (?) ago but then totally lost the link and couldn't find it again. It's really good if you're looking for something new, though. Games can be sorted using any number of criteria and there are star-reviews for everything (which you can sort by.) Even though I don't agree with all of the reviews!

The guy that runs it is waiting for account approval here, like almost all of the XBLIGs community it seems [lol smiley]

 

[wwm0nkey]

Fortresscraft OldSkool rendering

 

[Kafel]

I think wwm0nkey is wet for this game.

 

[wwm0nkey]

I think wwm0nkey is wet for this game.

Ive been REALLY wanting something like Minecraft for the 360, mostly so I can play it with friends since my friends dont want to get anything on the pc -_-

EDIT: sorry if my hype is annoying some of you though.

 

[toythatkills]

Hype's good!

Wiwi's Adventures 2 just got a price cut to 80 points from 240. When did this even come back? If you don't remember, it was originally released in November and then pulled almost straight away when it became apparent that it had stolen a bunch of art from other games. A spike-ball from Sonic, for example. Presumably it's alright, now, and I enjoyed the game back then (I didn't notice the asset theft at all).

 

[Kafel]

Ive been REALLY wanting something like Minecraft for the 360, mostly so I can play it with friends since my friends dont want to get anything on the pc -_-

EDIT: sorry if my hype is annoying some of you though.

Naaaah it's ok, the game sounds promising even if I wonder if the first chapter will be interesting. It might start slowly.

 

[wwm0nkey]

The creator is interested in doing a MP playtest soon apparently so you guys can try it then.

Also one thing I like about it is that it has Avatar support and doesn't advertise it would have killed someone if it was called Avatarcraft lol

 

[Kafel]

Star Cross, a weird looking SciFi-Fantasy RPG, just got updated :

http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-U...d=49818f57-7b79-496e-a587-dab2d6ea365a&type=2


edit : wow, updated exactly one year after release

 

[LocoMrPollock]

Star Cross, a weird looking SciFi-Fantasy RPG, just got released :

http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-U...d=49818f57-7b79-496e-a587-dab2d6ea365a&type=2

That's been out for well over a year, it was one of the first rpgs on the service. Must've just got an update and price drop.

 

[toythatkills]

Star Cross, a weird looking SciFi-Fantasy RPG, just got released :

http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-U...d=49818f57-7b79-496e-a587-dab2d6ea365a&type=2

S'a year old, that one.

Weird that it's been updated a year to the day later though

 

[Kafel]

Damn, I'm sure the dev did it on purpose to mislead me.

 

[Scott]

Going by what the developer said on their blog, it's just a price-drop (down from 240); no updates planned, from what I see. I imagine it's mainly to try and grab some more attention for the sequel.

 

[Joshery]

Since there are a lot of xblig devs that hang out here just wanted to let you know FishCraft is in review - http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-US/GameDetails.aspx?catalogEntryId=1f9b864c-9065-49b6-99a8-db83806d77b2&type=1

Don't want to miss your opportunity to save 80 MSP and get it for free ;-)

Thanks for all of the support and feedback NeoGAF - I'll be back with some free codes when I get them.

We had to have the release trailer up in order to post to review. We have Ryan at vvgtv.com to thank for it. Follow him on twitter @MasterBlud

It says available now, but it will be available as soon as it passes review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n-vGlefZPw

 

[Kafel]

Zombie Football Carnage will be up in a moment.

http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-U...d=0ea13614-9b4a-4016-902e-63a4e5e18cad&type=2


edit : it's up

 

[erpg]

Epic Dungeon 1.2 should be up for playtest soon. Can't check it out with my student sub, but I recommend all full devs else give it a shot.

 

[LocoMrPollock]

Epic Dungeon 1.2 should be up for playtest soon. Can't check it out with my student sub, but I recommend all full devs else give it a shot.

Wonder what has been updated?

 

[erpg]

New difficulty modes, a better/faster save system, an "awardment" system, items, traps and text encounters.

Changelog isn't complete, going by Twitter responses.

 

[HadesGigas]

Zombie Football Carnage will be up in a moment.

http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-U...d=0ea13614-9b4a-4016-902e-63a4e5e18cad&type=2


edit : it's up

The game hangs for a second at random times. In the menus, during game play, it kills it.

Though even if it worked flawlessly, I was kinda confused about how you play. Didn't seem to be any good way to avoid getting hit, no help screen to be found anywhere. And seemed like the enemy waves were chosen at random each time you play, some being WAY harder than others.

 

[Feep]

Ugh. Do I NEED to include dance pad support?

I don't know anyone that has a dance pad that works on the 360, and until recently, I didn't even know they existed. I already include Guitar support, and moreover, to make dance pad support work, a player will literally need to be holding a controller in their hands WHILE DANCING ON THE DANCE PAD, because there aren't enough buttons readily available. Including support for a two controller layout is going to be hell, too.

Ughghghhghhghghghghghg

 

[toythatkills]

Can't I play on a dance mat and hold another dance mat in my hands?

 

[Feep]

Can't I play on a dance mat and hold another dance mat in my hands?

Well, it has been decreed, toy wants double dance mat support, so I have to include it

 

[toythatkills]

I'd prefer triple dance mat support if it's doable!

I'm getting hanging in Zombie Football Carnage too, but even without it the game is lame. It doesn't tell you how to play, either in a tutorial or in a menu, and that's ridiculous. And the enemies are so relentless that you've got about five seconds to work it out before you've been killed. So in my fourth game when I finally worked out how to play, I just ran around hammering the X button and, unsuprisingly, that's not a great deal of fun. You also still will die really quickly and to get enough money to upgrade your health and attacks, you'll need to play about ten games per-upgrade. And presumably they'll get more expensive. "Nice menu," is about the only good thing I can say for this.

Orbital Arena is alright, though. It's a multiplayer competitive twin stick (multiplayer ONLY) but has loads of modes. Normal "kill the most players" games, king of the hill, defend your base, and then some others. A Micro-Machines kind of mode where you kill a player to steal a star and whoever runs out of stars loses. Another mode could have been great but fails. Loads of numbers are floating around and you have to collect them, the first player to make EXACTLY 100 wins. It sounds great, but the numbers are so small I could barely even read them on a 26" display.

Hurdle Turtle Level Pack 1 is basically Hurdle Turtle again. I enjoyed Hurdle Turtle, but never really felt the need for more levels, because they're just the same with new graphics. Worth trying once at least just for the awesome music, though.

(I don't own a dance mat!)