RetroBlazer

[xaGe]

..HA

[scar3crow]

I guess I came to the wrong thread to talk about RetroBlazer? Hrm.

[ceriux]

I guess I came to the wrong thread to talk about RetroBlazer? Hrm.

i wanted to talk about Retroblaze :?

[Spirit]

Fixed the thread title.

[taniwha]

WASD is kind of a joke. Here is why: there are already arrow keys on every keyboard!

Ignoring the arrow keys (though I agree with you in principle), WASD is a joke anyway. It's ESDF for crying out loud! I'm a touch typist (learned with the help of lode-runner on the apple][ (IJKL) and a couple of other games that used both ESDF and IJKL.

Sorry, but WASD and pushing the mouse (or worse, joystick!) forward* to look up are my two pet peaves about games.

* Pull up! Pull up!

[edit]Er, actually lode-runner was UIOJKL (yes, 6 keys all with the right hand), and those of us that learned to use one hand always did better than those that used two hands (usually right doing JKL and left doing UIO). The coordination needed to play was very good for learning to touch-type.

[ceriux]

i dislike apple for the most part.

[Baker]

i dislike apple for the most part.

I viewed Apple as a failed cult until about 2004. At the time, the Blackberry was the dominant cell phone. Also at the time, I viewed the Blackberry as an incredibly flawed device (reasons too detailed for the amount of time I have at the moment).

I listened to a few things Steve Jobs had to say about phones. And they were very well-thought out. My attitude towards Apple changed from skepticism to curiosity.

I had kept a strong eye on Apple ever since with a bit of a "wait and see" approach. It is one thing to have ideas, it is another thing to translate them to reality and quite another bit to "win". Apple is an interesting company with an interesting mindset that is not obvious at first.

[taniwha]

i dislike apple for the most part.

I do too, these days. However, the apple][ was probably the most open PC ever. Anybody who could build a circuit board could plug it in and it would work. The manuals (yes, manuals!), came with full source code for the roms, and even circuit diagrams for the mother board (and maybe even floppy controller, I don't remember now).

That said, as Baker implies, you have to give Apple their due credit: it is an extremely successful company. Really, more so than Microsoft. Microsoft might have the market share (for now), but it does not have the loyal cult that Apple does. Microsoft got to where it is through shenanigans, Apple through its cult (due to having products that people actually liked).

But that doesn't mean you have to like them

[Baker]

That said, as Baker implies, you have to give Apple their due credit: it is an extremely successful company. Really, more so than Microsoft. Microsoft might have the market share (for now), but it does not have the loyal cult that Apple does. Microsoft got to where it is through shenanigans, Apple through its cult (due to having products that people actually liked).

Microsoft to me represents neglect and complacency. And philosophically, I believe that is a tragedy waiting to unfold and represents how not act. The rewards of winning should not be losing, it should be setting your sights on greater things. I sincerely believe that complacency is the worst mankind has to offer. If you study the story of Bill Gates in detail, he really reached out to individual PC users in the 1980s and was really active in the 1970s. If a Microsoft insists on being a big-time loser and throwing away their marketshare and future, they can do that alone. And they fully intend to do exactly that.

What I like about Apple is that put they layers and layers of thought into the user experience. For example, every MacBook Pro or even a Mac Mini can act as a router, so you can do peer to peer games anywhere. Or share files easily. Their development tools are free. You can easily setup a Mac to be web server (even if just for PHP testing purposes). The Safari web browser doesn't use Adobe to display PDF files (avoiding all the Acrobat exploits). The Mac DVD player doesn't force you to watch the FBI warnings every time (still I use VideoLan ). The control panel is easy, clear and concise. They way it interacts with Flash drives is awesome. Every Mac has sound volume keys to adjust the volume on the fly. The user interface is never slow or laggy and features some awesome features you have to experience firsthand to really visualize (these aren't obvious playing on a Mac for 10 minutes, unfortunately).

Applications on a Mac are self-contained (no registry cruft) which is a really delightful experience, really. And although there are a few things I personally miss that Windows does well, they keep improving it.

On the other hand, Microsoft doesn't even really bother to try. Microsoft is like has-been star quarterback who has gotten fat and expects to get an A+ for turning in lazy, sloppy homework because of who they are.

On a Mac I miss: WinMerge, TextPad, a quality graphics editor and no GIMP doesn't cut it no matter how open source I am. That being said, eventually it will have the apps. And I think the operating system will have the 9 or 10 little things I feel Windows does better. And ironically, Objective-C is fundamentally a better enhanced C than C++ will ever be, although they need to keep working on that.

I will always believe that Linux is fundamentally the most kiss ass server operating system, but without a hive-brain like Apple or Google has and the tens of billions of funding, I don't see Linux ever being able to make a winning desktop operating system. As much as I was once rooting for Linux.

/End book. Did I mention I really like OS X? Which is weird because I was once a Windows hardcore that scoffed at Apple once upon a time.

[leileilol]

>apple bashing in a thread about a game whose developer uses a mac

yeah

say what you will about apple, but ipod touch/iphone >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> psp

This game's most probable to be done for iphone even. Darkplaces has an OpenGL ES rendering path I believe which would lead to this likely possibility.

[ceriux]

well i just dont like their pc's anytime i have a discussion about their portable devices i have to agree that, that is the thing they do the best in my opinion.

[R-Blazer]

Hey guys,

Though to answer the whole Apple/PC Debate, a port on the iPhone is certainly not out of the question, especially if there is testing already being done with DP on iOS. I will have to see how that develops first of course. I have thought of the simplified gameplay and lack of complicated lighting effects ahead of time to function well on portable devices, so near the end of development I will look into options regarding handhelds.

I understand people have there opinions, but I would like to keep this thread a little back on topic for anyone that has questions/comments/concerns/critiques about the game as a whole.

Thanks guys!

[Baker]

back on topic for anyone that has questions/comments/concerns/critiques about the game as a whole.

Thanks guys!

The professional polish of the Retroblazer's appearance is top-notch, and it is a super-creative minimal replacement content set. Nice to see people who define a project in a way that can be rapidly completed.

The bad side: I didn't want to say this, but the gameplay is rather sterile and non-addictive. I got lost on the first map several times and it wasn't clear what to do at first. It wasn't clear what was breakable and what wasn't --- a couple of the chamber doors, well I shot them and they didn't break. I didn't realize I had to shoot them several times (in stock Quake the blood effect even on a secret door tells you something is happening.)

There has to be something to spice up the game play a little, but I'm not sure what it would be. Honestly, one idea that might help is more linear maps where progression is mostly forward. Something that may be useful to you which would be perfectly compatible with a mostly 2D shooter and simple controls ... http://forums.inside3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=3321 (and with someone like Asaki he can make that code all nice and pretty for DP using PF_sin).

I like the idea that you had a clearly defined idea, brought it completion quickly and got it out with polish. We need more of that. Congrats on a total conversion too.

[R-Blazer]

Thanks Baker for the critique, I do appreciate it.

The mapping I agree is not the best, all the maps were made by me and I am normally not a mapper at all. I do fully intend to find a pro mapper where they can take the visual style and immediately know how things work based on what I made.

More linear levels are my intentions, and only "Temple" pre-boss levels will most likely be the complicated ones. Walls that don't seem clear to shoot I will also be making "cracked" or damaged textures that give you a good enough clue that there is a secret, and I can also reduce the health on them.

I will be adding more enemies and weapons with a bit more interesting flair, and with a lot more finely tuned content things wont be as bland with things are a little more balanced up. I do appreciate the feedback, I always like to know where I can improve on.

Thanks,

[leileilol]

It's retro styled, why don't you just do a quick .colormod '5 5 5' to white flash and back for damage feedback?