Nordenfelt 0.3 is coming and it will have a new level and new enemies.
The whole procedure of designing/modeling/texturing/rendering of level parts and enemies is sooo time consuming. These tasks are millstones around the neck in times of feature testing. Therefore I’ve entered “MS Paint mode” (again). Rule of thumb: graphics must be as simple as possible but have to represent the intention.
Second level, MS Paint graphics
The primitive shapes and gaudy colors may bring you eye cancer. But hey, they are functional! Improved test graphics won’t be as distinguishable and may be kept in the game forever for compromise. These ugly geometrics will never survive ’til final release. Critics would eat me alive!
The testing focus of version 0.3 lies on gameplay. Graphics will follow – in beta versions, starting before 2011 (hopefully).
If you read the last post in your feed reader you may have been puzzled what video I was talking about. The embedded Screenr video was stripped from the RSS feed, at least in my reader application. Therefore I’ve copied the video over to YouTube and try to show it to you again:
Please tell me if this post neither contains a video. You know bugs appear in swarms… those damned, little bastards!
I’ve just finished the basic version of the particle system preview in Nordenfelt. This new mode is for dev purposes only and just can show predefined particle effects. They can be altered in any external XML editor while the preview is running. A mouse click creates a particle effect at the cursor and a context menu allows to change the active particle system type and background color:
I wanted to keep this stuff as simple as possible. Visual feedback is imperative when you want to create particle systems that don’t suck. The shortest path here was to build the preview into the game. It’s primitive but it works – just like me. 🙂
The video was made with Screenr so its quality is rather bad. I don’t know if Screenr or my workstation has to be blamed. I just wanted to test this video recording service. Nevertheless, the choppy video should give you an idea what the preview mode is all about.
The release of Nordenfelt 0.2 was well received and got nice feedback. There were many feature suggestions and questions if the game will have feature X or support Y. I’ve caught myself answering the same questions over and over again. Therefore I’ve decided to compile a FAQ list about Nordenfelt. You can read it here or find its link in the site’s main menu in the top right corner.
This is the initial list of frequently asked questions:
Which features will Nordenfelt have?
It’s a Shoot ’em Up
… where you are going to shoot steampunkish vehicles and machinery.
Arcade Mode
This is the well known quest through a series of levels shooting planes, tanks, ships and other vehicles. A boss will await you at the end of each level. Upgrades and goodies will improve your ship throughout the flight.
Adventure Mode
This mode has a deeper game play depth regarding equipment and missions. You will have a hangar full of air ships with various equipment, an R&D section and strategical missions with different goals.
Which platforms will you support?
Windows XP and higher.
What are the minimum requirements?
You won’t need a high end gaming machine for playing Nordenfelt:
1Ghz single core
1024×768 screen resolution
128MB RAM
64MB video RAM
~200MB free HDD
Will Nordenfelt be freeware?
No, it will be shareware. A free demo version will be available for download. If you like it I would be happy if you consider buying the full game.
How much will the full game cost?
The price will lie between 10$ and 20$. The final price is still a point at issue.
Release date?
Latest on Doomsday – 1, which is 20th of December, 2012.
Which engine do you use?
A homebrewn one. I’m just using a few free libraries like SFML or BOOST as foundation.
For me the most surprising fact was that it was totally unclear that Nordenfelt won’t be free. It’s an understandable assumption due to the sheer amount of free stuff on the internet. Nonetheless I have to make a living from it. Quality will have to legitimate the price tag. So I’m going for it.