Temple of The Roguelike Forums
Game Discussion => 7DRLs => Topic started by: thesleeve on March 06, 2015, 10:04:34 PM
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Rogue Space Marine is my first attempt at creating a game. I coded it for the 7DRL challenge over the course of 7 days in March 2015. It can be described as a fast-paced coffeebreak roguelike.
The game is now listed on RogueBasin (http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Rogue_Space_Marine).
(http://i.imgur.com/arUduuO.gif)
[Download] The Windows version is available on itch.io at http://thesleeve.itch.io/rogue-space-marine. To play, just unzip the file to a folder on your computer and run the executable.
[Tutorial] Here is a video describing how to play the game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcdQDSRY6OA) (of course, there is also a help screen built into the game).
Summary
I wanted to create a game that emphasizes the aspects of Roguelikes that I enjoy (procedural level generation, permadeath, tactical turn-based combat) while specifically trying to avoid the aspects that I dislike (experience points, levels, stats, hit points, lighthouse vision, quaffing potions, unintuitive interfaces…).
With this goal in mind, I devised a pretty novel system of combat in which there are only two resources: Abilities and Time.
Graphics
The game uses a graphical tileset and the interface uses the mouse and keyboard hotkeys (although the game can be controlled entirely by the mouse, if you wish). The game uses Sci-Fi sprites that I purchased from the Oryx Design Lab. I am using these sprites in accordance with the Oryx Commercial License. I created some additional sprites myself to complement the Oryx sprites.
Engine
The game was developed in GameMaker Studio, which I had never used previously! The code was built entirely from scratch; no external code libraries were used.
Game play screenshots:
(http://i.imgur.com/LC3yM5F.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/evAavcd.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/csFwilX.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/Lqz6TQe.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/3rhoPXO.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/E8R04ab.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/lfVdwkq.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/SfuOOEh.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/fIRDnEQ.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/llZgE60.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/u3efGaC.png)
Update [Saturday, March 14]
The development of the game was successfully completed! Here's a gameplay video:
http://youtu.be/ApWPsuHMmVQ
Update [Thursday, March 12]
I made some tweaks to the level generator last night.
Update blog post is here: http://7drl.org/2015/03/12/rogue-space-marine-update-4/
Update [Tuesday, March 10, 23:30 EST]
Update blog posted on 7DRL.org! http://7drl.org/2015/03/11/rogue-space-marine-update-3/
Update [Monday, March 9, 23:30 EST]
I have made some major progress! Procedural level generation is now up and running! Here's a short video demo:
http://youtu.be/BxqCyZZGbKA (http://youtu.be/BxqCyZZGbKA)
Update [Sunday, March 8, 23:30 EST]
Here are some updates!
Here's a simple gameplay video: http://youtu.be/k5oFJEQPZbI (http://youtu.be/k5oFJEQPZbI)
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Neat! Cute art!
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Update [Monday, March 9, 23:30 EST]
I have made some major progress! Procedural level generation is now up and running! Here's a short video demo:
http://youtu.be/ysxhC0HPGcU
Original Post Updated.
(Oops, just realized I posted the wrong YouTube link... It's corrected now)
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Update [Tuesday, March 10, 23:30 EST]
I have made a blog post on 7DRL.org detailing my updates for today. Please take a look!
http://7drl.org/2015/03/11/rogue-space-marine-update-3/
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Update [Thursday, March 12]
I made some tweaks to the level generator last night.
Update blog post is here: http://7drl.org/2015/03/12/rogue-space-marine-update-4/
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Update [Saturday, March 14]
Game development completed!
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Congratulations! ...Where can we get it?
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Congratulations! ...Where can we get it?
Thanks Samildanach! I just updated my post with the link.
Here’s a portable executable in a zip file (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20603960/Rogue%20Space%20Marine%20v1.zip).
Here is a video describing how to play the game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcdQDSRY6OA) (of course, there is a help screen built into the game as well, but I imagine some people might prefer the video!).
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This looks great!
I'll have to fire up my Windows machine tomorrow to try it out!
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[IMPORTANT: I just discovered a game-crashing bug that I was able to fix by changing one line of code (the game would crash if you ended a level with your shields active). I just updated the dropbox file and it should be resolved now. If you downloaded the game any time before March 16 at 1:15 AM UTC, you have the old version. Please update so that your game won’t crash!]
It's true that this one line of code came after the deadline, but you know, I think it's worth it to bend the rules if it allows people to play the game and not suffer a fatal crash!
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UPDATE: I discovered (and fixed) two major bugs that would cause the game to crash. These bug fixes came after the deadline, but I'll hope you'll all forgive me for that. I'd rather have it so that people can play the game without it crashing, even if it technically means I made changes to the game after the time limit expired.
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Very nice...the movement has nice & hypnotizing rhythm to it and the occasional carnage is great too (exploding barrels is one videogame trope that never gets boring).
Losing abilities on hit sure adds tension, but being left totally without any seems a bit unfair - come on, not even a knife? ;) Well, I suppose that`s a harsh reality of being a space marine...
One serious gripe is that the installer forces a DirectX update/install - that`s never a good thing. I know it`s probably tied to the Game Maker itself, but making it optional would be a good idea.
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Very nice...the movement has nice & hypnotizing rhythm to it and the occasional carnage is great too (exploding barrels is one videogame trope that never gets boring).
Thanks! It's great to get some feedback. As far as I can tell, you're the first person to play the game outside of a few of my close friends.
I guess you can probably tell that I played a lot of Doom when I was a kid... A game without exploding barrels is just unimaginable for me. :)
Losing abilities on hit sure adds tension, but being left totally without any seems a bit unfair - come on, not even a knife? ;) Well, I suppose that`s a harsh reality of being a space marine...
Yeah, I tried different mechanics and I realize that losing all of your attack abilities can be harsh, but sometimes it can create some amazing moments. One time, I lost everything but my "dash" ability and I was on a later, more difficult level. I was able to just barely make it to the last computer terminal by outwitting the enemy AI and maneuvering around them, so I figured, what the heck, I'll leave this in, because it can create some really tense moments.
Maybe in the future I could give the player a super weak "punch" ability that never goes away, and can be used as a last resort?
One serious gripe is that the installer forces a DirectX update/install - that`s never a good thing. I know it`s probably tied to the Game Maker itself, but making it optional would be a good idea.
Good point, I didn't think about this. This is indeed a GameMaker requirement. I just realized, however, that it's possible to zip up the game directory and just play the game by running the executable, no install required! So, I have made a zip file and updated the download links.
akeley, if you don't mind, could you try out the new zip file and see if the program runs without going through the install process? It works on my computer, but it's always good to have confirmation from somebody else. :)
Thanks very much for playing the game, and thanks for your feedback!
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[UPDATE] Created Rogue Basin page: http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Rogue_Space_Marine
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I couldn't play for long but I like it so far, good job.
I kind of had this happen:
(http://i.imgur.com/1YSDmPi.png)
Also this:
(http://i.imgur.com/tv5k7vr.png)
I'm pretty sure this was supposedly the only way in. I ran around the map for a while to find another way in, then red alert kicked in and I could scramble back here for the screenshot lol.
Two more things:
I find the computers hard to distinguish from grey walls
Movement speed could be a bit faster
Overall though I enjoyed it. I'll play more of it to make sure I'll experience the game with more abilities unlocked. :)
EDIT: Oh, those enemies in space could be because of this:
(http://i.imgur.com/y0w7sO0.png)
They could get outside through the computer.
Also +++ for exploding barrels. Can't have enough of them.
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Really strong game. Impressive work.
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Really strong game. Impressive work.
Thanks very much, Samildanach. I appreciate your feedback! Thanks for taking the time to play my game.
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EDIT: Oh, those enemies in space could be because of this:
(http://i.imgur.com/y0w7sO0.png)
They could get outside through the computer.
Thanks very much for the feedback, supperdev. Also, thank you so much for reporting the level generation bug! This was definitely NOT supposed to happen, but I was very sleep-deprived when I coded the level generator, so it looks like I made a mistake.
I will take a look at this tonight and try to fix the bug. I think I know what is going wrong here. Hopefully I can release an updated version tomorrow that guarantees that the game always generates levels that can be beaten, and don't provide a path for the enemies to float out into space!
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Hi everybody,
I think I have fixed the level generation bugs, hopefully. I uploaded a new version (same location, same filename). Thanks!
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Hope you`ll continue to work on this. Would be nice to see tightened up balance, more abilities and such. One thing I`d love to see is destructible scenery/degenerating cover - since you hide & shoot a lot it would really add tension. Also more variety in dungeon generation wouldn`t hurt - more ways to escape the horde...
Think if you could damage the wall and cause a breach sucking enemies out...or maybe yourself - that would explain the bug in a nice way :)
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One thing I`d love to see is destructible scenery/degenerating cover - since you hide & shoot a lot it would really add tension.
That's a great idea! I'll see if I can implement the logic to handle that. It wouldn't be very hard to designate destructible walls inside the room that maybe get destroyed after one or two hits.
Think if you could damage the wall and cause a breach sucking enemies out...or maybe yourself - that would explain the bug in a nice way :)
Also a cool idea, but this one would take a little more effort to implement. I'll think about it!
(Anyway, the bug should be resolved now, so this isn't as much of a necessity at this point...)
Thanks again for the feedback. I'm just happy that people are actually playing my game, after sinking about 55 hours into developing it. If people are having fun playing the game, then the sleepless nights were worth it!
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Hi everybody,
I recently made a few post-7DRL updates to the game and I wanted to share them with you.
The new version is available here: http://thesleeve.itch.io/rogue-space-marine
16 March 2015: Several bugs that would crash the game were discovered and fixed. The first one crashed the game if you had an active shield at the end of the level. The second was related to enemies that tried to attack you without a line of sight... the result of fixing that bug is that enemies now try to get a line of sight before attacking, which actually improves the gameplay in my opinion.
20 March 2015: Multiple level generation bugs fixed. There hopefully shouldn't be any more problems where a hallway to another room is blocked or there is a breach in the wall that allows enemies to walk out into space. The level generation is a bit complex, so I'm not certain that the bug is 100% fixed, but I think, at the very least, I made some improvements to prevent this bug from happening.
22 April 2015: Red alert respawning fixed. Originally, all dead enemies would respawn 10 seconds after the red alert sounded. This made finishing a level after the red alert nearly impossible. I wanted a red alert to create a very difficult situation for the player, but not an insurmountable challenge, so I randomized respawn times between 10 and 20 seconds to make it a little more fair.
22 April 2015: Ability description screen added. So many people asked what the different abilities do, especially the passive effects that are hard to understand, so I created a simple screen to explain. Press and hold F2 at any time to display the screen.
(http://i.imgur.com/81TnmsI.jpg)
23 April 2015: Enemy patrolling fixed. There was a HUGE bug that I somehow never noticed in the enemy patrolling code, and this caused the enemies to all congregate in strange spots around the level. The result was that you might find several rooms completely empty, but then stumble on to a room with 30 enemies in it, because the enemies all decided to go to that one spot. I found the bug and I wasn't quite sure of the best way to fix it, so I eventually decided to make it so that enemies stay in their starting rooms when patrolling. I didn't have a lot of time to play-test this, but from my early observations, it seems to make the game more fun and balanced.
So, those are the updates I have made since release. It's worth noting that the core gameplay remains the same. The changes I have made are mostly just bug fixes, and even though some of those fixes resulted in slight gameplay improvements, it's still essentially the same game.
On another note, the rankings of the 2015 7DRL entries were just posted (http://roguetemple.com/7drl/2015/) and my game ranked very highly, and I'm very honored by that. I just wanted to publicly thank everybody for playing my game. I put a lot of time and effort into it and I'm really glad that people seem to enjoy it.