Haven't seen the RMagick example but it is currently using Texplay to draw the map and remove chunks.

Last post was http://www.libgosu.org/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?tid=835 but realized I needed to start simple.

Scorched Earth Ruby

Update:
- Added more textures.
- Refined hit areas.

[https://raw.github.com/jamesmoriarty/scorched-earth-rb/master/doc/screenshot-02.png]
[https://raw.github.com/jamesmoriarty/scorched-earth-rb/master/doc/screenshot-01.png]

TODO:
- Collapse floating terrain.
- Parallax map.
- Facing.

Thanks for the feedback BlueScope. I couldn't agree more.

I'm more of a "plumber" than a "painter" so the aesthetics are always difficult for me.

Thanks jlnr.

Parallaxing the nebula is a great idea.

I'll look into the light source idea.

I believe I could do it for a 3d game but I'm not so sure  with 2d. Would I need some sort of light/height map for my sprites?

Thanks Spooner.

I do need to find a more efficient way to manage particles. I'm looking into Ashton right now.

The radar is just some draw rects. I could cache the radar and update it periodically.

I really need to profile the loop to work out what optimisations I need to prioritise.

I spent the weekend creating the following demo/game. I'm currently using Ruby 1.9.3, Gosu, and Chingu.

I would enjoy creating a  2d space/trader/combat like http://www.ambrosiasw.com/games/evn/

Any ideas or experiences making something similar would be much appreciated.

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hgmW7Sw99A&feature=player_embedded

Images
[http://s3.amazonaws.com/telos_development/app/public/ckeditor_assets/attachments/26/screen_shot_2013-01-05_at_9_34_27_pm.png?1357382404]