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Up Topic Gosu / Gosu Showcase / Terava
- - By jlnr (dev) Date 2008-11-14 23:53 Edited 2010-06-20 12:59
Terava is the closed-source platformer that I started writing in Delphi before moving to C++. My old Delphi, then Windows-only-C++ library soon became Gosu with the help of Jan Lücker (who provided the Linux port). The game itself is around eight years old, features an intuitive level editor with a lot of possibilites (Win32API unfortunately ...) and a skeletal animation system.
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-22 09:20
Terava has gone live last night:

http://www.terava.info/

Yay, first commercial Gosu game. :) Gosu's support for desktop systems is not going to suffer either, next up might be the Mac App Store.
Parent - - By Basic Date 2010-12-22 15:27 Edited 2010-12-22 15:43
wow didn't take long in the apple pipeline.

*EDIT

played the first few levels, very cool - love the co-op play (just need to convince my wife to play with me now). Love the controls to, no finicky buttons.
Parent - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-22 20:13
Thanks :) Turns out the second player would often enjoy a flatter learning curve, the first player usually doesn't mind as much. All the usability testing is pretty exciting though.
Parent - By erisdiscord Date 2010-12-23 03:50
Just grabbed the lite version and suggested it to my roommate as well. I'll try to play it sometime tomorrow. Here's hoping it runs at a decent speed on my iPod touch.
Parent - - By erisdiscord Date 2010-12-25 07:19 Edited 2010-12-25 07:31
I like it and I think I'll be buying the full version. I do have a couple of minor whines though!

* The game seems to crash a lot on my iPod touch (second generation) while loading levels or after un-suspending it. I suspect it's running out of memory since having it suspended also makes everything else really slow and prone to crashing. I wish iOS would give error reports instead of silently quitting apps.
* In the Flatlands map, after leaving the building on the left with low health, I got stuck in a loop where hitting retry would have me respawn at the door only to be immediately killed by one of those armored dog guys that was standing in the same place. A brief invincibility after respawning (the Sonic flicker) is a time-honored solution (or workaround) to this problem.
* I think the movement regions are a little too narrow for my giant thumbs and I keep finding myself running one way or another when I mean to jump because I've missed the screen. Could we have a setting to adjust the size for gorilla hands like mine? :)

Given that two of these complaints involve the hardware as much as the software, I'm betting the iPad version is nearly perfect, so don't feel discouraged. :)

Oh yeah, and I should mention a few things that I like, too:

* The controls are ingenious I think. I haven't played an iOS game with decent platformer controls until now, so you're definitely on to something.
* The ability to jump on enemies is welcome as somebody who grew up with games like Sonic the Hedgehog. I don't care what Castlevania says—if I jump on Dracula's head, he's gonna feel it more than I am!
* It's challenging to me, but not ridiculously. I'm looking forward to seeing how the difficulty curve continues in the full version.
* Even though it seems to starve my device of memory, I haven't noticed any slowdowns yet! The game runs quite smoothly within the constraints of the device.
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-25 10:56
Big thanks for the feedback!

> * The game seems to crash a lot on my iPod touch (second generation) while loading levels or after un-suspending it. I suspect it's running out of memory since having it suspended also makes everything else really slow and prone to crashing. I wish iOS would give error reports instead of silently quitting apps.


Yeah, sounds like a memory problem. I think if I'd purge the overworld map during gameplay, it might help already (2–3 MB). I'll try this ASAP because the game can even crash an iPad that's been running for a while.

iOS *does* record stuff like that btw. After syncing, the logs end up in: ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/...
And, as far as I can tell (App Store n00b here), they get uploaded to Apple, who puts them into my inbox to see. However, I am not sure if this includes memory-related crashes or not. They are easy to spot in Xcode because they have the exit code of 0.

> * Even though it seems to starve my device of memory, I haven't noticed any slowdowns yet! The game runs quite smoothly within the constraints of the device.


I only know about my iPhone 3G, but it slows down where there are lots of background tiles on the screen, e.g. inside the cave right in the second screen of the Starlight Path.

> * In the Flatlands map, after leaving the building on the left with low health, I got stuck in a loop where hitting retry would have me respawn at the door only to be immediately killed by one of those armored dog guys that was standing in the same place. A brief invincibility after respawning (the Sonic flicker) is a time-honored solution (or workaround) to this problem.


Heh, there is an if() just for this problem and I tried it exactly where it happened to you. The game *should* move the enemies out of place just enough for you to jump. But I guess I'll ditch that and go with what you said.
(Argh, at the end of the Lite version of all places!! :()

> * It's challenging to me, but not ridiculously. I'm looking forward to seeing how the difficulty curve continues in the full version.


That's what still worries me the most, I am totally clueless if the difficulty is appropriate or not. (It peaks right after the Lite version). I guess people who are totally casual non-action gamers are just out of luck :)

BTW- since you apparently took a break between finishing Lite and jumping to full. What is your intuitive behavior? Just let the game linger on the device? Or would you actually consider replaying it?
Parent - - By erisdiscord Date 2010-12-25 15:58

> iOS *does* record stuff like that btw. After syncing, the logs end up in: ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/...
> And, as far as I can tell (App Store n00b here), they get uploaded to Apple, who puts them into my inbox to see. However, I am not sure if this includes memory-related crashes or not. They are easy to spot in Xcode because they have the exit code of 0.


I need to sync my iPod more often I think. It tends to happen once or twice a month. I'll have a look in the logs tomorrow (Christmas today and all) and see if it actually recorded anything.

> Heh, there is an if() just for this problem and I tried it exactly where it happened to you. The game *should* move the enemies out of place just enough for you to jump.


Well, I suppose the monster isn't exactly where I was standing, but it's walking towards the door at that moment so it ends up there as soon as I am in control, heh. If you have a reliable way to make sure they aren't walking towards the player too, that might be a better solution than the invincible flicker trick. I have to admit your initial solution is pretty clever. :)

> BTW- since you apparently took a break between finishing Lite and jumping to full. What is your intuitive behavior? Just let the game linger on the device? Or would you actually consider replaying it?


I'm a bit of a hoarder so it's hard to get rid of a game I like, and I hate to delete a saved game too. It will stick around on my device for sure. I also have a tendency to go back and try to get all the secrets I might have missed once I've mostly "finished" a game, Metroid style, so I'll be playing it some more. I actually noticed the respawn bug while replaying that level. I'd kind of like to fight that raptor again, though. Boss rush mode, anybody? ;)

I'm happy to give feedback of course, especially since you're responsible for probably the best and most intuitive game library I've come across. I owe you at least that much, don't I? :) So, thank you for your excellent library and for letting us use it for free.

Oh and merry Christmas to you and the forum!
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-25 23:37 Edited 2010-12-25 23:46
You can just fight the raptor again, but I heard he has a brief return in a later level</spoiler> ;)

> I actually noticed the respawn bug while replaying that level


Then you've probably seen the bubbles/letters that appear when replaying levels. With my question I was kinda trying to see if I should put a little bonus content in the Lite version too if you get all of them. But maybe it's better if people collect them, and then can only get bonus stuff in the Full version, as an additional incentive. >:)

Thanks again and Merry Christmas!
Parent - - By erisdiscord Date 2010-12-25 23:48
Yeah, I did see the letters, although I haven't had a chance to get them all yet.

Maybe limited bonus content in the Lite version with some sort of promise of more in the full game. You could allow unlocking of everything that you could unlock in the full version up to that point, but only let us actually use maybe one of the unlockables.
Parent - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-26 02:44
Sounds good. To be honest, even in the full version there is only one place where you can unlock stuff using some letters, and it's obligatory to complete the game. :) At least building bonus levels should be fast... *crunch crunch crunch*
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-28 06:03

> Well, I suppose the monster isn't exactly where I was standing, but it's walking towards the door at that moment so it ends up there as soon as I am in control,


The push happens exactly the frame where go you into control and become vulnerable. Turns out it was an off-by-one error when the enemy came from the left side, so I'll give it another try. :)

My hack breaks with enemies which are not supposed to move horizontally, like spiders, so I need to verify that I haven't put any near doors.
Parent - By erisdiscord Date 2010-12-28 07:35
Good on you then if you can fix it without adding a mechanic you don't want. I eagerly await version 1.2. :)
Parent - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-12-22 09:34
I also think I have some image resizing problems with the board software.
- By jlnr (dev) Date 2009-02-21 02:16 Edited 2009-02-21 02:30
Started working on it again, this time targeting the iPhone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfTtpaSnb9M

I love this device, and I bet the coming optimizations won't hurt the Gosu codebase either :)

The ingenious control scheme remains a surprise for now :P But I think it'll work well for people who didn't read the source beforehand. No sword-fighting action anymore, though…
- By Shinobi Chef Date 2009-05-17 01:29 Edited 2009-05-17 05:23
The Video on youtube looks very nice,smooth animation well done!

How goes its development?
- By jlnr (dev) Date 2009-05-25 21:49
Building levels takes ages, just sent another internal preview around. I still only have two finished levels, all the other levels have at least one major flaw*. Oh man :)

But I attached some new screenshots to increase my chances to win my own libgosu.org frontpage-lottery :P

(* like the lack of a background texture in the 3rd screenshot, mh, maybe not the best choice.)
- By Shinobi Chef Date 2009-06-22 04:24
How do you control the character in Terra Vera for Iphone?

in your demo video showing Terra Vera running on the Iphone you walk left and right I think by touching the left or right side of the screen right?

though how are going to do other stuff as the Iphone does not have any buttons you can use,the only button it has is the menu button
which I assume hiting that would take you back to the main menu of the Iphone,I assume you will use of the touchscreen also to perform any functions in the game

since Terra Vera is written using C++ ,Im assuming that the files you copy onto your Iphone do not contain any source code?
if this is true would you beable to upload the current version of the Terra Vera files that you need to copy into an Iphone,so that other people on this forum can try out
Terra Vera at its current stage on there Iphone?
- - By Shinobi Chef Date 2009-07-09 14:35 Edited 2009-07-09 14:39
The new screenshots look awesome,Looking forward to playing the game oneday :)

What platforms do you plan to release it for?
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-06-19 13:28
Responding very late because I just updated my plans: want to target the IndiePub compo, for iPhone/iPhone4/iPad but also runnable on Windows where the Level Editor lives, and OS X. If I get nobody to help me market that stuff, I'll just go to the App Store in a DYI way. :)
Parent - - By Maverick Date 2010-06-20 21:37
Maybe this'll help any?
http://www.kickstarter.com/
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-07-13 09:07
I thought about investing in workforce myself, or asking people to invest in my game. As of now, all the code and visuals are MINE, just the music is coming from a good friend. I think I'll use this as the "THIS is what I can do by myself" reference :)

The biggest impedience is my master's thesis which I sadly can't find any way around for the next three months.
Parent - - By Maverick Date 2010-07-14 18:05
Burn down the university.
Parent - By jlnr (dev) Date 2010-07-14 18:08
I'm doing another exchange semester to prevent myself from doing so. ;)
- - By Jwosty Date 2011-08-06 17:22
Fantastic game! I installed the lite version, got hooked, so then I bought the full version. Very original! And what more, it's made in Gosu
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2011-08-07 02:07
Thanks! I need to do a bigger update sometime this year, so let me know if there is anything that annoys you :)
Parent - - By Jwosty Date 2011-08-08 02:41
Okay, I have something right now: I guess I don't have the patience to wait for the text to disappear at the beginning of each level, and somebody who isn't fluent in english doesn't have enough time to read it. If you changed the text from automatically disappearing to vanishing when the user taps the screen, it could solve both problems. Just a minor thing, but it would really help (at least me)! And I also recommended this to my cousin, but he got the lite version. Thanks!
Parent - - By jlnr (dev) Date 2011-08-08 07:09
I didn't want to add another key press because you can read the text before you press "Start". I cannot make it disappear faster because the game is just loading for so long. I hope to improve on the latter issue though :)
Parent - By Jwosty Date 2011-08-11 02:49
Oh okay, this makes sense.
Up Topic Gosu / Gosu Showcase / Terava

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