Cop-out post

Did a teensy bit of coding on that content manager stuff but it's not particularly fun and work's been kinda busy so not a lot happened the past few weeks.

But here's a post anyway to show that I still care.

So I was thinking about level design and how to put a unique spin on the game to keep it interesting and an idea popped into my head that I've got a hard time getting rid of.

What if I made Gloom a FPS Roguelike?

Rogue

Think about it! I think it would be pretty freakin' cool, and doable too!

Wrestling with the content manager

For the most part I think XNA is brilliantly designed. The Content Manager though... meh.

To add a new type of content to a project you need to create a whole slew of classes across multiple projects with specific compiler instructions and links to each other. The whole thing is also very debug resistant - it's hard to put breakpoints in a content processor because it is run during compile time instead of runtime.

I mean I guess it's not super hard, and the documentation is nice, but it's still a chore. Difficult to wrap my head around. I've avoided digging into the content manager so far (even at work), but I'd like to do this right.

The goal is to have a system where artists can just send me images with some extra information and the content manager automatically parses them into a spritesheet to use in the game.

like this

I can already do that, but it happens during the game itself (so the player is treated to a loading bar). With the content manager I could do it in advance and load the spritesheets directly into the game.

Sprites

Where's Waldo?

I'll eventually need (someone) to make original sprites. For now though I will use the originals. This way I can get a headstart on programming the enemies. I think that if I get a nice playable demo to show to people it will be a lot easier to find interested artists.

You can find most of the Doom sprites online. Unfortunately they usually suck. They'll have no transparancy or the positioning information will be missing.

So I had to man up and find out how to rip them out of the wad file. Luckily this isn't exactly treading new ground and the Doom wiki was again able to help me out nicely.

I've now got a whole list of sprites complete with the pixel offsets for properly aligning them. Next step is to compile those into fancy spreadsheets. We've got a nice tool for that at work, maybe I'll steal it ;)

Wanted: artist to draw +/- 1000 sprites for Doom clone :(

What's in a name?

Good news, everybody!

As fellow L4D enthusiast and future level designer mr. Van Beuzekom has so conscientiously pointed out, the name Gloom has been used before. In fact, it is the monicker of a 1995 Amiga game, which also happens to be a Doom clone.

Conflicting!

However, having grown attached to the title, I decided to investigate. After a troubled journey through many dead links and wikipedia stubs, I ended up on the website of the developer of Gloom 3. So I asked if he was okay with me using the name. And here's what he said:

Im not sure if anyone would care really!

Hurrah, I guess!*

So it is with great pride that I present the new logo for XNADoomClone:

Beautiful, isn't it? I made it myself!

Thank you, thank you.

I've also been sniffing around for some sprite and texture art. This investigation is ongoing.

In other news: Christmas happened! And even though I haven't got nearly as much programming in as I had planned to, I did manage to squash some very annoying bugs. Observe:

prefix

postfix

Happy new year, everybody!

*Technically the then-publisher Guildhall UK has the rights, but since they seem long dead I feel due diligence has been exercised.

1000 Watt

That's right, bitches

After what can only be described as an odyssey of disappointment and waste, the personal computer is finally operable (knock on wood). I have somehow been suckered into buying a power unit sporting twice the capacity that is required for my rig. The sound of fans desperately trying to keep this beast's temperature under control (a high pitched harmonic whiz coupled with intermittent low hums) will surely please my flatmate.

Absolutely no progress has been made coding-wise, but luckily my musical friend mr. Brannan has not been so apathetic. Feast your ears on these!

Peter Brannan - Something Twisted


Peter Brannan - Detonator


Peter Brannan - Speedy (All)


Will this lull have destroyed all motivation, thus leading to the eventual downfall of the entire project or will regular updates continue as before? STAY TUNED!

In lieu of an actual update

I liked this

Meanwhile, technical difficulties are still in full effect.

PC Borked

Development on Gloom has been temporarily put on hold as my PC is broken and will reside in the shop for a few weeks.

Also eating my free time: Codeglue's moved to a new office!

See you in November!