As an online identity, as ZephyrBurst, a guy who (for now) makes hobbyist games, I had chosen to stay silent for current issues in gaming culture. I've never supported GG, and never will, but I also didn't want to be part of any of that. All I want to do is make and play video games. I just like things to be simple. I have been watching it all unfold since this stuff blew up in August, but I've remained an on-looker.
However, I can't be silent anymore and really, a silent supporter is useless. Things have become a bit more personal now. A friend of mine has been a target of the misogynistic bullshit that is happening and its been an eye opener in all this. I will be speaking out against inequality and unfairness from this point on.
I would like to note that this will probably be the only post about this on the blog, but in the places I may frequent where these discussions occur, I'll be there. You may see my twitter get a bit heated from time to time as well. I've watched this stuff from the sidelines for way too long and its been angering.
Blog Update
We'll be returning to DT stuff after this, which by the way, I'm making some dedicated pages for the three games. The first draft buttons on the side will link to the start of those. I'll be expanding those and getting a better format sometime this month. (Maybe? or January :P DT dev tends to come first.)
12/07/2014
12/04/2014
More Control Options
Edit: (12/5/2014) Doing some tests with blog pages for a bit. You may see the side bar change here and there for the next few weeks.
I've had suggestions in the past about adding in dash buttons, so those are in DT3 now. The biggest reason I added them though, is I feel that dashing is the most important mechanic in the DT series. More options to access and set up the dash how the player wants it is a good thing then. (And the arguments to add it were also well presented.)
Up/Down + Jump can still be used of course, but with the dash buttons, the option to disable up/down from initiating the dash was added. The dash buttons also have 2 modes. You can set them as 'Dash Left' and 'Dash Right', or as 'Dash Back' and 'Dash Forward'. For controllers, they are default to the shoulder buttons.
During all my playtests since this functionality was added, I've kept to the old method of dashing when playing on a keyboard, but with a controller, the new method is far better. I'm sure any of you reading this that played DT1 or 2 with a controller will immediately understand why.
Smash Bros.
It's fun.
What's Left
One more major level left for Chapter 19, and 3 more boss encounters. (Scripting one now.) The sequence to get to the location that Chapter 20 takes place, where I mix two mechanics together.
Stuff
Here's some MLP thing out of nowhere.
Also the blog has been linked on reddit apparently.
I've had suggestions in the past about adding in dash buttons, so those are in DT3 now. The biggest reason I added them though, is I feel that dashing is the most important mechanic in the DT series. More options to access and set up the dash how the player wants it is a good thing then. (And the arguments to add it were also well presented.)
Up/Down + Jump can still be used of course, but with the dash buttons, the option to disable up/down from initiating the dash was added. The dash buttons also have 2 modes. You can set them as 'Dash Left' and 'Dash Right', or as 'Dash Back' and 'Dash Forward'. For controllers, they are default to the shoulder buttons.
During all my playtests since this functionality was added, I've kept to the old method of dashing when playing on a keyboard, but with a controller, the new method is far better. I'm sure any of you reading this that played DT1 or 2 with a controller will immediately understand why.
Smash Bros.
It's fun.
What's Left
One more major level left for Chapter 19, and 3 more boss encounters. (Scripting one now.) The sequence to get to the location that Chapter 20 takes place, where I mix two mechanics together.
Stuff
Here's some MLP thing out of nowhere.
Also the blog has been linked on reddit apparently.
11/19/2014
Another Anniversary
It's the 2 year anniversary for Planetside 2!
That is all.
Voted best Zephyr blog post.
-No one
In other news, by request: You can now change the game window size with your mouse, and the window will auto-correct itself to the 4:3 ratio.
That is all.
Voted best Zephyr blog post.
-No one
In other news, by request: You can now change the game window size with your mouse, and the window will auto-correct itself to the 4:3 ratio.
11/13/2014
Gotta Say It Again, I Don't Like Winter
It's too cold.
Hitboxes Again
I believe I've mentioned this before, but anyway, the hitboxes in DT are almost always smaller than the sprite.
For example:
In this overly large shot of my display, there are 2 sprites displayed. Those dark boxes over the sprites are the pixels used for collision. Most enemy sprites use the full sprite for collision, but their projectiles often have the first outer edge of the pixels cut off from colliding with anything. This is why you'll sometimes see a fireball fly through the top of Jerry's head or something pass through his arm while he's unharmed. The collision boxes have remained the same for most of the sprites that were carried over from DT1 and DT2.
When DT1 first started, there was none of this. Every sprite was its own collision, which led to a lot of problems.
For some enemy sprites that have a weapon as part of the sprite itself, I'll often cut off the weapon for collision checking, both due to it being awkward for the player when they take damage from it (I think so anyway) and that it's also part of the collision for the player to deal damage to the enemy. For those occasions, a separate object is used (as you would imagine) for the melee weapon the enemy has.
The above collision examples are only for collision with damage objects, these are not used for world collision. (though they can be) That's handled in a different, slightly more complex, way.
Achievements
These are in DT3 as of a moment ago. There's been plenty of talk with people about these and if they should be in the game. I've shared my thoughts on them before, and I tend to not like them. So, nearly all of the achievements in DT3 are very silly things that are outside of normal gameplay. There won't be any "Completed Chapter 1" or "Defeated 100000 Enemies" achievements. Most of them are designed for comedy purposes.
A comment here inspired someone to say a thing to me, which inspired me to code in achievements. Luckily some of the UI and code was already done from when I was toying around with the idea.
Hitboxes Again
I believe I've mentioned this before, but anyway, the hitboxes in DT are almost always smaller than the sprite.
For example:
When DT1 first started, there was none of this. Every sprite was its own collision, which led to a lot of problems.
For some enemy sprites that have a weapon as part of the sprite itself, I'll often cut off the weapon for collision checking, both due to it being awkward for the player when they take damage from it (I think so anyway) and that it's also part of the collision for the player to deal damage to the enemy. For those occasions, a separate object is used (as you would imagine) for the melee weapon the enemy has.
The above collision examples are only for collision with damage objects, these are not used for world collision. (though they can be) That's handled in a different, slightly more complex, way.
Achievements
These are in DT3 as of a moment ago. There's been plenty of talk with people about these and if they should be in the game. I've shared my thoughts on them before, and I tend to not like them. So, nearly all of the achievements in DT3 are very silly things that are outside of normal gameplay. There won't be any "Completed Chapter 1" or "Defeated 100000 Enemies" achievements. Most of them are designed for comedy purposes.
A comment here inspired someone to say a thing to me, which inspired me to code in achievements. Luckily some of the UI and code was already done from when I was toying around with the idea.
11/07/2014
Moving Forward
I had walked outside for my lunch break and when going around a corner, a grackle was also walking around the same corner. The two of us would have collided had we not been paying attention. I stopped when I saw her and she did the normal quick flight, but she only flew away about 3 feet before returning. The bird recognized me and I guess she got really excited because she kept flying in front of me. Grackles, like many birds, cannot hover very well. So she kept fluttering to the wall next to us and kicking off of it to remain in front of me. Finally after about 3 times of doing that, she landed right at the base of my feet.
I do wonder if I had extended my hand, if she would have landed on it. Another of the birds out there, that is far more friendly, has jumped up on my leg when I was sitting on a bench.
Chapter 19 Progress
It's a slow thing these days, with having a full time job and trying to maintain a social life, both online and offline. But it is always moving forward every day, little by little. One of the three major locations is completed. It took a bit longer than I wanted due to the second half of October being exceptionally busy for me.
It is kind of weird to be almost done though, both happy and sad about it... mostly happy. I like seeing things finished.
Release Date
I still don't know just yet, but I think late February or early March next year. That's just a guess, it could be sooner, it could be later. But that's my new goal. I'm not going to rush things, I'd rather the game come a bit later rather than suck.
Also, I haven't played Planetside in over a week. I'm putting the game down until I finish DT3.
Also, I haven't played Planetside in over a week. I'm putting the game down until I finish DT3.
10/22/2014
The War Room
If you played DT1, which if you're reading this, chances are that you did. You may remember near the end of the game the map labelled as the war room. It had a really positive reception from everyone and I really wanted to do it again.
I just got done with its DT3 iteration and I'm pretty pleased with it. That said, it does have a slightly different focus. In DT1, it was mostly about the player being overpowered. In DT3, I wanted to have the same idea of fighting hoards of enemies the player had fought before. But the focus isn't on the player being overpowered. They do get benefits exclusive to that segment though, that's still there, but not as great as before.
The end result is pretty chaotic, especially the final bits of it, and it looks fantastic in motion. I've been testing the end result for about an hour now, making small tweaks here and there and I'm pretty happy with it.
The other thing that I didn't limit myself on in DT1 was the player getting hit. Everything in DT1 was made so that the player could get through 'mostly' unharmed, with the exception of the war room and the 2 boss fights that follow. One of the big rules with DT3 that I have is that it MUST be able to be played flawlessly and be reasonable. Every segment of the game, with the exception of a few short moments. For purists, those few forced hits are not recorded.
Valdis Story
I saw that raocow is playing this and I think it looks great. I've had it recommended to me by two people now. I watched the first 4 parts of raocow's LP of it and I'm going to discontinue that, as I'm going to play the game after I finish DT3. I may even try doing a LP of it as well. It'll be a first for that.
LP of Distorted Travesty
It seems weird to me, but I've had it requested that I LP my own game. Normally I wouldn't do something like that, but considering the volume of requests and how old DT1 is now, I may do it. Again, it would be after DT3 is finished. I may ask around on that one though, maybe on the talkhaus, especially since quite a few DT players are there. I know I don't post there very much, but I do lurk... often. @_@
I just got done with its DT3 iteration and I'm pretty pleased with it. That said, it does have a slightly different focus. In DT1, it was mostly about the player being overpowered. In DT3, I wanted to have the same idea of fighting hoards of enemies the player had fought before. But the focus isn't on the player being overpowered. They do get benefits exclusive to that segment though, that's still there, but not as great as before.
The end result is pretty chaotic, especially the final bits of it, and it looks fantastic in motion. I've been testing the end result for about an hour now, making small tweaks here and there and I'm pretty happy with it.
The other thing that I didn't limit myself on in DT1 was the player getting hit. Everything in DT1 was made so that the player could get through 'mostly' unharmed, with the exception of the war room and the 2 boss fights that follow. One of the big rules with DT3 that I have is that it MUST be able to be played flawlessly and be reasonable. Every segment of the game, with the exception of a few short moments. For purists, those few forced hits are not recorded.
Valdis Story
I saw that raocow is playing this and I think it looks great. I've had it recommended to me by two people now. I watched the first 4 parts of raocow's LP of it and I'm going to discontinue that, as I'm going to play the game after I finish DT3. I may even try doing a LP of it as well. It'll be a first for that.
LP of Distorted Travesty
It seems weird to me, but I've had it requested that I LP my own game. Normally I wouldn't do something like that, but considering the volume of requests and how old DT1 is now, I may do it. Again, it would be after DT3 is finished. I may ask around on that one though, maybe on the talkhaus, especially since quite a few DT players are there. I know I don't post there very much, but I do lurk... often. @_@
10/07/2014
Sensitive Content
Since I no longer work outside (and haven't for a few months), I don't have as many bird stories to tell. Though I do go outside during every lunch break, every work day. It doesn't take long for the birds to notice me and approach, in some cases, the moment I walk outside. However, a lot of the birds that know me aren't around right now either. Due to the seasons changing, a lot of them are moving around. There's far more birds here during the later seasons, but they're only here temporarily so nearly all of them have never seen me before. It's still nice to have my few birds left though that stay here year round.
Chapter 19 Stuff
I've quickly come to find that this chapter's content has been some of the hardest to work on in any project I've had. I mentioned two posts ago what this chapter is about (essentially me), so it's more expressive than any other segment of the game. A lot of plot related events also mean something to me and express how I feel about certain topics. Maybe no one will understand it or be able to derive any meaning from it all, and honestly, I'm okay with that.
Some of the content is hard to work on though, for various reasons. In a plot related sense, the more I think about how the events of chapter 19 unfold, the more I don't want those events to happen. They will though, because it's what I think should happen and it closely ties into how I feel about what those segments of the chapter mean.
Moreso than that, there's a specific level that is rather hard for me to work on. It isn't something I can work on or even think about in too much detail before going to sleep. I don't want to give away what I'm doing and why though. It's just a weird thing to work on and that it even has that effect on me at all. It does make sense to me why though, considering what it is. Once the game has been out for a bit, I'll definitely come back to this topic and talk about why this is, as it isn't going to be covered in any dev notes on enemy scans.
One slight spoiler, that isn't too much a spoiler because anyone that's played DT1 will most likely see it returning. A Primary Memory like level occurs during chapter 19 as well. There's a lot that happens during this chapter, but comparatively, chapter 20 is much shorter, especially considering it's just the final level. And that has a very different focus than chapter 19, in every way, story and gameplay mechanics. Especially gameplay, there's a fairly large change that is present for almost the entire level.
Chapter 19 Stuff
I've quickly come to find that this chapter's content has been some of the hardest to work on in any project I've had. I mentioned two posts ago what this chapter is about (essentially me), so it's more expressive than any other segment of the game. A lot of plot related events also mean something to me and express how I feel about certain topics. Maybe no one will understand it or be able to derive any meaning from it all, and honestly, I'm okay with that.
Some of the content is hard to work on though, for various reasons. In a plot related sense, the more I think about how the events of chapter 19 unfold, the more I don't want those events to happen. They will though, because it's what I think should happen and it closely ties into how I feel about what those segments of the chapter mean.
Moreso than that, there's a specific level that is rather hard for me to work on. It isn't something I can work on or even think about in too much detail before going to sleep. I don't want to give away what I'm doing and why though. It's just a weird thing to work on and that it even has that effect on me at all. It does make sense to me why though, considering what it is. Once the game has been out for a bit, I'll definitely come back to this topic and talk about why this is, as it isn't going to be covered in any dev notes on enemy scans.
One slight spoiler, that isn't too much a spoiler because anyone that's played DT1 will most likely see it returning. A Primary Memory like level occurs during chapter 19 as well. There's a lot that happens during this chapter, but comparatively, chapter 20 is much shorter, especially considering it's just the final level. And that has a very different focus than chapter 19, in every way, story and gameplay mechanics. Especially gameplay, there's a fairly large change that is present for almost the entire level.
For any of you that have been part of creative works, have you ever felt very attached to what you're working on? Or that the content is so personal that it's hard to work on it?
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