I haven't had access to Blitz Basic for about a week but I have done some minor changes since the last update, check it out:

Two new features are demonstrated in this screenshot. One is the eight directional pathfinding, making it easier for AI marines (and aliens!) to find their way around the ship. The second is context sensitive menus with two options, selectable with either the left or right click. I have been making an attempt to give the player more flexibility with AI commands (here the player can easily choose to make one marine follow another marine) while keeping the interface simple. In short, giving the player more control without more complication.

I am starting to run a bit behind schedule with Derelict. The 0.50 version is due out in a month and I am well short of the features I intended to have put in at that time (such as another six levels and a second boss fight) however I am confident I can catch up and get ahead in the next week or so. Stay tuned.

In 1985, one of the most notorious cold-war themed C64 games ever was released. Raid Over Moscow was a game where those 'crazy Ivans' have launched a salvo of Nuclear missiles against cities in the 'land of the free', and as part of a secret American commando force you have to stop them. The game, or at least its pirated versions, was a massive hit in Ruskie-phobic areas of Eastern Europe. It was a favourite of mine in my childhood and back in 2005, its twentieth anniversary, I thought the game was well over due for a remake.

It has come to my attention recently that I have a ridiculously large number of abandoned game projects. Perhaps not as many as my brother, who had a habit of making "games" with only a title screen, opening cutscene, menu and half of one level, but its still pretty terrible.

Since I have decided to refocus my blog almost exclusively on games and game development, I thought it might be a good idea to discuss my past projects and where they went wrong as a warning to those who are just getting into game development, as well as to give them a proper post-mortem and burial. So, let me present the first issue of "Game Design Scrapheap"

Future War: New Sahara was a 2D action game that featured flying sequences (1942, Raiden etc) as well as on-foot sequences (Ikari Warriors, Commando etc). Unlike many other shooters it actually had a story - it was about the plight of Shaun Icarus, a pilot in the United States Space Navy, who becomes increasingly trapped by an Invasion on a distant planet gone wrong and a sinister conspiracy seeking to annihilate a vast planetary empire.

Development of the game was done entirely in "The Games Factory" a simple, codeless tool for 2D applications. The idea for the game - a failed futuristic invasion of a desert planet - came to me in a dream, no doubt influenced by the (then) recently started Iraq War. Most graphics were taken from various sprite libraries. I got some MP3 files produced by a work mate to use as the soundtrack.

Everything was going well with the project for a time. I was progressing well with developing new levels, new parts of the story and I was occasionally dumping a new release out on the Internet. Reception from a forum that focuses on Games Factory games was fairly positive because of the relatively high production values put into the game (for Games Factory games anyway).

However it all reached a fairly major snag when I was upto around the 9th or so level of the game - the game began crashing when playing those last levels. Games with lots of levels in the Games Factory are normally fine but each level in my game was entirely unique (which included an opening and closing cutscene for each level) increasing content far beyond a regular GF game. I guess the sheer amount of levels and data overloaded the engine and corrupted the executable.

Game making tools like The Games Factory are fine for small casual games, like remakes of Donkey Kong or Pacman. Unfortunately they are ill-suited for large projects incorporating a lot of unique levels and content. For serious games you need to use a proper game development engine or programming language.

The heartbreak of the Future War debacle made me give up Games Factory game development forever. Instead I moved to 3D game development, working for a short time in Dark Basic before switching to Blitz Basic 3D. I started on a 3D version of Future War New Sahara, intending it to be something like Lylat Wars for the N64, but the development didn't get far at all before I gave up on that too.

The backstory for Derelict is effectively a new version of the New Sahara universe. Who knows, perhaps there will be a 3D incarnation of New Sahara as either a sequel or a prequel to Derelict some day.

Time for an update!



Okay, since the last screenie there have been two major additions. The first is that the explosives expert no longer carries C4 but instead has a hybrid rifle/grenade launcher instead (kudos for Mark for specifically updating the model for me). I did that because its easier to manage then the somewhat awkward C4 and its also more satisfying to use to blow stuff up.

Secondly, you'll see a list of commands down the right side of the screen (the list isn't finalised yet and will probably be revised or added to) which have been designed to make managing your squad easier. The hold command forces all of your men to stay still until told otherwise (useful if you sense your men are about to walk into a trap, or you want them to wait until all orders have been handed out), the follow command tells the rest of the squad to follow you until told otherwise (extremely useful, saves a lot of mouse clicks if you want everyone to walk to the same place) and the cancel orders command immediately, well, cancels everyones orders. Note that these commands are not meant to replace the existing commands but to complement them.

The demand for the new squad commands came from a post I made on the System Shock 2 forums (here) and, as well as other feedback, has been extremely useful with refining the game. Unfortunately the new changes won't be released this weekend because I will be away in Coromandel, but I am hoping to release a new version of Derelict, with lots of tweaks and updates, in the next week or two. Watch this space.