Potty's Place

So far, I have got pretty much all the assets I can think of out of the way right now, will probably end up adding more ideas to this in the end, but here’s what I have so far.

I don’t have as much as I had in the previous code, but what I have is much cleaner compared, the only thing that IS different between the features is the fact the Cow now runs away, which may add some extra fun in chasing it down, especially with multiplayer and the Cow reacting to each player.

I decided I’m going to post clips of the code and a picture to the side. This might help you visualise how I’m pulling it off, in terms of my current experience, it’s nothing special but right now my knowledge is really limited.

I don’t think I’m going to be doing much more Coding tonight, as much as I’d like to, due to Study, but I’m definitely going to be continuing with this Project.

(Note: I’ve had some help with Assets from artistic friends who are also learning to do various things with various software, you can find a link to his profile, right.. here)

Thanks for reading today’s blog entry!

Ciao,
Potty!

Hello!

Sorry I’m late with this one, I didn’t spend much of the day programming and then I ended up having a marathon of a night putting work in.
I’ve finished with this project for now, My code has gone messy, and there is a lot of unnecessary content.

Really though, I had so much fun, especially in the last few days when I needed to add more complex stuff that what I could really handle.
Before finishing up, I did get around to adding some random pickups, which would change the way the game played.
I added three Powerups, a Cloud Overlay, a Speed modifier and a Bat Size modifier.
It was fairly simple with an extra class, but I really tried to add a little too much for my understanding and then totally went overboard in the Main game class.
I’ve also got rid of the bug that sent the ball out of the arena finally.

Few bugs still need fixing, but I believe I’ve learnt all I really can from this project without having to dig real deep in my amateur code.

Known Bugs:

- PowerUp icon doesn’t show all times, but the Rectangle still allows to be intersected.

- Ball can get locked between the bat and the boundaries.

Thankyou for following this project, and I’ll be starting a new one as soon as I get an idea, will probably check around a few sites for ideas later today.. after I’ve finished studying.

You’re free to Check out the Game, or Check out the Source.

Ciao,
Potty!

Today I spent a good 5 hours programming time on this.
I’ve added a few basic features including another screen for game controls.
I brightened up the main game screen with a logo at the top, and I also spent a good hour on getting the AI a little better (it’s no longer unbeatable).

The game can now pause at any time you want.. sadly it doesn’t pause the audio as I didn’t really spend too much time on sorting out how the audio was going to work and I didn’t fancy spending too much time rewriting all that.

Now the Enemy will also react to how you play the game, and tries to see if it can determine where you’re going to hit the ball, obviously this isnt perfect, and it can’t determine correctly every time!

I’ve still a few bugs to fix, including the ball bouncing around freakishly sometimes when it hits the side of the screen and the bat at the same time, but there’s really no worry there, it doesn’t happen often.

On the Controls screen, I tried to give it some comedic value by adding an option to hear the controls rather than read them, but this doesn’t work out how you’d expect it, as the commentating personality can’t speak english very well, so you end up having to read the subtitles, which are triggered by whether or not you’ve pressed A, or Space on the ’ Cant Read ’ button.

So all in a days work, a build of it is here (If it works, hopefully it does), and if you want the source, You’re free to ask me, and I will supply it!

Also, thanks so much for reading todays blog and I hope you come back tomorrow!
Potty.

After today, My head aches.
Things that seem simple are a repeating, long and painful process of correcting and debugging.
Luckily, I got some sound in it, I did try to make the game funny, since it’s not a fun game, really, not anymore, with the likes of Starcraft and Dota being around!

I have gained some knowledge from today. I spent a while improving the balls texture and creating a menu background, which all seem to be looking fine for now. I’ve also implemented same computer multiplayer and singleplayer, both work, thankfully! Friends challenged me to make it online multiplayer, but is it really worth all the hassle of learning to do it for such a small project? I guess so, in a way, but I really have no idea where to start, and that whole aspect seems way too advanced for me, especially when getting a sound to work correctly had me with my face slammed against the desk.

I STILL need to improve singleplayer enemy AI, it is currently unbeatable due to its reaction timer obviously being to the hundredth of a millisecond. I also STILL need to add some form of code that will change the balls direction based on which side of the bat it hits, sadly, the way to do this is still a mystery to me.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring rays of sunshine and less headaches,
Now I’m off to do some UNI work before I fall behind!

Thanks for reading!
Potty.

That’s day two over, I’ve hardly done much today, especially after getting stuck on how I could improve enemy AI.. right now it’s movement is just based off the balls current X position, which is really shoddy.

Your bat can now be controlled via Xbox Controller or Keyboard, whichever you prefer, also the game only plays once you have let the game know you’re ready (with a simple click of a button)..

Tomorrow I’ll probably be updating the ball graphics so it doesn’t have a glow effect, as this really messed up the look of it, sadly.
I also plan on adding a menu system with a Single Player and Multiplayer option, plus I’ll try to improve the AI and attempt to add a feature where the balls direction is dependant on where it hits the bat.

EPIC PONG MULTIPLAYER FTW.

I bid you farewell, with this picture update.
Goodnight!