Vexus

This week I finally get to tell you all about the brand new addition for SSK: Nonstop Mode is a brand new single player mode for SSK. It's very simple, select a fighter from all the ones you've unlocked then battle it out against as many opponents as you can in a row! Click here for the full blog-post!

Well done for the spot, those are their winning poses. However, the real reveal is a bigger deal than that.

Here is a short recap of the past 2 weeks: 2 weeks ago I attended the Summer of Sonic convention, and I got to show and play a beta of the new demo with a bunch of people, getting their feedback and making tweaks. At this point, there were only 2 major additions left that I wanted to add before I could confidently release Demo 5. Since I didn't have much to show that week, I added some more up-to-date screenshots to the site's Arena's page. You can click here to go to the ARENAS page. This week I've started some proper progress on one of those 2 major points. I can't show you much without spoiling it though, I'd rather tell you all about it when it's finished. So here is a teaser. Can you tell what it means? Click for Sunday Special #15 Click for Sunday Special #16

This was going to be a tricky thing to explain by text. Obviously, I wouldn't know the exact nature of the problem unless I saw it, and I don't think I can fix it without seeing the source code. I don't even know what engine you're using to make this. That would be really helpful to know.

Just noticed this, and I might be able to help you out. First, when a player collided with the homing spring he was snapped to the spring's position x = other.x; y = other.y; Next the player would check what instance to home into. What I did was set up the homing spring with a Creation Code in the room editor and make the code something like: id_next = 'id of the next object in the spring sequence'; Back to the player collision event with the homing spring, we can now check if the spring has such an id: if (!variable_local_exists('other.id_next')) 'return to normal then exit'; if (other.id_next == 0) 'return to normal then exit'; else { 'go into homing spring mode'; id_homing = other.id_next; } You would use a code like this in the step event to home in on the next object (an invisible object with a homing spring as it's parent can be used to end a homing spring sequence). if ('in homing spring mode') mp_linear_step_object(id_homing.x, id_homing.y, 6, self); Oh, and for animation. You would have the sprites straight (not at a 45 degree angle) and have it's image_angle set to the direction variable. That's the very basics of it. I'm sure you can work out the specifics for your engine.

@Unlimited Chaos: I'll most likely be working on an original project. Chances are I'll be working on several small original games while this continues being built. @Hybrid35 Thanks for the comment. I like making them, even though debugging them to make sure they work properly is an absolute nightmare.

The idea is that I get Demo 5 into SAGE. I have a list of things that need finishing and they haven't all been ticked yet. Anything else added would be extra.

This week, I've been busy sorting out some comic work and some more of Story Mode, so this update I'm going to release a video of the cutscene I've been teasing for the past two weeks: In other news, I'm also going to Summer of Sonic next week. I'm going to be bringing a laptop and a beta of Demo 5 in the hopes of getting some face-to-face feedback from people. If you're coming and you want to give it a go, you can go to the blog post to see what I look like so you can find me. The full blog-post can be seen here!

Your guess was good, but not perfect...

This week, Story Mode has taken up a lot of my time. I've now finished the new version of the Stage 3 cutscene and I've already begun work on Stage 4. Since I don't want to show the cutscene in full just yet, I've got these screenshots lined up instead. I could upload the new cutscene to YouTube, but I want to see how many people would want that first... so if you want it, ask for it. Click to see the full blog-post.

@P3DRO: That's a really cool idea. I have considered adding proper shields or element shields. One problem that sticks out in my mind though is the idea that certain characters will be weak to certain status effects. And while status effects will be present in the game, I think that would start making things complex and hard to program. I have something in mind though... --- Its time to start working on this again, and things are starting out slow because there are still some things I need to clear up before moving at full speed. What I have done is started working on Story Mode once more. I plan to get at least 3 more stages done for Demo 5. Here is a shot of Cutscene 3, which needs completing... Sometimes, sprites aren't enough... Stay tuned for next Sunday! Click to see the full blog-post.

I don't know how I missed posting last Sunday's update here. I must have been really damn tired. Here is the update: --- This week, I didn't manage to get much done, but it did remind me that I never showed much of the new step-by-step tutorial, so the screenshot is a snippet of that. However, the screenshot shows an item called the Equalizer, an item I want replaced... Anyone got a decent idea for a new power-up? I want to know your thoughts about what kind of items, or anything for that matter, you think would make battles that bit more awesome. Be sure to pitch your opinions in the comments! Click to see the full blog-post.

This week, I've been doing a lot of university work (and birthday celebrating). So little time has been spent with programming the game, short of bug-fixes and optimization. Fortunately, a sprite artist has offered to lend their skills to the project. LoneWolfProductions9 A.K.A Zemian will be working with me doing more character sprites like the mesmerizing image below (all of this character's non-aggressive animations have been completed): I would still enjoy more assistance with sprites. Contact me by PM if your interested. The full blog-post is HERE.

This week, I didn't get much done on the actual game due to being busy with assignments. However, I did manage to get all my video software working 100% properly, so I managed to create this little treat today! As for things that were actually done this week, its mainly been a case of bug-fixing. I managed to add was a No Itembox Option for Vs Matches though. Check out the full blog-site post HERE.

I intend to do a video with some of the new stuff in action if I make very little progress in the upcoming weeks.

This week, the game's main menu is complete with the addition of the Music Player option. Now you can play all the tracks and sound effects within the game. The main menu itself has also gone through some tweaks, one of them being an animated background just like the title screen. As usual, the blog post is HERE. I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks, so expect less substantial weekly updates for a while.

Chaos Zero is now a playable character for Demo 5. Chaos is also one of the new LIGHT type character class, who specialize in giving special attack special enhancements when they Chaos Charge. There was going to be screenshots released today as well, but this week has been one of my busiest. I'll post those up before next Sunday. You can see this week's blogpost HERE.

This week's update is a bit different. Aside from more tweaking work, feature testing and bug-fixing, not a lot of visible work got done. This gave me an opportunity to work on some concepts. Here is a sample of what to expect in the future: Now, for the more interesting part. To make a long story short, I'm looking for a character sprite artist. Some who I can keep in contact with me that is able to create character body parts. Since I don't want this post to become an even larger advertisement rally, please look at the Full Blog post for a more better explanation and application details.

Dash attacks are already in the game, some characters have more than one. Are you thinking of something different?

@sayi50: Point 1 of your post is quite interesting, it would be a bit difficult to add though, so I'll put that on the back-burner. This week I've managed to fully implement 'Free Aerial Combos', the ability to Air Combo at any time (rather than after an Upper Combo or Throw). Every character also has a 3-hit Aerial Combo, meaning some characters have an extra attack. Character collision has also been implemented, thanks to the great response that I've gotten over last week. Its a simple 'run and stop' system, but it works. Here is another question, Are there any other moves that you feel are restricted or just not well implemented? Full blog post Here!

This week's update will focus on the graphical side of things. The main points of progress is that I've changed most of the fonts in the game so they look better against the large font, the Hud and Interface have changed slightly and characters now have more/better animations and effects, especially while in the air. The Emblem Gallery is also 100% completed. Link to the full blog post. I also have a question. In fighting games, if two characters collide with each other they don't pass each other. Do you think our fighters should be able to do the same, or should they just pass each other freely as they run?

Last week mostly consisted of tweaking characters, reworking fonts, and changing current gameplay to be more fluent, flexible, and cooler looking (also, a whole ton of bug-fixing). My personal highlight (That can justify a new screenshot) is that Knuckles' can explode things with his fists. In other news, STi member AeroGP is now part of SSK proper as a programmer. Long story short, he is going to be optimizing the code and adding new things that I couldn't. However, most of his reprogrammed efforts won't be visible for Demo 5 because of time management. Here is the full blog post, and be sure to comment on any character tweaks you would like to see for Demo 5.

I've only just noticed that imageshack is doing things differently now, so I'll use something like imgur instead. I also need a better signature...

I'm starting a weekly update for the blogsite every Sunday to keep people interested and help keep myself in line. I know its Monday now, but the post was made last night (barely). This update, you get to see previews of new character throws I've been working on and tweaking. Throwing is also now done by holding ATK1 instead of ATK2. I've also planned ahead, so there will be more Sunday Specials to come. Full story on the blogsite.

So I got myself a Facebook account to keep up with things at university, but I'm not shy to expanding my audiences as well. As a result, you can catch SSK on Facebook as part of a plan to boost publicity. Be sure to spread the word, and I'll surely be motivated to complete this game even faster. Its still early days, but the page will be as updated as the blog-site. Click the button to check it out! PS: I'm still working on Chaos, Volcan, and the rest of Demo 5's Story Mode. The main problem is getting graphics together so the characters have enough decent moves and... the story to follow is as awesome as I imagine it.