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Encounter is clearly not a game for everybody, but the Steam algorithm links the visibility of a game to the number of whish lists it has received, so if you feel like wish-listing the game on your Steam account that would be very appreciated! 🙏 store.steampowered.com/app/3319780/En…

So the next step after OSDK 2.0 is to get the VS Code debugger extension out... but while doing the video I found so many frustrating things that I'm now doing a serious pass of UI fixing.

That was long and painful, but the OSDK 2.0 is finally out, with a massive list of changes!😱 osdk.org/index.php?page…

@STompyRR @dyrkabes If you want to really make it crazy, you could bind the color changes to the controls: If the player does nothing, "gravity" and "down" gets highlighted... when they press the thrust then highlight "thrust" and "bursts" , when they turn, change "direction" :D

@DefenceForceOrg @dyrkabes Awesome! I will try to make the text shorter and I like the idea of making some words highlighted. Originally I had the text a different colour and it felt too much so I muted it. But some highlights is a nice idea! This is all of your initial idea so thank you!!

Yesterday got a comment that my gameplay is cool but the UI needs a major overhaul. I did not get what that means and just started looking critically. It is funny, I have to hear it from outside to change perspective and challenge what's there. Found 5 possible improvements, 2-3 of which are required for demo. Then the commenter even game me a list with things they spotted. Another.. at least 5 to rework :D I love open direct feedback, that is pure gold for devs

@therealh0ffman @TheWapplehouse I think the "what am I doing, what am I doing" is not actually the main character talking, it's whoever was in charge of the scene!

@DefenceForceOrg @TheWapplehouse How the fuck did none of those highly trained professionals hear his noisey ass crunching his way up to the car and slam the door shut?!

There’s too many scenes from Disclosure Day for me to pick just one to demonstrate just how bad it is but scouting a location to film with giant see through fences for your protagonist to stealthily hide behind said see through fence seemed like a good one

@EliasDaler @falco_girgis Nice!

@DefenceForceOrg @falco_girgis Turns out there's "PT_ALPHA_REF" param which makes billinear filtering work with punch-through textures very nice indeed 1 - with it (rounded pixels/texels) 2 - without it (very blocky)

More Sega Dreamcast game progress. Added dynamic lighting and restored the HD model I had before I started my PS1 project. :) (P.S. Don't worry, I'm still going to be working on PS1 game too!)

@falco_girgis @EliasDaler Glad that my blurry memories can help resurface this kind of thing :D

@EliasDaler @DefenceForceOrg Oh…. God…. So literally raw-dogging a PVR register that we never even exposed or documented for you… writing that one down…

@STompyRR @dyrkabes That has the merit of being 1) fully descriptive and 2) you can finish it super fast if you know the game, so works for me :) Wonder if lightly highlighting some keywords could help or just be in the way🤔

@DefenceForceOrg @dyrkabes I have been trying something like this as a new "level 1" today, I'm not loving it but also not hating it 🤔

Trying to get OSDK 2.0 out... managed to get a bit more out of our old C compiler! 😅

@phoboslab Memory accesses is basically why quite often the "big o notation" ends up being totally useless to compare algorithms: A method that looks like should be faster because it does fewer compares ends up being super slow because of memory access patterns.

Failed experiment for the N64: runs with 60fps in emulator, but fails to hit 30 on real hardware. The N64 memory bus is a bitch.

@aNichiporchik I'd say that the options are kind of orthogonal in some ways: If you make a game tailored to a niche of people, they will love it, but few people will try it so very positive feedback with low sales. And the more your game audience target is the more chances some will not like it

Game developers, would you rather 1. Have a game with Overwhelmingly Positive reviews that barely makes the budget back Or 2. A Mixed Reviews game that sells above and beyond your expectations

@dyrkabes @STompyRR The nice thing (I think) is that people who are comfortable with this type of control will just fly through them in no time (assuming there are no 5 minutes cutscene to explain what to do), and people who need them will be able to try and learn :)

@DefenceForceOrg @STompyRR I think the first levels have to be clear and even dumb.. introducing concepts one by one so people do them successfully.. Not a tutorial like "move the camera with the mouse" but more game specific. And it indeed takes some time to get used to inertia in your game :)

@YoDanno My problem is that back then I played these games in French, so I don't know all of the original names, also I played Stormbringer, Cthulhu, Paranoia, etc... more often than D&D, so that's that :D

Every old school gamer has that story. The rust monster. The failed save vs. poison. The character who never made it out of Tomb of Horrors. The stack of Dragon Magazines that should’ve never been thrown away. This is The Ultimate Grognard Test II. Count your score… Then tell me your best story. Because there is no pass or fail. Only stories. Share this wish the friend who taught you THAC0.

@STompyRR @dyrkabes For what's worth, that's the reason why there are dumb levels in my gamejam entry: dhebug.github.io/S.C.R.A.P./ Crazy how much people misjudge velocity building and inertia :D

@STompyRR @dyrkabes The problem with this type of game, is that it takes time to get the hang on how it works. It's a bit like learning how to use a bicycle, it's easy when you know, but it takes time to feel the balance. Same here: too much thrust or not enough, too much rotation...

@STompyRR @dyrkabes Well, many classic games had difficulty levels, like how fast the game is, how many hit points enemies or you have, how frequently bonuses appear, etc... in your case I guess the difficulty comes from the gravity, inertia, etc... do you have tutorials/learn controls levels?

@DefenceForceOrg @dyrkabes My biggest concern with the game I’m making is the difficulty. Some testers think it’s just right, while others say it’s too hard. Is it impossible to find a balance that keeps everyone happy? It’s a Spectrum Next game, so not meant to be easy like many 8/16 bit games of the era

@GreyAlien That reminds me of the small shop in the village close by where I used to go in summer holidays called "Moutiers 2000" because back then it probably felt very futuristic!

I feel like places called "The New Inn" that are now several hundred years old should perhaps update their branding.

That's almost 4 times more storage than what my "Encounter" game uses!

It was all just a missing CLEAR_SKIP_POINT() instruction, and that two years old bug is now fixed. Pfiuuu... I guess the MCP was worth it!

And that was the bug: The player can skip the intro sequence by press space at the very start of the game, but the "skip point" is only reset if it's used, so letting the intro go through does not clear the reset point... so by pressing space we ended up running the skip script⤵️

So I recorded the video for the new Oric debugging system, and at the end I demonstrated the MCP system with Claude playing Encounter... and it triggered one of the game over endings... except instead of the credits it ended up on the Market place... an old bug I failed to fix.⤵️