A Tale of Two Demos

Recently I heard about this alpha version of a demo that a team was making. It sounded intersting. So I decided to check it out. Downloaded the files and tried to run the program. Got an error message stating that "msvcr110.dll" was missing. WTF?

I really wanted to check out the game. Therefore I researched the file and found that it was a Visual Studio 2011 redistributable runtime file. Microsoft releases their redistributables for free. I downloaded and installed Microsoft's install. Then the game worked. I was irked that I had to go through all this trouble.

The game was not bad. It was not good. With the broken install, I decided to pass on even mentioning the name here. Contrast this with another demo I just checked out today: NeonJack. This download came with a readme file that explained everything I needed to know quickly. The executable worked right out of the box.

Initially I tried running NeonJack using a small screen. That was no good. I could not see the track well enough to drive in it. Even with a bigger screen, I had trouble when I hit the gas too much. I only used my laptop and keyboard to play the game. It is supposed to be played using an Occulus Rift Virtual Reality headset.

Good luck to the people at Shinyfish software. They might have a winner here with NeonJack. I was impressed that the lead developer quick his day job to work on the game. This was especially surprising as his day job was mobile game development.

MechWarrior Online

I recently read an article about the development of MechWarrior Online (MWO). There seemed to be a lot of discontent amongst the players of this free online game. I gather that the development was previously crowdfunded. Then there was a lot of Beta testing. The developers and production company are making decisions to monetize the game. And those decisions are pissing off the faithful players who were on board from the beginning.

To tell the truth, I think I had purchased an old copy of MechWarrior. It might have been something like MechWarrior 2 or perhaps even the original version. That was back in the MS-DOS days I presume. I don't remember much about the game. I suspect my PC could not handle the processing power required to run the game adequately.

This time around I signed up for a free account in the MWO version. I thought this was a game you run from your browser. Instead it seems to be a client you install that plays over the network. The minimum specs appear too much for my cheap laptop. Don't have the CPU power needed. Don't even have the graphics card support either. Oh well. I guess this is going to be a pass for now.

Pacman Version Two

I am working with a friend this summer to write a Pacman clone. We are using the Java programming language. At first we just drew a Pacman and a ghost. We got them to move around the screen nicely. Now it is time to actually draw a maze that constricts the Pacman and ghost.

So far I hacked together a maze implementation. Pacman now responds to keyboard controls. Movement is choppy as the Pacman jumps from discrete maze cell to cell. Now I need my friend to get the ghost working in the maze.

After that we might add other maze items like power pellets and such. Or perhaps we will get some smooth animation going on. I think we should save that for last though. The goal is to get something impressive done by the end of summer.

Here Be Dragons

A comment on my blog took me to the 7DRL entry Here Be Dragons. Turns out you roll to determine the members of your party. Looked pretty advanced to me. Then I started the game. Hmmm. Number pad does not work. W-A-S-D-Z keys do not work. How do I move my party?

I almost gave up. Then I figured I would give the mouse a try before quitting. That was it. You control movement with your mouse. Then I found something strange. If I dragged my character with the mouse, the dungeon screen moved on the monitor screen. Weird. Very weird.

There is a lot to like about this game. When you are in the middle of a battle and damage is done, you see the amount of damage fly up in the air. That looks way professional. Are we sure this thing is only a 7DRL?

Stuck in Hellspace

Previously I had thought I found a 7DRL entry with good graphics. Well I had not seen anything yet until I checked out Hellspace. This game has an intro sequence that is neat. I am flying around in space. Then I dock at what I guess is Hellspace.

After docking, I walked into the main portion of the first level. That's when I was freaked out. The screen rotated around as I curved around the corner. Tight. The graphics were tight. There was one problem though. I did not know what to do on the first level.

If the rest of the game are anything like this first taste, I am in for a treat with Hellspace.