[Micah]

In the 2004 Christmas DoZ, myself, Ler, and Insidious teamed up to create entry #5349, "Unearthin' Egypt". It was badly flawed, but for some reason I still like it better than anything else I've ever done in MZX. I was toying around in MZX yesterday, and came up with a rough graphical representation of what it might have looked like had I made it more recently, and had more than 24 hours in which to make it.



I still have a few weeks left in Africa... not making any promises, but this is something I might dive into in my spare time.

P.S. - In case you were curious, the four-legged entity behind Jones is no foe, but instead a friendly woof-woof companion I lovingly named "Basil".

[asgromo]

Looks nice, makes me want to try the original as i don't recall if i ever have. What are you doing in Africa? Don't you have spawn to maintain or encourage? Did you bring them to Africa?

[Micah]

I'm deployed.

EDIT: To elaborate on that a little bit, I'm out here, and my wife is at home with the kids.

Also, while I'm still editing this post, I might mention that I've added some core engines so this might be a thing now. Can one of you kind admins please move this thread to Journals?

Things that are currently finished:
+ Gravity engine -- Still simple, however Z key jumps instead of the up arrow. Also added ladders.
+ Whip -- Essentially the same as the one from the DoZ entry, except now it stays reared back until key release, and it moves with the character instead of being left in the same spot while falling/jumping/moving horizontally.
+ Keys/Doors -- You can collect keys, and open doors. Whoop-dee-doo.
+ Player animations -- Has animations for walking, jumping, whipping (both on the ground and while jumping), climbing, and dying.

Things that are mostly finished, just need bugs worked out:
+ Status bar -- Moved past the * "~f " from the original (thank God).
+ Basil the Dog -- Your pet companion. He's not essential, but it was a fun touch I felt like adding. Currently has a glitch that I might actually keep, maybe add some secret areas in the game that can be reached by exploiting it. He just follows you everywhere, and teleports to you when you're too far away or he's blocked.
+ Enemy behaviors -- Bats and mummies are working, just tweaking some things.

In the works:
+ Enemy animations -- Currently have animations drawn for mummies, bats, beetles, and one of the major bosses.
+ Additional enemies -- Planning on adding some more difficult enemies for later levels.
+ Pistol -- Fixing the previous mistake of making the whip and pistol do the same amount of damage, because that's just silly. In addition, ammunition will be more scarce.
+ Bosses -- I have a few ideas, I'll keep them to myself for now.
+ Difficulty -- Expanding on the concept of "fetch key, unlock door". Keys will be more difficult and require more thought to get to.

Oh, and the best part is, I'm ditching the Donkey Kong style pyramid entrance.

This post has been edited by Micah: 23 May 2012 - 01:59 AM

[asgromo]

Awesome, what are you doing when you get home, on top of hugging yer chitlins and MegaZeux?

[Micah]

I plan on doing some vacationing since I'll be off work for somewhere between 4-6 weeks, then try to adjust to my home life again. When I have the free time I'll do some MZXing. It's really refreshing to get back into it, especially since I've been away from it for so long. Stepping away for a while turned out to be a good thing, because I'm finally having fun making games again.

[Micah]

Small update this time.

Things that weren't finished before, but now are:
Enemies -- Currently 3 enemies are finished and bug-tested (by that I mean, I haven't found a way to break them yet). I've done mummies, beetles, and bats so far. I'm open to suggestions on additional Egypt-themed enemies.
Pistol -- Major change, you don't start with the pistol, and you can only equip one weapon at a time. Currently controls are Z to jump, X to shoot/whip, and C to switch between the two.
Double jump -- Also an upgrade later on in the game. Also affords access to areas you couldn't get to unless you complete the game and replay with all the upgrades.
Recharge/Save rooms -- Enemies currently don't drop health, so this is your only way of refilling. Might change my mind later if the difficulty becomes problematic.
Basil the Dog -- Removed the glitch, with the addition of a double jump it's not worth keeping anymore.

EDIT: Made some new changes in the past couple hours.

Status bar -- Ditched the single bar across the top of the screen in favor of floating elements. When you switch to the pistol, a revolver HUD shows on the upper right. Health shows on the upper left. May change from hearts to squares, we'll see how I'm feeling.
New enemy -- Added a snake enemy, probably my favorite, even though it's causing the most frustration.

I have a pretty good idea what the first boss is going to be. Once I get it mocked up and tested I should be able to start work on the first set of levels. As soon as I move past the "test-board" phase I'll put up some screenshots.

This post has been edited by Micah: 24 May 2012 - 05:59 AM

[Micah]

Some new things happened today.

Bosses -- The first boss is complete. It's a giant mechanically operated snake that shoots fireballs.
Status bar -- Replaced the bar going across the top, because the floating elements looked bad when overlaying the background. Revolver is still the same.
Powerups -- Decided to place potions in strategic locations; 'A' key quaffs potions. Found out the first boss can be kinda difficult, rewarding the player for not getting hurt too much leading up to the boss by having a reserve of potions to use, making it a little easier. Ammo is now available as a pickup. I didn't know how to handle it at first, because what archeologist digs through an ancient pyramid and finds revolver rounds? I decided to go with "dead adventurer's backpack".
Bugfixes -- Found some new ways to break things, and fixed them. Pretty self-explanatory.

It's looking like I have everything I need to start piecing together the beginning levels.

[GetDizzy]

As one of the people who worked on this with you, I totally endorse this!

[Micah]

I got some things done today. The only new feature since the last update is moving platforms, but I did start working on the first few levels, and so far I like how things are turning out. There are a few things I can't quite get to look how I want them, but I have time to tweak them later. Anyway, here is a sneak peek at the first level:

You probably won't actually have the pistol until later, I just wanted to show what the HUD will look like when you get it.

[Micah]

Short update, mostly because at this point features aren't being added, level designs, bosses, and dialogue/monologue are the only things left to do. I added a small aesthetic feature in the main menu, although I may take it out later because it's almost useless. It just shows a thumbnail from your last save point when you're loading a game. The reason it may come out is because most, if not all the save rooms look alike (think Metroidvania save rooms). I don't see a map system being implemented any time soon, if it does it will be near the end of development, that way if I change my mind I can scrap it with most of the game ready for release. Sound effects and music are slowly being gathered.

Expect another update soon, probably with in-editor screenshots so you can see more than a 30x15 window.

[CJA]

this looks great

[Bramble]

Looks so cool, Micah...! Rock on hard!