Falsoyd

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2004-01-29

Despite the previous entry, it really has been a long time since the last update this time! I've moved house and been without a net connection for the last six months. Not quite as much has happened with Falsoyd in the intervening time as I would have liked. It's hard to muster the necessary enthusiasm when I know there is no way I can make another release. Things will change now, of course!

There have been a couple of changes since the last upload. Most notably, most of the game is now controlled with the mouse. I've been meaning to do that for a while. It's quite nice. Don't get me wrong, keys are good, but using the mouse gives a far smoother game. Main plan for the future is to just get these a little more coherent. I feel that things don't quite move as seamlessly as they could between levels, etc.
Anyway, enough drivel from me. New release due in the next week or so.

2003-07-28

It has, again, been some time since the last update. It is likely to be even longer until the next one. I am moving out of my parent's house (at long last) and will not have an internet connection in my new house. I may eventually be able to sort one out, but not for some time. Money will be tight.
I will still have occassional internet access through the local library so I can check emails and so on but I will probably be unable to ftp anything new to the SourceForge servers.

Falsoyd will continue to be developed; there have been a couple of interesting changes since the last edition although I am not sure I will have time to get the code ready to release another package before I finish moving out.

Thanks to all those who have fed back in the past, please all continue to do so as I am still working on Falsoyd even when SourceForge says I am not.

2003-05-21

Been some time since I've updated this site, but I got there in the end!
I fixed the annoying bug with the radar map so it displays correctly now. Haven't fixed the bonuses code yet but that is next on my list. Enemies will follow you around the map properly now.
I have sped up the game considerably by making using of frame-rate independent movement. Speed is also adjustable through command line switches.
Next thing to work on, is making the enemies more challenging and more interesting; perhaps think of a better collision detection routine; and get the menu sorted.
Not long to go now, amigos!

2003-03-27

Last weekend was far too busy to get much coding done but here are the minor changes that have happened over the last week or so: Coded in a command-line option to change the depth of the parallax starfield. It runs stupidly fast with the depth set to 0! READMEs translated to Esperanto (badly). Fixed a couple of minor bugs. Nothing really to whet your appetite but there is another weekend on the horizon.

2003-03-16

At last, Falsoyd has a playfield that wraps around. It's been pending for several months and I finally bit the bullet and rewrote all the bits that would need rewriting to make the level wrap. I've also dded a new SWODAD and updated a couple of the others. And...

Falsoyd 0.8-alpha release changes:

Wrapping level.
32 directional play
Cleaner player sprite
Faster gameplay
Automatic thrust while not shooting (I found I was holding the space bar all the time!)
More realistic movement

Plans for the next release:

Bugfixes: This will be my priority
- The radar map doesn't quite work properly if I try to make it centre on the player (I disabled this for the 0.8a release)
- Code for bonuses needs to be rewritten to work with the new wrapping levels (these have been left out of 0.8a as well)
- Aliens that follow the player don't quite work with wrapping levels either.
More helpful HUD!
Better alien AI

2003-03-06

I've been meaning to do it for a while, and now I finally have: Falsoyd uses marginally more realistic physics. The ship is moved around by propulsion and actually has acceleration and friction rather than forced changes in velocity.

2003-03-04

It became obvious to me today that I have neglected to keep a public log (other than the change log on sourceforge) of developments in Falsoyd. So, here goes.

Falsoyd 0.7 was released on 2003-03-01 and has received an unexpected number of downloads. What I like most about this is that it has meant I have actually received some feedback from people; that is one of the reasons I am starting this log.

Falsoyd 0.7 changes:

Border removed. I felt a larger playfield was more important than a pretty border. Plus it gave me an opportunity to use a transparent radar display which I always thought would look good.
Bonus levels. Once every 20 or so levels (too many, too few, let me know) you get a bonus level. Nothing exciting but I'm working on it for 0.8.
Help screen. I finally got around to implementing the help system. When I've drawn up enough screens, you'll be able to look up controls and the like from the menu.
New baddies. Again, nothing too exciting, but I like to add a new baddy or two with every release.
New player sprite. I was playing around with Blender and thought I'd use it to make some new sprites as I can't draw to save my life.
Score display. You may notice that Falsoyd now displays your score in the bottom left corner of the screen. Always nice to see how you're doing. Send me screenshots (pressing S during play will save a screenshot as out.bmp, you'd know that if I'd ever got round to documenting Falsoyd) and I'll maintain a highscore table.

Well, that's all from me today folks. Enjoy Falsoyd, and remember, if you don't like it, you can make it better. Just mail me and let me know what you'd like to see in Falsoyd.

About

Falsoyd is an entirely plotless game intended for hours of frivolous and violent entertainment while you should be working. (The author does not accept responsibility for loss of pay due to playing Falsoyd)

I work on Falsoyd entirely at the weekends and at times like these when any sane person would be in bed, for I am a mere mortal who must work to earn to eat to live.

Contribute

If you wish to help with the development of Falsoyd in any way (graphics, code, sound, music, or even just ideas and playtesting) please mail me at darkling AT btinternet DOT com and I will get back to you with details of how you can help.

There are a number of things that still need doing:

Graphics: I am terrible at art; I always have been. Here lies most of the work.
Documentation: Not the most fun task in the world but it must be done.
Music: Ideally, I would like a few tracks to play throughout the game (in MOD, Ogg Vorbis, or MP3 format).
Sound: Falsoyd's current sound-effects are not exactly original you might say.
Play testing / Ideas: This is, of course, the most important task and one you can help with right away.

Alternatively, a few pennies tossed this way wouldn't hurt. Or hardware. Or music. Or beer. Or toys.

Screenshots

Download

Falsoyd is available to download from the Falsoyd project page on sourceforge.

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