Note: you need to update in order to play levels made with this version (as they include new monsters etc).
How to Update
Use your Humble Store / Humble Voxatron Debut links. Search your email for "Your Humble Bundle order" or "Thanks for purchasing Voxatron". Alternatively you can request a new link here
Changelog for 0.2.0
Added: spiky weed, barrel of doom, hound, trioc, roach
Added: 2-way doors (green)
Added: use-once doors (blue)
Added: NODOOR trigger (true iff no blue doors)
Added: screenshot button (F6)
Added: base weapons: Sword of eternity & peagun
Added: _char properties: speed, jump, base weapon
Added: indestructible floating voxels
Added: voxel text drawing command
Added: help tips for items
Added: editor z-clipping, allow closer camera
Changed: navigator icons now much smaller
Changed: turned down maximum monsters limit from 8192 to 4096
Removed: rendering options (temporary)
Fixed: player can't shoot immediately after entering room
Fixed: player not hurt by frozen monsters
Fixed: thumbnails in timeline empty
For level designers, there's information in vox.txt about how to use the doors and new _char properties, but one thing I forgot to mention is indestructible voxels. The three colours at the bottom right of the palette can not be destroyed, and are able to hover in mid-air. So you can use them to anchor structures (like clouds / platforms) that need to float indefinitely.
With the new base weapon system, it should no longer be necessary to use the _dojo hack. Just select the base weapon too in your character definition. e.g.:
_char 256 256 2
Here's a short demo level:
Have fun!
This is great. I haven't checked out all of the features, but a lot of the new ones are making my Voxelout 2: A Post-Apocalyptic Voxel Adventure level a LOT better!
Edit: I also saw the Monster designer got pushed back to 0.3 again ;)
Post-Apocalyptic adventure -- sweet! Good thing there are now exploding barrels of toxic sludge. And mutant cockroaches, for that matter.
I changed this release number from 0.1.9 to 0.2.0 because it ended up being a bit more substantial than I planned, and to make it clearer that it's necessary to update to play 0.2 levels. The monster designer will still be included in the sci-fi themed update (the next major one).
Notes:
BARRELS:
- for some reason exploding barrels can damage you much quicker than all other damaging objects. You can lose 4 life in an instant. Place a big group of barrels, walk up to them and detonate.
- rollers move through barrels when attacking. It would be more satisfying if you could trick them into detonating them.
- minotaurs don't detonate barrels when they hit them. It would be satisfying (and scary !) to provoke minotaurs into detonating barrels, especially if player has sword and needs to get rid of barrel.
- barrels seem susceptible to the "drifting object bug", where if you hit one it will slooowly drift about 1 voxel per several seconds. Just like pickups you hit with peagun. I don't like it.
- I don't particularly like the green goo left by barrels. For the same reason I don't like snails very much - they leave ugly mess. Barrels destroy ground - fine, barrels leave stains - fine. I have a proposal: make them still destroy stuff when exploding, but no green goo left (no voxels ADDED). Instead, paint remaining voxels green where damage was made. Voxels on the edge of explosions would change color to green unless they're indestructible, perhaps.
INDESTRUCTIBLE VOXELS:
First, they're too hidden. I had to check the readme to make sure they have actually made it into 0.2 . Then I started looking in "edit" screen. Nothing strictly wrong with that, but many level creators will not notice them unless they see it in somebody else's level. Then they will start posting threads "How do you make indestructible objects?".
It would be nice to have at least 1 of stock objects be indestructible. It would raise awareness.
As expected, minotaurs often get stuck on indestructible voxels and in many cases permanently (or until you move them away from indestructible wall with gunfire impact).
COCKROACHES
Very dangerous ! Faster than most monsters. They climb pretty well, but sometimes it looks a bit like trick jumping in Quake. Very tall but narrow obstacles can work like springboard for roaches. I'm fine with cockroaches having their quirks :-).
HOUNDS:
They work okay. For a fast enemy they're very big and it makes them appear clumsy. Not sure if this is intended.
I would make one tweak to their AI. They shouldn't drop from high ground unless player is a bit lower than them. This is because they can jump far enough to jump over many pits. If they simply walk into them, their ability is wasted. I would like it more if they waited for an opportunity (until player is in range or lower)
================
Finally, thanks for a nice release ! I think Voxatron is now fun enough to make levels for. I'll try some. Indestructible walls are a huge deal. Destruction is nice, but sometimes you want to limit player's movement. Too much freedom can be... limiting.
I kinda like the way the barrels leave toxic waste in the levels.
The barrel explosions are a special case: each time you're hit with a particle, the temporary vulnerability delay is halfed (when you get hit while flashing white / invincible). This is because it feels weird to be standing in the middle of a bunch of large explosions and only get hit once / not die. I tried to balance it so that in most cases if you're not too close or running away, you'll usually only get hit once.
armadillos / minotaurs detonating barrels is a great idea. I'll try that out for the next update, assuming it won't mess up existing bbs levels too much.
Yeah, I completely forgot to document indestructible voxels. I'll post a tutorial on the 0.2.0 features shortly because the new doors and trigger can be a bit confusing too.
The cockroaches don't climb anymore -- they just fly. So if you imagine that, hopefully they don't look as weird. (:
I still want the hounds to jump down if they get the chance, but maybe just leap from any ledge for visual effect. It's too tricky (for the scope of this version) to do proper jumping ai / pathfinding.
Trivia: they used to be brown, but the way they bounce around, they look too happy to see you. Kind of like oversized pugs. So I felt bad shooting them until I tried the black w/ red eyes thing.
I like the toxic waste buildup to make it feel more gloopy, but the residue could be tuned down. I noticed after finishing the build that one barrel explodes into more voxels than could be contained inside.
I don't mind the number of particles a barrel shoots (it makes for some interesting delayed chain reactions). But the amount of stuff it leaves - eww.
"Existing BBS levels" - I understand why this is a concern, but we're here to test as well. Last time I checked Voxatron was called alpha. I think it's still early enough to break backwards compatibility in the name of a better game. Then you could "switch" to beta and from that point all changes would only be additive (no potential to disrupt existing levels).
I suspected it's a special case, otherwise I would've reported it as a bug. I see the point.
As for jumping, purple gremlins also suffer because of poor AI. If they reach a wall they could jump over, too often they end up going along the wall... and when they do, they periodically jump in parallel to the wall. This reminds me of cops in GTA1 - they could be tricked into shooting pedestrians. Get one stuck behind wire fence. He'll be running left and right. Once in a while he'll shoot in the direction he's currently moving, not towards the goal.
Wow, didn't expect the update to 0.2.0 that early after the last dev-diary. Gonna check it out tomorrow. BTW: My Games links to the current version, but in the headline it still says 0.1.8 ;)
Keep it up, man!
With minotaurs detonating barrels, do you mean they punch the barrels or throw them at the player like those enemies in borderlands?
Just finished the demo level without reading patch notes...I was a bit surprised by the thorns. A lot of fun however and I like the concept!
Outside of that I'm excited to work with the new _char properties
the hounds are great i already dropped some into my level they are really cool in huge groups too. and love the lunge!
rad
Major bug:
- people who bought Voxatron don't seem aware of updates. They would probably be eager to make some new levels with the new features if they knew. My feeling is only those who visit the forum anyway know about the update.
zep, do you have any way to send an email to all purchasers when a new version is out ?
Not sure how huge a deal it is: but on Mac, when you first open Voxatron, it displays it as 'vox' in the upper left corner. It just kind of bothers me.
Other than that, great update!
I also agree with what b0rsuk said about updates and think something should be done about it.
EDIT: I've been playing around with it for quite some time, and I've found I love the new spiky weed. Best new enemy! I love hacking and slashing my way through a forest of them.
Fun fact: you don't need to kill all the weed to finish a room. If there's NOMON trigger somewhere, it will trigger when you kill all other monsters. This means when making a room you are free to place the weed in unreachable places or place hopeless amounts of it to serve as a background enemy. Sort of like lava.
Great update!
But I can't make 2-way-doors work T__T
They just destroy nearby voxels or teleport me to another room and back to the room where i was before. Sometimes they work, but not often enough to use them in a level.
Is there a way to get them to work? Like putting them in a particular position or so?
Edit: Ok, it was simpler than i thought... just use them like they were normal doors
And they break nearby voxels just as normal doors do if you put them in a wall
@b0rsuk
Yeah, you're right -- I probably don't need to be so precious about backwards compatibility. I'll certainly tune the new monsters, at least.
I haven't sent out a newsletter announcement about 0.2.0 yet, so hopefully we can get a few more levels happening after that. Before I announce it, I want to finish a more substantial demo level myself and some promotional material & a tutorial -- otherwise I don't think many people will stick around until 0.3.
There isn't another way to be notified apart from the newsletter at present.
@El_Zorro_Loco
This update was mostly a quick hack based on old code, just for the sake of having some new monsters to play with, and more flexible doors. The next major iteration of the engine is quite complex and will take some time, so those two things (no new monsters, doors) were starting to bug me.
I imagine b0rsuk's suggestion meaning that monsters detonate barrels duing their attacks rather than picking them up. it would be quite spectacular watching a Minotaur blow himself up!
@b0rsuk
Yeah, I make an exception for spiky weed and also for barrels when using the NOMON trigger. It feels more natural to me, and for the kind of scenario you pointed out. (Added a note to vox.txt)
@TubbaBlubba
They're not supposed to break up nearby voxels.. that's a bug. It happens because they're internally represented as monsters (and all monsters can gnaw away at walls). The 2-way doors are really just a shortcut for the common case of having two doors that lead to each other in joining rooms. If you have trouble with entering the target room, you can still use an actor object with 2-way doors (and optionally set the "from room:" parameter to make it only apply to that door).
zep:
That's nice to hear, I'm pleased to say you are acting rational. And of course, backwards combatibility will become important at some point.
With no replies to my other thread, I feel obliged to ask: do you know about the bugs related to indestructible voxels ? Not only barrels can destroy them, but you can shoot through them and so can monsters. I posted images in the bug thread.
ok ok, seriously. I want.. no.. I NEED to play Voxatron with this thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQQEcfkHoE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
How difficult would it be to implement transparent voxels (e.g. for clouds)?
I thought up a good item that is missing from the weapon set. :)
We have the peagun and the sword of eternity, but what about the item that takes away your weapons?
it would allow for more interesting levels were your weapon is suddenly taken away and have to run from a big hoard of cockroaches or other things till you get your weapon back! :D
PS. on a unrelated note what is the name for the people on the forums? As in how would you refer to the people on the forum in general? Voxalates or Lexalolites?
Yes to "no weapon" powerup.
Yes to "barrels explode if they're dropped". Please make barrels take falling damage !
Yes to some kind of digging tool ! A blowtorch, pickaxe, or even mining laser.
I've tried a bit of this update, and I like some of things. Though, in Fox Demo 0.2 level my keyboard wouldn't register fire key ("X"). It's nice enough for now. BTW, Sword of Eternity looks a bit religiously wrong (reversed cross, at some point it means satanic). Not sure how else to design a sword though within so small size.
EDIT: It's possible to shoot using other shooting keys even if you don't have Pea Gun, like in Fox Demo 0.2. I didn't knew that player can play without weapon.
EDIT 2: Bug was already mentioned.
i guess a digging tool seems a little minecrafty? the destructableness does lend itself to somekind of digging. Vox archaeology anyone? it would be sweet to be able to hose away blocks to reveal something within......but could do that with indestructable blocks and a bomb anyway...
Hmm. zep has said he's itching to add a grenade weapon. That should be quite nice for digging ! So perhaps a separate digging weapon would be redundant ?
ladybug:
Minecraft hasn't patented the digging tool. Prior art:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPTYMS9X56U
@Diego
Wishlisted!
@El_Zorro_Loco
It's difficult to do them efficiently, if they're correct. Correct means that a thicker cloud is harder to see through, because the light has to pass through more voxels. Cheating by drawing only the surface voxels is much faster but doesn't look so great. I haven't given up on this idea though because they'd be useful for several things including water.
@chaosking2
no_weapon weapon listed for 0.2.1. Not sure how you'll use it exactly but it's going in (:
Good question, I don't know what to call Lexaloffle BBS users. I'm open to suggestions. I used to call newsletter subscribers Lexalofflers, but verbing Lexaloffle is kind of goofy. I don't want to imply that anyone is Lexaloffeling.
@b0rsuk
I tried out the grenade weapon, but it's not as good as I imagined. Too messy, not enough control, and too easy to hurt yourself if the explosion is large enough to be meaningful. It has shifted into a fireball weapon that emits sparks in transit and explodes into a confined area on impact. You only get 10, but you can take out a lot of monsters by picking good angles that will pass close to several targets at once.
Great work on this version! It actually works on my PowerBook. :D
@zep:
I understand your fireball weapon works a little like this ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_zxwTJVqdc
If the game is moddable enough I will try to mod grenade cooking. It is my favorite part of many multiplayer FPS games.
Yes zep, you should definetly put the BFG in voxatron. Every game would be better with more BGF.
@b0rsuk:
yes, quite similar
It looks like I'll be able to include a partial API for scripting with lua in 0.3, in which case things like cookable grenades will be possible. I got my first lua-scripted animation running recently -- very exciting! http://t.co/QS9Qh5rX
Awesome Updates!
I can't wait to see how the multiplayer update will look like :D
@TokyoDan:
you can check it in the "voxatron.txt" file that should be in the same directory the .exe is, or by starting voxatron, the version number is written in the main menu (the one that appears as soon as you open the game).
@ginji:
Follow this link:
http://www.humblebundle.com/?s=resender
It's humblebundle's key resender, you got to insert the mail address on wich you received the key the first time.
Hope I've been helpful :)
@TubbaBlubba:
The problem is that ginji deleted e-mail address which is supposed to get that key. The only chance is to look into browser history and find specific key link.
I just thought of something voxatron needs! Check Points!
It would make going through long single room fights alot less annoying. could also make for some more interesting level design kinda.
Also, a setting to turn user made arcade levels would be nice!
@tom.k:
mmmhhh... :( That's quite a problem, i think you can still contact them and ask for your key... Always bookmark/save somewhere/write down important urls!
@Chaosking:
I used a "checkpoint" in a level i made
In the room to the left, when you reach a certain place you simply go to a copy of that room, with the character in a different position...
But it's obviously easier with a platform like level with no monsters at all!
You could make something like a lot of invisible "doors" (the change-level-thing) that cover the whole room, and make them appear when you defeat all the monsters... Got to try how it works!
NOW!!11!!111!oneone!
Edit: ok, you should make a different copy of the room with the character starting in a different position in every room to match the original position.... definetly a little too much work :P
still nothing beats a nice hack. Its a pretty sweet "in the meantime" solution!
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