RPGDX > Forums > Projects / Screenshots > Windows API goodness, FB, and the Phantasm engine(screenies)

Nodtveidt

When I wrote the original version of the Phantasm engine, I figured I'd be a lazy fuck and use INKEY$. Anyone who's used this knows there's always a delay when moving around in your game engine. So, as I had planned on doing before, I got rid of INKEY$ and replaced it with the GeyKeyState API call. Much smoother...

Also, I have added gamepad support to the game, with support for both analog controllers and POV HAT-type controllers (digital D-pads) and again, through the Windows API. The game only uses 2 buttons, so it'd probably work with even those silly old-school IBM analog joysticks plugged into an analog gameport/MIDI port. :D Gotta love abstract controls functions...booyah. :)

So yeah...I just felt like blabbering on about this for a minute...we now return you to your regularly scheduled forum already in progress.

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Jocke The Beast · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:59 pm Post subject:

The screenshots looks really great Nek! How's the progress? Will you release any demo soon or are you aiming for a full release instead?

Good luck with the coding!
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Nodtveidt · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:15 pm Post subject:

Full release only...I'll never do demo releases again.
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If you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear demonic voices. The scary part is that if you play it forwards it installs Windows. - wallace

Verious · Mage Joined: 06 Jan 2004 Posts: 409 Location: Online

DeveloperX · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:15 pm Post subject:

looking good nod. :D
I want a copy of it. drop me an email :)
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Nodtveidt · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:37 pm Post subject:

Gooseman · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:01 pm Post subject:

Cool beans! The shots look ace! Hope the full release is soon..

Mandrake · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:35 pm Post subject:

I'd be impressed by the screenshots, but aren't those just RPGMaker stock graphics?
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Nodtveidt · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:19 pm Post subject:

The blurry font is because it's a JPEG image...a PNG would be a bit too large to show off properly. The blurry faces are from me resizing 48x48 images...I should probably do a sharpen on them. :) Another reason for the blur is the fact that this uses TinyPTC as its base graphics library, and the windowed implementation is a bit flawed (an extra 2 pixels, so some areas of the window get a little blurred...it's annoying as hell). And yeah...the graphics are from RPG Maker 95 and are the default stock images...anyone who knows me well knows I can't draw graphics for shit, so I tend to use stock graphics. Since this game was originally supposed to be for a 48 hour compo, it didn't make sense to put together an entire team to do a minigame...

The engine isn't the most powerful thing in the world and it doesn't really need to be for this simple game. But I can always reuse the engine later on for a more impressive game and add a lot more to it (I'd write a new battle system altogether though...Phantasm has a very DW-style combat system). It looks like RPG Maker 95 a bit because of the graphics and the resolution, although RPG Maker 95 uses gray dialog boxes (no translucent ones if I recall but it does have a "transparent" box), and I don't think it lets you put arbitrary text on the screen (I have debug variables written in the upper lefthand corner).

I uploaded a few screenies as well to the project page I added for this game here at RPGDX.

Okay, origin of the resources:
Tiles, map sprites, enemy sprites, and most battle backgrounds are from RPG Maker 95.
Graphics used for spells and face graphics are from RPG Maker 2003.
The font was originally CHARSET1.PUT from PP256...I resized it to have 16x16 chars, then decided I didn't quite like the thick left sides so I modified the font a bit to give it a more streamlined look.
Music is from my collection of modules, although they've been aurally enhanced and ogg-ified. :)

The game uses PTCXL for graphics, an extension library I wrote that extends the abilities of TinyPTC. Control is handled by the Windows API (GetKeyState [user32] and joyGetPosEx [mmsystem]). Music is handled by the Bass library.
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If you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear demonic voices. The scary part is that if you play it forwards it installs Windows. - wallace