Blademaster Platformer

I recently finished my final exams and went back to making maps, working on some old stuff I had left incomplete. I then started working on a platform system, sparked off by a very recent thread and its links, which soon turned into a project I focused all my attention on.

This is designed to be a platform/action game. You control a blademaster in a platform environment, with jumping, spikes, etc. the usual platform elements. Combat is handled like in a fighting game (e.g. tekken). You have absolute control of your character, where he goes, what he attacks, etc.

Currently only one proper level is finished, but it more or less shows the groundwork for the entire system. This is just a platformer in the WC3 engine, nothing terribly innovative has been added to current platformers. In fact, I haven't played any platformers for a long time other than cave story (which is a major inspiration).

But just to elaborate...

Progress: Groundwork is done. Now it's just adding content. I plan to complete this fully (if feasible), but I'm not sure how much time I have until enlistment.

Story: None so far. So far whatever I include is partially based off cave story.

Features:
- Arrow key control scheme. You have full control of your character using arrow keys.
- Platforms to jump on and be blocked by. Spikes to take damage from.
- Attacks and combo attacks. Currently you have two attacks. A thrust (z) and a slash (x) which is essentially the same except that one is faster, and slashing after 2 attacks give you a combo. Also, if you have enough mana, pressing down+x fast enough when in the air will allow you to do a powerful move.
- Various enemies to own.
- Most projectiles can be destroyed, but until you master the timing it's easier to dodge them.

To be added:
- A block. Some enemies have blocks already, but I can't find the proper animation for a blademaster block.
- More attacks of course.
- More content.

Problems:
- Cinematics and terrain aren't exactly my strong points
- There are A LOT of periodics, but so far it runs semi-smoothly.
- Projectiles have a fixed move speed in the x/y direction, so throwing a projectile downwards is much faster than sideways. Plus projectiles also stick to the floor if they're descending.

Finally, a brief tutorial since none is included:
Left and right: move
Up: Jump. Releasing up will stop your ascent.
Down: Talk/exit doors into next area
Z: Thrust
X: Slash

- Don't walk into enemies. Or spikes. You can slash enemies down, but not spikes.
- Projectiles are destroyable.
- The physics is completely unrealistic. Gravity is actually higher when you fall then when you're rising.
- Attacking enemies will have them stop their current attack. Same with them attacking you.
- Move your mouse pointer away! I'm not sure how to get rid of it, nor if I should, but for now you have to move it away because it's annoying.
- There are no impossible jumps. I tested it without losing any hp. That being said, spikes only take out 50 out of 700 hp so there is a lot of room for error.

Some screenshots below. Along with demo map.
The first screenshot just shows the Blademaster resting on a fountain, which is actually invisible platforms put together.
The second screenshot shows the blademaster jumping over a bed of spikes.
The third shows a footman about to get owned.
The fourth shows one of the projectile-throwing enemies. Projectiles can be killed.
The fifth is simply one of the blocking enemies. Blocked attacks do no damage, but still stop opponent's attacks.

Enjoy!

The units look really small.
Also try to change those big stretched model on the background by someking of a sky plane model.

I scaled down everything because I'm trying to rely on triggered movement for as little as possible, and projectiles are units, so their max movespeed is 522 which isn't much. Plus I'm trying to elongate the map.

I'll see what I can do about the background. I would make it a sort of sky but i'll need quite a high angle camera (which means the bottom of platforms will be revealed as textureless).

Any suggestions? I might try replacing those tall elongated cityscape tree models with the fatter variant.

Oh dear...

Don't use normal movement for projectiles. It only moves at 45 degree angles!

Huh? T_T

Looks cool, I'll have to try it.

At first i thought it would be Crash Bandicoot style platformer, not a side scroller, though =P

Interesting idea. The combat really should be more interesting and responsive. I pretty much got through all the encounters just by stabbing.

i actually liked the idea and the way you made it. I don't have a problem with the small units you can actually just zoom in the camera a bit if that is such a big problem even though you will cut out some gournd. Keep up the good work i really want ot play the full version.

Some ideas: Place some powerups on the map and maybe some hidden places.. Also find a way to explain how you use the combos i didn't actually manage to do one. Maybe an NPC unit that you come accross the lvls might explain you how.

Triggered movement is so smooth and can be as fast as you want it to be. And considering how few you'd need to move at once, you'd be fine in using it.

Okay I just actually played it.
It was fun, but kinda clunky (might've been because I played on bnet)
Two things:
•When I died via spikes, the blademaster remained there, and moved and jumped still.
•I got a random...bug thing AFTER this dead blademaster incident, where it panned my camera to the center of the map, and i couldnt even look at my bugged blademaster

wow dude you must be really bad platform player... i mean if you managed to die on spikes at this lvl you really have a talent ^^.. Anyway developers need ppl like you to find bugs!!!

Hey, i phailed due to me no jumping as soon as i jumped up and stuff =P
But yea, I cant wait to see more to this and other new things.

Thanks for all the replies!

I still don't get the part about not using normal units for projectiles until I need to exceed 522 ms (where triggered movement will be no problem anyway).

@A Dreamer. Yup. I plan to implement everything you said. The wisps (that are sometimes hard to see) are health powerups. I plan to make the areas revisitable to access previously unaccessible areas. I'll work on a tutorial at the start right now.

@A developer. Oops. I plain forgot to add any response to your blademaster dying. What happens is that the dead blademaster still calls the animation for running so it seems alive, then the camera can't find the unit to lock onto (because it's dead) and goes to the center of the map. Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot this very important feature.

@Anitarf: I originally intended for it to be more of a block/counter thing. The footmen were originally faster but I made it so you could thrust to interrupt their attacks, and originally thrusting didn't even stop the attacks of blocking units. I think I misbalanced the attacks, and thrusting has a little too fast a damage point (which is fine) but too fast a cooldown also. I'll definitely get around to that but right now combat is simple because it's still in the early levels. It probably will be more challenging when facing multiple enemies or multiple enemy types or enemies which I plan to be only destroyable by their own projectiles being slashed back at them.

But perhaps the captain is too much of a pansy. I'll add a block to him.

Thanks for all the feedback! Most will be implemented or have already been planned to be implemented!

When I was fighting regular footmen, sometimes thrust-thrust-slash worked and sometimes the footman managed to interrupt the slash, this seemingly random effect has led me to simply spam thrust since that was the safest way of beating anyone.

Another problem is that controls are not really that smooth. When engaging two footies I tried to do some spectacular jumping and stabing but the guy just wouldn't jump because his attack wasn't yet fully finished or whatever; I don't know what was wrong, but the game simply felt unresponsive. Another minor issue that illustrates this is that holding up will not cause the character to continously jump, you need to re-press the key every time he lands. The game should definitely have a buffer where it stores the last command given so that when the current action finishes the next one immediately resumes and that some actions can be interrupted by new orders at some points before completing. Right now, the game is just too clumsy.

Also, those cinematics could use some work.

I got kinda bored of fighting after killing 2 footmen, so I just ignored the rest of them. Maybe let them drop powerups or so? Just something to encourage fighting them.
But maybe that's just me. I guess most of the WC players love to slaughter everything which comes across their way. oO


Not an issue IMO, you need to re-press in most of the Jump'n'Runs, take Super Mario for example.
I agree with the interrupting thing though.

About the cinematics, if you have problems with making them better, then just give the players the option if they want to watch them or not.



Be careful, I made a platformer myself with a pretty much horizontal camera angle. The doodads in the background will glitch the hell out as soon as the camera height increases.