Cliff Montana and the Caves of Insanity

[Walt D.]

Hey all,

As some of you know, the reason Tanky-Tank hasn't seen any major improvements lately is because I've been working on a new game: Cliff Montana and the Caves of Insanity. It's going to be (if it's ever finished) an Indiana Jones-esque, physics-based platformer, with an awesome 2-player co-op mode.

I just posted a "tech demo" at www.tanky-tank.com/caves. It mainly shows off the physics engine.

When the game loads, it automatically opens to the level editor. Select File->Open to open a demo level. platforms2.lvl is a good choice. You get a character that you can move around and jump to different platforms. (There is a rotating "wheel" at the character's feet, which is how I get him to move around smoothly -- in the real game you won't be able to see this wheel.)

To move the character, use the WASD keys. In the level editor, you must have the character selected to move it. You can close the level editor and "play" the level by selecting Level->Test or hitting F5. When testing a level, you can hit CTRL-SHIFT-F12 to re-open the level editor.

Try jumping off a platform into the abyss, or pushing an object off. Then hold BACKSPACE and watch what happens.

Please give me any feedback you might have, particularly with regard to how the character handles and the usability of the level editor. And of course, any general comments/ideas/suggestions you might have.

Thanks!

Walt

[Richard Dominelli]

System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly
'System.Core, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089' or one of its dependencies. The
system cannot find the file specified.
File name: 'System.Core, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089'
at Caves.Editor.Editor.createNumericPropertyControl(Serializer ser,
INode node, Type objType, ListButton typeItem, PropertyInfo prop,
EditableAttribute attr)
at Caves.Editor.Editor.createPropertyControls(Serializer ser, INode
node, Type objType, String name)
at Caves.Editor.Editor.createGui(INode node)
at Caves.Editor.Editor..ctor(App app, INode node)
at Caves.Assets.<>c__DisplayClass2.<.ctor>b__0()

WRN: Assembly binding logging is turned OFF.
To enable assembly bind failure logging, set the registry value
[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Fusion!EnableLog] (DWORD) to 1.
Note: There is some performance penalty associated with assembly bind
failure logging.
To turn this feature off, remove the registry value
[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Fusion!EnableLog].

[Walt D.]

You probably do not have the latest version of Tanky-Tank installed. My game engine uses updated versions of .Net and DirectX, and installing the latest version of Tanky-Tank should, in theory, install those.

[Richard Dominelli]

Lol, does Tanky-Tank need a more up to date version of DirectX than
Supreme Commander?

[Walt D.]

Haha. Hell yes it does.

[Richard Dominelli]

Touche'

[Gabriel]

I got the same error, but it worked after I installed to newest
version of Tanky-Tank

[David Billingsley]

Also true with me - the newest version of Tanky-Tank makes everything
work. After several crashes on my computer, Walt masterfully created
this version of "Caves" that works. I love the physics and the kitty
parallax backgrounds and the companion cube.

AND I FOUND OUT YOU CAN KICK THE BALLS AROUND!

If your character jumps on the "edge" of a ball and then moves away
from the ball, the base of the character will begin to rotate in such
a way that a huge tangential impulse will be imparted on the target
ball, sending it flying a reasonable distance away from the character.
That would be too tricky to make a standard gameplay feature, but
it's fun.

(Now back to programming my impossible project before Tuesday.)
- David

On Sun, Mar 30, 2008 at 8:24 PM, Gabriel <gabriel...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I got the same error, but it worked after I installed to newest
> version of Tanky-Tank
>
>
> >
>

--
David Billingsley
Graduate Research Assistant
National Institute of Aerospace
University of Maryland
NASA Langley Research Center

[Gabriel]

Have you tried Tanky-Tank on Vista. My friend tried it and it
crashed. Also, why does it take so long to load now? And how do I
start a lobby?
PS. How is designing handheld interfaces going?

[Walt D.]

I run Vista on my desktop and TT works fine --- not sure why it isn't working for your friend. The only thing I can think of is if it was installed under a non-admin account, or is being run under a different account from which it was installed. (not sure if those would be an issue or not) For some reason TT doesn't have read permission on it's own directory, which is obviously wrong, and not something I have any control over.

It's taken steadily longer to load because the amount of stuff it's loading has steadily increased, as damage textures, explosions, and UI stuff are added. Also, calculating the progress bar *might* add somewhat to the load time. Seriously. I should look into that.

My job can be pretty boring... but hey, it pays.

Walt

[Steve Billingsley]

Speaking of pay, Walt have you ever thought of adding some Google adds to the Tanky-Tank site to generate a little revenue?  The website is currently the number 1 search result for "Tanky Tank."
Sometime when I get some "free time" I think I'll try out this new Cliff Montana game, sounds fun.
-Steve

[Steve Billingsley]

Oh and how did Tanky Tank do in that competition?

[Walt D.]

The judges did not send me anything saying "tanky-tank sucks," so I'll take what I can get.

[David Billingsley]

Um, is the tanky-tank.com website down?
 - David