Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Finishing touches (omg j/k lulz)

Okay, so I've spent VERY little time on Extinctathon of late. This, with two weeks left (from today) before the deadline. Ugh.

Here's what I'm going to do before then:

  • Eliminate garbage created by ToString() (called several times per call to draw) by storing strings and updating only when necessary.
  • Save the background color (or image, maybe) to be used in the binary level files (because one can only take so much Cornflower Blue). Update: DONE!
  • I really need to finish three more levels. This has been such a difficulty simply because of the lack of building blocks I have at this time. I've made some additions, but it's not nearly enough to make a fully fleshed out game (I'd ideally like to have 80-100 more blocks, 6-8 more powerups, and maybe 10 more enemies before calling it "done"). A large problem with this is very deeply embedded in the stupid way I designed the Sprite class (yes, that's ONE sprite class, used for 30+ types of sprites) that needs a complete overhaul that will absolutely not be done in any small amount of time. I'm just gonna work through with what I've got for now, and restructuring the sprite types to inherit from a base Sprite class (rather than all being instances of the same class differentiated by a SpriteType enum) will have to come further down the line.
  • I need to create the boss character for level 1-D. I already know what it is, and aside from creating the artwork it shouldn't be a problem.
  • I need to reload and restart the current level upon death. This will be a trivial change. Update: DONE!
  • I need to make a Game Over screen for when the player's lives are less than zero. Shouldn't be a big problem. Update: DONE!
  • I need to make a non-debug mode (all I have are DEBUG and EDIT) for DBP. Don't want to see all the diagnostics 'n' shit on the actual submission. Update: causes a weird bug that makes everything but the player invisible. WTF? I tried to fix it for a good 30 minutes last night but have yet to find the problem. Double update: DONE!
  • Along those lines, I need to disable entering the level editor for the same reason. Update: works, but of course it's dependent on fixing the above mentioned bug. Double secret update: DONE!
  • I need to move inactive (i.e. dead) sprites out of the current level's sprite list if performance on the XBOX 360 necessitates it.
  • I need to fix, once and for all, the intermittent bugs caused by the sound loading and reloading. Update: DONE!
  • I need to fix the jumping bug that allows the player to jump after falling off of a ledge. Update: DONE!
  • I need to make the loading screen show the name of the level (and maybe an image preview?) being loaded. Update: Level name is shown, will add picture preview later.
And that's all I've got. These things WILL be done by September 21st. I'll be prepping the rest of the submission package on the 22nd, and turning it in no later than 5:00 P.M. on the 23rd. I'd better get my ass in gear.

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