[Bursar]

I've decided to change the view point in this game compared to the original. In the original game, the plane was more or less in the middle of the screen, and you could rotate it around to fly in any direction.

In my sequel, the plane is towards the bottom of the screen, and always faces 'up', and the map rotates.

The mini map in the centre of the HUD also rotates, but I'm wondering if that may be a bit confusing and lead to players getting a bit lost. There' still time to think about that...

Here's a curent shot:

[splodge]

Thats looking really nice so far...and in 3D too!!!

Makes me wish I hadn't chosen a 2D platformer as an entry, but still I am having great fun designing characters.

Really interested in playing this entry though, my kind of game :-)

[highlander]

Looks good, it's definitely something I'd play - but as a plane geek, I have a little gripe 

TLL = Tornado Low Level

That's no Tornado, it's a McDonnell-Douglas F-15 model you've got there.


F-15



Tornado



BTW, is there a good remake of Cyclone out there?  That game was from the same stable as TLL was, I believe, and I liked it more than TLL

[Sokurah]

Looks good, it's definitely something I'd play - but as a plane geek, I have a little gripe 

That's no Tornado, it's a McDonnell-Douglas F-15 model you've got there.

Haha, highlander...you're a nerd.


Anyhoo, I think I'd like to say something as well;

Now, I'm not against fancy-looking games in any way - far from it, but from that early screenshot I'm just not "feelin' it".
I think, changing the perspective isn't a bad idea...it could work, but I'm not crazy about the textured graphics. It makes it look so generic because SO many gaems look like that. If I was doing it I'd do it with flat-shaded polygons. It may be very 90's to do flat-shaded polygons, but I just love the simple retrolook of that. This: not so much...but that's just my opinion of course.

At the end of the day it would be a simple thing to change - if you even want to, perhaps even offering the method of texturing as an option, but I wonder what everyone else think about it?

[Bursar]

Yeah, I know the plane is wrong It was a model that I already had, so it made sense to use it. I will hopefully find a Tornado model before long (that doesn't break the bank) as I don't have the skills to make one myself.

And yes, Vortex Software released Cyclone as well. World of Spectrum do list a Cyclone remake from 2003, but the link is dead.

Flat shaded is an option, and to be honest, it was my first thought to help make it look more retro. I don't have a good excuse for using textures...

I'll work on it and post a comparative shot up in the next day or so.

[Tam Toucan]

Yeah +1 on shaded vs. textures. The problem is textures will just look like bad textures, but with shaded it's more a retro style. Course, maybe there's a generation out there who look at those textures and think they look retro.

[Aurora the Skunk]

It may be very 90's to do flat-shaded polygons, but I just love the simple retrolook of that.

Yes! A TLL 2 as it would have looked on the Amiga.

Of the 3D FPSs I have played, the one that still gives me flashbacks in dreams is Cybercon III...

[Bursar]

OK, as promised, here's a flat shaded version of the map, and I think it works much better

You can also see that I've now got a runway texture, an altimeter and fuel guage (which will need a colour change as the blue is not that noticable), and a couple of icons for weapons.

[Sokurah]

Hehe, much better. My faith is restored.

[Bursar]

Just a mini update

I've replaced the plane model with something more Tornado like, and the wings are moving smoothly back and forth. HUD is mostly done (need to add details for Score and Lives). More details are on my blog (linked in my sig).

I've been spending the weekend working on editor so I can place objects around my level (see attached). Lighting is a little funky in the editor, but I can live with it for now. I'll write some details on the editor in my blog tomorrow.

[highlander]

I've replaced the plane model with something more Tornado like, and the wings are moving smoothly back and forth.

Thankyou!   

I like the new retro style too.