Scrolling Game Development Kit / News: Recent posts

Version 1.4.6 fixes a few bugs that have arisen since the last release almost a year ago. This is to tide people over while work continues on version 2.0. See details at http://gamedev.sourceforge.net/Help/WhatsNew.htm

Just a few minor bugs fixed in this version of the Scrolling Game Development Kit.

Version 1.4.4 includes a few minor fixes to the package. Most notably, the Scripting Wizard was 2 years old due to a distribution/packaging error, so now the current version is included, and also the error checking, reporting and validation in the main program has improved. For a complete list, see http://gamedev.sf.net/Help/WhatsNew.htm

Version 1.4.3 just fixes a bug in the installer -- it shouldn't have been installing quartz.dll -- fixes a typo, and upgrades the install packager to use (and require) NSIS 2.0 and its fancy new modern UI. Perhaps *this* will finally be the final release of the Scrolling Game Development Kit 1.x.x. http://gamedev.sf.net/

Version 1.4.2 of the kit has been released and is available from the downloads page at http://gamedev.sf.net/download.shtml

A history of changes including new features in this version is available at http://gamedev.sf.net/Help/WhatsNew.htm

Version 1.4.1 of the kit has been released and is available from the downloads page at http://gamedev.sf.net/download.shtml

A history of changes including new features in this version is available at http://gamedev.sf.net/Help/WhatsNew.htm

The new scripting wizard allows users of The Scrolling Game Development Kit to easily record playback sequences into a VBS script for possible use as a demo or cut scene:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gamedev/GDScrWiz-1.1.0.zip?download

Version 1.4.0 of the Scrolling Game Development Kit is now available for download at http://gamedev.sf.net/download.shtml and the list of new features is at http://gamedev.sf.net/Help/WhatsNew.htm.
The project listing has also been updated with many new features like paging, sorting, user ratings and comments.

If you have any last requests before version 1.4.0 of the Scrolling Game Development Kit is released, speak now! Take a look at http://gamedev.sf.net/GD140Inf.htm for a list of the features already in. Then speak up in the forums with any comments.

I have finally collected a significant quantity of graphics designed for use with the Scrolling Game Development Kit and am releasing it as a graphics library in its own package. They have been collected from my own works and the works of other GameDev authors. Since they are plain bitmaps, these graphics could be applied to many uses.

A few remaining bugs from 1.3.1 have been fixed in version 1.3.2 and a new splash screen design has been included. A detailed list of changes is available in the release notes at http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?group_id=9970&release_id=107593

The address of the new main forum for The Scrolling Game Development Kit is now officially http://pub40.ezboard.com/bgamedev43958

The few glitches that have arisen since the 1.3.0 release have been worked out in 1.3.1 (most were from even older releases, but went unnoticed) and a new feature to improve control over sprite collisions has been added. See the latest news at http://gamedev.sf.net/

GameDev version 1.3.0 includes loads of new features and fixes. There are new special functions for altering inventory and activating a series of other functions. There are new flags and fields all over, but maybe most notable is the inclusion of the new runtime-only version of GameDev called GDPlay.exe and the inclusion of the Install Packager as part of the main product. This allows you to create smaller packages to distribute your game and not distribute the editor with your game. The Install Packager is now in the Tools menu for easy access, but you'll still need NSIS to use it. For a full list of features, see the release notes at http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?group_id=9970&release_id=94433

New and interesting developments are taking place in the Scrolling Game Development Kit contest (http://www.gamedev.net/community/contest/scrolling). A software publisher has offered to review and possibly include quality contest entries in a CD game archive publication. Even if your entry doesn't win, it could still have a chance at being published. So polish up your game before submitting it and we might be able to get it on that CD before it goes out. Timing will be tight. You'll have a short timespan in which to return a signed contract if you are given the opportunity to participate, but it's an exciting prospect!

A contest for games created with The Scrolling Game Development Kit (http://gamedev.sf.net/) is being hosted at gamedev.net. Cash prizes up to $200 and possibly more with outside contributions. See contest details at http://www.gamedev.net/community/contest/scrolling/

I've just added a project to the Projects page (http://gamedev.sf.net/Projects.html) that demonstrates the use of VBScript to implement an A* Path finding algorithm to control sprites to find intelligent paths to a particular target. Take a look at the new "Finder" project.

A new script is available at http://gamedev.sf.net/files/Record.vbs that allows you to record the input during gameplay. When you press button 4 (whatever you have defined button 4 to be -- Alt by default) it will create a file called Play.vbs that will replay the game as you have played it to that point. A sample script is available at http://gamedev.sf.net/files/Play.vbs that demonstrates one such recording that plays all the way through the Rolly game.

Version 1.2.3 of the Scrolling Game Development Kit includes a number of small bug fixes found during the development of the latest game project. Visit http://gamedev.sf.net/ for the latest, and see the projects page for the first real completed game project ("Rolly the Purple Ball [...]").

I'm officially announcing the new GameDev project I've been working on called "Rolly the Purple Ball Who Goes Around Picking Up Other Balls and Putting Them In Places To Get Energized So He Can Get To the Next Level" :). It's a great project to demonstrate what GameDev can do without scripting. In the process I'm separating the submitted project list onto its own page and adding one other project that was submitted to me. Check out the new page at http://gamedev.sourceforge.net/Projects.html and try the new games.

Today, thanks to further pushing from the public, and suggestions from a few specific individuals, I am happy to finally announce the release of a stand-alone install packager solution for the Scrolling Game Development Kit aka "GameDev" (http://sourceforge.net/projects/gamedev/). If you look at the EXE-Install-Packager package you will see the source code and EXE for a little program that will help you generate scripts for use with NSIS (http://www.nullsoft.com/free/nsis/). (You only need the EXE.) Details of this release are in the Release Notes for release 1.0 of the new package.

Release 1.0.1 of the Scripting Wizard is now available. This fixes the UI bug where one field would never be disabled. It also adds support for playing a media clip whenever a shot is fired (to make sound effects). The new version has not been added to the main GameDev-Install, so if you want the latest scripting wizard, download release 1.0.1 of the Scripting-Wizard package.

Probably the most exciting feature of this release is the new Scripting Wizard. The scripting wizard finally makes it easy to make games where you can shoot! See the GameDev release notes (http://sf.net/project/shownotes.php?group_id=9970&release_id=35989) for a full list of fixes and features for 1.2.2. Also see the Scripting Wizard release notes (http://sf.net/project/shownotes.php?group_id=9970&release_id=35994) for some more information on the scripting wizard. A few additional notes on the scripting wizard are in order:
* There's a small UI glitch in the 1.0.0 release wherein one checkbox is never disabled. This is only a UI problem and should not affect functionality. I will probably release a 1.0.1 scripting wizard soon to fix this. But feel free to download early and download often -- the Scripting Wizard is a very small package!
* As mentioned in the release notes, the scripting wizard does not support merging with existing script code. I imagine this is not going to be a problem for most people since they either know how to write script (and know how to merge code) or they don't (and don't have any code to merge with).
* In order to optimize script code, I have made Max Instances a required value in the wizard.
* The wizard does not let you change the auto-repeat speed, but this is easily set by replacing the value "10" in the generated script with any value you want. Higher values repeat more slowly. (10 will occur only once if you haven't specified it as one of your parameters.)
* The initial release requires that firing be implemented the same on all maps within a project. A SpriteDef by the specified name must exist on all maps. If this is a big deal, put your vote in for an improvement here (see below).
* If "Sprite stops moving" looks like a confusing option for "Stop sprite When...", I should explain that these checkboxes actually determine when the bullet sprite is removed from the map. "When sprite stops" means that the bullet will be terminated when it stops movng (probably because it hit a wall).
* In the initial release, the scripting wizard is somewhat limited in how it deals with inventory. If you need more complex interaction, it will have to be handled by manually editing script code. If you need more power, put your vote in (see below).... read more

Version 1.2.1 fixes a few bugs found in 1.2.0 (most of which have been around since 1.0, and nobody noticed, apparently). The release notes for the new files contain a detailed list of changes.

The new version of the Scrolling Game Development includes a number of new features and a few bug fixes. Among the features are XML support, new special functions and some serious performance enhancements. See the release notes for details.