Official BumperDerby Thread: Screens, Videos, *Official* Demo Released!!

[DanZMan]

Welcome to the offical site of BumperDerby!! Here I will be posting game info, screenshots, links to videos, and, in the near future, links to download the game demo!!

Game Info:
BumperDerby is a fast-paced action arcade game that places you in a fun arena and pits your customizable character and bumper car against up to 7 other characters for lots of bumping action! There are four gameplay modes:

Coin mode: In coin mode you collect as many randomaly appearing coins as possible before time runs out. Beware, opponents can knock your coins out of you with one of six different power-ups or a good, hard bump!

Points mode: Earn as many points as you can before time runs out. You earn points my knocking as many opponents as you can as hard as you can, or by picking up a power-up and knocking their socks off!

Elimination mode: Yep, there is no time limit on this mode: you play until you win, or get knocked out of your car!

*New* Capture the Coin mode: You capture coins one at a time by finding and collecting one, taking it to your treasure chest, dropping it off, and waiting a few seconds for it to finalize. Players who are not currently holding a coin can take yours from you during the time you are holding it (by running into you, or shooting you with a power-up) as well as before it is finalized (by running into your treasure chest). The first player to capture a certain number of coins wins.

There are also two general gamplay modes:
Practice mode: Choose your time limit, gameplay type, and number of opponents to gain some practice to prepare you for the tournaments!

Tournament mode: Hurray!! You made it. Get ready to bump 'cause this is the real thing. You get pitted against 7 other opponents on a set time limit. The only thing you get to choose is the gameplay type. The prize? Gold, silver, or bronze crowns will be awarded the corresponding winners! Each crown is worth a certain amount of points. As you earn points, you unlock arenas!

Bumping:
Some of you might be wondering how the bumping is done. Do you just hit them and that's that, or is there some strategy? The answer: the amount of points you earn or coins you knock out of your opponent is proportional to the force you bump them as well as the angle you bump them at: always try to hit them as hard as possible while heading right at them. Also, there is the small matter of: if I hit them, technically they hit me too. Will I get my coins (or will they get points) as well? Remember, points are based on velocity and angle: if they're not moving, they can't hurt you (so try and bump them when they're not moving as fast--perhaps just after they bump someone else and are still). Also, if you hit them in the back, even if they are moving, they will not hurt you. So, hit them in the back as straight and hard as you can and you'll be sure to spread coins far and wide (theirs, that is) and retain your ownership of the golden crown!

Powerups:
There are six power-ups:
1) Balloons: get the balloons and you can't go wrong. Just fire them off and watch them track an opponent to his doom.
2) Mines: these require a bit more strategy. Got someone chasing you? Drop a mine and enjoy the pleasure of seeing him hit it. Mines are also good for putting around coins: they'll run into them and lose the coins they hoped to gain (easy come, easy go, right?)
3) Time bombs: like mines, these require skill to successfully wreak havoc. Try placing them near lots of other opponents...and get out of the way. They have a large damage radius and you don't want to be there when one goes off.
4) Cars: there are three types of cars. Green cars just go straight when you fire them off: use timing and skill to hit your opponents where it hurts! Yellow cars head straight, and then track the car nearest you when you shot it. Red cars are deadly. They track the guy holding the gold crown (in first place). The only chance he has of avoiding one is if another car gets in the way. If you are in first, they track the cars who are challenging you (those in second).

Note: In points mode, you gain points my hitting other opponents with power-ups...and lose them when you hit yourself. If you place a mine, don't run into it. If you shoot a car, get out of its way when it chases after your intended victim. Just because you shot it, doesn't mean you can't get hurt by it.

Other cool stuff:
You have your own personal account.. complete with your own character and car, your own controls, and your own name *gasp*.
The computer characters are randomly generated so you will *never* see the same one twice!
Lots, lots, more!!

In-game Screenshots:
I went ahead and deleted some of the screens which have been on for a while as the page was beginning to take too long to load.


IslandFever


SpaceRace


MeetDePharaoh


OKCorral


*NEW*BuildEmUp

Links to videos:
http://www.vimeo.com/3264100 Temp quick release video

Close Encounters:
This is a series of videos which are designed to show off certain features of BumperDerby.

Episode 1: GUIs
http://www.vimeo.com/3570251

Episode 2: Gameplay
(coming soon)

Links to downloads:

You can download the official demo release here: www.jumbosmart.com/awesome-games
Just scroll down to the "Downloads" section.

Features:
10 unique levels
3 mini games
+2000 character customizations
Bug fixes
And more...

Team Bio:
This game was created by me, a.k.a. Daniel Hopkins. I started it when the competition was announced back in November.

Best of luck to all other entries!! I can't wait to play them!

[Minifig]

Dude!
Those in-game shots look awsome!

[LDS_Marine]

Looks great! I like the way that the ground texture for the dirt is handled. The only crit I have is that the tile seems a little to repetitive, and you see some of that weird texture rendering stuff. Different Colors maybe?

Great Start! SHould be fun.

-Sam

[Radmanlive]

Hehe, this is one of the games I'm quite intrested in! You've been playing too much mariokart looking at those car types.

[DanZMan]

@LDS_Marine: Thanks for the crit. I'm still working on the "InTheSky" level, and will take it into account as I make it.

@Radmanlive: Hehe...actually I was inspired by MarioKart (one of my favorite N64 games). I love the battle mode and thought it would be fun to make something slightly similar.

[Ace Dragon]

The screens look nice, but you should try to work on more complex arenas that have many ramps, hills, and levels as well as weapons that take advantage of the complex nature of those arenas then.

[DanZMan]

@Cyborg Dragon: I thought about that...and then decided not to because I was not sure I'd be able to complete the game by the competition deadline (I've been working it for only three months in addition to school and other things). Ramps and levels, in addition to being neat, would require the AI to be very advanced: capable of navigating them effectively while searching for players and coins or running away. Perhaps I'll try doing that after the competition.

[Ace Dragon]

If you do that It'd improve the game by 5x at the least.

Don't try to go lazy like Ensemble studios did for their latest games, like AOE 3 having villagers chop trees while they stand up and cannonballs going through walls. At least you won't make the dumb mistake they did when you destroy a building and you can see through the faces because they don't have one with a normal pointing the opposite direction.

[DanZMan]

@Cyborg Dragon: Yes, it would be a good improvement. That and multiplayer capabilities would really make the game tons more fun. However, the issue at this point isn't really laziness, but time: I don't have the time to do all that while doing school all before the deadline. I wish I did thought Lol...sounds like a fun game.

[Ace Dragon]

I understand if the reason is time, as it could take a while to do that, but then you can make the competition version number like 0.5 and then you can make V 1.0 the one with the stuff I said in it, so people won't get the impression it won't be improved afterwards.

[DanZMan]

Production update: I have finished the "InTheSky" level and completed another: "ArcticeAdventure." Next up is an egyptian level entitled "MeetThePharoah." I will be posting screenshots of them soon.

In addition, I am creating a new game type called "Capture the Coin." Those who are familiar with Diddy Kong racing will be right at home. Each player has a station. There will be a few coins (always less than the number of players) located in the center of the arena. The goal is to grab a coin and take it to your station. The players who do not manage to get a coin can chase someone who has one and try and take it away. Once you deposit a coin at your station, a certain amount of time will elapse before it is considerd captured. During this time, opponents who do not have a coin can try and steal it. The player with the most collected coins at the end of the time wins.

Finally, a more complete trailer is on the way.

[DanZMan]

Production Update: The Capture the Coin mode is now complete with one change: instead of it being "gather as many coins before time runs out" I decided to make it "first one to collect # coins wins." Also, instead of a station, each player has a treasure chest. A few more bugs to iron out, and I'll be back to designing more levels, polishing up some things, and finishing the level selection and music volume options.

HELP WANTED: I've done a lot of searching for some free, royalty-free music on the internet. However, so far I haven't found many that match the gameplay (fun, lighthearted, toony), and the ones that I have found are too short. Any suggestions?

[DanZMan]

Production Update: I completed the music volume slider and level selection in the menus. I also took a screenshot of my latest level "ArcticAdventure." You can see it and an updated version of "InTheSky" in the pictures above. In the coming week I hope to put out a series of videos entitled "BumperDerby: Close Encounters." Each "episode" will show-off a certain aspect of the game (menus, gameplay modes, levels, etc.). Stay-tuned for some cool new levels:
MeetThePharoah--Egypt
SpaceRace--On the Moon
UnderDaSea--On the ocean floor
PalmBeach--Nice tropical beach

Also, now that I have a completely functional game, a playable demo will soon become a reality.

[yournamehere]

Don't try to go lazy like Ensemble studios did for their latest games

You obviously haven't seen or played Halo Wars have you?

DanZMan, I want to congragulate you on a somewhat ambitious project. Don't let us (notice I included myself in the bunch) push you into doing too much. It's very good and stands a very good chance at winning the competition.

peace,
-nick

[DanZMan]

@yournamehere: Thank you for the encouragement, as well as for the post (I was beginning to wonder where everyone went off to ).

[Minifig]

Oh, I've been reading every update, but I never had anything to say.

[DanZMan]

@Minifig: Lol...well, it's nice to know I've not just been posting updates into empty cyberspace.

[DanZMan]

Production Update: Okay, I really worked hard today and made some good progress. Among other things, the two major updates are:
1) I almost completed a new level called "UnderDaSea" (check out the WIP screen above). I just have to add a bit more scenery (swaying seaweed, barnacles, etc.) and it will be complete.
2) I finished the first episode of "BumperDerby: Close Encounters" which focuses on the different menus you will encounter. I updated the blog to include a link under the "Links to videos" title. Feel free to check it out!

[tb1alexc]

Sounds great, keep up the good work!

[DanZMan]

Production Update: *Drum roll* Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you for your playing pleasure the first playable demo of BumperDerby!!! Check the main blog under the "Dowloads" section to try it out! Comments/critiques are welcome! Enjoy!

The demo comes fully playable with all five currently developed levels.

NOTE: There are three things to note:
1) The file is 24MB...
2) The AI for "Capture the Coin(CTC)" mode is not quite complete (i.e. don't be surprised if they act a little dumb)...
3) The escape button will quite the game--not pause it. If you wish to bring up the in-game pause menu, hit 'p'

Help Desired:
I am currently using Box.net to host my files. However, it has a 25MB upload limit and I am anticipating that the demo size will surpass it as I develop more levels. Would anyone here suggest a good place to host that has a larger upload limit? I doubt the game will surpass 35MB, so a 40MB limit or greater would be sufficient. Thank you!