Zloxx II - An action Jump'n'Run

[Tank]

Maybe there's a balance between challenging and forgiving controls. In the end I'd be fine with the current ones as well -- I mean I was able to finish the game.

Make sure to add a change log of some sort so I can check the changes when new versions come out. I won't be playing through all levels everytime you release an update.

Nice to hear about the editor. There's no hurry.

[Nexus]

Unless the core mechanics or levels are fundamentally changed, I usually leave the savegames forward-compatible. So you wouldn't have to replay all 12 levels again

[Tank]

Phew 

[eXpl0it3r]

Not sure if I should report my trigger findings, they are sometimes just too good.

[Nexus]

You truly live up to your name, exploiter

I'll probably perform a fine-tuning of all the levels at some point, and could have another look at the enemy triggers. Many are probably simple overlooks, but I think it's nice if there are a few ones where the experienced player can short-cut the way

[Nexus]

Zloxx 2.3.2 released

[Link to my homepage]

Changes:

• Made time handling more robust. This required a bigger refactoring to separate graphics and game logics. I got rid of my custom control system, now there are three options (fixed framerate, dynamic framerate, VSync).
• Allow to jump from rope while holding the up/down keys.
• Added enemy triggers more consistently.
• Added nice ending.
• Reworked Level 3-4, making it substantially distinct from other levels.
• Fixed bug where Zloxx retained acceleration when touching a wall.
• Fixed bug with key binding when key is assigned before all possible keys are unlocked.
• Disallow assignment of multiple actions with same key. Rebinding a key now unassigns the previous action.
• Fixed bug that would prevent jumping when standing in front of a rope.
• Fixed waiting for background loading thread upon exit.
• Prevent from starting a level while resources are loading; display progress.
• Optimized background loading.
• Restart music theme after game over.
• Fixed bugs related to music when pressing [X] in-game.
• Fixed seams in background on Linux (using texture repeating).
• Fixed incorrect view when returning from Options to Pause menu.
• Allow only left mouse click in menus.

I'm a bit in a hurry now, but I could elaborate the new things around Level 3-4 tomorrow

[eXpl0it3r]

Yay!

Let's play a bit Zloxx again, hopefully not all of my trigger workarounds were removed.

[zmertens]

I did the first three levels and I'm hooked  ... Also, I got some strange flickering off the background texture in Linux (Ubuntu 14.04) full screen, but windowed version works fine.

[Tank]

Nice! I guess I have to play through it again soon.

[eXpl0it3r]

There's something wrong with the audio streaming or so:



It occurred after I died three times and I think, I tried to restart the game.
Additionally I once moved my mouse and the game just vanished, no idea if it crashed or what happened.
I not been able to reproduce these issues (yet).

On the bright side, some of your trigger point fixes seem to be solved (what there should've actually been enemies?!), but luckily I already found a new one.
(I should start working in QA)

[Nexus]

It seems that for every bug I fix, two new ones appear

eXpl0it3r, you're really a huge help. For almost every version since 2.0 you've provided extensive feedback. I truly appreciate that, thanks a lot!

I'll investigate that assertion; it has to do with the loading optimization.
About the game vanishing, that's probably an exception. Can you check the latest entries in Data/Log.txt?

zwookie, what exactly flickered? Was it the background (i.e. the mountain/sky/forest painting) or something else? Always in fullscreen mode?

[Jabberwocky]

I just had a quick go at Zloxx II - no issues to report.  (windows)
It seems quite polished and fun.  Nice work, Nexus!

Controls felt good.  I kinda got stuck at the first disappearing blocks section in 1-2, because I didn't realize you could change direction in the air.     But then again, I am far from a expert platformer. 

Music is great.  Sound effects are good for what's there, but maybe could use a few more, say for landing, hitting walls, or killing an enemy.

Thanks for sharing.

[Nexus]

Thanks!

Zloxx 2.3.3 released

[Link to my homepage]

This is another bugfix update.
Changes:

• Worked around race condition between paused and playing music (leading to assertion).
• Added caret for "New Profile" textfield.
• Fixed varying title movement in option menu.
• Fixed tiny graphical artifact involved with floors on slope tiles.
• Added again more enemy triggers.
• Reverted accidental changes leading to removal of most floor graphics in level 3-4.
• Fixed bug in upper bound on logic update rate.
• Fixed bug where own weapons were slowed down by time distortion suit.

Some information about level 3-4:
In 2.3.2, I changed many parts of level 3-4 with the intent to combine previously learned skills in the last level, as well as to show new game mechanics. Zloxx II has never been a game where you can run straight through the levels, but even less so in 3-4. Not necessarily because of traps and pitfalls all over the place, but rather because here, the approach is not as linear as in other levels. While you can proceed directly to the end, the level allows other strategies which are at least worth considering, but possibly vital. More information is available in the signposts, they're crucial as usual

[Tank]

Yay!

[zmertens]

zwookie, what exactly flickered? Was it the background (i.e. the mountain/sky/forest painting) or something else? Always in fullscreen mode?

It appears that using full-screen with fixed frame rate fixes the issue. When I tested full-screen with Vsync or Dynamic frame rate the screen would like superimpose, flicker, normalize, and then superimpose itself again. Windowed version is fine no matter what frame rate is set.