Stuff Under the Header

1/30/2010

A New Feature and Lag Fixes

Too much Touhou, way too much Touhou. I did a no continue run through Touhou 11 on Normal.
Check it out here. Only showing the final stage of the run. Yay for it saving replays. Definitely gonna cut my Touhou playing down a notch. x_x

New Menu Option
A new setting in the options menu will allow you to set the games priority. You have 3 settings. (Normal, High, and Higher) It's the same as going into the task manager setting the priority there. If you notice some lag, setting it to a higher setting 'may' reduce it somewhat. I've noticed about a 4-6 fps difference on higher settings when I force a map to lag. This setting is not saved into your save file. Once you turn the game off, it will revert to Normal.

Collision Changes
A new system for handling collision has been put in place. The code itself has not changed, but rather the way I set level collisions. It has in some maps, significantly increased performance. I have basically reduced the amount of collision objects used. Maps typically had anywhere from 300-700 of these. The new system has dropped this number to somewhere around 20-30. This is no exaggeration. It takes a little longer to build the static collision for maps now, but it is worth it in the end. This has also delayed the next demo a bit as I am converting all the maps to the new system. I may not convert all the maps by the next release. We'll see, if I do decide to convert them all, just know it will delay the release by a little bit as it is very busy and tedious to convert them all. Checking to make sure I did not mess up somewhere as well.

I'd also like to note that this new method of doing collision will not change anything at all in the game. Except for you guys who like to try to get above the map. You won't fall into the ceiling anymore. This also makes it so I don't have to worry about anybody getting stuck up there.

Edit: I have come up with a method for very quickly jumping into the game and seeing right at a glance if the collision is correct. Already found an error I had made in a map. So using this, I shouldn't have any bugs coming out of this. :)

Edit: I have converted every map and tested them all. That method worked wonders.

Bug Reporting
This is also where you guys come in. 3 new items in the "Pointless Records" menu have appeared almost strictly for finding bugs. They are on page 5 of the records. (Map ID, Player X, Player Y) If you say... fall through the floor in a map, this will allow you to tell me exactly where it happened so I can fix it easier. For example, the first map of the Dusty Ruins has an ID of 143. If you found a problem there, just send me a bug report saying:
**************************************************
-Dusty Ruins - ID: 143
-Your x/y coordinates as well if you'd like. (The general area anyway)
-Explain the problem here.
**************************************************
I don't foresee any issues arising from this. I have a little system set up for myself for converting all the maps, but in the event something does slip through, I encourage you to use that system there.

Game Stuff
The Black Rock Fortress is actually nearing completion. I think the menu quote I chose for the area fits perfectly. That death count is no doubt going to rise quickly. This area has some things that others before it didn't in that sometimes you can't turn back. I'll put in a check mark for teleporting deeper into it most likely so if you do want to leave, you can and not have to lose all your progress. There is a shop keeper inside as well. There's also more than 1 boss fight and the Shrouds do not count, they may actually be harder than one of the bosses.

Game Changes
- In the save room, you now get a little summary of your current objective in the top right of the screen. Took all of about 10 minutes to implement... What? I'm honest.

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