[Android] Lemmings-like game (WIP)

[LJLPM]

Thank you http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" /> Atm, I have no estimated date yet for the public release, but I'm working hard to make this game enjoyable for the Lemmings fans!
Today, I've made a quick'n dirty update to jLevelBuilder in order to add the "Free Rotation" and "Shrink" features that are now supported in the game.

[LJLPM]

below is an actual demo of the "Free Rotation" + "Shrink" features that were used for designing a basic level:
- you can notice the original barrel (it's the biggest, 1:1 size), plus 4 shrunk clones (available ratios: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5)
- you can also notice the metal pieces that are shrunk and/or rotated (original piece is vertical only)
As you can see Lemmings' collisions work well with shrunk+rotated pieces.

ps: this level was loaded into the game thanks to the "Load Custom Level" option that will freely allow you to create, load and share your own levels (+ eventually also load your own custom tilesets if you want). For designing your own levels, it's easy: just use any Lemmini-compliant level-editor!

http://s10.postimg.org/rvbsljbex/Screenshot_2014_09_14_small.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />


edit:
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I've updated jLevelBuilder to handle the "Free Rotate" + "Shrink" features when using math formulas: this is very nice to create never-seen-before Lemmings levels. The following "Rock" level example was created by using only one kind of Terrain!!! (because of rotated tiles, this level is impossible to design in the original Lemmings game, but it's fully supported in the Android game)

http://s10.postimg.org/xlypjx95l/Screenshot_2014_09_15_small.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

[RubiX]

Looks fantastic http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/smiley.gif" alt=":)" title="Smiley" class="smiley" />

[LJLPM]

I've added a score management to the game.
Currently, the score algo = (%saved * 300) + (skills left * 30) + (time left from 9mn * 1).
(each level uses a 9mn timer)

If you want to design your own custom levels, then jLevelBuilder allows you to save your name and a short text in the level file.
These data are now displayed in the game, in the level's preview screen.

http://s29.postimg.org/6v2qxs7fr/Screenshot_2014_09_19.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

[LJLPM]

Hello,
there's no much news about the Android game recently, because I don't have enough time to spend on it  http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/sad.gif" alt=":(" title="Sad" class="smiley" /> but, do not worry, this project is still hot! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />
- current status: the dev is pretty much finished
- TODO list: make graphics + design levels + add some cool/entertaining audio tunes

[namida]

If it's a free game*, I might be willing to help out with some level design once I've finished my current Lemmings Plus projects, if you're interested.

* This includes if it's ad-supported (even if there's a "remove ads" option for purchase) or if the base game is free but paid add-ons will be available; but NOT if it's a "free"-to-play model.

[LJLPM]

Thank you!
One thing is sure: NO money inside the game!!! (therefore, it won't be a "free"-to-play game with in-app purchases)

- the game will be either ad-supported (I need to get infos about adding adds in an Android app: installation, how to get paid, ...)
- or it will come at a friendly low price + there will be a free version containing a cool set of levels.

[namida]

By the way, if it's going to matter as to what devices are supported - I have access to the Android emulator running on 64-bit windows, a Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 running rooted-but-otherwise-stock 4.3, and a cheap generic Chinese tablet (I think it's a single-core 1GHz) running (IIRC) rooted 4.0.

[LJLPM]

A quick update to tell you that I'm still working on the game (on the graphics, precisely).
During the last weeks, I made some experiments for the graphics, but since I'm not very skilled for this job, I progress slowly + most of the time, I'm not happy with the results (on the tablet, it doesn't look good) http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/sad.gif" alt=":(" title="Sad" class="smiley" /> . Today, I made some "ice" tiles that have a "ok" look on the tablet, but don't expect top-notch graphics for this game http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/winktounge.gif" alt=";P" title="Wink-Tongue" class="smiley" />

- a demo level made in jLevelBuilder ("ice" tiles), and then loaded in the Android game:
http://s30.postimg.org/qgxr04v7l/Screenshot_2014_11_09.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

[NaOH]

Hey, that looks really nice! It could use a few more optional details, maybe, but it's a good base. I saw the screenshot and felt shivers before even reading your description.

To give it a more 3D-look, you might want to try darkening the edges a bit. If you look at the Lemmings dirt tileset, you can see that the edges of the dirt have at least a pixel of dark-colour before interfacing with the black background --

http://tle.vaarties.nl/images/solutions/lemmings/amiga/fun/01 - Just dig!.gif" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

-- and in many places have large dark swathes. I don't know how many colours you have to work with, but some darker bits could really enhance the tileset, I think.

You might want to make some angular or cube-shaped bricks, too.

http://www.comedyflavors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/featured2.jpg" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

Mmm. I feel thirsty just looking at that.

[LJLPM]

Thank you for your pieces of advice! It helps keeping the goal high, and make things better! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />
I spent more time on the graphics, trying to make things more interesting (add some shadings, details, ...).
You can see the result below: it looks pretty good, and this is a "cool" preview of the game's icy tileset!

http://s4.postimg.org/9m7d4nj0d/iceage.gif" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

[LJLPM]

a little update here:
- I've made some improvements on the GUIs/layouts to help the game fit/adapt on other-devices-than-Nexus7's screens  http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" /> (but I think it will be difficult to play the game on small screens: the target devices are tablets)
Some real tests need to be done yet, but according to the layout previews in IntelliJ (the IDE I use), it seems ok!
- I've also made the text size bigger: it's more readable now (you can see this on the screenshot below, eventhough I still need to adapt the color and/or the contrast of the background picture behind the text, in order to make the reading even easier!)
- Plus some more little improvements here and there make the whole package more polished.

http://s13.postimg.org/gv6kjiq3b/Screenshot_2014_11_15.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

[LJLPM]

Nice! Will it work on any resolution Android device?

Here are some news about compatibility issues when running the game on different Android tablets.

The tablet I use for the game development is a Nexus7, and today I had the opportunity to test the game on a Galaxy Tab 3 (the GT3 has a much bigger screen than the Nexus, so it was an interesting test):
- I found some minor visual issues on the GT3. These issues are now fixed: everything on screen auto-aligns well, depending on the target screen
- the game itself ran flawlessy on the GT3 (stable/no crash) http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

Finally, the gaming experience is pretty much the same on these 2 tablets, and since this is the very 1st compatibility test I perform, this is really encouraging (Android 4 running on both tablets).

[LJLPM]

After the "Ice" tileset previously shown in a recent post, here's the "Canyon" tileset http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />.
I'm also happy with this one because it's an interesting tileset, with cool shapes/colors/shadows/details allowing you to design nice-looking rocky landscapes!

Please remember that when the game is released, all my tilesets will be freely available, and you will be able to use them to design and share your own levels! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

- top:the level designed in jLevelBuilder, bottom: the level imported into the game.
http://s14.postimg.org/ftjmp6u1d/Screenshot_2014_11_17.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />


edit: trying the "Sci-Fi" tileset in the actual game
http://s28.postimg.org/ht9w3bxz1/Screenshot_2014_11_17b.png" alt="" class="bbc_img" />

[LJLPM]

I'm still working on compatibility issues with different Android devices.
I have been able to test the game on Archos' GamePad1, and the game's layouts finely auto-adapt to the GP1's 1024x600 resolution (smaller res than the Nexus7's and the GalaxyTab3's). This is really encouraging.
I think I fixed most of the resolution issues now, and the game should display nicely on any Android tablets (no test performed on Android phones yet).