YOU KNOW WHAT?

[KodiaX987]

I'm gonna remake Columns, using Visual Basic.

Wish me luck.

[Out_Kast]

I played Colums for about an hour.
Ended up with 1,200,000+ points... :disapprove:

Good luck, anyway.

[TalHex]

dot dot dot!

[Shadowpawn]

LUCK, MOTHER FUCKER, I WISH YOU IT!

[KodiaX987]

Test grid is GO!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/Shurikane/columns-test.jpg

[TalHex]

this reminds me of ronin's puyo

[astuarlen]

this reminds me of ronin's puyo

Other way around.

[amtalx]

That looks like it works...already better than most recent attempts at anything game related by SEGA. :disapprove:

[Sayara]

Funny considering columns was on genesis

[Rust]

I was expecting something like 'I'M HAPPY...' from the OP when i opened this thread.
Seems i should reconsider my expectations when reading thread titles. :disapprove:

[beatrixkiddo]

Columns lol, i had it for GAMEGEAR :wacko:

All I remember was the horribly stereotypical egyptian/whatever characters.

[Nai_Calus]

I was expecting something like 'I'M HAPPY...' from the OP when i opened this thread.
Seems i should reconsider my expectations when reading thread titles. :disapprove:

You know you can hover over the thread title and get a preview of the first post, right? :wacko:

[Rust]

I learned something today.

....

*facepalms*

[Nai_Calus]

*bows theatrically*

Always glad to help, my good man.

[Weeaboolits]

That looks considerably better than the blackjack game I made in VB. ._.;

[KodiaX987]

THE LOG

Finished ripping all the original game sprites.
Fortified and optimized the code for left and right movement.
Made the grid outlines a little darker.


COMING UP NEXT

Column quick-drop.
Column discard and introduction of a new column into play.

[Shadowpawn]

Fuck yeah updates!

[KodiaX987]

THE LOG

Minor code optimizations.
Ripped sound effects from Columns and Gunstar Heroes.
Finished quick-drop.
Finished column introduction.


COMING UP NEXT

Combo-finding algorithm.
Combo discard.
Jewel consolidation.


I may put up an alpha this weekend. It'll be basic and buggy as all hell, but it's better than nothing.

[Sgt_Shligger]

Fuck is VISUAL BASIC FOR? Be a MAN and use C++.

[KodiaX987]

Not interested in fighting with the C++ language to get a decent render. I knew VB enough to get a workable grid running in minutes.

THE LOG

Moving a bunch of code around in order for the game to be multiplayer-friendly without me having to recopy code for each additional player. This is taking priority over the algos I was supposed to write tonight. The catch is that I need to declare a whole bunch of functions full of arguments, which is a pain in the ass since it's hard to perform the move without fucking something up in the process or forgetting about a variable.


COMING UP NEXT

Make a virtual grid that'll store the information of jewels on the real grid. Because the PictureBox object forgets the filename as soon as it's done picking up the image, I have to keep a record of jewel colors elsewhere as they are laid down, so that the sweep algos can kick in properly. Otherwise, the sweeper can't distinguish which image is which except through comparison of each and every pixel.

[Nitro Vordex]

I wish I could do stuff like this. :sad:

*starts researching and learning*

[Sgt_Shligger]

MY QUESTION. WHY NOT C++. THE GRAPHICS ARE JUST AS GOOD.

[Blitzkommando]

MY QUESTION. WHY NOT C++. THE GRAPHICS ARE JUST AS GOOD.


Not interested in fighting with the C++ language to get a decent render. I knew VB enough to get a workable grid running in minutes.


IF YOU SPENT MORE TIME READING AND LESS WITH YOUR CAPSLOCK ON YOU MIGHT'VE SEEN THAT.

[Sgt_Shligger]

IF YOU SPENT MORE TIME READING AND LESS WITH YOUR CAPSLOCK ON YOU MIGHT'VE SEEN THAT.

Missed the last post on the page, on the 20 setting. Dear God I'd never consider doing anything with graphics in C++. It's so incredibly awful it's not funny.

[KodiaX987]

I'll tell you something: at the job, we use Java. The product pictures are not stored in jpg files; they're drawn directly in the program. Conceptually, it's easy. We work on windows and doors, so a few rectangles here and there and away you go.

But getting there is a nightmare in itself. I spent most of Friday just fighting with the code in order to figure out why the render isn't showing up for a particular product... and I'm not done yet.

[KodiaX987]

OK, I've built up an executable:

http://www.shurikane.com/b/Columns.rar

Take in mind that this is an alpha, and that the program can and WILL crash on you. Don't bother with bug reports. The only thing you can do with this release is move columns around and quick-drop them. There's no Game Over detection, no combo elimination, and the sound playback is out of whack. You may even get jewels that decide to hang in midair for no reason. That's what alphas do.

[Out_Kast]

I can't even run it.
It says:
'The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.'

Oh yeah... 'No bug reports'. :disapprove:

[Shadowpawn]

My firewall told me it was a virus. -_-

[KodiaX987]

I can't even run it.
It says:
'The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.'

Oh yeah... 'No bug reports'. :disapprove:

You need the .NET Framework installed for the game to run, since it was coded in .NET.

[Randomness]

My firewall told me it was a virus. -_-

Your firewall probably doesn't like buggy homebrewed software. Afterall, its a one-person job and the alhpa version.

[Sord]

I've had the .NET extension for a long time, so works fine for me. That is, it starts up, and only one type of block ever drops (vertical blue-green-blue,) and unless I'm doing things wrong, nothing is "eliminated" even if I stack row after row up to the top.

[HUnewearl_Meira]

Because the PictureBox object forgets the filename as soon as it's done picking up the image, I have to keep a record of jewel colors elsewhere as they are laid down, so that the sweep algos can kick in properly.

Protip: Load the images into a List (Of Image) on Form_Load, instead of reading them each time from file. It will load dramatically faster.


I've had the .NET extension for a long time, so works fine for me. That is, it starts up, and only one type of block ever drops (vertical blue-green-blue,) and unless I'm doing things wrong, nothing is "eliminated" even if I stack row after row up to the top.


Take in mind that this is an alpha, and that the program can and WILL crash on you. Don't bother with bug reports. The only thing you can do with this release is move columns around and quick-drop them. There's no Game Over detection, no combo elimination, and the sound playback is out of whack. You may even get jewels that decide to hang in midair for no reason. That's what alphas do.

[Sord]

yes, I'm aware of that post Meira, I'm not the kind of guy that doesn't read through the thread. Just sayings that's what happened to me in particular.

[Shadowpawn]

http://pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=17&pictureid=1517

:D .

[KodiaX987]

Protip: Load the images into a List (Of Image) on Form_Load, instead of reading them each time from file. It will load dramatically faster.

Thanks. I also found out that controls have a "Tag" field on them and they're meant for whatever I want to put in there, so it came in just handy to save color info. :D

[HUnewearl_Meira]

Shuri, you should see what you can use Visual Basic to do to CorelDRAW. CorelDRAW objects have quite a few useful chunks of information tagged onto them that the CorelDRAW application itself simply does not provide access to. Things such as the length of the perimeter, coordinates for the outer bounds, and so on.

[KodiaX987]

I'd probably going further into that if I used CorelDRAW on a daily basis - but I haven't opened up the program ever since I made Old Shit, which is something like a year or two ago. I've been busy elsewhere.

[Nitro Vordex]

yes, I'm aware of that post Meira, I'm not the kind of guy that doesn't read through the thread...

You and 1000 other PSOW members. ;o

[HUnewearl_Meira]

You and 1000 other PSOW members. ;o

Which probably isn't a very good ratio, given nearly 55,000 members.

[Nitro Vordex]

Active members, Meira.

[KodiaX987]

THE LOG

Implemented column shuffle function.
Implemented grid tagging, so that the grid now remembers which jewels are in which square.
Implemented sweeping combo finder.
Code is now multiplayer-friendly!
Sounds play on drop and shuffle.
WAV Music plays during the game. Probably going to change it to MIDI playing for more flexibility.


COMING UP NEXT

Shuffling animation.
Jewel elimination.
Jewel consolidation redux.
Game-over detection.


I may put up another alpha soon.

[TalHex]

i dun git it

[KodiaX987]

NEW ALPHA! http://www.shurikane.com/b/Columns.rar

Controls: Arrows to move, up arrow to shuffle upwards, B/N/M to shuffle downwards.

THE LOG

Jewel elimination implemented.
Jewel consolidation implemented.
Multiple combos management complete!
Music now in MP3 format (not included in the release.)
Sound plays when jewels are eliminated.


COMING UP NEXT

Game-over detection.
General purpose animations - I honestly am not sure how to go about it at this point. First, I need a jewel elimination animation, a shuffle animation, and a consolidation animation. It's doable by using timers, but I'm afraid this could be a clunky and weighty way to go about it. More on this in the future...


Remember: You need DirectX 9.0 and the .NET Framework installed to run this.

[KodiaX987]

THE LOG

Implemented dynamic music. Super proud of that one! Still a little buggy at the moment.
Game over detection.

[Shadowpawn]

I can't run it. ;.;

[KodiaX987]

I can't run it. ;.;

Do you have the .NET Framework and the latest DirectX installed?

[Shadowpawn]

Yeah, .net 3.0 and directx9.

[KodiaX987]

THE LOG

Fixed the dynamic music. It now works seamlessly with OGG files!
Problems in Game Over detection. Disabled it until I can fix it.


This one took a while because I've been stuck on the dynamic music bugs. It took me two weeks of searching, trial and error, before I finally found a workable solution.

And now, a new alpha!

http://www.shurikane.com/b/Columns.rar

Arrow keys to move, B/N/M to shuffle (they all shuffle the same way)

Now, the game should be relatively bug free aside from game over detections and a few minor game mechanics I haven't been able to reproduce yet.

Make sure you have all the .NET Frameworks and DirectX 9.0c installed.

IF YOU GET AN ILLEGAL OPERATION ERROR OR "COLUMNS.EXE HAS ENCOUNTERED A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO CLOSE", I most likely can't do anything about it at the moment.

IF YOU GET A JIT DEBUGGING ERROR, please tell me about it, because the report contains useful information about where in the code the error occured.

[Shadowpawn]

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.DirectX.AudioVideoPlayback, Version=1.0.2902.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
File name: 'Microsoft.DirectX.AudioVideoPlayback, Version=1.0.2902.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35'
at Columns.SoundUtils.InitializeSound(String SoundBank)
at Columns.frmSinglePlayerDiagram.frmSinglePlayerDiag ram_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:Documents and SettingsAlbertMy DocumentsVisual Studio ProjectsColumnsfrmSinglePlayerDiagram.vb:line 2638
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnLoad(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnCreateControl()
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.CreateControl(Boolean fIgnoreVisible)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.CreateControl()
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmShowWindow(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Mes sage& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Mess age& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WmShowWindow(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.O nMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.W ndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

WRN: Assembly binding logging is turned OFF.
To enable assembly bind failure logging, set the registry value [HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftFusion!EnableLog] (DWORD) to 1.
Note: There is some performance penalty associated with assembly bind failure logging.
To turn this feature off, remove the registry value [HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftFusion!EnableLog].



************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Columns
Assembly Version: 1.0.3108.20757
Win32 Version: 1.0.3108.20757
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/owner/Downloads/Columns/Columns/Columns.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
FMODWrapper
Assembly Version: 1.0.3097.14434
Win32 Version: 1.0.3097.14434
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/owner/Downloads/Columns/Columns/FMODWrapper.DLL
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.

focl.

[KodiaX987]

That's your DirectX. Double-check the version and make sure you've got 9.0c installed.