Homebrew [WIP][Game] Bottomless Block Barrage - a Tetris Attack/Panel De Pon/Pokemon Puzzle League clone

[TricksterGuy]

Okay, so I had to essentially redo the garbage blocks to add the multi-layer grey garbage. Here's the new sets:

I decided to make all the multi-layer grey blocks their own images because it's a pain in the ass to try actually assembling them by block, unlike the normal-colored garbage. I've also made thicknesses up to 7 (9 ! blocks cleared at once; requires a chain to accomplish). I think that the absolute top would be 10-layers (requiring 12 total and a special setup), but I don't know how many ! panels there would be at any one time. I'll have to ask someone that has knowledge of the game's mechanics.

Thanks for the update! It feels like you get one every so often, or probably when you make a chain / combo. Will have to experiment with that.

Other than this I have no updates its mostly been clean up duty with the codebase finally going to go on ahead and get the makeshift gui library ready to post so others can use it maybe...

 

[SRKTiberious]

Welp, another post, another complete overhaul of the garbage block artwork. This time, you should be able to just use rows to construct most things. It can also build grey garbage up to x12 (the maximum thickness).

Second, in the 0.1.5 build, I've isolated a glitch that allows you to continue a chain beyond normal limits.
When a chain finishes, and you don't have anything else to chain afterward, try a grounded mid-air switch on a panel that falls from atop it. If timed right, you should notice the chain counter won't reset. You then have extra time to raise the stack and do pretty much anything you like to set up extra chains.
Abusing this glitch, I've managed to stretch a chain to x35, far, far beyond what should be possible.

 

[TricksterGuy]

I'm not dead, To be honest I haven't been working too much on this due to life events (stolen bike, work related trips, etc). I plan on more regular updates next month, but yeah I have only a few hours a day to work on this due to day job.

Welp, another post, another complete overhaul of the garbage block artwork. This time, you should be able to just use rows to construct most things. It can also build grey garbage up to x12 (the maximum thickness).

Second, in the 0.1.5 build, I've isolated a glitch that allows you to continue a chain beyond normal limits.
When a chain finishes, and you don't have anything else to chain afterward, try a grounded mid-air switch on a panel that falls from atop it. If timed right, you should notice the chain counter won't reset. You then have extra time to raise the stack and do pretty much anything you like to set up extra chains.
Abusing this glitch, I've managed to stretch a chain to x35, far, far beyond what should be possible.

Thanks, that has been a recurring bug that I hadn't figured out the root cause yet this should help me greatly.

 

[SRKTiberious]

I've even got more information for you on that bug. It lasts until a panel drops into one of the spaces cleared by the last clear, so it seems that doing that last-moment grounded swap somehow interrupts checking for a chain, but it also does so again when a panel falls into the space created by a clear.

 

[TidusWulf]

How have I not heard of this until just now?! OMG

 

[SRKTiberious]

I'd still like to know what's going on with this. Not hearing from the dev in over a month makes it seem like this project is dead/dying. Even if it's once a week or so, a little short status update would help things.

 

[TricksterGuy]

Hey yep long time no post.

Unfortunately I had less time than anticipated to work on this project this past month (mostly travelling, work, and other non work related projects).

Nothing interesting to show for now, I've still researching the original using the puzzle injector tool I've written a couple weeks back haha figuring out how the other game modes work is a bit challenging.

But yeah a small update or post every say 2-3 weeks is doable, but the updates may be a bit small until the holiday season kicks in.

Small Update (11/10): Got sick literally the day after I made this post for about a week.
I'm just now getting my dev environment up to date seems like some dependencies have changed need citro3d. Hopefully I can get everything up and running again.

Small Update (12/9): sf2dlib the library I have been using is pretty much unusable for me now, after the ctrulib updates the code sf2dlib was relying on was removed and updated to use citro3d. I'd like to keep the code running with updated ctrulib but the game is broken with no fixes on the sf2dlib side. So I'm seeking alternatives to sf2dlib for rendering now since the author has seemed to abandoned the project. If I do switch from sf2dlib I will have to rewrite the entirety of what I have so far (at least all the drawing code). I don't have much time to delve into alternatives now work is catching up end of quarter so I will be back sometime early 2017.

 

[TricksterGuy]

So uhh yeah... dropped the ball there....

Would like to mention that I am back and working on this. The 7 month break has helped a little. Thanks for not gathering like a mob with pitchforks!
In the grand scheme of things... I have been working on this clone on/off for the past 9 years just casually. About one and a half years ago I have been more serious, hence me posting this here a year ago. I'm not going to abandon it, the worse that happens is I just switch to a new platform. Switch to the switch....

The Disappearance
(Excuses incoming!) If you must know, due to the deprecation of sf2dlib and the fact there was this freezing issue back in December so I decided to take a break. My reason for doing so was to simply see what happens, the lazy option pretty much. I was definitely looking to switch my code base to something like cpp3ds or hoped citro3d got some more tutorials for using it in 2d in the meanwhile, because to be quite honest the documentation is very lacking there (sure examples are nice, but there definitely needs to be more out there, no offense to anyone). Combine that with higher levels of stress at work and other open source related works (which are a much higher priority than working on this), and the Switch and other game related activities, I did not have a lick of spare time to work on this.

Project Status
So yeah I have started working on this again since July in silence, seeing as though cpp3ds is not going to happen (I really liked that it was based off SFML a framework I love) and not much has changed with the other libraries. So, I focused on the main issue with this homebrew, the engine. Things like timing were way off and other things like skill chains were missing or very buggy and unreliable.

I'm happy to say that the engine is looking better now after a solid month of work and intense testing. As before the engine is based off the original tetris attack game. I'm aware of specific nit picky tricks you can do in future iterations of the game, but for now I'm focused on the original. I'm able to play the original and match it frame-by-frame for 99% of the game, there are still a few tricky edge cases to snuff out, so yeah its still not perfect. I may request help in this area a bit later if you are skilled at the original game and can perform the tricky techniques listed here: https://web.archive.org/web/20070608155829/http://www.tetrisattack.net/chains/skillchains.html

Next Release?
Pretty close, I have a current build, just got everything compiling earlier today, but it has many issues, game breaking issues! Don't expect anything new, because a lot of it was just fixes and code restructuring.
So I will say within the week I will put up a new build.

And as a note I will still be using sf2dlib for now, seems the above freezing issue is no longer there, I have my own personal fork now, and have started changing the API a bit. I have also started to learn citro3d I know enough to wiggle around now, however, I am considering just taking over cpp3ds or sf2dlib and developing the library further.

Preferences / Helping Out?
Please avoid sending me any resources or making any requests for what you want the game to end up being. Just save everything for when I ask for it.
I have enough stuff to work with for now and then some. As stated above all work is going into the main engine which doesn't require any resources for now. Thanks to everyone who sent me stuff again!
Avoid making bug reports here, I would prefer the bugs to be filed in the github repository. Please check existing issues first though.

I may need some skilled people to play the original. Will update later when I get the process for doing this more user friendly. Stay tuned!

Final
As for updates, I can't promise to post here periodically, but I will only post when I have a new release.
If you want more fine grained status updates head over to the github repo commit log will try to summarize commits better in the future

tl;dr
1. I'm busy, if I disappear I will reappear eventually no plans on stopping development...
2. Engine better! Will get better the more I play the original!
3. New build is close! Game breaking bugs need to be resolved...
4. No more resources for now! I have enough to work with now, thanks!
5. I'm busy! if you want status updates see: github repo commit log

 

[Shadowfied]

Huge Pokemon Puzzle Nerd here, which, if you haven't heard about before, is Tetris Attack but with a Pokemon skin, and it works so well together. Been playing it on and off for like 15 years. Can't wait to check out your new build when it drops

 

[cots]

Awesome! I'm glad you're continuing the project as it's one of my favorite games. I can't wait to test out the new version!

 

[BlueFox gui]

oh this is cool dude
stay with the project

 

[ChipJockey]

Hey, this is one hella cool project/idea, I'm really excited about this one. I would love to help on making logo for this game or some kind of music.

 

[TricksterGuy]

And... almost a month later off by 1 day!

Version 0.2

Changes
The engine is now more timed like the original games.
Support for more skill chain techniques (but not all of them)
Timeout values are now more based on the original.
Goal Marker in Score mode type lines and the marker line has been implemented.
Updated replay file format and made replays better and more accurate.
In endless mode you level up now with the number of panels removed (just like the original).

Known Issues
Issue #10. Somehow chains can be continued out of nowhere.
Issue #13. Don't complete the final puzzle, or the game will crash.
Issue #14. Hints for things aren't intuitive. You are able to change the amount of time/lines/moves in the Score Mode Config screen.
The engine itself still isn't perfect. It is about as good as my play style of the game. Anything that I am not able to do with the game is probably where the bugs shall live.

QR Code
Version 0.2.0 is ready. Not sure if QR Codes are still a thing... but here.

Bug reports

Prereq. Ensure a folder named bbb-moves exist on the root of your sd card. Otherwise replays will not be able to be saved.

For me to quickly deal with any issues, please reproduce the issue in Endless Mode and then immediately lose the game.
The first prompt will ask for you to save a replay. Do so. File an issue on github and attach the appropriate replay file (They are timestamped with the date/time when you saved).
Without the replay file it would be much harder for me to understand.

Please don't repost this anywhere without linking to my github (Optimally asking for my permission first). This is so I receive all of the feedback from everyone. Please remember that this is a Work in Progress so don't expect this to behave like a normal game. Yes I know there is no pause menu, Yes I know the GUI is crap. These will be perfected all in due time!

 

[SRKTiberious]

I apologize for the crap lettering on the UI buttons. I can easily remake that now that I have a better method for making more complex glyphs. Just not sure how I'd get them to you since photobucket is completely fucked.

Second, I'm gonna suggest you put the playfield border back to where you had it in 0.15. The extra margin on the sides throws me way off.

Finally, I was playing on Easy (which affects block fall speed), and it felt like it was on Hard, so maybe the values are off somehow? That and I'm thinking that the frame-perfect switch bug to extend chains is still there, just harder to do.

 

[TricksterGuy]

I apologize for the crap lettering on the UI buttons. I can easily remake that now that I have a better method for making more complex glyphs. Just not sure how I'd get them to you since photobucket is completely fucked.

Second, I'm gonna suggest you put the playfield border back to where you had it in 0.15. The extra margin on the sides throws me way off.

Finally, I was playing on Easy (which affects block fall speed), and it felt like it was on Hard, so maybe the values are off somehow? That and I'm thinking that the frame-perfect switch bug to extend chains is still there, just harder to do.

They are good.

Attach it in your post?
Use another image sharing service?
Submit a pull request on github? You can find your graphics here There's still a bunch of stuff you've previously given me that's not in there now.

Will revert that back soonish. I most likely did that before that big break.

The timings on things are now based off Tetris Attack. These are the exact values used as far as I know from the research I've done. Its frame per frame perfect (almost). The only thing that wasn't changed too much was how input was handled. At this point I don't know what else can be done?

Yeah if you can produce another replay file showing that issue, I can check if it is fixed. I had one a replay of my own and just fixed it an hour ago.
I found I can reproduce it by doing the following: You make a match, then the moment the blocks above that match start to fall you swap one of those falling panels above the empty panel right next to it. Whatever location that panel you swapped was is now bugged.

 

[SRKTiberious]

The chain extension bug is still there as of v.0.2.0, but it's frame-perfect.

There's also a stack-raising bug that's more critical. Try to raise the stack as a panel falls, and if it chains, it locks out the L/R buttons until the stop timer ends, and ANY clear resets it to full. When it happens to you in Time Attack, it can hurt.

 

[Ryons77]

Necro bump if this is a dead game or not. Got in late in the scene.

 

[Flame]

Necro bump if this is a dead game or not. Got in late in the scene.

if you check the latest release, its 5 years old. so its dead.

https://github.com/TricksterGuy/bottomless-block-barrage/releases