News
Debugging is always a challenge. It's a big block of code, with lots of different states, and there is (so far) only me developing. But 2 good debugging tricks to the rescue!
- The AI can play either Alien or Terran. I can turn the game loose to play itself and wait for issues.
- When the game crashes, the next time you play it will try to send the currentgame.xml back to grinninglizard.com.
When a log comes in, I set the AI to play itself using the current game at the time of the crash. About 1 log in 4 turns up a debuggable issues - which is quite good! I'm finding some good bugs this way.
I'm also cleaning up, reviewing, and minimizing code. But there is no substitute for testing.
New name: Xenowar. Although 'unflobtactical' is...interesting, it can't be pronounced. 'UFO Attack' is nice, but done, and there is already a Java game with the same name. 'Xenowar' evokes the right sound for me, has a retro feel, and isn't done to death. I've grabbed Xenowar.net, but there isn't a web page yet. (Xeno pronounced ZENN-Oh.)
Art! This is the time of creating lots of art, which is lots of fun. Good to get out of programming for a while. There are new characters models, where I'm really striving for a simple, iconic, cartoony look that will look good on small screens. The look is inspired by chess pieces:
Some features need to be implemented to support the new art. New model skinning, explosive items, new aliens. But mostly art and level design stuff.
Big thanks to UFO:TTS team for linking from their amazing UFO game: The Two Sides. Michal also posted a very nice beta (pre-)review at strategycore.co.uk:
http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/UFO-Attack-working-title-X-com-t8160.html&p=100174#entry100174