DawnSeekers [important update]

[smealum]

Nickname: Smealum and Lobo
Project name : DawnSeekers
From : France/USA
Division : NDS GAME
Original entry : YES
Support Motion : NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10 : NO
My website : http://www.smealum.net

This game has received an update since the first time it was posted here. If you have an old vesion, please make sure you download the latest. The same goes for news posters on homebrew websites, please update your articles, thanks.  

Dawnseekers

Dawnseekers is a full 3D first person shooter for the Nintendo DS coded by myself, smealum, and with graphics made by Lobo.
This is a demo featuring two maps, two weapons and 4 different enemy types. It features a somewhat advanced 3D engine which can not only render very big and detailed maps, but also multiple enemies on screen at once, with some lighting effects (in the demo though, i didn't have enough time to really get the lighting effects to work at their full potential again, sorry for the inconvenience). I wrote most of the code, with the exception of the base of my MD2 loader, which was first coded by the owner of tfc.duke.free.fr, then reused by Payk then finally reoptimized by myself (it can render up to four time faster now).
As far as gameplay goes, it's a rather classic FPS; the goal is to kill without getting killed and to get to the end of each level. There is a backstory that I wrote, but I didn't have time to implement the story telling elements into the demo unfortunately.
Here are the controls :
D-PAD / ABXY to move
R/L to shoot
Stylus to aim/change weapons (only the pistol and machine gun are available at the moment)
Select to open doors (this is very important)
Button in the lower right corner of the touchscreen to open doors
Start to pause (less important. )

Since there are only two maps, there wasn't much of a point in having a saving system, so instead Play launches map1, and load launches map2. It's also possible to access map2 by completing map1, without having to use the menu.

I also made a complete map editor for placing all sorts of entities on the maps. Here's a screenshot :

It's not available to the public, but it's just to give an idea of the amount of work that's gone into this project.  

That's probably about it. Both lobo and I have worked very hard for this to happen, so please enjoy.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the credits within the game. In case you're just too damn lazy, here they are :


NOTE : this game was developped with an M3 DS Simply. Unfortunately, I can not guarantee it will work on every other flashcard. This game doesn't save anything on your card, so there shouldn't be any problems, but if there are, it's your fault, not mine.

Here's the rom : http://smealum.net/dawnseekers/DawnSeekers_200809_neo.nds

PS : I haven't slept for over 36 hours now, so please excuse the typos i might have made.  

[wraggster]

any screens, i hear this is going to be a killer game

[morukutsu]

Haha, good luck 

[smealum]

any screens, i hear this is going to be a killer game

I updated the first post, check it out.

[Gaz]

Great work smealum; I hope I can get this working on my R4.

I will report back later if I get it running.   

[wraggster]

wow an awesome looking game for the DS, makes you proud of what homebrew coders can accomplish

[SwedishFish]

Great game smealum!!! How long did this take you to make??

My suggestions for improvement:
-enemies need better AI
-you should be able to jump (double tap)
-directional damage indicator (L/R/F/R)
-sensitivity adjuster for the gun
-open doors with something other than select (tap?)

Great work smealum; I hope I can get this working on my R4.

I will report back later if I get it running.   

Works on mine  

[Gaz]

It works on my R4, the only thing I done differnt was to place it in a folder   

The only thing I don't like is the blood image when you get hit  Looks a bit amateurish compared to the rest of the game.  I would consider making the bottom screen flash red when you get hit.

This game is sick; winner by a wide margin. You should be working within the commericial scene smealum.

Excellent   

[smealum]

It works on my R4, the only thing I done differnt was to place it in a folder   

The only thing I don't like is the blood image when you get hit  Looks a bit amateurish compared to the rest of the game.  I would consider making the bottom screen flash red when you get hit.

This game is sick; winner by a wide margin. You should be working within the commericial scene smealum.

Excellent   

Thanks a whole lot ! Concerning the blood image, i'd just like to let everyone know that it was supposed to look different i didn't understand something correctly at first and is was supposed to be transparent; so that's my fault, not lobo's.

[chao1212]

Awesome! Been waiting months for this!  Any chance of the map editor being released?

[blastyrant]

this is much to intense! good freaking job! i hope you stick with this, through all the ****, all the late nights to come, etc. i hope this becomes a completed game.

cheers!

[smealum]

Thanks everyone ! Here's a little treat before i go to bed : 
An update ! I'm posting it here because I have the right to update as long as it's the 20th somewhere in the world, which it is right now. After that, no updates will be posted here.
Anyway, this update adds/changes :
- very big AI improvement (better animations, more coherent behaviour, harder to kill)
- blood stain is gone ! we replaced it with a directional damage indicator, as SwedishFish suggested. It's non-intruisive and gives you information on where the enemy shooting you is, that's better in every way !
- the player is no longer a midget, his height has been adjusted
- doors can now be opened by taping the little button in the lower right corner of the touch screen.
Since the AI is now smarter, I rebalanced the game; health packs now give 30 hp back, enemies only take 4hp away each time they hit you, and they shoot less often. However, they can now shoot while running or strafing, so beware !
Scientists on the other hand are still as scared when they see you, and still won't lift a finger even if you kill all their allies. 
I think that's it. So everyone who has posted Dawnseekers on a news website, please also post the update, as the new features are important I think. The link hasn't changed, i've replaced the file.

Awesome! Been waiting months for this!  Any chance of the map editor being released?

Unfortunately, at the moment I plan on keep the map editor private; hell, even lobo hasn't used it yet, so it's definitely not ready to go public.

Now to sleep, I've been up for well over 40 hours now.... 

[LaPatateInc]

WOW !
Awesome work. I never knew a homebrew could be THAT advanced in terms of graphics and gameplay and all. This is the first time I see a so complete 3D homebrew on DS.
Really good job, you deserve some sleep.

[chao1212]

I can confirm it works on Acekard 2, it's just one of the things that takes like, 15 minutes to load. Also, possible bug: when first starting the game if you press play you got to a place that looks like an Arctic tundra, but if you press Load you're in a lab. Also, AWESOME credits screen, must of taken days.
Also, LaPatate, if you liked it, go try out Legion, his other game, It's got a full story and awesome gameplay, with graphics similar to GTA:CW, hell, it's even got vehicles in some parts. Legion's one of my favorite games ever, not even limited to homebrew.

[Lord Teapot]

Amazing!  Ive been watching the neoflash contests for three years but ive never seen something i wanted to comment on enough to make an account, before!  Out of the three years ive watched neoflash this is the best ive seen here!   If this doesnt win then...    There are some very strange things in this world.