Monday, December 30, 2013

Playing Black Mesa

In this post I will share my experience about my playing of Black Mesa, a mod of the orginal game called Half Life. Built on the "Source" engine, available for free download on Steam, Black Mesa has very improved look compared to the orignal. You can read whats written on the books, shelves, walls, better light refraction, shading, which makes the whole experience much more comfortable.


While playing I got to some software issues:
  • It happened to get stuck in one position. I could only turn my self around but not being able to move or do other things. This happened when I wanted to replay second chapter after finishing the complete game. 
  • Also when loading screen appeared many time the game crashed. So I had to restart it from last saved point. Ok, not much of an issue since I finished the whole game. I hope the team will fix this issue. 
I was really enjoing while listening to the Black Mesa soundtrack. It really adds much to the playing experience especially when you get to places where there is a big fight with many soldiers and/or creatures, therefore increasing the tension so that you feel what is like to be in place of Gordon Freeman :))



What makes this game good is that it is rich with puzzles the player has to solve in order to progress.  You are traveling trough cooling pipes, corridors, reef edges, jumping obstacles, shooting with soldiers, fighting tanks, aeroplanes, helicopters, launching rockets, avoiding laser detonating bombs, etc... One thing to note, before progressing trough the game: learn how to use the controls properly. For example jump+crouch move. I couldn't finish the laser level without dying hundreds of times. It is the place where I learned to use jump+crouch move properly. Unfortunatelly Black Mesa team didn't included the guide/practice chapter which is a part of Half Life. In fact the last chapters of Half Life were also not included, chapters like, Xen, Gonarch's lair, Interlooper, Nihilanth.
The team took about 8-9 years to complete this part. I hope the ending will be available soon.

I tried to make as many as possible, screenshots of the most important parts of the game using the Steam's F12 functionality. I made about 200 screenshots, so I will post them in parts.This part has 51 screenshots.

Gallery 

http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/92906255037/black-mesa-part-8
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93105376977/black-mesa-part-9
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93105428047/black-mesa-part-10
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93105533097/black-mesa-part-11
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106028597/black-mesa-part-12
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106084557/black-mesa-part-13
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106134602/black-mesa-part-14
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106178092/black-mesa-part-15
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106237372/black-mesa-part-16
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106301567/black-mesa-part-17
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106361407/black-mesa-part-18
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106450397/black-mesa-part-19
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106501562/black-mesa-part-20









Thursday, December 19, 2013

Playing Sonny: Destroyer

link:http://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/sonny
genre: RPG, hack and slash, adventure, skill, turn based
player classes: Destroyer, Guiardian, Assasin, Gunslinger
The game has a story and plot.
The game has really thrilling music. I am really enjoying while playing.

music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I7OQ0g2l5k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk0xWI8akxc&feature=share&list=RD9I7OQ0g2l5k&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuZ0BfRPNl4&feature=share&list=RD9I7OQ0g2l5k&index=2

links:
http://sonny.wikia.com/wiki/Ignition
https://armorgames.com/community/thread/329271/sonny-boss-2-omen
http://armorgames.com/community/thread/169383/how-to-beat-omen-ad-docter-herregods
https://armorgames.com/community/thread/96964/sonny-final-boss
http://www.kongregate.com/forums/3/topics/8145
http://sonny.wikia.com/wiki/ZPCI

Gallery

http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93106937102/sonny-destroyer-part-1
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93107083522/sonny-destroyer-part-2
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93107156717/sonny-destroyer-part-3
http://vladtheterran.tumblr.com/post/93107210517/sonny-destroyer-part-4

sonny
The begining

abilities
Abilities page
in game tips
In game tips

inventory
Sonny's Inventory
zpci
ZPCI- Zombi Pest Control Incroporated
escape from the ship
Escape from the ship
the tape
The tape, arrghh give me the tape :))))


gadi khala




Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Wonders in Math Land: patch 1.4.4

Hello again. I have added some new GUI features to the game. Now you have complete game guide that shows when you play the game for the first time. Also the number of cards in the levels increases from 12 to 18 cards. Cards now are place in specific formation to make the game more enjoyable and interesting.

http://www.mochimedia.com/games/play/wonders-in-math-land

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

My games on chrome web store

Ah and yes, I have published my games on Chrome web store. If you are Chrome user you can download my games and install them locally as chrome applications. Just go to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps?hl=en and search for spinnerbox.

It will list all applications I have published.

This is how my game look like when installed as chrome application
 If you have already installed one of my games you need to remove old version and install the new one. Just go to Main menu-> Tools -> Extensions in chrome and search for wanted application. Click on the can to remove it. Than find the game you want on chrome web store and click install. It will be automatically downloaded and installed as chrome application. You will later see it in your extensions list.

Cheers, and have fun :)))

New version of Wonders in Math Land

Hello guys. Its being a while. I developed new version of the same game. Now it has 18 levels and you can submit your score after playing each level. I decided that time should go upwards instead of downwards, i.e you can play and enjoy exploring the game while making some points. This is a new update of the game. If possible I plan to add more modes that you can play. Cheers and have fun :)))

Play the game here: http://wonders-in-math-land.blogspot.com/p/game.html

Monday, November 25, 2013

Changes in the levels Wonders in Math Land

I decided that 27 levels is too much so now you can finish the game in just only 9 levels.

You can read the game discussion thread here: https://www.mochimedia.com/community/forum/topic/do-you-like-my-game

Friday, November 22, 2013

Wonders in Math Land - Patch 1.1.0 uploaded

I have released more neat and chalenging version of the same game I hope you will like it :)
It is time based, so on each level you have certain amount of time to finish it.You also get bonus time points on each level.The faster you finish it the more points you get.

Stay tunned guys I am planning also other contents for the same game :)))

Play it here http://www.mochimedia.com/games/play/wonders-in-math-land

Thursday, November 14, 2013

New Memory Game

I am building simple memory game. Here are some screenshots I have made while testing it:


  •  
    I am having some performance issues so now I am optimizing it. Thats the process of learning. I am still learning how Stencyl works. Anyways hopefully I will publish something soon :)

    Friday, November 8, 2013

    Wonders in Math Land - Gallery


    •  
    1. Nature
    2. Water Cube - Beijing, China
    3. Burj Khalifa - Dubai
    4. Giza Pyramids - Egypt
    5. Petronas Towers - Singapore
    6. The Eden Project - Great Britain
    7. Arecibo Observatory - Puerto Rico
    8. Stone Bridge - Skopje, R. Macedonia
    9. Colosseum - Rome, Italy
    10. Fractal

    Burj Khalifa



    Monday, October 28, 2013

    WarLight review

    In this post I will do a game review of one strategy, web based game called WarLight.
    I played it on kongregate.com because there are achievements.

    Some details about the game:

    Genre: strategy, tactics, war, RISK alike
    Mechanics: turn based
    Player mode: single-player, multiplayer
    Platforms: web based flash version, mobile, iOS, Android and Kindle Fire
    Web page: http://warlight.net/
    wiki/help page: http://wiki.warlight.net/index.php/Main_Page

    I played about 20 rounds and here are some details I came up with:
    • It has 6 levels and a custom mode for creating your own level. First three levels are learning how to play the game properly. So though you can pass the first 2 easily that doesn't mean you know how to play the game. My recommendation is, play the first 2 levels at least two times until you win before continuing to the third level.You play against 1 enemy in the first and against two in the second level.
    • The third level has more territories to conquer but also more players, 3 to be exact. So you have to change the way you play the game to beat 3 bots. I played this level 3 times because I still didn't know how to propely play the game. Don't make the same mistake as I did.
    • If you have beaten the third level I recommend you replay it again as fourth level gets much more harder. On the fourth level you play on a map of Europe and it has many small territories to conquer which makes it even harder to play. But again this is what makes this game interesting and challenging. If you like this type of games you goind to have ton of fun.
    • Once I finished the Europe level I tried to play the crazy fifth level, and I can say it is really crazy :) You play against six other enemies and only way to beat this level is to be expert on how the game works. I played 4 times and lost. The fifth play was better as I learned some tricks how to push the neighboring enemy back where he belongs. But again other enemy player on the other side of the globe will prevail and soon become very strong to cope with. The fifth play was again loss. I tried sixth and seventh time but again the same scenario  happened. One of the enemy players became too strong. 
    During the plays I learned some tricks, tricks you can learn by just playing the game. I didn't read the help just to see how the will guide me trough the levels. So really you can learn how to play by just playing.

    The tricks:
    • With the first armies conquer as fast as possible one whole area of several territories, to gain army boost. Next start conquering neighboring territories. If some enemy player appears on enighboring territory, reinforce you territories there and attack the enemy player instead of the neutral player. Leave the enemy to waste his army on the neutral armies. 
    • Always try to conquer enemy territory when it has lower number of armies, for example 1 or 2. I put 4 armies in mine territory and attack the enemy territory where he has 1 or 2 armies. This way you can get advantage over the enemy in gianing more armies or make the enemy spread his army, therefore weakening him.
    • Don't put all your new armies in one territory! Spread them, for example 3 neighboring territories can have 5 armies instead 1, 1 and the third, 13 armies. Don't forget, you can attack same territory from all 3 of yours. Also you can attack 2 territories at the same time which is good feature. I think in RISK board game you were allowed only one at a time. Not sure though.
    • You can also cause trouble to the enemy by just conquering his weak territories. Remember you and the enemy players gain new armies only if you have conquered one whole area. So you can use this trick to prevent the enemy from gaining more armies.
    • Use the zoom tool :) 
    • Conquer Madagaskar as soon as possible :)
    • Destroy the weak enemies as soon as possible. Can be pain in the butt :)
    • Avoid confrontation with big enemy army unless you want or you don't have a choice. Conquer the neighboring weak territory instead.
    Some tricks about playing the fourth level (Europe map):
    •  The trick is not to fortify your self in place and wait. Put your new armies on the south England to boost your armies. Attack France and spread your armies trough Europe. Use the tricks above to play this map. Conquer as fast as possible Iberian Peninsula as you can gain boost but also prevent the player to win. I think Spain and Portugal are one of the most parts in this level. I recommend you to place one of the three big armies with your flight card in the center of Iberian Peninsula.
    • Use your three big reinfocement armies  wisely as you can loose them quickly. I think you should place them on Iberian Peninsula, in the middle of Europe and maybe on Scandinavian Peninsula if you like. Or maybe again in middle Europe. 
    • Trough all the game you must do the trick with conquering weak enemy territories as much as possible from any possible place, and there you have it.
    • Split your big armies in two or three parts to spread death and fear across Europe :) Don't collect you armies in one place.
    • Avoid helping your ally because it a waste of armies. Sooner or later he will be destroyed for sure.
    • You can also attack the ally, I recommend you destroy him as soon as posible, because he can survive for as the game lasts. I have images of it.
    • The ally is here to help you survive i.e take the initial payload of the enemy player. 
    Tricks  on fifth crazy level:
    •  You play against 6 other players. I think this is a level for experts. I could't beat this level. Follow the above tips to have some progress. I had some but I failed eventually.
    These are all the tricks I came so far. I will update this post if I think of something else.

    WarLight is very enjoyable game filled with twists and turns. It will make your head spin :)
    Though it is in a way hard I really like it. Maybe the big number of territories makes it tough but still it is what makes this game interestng and challenging. If you want to enjoy, replay first 3 levels 2-3 times :) You can gain more Kong points and stars. Next you have a wiki pages to learn from.

    Final grade: I would give 5/5 but it is tough so 4.5/5.

    Gallery