Kart (returning preview) :)

[timfoden]

4K Kart racing



http://games.7sun.com/4k/kart/kart.jnlp
http://games.7sun.com/4k/kart/zips/v0.93/kart.jar

I've just found the impetus to finish off the Kart game I started last year.

I had make some more space available, and then add the race control and scoring, etc.

Please post any suggestions or comments here.

[Updated to v0.93]
Improved computer driving AI and added difficulty levels.

[appel]

Nice.

If you want to free up more bytes (not that you need to) you can split the race car in half, and then mirror the half image to form a complete race car. Saves 50% of the bytes of storing data defining the whole race car image.

[timfoden]

50% with mirroring is an interesting idea.  I've actually got 3 pirctures of the kart, one from the back, one from the front, and one from the side.  I mirror the one from the site to make the one from the other side.

Thus I have pictures from all 4 directions.

I could use the 50% and mirror technique on both the front and back views, which would save about of 1/3 of the space the bitmap is currently using (which is about 450 bytes compressed, 2400 bytes uncompressed).

It'd use some more bytes to do the mirroring, but I guess I may save about 100 bytes by doing this.  Thanks for the tip. 

Cheers, Tim.

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[oNyx]

Runs fine here. Well done!

[Eli Delventhal]

This looks great, although it's a tad easy at this point.

[Ranger]

Amazing!  3D racing game all in 4K!  Well done!

I agree with Demonpants...a bit too easy to win.

[timfoden]

I agree with Demonpants...a bit too easy to win.

Thanks Ranger and Demonpants for your comments.

I used Appel's mirror idea for the car bitmaps, and this saved about 55 bytes.  With this space I have modified the computer AI to be able to drive faster, and added a difficulty level choice for the user.

I would expect that it's still pretty easy to win on level 1, and probably impossible to win every time on level 3.

Any more comments on the difficulty or otherwise of the levels would be great!

Cheers, Tim.

[steveyO]

Wow!! You did all that in 4K, pretty impressive to say the least!!
Well, I played twice and finished last both times on level 2.  Will try again..

[timfoden]

Thanks steveyO.

I think perhaps the levels are now too difficult.  But hopefully I'll get some more feedback from others.

Cheers, Tim.

[Markus_Persson]

...

Games published by our own members! Check 'em out!

[timfoden]

...

Well, that's ambiguous feedback however you look at it.  I guess I was expecting something will a little more information content. 

First I thought... well erm... "no comment"?
Then perhaps the whole comment was meant as a joke, the feedback being a metaphor for white noise.
Then I pressed the quote button to reply, and noticed that the "..." had a hidden feature... it was a link... to Sonic Racer 4K.

Then I got really confused! 

Perhaps it's "Hey I already did practically the same game",
Or "Mine was better",
Or "Mine was worse",
Or "Hey you copied my idea",
Or "Yes, mine also has a rotating perspective correct texture for the ground."

Ah well, perhaps we'll never know!

Cheers, Tim.

[Orangy Tang]

Oo, the 4k compo and Kart got a mention on Kotaku!

http://kotaku.com/5101422/minimalist-java-games-contest-gets-a-bit-premature

 

[Markus_Persson]

Ah well, perhaps we'll never know!

lol, relax. =)

[timfoden]

Oo, the 4k compo and Kart got a mention on Kotaku!

Presumably that'll be why Kart's suddenly got more than 1200 downloads, and World Rally Driver 4K has more than 600.

lol, relax. =)

I am relaxed... no really I am! 


Cheers, Tim.

[Morre]

I admit that when you first showed your Kart game last year, the first thing I thought was "Isn't this Sonic Racer?". Both games are cool though - good work.

[Markus_Persson]

I am relaxed... no really I am! 

I'm sorry if I offended.

It's just when I saw the screenshot, it immediately reminded me of the racer I did. Yours is more playable and has opponents, so it's a far better game, but the graphics are kinda similar.
And that's all I meant. =)

[timfoden]

No no, Markus... there were smileys, you know like this --->

I'm not offended at all.  I'm just joking with you, in a light hearted way (at least, that's what I was trying to do...  sometimes it can be difficult to be jokey in a text only medium).

So in my turn, I hope I haven't offended you or anyone else.

Cheers, Tim.

[appel]

One of the rules state:

# Must not be identical to a game submitted into previous 4k competitions.

I cannot see that it's "identical", there are graphical similarities, but beyond that Kart has much more implemented:
- Opponents
- Minimap
- Race car (instead of the sonic character)
- Multiple race tracks (3)
- Some hands-on gameplay goals, beat the other race cars (Sonic racer seems to be all about running?)
- And of course it's playable! (Sonic racer is unplayable on my PC because it moves too fast)

Just my 4 cents

[Markus_Persson]

Yeah, this is definitely not identical (and much better than sonic racer). =)

[zeroone]

Nice Mario Kart inspired game.  The sky seems to take up too much space of the screen.  How does the AI of the other drivers work?  How do you determine your ranking relative to the other drivers?  Any chance you could display your ranking in real-time?  I like the simple kart sprite.  How did you sort the sprites by depth?  Nice map.  Excellent work.