PR6 may have an open beta, as of Spetember 13th.
Break-less is a breakout/arkanoid clone designed to be endless. Instead of the classic "hit the bricks so they dissapear or blow up" rule, they jump to a random position, even on top of each other. There are no powerups, but there are a few bonuses, and some uniques about it.
Items:The health looks like a red plus symbol. It gives you 9 health.
The dollar signs are bonus points added to your score. They come in 50, 75, and 100 point variants.
The white circle will add 7 bricks, 1 of each color, to a random position on the screen.
The black/dark grey circle randomizes every brick. This can be a good powerup in the right circumstances.
Scoring:Each brick is worth 25 points. If you can get a combo higher than or at 5, you get bonus points (combo*5). At the end of the game, you get the time bonus added to your final score.
Sparks you catch with the ball are worth 2 points added to your bonus score. These also add up as a lifetime spark count.
The "Uniques":This does not use a life system like almost every clone uses. This uses health. You start with 100 health, and if you hit the "void" or "red bar" at the bottom, you lose 18 health. (similar to the "barrier" in
Arkanoid Live on the Xbox 360 Arcade).
Sparks fly out of the bricks you hit. If your ball hits a spark (sometimes two), you get 2 bonus points for each spark added to the bonus score, which adds to your score at the end of the game.
[PR6] There *will* a Level/EXP system in PR6. EXPs and Levels will be explained in detail as soon as I code it.
Controls:Use the mouse to control the paddle, and ENTER/Return to start the game or fix the ball physics (currently working on that).
The F key allows you to switch between windowed and fullscreen mode.
The M key brings you back to the main menu.
The F1 key brings up a help menu.
The 0 key brings up a "debug" menu.
The E key ends the game.
Screenshots:
New main menu style in PR5. This has a "run in" effect when entering the main menu.
Stats menu, introduced in PR5.
Music menu. "CUSTOM" was introduced in PR5.
Select Stage screen. This will be updated in PR6.
Gameplay screenshot #1. This shows some of the new effects/placements.
This one looks a lot better.
What to expect in PR6. This will now be included in EVERY release.
EDITS:
- The flare and trail for the mouse cursor was taken off. It changes color instead.
- The "instant color change" on the main menu items is still there. My idea didn't work. However, I added a few effects to it.
- The HoloBall powerup will NOT raise EXP the usual way. It will only raise it by 10 if it lasts the ENTIRE 3600 steps/the powerup duration.
Q&A:How long have you been developing this?About 3 1/2 months
What does this run on?Game Maker 8 Pro
Are you using D&D Events, or GML?Both. The highscores, debug menu [in PR5], and a few of the texts being drawn use GML. The stats menu is entirely done in GML. The rest is pretty much is a combination of D&D Events and GML.
What was your inspiration to make this?I was playing Arkanoid on my SNES; I wanted something like that, but instead it would be endless. I started working on it early April.
What do you plan to add in the next update? [PR6][see screenshot explaining what I plan to add in PR6]
Will there be a co-op mode?No, I took it out permanently in PR4, because the system would have to be rewritten each time, and I don't see the game as enjoyable with co-op. PR1 and PR2 had co-op, but it was a VERY simple system back in those versions.
Changelog:PR4 to PR5
- Fixed the bonus score glitch, where it would add when you just sat there at the start of a game.
- Added a "debug menu", it shows basic info.
- Fixed the "BREAK-LESS"'s color flickering.
It's now just a static dark green color.- Added a lifetime spark count.
-
PARTIALLY fixed the ball physics, which is why there's an "a" after "4.12" on the version. Broke the paddle, reverted back to v4.11.2.
- Cleaned up the executable a little bit, as in, deleted some stuff not needed anymore. I still had stuff from PR1 that I didn't need. o_o
- Added a logo on the main menu. :D [PR4 does not have one.]
- When a bonus is collected, you would usually see what it was above the paddle, and sometimes it glitched. It's now on the bottom left above the void/red bar, and is glitching a LOT less.
- The collision mask on the paddle has changed to an oval to help the ball physics a little bit.
-
Menu buttons changed to Alphadin's. [see the -*]
- Fixed the back button not having a hover effect.
- New backgrounds.
- New BGM loops. [replaces the old ones]
- Game engine logo and my logo have been added.
- You can now choose custom background music loops.
-* New main menu. PR5's main menu will look basic, but that's because I'm trying to test effects out on a test game.
- Tons of new effects, thanks to the Pro version of GM.
- Some of the sounds "pan" to the location of the ball.
- Stats menu added. This will be added onto in PR6.
- Added a "what to expect" menu. Access to it seems obvious through the main menu.
- Fixed a few collision masks.
- [I think this was PR5...] Changed the mouse cursor.
- FPS seemed to, well, "self-optimize" itself to 45 on my computer in windowed mode. This could mean the same thing on yours if the FPS was below 30.
- Added an "update check". Clicking on it will take you to the game's page on YoYo Games.
Release Schedule:PR6 Open Beta:
September 8th, 2010.PR6:
October 3rd, 2010PR7 Open Beta:
October 20th, 2010.PR7: November 5th, 2010.
PR8 Open Beta: November 29th, 2010.
PR8: December 12th, 2010. [Note, PR8 will be the "Xmas Edition", the main menu graphics will be changed during this release.]
PR9 Open Beta: December 25th, 2010.
PR9: January 10th, 2010.
PR10 Open Beta: January 30th, 2010.
PR10: February 15th, 2010.
Schedule is subject to change, this is just when I will approximately update the game.Known Bugs or Glitches:- The ball can sometimes get stuck in the paddle.
- The ball can sometimes not go diagonally like it should.
- Bricks can go outside the room. This is rare.
- The score can be off by one. This may be caused by an overload of processing, or some error I made.
- You don't always get 18 health when you get 2 health bonuses.
Fixed in PR5- Some bonuses are hidden behind others.
- The FPS on some computers drop to 30, which is half of what the game needs to be.
Going into fullscreen seems to raise it above the optimal 50FPS."Wishlist":- Some neat background effects involving grids.
- Options menu
- Speed settings [40, 45, 50, 55, 60]
- Sound settings [global volume variable?]
- Window size
- Enabling/disabling effects [none, simple, foreground only, background only, all]
- Music playlist [Could use SXMS?]
- Better highscore menu.
- "Spectate" mode.
- [Will never happen... for a while] Online multiplayer
There's a gameplay video in the description of the game there, but keep in mind it's from PR3. I plan to make another video in PR6, and then PR9, then PR12, and so forth.
(For those wondering, PR* stands for Public Release * (* = a number))
PR6 DEVELOPMENT VERSION: Version 7.3.2 [PR6devel] [build 534-090410-2016]
PR6's beta is not open to the public at this time.
PR5 to PR6 (in development)
- Added a level system (Level, EXP Points; similar to Pokemon games).
- Level and EXP, along with total EXP is now in the stats menu.
- Fixed a bug where the M key was taking you back to the old main menu.
- Added a "release schedule" to the help menu.
- Forgot the sound for leveling up.
- Added a few things onto stats items already there.
- Improved the main menu a little bit.
- Changed the menu sounds.
- In-game stats area (below the void/red bar) has been dimmed.
- Added the new "mouse cursor".
- Changed all PR5's logos to PR6's.
PR6 Open Beta:
September 8th, 2010. September 27th, or 28th.
PR6-OB will be primarily for bugfixes, and general improvements only.
PR6 Release:
October 3rd, 2010.
PR3 [June 24th, 2010]:
http://www.mediafire.com/?hki1dcccqn8q30f [16.91MB]
PR4 [August 13th, 2010]:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1aijihpm8bbjf29 [14.95MB]
PR5 Open Beta [August 14th, 2010]:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cucq51zcg78jbg3 [20.79MB]
Lined Mouse Cursor test executable for PR6 [August 21st, 2010]:
http://www.mediafire.com/?risx126btv45drp [2.26MB]
