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In this shoot-em-up, you control a dragon; you have 3 types of power-up: lightning, fire and wind. You can also combine different types of power up for different shots, that is, lightining + lightining. lightining + fire and so on.

For now, this game is still on a prototype stage.

Weapon combinations:

- Basic: Lightining, Fire, Wind
- Combinations:
-- Thunderbolt (lightining+lightining);
-- Hellfire (fire + fire);
-- Tempest (wind + wind);
-- Firebolt (lightining + fire);
-- Thunderstorm (lightining + wind);
-- Firestorm (lightining + wind).

Sega Master System controls:

-- Button 1: enables/disables powerups;
-- Button 2: fire;
-- D-pad: move the dragon around.

This game was originally made for the SHMUP JAM 1 - Dragons

- Github repo: https://github.com/haroldo-ok/dragon-blaster
- Itch.io page: https://haroldo-ok.itch.io/dragon-blaster

Routines that may be found in the source code:
- The metasprite/animation routines used in my other recent games;
- A routine that allows to make sprites follow a preset path on screen; those paths can be either be hand made, or be converted from the files generated by a spline editor (source code for the editor); the script in "tools/convert_splines.js" performs the conversion;
- It also includes a powerup system inspired by Gunstar Heroes.

dragon_blaster-1.png (7.48 KB)

Screenshot

dragon_blaster-0.3.sms.rom-only.zip (6.12 KB)

ROM for version 0.3

dragon-blaster-0.3-source.zip (47.47 KB)

Source code for version 0.3

It looks really good! I like the shooting styles and how they move.

haroldoop wrote

In this shoot-em-up, you control a dragon; you have 3 types of power-up: lightning, fire and wind. You can also combine different types of power up for different shots, that is, lightining + lightining. lightining + fire and so on.

For now, this game is still on a prototype stage.

Weapon combinations:

- Basic: Lightining, Fire, Wind
- Combinations:
-- Thunderbolt (lightining+lightining);
-- Hellfire (fire + fire);
-- Tempest (wind + wind);
-- Firebolt (lightining + fire);
-- Thunderstorm (lightining + wind);
-- Firestorm (lightining + wind).

Sega Master System controls:

-- Button 1: enables/disables powerups;
-- Button 2: fire;
-- D-pad: move the dragon around.

This game was originally made for the SHMUP JAM 1 - Dragons

- Github repo: https://github.com/haroldo-ok/dragon-blaster
- Itch.io page: https://haroldo-ok.itch.io/dragon-blaster

Routines that may be found in the source code:
- The metasprite/animation routines used in my other recent games;
- A routine that allows to make sprites follow a preset path on screen; those paths can be either be hand made, or be converted from the files generated by a spline editor (source code for the editor); the script in "tools/convert_splines.js" performs the conversion;
- It also includes a powerup system inspired by Gunstar Heroes.

Nice! =)

This game is promissing. Just add music and a better framerate for a step more.
Jogo promissor! Só adicionar uma trilha sonora e melhorar um pouco a velocidade e ficará jóia.

very cool! I like the concept and the graphic! Can I suggest adding some other dragon race?

Wow it looks like Christmas has come early again this year. Kind of reminds me a lot of Pigarus. Can't wait to give this a go.👍👍👍

Thanks to everyone for the interest. ;)

Version 0.4 is now available:

- Implemented a script to convert Tiled (TMX) maps into an usable binary format (no compression, yet);
- Modified the scrolling background to stream rows of tiles from the map.

dragon_blaster-0.4.png (6.86 KB)

Screenshot

dragon_blaster-0.4-2.png (6.29 KB)

Screenshot

dragon_blaster-0.4.sms.zip (6.97 KB)

The ROM for version 0.4

It looks good! Can you elaborate on how the Tiled script works?

hang-on wrote

It looks good! Can you elaborate on how the Tiled script works?

Thanks! It is pretty simple: it is a node.js script that uses the tmx-parser package to read the TMX file, checks if it is an orthogonal map with a width of 16, then picks the first available layer, converts the IDs of its tiles into a byte array, and dumps that into a binary file.

For now, it uses no compression, but I intend to implement some form of compression, as well as support for map objects, to represent attack waves.

Thanks for the pointers - I'm in your Github now! :)

Version 0.5 is now available.

Not much done, just some minor refactorings and map compression support (for now, just a line-based RLE).

dragon_blaster-0.5.sms.zip (7.13 KB)

The ROM for version 0.5

Do you have a rough idea of when this will be playable with collision detection?

haroldoop wrote

Version 0.5 is now available.

Not much done, just some minor refactorings and map compression support (for now, just a line-based RLE).

8BitBoy wrote

Do you have a rough idea of when this will be playable with collision detection?

haroldoop wrote

Version 0.5 is now available.

Not much done, just some minor refactorings and map compression support (for now, just a line-based RLE).

Right now, I intend re-use the libraries for a game that I'm making for a game jam that I am participating now; any enhancements made during that time (that will probably include collision) will probably be backported afterwards

Reminds me of Dragon Spirit,I really like the projectile patterns.

MightyMax wrote

Reminds me of Dragon Spirit,I really like the projectile patterns.

Yes, my thirst thought was to make something like Dragon Breed, but I doubted I could make the segmented body within the deadline; also, I originally wanted to make it scroll sideways, but that would mean I would have to fight more often against the 8 sprites per line limitation and, as a result, it ended up looking like Dragon Spirit. The powerup system came from the jam's limitation of just 3 upgrades; that inspired me to use a weapon combination system, like Gunstar Heroes.

Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich?

GiovanniFalco wrote

Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich?

I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea.

haroldoop wrote

I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea.

Very cool

haroldoop wrote

GiovanniFalco wrote

Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich?

I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea.

I knew you would like it! For some ideas or graphic design help, feel free to ask. It will be super cool!

GiovanniFalco wrote

haroldoop wrote

GiovanniFalco wrote

Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich?

I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea.

I knew you would like it! For some ideas or graphic design help, feel free to ask. It will be super cool!

Thanks! Let's see how the project goes. 👍

Version 0.6 is now available!

Now with:
- Shot versus enemy collision;
- Enemy versus player collision;
- Plenty of slowdown! 🤣

I have merged the collision code from my other game jam entry, and it seems to be working.

BTW: does anyone know of any SMS emulator that supports profiling? The game is in need of some optimization, but knowing which routines are contributing the most to the slowdown would definitely make the correction faster.

dragon_blaster-0.6.sms.zip (8.09 KB)

The ROM for version 0.6

dragon-blaster-0.6-source.zip (75.66 KB)

Source code for version 0.6

Emulicious has a nice profiler. Give it a symbol file and it works even better.

Maxim wrote

Emulicious has a nice profiler. Give it a symbol file and it works even better.

Many thanks, it works perfectly.

Emulicious profiler screenshot 2021-11-16 172255.png (54.1 KB)

Version 0.7 is now available!

This release has no new features, but does have a few performance enhancements:

- Vastly improved the speed of the enemy-versus-shot collision checking by using auxiliary data structures to quickly determine if there exist any shots on a given row/column;
- Slightly improved the actor movement and drawing code by adding a few extra variables to reduce the amount of indirections.

dragon_blaster-0.7.sms.zip (8.33 KB)

The ROM for version 0.7

dragon-blaster-0.7-source.zip (76.83 KB)

Source code for version 0.7

The dragon theme reminded me of this boss in Kenseiden, which is a bit of a mix between a dragon and hydra.

Also, Ive recently discovered this new sms game called flight of pigarus, also a shoot 'em up, which looks shockingly good. Should be a good reference.

Looking very nice so far.

How far off do you think we might be to a finished/playable game? Loving the work so far!!!!

haroldoop wrote

Version 0.7 is now available!

This release has no new features, but does have a few performance enhancements:

- Vastly improved the speed of the enemy-versus-shot collision checking by using auxiliary data structures to quickly determine if there exist any shots on a given row/column;
- Slightly improved the actor movement and drawing code by adding a few extra variables to reduce the amount of indirections.

8BitBoy wrote

How far off do you think we might be to a finished/playable game? Loving the work so far!!!!

haroldoop wrote

Version 0.7 is now available!

This release has no new features, but does have a few performance enhancements:

- Vastly improved the speed of the enemy-versus-shot collision checking by using auxiliary data structures to quickly determine if there exist any shots on a given row/column;
- Slightly improved the actor movement and drawing code by adding a few extra variables to reduce the amount of indirections.

Thanks for the appreciation!
I'm not entirely sure of how long it will take to finish it; supposing I manage to keep the focus long enough, it may be ready in a few months; there will probably be something playable somewhere in between.
Long term, I intend to turn it into a reusable engine.

Hello, again;

Version 0.8 is now available. It merged some of the improvements made for Winter Shooter:
- Now there's a score on screen;
- Added a countdown timer;
- Implemented a time over sequence.

dragon_blaster-0.8.sms.zip (8.81 KB)

The ROM for version 0.8

dragon-blaster-0.8-source.zip (79.61 KB)

Source code for version 0.8

Look forward to giving this a try Haroldo!!

haroldoop wrote

Hello, again;

Version 0.8 is now available. It merged some of the improvements made for Winter Shooter:
- Now there's a score on screen;
- Added a countdown timer;
- Implemented a time over sequence.

Author	Message
haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	[WIP] Dragon Blaster - A dragon themed shoot-em-up Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 10:45 am
	In this shoot-em-up, you control a dragon; you have 3 types of power-up: lightning, fire and wind. You can also combine different types of power up for different shots, that is, lightining + lightining. lightining + fire and so on. For now, this game is still on a prototype stage. Weapon combinations: - Basic: Lightining, Fire, Wind - Combinations: -- Thunderbolt (lightining+lightining); -- Hellfire (fire + fire); -- Tempest (wind + wind); -- Firebolt (lightining + fire); -- Thunderstorm (lightining + wind); -- Firestorm (lightining + wind). Sega Master System controls: -- Button 1: enables/disables powerups; -- Button 2: fire; -- D-pad: move the dragon around. This game was originally made for the SHMUP JAM 1 - Dragons - Github repo: https://github.com/haroldo-ok/dragon-blaster - Itch.io page: https://haroldo-ok.itch.io/dragon-blaster Routines that may be found in the source code: - The metasprite/animation routines used in my other recent games; - A routine that allows to make sprites follow a preset path on screen; those paths can be either be hand made, or be converted from the files generated by a spline editor (source code for the editor); the script in "tools/convert_splines.js" performs the conversion; - It also includes a powerup system inspired by Gunstar Heroes. dragon_blaster-1.png (7.48 KB) Screenshot dragon_blaster-0.3.sms.rom-only.zip (6.12 KB) ROM for version 0.3 dragon-blaster-0.3-source.zip (47.47 KB) Source code for version 0.3

Gordman Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 350 Location: Berlin, Germany	Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:43 pm
	It looks really good! I like the shooting styles and how they move.

EmuBoarding Joined: 06 Aug 2015 Posts: 130	Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:31 am
EmuBoarding Joined: 06 Aug 2015 Posts: 130	haroldoop wrote In this shoot-em-up, you control a dragon; you have 3 types of power-up: lightning, fire and wind. You can also combine different types of power up for different shots, that is, lightining + lightining. lightining + fire and so on. For now, this game is still on a prototype stage. Weapon combinations: - Basic: Lightining, Fire, Wind - Combinations: -- Thunderbolt (lightining+lightining); -- Hellfire (fire + fire); -- Tempest (wind + wind); -- Firebolt (lightining + fire); -- Thunderstorm (lightining + wind); -- Firestorm (lightining + wind). Sega Master System controls: -- Button 1: enables/disables powerups; -- Button 2: fire; -- D-pad: move the dragon around. This game was originally made for the SHMUP JAM 1 - Dragons - Github repo: https://github.com/haroldo-ok/dragon-blaster - Itch.io page: https://haroldo-ok.itch.io/dragon-blaster Routines that may be found in the source code: - The metasprite/animation routines used in my other recent games; - A routine that allows to make sprites follow a preset path on screen; those paths can be either be hand made, or be converted from the files generated by a spline editor (source code for the editor); the script in "tools/convert_splines.js" performs the conversion; - It also includes a powerup system inspired by Gunstar Heroes. Nice! =)

segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 149	Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:06 pm
segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 149	This game is promissing. Just add music and a better framerate for a step more. Jogo promissor! Só adicionar uma trilha sonora e melhorar um pouco a velocidade e ficará jóia.

GiovanniFalco Joined: 02 Mar 2021 Posts: 17 Location: Rome	Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:47 am
	very cool! I like the concept and the graphic! Can I suggest adding some other dragon race?

8BitBoy Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Posts: 127 Location: Lancashire UK	Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2021 5:28 am
	Wow it looks like Christmas has come early again this year. Kind of reminds me a lot of Pigarus. Can't wait to give this a go.👍👍👍

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Version 0.4 is now available. Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2021 10:20 pm
	Thanks to everyone for the interest. ;) Version 0.4 is now available: - Implemented a script to convert Tiled (TMX) maps into an usable binary format (no compression, yet); - Modified the scrolling background to stream rows of tiles from the map. dragon_blaster-0.4.png (6.86 KB) Screenshot dragon_blaster-0.4-2.png (6.29 KB) Screenshot dragon_blaster-0.4.sms.zip (6.97 KB) The ROM for version 0.4

hang-on Joined: 23 Mar 2013 Posts: 602 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark	Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:42 am
	It looks good! Can you elaborate on how the Tiled script works?

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 8:51 am
	hang-on wrote It looks good! Can you elaborate on how the Tiled script works? Thanks! It is pretty simple: it is a node.js script that uses the tmx-parser package to read the TMX file, checks if it is an orthogonal map with a width of 16, then picks the first available layer, converts the IDs of its tiles into a byte array, and dumps that into a binary file. For now, it uses no compression, but I intend to implement some form of compression, as well as support for map objects, to represent attack waves.

hang-on Joined: 23 Mar 2013 Posts: 602 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark	Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 11:42 am
	Thanks for the pointers - I'm in your Github now! :)

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2021 10:21 pm
	Version 0.5 is now available. Not much done, just some minor refactorings and map compression support (for now, just a line-based RLE). dragon_blaster-0.5.sms.zip (7.13 KB) The ROM for version 0.5

8BitBoy Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Posts: 127 Location: Lancashire UK	Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 1:10 pm
	Do you have a rough idea of when this will be playable with collision detection? haroldoop wrote Version 0.5 is now available. Not much done, just some minor refactorings and map compression support (for now, just a line-based RLE).

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 3:53 pm
	8BitBoy wrote Do you have a rough idea of when this will be playable with collision detection? haroldoop wrote Version 0.5 is now available. Not much done, just some minor refactorings and map compression support (for now, just a line-based RLE). Right now, I intend re-use the libraries for a game that I'm making for a game jam that I am participating now; any enhancements made during that time (that will probably include collision) will probably be backported afterwards

MightyMax Joined: 09 Nov 2021 Posts: 12	Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 3:48 pm
MightyMax Joined: 09 Nov 2021 Posts: 12	Reminds me of Dragon Spirit,I really like the projectile patterns.

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:14 pm
	MightyMax wrote Reminds me of Dragon Spirit,I really like the projectile patterns. Yes, my thirst thought was to make something like Dragon Breed, but I doubted I could make the segmented body within the deadline; also, I originally wanted to make it scroll sideways, but that would mean I would have to fight more often against the 8 sprites per line limitation and, as a result, it ended up looking like Dragon Spirit. The powerup system came from the jam's limitation of just 3 upgrades; that inspired me to use a weapon combination system, like Gunstar Heroes.

GiovanniFalco Joined: 02 Mar 2021 Posts: 17 Location: Rome	Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2021 4:33 pm
	Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich?

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2021 8:11 pm
	GiovanniFalco wrote Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich? I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea.

MightyMax Joined: 09 Nov 2021 Posts: 12	Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:49 am
MightyMax Joined: 09 Nov 2021 Posts: 12	haroldoop wrote I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea. Very cool

GiovanniFalco Joined: 02 Mar 2021 Posts: 17 Location: Rome	Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:17 am
	haroldoop wrote GiovanniFalco wrote Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich? I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea. I knew you would like it! For some ideas or graphic design help, feel free to ask. It will be super cool!

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:05 pm
	GiovanniFalco wrote haroldoop wrote GiovanniFalco wrote Hi, did you think at any boss? What do you think about a big dragon lich? I intend to create enemies and bosses based on various fantasy creatures; a dragon lich would be a great idea. I knew you would like it! For some ideas or graphic design help, feel free to ask. It will be super cool! Thanks! Let's see how the project goes. 👍

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Version 0.6 is now available. Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 12:06 am
	Version 0.6 is now available! Now with: - Shot versus enemy collision; - Enemy versus player collision; - Plenty of slowdown! 🤣 I have merged the collision code from my other game jam entry, and it seems to be working. BTW: does anyone know of any SMS emulator that supports profiling? The game is in need of some optimization, but knowing which routines are contributing the most to the slowdown would definitely make the correction faster. dragon_blaster-0.6.sms.zip (8.09 KB) The ROM for version 0.6 dragon-blaster-0.6-source.zip (75.66 KB) Source code for version 0.6

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14096 Location: London	Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:57 am
	Emulicious has a nice profiler. Give it a symbol file and it works even better.

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:25 pm
	Maxim wrote Emulicious has a nice profiler. Give it a symbol file and it works even better. Many thanks, it works perfectly. Emulicious profiler screenshot 2021-11-16 172255.png (54.1 KB)

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Version 0.7 is now available! Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:27 pm
	Version 0.7 is now available! This release has no new features, but does have a few performance enhancements: - Vastly improved the speed of the enemy-versus-shot collision checking by using auxiliary data structures to quickly determine if there exist any shots on a given row/column; - Slightly improved the actor movement and drawing code by adding a few extra variables to reduce the amount of indirections. dragon_blaster-0.7.sms.zip (8.33 KB) The ROM for version 0.7 dragon-blaster-0.7-source.zip (76.83 KB) Source code for version 0.7

rpgista Joined: 02 Nov 2021 Posts: 10	Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:23 am
rpgista Joined: 02 Nov 2021 Posts: 10	The dragon theme reminded me of this boss in Kenseiden, which is a bit of a mix between a dragon and hydra. Also, Ive recently discovered this new sms game called flight of pigarus, also a shoot 'em up, which looks shockingly good. Should be a good reference. Looking very nice so far.

8BitBoy Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Posts: 127 Location: Lancashire UK	Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 1:07 pm
	How far off do you think we might be to a finished/playable game? Loving the work so far!!!! haroldoop wrote Version 0.7 is now available! This release has no new features, but does have a few performance enhancements: - Vastly improved the speed of the enemy-versus-shot collision checking by using auxiliary data structures to quickly determine if there exist any shots on a given row/column; - Slightly improved the actor movement and drawing code by adding a few extra variables to reduce the amount of indirections.

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 1:46 pm
	8BitBoy wrote How far off do you think we might be to a finished/playable game? Loving the work so far!!!! haroldoop wrote Version 0.7 is now available! This release has no new features, but does have a few performance enhancements: - Vastly improved the speed of the enemy-versus-shot collision checking by using auxiliary data structures to quickly determine if there exist any shots on a given row/column; - Slightly improved the actor movement and drawing code by adding a few extra variables to reduce the amount of indirections. Thanks for the appreciation! I'm not entirely sure of how long it will take to finish it; supposing I manage to keep the focus long enough, it may be ready in a few months; there will probably be something playable somewhere in between. Long term, I intend to turn it into a reusable engine.

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 727 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Version 0.8 is now available! Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:52 pm
	Hello, again; Version 0.8 is now available. It merged some of the improvements made for Winter Shooter: - Now there's a score on screen; - Added a countdown timer; - Implemented a time over sequence. dragon_blaster-0.8.sms.zip (8.81 KB) The ROM for version 0.8 dragon-blaster-0.8-source.zip (79.61 KB) Source code for version 0.8

8BitBoy Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Posts: 127 Location: Lancashire UK	Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 12:04 pm
	Look forward to giving this a try Haroldo!! haroldoop wrote Hello, again; Version 0.8 is now available. It merged some of the improvements made for Winter Shooter: - Now there's a score on screen; - Added a countdown timer; - Implemented a time over sequence.

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