Minousoft Software » request

Rating system broken, new game screenshot, and three new songs

oakwhiz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:18:54 +0000

After trying to upgrade the rating system, I noticed that it broke the layout of the site and does not record some ratings correctly. The rating system has been taken offline until further notice. Sorry folks, but it looks like you have to comment on the articles if you want to tell us what you think of them.

I have been developing a new game, mostly to test some interesting game design ideas. The game revolves around the player being as stealthy as possible – one of the key elements is to leave no evidence that you were sneaking around corridors. (Screenshot after the jump!) Another element is the fact that you are unable to see what lies ahead if it is too far away to hear or see. If you do not have line-of-sight to an object, it becomes much less visible on the screen. This has the interesting side effect of enabling the game to completely ignore unneeded objects that are far away from the player. I’m currently trying to add a dynamic artificial intelligence system to the game – because of the complex network of rooms, doors, and hallways, it is difficult to get an AI to properly navigate the game. I’ve decided to go with a node-based approach rather than an A* algorithm approach, as nodes allow the AI to act more intelligent. Nodes are placed at every possible place the AI can walk, and the AI can only move to a node that it has direct line-of-sight to. This allows diagonal movement. The AI decides what its long-term movement goal is based on what it is doing, i.e. if the AI is supposed to be patrolling an area, it will select the nodes of the rooms it wants to go to, and use the nodes in between to go there. If the AI encounters evidence that the player is nearby, it will deviate from its instructions and try to go to the node closest to where it thinks the player is.

Lastly, three new remixes have been added to the Media Player by request:

Geisha Dreams (Ringtone)
Moonlight Sonata
Fullmetal Alchemist – Melissa

Enjoy, and make sure to follow us on Twitter!

Media Player Updated

oakwhiz — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:02:07 +0000

If you were around last year, you may have noticed a little-used video player box on the site. I’ve updated it, fixed it, and added some content. The Media Player is now available here. So far, I’ve added two songs to the player.

The first is a remix of Still Alive from the game Portal in an 8-bit style with stereo effects. The lead is a sawtooth and the bass is a square wave.

The second song is a request. I thought it was unusual, but it was interesting so I decided to do it anyway. It’s Fukai Mori by Do As Infinity in the same 8-bit style as my Still Alive remix. It was challenging to get the instruments to balance properly, as many bass tracks were playing at once, which was causing the digital filters to go into awful clipping bouts. I decided to mute some parts to keep the simultaneous note count down, which ended up working great.

To listen, simply open the Media Player. You can also send us a MIDI file and I’ll try to remix it. No guarantees, though, as music isn’t really my forté.

If you like our remixes, please consider donating. Every dollar counts. (Hosting isn’t free!)

Feature Requests

oakwhiz — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:17:35 +0000

Hello, everyone. I’ve decided that it’s a good time to ask the user community about feature requests. If there is something that you think we should have, let us know about it! Whether it is a feature, plugin, or even a whole new section, we want to know what you (the loyal fans) want to add to the site. Make a forum topic about your idea and we will discuss it with you. Or, if you would like to contact us directly, simply use the contact form.