Beta Shoot 'm Up - Topdown multiplayer action! [JOIN CLOSED BETA NOW]

DukeSoft

Member
Shoot 'm Up
A top down shooter that I've been working on for waaaay too long, soon to be released on Steam!

Whats the game about?
- Fast paced top down shooter
- Online multiplayer action
- Bots / AI for offline action (or combining with the online part)
- Cooperative game modes (zombie survival)

The idea behind the game is that it should be relatively easy to play a quick game. No long tutorials, no unlocking stuff, just hop right in to the action.

Some of the key features that will be in the game:
- Clientless servers (dedicated server)
- Fully customizable weapon sets (explosives, dual wieldable weapons, snipers, semi-auto, full-auto etc.)
- Custom maps + a map editor
- Vehicles / killstreaks (airdrops, cars, motorcycles, air attacks, mortars etc. etc.)
- Different game modes (Free for all, Team deathmatch, Capture the flag, king of the hill, Rambo (where 1 player is very overpowered and the rest should take him down), Zombie survival mode

PLAY THE (CLOSED|OPEN) BETA
Right now I'm in the middle of preparing the closed beta test of the game - if you want to join, please join the Discord (here) and follow instructions there.

Same goes for the open beta, except for the closed beta you're not allowed to share content :)

Gameplay videos

 
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KurtBlissZ

Member
This looks great, I had to follow ya to see by chance if I can catch any of your streams live.

I also like to see you you're adding a map editor too. Can't wait to be able to play this and see further development.
 

RizbIT

Member
This seems interesting and lot of work going into it. il be checking out the livecoding thats something new to me.

I got some sprites (top down) maybe you can use them. Just search marketplace for "Frank Barnes"
 

DukeSoft

Member
This seems interesting and lot of work going into it. il be checking out the livecoding thats something new to me.

I got some sprites (top down) maybe you can use them. Just search marketplace for "Frank Barnes"
Hey, that might be interesting! I'm currently using the player sprite from OpenGameArt (google topdown sprite and you'll find it) but I haven't finished the arms yet (they are rectangles now) and the legs need to be added.

The important things are that they should be vector images (as i will be showing the player from up close), and that I need to "rig" them. I want to animate every bit automatically - you'll see why in a few coming vids.

Thanks for the positive vibe, I can't wait to get a gameplay trailer out. I think this might be coming in about 2 weeks.
 

RizbIT

Member
for rigging you prob need custom sprites made then or ones that already have the components. The little animations make the game more viewable and people do notice these things. so prob worth the effort.
 

Humayun

Member
Interesting game, can't wait for the alpha version and you got game website too!(I am going to bookmark website :)).
A question:
Alpha version will be multiplayer or offline?

Keep up the good work,Good Luck!
 

DukeSoft

Member
Interesting game, can't wait for the alpha version and you got game website too!(I am going to bookmark website :)).
A question:
Alpha version will be multiplayer or offline?

Keep up the good work,Good Luck!
Oh the main focus is multiplayer! The first public alpha will definately be multiplayer. The offline will probably consist out of mutliplayer gameplay, but with bots instead of people. Think of it as Counter Strike - there will be no real missions, just game modes to play (alone, coop online, or coop with bots, etc.)

Thanks for your attention - I hope I can do a public alpha release before 2017.
 

John Andrews

Living Enigma
Hey that looks good m8! Can I be a beta tester?

Edit 1: Well I already sent the thing so lol
 
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V

Virtual Mage

Guest
Looks amazing! :D Looks like you really poured all your heart into this!
Can't wait to test it out ^^
 

DukeSoft

Member
Looks amazing! :D Looks like you really poured all your heart into this!
Can't wait to test it out ^^
Nice to hear! Thanks :) Its all a bit quiet now, but I'm still working on it a lot. I've had some relatively unexpected clients whom I have to work a lot for, so not spending as much time as I want. But a beta test is coming close! Need to fix some small bugs, some map editor / loading / rendering improvements, and add another game mode. Then maybe I'll be able to put it on greenlight as well.
 
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Virtual Mage

Guest
Nice to hear! Thanks :) Its all a bit quiet now, but I'm still working on it a lot. I've had some relatively unexpected clients whom I have to work a lot for, so not spending as much time as I want. But a beta test is coming close! Need to fix some small bugs, some map editor / loading / rendering improvements, and add another game mode. Then maybe I'll be able to put it on greenlight as well.
If it's getting on greenlight I'll make sure to vote :D
This game really has big potential! :)
 

DukeSoft

Member
Here's a small preview of the Coop (or solo) Zombie Survival mode. Its going to be the most important game mode (together with a good old deathmatch) before I'm going to put this on greenlight (its going to be my first!). Bear in mind its a very early development version. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 
F

FROGANUS

Guest
Looks awesome. If you're going for realism I'd suggest turning the volume down a little bit for pickup and reload sounds; always keeping the shots loudest. (just something that often peeves me abt shooters in general :p )

Also for reference/ideas if you havent seen it, check out Warforce by Panlizak (also in this WIP thread). It's pretty well along in development, doing some similar stuff.
 
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FROGANUS

Guest
oh and I'll mention something similar here- me thoughts on top down tactical multiplayer shooters is, for full strategic effect, I feel like they would require a field-of-vision limiting mechanism like in Teleglitch. Otherwise its like the corner sweeping tension you find in a game like counterstrike is lost when you can see the guy thru the wall.
 

DukeSoft

Member
oh and I'll mention something similar here- me thoughts on top down tactical multiplayer shooters is, for full strategic effect, I feel like they would require a field-of-vision limiting mechanism like in Teleglitch. Otherwise its like the corner sweeping tension you find in a game like counterstrike is lost when you can see the guy thru the wall.
Thanks for your words Froganus :) I agree, the sound still needs a bit of tweaking indeed. And yeah, this field-of-view idea is _definately_ coming in. Its been on my list since the beginning. It will probably be an optional option in multiplayer matches, but its something that bothers me about TDS a lot as well. I'm going for a bit more realistic than the usual top-down shooter.
 

DukeSoft

Member
Hi everyone! This is the first "real" playtest of the co-op zombie survival mode.
Bear in mind that most graphics are "programmer art" and will be changed.
As you can see, some balancing changes will have to be made to make it a bit more playable (or I have to get better).


You can keep track of updates and information about this game on the following places as well as here:

https://www.facebook.com/play.shootmup
https://twitter.com/play_shootmup
http://gamejolt.com/games/shoot-m-up/209086
https://dukesoft.itch.io/shoot-m-up

Let me know what you think :)
 

Morendral

Member
Your game looks good, but i think you should fix the movement under the light. Instead of the shadows getting smaller the closer the player gets, they seem to stay long.
 

DukeSoft

Member
Yeah, I actually noticed that one as well. Its as if the light is the same height as the player (and that doesn't make sense). There's a few other bugs with the lighting I'd still like to fix, though. But, these are graphical thingies. Gameplay and the closed beta test are top priority for me ATM!
 

DukeSoft

Member
Allrighty... The closed beta test is nearing. We will start tomorrow around 12:00 GMT+1. If you haven't signed the form yet, you can send me a DM with your email adress and you'll get an invite. Once you're invited you can also invite your friends.

To the people already signed up: You will receive the real invitation tomorrow as well. You'll gain access to a page where you can download the game from, and you'll be able to invite your friends.

Working hard on fixing some bugs and upping performance! See you tomorrow?
 

DukeSoft

Member
Since there hasn't been much time (also due to my poor planning skills) there's not been much time to test. I've extended the closed beta with a week. Here's a changelog of today's updates:

- Custom crosshair size
- Custom crosshair colour
- Improved crosshair visibility
- Added lighting quality settings
- Fixed texture interpolation issues in settings + graphical glitches
- Texture size now also affects terrain rendering surface - lower quality, but probably higher speeds on low end PC's
- Fixed bots rockets flying around
- Fixed gore preference to actually work (can also be used as a performance switch)
- Fixed zombie round information overlap
- Added "public" button when hosting a server
- Pressing space to respawn no longer triggers while chatting
- Respawning is now triggered by "interact" or "pickup" button
- Fixed "Trying to use non-existing surface" happening sometimes
- Fixed some light engine errors appearing sometimes
- Menu effects no longer FPS sensitive
- Sniper scoping doesn't go outside of level anymore
- Fixed a lot of timing issues with server FPS's other than 60 (reloading, zombies, bots, shooting) - particles are still off on different FPS's but the particle system will be completely revised.
- Removed error message "map does not contain player spawns" when starting a server
 

DukeSoft

Member
And 0.2.5 is now also released!
  • Basic setup for dedicated servers - running the game without graphics for optimal performance on servers
  • Setup a dedicated server to run some deathmatch matches
  • Improved zombie pathfinding
  • Stability fixes for surfaces
  • Fixed error where server would receive "Server is a different protocol" mid-game and disconnect
  • Fixed erronous timers for clients joining in pre-game state
  • Added option to disable post screen shader
  • Added chromatic abbreviation as extra post screen effect
  • Tweaked explosion sound effects + screen effects
  • Empty weapon clicks, footsteps and some other sound effects are no longer playing when you have "temporary hearing damage"
  • Weapon switching sounds are less hard
  • Bullet case sounds are less loud
  • Added score for assists back in
  • Added information on how much damage you did to the one who killed you
  • Clearer deathscreen
 

DukeSoft

Member
Hooray! The game is approved on Steam :)

Here's the steam store page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/657170/Shoot_m_Up

Here's the trailer:

And here's the 0.3.0 changelog:

  • Fixed zombies no longer running around when on fire
  • Fixed some final zombie stuttering on low FPS hosts
  • Added "server quit" message if server stops the game
  • Fixed a small memory leak when loading maps
  • Added Capture the Flag game mode
  • Added team deathmatch
  • Added multi-team deathmatch
  • Fixed issues where bots would keep shooting at dead players (they saw ghosts lol)
  • Made bots aim a little less quick
  • Bot names no longer get drawn double
  • Changed main menu music
  • You can now add DM spawns, Zombie-player spawns, and team spawns
  • Updated map version + combined a lot of maps (because of the new spawns)EXISTING MAPS will no longer load. Please take them through the map editor first and edit where needed!
  • Automatically remove the zombie objective on non-zombie game modes
  • Made bots reload less often
  • Updated engine from 1.4 to 2.0 (This fixes a random crash with a lot of bots)
  • Added splash screen to show while loading game initially
  • Fixed linear interpolation being disabled when game starts
  • Added support for resolutions: 1366x768, 1600x900, 2560x1440, 3840x2160
  • Edited some scoring effects
 

Gamerev147

Member
Hooray! The game is approved on Steam :)

Here's the steam store page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/657170/Shoot_m_Up

Here's the trailer:

And here's the 0.3.0 changelog:

  • Fixed zombies no longer running around when on fire
  • Fixed some final zombie stuttering on low FPS hosts
  • Added "server quit" message if server stops the game
  • Fixed a small memory leak when loading maps
  • Added Capture the Flag game mode
  • Added team deathmatch
  • Added multi-team deathmatch
  • Fixed issues where bots would keep shooting at dead players (they saw ghosts lol)
  • Made bots aim a little less quick
  • Bot names no longer get drawn double
  • Changed main menu music
  • You can now add DM spawns, Zombie-player spawns, and team spawns
  • Updated map version + combined a lot of maps (because of the new spawns)EXISTING MAPS will no longer load. Please take them through the map editor first and edit where needed!
  • Automatically remove the zombie objective on non-zombie game modes
  • Made bots reload less often
  • Updated engine from 1.4 to 2.0 (This fixes a random crash with a lot of bots)
  • Added splash screen to show while loading game initially
  • Fixed linear interpolation being disabled when game starts
  • Added support for resolutions: 1366x768, 1600x900, 2560x1440, 3840x2160
  • Edited some scoring effects
Damn! That's an amazing trailer!! I love the game too! I'm also developing a top down shooter.
I'll be sure to vote for you on Greenlight!

If you have time, PM me. I need a few tips about making trailers ;)
 

DukeSoft

Member
Thanks a lot @Gamerev147 :) Always welcome to send me a PM man :) Also, I made the trailer for greenlight but greenlight's already closed. Its steam Direct now and the valve team has already accepted my game :) No need to greenlight vote for it anymore! (Just left it in the trailer because it was fitting with the music hehe)
 

John Andrews

Living Enigma
wowzie this is coolio man! I think I had already posted here before but anyway :) I like the looks of the game! And wow what a good trailer
 

DukeSoft

Member
DevLog #11 | Asset editor, performance improvements

Another little Dev Log to keep everyone updated. Very little information from my side, so lets set it straight in this post.


New asset editor
This one has been bugging me a lot. There was no way for people to add custom assets into the maps they made, and that was kind of annoying.
Making the people able to do so also means they have to define the shadow casting, the height, and the collision mask for the assets. On top of that there needs to be an efficient way of storing / loading the defined assets as well. Thats what I've been working on a lot lately - and its (kind of) done!
The new asset editor allows you to load in your own PNG's and prepare them for the game. Define the shadow casting properties, the colliders, and if you can shoot over / under them. Once you're done, you can save it, and then you can use it in the map editor. It will automatically include the used asset in the map - so sharing maps will remain simple.
This removed quite a bit of disk space from the game as *ALL* the assets are now gone - this also introduced some trouble.

Right now there are no more doors / lights / fires / environmental items in the maps. After I finish up the map sending bug, I will focus on returning the lighting and other assets within the map.


Particle improvements

Upgrading the blood / gore within the game did a lot for performance. Soon I will continue working on all the other particles and make those great again. Right now, they kind of suck.

Preparing for open beta
Few days are left, so I'm hurring. Stuff will be broken when the open beta lands. For sure. Stuff will be missing. But I'll be here and will keep pushing updates to everyone!

Changelog



    • Ability to edit / add custom assets
    • New map structure to allow custom texturing of maps
    • Map loading improvements (faster + more visual feedback)
    • Updated particles - faster & nicer!
    • Added "indoor" type to map editor (inside / outside affects lighting and visibility in map)
    • Fixed several small bugs / performance issues
v0.4.0

READ MORE: http://shootmup.com/development-log?id=4
 

DukeSoft

Member
DevLog #12 - And 1 more hour for the open beta!
http://shootmup.com/development-log?id=5

Open beta time
FINALLY!
The open beta is now available for the public. I hope all goes well and everyone has fun. Remember to check the FAQ page. I'd also love it if you join for a chat in our Discord channel, let me know what your experiences have been so far.

Map sharing
There used to be a "map sharing" logic in the game, where the server would send the map to the client, if the client doesn't have it. That was broken. Now its fixed again. Great for people with custom maps and their own servers!

Login / registering
Now, to be fair, I hate logins in games. You have Steam and everything, right? Well, kind of. I actually want to keep track of the users' stats on official servers + prepare the game for skins, unlockables, XP systems and contests. Hence the login. Its not required, so you can play as guest, but you can also register your own account via the game. Should not be too much of a hassle!

Custom skins
Especially for registered users: you can not select a skin in the preferences :) There are very few skins, and they don't look the best, but there's a solution coming for that shortly... Stay informed!

Changelog


>
  • Added map downloading / uploading back in (new system, much faster & reliable!)
  • Added possibility to register / login
  • Added possibility to select a custom skin (only for registered players)
  • Removed all existing assets to make place for custom assets
  • Map editor removes unused assets from map
  • Replaced some icons to make them nicer
  • Added "special" objects to map - you can now define zombie target + zombie shop as seperate objects
  • Increased custom asset loading speed by 80% (love these kind of fixes :3 )
  • Added lights into map editor (More additions such as moving lights / particles will be coming!)
  • Added sound emitters into map editor
  • Fixed performance issue with more than 5 lights
  • Fixed issue where kills could be counted as assist
  • Fixed issue where selected weapons of players were not visible when joining game
  • Clear chat and kill logs on new server join / new hosting
  • Clear kill logs at end of round / join
v0.5.0
 

Gamerev147

Member
Wow! I love the feel. I was only able to kill one person because no one is playing yet.
But it's solid and very fun! Good luck with its future! :)
 

DukeSoft

Member
Wow! I love the feel. I was only able to kill one person because no one is playing yet.
But it's solid and very fun! Good luck with its future! :)
Too bad you've had such a short run! If you want to you can hit us up in the Discord, there are usually people around that are in for a round or 2 :)
 

DukeSoft

Member
Here's changelog 0.5.1 and 0.5.2!

0.5.2 15-10-2017
  • Fixed FPS drop at end of zombie match
  • Fixed completely red zombie HP bar when under 100HP
  • Zombie matches now automatically restart at end of match
  • Added dedicated zombie survival server
0.5.1 14-10-2017
  • Fixed inifinite map download error on certain computers
  • Fixed error when joining capture the flag game
Download the game here: www.shootmup.com/open-beta
 

DukeSoft

Member
And changelog 0.5.3, along with a small stress test video

- Added headshot detection!
- Added simple hints for first time players to explain some controls
- Decreased screen effect when getting hit

 

DukeSoft

Member
DevLog #13: Major Updates o7

Its been long since the last DevLog! But as always, I've been busy. This new version brings us closer to the actual EA release on steam, which will be happening very soon. As the EA release will include the campaign mode, I've been spending a lot of time on that. Then there was the lobby UI that was bugging me a bit, and I've been improving the dedicated servers so that I can now host multiple servers at the same time, running different game modes. Hooray! Here's the full changelog:

  • In-game performance improvements for assets and custom sprite drawing
  • In-game performance improvements for particles
  • Added advanced environmental / ambiance system + audio
  • Worked on a Wiki page to document features of the map- and asset editor
  • New Lobby UI + ability to add bots in lobby
  • Added breakable lights to car
  • Added skidding to car
  • Added doors and in/out animations to car
  • Fixed lights showing through roofs
  • Fixed GUI in map editor
  • Fixed GUI in asset editor
  • Fixed wall placement in map editor (walls were invisible in new walls)
  • Fixed wall shape calculator in map editor
  • Redid hitmarker + headshot + kill sound effects
  • Added stat counting on official servers for logged in players
  • Clear chatlog and events on joining game
  • New chat colours
  • Send selected weapon when joining game + fixed bug where too many packets were sent to too many players
  • Fixed zombies not running around when they catch fire
  • Fixed small walls with nicer shadowmaps
  • Fixed shadowmaps on certain walls
  • Cleaned up some old rendering logic
  • New main menu structure
  • Added netcode to boot players
  • Added ADD/REMOVE bots from lobby
  • Fixed random "Protocol mismatch" error
  • Fixed error where # would appear as \# in chat
  • Removed some older compatibility code
  • Fixed some text not being removed from UI when zombie game mode restarts
  • Fixed main menu music timing + fade in
  • Fixed sounds continuing to play after leaving game
  • Fixed crash with broken "indoor" objects
  • Added unique ID to each temp folder of running instance to allow for multiple dedicated servers to run on 1 machine
  • Performance improvements for dedicated servers
  • Dedicated server will now wait for players automatically before starting a
  • match
  • Environmental changes are currently supported, but disabled
  • Added in-game debug console
  • Fixed performance bug with specific particles
  • Bundled 2 default maps with the game

Read more on: http://shootmup.com/development-log?id=6
 

DukeSoft

Member
DevLog 14!

- Added complete initial campaign
- Added flamethrower
- Added new zombie
- Added deployable setup
- Added barbed wire deployable
- Added lantern deployable
- Added indoor to hospital map
- Added random weather to all maps
- Added doors to car
- Added particle options
- Added realistic smoke to main menu
- Added more sounds to emitter tool
- Added properties in map editor
- Added more light functionality (both in editor and in-game)
- Added notification to teammates dying in zombie survival mode
- Improved in-game HUD
- Improved network validation to prevent issues
- Improved particles
- Improved lagging feet behind player model
- Improved shadow casting from players
- Improved zombie movement (more efficient & looks better)
- Improved light settings in mapeditor
- Improved muzzle flashes
- Improved audio emitter tool in map editor
- Improved debug window
- Improved car graphics
- Improved car physics
- Improved cutscene looks
- Improved balancing of zombie rounds
- Improved zombie survival mode to always be in the dusk + stormy weather
- Improved network performance for fire bits
- Improved pathfinding so that its smoother
- Improved sound levels
- Changed weapon / grenade drops to remain 10 times longer in zombie survival mode
- Fixed earrape when being shot by shotgun
- Fixed issue where hosting people were able to shoot on killed players
- Fixed dropped weapons & money not being shown to newly joined clients
- Fixed some particles misbehaving
- Fixed sound issues when a lot of barbed wire was deployed
- Fixed look of rooftops
- Fixed some graphic glitches with zombies
- Fixed bug where weapon would become invisible for other people if you swapped during reloading
- Fixed dropped weapons, money and grenades not being visible for newly joined players
- Fixed issue where grenade damage could be applied to killed players
- Fixed main menu music issue
- Optimized zombie bodies + made them look nicer

Also, I'm looking for people that want to help me test - in exchange you will receive a Steam key for the game :)
 
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