[Game] Lazarr! [2.0.0.beta.4]

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[Game] Lazarr! [2.0.0.beta.4]

by Wuzzy » Post

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Be a pirate, solve laser puzzles! This game is fully playable, but needs more levels and polish.
26 Mirrors (2.0.0.beta.2)
26 Mirrors (2.0.0.beta.2)
LZR_26_Mirrors.jpg (73.41 KiB) Viewed 400 times
Coconut Milk (2.0.0.beta.2)
Coconut Milk (2.0.0.beta.2)
LZR_Coconut_Milk.jpg (72.1 KiB) Viewed 400 times

This game is almost feature-complete. Heavy level development is ongoing!

Gameplay
You're a pirate in the search of treasure. Find all shiny gold blocks in treasure chests in 50 levels located in tropical islands, mysterious caves, ancient ocean ruins and other lost places. To break the lock, you must first solve a laser puzzle by sending lasers to all detectors. Mirrors, beam splitters and many other things will help you.

Planned features for version 2.0.0
Work on version 2.0.0 is ongoing. The game is currently in BETA STAGE. Feedback is very welcome.

The current version 2.0.0.beta.4 is a MASSIVE upgrade compared to 1.4.0, with a TON of new features. It’s still not the real deal, but I’m getting there.

For version 2.0.0, these new features are planned:
  • Even more levels
  • Review low-quality/frustrating/boring levels
  • Improve level sorting / organization
  • Better-looking pirate ship
  • Prevent nerdpoling (an exploit to circumvent some of the puzzles)
  • Polishing
Track the progress here

Background
Spoiler
Originally, this game was hastily made for the Minetest Game Jam 2021 in the final day of the competition that lasted 3 weeks. Ultimate procastination fail! :D Unsurprisingly, the rank wasn't great: 13 out of 25. I am surprised I managed to get to an actually playable game in just 1 day.
I wrote a post-mortem of the competition here.

The game has seen a ton of improvements since then and I’m more and more happy with how it turns out. This game is now VERY far removed from the original version, which looks like a joke compared to the latest version. My primary goal is to make enough levels to be happy.
Download
  • Version: 2.0.0.beta.4
  • Needs Minetest 5.10.0
  • Download: here
Other links Note about the version
This is a BETA VERSION. More features (especially levels) to come.

As long the version is below 2.0.0 (which is the case right now), I am unhappy with this game and don't consider it to be "truly" finished.

Features of the beta version
  • A warning that this is an incomplete version ;-)
  • 50 levels (16 tutorial levels + 34 "true" levels with mind-bending puzzles)
  • Loot 99 gold blocks in ships, beautiul islands, mysterious ocean ruins, ancient temples and caves
  • Goldie the Parrot follows you on your travels
  • Lasers in 7 mixable colors
  • Laser emitters, detectors, mirrors, beam splitters, crystals, skulls, hollow barrels, color mixers, bombs, and more
  • Take, place and rotate blocks to redirect lasers
  • Plan all your operations from your pirate ship and watch your gold collection grow
  • Full German translation, partial translations (>50%) in Spanish and French
  • Powerful level editor (see LEVEL_EDITOR.md)
  • Custom level pack support (see LEVEL_PACKS.md)
Attachments
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Last edited by Wuzzy on Tue Jan 28, 2025 18:03, edited 34 times in total.

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Changes compared to the game jam version

by Wuzzy » Post

Hello! I just released the first version of Lazarr!, after I first posted this game for the Minetest Game Jam 2021: Version 1.3.0. If you followed the Game Jam, you notice the game was very harshly criticized back then, and I basically agreed with everything because I basically just hastily put together this game on the final day … :D

In this post I am going to share what I have done in the past months to improve the game a bit. Because I was not happy the way the game turned out for the game jam (obviously), I wanted to improve on it, at least a little bit. Note this is not really one of my main projects so I'm not sure how much attention I will pay to it in future.

I have done a couple of things, here's a changelog of version 1.3.0 compared to version 1.2 (the game jam version):
  • The 10 original levels have been replaced completely (including the unsolvable level 9) (I still don't really like the new levels that much tho ...)
  • Levels have names now
  • Objective changed: The level ends now when you found all golden treasures (previously: level ended immediately if you activated all detectors)
  • Level selection screen
  • You start in the captain's room with a level selection book
  • Level start block added (player starts here)
  • All special laser blocks like mirror can now be either "fixed" (they can not be taken) or "takable" (they can be taken)
  • Level sizes other than 10×6×10 are now supported
  • Levels now support different level borders (other than wood)
  • VERY crude level editor (see README.md)
  • Changed sky color slightly
  • Removed pulverize command
  • Add a setting to make laser beams opaque
  • Add a setting and command to toggle ambience sounds
  • Add the missing menu images
  • New sound effects
  • Laser updates faster when the player did something
  • Simple effects/animations when all treasures were found
  • New GUI graphics
  • Mirrors now have proper meshes
  • New decorative blocks like ocean stone, palm, leaves, grass, dirt, etc.; other old blocks removed
  • Plants and cobwebs disappear when touched by laser
  • Barricade now burns down when touched by laser
  • New block: Crystal (redirects laser everywhere)
  • Experimental block: Skull (walkable if in contact with laser, passable if not) (not used in any level right now)
  • German translation
  • A lot of other small things (I am too lazy too list ...)
This is a lot of things, but I'm still not quite happy with the game. My main problem right now is the lack of high-quality levels. There are still only 14 levels.

I don't know if I want to touch this game in future again, it probably depends on level ideas. Sadly, I have a hard time with coming up with good levels right now. :-( Maybe I backed myself into a dead-end?
Maybe there is only so much you can do with basic mirrors; probably more game elements might help, but I don't think I actually exhausted the good ideas with basic mirrors so far. On the other hand, I don't really want to spend even more time coding this game and want to continue with other projects again, as this was just for a game competition anyway.

So, please don't set your hopes too high for this new version, but I still appreciate thoughts and comments. If you have ideas (e.g. for blocks or levels), I also like to hear it. Although I don't promise anything, I'm still interested to read what you think. :P


EDIT: Version 1.3.1 released, with a few typo fixes and the border of the Palm level changed

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.3.1]

by Wuzzy » Post

The official Git repository for Lazarr! was moved to <https://codeberg.org/Wuzzy/Lazarr>. Please don't use repo.or.cz anymore.

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.3.2]

by RonXTCdaBass » Post

Thanks for this really nice Game!!!

I like it very much.

Is it possible to include this into a running world as a bonus?

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Version 1.4.0 released!

by Wuzzy » Post

Version 1.4.0 released!

So for some reason I suddenly got SUPER motivated to pick up development on Lazarr! again. I decided it's time to make a release if only to showcase my work so far.

This is a BIG update, but the game still feels all over the place because it's not version 2.0.0 yet. The quality still leaves much to be desired, so please treat this game as if it were a demo.

The biggest update is the level editor. It is now actually in an usable state which makes it much easier to use. I mostly did this for myself because the old crappy level editor didn't motivate me to make new levels. But I guess it might help other people as well (readme). All of the level editor features are now in the inventory.

Special thanks goes to rudzik8 who has been helping behind the scenes with testing and adding graphics for a new skull block.

Version 1.4.0 changelog:
  • Major Overhaul of the level editor:
    • Grant privileges fly, fast, noclip and give in level editor
    • All editor actions can be done in the inventory
    • Can access all relevant items
    • Removed /editor_size command
    • Level resize no longer clears it
    • Highlight level corners
    • Prevent breaking blocks outside of level (can be overriden if you have the 'protection_bypass' privilege
    • Add welcome message
    • Play ambience
  • Can now play custom levels from the main ship
  • 5 new levels (mostly just examples to showcase new blocks)
  • skulls now have proper graphics and are no longer experimental. They become solid or non-solid when a laser goes through
  • New block: hollow barrel
  • New blocks: turned off lightboxes, mossy wood, mossy crate, iron grates, white cloth, black cloth, coconot, coconut tree trunk, coconut wood, palm wood
  • Lasers are now compatible with wooden frames, iron bars, open chests and slabs
  • Play sound when detector activates or deactivates
  • Fail level when player is stuck or falls out of the level
  • Level is checked for instant victory
  • Disable hotbar and inventory in main ship area
  • Highlight interactable blocks in main ship
  • Added information blocks in some levels to explain the game
  • Per-level skies
  • Per-level weather (drizzle, rain, storm)
  • Minor typo fixes
  • Fix player sometimes falling through the ship floor on game launch
  • Game no longer overwrites the global 'time_speed' setting (sorry for messing with your Minetest config! :-( )


PLEASE REMEMBER: Any version before version 2.0.0 is officially incomplete!

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Lazarr! development progress report

by Wuzzy » Post

I've been working hard on more and more exciting features for the upcoming Lazarr! version 2.0.0. Here are some of the biggest ones:

Laser colors
colors.jpg
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Lasers will come in multiple colors. There will the 3 primary colors red, green and blue, and 4 additional colors yellow, magenta, cyan and white which you can get when two colors are combined.

There are emitters and detectors for every color. Colored emitters only accept lasers in the correct color.

A new block will be the laser mixer. It takes one or two lasers as input and spits out a laser with the colors combined (graphics are subject to change).


Graphics options
There will be an in-game graphics options menu with extensive laser color customization options. All laser colors can be overridden. Additionally, patterns can be drawn on a per-color basis to better distinguish them.
This is basically the colorblindness support in the game.


Islands backdrop
Bildschirmfoto_2024-08-21_20-52-01.jpg
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I'm integrating the "islands" mod into the game to set the scene arround the levels. I don't think any other game has made extensive use of this mod so far.

Levels no longer have to be wooden cubes swimming in the ocean, they can also be on an island. This has no gameplay change whatsoever, but it will look nice.



Two types of fixed blocks

I'm reworking of what the screws mean on blocks.
Currently, blocks like mirrors or emitters may have screws which means the block cannot be picked up.
Sometimes, those blocks can still be rotated, but it always depends on the type.
Mirrors with screws can be rotated, but emitters with screws cannot be rotated.
This system is a little ambigious and unflexible, because it's not obvious when and when not a block can be rotated.
And mirrors that can neither be rotated nor picked up don't exist at all.

The change is to make this distinction between rotatable and non-rotatable explicit by introducing titanium screws:
screws.jpg
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  • Titanium screws: Can't be picked up or rotated
  • Iron screws: Can't be picked up, but CAN be rotated
  • No screws: Can be picked up and rotated
The titanium screws graphics may be subject to change. [EDIT (29/09/2024): Yes, I did it. I’ve changed the screw textures. Iron screws have become copper screws, and titanium screws have become iron screws.]

Double mirror
A new mirror that can deflect lasers on both sides. That's it.


Planned features
  • Level rework: I plan to build a sizable high-quality set of levels. Possibly I may replace most of the current levels (which are mostly just demo levels) once again. The levels are still the game's biggest weakness. High-quality levels are the bread and butter of every puzzle game. I plan to work on them once there's a rock-solid technical foundation
  • Goldie the Parrot: A character that will be the player's companion. It shall replace the information block
  • Trigger system: Currently, detectors are very simple: Activate them all and all chest locks break open. I noticed this doesn't really allow for very flexible level design. I'm planning for detectors to trigger blocks in a different way.
  • Music.
Last edited by Wuzzy on Sun Sep 29, 2024 14:04, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by ErrorNull » Post

wow looking awesome. this is coming along great and really like the unique gameplay concept. watching for that v2.0 release...

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by Wuzzy » Post

Thank you. :-)

I also start to think this game is actually starting to take shape and will become something real.

Also, I basically needed a break from Repixture. XD

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Lazarr! development progress report #2

by Wuzzy » Post

Here is a new development progress report on Lazarr!

Map generator updates

The islands map generator has been successfully integrated into the game.

Each level can now choose between one of four backdrops: Deep ocean (old), islands (new), underground (new) and sky (new). A backdrop is the environment around a level and is purely decorative.

To improve performance of the new map generator, I’ve used the new mapgen threading feature from Minetest 5.9.0. Now the mapgen runs in a separate thread which causes everything to load much smoother. The map generator is purely decorative anyway, so it needs to be very fast and lightweight.

Titanium screws complete

The titanium screws I wrote about in the previous development post are now complete. Mirrors, emitters, detectors, and other interactive blocks now each come in 3 variants: takable, rotatable and fixed.

Bomb
lzr_bomb.jpg
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The bomb is a new block that can be ignited when a laser touches the fuse. It will explode and destroy cracked stones next to it. Other blocks are immune to explosions.

Oh, and yes, stone can have cracks now.


Triggers
lzr_triggers.jpg
lzr_triggers.jpg (18.23 KiB) Viewed 6016 times
The biggest change in this post is a brand-new trigger system. This allows for much more interesting puzzles. Previously, all locked chests in the level always break their locks when you activate all emitters in the level at once. This behavior could not be changed. I thought this system wasn’t flexible enough and limits creativity quite a bit, so I changed how it works.

Under the new trigger system, blocks may be set in the level editor as receivers or senders. A sender can send a signal to one or multiple receivers, and a receiver may receive from one or multiple senders.

Detectors are senders that can send signals to receivers like emitters, light boxes (which turn on and off) and locked chests (which break their locks). Receivers may either react to signals immediately, or they may demand that multiple senders are active at once. There are other, more complex signal configurations but the player is supposed to find out. The technical details are documented in LEVEL_EDITOR.md.

To make the trigger relations a bit easier to remember, when you rightclick a block, you see a HUD overlay showing which block it sends to / receives from. This works in the regular game, too.

(Before you ask: Yes, the trigger system is able to detect infinite loops (blocks triggering each other infinitely). If this occurs, the receiver that's being infinitely triggered overheats and shuts down, thus breaking the loop.)

(And yes, old levels will still work.)

Dark Chest

The dark chest is an old block that existed for a long time, but it was just like the regular wooden chest with a different look. Now I’ve added new behavior. Normally, when a lock is broken, its broken forever. Not for the dark chest! This chest will regenerate its lock when it receives an OFF signal.

Sounds and decorations
lzr_newblocks.jpg
lzr_newblocks.jpg (27.13 KiB) Viewed 6016 times
I’m reworking the sound effects in this game (especially footsteps) because I’m sick of the low-quality footstep sound for wood, stone, sand, seabed and dirt. There will also be new sounds for skulls and cloth.

I’ve added a few new decorative blocks, mostly using textures from the PixelBOX texture pack or mods. There are new types of stone, tables, a forge, and a cauldron.

Levels

I’ve finally begun to build new levels again. Two levels are already complete (not yet public), but the game needs many, many more.

I think this game now has a good foundation to build levels for. All the big and complex feature I wanted to make are finished (the lastest being the trigger system). So I'm quite happy with the progress.

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by Wuzzy » Post

I've added the game to Codeberg Translate so it can be translated online:

https://translate.codeberg.org/projects/lazarr/

And only 1 day later, someone named "fireball" already contributed like 27% for a Russian translation. Thanks, kind stranger. =)

Today has begun the "Codeberg Translathon" (a hackathon but for translations, this weekend). I actually planned to be actively participating it today, but unfortunatey I had to postpone it to tomorrow. https://codeberg.org/Codeberg/translathon-2024

The game is still under heavy development but most of the core features are now complete.

Here's a quick list of updates to this game I made in the recent weeks:
  • A few more levels. A completely revised first level
  • Increased the height and eye height of the player so the view is placed above the laser
  • A simple in-game help in a bookshelf
  • The main ship is now completely walkable
  • The ship now holds every gold block you've collected
  • Message when you completed every core level
  • Screws have changed. Iron turned into copper and titanium turned into iron. I think copper makes more sense theme-wise
  • Old crate, old barrel: They break after a single punch
  • Many new level editor convenience features
  • The setting "draw patterns on lasers" now affect emitters and detectors as well, so those will have unique patterns drawn on them as well. This completes the planned colorblindness features for now (but there was no expert review so far)
  • A bunch of debug features to help me find bugs (goal: 0 bugs. Okay, let's be realistic. 0 known bugs. :D)
  • Added translations to Codeberg Tranlate
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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by Desour » Post

Ahoi! Tried it again. It's really nice now!
Some feedback:
  • It's (Edit: not) obvious to see if something is digable or not. This made me believe at first that the barrel and the mirror jail levels are impossible. Same for rotatable or not.
  • (It would be useful if one could see the english level names somewhere, to speak about them, and also level numbers.)
  • I don't like invisible barriers, they feel so solid. At the bomb level, you could move them farther away, and use `player:add_pos()` to push the player inside the level, this would make it softer (maybe play a wind sound when you push the player). For the ones on the railings of the ship, maybe use slabs, so the player can still stand there and look. It would also be cool, if there were just no barriers, and you could just go back to mainmenu by jumping off the ship.
  • To make the screwdriver even better, maybe disallow the push operation (leftclick) if you're pointing between two sides. (It often felt to me like it would not do what I want.)
  • Maybe add lasers that kill, and lasers that you can walk on. That would allow bigger levels with interesting parkour. Oh, and laser activated movestones. (Suggestion mostly inspired by this game: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/829407)
Last edited by Desour on Wed Oct 16, 2024 10:45, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by Wuzzy » Post

It's obvious to see if something is digable or not.
You probably meant it's not obvious?
Anyway, I'm planning a tutorial level that explains the screw mechanic because it's important. In general, the game will have more tutorial levels. The information blocks will also become Goldie the Parrot eventually, your trusty companion.
(It would be useful if one could see the english level names somewhere, to speak about them, and also level numbers.)
I don't like if the game does that by default but maybe I could add a setting. I don't show level numbers because the levels get shifted all the time right now, so you can't rely on them.
I don't like invisible barriers, they feel so solid. At the bomb level, you could move them farther away, and use `player:add_pos()` to push the player inside the level, this would make it softer (maybe play a wind sound when you push the player). For the ones on the railings of the ship, maybe use slabs, so the player can still stand there and look. It would also be cool, if there were just no barriers, and you could just go back to mainmenu by jumping off the ship.
Yeah, good point, invisible walls are not great. Although I don't like your specific solution, I could think of some better maybe.
To make the screwdriver even better, maybe disallow the push operation (leftclick) if you're pointing between two sides. (It often felt to me like it would not do what I want.)
I probably need to add a picture to explain how the hook chooses a side, that will clear things up. But I won't change the hook mechanic; it should always do something after a click unless a rotation is impossible.
Maybe add lasers that kill, and lasers that you can walk on. That would allow bigger levels with interesting parkour. Oh, and laser activated movestones. (Suggestion mostly inspired by this game: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/829407)
I had the walkable lasers idea too but I'm not sure about that how such lasers need to look. The game already has skulls, which is something similar.

Lasers will not become deadly ever. They're meant to be completely optical. Also, I don't want this game become too punishing. It is possible to die in the levels, but it's rare.

Not sure what you mean with movestones. Like in Mesecons? If yes, then I'm against that. I want the game to still have a strong focus on lasers. A few non-laser elements are OK, but the focus should clearly be stuff that is directly related to lasers. So I won't add just any random contraptions.

Anyway, I’m not planning new gameplay features for 2.0.0 right now. The highest priority right now is to build a sizable level collection.

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by Desour » Post

Wuzzy wrote:
Wed Oct 16, 2024 01:47
It's obvious to see if something is digable or not.
You probably meant it's not obvious?
Yes. How did that `not` escape?!
Wuzzy wrote:
Wed Oct 16, 2024 01:47
Maybe add lasers that kill, and lasers that you can walk on. That would allow bigger levels with interesting parkour. Oh, and laser activated movestones. (Suggestion mostly inspired by this game: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/829407)
I had the walkable lasers idea too but I'm not sure about that how such lasers need to look.
I'd say just make them wider.
(I.e. maybe a lens node where a purely optical laser goes in and a wide walkable laser goes out.)
Wuzzy wrote:
Wed Oct 16, 2024 01:47
Not sure what you mean with movestones. Like in Mesecons? If yes, then I'm against that. I want the game to still have a strong focus on lasers. A few non-laser elements are OK, but the focus should clearly be stuff that is directly related to lasers. So I won't add just any random contraptions.
I mean nodes that move in one direction and when it hits the wall, it moves the other direction. These nodes can also be made so that they only move if a laser detector is powered. (And you'd probably want some that are bigger than 1 node.)
The relation to lasers is that these nodes could block lasers by moving into the beam.
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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [1.4.0]

by Wuzzy » Post

I've just added a chat command /level_info that shows all important info about the identity of the current level: Name (player language, English), file name, level type (core/custom).
This should make it easier to report bugs or problems about a certain level.
I did not change the GUI because I don’t want to clutter it.

The file name can be used to uniquely identify the core (i.e. non-custom) levels.

Also, I finally included music to the game.

I have decided to not add walkable lasers and movestones to the game. At least for version 2.0.0. I have barely explored the possibilities with the current elements, so I first want to have a bunch of levels making use of these elements before moving on with new elements.

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Lazarr! development progress report #3

by Wuzzy » Post

The Lazarr! development progress report #3

Work on this game has continued in the past months, mostly behind the scenes.

I've implemented a solution system where I can record and replay level solutions. This is very bare-bones and doesn't record full player movement, only player actions like taking, placing, rotating, etc. This system is currently only for internal development use. I use it to verify if levels are still solvable to make sure an accidental change sneakily makes a level unplayable without me noticing.

I've improved the performance of burning barricades and exploding bombs. Performance became bad when many barricades burn or many bombs explode. But now you can literally fill the entire level with them and it still works smoothly, including particle effects and sounds. I'm really proud of my implementation. Unfortunately, my approach for the bombs cannot be transferred 1:1 to Repixture because Repixture explosions are more complex (and thus difficult to compute).

This is a barricade burning stress test:
Bildschirmfoto_2024-12-10_07-12-43.jpg
Bildschirmfoto_2024-12-10_07-12-43.jpg (71.67 KiB) Viewed 2584 times


As you may have noticed, Lazarr has a new text logo. You see it on the first post of this thread.

On the level front, it looks very good now. There are now 35 levels, but this includes tutorial and low-quality levels (to be removed (the low-qualitiy levels, not the tutorial lol)). The goal is 100. And I think I haven’t nearly exhausted the possibilities with the features this game has now.

And the latest update is that I moved to the PO file format for translations because it is just better. Using the previous TR format was hacky because Weblate doesn’t support TR so I had to convert from TR to PO and back to update translations, which became tedius. The new format unlocks a few nice features as well. In Weblate you now have exact file location numbers, some strings were annotated if they're not obvious (in my opinion) and finally, level names and level hints have been added as well. Keep in mind this game is still in flux (somewhat) before translating.

My feature TODO list for 2.0.0 has burned town to 8 entries. It's very close to being feature-complete so I can mostly concentrate on level work. Which is great! :-)

Some fun stats (as of 10/12/2024):
  • Total number of translatable strings: 838
  • Number of levels: 35
  • Repository size: 131 MiB
  • Number of commits: 2018
  • Number of mods: 53
  • Raw lines of code: 20833
  • Number of nodes: 1734 (includes many technical nodes to make the lasers work. 255 nodes are JUST for the lasers)
  • Number of music tracks: 16
  • Number of sound files (not music): 133
  • Number of texture files: 409
  • Number of known bugs: 0 (prove me wrong!)
  • Number of unknown bugs: unknown
Screenshot
Here’s a remake of an old classic level, 26 Mirrors, with activated light effects:
Bildschirmfoto_2024-12-10_06-27-34.jpg
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Wuzzy
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Level packs for Lazarr!

by Wuzzy » Post

After a major rework of the level system, I’m happy to tell you I've added support for custom level packs.
levelpack.jpg
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Level packs are mods that add a collection of custom levels to the game. Creating a level pack is quite technical because you have to create a mod (see LEVEL_PACKS.md), but it works. But using a level pack is easy, just activate the mod.

Level packs are played in order, they track their progress and can be translated, just like the core levels. The main difference is that gold blocks collected in level packs do not count towards your treasury.

Level packs will appear as user levels in the game. The levels that were created in the level editor still work, they now reside under "Single levels" as some kind of "fake" level pack. The game still does not track your progress in those levels and you always return to the ship after completing a single level. This is intentional.

I've also added the command /level_pack_stats to show all installed level packs.




Also, the information block has been replaced with Goldie the Parrot, your trusty companion:
goldie.jpg
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Wuzzy
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The Lazarr! development progress report #4

by Wuzzy » Post

The Lazarr! development progress report #4
lzr_secret_storage.jpg
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A lot has happened after the last post.

I am currently fully active on adding more and more levels. There is now a total of 48 levels. Still a lot of levels are planned. The tutorial levels are now complete. The early tutorial levels now show an on-screen help for the important controls. It works for touchscreen, too. (I hope.)

I've added more features to the "main menu ship". There are new bookshelves. There is a red bomb to reset the game. You can view the level pack stats from a bookshelf. I’ve added in-game help for the level editor.

I’ve also added a credits screen which is quite extensive. Because for this game, I use a lot of graphics and music and sounds from other people. Lazarr! is basically a patchwork of many people's work.

In the editor, I finally addressed a long-standing issue that when you moved the level to different world coordinates, it deleted all its contents without warning. This is now fixed. The level contents will be moved correctly.

I addressed one of Desour’s complaints: Outdoor levels always had a hard invisible barrier which felt annoying and unnatural. I reworked this. You can now walk outside of the boundaries of outdoor levels. If you walk up to 5 blocks away. If you walk further, you will teleport back to the ship in 5 seconds. You can't place or remove blocks out of bounds. I think this new mechanics makes the outdoor levels feel more natural.

Overall, Lazarr! is almost feature-complete. Basically only polishing remains at this point. But the devil lies in the detail, so it might be more work than it sounds. And levels. LOTS of levels. Building all those levels is a mammoth of a task, trust me! xD
And this is the most important part of the game. I predict it will still be a long time until I have enough levels to be happy.

That’s it for the report!

I’m starting to become really happy with how the game turns out so far.

Upcoming Release: 2.0.0-beta-1

I’m planning to make a new release very soon for the first beta version for 2.0.0. Not the final 2.0.0 yet because of the levels and polishing issues. But I’m now sitting on a huge pile of features that haven’t made it in an official release, and it’s time. It’s important to give something more accessible to download straight from ContentDB.

The 2.0.0-beta-1 release will be no earlier than 26 January 2025.

Upcoming Release: 2.0.0
Version 2.0.0 is the Big Release that I’ve been aiming for when I can finally call this game “finished”.

The 2.0.0 release will be no earlier than 30 March 2025.

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RELEASE DAY! Version 2.0.0.beta.2

by Wuzzy » Post

The first beta version is now available!

Image

I’m excited to announce the FIRST BETA VERSION for the planned version 2.0.0.
This version is now available on ContentDB for everyone to try.

Check out the ContentDB page for more screenshots

RELEASE: Version 2.0.0.beta.2

This version is not the real deal yet, but most of the features I wanted to add now have finally been added.

This is a MASSIVE update compared to version 1.4.0.

Overall, the game feels, more usable, more alive, more creative to me. I’ve worked hard on new levels, revised or deleted old ones. Most of the levels of the previous version are gone or have seen a remake. For the big release 2.0.0, I still want to build more levels because I think I still haven’t explored all possibilities yet.

The three biggest puzzle changes are the introduction of laser colors, a completely new trigger system and the introduction of copper screws.

Previously, puzzles were fairly limited: Put all red lasers into all detectors, and all chests go open at once. For ALL levels. There were no intermediate steps. It was not possible that a detector only opens a single chest, or triggers something else, like a lamp. This was a problem because basically the only possible puzzle was finding the correct mirror rotation or placement. You run out of ideas fast with that one.
And the meaning of screws was strange, too: You could rotate screwed mirrors but not screwed emitters and detectors. This weird inconsistency is now gone by adding copper screws. The new screw system neatly distinguishes between blocks you can’t touch at all, blocks you can only rotate, and blocks you can rotate and take.

I think it is these three changes that were really strategically important, there are now so much more possible level ideas.

A big graphical change is the inclusion of the "islands" mapgen by Termos. Many levels are now located in a nice islands environment. The era of strange wooden boxes is now over! :D

I believe level design is ultimately what will make or break this game, so getting this right is crucial. Having now 50 total levels, I’ve hit a big milestone.

There is now a full set of tutorial levels with Goldie the Parrot replacing the information block.


This update has so many new things, the changelog is very long:
  • A warning this game is still incomplete ;-)
  • Brand new levels (50 levels in total)
  • Early levels now explain the game better and show the controls
  • Removed many low-quality levels or did a remake of them
  • 7 laser colors and color mixing and colored detectors
  • Double mirrors
  • Bombs and cracked stone
  • Old crates and barrels
  • Dark chests have become onyx chests which may regenerate their lock
  • Many new decorative blocks
  • Copper screws (block can be rotated, but not taken)
  • Improved inventory screen
  • Improved graphics for mirrors, crystals and circular ocean stone
  • Completely revised trigger system allowing for more sophisticated puzzles (see level editor help)
  • Light blocks can be turned on and off
  • Alternative ways to leave the level: Exit door, walk away from level area
  • Many new chat commands
  • Reworked sound effects
  • 14 music tracks
  • Fully walkable pirate ship
  • New pirate ship features: Help books, credits, treasure stash, reset game progress, graphics settings
  • Your pirate ship now holds all your collected gold blocks (of the default levels)
  • In-game help
  • In-game credits
  • Goldie the Parrot (replaces info block)
  • Support for custom level packs (see LEVEL_PACKS.md)
  • Many levels now have an island environment (integrating the `islands` mod by Termos)
  • Improved logo and title screen
  • Increased player eye height
  • Chest lid is animated
  • Maximum level size is now 30×30×30
  • Improved performance of barricade burning
  • Translation format switched to Gettext PO
  • More tools for the level editor
  • Removed the full-size glass block
  • Removed the window boundary node for levels
  • Hidden developer tools: Developer Mode, Solutions test, some tools
  • Bugfixes
  • (probably a lot more that I forgot)
Plans for the big version 2.0.0
  • Even more levels
  • Review low-quality/frustrating/boring levels
  • Improve level sorting / organization
  • Better-looking pirate ship
  • Prevent nerdpoling (an exploit to circumvent some of the puzzles)
  • Polishing
  • Add 2 missing music tracks (they had to be cut due to ContentDB size constraints :-( )
Translators wanted!

Lazarr! is a multilingual game so I would love to include more translations. If you want to contribute, hop over to Codeberg Translate!

Special thanks
While this game was a lot of work for me, this game would not be what it is now without the graphical and audio media and artwork of countless artists from within and outside the community. This game is sort of a patchwork of my own programming and level work.

Check out the credits list here: CREDITS.md (or in-game)

Feedback wanted!
I worked very hard on this game to make sure this is actually becoming something worth playing, so I’d like to read feedback for this BETA version.

How hard/easy/exciting/boring were the levels? Did you like/hate/ignore Goldie the Parrot? Is there anything weird/confusing? What do you think about the environments? How (un-)intuitive is the gameplay now? What do you think about the pirate ship? Did you try the level editor? What else comes to mind?

If you write a review on ContentDB, please mention the version number (because it's still in beta). Or just wait until the big version 2.0.0 drops. :P

If you played this game before, remember this version is a HUGE change from what was there before.

EDIT: Version 2.0.0.beta.3 released! This includes the missing 2 music tracks that had to be cut from the game previously.

EDIT 2: Version 2.0.0.beta.4 released! This fixes a crash on startup that may or may not occur.

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Re: [Game] Lazarr! [2.0.0.beta.4]

by rstcxk » Post

Wuzzy wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2025 23:05
Feedback wanted!
I worked very hard on this game to make sure this is actually becoming something worth playing, so I’d like to read feedback for this BETA version.

How hard/easy/exciting/boring were the levels? Did you like/hate/ignore Goldie the Parrot? Is there anything weird/confusing? What do you think about the environments? How (un-)intuitive is the gameplay now? What do you think about the pirate ship? Did you try the level editor? What else comes to mind?

If you write a review on ContentDB, please mention the version number (because it's still in beta). Or just wait until the big version 2.0.0 drops. :P

If you played this game before, remember this version is a HUGE change from what was there before.

EDIT: Version 2.0.0.beta.3 released! This includes the missing 2 music tracks that had to be cut from the game previously.

EDIT 2: Version 2.0.0.beta.4 released! This fixes a crash on startup that may or may not occur.
I've played this game in its initial version and im happy to see that it actually got finished

Here are some of my thoughts:

1. I think the first 14 levels are too focused on introducing the mechanics and are way too trivial. The mechanics should be introduced as in real puzzles and have more puzzles in between
the new mechanics. I also think some of these early levels could be completely omitted: "my first laser", "mobile mirror", "more movable blocks". Basically there is too much tutorialing before the actual puzzles start

2. The skull levels were by far the best and most fun of the bunch. I think there should be much more of them. They break the usual formula of the levels, for example the part in "Funny Skulls at Night" with the yellow laser, where you have to rotate the mirrors in the correct order to pass. Too many levels can be summed up as "start at emitter and rotate the mirrors until you hit a fork in the road, do the same from the detector's side, and connect the two paths" and skulls seem to break this formula

3. There is a bunch of levels that aren't even puzzles but rather time chores: "wannabe spiral", "capitan hook's fishing spot", "temple sewers" (i haven't managed to beat this one). These levels are just about flipping mirrors and not very exciting. "27 mirrors" Does this mirror flipping puzzle much better because it's easy to block your own way to the detector, so its an actual puzzle

4. I don't like the levels that intentionally hide things from the player. "Treasure stash" perfectly illustrates this with the mirrors in the sky, or "coconut milk" level where all the mirrors have copper screw but one, so you try to find the "correct" path without realizing you lack a major piece of the puzzle

5. Walking feels way too slow for some levels. I wish i could run. I think "suspicious barrels" is the epitome of this, where you have to walk up and down all the time

6. I think some elements are under explored. Like the double sided mirrors that rarely actually use both of the sides (imagine a level where you need to use both side of the mirror or else you won't have enough mirrors to get to the detector), the cobwebs that are only used in one level (though i don't know how else you could make puzzles with cobwebs). A thing that could be used more often is crystals mixing colours and not activating detectors that need a specific colour, im thinking of the thing done in "return to lamp cross" level

7. Some levels feel way too cramped. For example "The kitchen" and "chaotic colors". I have to break my mirrors to get to the other side of the level and then replace them, rotate them. More time should be spent solving puzzles, not backtracking

8. Similarly to point 7 i sometimes need to place mirrors mid air and dont have any light boxes, so i have to take apart my mirrors just the same

9. With some of the bigger levels the pirate sense isn't very helpful. The red pointer disappears too fast and i don't know what it activates. Maybe they should stick around until the player punches/right clicks

10. With the bigger levels there is also an issue with 1 node tall tunnels for the lasers. They often go way of view and you don't know what they do. In the level "Palm fortress" i was shooting lasers to the tunnel into magenta detector way too many times because whenever i got stuck i thought "what if something changed and that tunnel is important now?" and ran up and down the stairs a lot, this issue compounds with point 5

11. This one is entirely my fault, but maybe the specifics of how the hook rotates could be better communicated. I understood how the rightclick rotation works pretty quickly, but the left click rotation felt totally random, so i just spam clicked it until the mirror was correctly rotated. As you'd imagine, this was extremely inefficient. The parrot dialog could explain it better than "[Punch] key on a mirror to push it towards the edge", but i don't know how many people actually read tutorials (you would be surprised at how bad people are at following written instructions), so maybe the hook animation thingy should run when you hover over a rotatable block, not just after rotating

I know i just said a lot of bad things about the game, its not because i hate it. I really like it (especially the last 10 levels) but still see how it could improve, just like it did from the early version. I tried my best to make my criticisms as constructive and actionable as possible

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