What prompted the decision for Adobe was the amazing new capabilities of HTML5 and the sweeping industry of Android development. Likewise, I have decided that it’s time for me to make my move as well. It’s time to develop Android applications!

What does this mean? I’ll have to start learning Java and ultimately purchase an Android phone. This is a huge investment, but I think it’ll serve me well in the future. What particularly attract me to this new step is the android and amazon app store. Rather than focusing on how to do business, the stores will worry about that and allow me to just put my effort on what I like to do most: program.

This transition will not come easy. I’ll have to learn a lot of the basics: from best practice to Android API calls. I’ve heard it’s difficult, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy the investment.

What does this mean? I’ll be posting a lot of my findings and my research. It’s my hope to update this blog in increments according to my research and allow you all to see my progress.

I’ve decided to release Flight Arena’s source as a donationware. There are no restrictions or limitations on this release.

If this release was helpful in anyway, consider donating. The source code has been compiled through Flash CS4. So you will need CS4 of higher (cs4, cs5, or cs5.5).

If you have any questions about the code or implementation feel free to ask me.

Hope this continues on the Cowon s9/J3 app/game community!

Here’s the link to the file: [DEV]flighArena

Santoki

As you may all know, I’ve been absent for several months. The first few months were due to a severe neck injury that prohibited me from any posture or activity that involved sitting.

It was then during July that I had fully recovered, but was studying for a exam (to which I did extremely well in). As September approached, I was contemplating whether or not I should continue this blog as there seemed to be less and less demand for applications. Nevertheless, I set a count of 20. If 20 or more people were to inquiry about my absence I would continue. Sure enough a few days ago, I felt inspired to get back on developing.

I still do not have a Cowon s9 – so developing “bug free” is not likely. I’ve recently become interested in developing for the Android and iOS, but because I do not own any of the two hosts I have not yet jumped into the band wagon. I’ve decided to change and shift focus of this blog as an open tutorial and personal request site. Tutorials will be made upon request and only upon my discretion. For instance, if there is a high demand in creating a mine-sweeper game, I will take time to make a minesweeper series. If there is a personal request for a game or app I will suspend the tutorials and privately create the application for the requester for a donation fee (this will help me in development cost). The donation fee can be anywhere from $0.99+ (you be the judge).

I have also recently purchased a kindle as it was a great aide for me while in bed. Amazon has recently announced a development platform in which I will be sure to participate in to develop for. Although my focus is on flash, as they begin to role out the SDK I will be adding kindle based applications.

Again, thank you all for patiently waiting. I know my absence was abrupt, but I assure you I am well now and ready for some challenges!

-Santoki

Today we are going to learn how to make the following game:

Note: the demo game above is NOT using the gsensor(for convenience), but the mouse. This tutorial will be using the gsensor.

This tutorial is buildup from a previous Gsensor tutorial. You can find it here.

Preparations

Go on ahead and download the advancedGsensorTutorial.zip from the previous tutorial and open the .fla.

Create a new layer and label it ship.

Next draw anything that looks like a ship… here’s what mine looks like.

Go on ahead and select it and make it into a Movie Clip by right clicking and pressing Convert to Symbol.

Make sure to label the name as hero, check Export for Actionscript, and give it an Identifier name of hero. Click OK.

Great! Now you can delete the hero currently on the Stage because it will be dynamically added on to the screen (Do not delete the hero in the library).

Let’s go on ahead and prepare for blasters!

Draw a simple bullet/blaster and like the hero, let’s make it into a Movie Clip by right clicking and pressing Convert to Symbol or the shortcut F8.

Make sure to label the name as bullet, check Export for Actionscript, and give it an Identifier name of bullet. Click OK.

Like the hero, you can delete the bullet currently on the Stage because it will be dynamically added on to the screen (Do not delete the bullet in the library).

Coding

Our goal for coding will be to replace the default image with the cool hero ship we made and allow it to shoot those bullets we made earlier.

Go ahead and press F9 to open up the actions panel. Assuming you have not touched the code, find line 31 and let’s add a container.

createEmptyMovieClip("container", 0);

This code allows us to store everything into a container MovieClip and control everything in a much more structured manner.

Next find line 36 which says:

var mc:Object = _root.attachMovie("ball", "hero", _root.getNextHighestDepth());

and modify it to say the following:

var mc:Object = _root.container.attachMovie("hero", "hero", _root.container.getNextHighestDepth());

If you’ve made the changes and test the movie out (or even play it on the cowon). You should be able to play with the ship with the gsensor.

Coding the bullet will now require a little more coding, but don’t worry we’ll go one step at a time.

Start on a new line on the bottom of the same Action layer, for me it was line 112.

Let’s begin by making a function for shooting a bullet:

function shoot_bullet(obj:Object) {
 bcnt++;
 var mc:Object = _root.container.attachMovie("bullet", "bullet"+bcnt, _root.container.getNextHighestDepth());
 //centers the mc to the middle of the object.
 mc._x = obj._x;
 mc._y = obj._y;
 mc.spd = 10;
 mc.onEnterFrame = function() {
 //movement applied to this mc
 this._y -= this.spd;
 //bounding restrictions.
 if (this._y<=0) {
 this.removeMovieClip();
 }
 };
}

The following code creates a bullet on the center of the designated object (in our program the hero) and will move to the top of the screen at a speed of 10 pixel per frame and will be removed from the game once it reaches the y coordinate of 0.

You will notice that I am using a variable called bcnt. What is that? Well it is a counter as for how many bullets have been fired off. So let’s define the variable bcnt where all the other variables are defined. In our example, it’s line 27 right under the declaring of the variable gCurRotation add:

var bcnt:Number = 0;

Now we are settled. All we need to do is have an action or an event that calls our newly defined function. Add the following action to the bottom of the code:

onMouseDown = function(){
 shoot_bullet(_root.container.hero);
}

The following code responds to every time the user presses the screen/Mouse is down, the shoot_bullet function will be called causing the hero to shoot a bullet.

Awesome! Well that completes the first installment of making a flight clone. Hope you enjoyed it.

You can download all the files here.

If you come across any trouble say it feel free to comment.

The game still needs some fine tuning and obstacles for our little furry hero, but since I felt the game was still very playable I am offering a beta release to you all. The game you will notice is in Korean. That’s because I wanted to motivate myself into the translation process. It’s been a very fun project translating texts from English to Korean and English to Russian. Hopefully when the game is complete the four languages will be functional.

In this current release you will notice the following:

• High score will be saved.
• Three different types of platforms
  • Normal: These are normal.
  • False: As the name implies, these platforms will break upon touching.
  • Move: These platforms will move side to side.
• Removed Settings and Achievements Page
  • Reason: Being developed – will be updated.

If you’re an advertiser and would like to purchase some ad space either on the game or this website, you may always email me.

I would like to also point out that the game Santoki took a lot of time to develop. These little games do not simply fall from the sky, it takes hours upon hours. If you so feel kind, I would greatly appreciate any sort of donations for Santoki (Please see the paypal button on the bottom of the post).

Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Santoki

Why a Santoki?

I was actually born in the year of the rabbit according to the Chinese Zodiac. So that is why I inherited my nickname “santoki” – imagine that. Plus, bunnies are cute.

What’s Santoki about?

Well in this game, you get to play as a santoki and you work yourself out jumping and hopping across platforms. The idea of the game is simple – the higher you go the more points you get. It becomes much more challenging as you peak higher and higher to the top of the mountain as you’ll have less platforms to come across and more obstacles arising.

The cool thing about this game is that you can control the santoki with your cowon gsensor making it challenging and very addictive.

Is the game in Korean?!

Actually, it’ll be available in multiple language supports. However, the screens you see are in Korean. I wanted to release this game in a multi-language platform setting. Hopefully, it’ll be available in English, German, Russian, and Korean.

Expect to see this game soon.

-Santoki

If you would like to just skip the tutorial and just download the file, you can get it here.

Otherwise, let’s get started.

1. Drawing our hero

If we are to move anything with our nifty Cowon G-Sensor, we’ll need a hero object – a ball. Let’s go on ahead and grab the Oval Tool (0) and draw a circle. Once you’ve made a circle select it and make it into a movie clip (F8) and name it “ball” and make sure to check Export for ActionScript and give it an Identifier name of “ball” and press OK (see picture below).

2. Coding our hero

believe it or not, we are 1/2 way there! Well, almost there. Now go on ahead and create a new layer, label it action and lock the layer (see image below).

Now the best part… the code. Press F9 and enter the following code in the “Actions” layer:

/* Variables */
// Always Initialized Variables
var setX:Number = 0;
var setY:Number = 0;
var setZ:Number = 0;

var preX:Number = 0;
var preY:Number = 0;
var preZ:Number = 0;
var DIR:Number = 0;

var curX:Number = 0;
var curY:Number = 0;
var curZ:Number = 0;
var gCurRotation:Number = -1;

//Callibrates the current position of the s9 as the "initial position"
SetXYZ();
stop();

//creates hero with .4 speed sensitivity;
create_hero(.4);
function create_hero(spd:Number) {
//creates a mc and links the mc labeled "ball" and names it hero.
var mc:Object = _root.attachMovie("ball", "hero", _root.getNextHighestDepth());
//centers the mc to the middle of the screen.
mc._x = Stage.width/2;
mc._y = Stage.height/2;
//sensor speed;
mc.sensor_spd = spd;
mc.onEnterFrame = function() {
//the code that allows movement based off of the xyz movement.
_root.ReadXYZ();

//movement applied to this mc
this._x = this._x+this.sensor_spd*_root.curX;
this._y = this._y+this.sensor_spd*_root.curY;

//bounding restrictions.
if (this._x>=480) {
this._x = 480;
}
if (this._x<=0) { this._x = 0; } if (this._y>=272) {
this._y = 270;
}
if (this._y<=0) { this._y = 0; } }; } // s9 Accellerometer function
function SetXYZ():Void { trace("set() working!");
setX = ext_fscommand2("GetEtcTASValueX");
setY = ext_fscommand2("GetEtcTASValueY");
setZ = ext_fscommand2("GetEtcTASValueZ");
if (setZ>0) {
DIR = 1;
} else {
DIR = -1;
}
preX = setX;
preY = setY;
preZ = setZ;
}
function ReadXYZ() {
curX = ext_fscommand2("GetEtcTASValueX");
curY = ext_fscommand2("GetEtcTASValueY");
curZ = ext_fscommand2("GetEtcTASValueZ");

curX = Calibration(curX, preX);
curY = Calibration(curY, preY);
curZ = Calibration(curZ, preZ);

preX = curX;
preY = curY;
preZ = curZ;
if (setZ>=0 && curZ>=0 || setZ<0 && curZ<0) {
curY = curY-setY;
} else if (curY<0) { curY = -512-curY-setY;
} else { curY = 512-curY-setY; }
curX = curX-setX;
curY = curY*DIR*_root.gCurRotation;
curX = curX*DIR*_root.gCurRotation;
}
function Calibration(cur:Number, pre:Number):Number {
if (Math.abs(cur, pre)>80) {
return (pre);
} else if (cur == 0) {
return (pre);
} else {
return (cur);
}
}

3. In Action!

If everything went correctly, the ball hero you created earlier should be spawned in the center, but unable to move. The hero is unable to move since it is moved based on the Gsensor movement of the Cowon. If an output prompt prints, “set() working!” Then it worked. Otherwise, you may have done something wrong.

The code has been commented where needed in describing everything where needed. If you feel the movement is too fast or too slow, you can change the initial speed by changing the variable on the hero:

“create_hero(.4);” // change the .4 to any number;

Again if you would like the source code you can download it here.

Depending on the feedback, I’ll try making this into a series – a break from me making games.

Changes made to the game:

• Added Energy Bar
  • To prevent aimless shooting, the energy bar penalizes the player for “wasting” shots.
  • If the energy bar is depleted, the user must wait until the recharge hits 1/2 way.
  • The energy bar automatically recovers overtime.
• Added Score
  • Killing Enemies will show a green score popup.
  • Located Top left of screen
• Added Pause Feature
  • Bullets, Ships, and the crosshair are all frozen by pressing on the screen.
• Added Plasma
  • A high tier weapon with fast speed and excellent damage, bust costly energy
• Added Auto Shoot
  • No longer do you have to tap the screen to shoot. By pressing the [keyboard UP/DOWN] you can auto attack
• Improved AI
  • AI upgraded
• Added End Game Animation
  • Gates close when both enemies defeated.

Check out the game:

22% has been donated so far for a Cowon s9!

Humble Beginnings

Flight has come a long ways since its first release for the iRiver clix and e10. This game wasn’t even fully developed as the CPU had a hard time calculating bullets and the hero was unable to do much. Nevertheless, the game inspired me to a new level of an “active” game and a passion for a smooth playable game – something a lot of flash Clix game lacked.

The First of its Kind

When 2souldesign.net released the v1.1b patch of Flight for the Cowon s9, it was quite a hit. The game began to fully utilize the power of the Cowon s9’s Gsensor for a fully action based game. It incorporated a lot of the nostalgic game elements from old console space games.

The game was unfortunately limited to a direction of moving forward into space with no element of evasion and “microing” your hero.

The Birth of a New Game

Because of Flight’s robust coding, I was able to take away the crucial elements of the game and create a totally different game that controlled a cross-hair in which the hero ship would always aim at – allowing full control of the ship and direction of its aim. This new engine I’ve been working on now enables a totally new way of wrecking havoc on enemy ships and maneuver to dodge harm.

So far I’m happy with the results, although I haven’t been able to test on the Cowon s9.

So why wait? Check this video out.

You’ll notice that the game has the following:

• A Minimap
• The Ship finally has a Hitpoint
• Enemies have more HP
• Hero has more degrees of freedom to move
• Hero can shoot missles
• Hero has unlimited blaster shots
• Hero can slow down time

More updates to come in the future.

The old design

The new design

You’ll notice immediately that there has been a number of changes to the site. Let’s take a look into some of the functions that have been added to this new design.

• Thumbnails
  • For each posts (Not yet fully changed)
• Recent Tweets
  • Now you can view my latest “tweets”
• Recent Comments
  • Just to keep you more informed
• Related Posts
  • Some posts may indirectly refer to another (Must be optimized)
• Popular Posts
  • You can now find out what’s been the most talked about
• Better Search Feedback
  • Searches for a title will now be highlited
• Featured Articles
  • Breaking posts or just announcements will now be pinned to the top.

Find a bug?

Please help me out, if you find something inconvenient, broken, or any other problem please don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll be updating this site internally regularly, so let me know if anything goes wrong!

Thanks again, and I hope the best with this new design.

Advertising

If you would like to advertise on the sidebar, I have available 125 x 125 pixel boxes on the sidebar. You may contact me via email to discuss about pricing and policies.