Sublevel Zero, a 6DoF Descent-like game

[MrFlibble]

I've just learned about a game called Sublevel Zero, which is presented as something in the style of the original Descent and Descent II. The game is available from Steam and GOG.com.

Of course I checked if a playable demo was available, and found out that apparently this game was originally created for Ludum Dare, and a pre-release free/trial version is available from here. I played the v3.0.2 a bit, and while it indeed contains all the core elements of Descent gameplay, for some reason it does not feel much like it.

The full version is more advanced, judging by videos, and features randomly procedurally generated levels, a crafting system, etc.

[Quadko]

Cool, I'd seen that one go by on GOG, but hadn't realized it was "solo play random Descent." Cooler when described that way.

Still deeply desiring a good fresh modern 6DOF controller, but apparently no joy yet. And with Star Citizen's recently advertised possible woes, who knows.


edit: fix pesky grammer bugs my brain won't let alone

[tienkhoanguyen]

I don't know how to do physics stuff however it looks cool.

I saw the partial video and great affects of enterring a 3D block world.

[MrFlibble]

I have played the trial version 3.0.2 a bit more. I think that my initial impression of the game not feeling like Descent comes from the fact that the ship somehow flies differently, perhaps due to a different implementation of physics. Anyway,once I got accustomed to it a bit more, the game is quite enjoyable. The levels are generated randomly each time you play, and their layout kinda reminded me of random dungeons in Daggerfall. There's a neat selection of weapons and enemy ships, and also there are random bonus upgrades that increase the player's stats (e.g. the RoF of a weapon, max ammo limit etc.).

I would say that at least the trial version is pretty close to the original Descent, even though of course it's not a carbon copy.

[Quadko]

Oh, very good news! I'm looking forward to giving it a try, but my stack tends to get larger by the handful and only occasionally gets an item knocked off. I'll happily share when I do - if I can remain exited about it through the weekend, hopefully will be soon!

As for physics, other than collisions, it's all F=MA calculations in 3 axis, or Speed = Mass of Item * Acceleration from User (appropriately scaled to current timeslice) in 3D. You can do it in 2D, too, just accelerating "the tank/rocketship" in X & Y when the user supplied "Acceleration" via joystick direction and and magnitude. You can also supply a constant Gravity acceleration toward "earth" - usually the bottom of the screen, if it's that kind of game. But if you follow up, you should probably start a new thread and not clutter this thread with programming details.

[MrFlibble]

I guess there's a difference in the speed section, because the controls are otherwise identical to those of Descent (basically I usually configure the game to exactly the same keys as the default selection in Sublevel Zero).

[MrFlibble]

Just found some interesting notes on the Ludum Dare version from the project leader:
https://gameoflyje.wordpress.com/2014/0 ... dare-game/