Scrapship was originally developed with QB64 but is now using QB64PE (Phoenix Edition).
The 2 versions are pretty similar but the PE version is the most current while the original QB64 is pretty much abandoned.
Sometime last year there was quite a shocking event in the QB64 community that you can read about here (and then scroll down to the bottom to the entry dated 2022-04-13).
Thanks for the link to the Game Jam, I'll sign up if it looks like I can squeeze it into my schedule. Regardless I'm looking forward to playing all the submissions at the end.
Damn I wasnt expecting the re-skin, that is so cool! And the boss is 2020! I was smiling the whole time hahaha. I liked the explosions when killing the enemy ships (or virus haha). Kind of miss the health meter though.
Man I missed playing this, I'll be waiting for the next demo!
Damn, I missed one version and A LOT has changed! The game looks fantastic! The new model for the boss is great and destroying enemy ships piece by piece is super satisfying. I also really like the laser beams and the strategic choice of destroying my own wings so I can get closer to the beam and shoot the enemy.
The only thing I noticed was the toggle fullscreen button wanst very responsive. I had to press it a few times befor it worked.
Hi Sebastian! Glad to hear you like the new look and direction of the game! Yeah, for some reason fullscreen is very finicky so I will improve that and/or add different screen resolutions later in development. Sounds like you have a computer to work with now, that's good! Thanks for the consistent support!
I temporarily removed the "Shield Fighter" but it will be re-added in later demos. I also remembered your comment about the green laser not seeming to do anything so I made sure it had some purpose and feedback this time around.
I've always sucked at arcade games, and here's the proof:
Nice to see the project progressing. Point counter immediately adds new goals; I couldn't quite grasp the point logic, but I assume it's still under construction. And as I previously proposed multiplayer mode: local multiplayer would do just fine. This could be a great co-op hassle with players shooting each other by accident while trying to survive.
Ideas for minor improvements: - Control scheme is mentioned only during startup screen. It should probably be visible from main menu also. - In game over screen, 'y' should restart the battle immediately without going through the main menu ('n' could take to menu). This would greatly enhance the trial-error flow. - I faced a bug, where ships no longer appeared, and the point counter just kept rolling until I quit the game (see the image above). - F (full screen) and C (weapon change) are pretty close each other. And clumsy as I am...
Great job! Looking forward to new versions. I try to find the time to play some more and give additional feedback.
Haha, yeah there was a bug with the score counter . . . and of course I found out about it after I already pushed the game out. The score used an Integer variable type and Qbasic can only use it up to a value of 32,767, so once it goes past that, it goes negative. So no worries, it's already fixed for the next demo.
I've been reading about the multiplayer possibilities with QBasic and it seems that at the very least I should be able to do a High Score board on a website or something. Not sure if I'll be able to expand beyond that, but I'll look into it.
All of your feedback I've added to my spreadsheet and some of the things you've mentioned I've already addressed.
Regarding the Y/N option at the end: So Scrapship is sorta rogue-like in that the player is only intended to have one life. If you die, that's it. So that's why it only loops back around on a Y input and quits on an N input. I should probably make it more clear that N quits the game.
This concept is not set in stone though -- I'm constantly adding and getting rid of features until I find a combination I like.
I've been playing the new demo for a while now and for some reason it feels a lot harder than last time. I had to play it a lot of times before I win it on normal mode, I think the boss should have less HP.
The new 3d model looks great, I love the light that turns on depending on the weapon you are using. I also like that the hud is the ship itself, that is really clever.
What I liked the most of this version was that the enemy can destroy your secondary weapons and you cant use them anymore, that gives the game a lot more depth. I really, really like this feature a lot. That being said, the secondary weapons feel more like abilities than weapons. Using the weapon that freezes enemies and then swaping to the main weapon felt a little weird.
The fullscreen was a life-saver for me and my laptop Im super greatfull that you added it. I cant seem to go back to windowed mode with G though (not that I wanted to, just testing it)
Another little thing is, on the settings menu, I dont get to press the "back" button, I just press the down arrow and it goes back instantly. Its not a big deal by any means.
Anyway, I will play the game some more, I really like how its turning out. Can't wait for the next one!
The battleship enemy definitely needs some work, because like you say and I'll admit, it can be really hard at times.
Glad you liked the new ship design! Eventually all of the enemy ships will be the same way where you can destroy them piece by piece.
The green laser will play a larger role in future demos when you need to destroy larger shields. Also, in addition to stopping enemies, it also prevents some of them from firing.
Awesome, that's great that fullscreen mode worked well on your laptop! G key to go back to windowed mode should still work. I noticed on my computer that I sometimes have to press it more than once if I try and do it from the menu screen.
The odd part with the "back" button is due to the programming language. Not much I can do about that one. But because it automatically takes you back it does save you a button press.
The destroying enemies piece by piece mechanic sounds so cool! I played the demo again and got more used to the secondary weapons, they are prety fun to use once you get the hang of it. I still can't win it on the hard difficulty, but I will keep trying.
"The green laser will play a larger role in future demos" 😱😱 Exciting!
Very comfortable and pleasing to both eyes and ears; almost soothing experience, peculiar for a space shooter. Movement speed is pretty much there, which is usually a problem in games like this. To me, vertical aspect ratio brings a nice, old-school arcade feeling. Extra bonus for being the first game I've seen to have separate settings for sound and audio :)
Suggestions: - I'm so used to WASD-controls, that it would be nice to have them supported in addition to arrow keys. - In game over -screen, I'd expect "no" to bring me back to main menu and "yes" to restart immediately. Also, menu could save my previous selections (now they are always reset to "arcade" and "normal"). - I couldn't find any difference between story and arcade mode.
And tips: - Add an enemy ship that blows into smaller pieces in Asteroids-style. - This one is screaming for multiplayer mode (cooperative or against each other). - Point counter would be nice incentive for continuous retries.
Thumbs up for this game! I played it a bit now and it looks really unique and like a collage in middle school xD but some objects are poorly cuttet out and the outline of the indicators where the ships coming from is disapering like 3 seconds after the object iself. But still nice and unique game! :D
You're probably referring to the damaged versions of the spaceships and the warning indicators. Those are both things I need to work on. Thanks for the feedback!
Hey. I played your game. I think that the game is very friendly and balanced. It would be nice to have a fullscreen feature. It would also be a much bigger experience if the ship would be able to turn 360 degrees and explore the world. Anyway, it is very engaging even now. I recorded a video about your game. If you want me to delete it, let me know.
First of all I love the new title's 3d model, it looks great. I think the main menu music is also new? I really, really like it! I couldn't tell the difference between story mode and arcade to be honest, but the difficulty levels felt great. I'm still unable to beat the hard difficulty but I WILL god dammit! The only thing about the main menu I found rather weird is the lack of a 'start' button. I know I have to press enter while choosing the game mode, but when I'm selecting the difficulty I also try to start the game with enter by intuition, I think a start button would solve that: you choose the game mode, then the difficulty and then you hit start. The game tips are also a nice addition.
About the gameplay itself. You added new voice acting lines? I love them, they sound great. I also really like the new repair and slow time power-ups, but that makes the weapon upgrades less common and I kind of miss the old weapon upgrade system. The life hub next to the ship turned out great and now I can't imagine not having it. The fact that the boss can escape now makes it a little too difficult, especially on hard mode in my opinion.
I don't know what you did, but the game feels a lot faster and responsive. The only way i can describe it would be "PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW KAPOOOW" if you know what I mean. I really like all the pew-pews!
Anyway, GREAT progress as always and I'll be waiting eagerly for the next update.
Hit boxes have always been one of the most complicated aspects of top-down shooters. In some, the whole square-shaped image is the "hit box" and in some just a single pixel in the middle is the "hit box".
Scrapship uses both of these concepts, but ultimately I'd like to add "pixel perfect" hit detection, for the reason you just stated.
Although the entire player sprite can take damage, it's the very center of the player sprite that you want to protect at all costs.
Sounds like you found the bug where the game stops spawning enemies. If that happens you can press "3" to trigger the Battleship boss. After you defeat it, the Stat Screen will display.
Mechanics are well made. Enemy designs are good and gameplay feels great. Also this game is made without a game engine so i appreciate that. I think you can make the gameplay faster also you should upgrade art. Other than that game is pretty good. well done.
Not sure if "faster" is the right word, but I am working on introducing waves of enemies and improving the overall flow of the gameplay. A few graphical updates are planned for future versions as well.
Thanks for playing, I really appreciate it! (let me know if you have a game you'd like reviewed).
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Hello, I discovered another edition of QB64(??!!) and was very surprised. Strange. Perhaps the user community of QB64 was also split into two groups.
I am quite curious. Is Scrapship being developed with QB64 or QB64 Phoenix Edition? Anyway, the development of Scrapship looks awesome!
I put the links of both editions of QB64 on the following webpage. I hope that people can select the most suitable edition for their uses.
https://itch.io/jam/jam-for-all-basic-dialects-4
Hi rcbasicfans!
Scrapship was originally developed with QB64 but is now using QB64PE (Phoenix Edition).
The 2 versions are pretty similar but the PE version is the most current while the original QB64 is pretty much abandoned.
Sometime last year there was quite a shocking event in the QB64 community that you can read about here (and then scroll down to the bottom to the entry dated 2022-04-13).
Thanks for the link to the Game Jam, I'll sign up if it looks like I can squeeze it into my schedule. Regardless I'm looking forward to playing all the submissions at the end.
Thanks for letting me know the story of QB64PE!!
"Thanks for the link to the Game Jam, I'll sign up if it looks like I can squeeze it into my schedule."<----Good. We are waiting for your entry.
"Regardless I'm looking forward to playing all the submissions at the end."<----Welcome.
Hello!!!
The voting period of the 4th BASIC Jam began yesterday. You are very welcome to rate the entries. thanks first.
https://itch.io/jam/jam-for-all-basic-dialects-4/entries
In fact, your comments on entries are always valuable. Sure!
I played your game a little and i liked it Very nice game! cool gamedesign and the random forces
i liked you could change weapon at the start. i will probly check it out again
Thanks for trying it out! I'm working on a new version at the moment which will be (hopefully) better in a lot of ways.
Damn I wasnt expecting the re-skin, that is so cool! And the boss is 2020! I was smiling the whole time hahaha. I liked the explosions when killing the enemy ships (or virus haha). Kind of miss the health meter though.
Man I missed playing this, I'll be waiting for the next demo!
Damn, I missed one version and A LOT has changed! The game looks fantastic! The new model for the boss is great and destroying enemy ships piece by piece is super satisfying. I also really like the laser beams and the strategic choice of destroying my own wings so I can get closer to the beam and shoot the enemy.
The only thing I noticed was the toggle fullscreen button wanst very responsive. I had to press it a few times befor it worked.
Really awesome progress, congratulations man!
Hi Sebastian! Glad to hear you like the new look and direction of the game! Yeah, for some reason fullscreen is very finicky so I will improve that and/or add different screen resolutions later in development. Sounds like you have a computer to work with now, that's good! Thanks for the consistent support!
Played the new version!
The planet down the bottom looked way better.
I also loved the 3d effect, the whole game looked quite nice in general!
Did you take out the shield breaker item?
Thanks! Glad you like the new look!
I temporarily removed the "Shield Fighter" but it will be re-added in later demos. I also remembered your comment about the green laser not seeming to do anything so I made sure it had some purpose and feedback this time around.
Thanks for your consistent support!
This is getting better!
Great! That's what I'm aiming for!
I try it :)
Thanks! A new demo is coming out before the end of the month.
Very good game ,
Thanks for playing!
I've always sucked at arcade games, and here's the proof:
Nice to see the project progressing. Point counter immediately adds new goals; I couldn't quite grasp the point logic, but I assume it's still under construction. And as I previously proposed multiplayer mode: local multiplayer would do just fine. This could be a great co-op hassle with players shooting each other by accident while trying to survive.
Ideas for minor improvements:
- Control scheme is mentioned only during startup screen. It should probably be visible from main menu also.
- In game over screen, 'y' should restart the battle immediately without going through the main menu ('n' could take to menu). This would greatly enhance the trial-error flow.
- I faced a bug, where ships no longer appeared, and the point counter just kept rolling until I quit the game (see the image above).
- F (full screen) and C (weapon change) are pretty close each other. And clumsy as I am...
Great job! Looking forward to new versions. I try to find the time to play some more and give additional feedback.
Haha, yeah there was a bug with the score counter . . . and of course I found out about it after I already pushed the game out. The score used an Integer variable type and Qbasic can only use it up to a value of 32,767, so once it goes past that, it goes negative. So no worries, it's already fixed for the next demo.
I've been reading about the multiplayer possibilities with QBasic and it seems that at the very least I should be able to do a High Score board on a website or something. Not sure if I'll be able to expand beyond that, but I'll look into it.
All of your feedback I've added to my spreadsheet and some of the things you've mentioned I've already addressed.
Regarding the Y/N option at the end: So Scrapship is sorta rogue-like in that the player is only intended to have one life. If you die, that's it. So that's why it only loops back around on a Y input and quits on an N input. I should probably make it more clear that N quits the game.
This concept is not set in stone though -- I'm constantly adding and getting rid of features until I find a combination I like.
I should have a new demo by the end of the month.
Thanks again for the excellent feedback!
I've been playing the new demo for a while now and for some reason it feels a lot harder than last time. I had to play it a lot of times before I win it on normal mode, I think the boss should have less HP.
The new 3d model looks great, I love the light that turns on depending on the weapon you are using. I also like that the hud is the ship itself, that is really clever.
What I liked the most of this version was that the enemy can destroy your secondary weapons and you cant use them anymore, that gives the game a lot more depth. I really, really like this feature a lot. That being said, the secondary weapons feel more like abilities than weapons. Using the weapon that freezes enemies and then swaping to the main weapon felt a little weird.
The fullscreen was a life-saver for me and my laptop Im super greatfull that you added it. I cant seem to go back to windowed mode with G though (not that I wanted to, just testing it)
Another little thing is, on the settings menu, I dont get to press the "back" button, I just press the down arrow and it goes back instantly. Its not a big deal by any means.
Anyway, I will play the game some more, I really like how its turning out. Can't wait for the next one!
The battleship enemy definitely needs some work, because like you say and I'll admit, it can be really hard at times.
Glad you liked the new ship design! Eventually all of the enemy ships will be the same way where you can destroy them piece by piece.
The green laser will play a larger role in future demos when you need to destroy larger shields. Also, in addition to stopping enemies, it also prevents some of them from firing.
Awesome, that's great that fullscreen mode worked well on your laptop! G key to go back to windowed mode should still work. I noticed on my computer that I sometimes have to press it more than once if I try and do it from the menu screen.
The odd part with the "back" button is due to the programming language. Not much I can do about that one. But because it automatically takes you back it does save you a button press.
Thanks again for the great feedback!
The destroying enemies piece by piece mechanic sounds so cool! I played the demo again and got more used to the secondary weapons, they are prety fun to use once you get the hang of it. I still can't win it on the hard difficulty, but I will keep trying.
"The green laser will play a larger role in future demos" 😱😱 Exciting!
Very comfortable and pleasing to both eyes and ears; almost soothing experience, peculiar for a space shooter. Movement speed is pretty much there, which is usually a problem in games like this. To me, vertical aspect ratio brings a nice, old-school arcade feeling. Extra bonus for being the first game I've seen to have separate settings for sound and audio :)
Suggestions:
- I'm so used to WASD-controls, that it would be nice to have them supported in addition to arrow keys.
- In game over -screen, I'd expect "no" to bring me back to main menu and "yes" to restart immediately. Also, menu could save my previous selections (now they are always reset to "arcade" and "normal").
- I couldn't find any difference between story and arcade mode.
And tips:
- Add an enemy ship that blows into smaller pieces in Asteroids-style.
- This one is screaming for multiplayer mode (cooperative or against each other).
- Point counter would be nice incentive for continuous retries.
Looking forward to see the next version!
Thanks for the excellent feedback!
You're absolutely right that there should be WASD controls. At the moment none of those keys are mapped to anything.
Saving settings is also on my to-do list.
Story mode is just a placeholder for now, but there will be one in the final version.
At the moment, I'm working on making it so that all ships can break apart into smaller pieces.
Multiplayer would be cool . . . but not sure how that would work because the game is programmed in Qbasic which existed long before the internet.
A score system is also in the works.
Thanks again for the great feedback, if you have a new game of yours you'd like play-tested just let me know!
Thanks to your feedback, I've made the following fixes in the latest demo:
- Added WASD controls
- Removed the "story mode" label
- Added a simple scoring system
Show post...
Thumbs up for this game! I played it a bit now and it looks really unique and like a collage in middle school xD but some objects are poorly cuttet out and the outline of the indicators where the ships coming from is disapering like 3 seconds after the object iself. But still nice and unique game! :D
You're probably referring to the damaged versions of the spaceships and the warning indicators. Those are both things I need to work on. Thanks for the feedback!
Hey. I played your game. I think that the game is very friendly and balanced. It would be nice to have a fullscreen feature. It would also be a much bigger experience if the ship would be able to turn 360 degrees and explore the world. Anyway, it is very engaging even now. I recorded a video about your game. If you want me to delete it, let me know.
Awesome, glad you liked it and thanks again for making a video of it!
I'll check into fullscreen mode and see what I can come up with because I can see how that would affect making gameplay videos.
I've thought about making a 360 degree space game. It definitely would be a good style choice for more exploration-based gameplay.
Thank you. I enjoyed playing it. I hope to see the released version.
Thanks again for making a video of my game! I took your advice and added Full screen mode to the newest demo. It can be activated by pressing F.
Nice. I will check it out. :D
Ok I just played the game.
First of all I love the new title's 3d model, it looks great. I think the main menu music is also new? I really, really like it! I couldn't tell the difference between story mode and arcade to be honest, but the difficulty levels felt great. I'm still unable to beat the hard difficulty but I WILL god dammit! The only thing about the main menu I found rather weird is the lack of a 'start' button. I know I have to press enter while choosing the game mode, but when I'm selecting the difficulty I also try to start the game with enter by intuition, I think a start button would solve that: you choose the game mode, then the difficulty and then you hit start. The game tips are also a nice addition.
About the gameplay itself. You added new voice acting lines? I love them, they sound great. I also really like the new repair and slow time power-ups, but that makes the weapon upgrades less common and I kind of miss the old weapon upgrade system. The life hub next to the ship turned out great and now I can't imagine not having it. The fact that the boss can escape now makes it a little too difficult, especially on hard mode in my opinion.
I don't know what you did, but the game feels a lot faster and responsive. The only way i can describe it would be "PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW KAPOOOW" if you know what I mean. I really like all the pew-pews!
Anyway, GREAT progress as always and I'll be waiting eagerly for the next update.
I took your advice and now you can start playing the game by pressing Enter after selecting Difficulty. :)
New scrapship demooo! I'm downloading it right now, I will play it later and give you my thoughs as always! (the game page looks amazing btw)
Thanks for noticing the game page! Sometimes I get lazy, but this time I made sure to upload GIFs and not just screenshots.
Played through the new demo! :)
Big improvement, I ended up playing it for a lot longer then I intended to!
Love how you can now progressively get stronger through the power ups.
The variety in enemies is now quite good as well.
I did find the hit box a bit frustrating, i would hit an enemy with my ship and explode when I didn't think i was that close.
Also, that big ship that shoots from left to right in a spray is maybe a bit too difficult.
The bullets hit the top of the screen and disappear rather than moving off the screen, not sure if this is on purpose or an oversight.
I did get to the end I think, no more enemies spawned after a while, and I couldn't find anymore scrap.
Overall, a major improvement from the last demo I played, the game is starting to feel like a real game and is quite enjoyable. Good job! :)
Thanks for the excellent feedback!
Hit boxes have always been one of the most complicated aspects of top-down shooters. In some, the whole square-shaped image is the "hit box" and in some just a single pixel in the middle is the "hit box".
Scrapship uses both of these concepts, but ultimately I'd like to add "pixel perfect" hit detection, for the reason you just stated.
Although the entire player sprite can take damage, it's the very center of the player sprite that you want to protect at all costs.
Sounds like you found the bug where the game stops spawning enemies. If that happens you can press "3" to trigger the Battleship boss. After you defeat it, the Stat Screen will display.
Very good game! I enjoyed the fast paced gameplay and good sound effects. Keep up the good work and im looking forward to the next demo!
Thanks! Next demo will be out around 24 May.
The sound effects were done by @mariosello1
I really liked the game.
Mechanics are well made.
Enemy designs are good and gameplay feels great.
Also this game is made without a game engine so i appreciate that.
I think you can make the gameplay faster also you should upgrade art.
Other than that game is pretty good. well done.
Not sure if "faster" is the right word, but I am working on introducing waves of enemies and improving the overall flow of the gameplay. A few graphical updates are planned for future versions as well.
Thanks for playing, I really appreciate it! (let me know if you have a game you'd like reviewed).