Other B4A Minigame competition 2014 Xmas edition

[sorex]

The year is reaching its end which means a lot of minigame compos will reach their deadline aswell.

What about a minigame compo for B4A with a Christmas based theme for the game(s)?

A month left to create a minigame which should be enough.

Rules could be...

- Christmas/Winter themed
- Made in B4A (source need to be provided as proof)
- Made by yourself (not taking a flappy bird or match3 game example from this forum and just replace some gfx)
- Game may not be released before by you on Google Play (as in no quick game recycling by using new gfx to fit the theme)
- Filesize limit not set yet (5Mb?)
- Deadline reached, the poll is online.
- Voting from Dec 28 - Jan 1st via forum poll?
- Attenders/Winners might know the result on Jan 1 2015

Erel knowing, he might throw in some B4i+B4A,B4i license(s) or something for the winner or top3.

Erel is so kind to donate 3 B4i + hosted Mac builder licenses for the top 3.


So it's always worth attending for that, the fun , the challenge or to explore the other side of app building (games).

See it as promoting your skills and the possibilities of B4A.


Current entry list:

game title - author (used libs, classes, modules)

Don`t tip the tree! - Mike H. (core, gesturedetector, animation, animationplus)

PicPuzzleXmas - The Desolate Soul (core, javaobject, msstaggeredgridview, mediabrowser, filehelper, msanimator, reflection, msmaterialmenu, stdactionbarhelper, threading, phone, callsubextended, mscardview)

15 Tiles Xmas Edition - UDG (Reflection, StringUtils, dgPickers, Classes: DraggableView, CustomListView, Module: StateManager)

Xmas Mahjong - cbc551 (core,audio,acceleratedsurface,scrollview2d,gesturedetector,animationplus)

Santa Chaos - Ilan (Admob, Animation, Core, Reflection)

Santa Got Stuck up the chimney - Dibb3386 - (Core, Gesture Detector)

Elf attack - RandomCoder (core,phone,reflection,audio)

CLAUStrophobia - Sorex (core)

 

[sorex]

@dibb3386 , @RandomCoder : if you want I can add a few days as grace period.

on the chat I figured out that xmas is celebrated differently depending on where you live.

overhere (Belgium) it's mainly the everning before xmas day, in the uk/us xmas day itself
+ additional stuff like boxing day.

there's also the time difference so maybe we should set it to 31/12 23:59 CET-11?

I finished my unpolished game 2 days ago but didn't find the time yet to test it on another device so it might bug, I'll upload it tonight.

 

[dibb3386]

@sorex, yeah am game for that, didnt realize id missed the deadline, I posted on the 24 around 6pm UK time i think. :S

Edit, Id also like the time to try polish it up a bit with more or better graphics if i can.

 

[sorex]

here's my entry...

CLAUStrophobia

Santa's stuck and paralized in the warehouse due to the small rooms full of presents and his claustrophobia suffering.

He still needs to deliver the last presents so get him out before Xmas. (you have 3 minutes for 10 levels)

 

[LucaMs]

Well, given that in the area where I live Christmas arrives 3 days late, because of my personal time zone , if the contest is still open, take me an hour of my precious time to create THE winning game!

 

[RandomCoder]

@dibb3386 , @RandomCoder : if you want I can add a few days as grace period.

I'm fine with my entry thanks @sorex I only submitted it because I said I'd try and create something and only entered for the sheer fun of it. Thought I'd have more time in the run up to Christmas, but three kids and two dogs plus work left little time for coding. Would love to learn libgdx but not got the time to read through all the doc's before making a start.

Good luck to all those that made a mini game!

 

[sorex]

@thedesolatesoul : your app crashes when I press "select newer"

 

[thedesolatesoul]

@thedesolatesoul : your app crashes when I press "select newer"

I dont get any error.
What is the crash message + device + android version?

 

[sorex]

the application Picture puzzle xmas (process com.maximussoft.picpuzzlexmas) has stopped unexpectedly.
Please try again. [Force close]

log has this:

End ReadLocalFiles
Thread ended true
android.graphics.Bitmap@405ab8b0
android.graphics.Bitmap@405ab8b0
java.lang.ClassCastException: android.widget.RadioGroup$LayoutParams
at android.widget.GridView.onMeasure(GridView.java:957)
at android.view.View.measure(View.java:8313)
at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChild(ViewGroup.java:3109)
at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildren(ViewGroup.java:3086)
at anywheresoftware.b4a.BALayout.onMeasure(BALayout.java:56)
at android.view.View.measure(View.java:8313)
at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:3138)
at android.widget.FrameLayout.onMeasure(FrameLayout.java:250)
at android.view.View.measure(View.java:8313)
at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:3138)
at android.widget.FrameLayout.onMeasure(FrameLayout.java:250)
at android.view.View.measure(View.java:8313)
at android.view.ViewRoot.performTraversals(ViewRoot.java:845)
at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1865)
at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3687)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:867)
at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:625)
at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)



Samsung ACE GT-S5830i with 2.3.6 on it.

 

[WAZUMBi]

I posted a few games in the 'Share your Creations' board.
I thought that was where we were supposed to put them.

 

[RandomCoder]

I grabbed some free time last night and again this morning to try out the competition entries and report my findings, please don't take this as criticism in anyway I think everyone has done a great job! So in the order they are listed on page 1...

@MikeH - Don't tip the tree

Nice game idea, scales well on both my phone (Galaxy S3) and my tablet (Nexus 7). Plays in fixed portrait mode so doesn't need to handle screen rotations. I particularly like the part where the robin flies in, its a nice little touch! The only negative comment I have is that it seems that all decorations have to be placed close to the center line of the tree, even on easy level it is impossible to load the outer edge of the tree with what should be considered the lightest of objects, a candy-cane or small bauble. Is there any difference between the weighting of the objects? Not experienced any crashing out or faults of any kind and like the finale when the lights get switched on, another nice little touch. Overall a nice pleasing game and the first to post an entry to the competition.


@thedesolatesoul - PicPuzzleXmas

Looks very polished and scales well on both my devices, also handles screen orientation changes perfectly. Like the ability to show hints although a non-programmer might not be able to make sense of the array index notation, might be better to number each tile sequentially. Not experienced the fault @sorex listed above but do have a quirk only occurring on the Nexus 7 which unfortunately makes the game unplayable. It can easily be recreated without actually moving any tiles, just tap on a tile (any tile excluding the top left) and that same tile will replace the top left hand tile whilst still being displayed in its original position. It took me a while to work out what was happening as I played it first on my Nexus. Plays perfectly on the Galaxy S3. I like the idea, the presentation and feel of the whole game. Maybe consider adding a couple more levels of difficulty i.e. more tiles, and possibly a count down timer option as I found it very easy but I'm sure my son will enjoy playing it!


@udg - 15 Tiles Xmas Edition

Another very polished game which scales well on both my devices, also handles screen orientation changes perfectly. The game options menu is a nice little touch along with the highest score achievement. It would be nice to be able to save the top 5 highest scores along with the ability to add the players initials as my son keeps challenging me and it would be nice to see a kind of leader board. My own personal best score is 2815 in a time of 1:24 and 162 moves. The end two rows are the most challenging part of the game. I'm particularly impressed with how fluid the tiles move. Very nice to play and completely fault free.


@cbc551 - Xmas Mahjong

Wow! Is this really a mini game? I cannot fault in anyway. It scales perfectly on both my devices and handles screen orientations. No faults of any kind to report. I'd love to know how you created such a game with B4A but I'm pretty sure it would be well beyond my understanding anyway. Not been able to complete yet, but sure that there won't be any faults with it. Maybe consider a label or some other method of pointing out the baubles in the top right are there as life lines, I discovered it by accident. Overall a very professional game indeed.


@ilan12041981 - Santa Chaos

Another original game idea. Scales well on both devices. Plays in fixed landscape so doesn't need to handle screen rotations. Nice graphics and I like the help page which provides all the information needed in one concise screen. Unfortunately I've experienced a couple of quirks only on my Galaxy S3 which I'm not able to reliably recreate. The first is that it sometimes reverts back to the menu screen (I'm definitely not hitting the back button). The other fault I've experienced is that the Santa freezes, he might move left on the first tap but the refuses to move left or right on subsequent taps. Unfortunately I'm not able to recreate this, its very intermittent. I have in fact got my best score playing on the S3, I reckon it was up in the 60's but I got that carried away that I tapped on the game-over sign before checking my actual score . It would be nice to have a high score table but I also realise how much extra work that involves. A nice game and enjoyable to play.


@dibb3386 - Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney

Very original It reminds me of a game we used to play as kids... "What time is it Mr Wolf". Doesn't scale on either my S3 or Nexus 7 as there are bright borders around the left-hand and bottom edges of the screen. Plays in fixed portrait so doesn't need to handle screen rotations. Not experienced any crashing out or faults in any way and still chuckle when Santa's pants fall down, what a game idea! Apart from the scaling issue, the only other downside is that I feel it lacks the longevity of some of the other games. I also like the game icon, simple and effective!


@RandomCoder (my own entry) - ElfAttack

It's really for someone else to comment on my own game. Hopefully it scales ok and handles screen orientation changes. It's unfinished, ideally requiring an intro to explain that Santa's Elves have turned bad and are stealing the presents, it's your job to stop them! I'd like to have added a high score table (maybe using Google's own system - but I've not even attempted to sign up to or start using Google Play yet as a developer) . I also intended to add a menu page in which the difficulty could be set and the final thought I had was that I could include the occasional Santa that isn't supposed to be hit and if hit would cause you to lose time. So to summarise my own game, hopefully bug free but unfinished.


@sorex - CLAUStrophobia

Another nice original game idea. Scales well on both my devices. Plays in fixed portrait mode so doesn't need to handle screen rotations. Nice simple and clean graphics, but did you forget to add an app icon? Sometimes I find it difficult to get Santa out of the room because pieces only move in the direction of they're smallest edge, this adds a surprising amount of difficulty to the game. I've also had a NullPointerExcetion occur on both my devices. On the S3 it happened when the game timer ran out, on the Nexus it can be recreated by pressing the back button to get out of the game and then going back into the game will cause the fault. I like the game idea and think that it could be improved by adding more tiles to increase the level of difficulty. Another nice game and on the most part enjoyable to play.


I hope that no-one takes offence at my comments, they are meant to be constructive and I congratulate everyone that has spent the time to create something. @WAZUMBi I look forward to trying out your entry, just place your link/apk here in this thread.
Please feel free to comment on my own app, especially if you can offer any advice as to how I should create the highscores table. In B4PPC it was simple, I just created a table and I think I saved its contents to a csv file as there was a function to read and write table contents to/from a csv file. B4A is not quite as easy to get to grips with

Hope you've all had a good Christmas and all the best for the New Year!

Kind Regards,
RandomCoder

 

[sorex]

@RandomCoder : the limited movement is what makes the game difficult, I completed the game several times in time so it can all be completed. Some levels just need a bit of thinkering

About the crashes... never had them so far but I never got out of the game either by pressing back or menu. I'll check it out. Thanks for testing.

the icon is indeed missing, I don't even know where to change that

 

[sorex]

I posted a few games in the 'Share your Creations' board.
I thought that was where we were supposed to put them.

those were existing games rethemed for Xmas you wrote, so they won't be accepted as stated in post #1.

 

[udg]

Hi @RandomCoder ,

did you miss my 15 Tiles micro-game?
Or was the accompaying music so harassing you preferred to forget about it?

I read with great interest your comments above, so if you have still some spare time and would like to comment on my game, I'd like to hear from you (and anybody else) expecially for glitches left behind and suggestions on how to improve it.

udg

 

[MikeH]

it seems that all decorations have to be placed close to the center line of the tree, even on easy level it is impossible to load the outer edge of the tree with what should be considered the lightest of objects, a candy-cane or small bauble. Is there any difference between the weighting of the objects?

You can place decorations anywhere on the tree - but they must balance, that's the whole idea of the game.

Decorations are weighted in order: baubles, canes, bells, stockings, star.


Thanks for your comments!

 

[sorex]

ok, as people are asking where to enter their votes I decided to close the submission of entries.

if dibb or anyone else update their app they just need to replace their apk where the link is pointing to now.

I still hadn't the luck to try out TDS's entry due to the crashing.

 

[RandomCoder]

Hi @RandomCoder ,

did you miss my 15 Tiles micro-game?
Or was the accompaying music so harassing you preferred to forget about it?

I read with great interest your comments above, so if you have still some spare time and would like to comment on my game, I'd like to hear from you (and anybody else) expecially for glitches left behind and suggestions on how to improve it.

udg

@udg clearly a mistake on my part, I'm very sorry and have corrected this by editing the post above. The game is very nice to play and as for the music, I had the whole family humming the tune at one point I'm very impressed with how fluid the tiles move on both of my devices, no lag or glitching at all, very very smooth. And your game menu is exactly the type of thing I had in mind for my own game menu had I got round to finishing it!

 

[sorex]

The voting poll is online since an hour or so.

It's on the top of the page.

 

[RandomCoder]

@sorex I've played your game again several times and have every-time managed to work out a way of getting Santa through. I've amended my comments above, sorry for the mistake, I just wasn't trying hard enough. I still get the glitches though and a new one that I experienced was that I was unable to move a present down even though the square below was empty. It was allowed to move up but not down. After moving several other presents it then allowed me to slide it down? My son has now taken my phone and he's happily playing the game!

You can place decorations anywhere on the tree - but they must balance, that's the whole idea of the game.

Decorations are weighted in order: baubles, canes, bells, stockings, star.


Thanks for your comments!

Hi @MikeH the point I was trying to make is that if the tree were split vertically into thirds, then I am unable to place any decoration outside of the center third portion of the tree. Even placing the very first bauble outside of that center portion will topple the tree. It's a nice idea and I like the game, it just feels a little bit restrictive as to where the decorations can actually be placed.

 

[MikeH]

I am unable to place any decoration outside of the center third portion of the tree

Of course you can You`re just not playing it right lol

 

[sorex]

that tree is floating?