This thread will detail ongoing development of Lexy Lightspeed - Escape From Earth for the P3 pinball platform by Multimorphic.
http://www.multimorphic.com/index.php/p3-pinball-platform/ll-gg
Lexy Lightspeed - Escape From Earth is an original game concept Dennis Nordman, conceived in early 2013. Software development began in September 2013 when the first whitewood playfield was built.
We plan to host monthly play-testing parties as LL-EE and the P3 get closer to production. This past weekend (12/13) was our first one. Features added since the Houston show in November:
- Scoop award mode
--- This is a skill-based variation of the typical random award many games have on a scoop shot. If the ball falls into the hole behind the ship during the Map scene (no mode active), it represents the discovery of a stockroom. One of the 6 mid-playfield scoop raises up for a hurryup shot. Shoot the ball in the scoop to collect an award. Each time you collect and award, the next attempt requires one additional scoop shot (shoot the first scoop, another scoop opens, etc).
- Double-shot multiball
--- This is a 2-ball multiball mode in the Map scene (no mode active) that can optionally be stacked with Agent Multiball. If you don't start agent multiball, you can kill and restart alien attacks (restarts aren't allowed in other multiball modes), allowing you to potentially progress through aliens quickly.
- Invincibilty
--- This is LL-EE's version of a normal, timed ball-save
- Respawn
--- This is like an extra ball but without the confusion of switching (or not switching) players.
- BonusX
--- Now there are ways to increase your bonus X.
- Ball search
--- Game searches for a ball after x seconds of inactivity. The P3 has the advantage of knowing when (and where) balls are rolling over the playfield. So ball search won't start due to simply missing shots. I won't promise, however, that the game won't insult you.
Play-Testing feedback:
Honestly, people seemed to love it! There was little discussion about what we should do differently. A few issues were uncovered, and a few new features were suggested:
- Player removal
--- A button combo allows players to be removed from the game (players that have yet to start playing). This is already implemented
- Detection of ball hopping over flipper
--- Yes, the ball can hop over the flippers on the P3 (though differently than with traditional flippers). We, however, can detect this occurrence and return the ball to the player (instead of draining). We will implement this.
- Save game state
--- The suggestion was made to pause the game and fix something (or answer the phone/door), but we intend to implement this for many more reasons, including giving players the ability to repeatedly restore games (and save progress) to get deeper into the game. We'll probably implement this as part of player profiles and keep track of saved games separately for each profile.
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- Gerry
http://www.multimorphic.com