I have been working on allowing different players mouse cursors to be displayed based on where you are in the Networking UI or what game you are in.
Previously no matter what UI you went in, through out networking you would always see the cursors of everyone who was online. When there were large amounts of people online, it would be hard to differentiate who was in who's game.
Now players can see each others mouse cursors based on where they are in the networking UI. For example if you are in the lobby you will see the cursor of everyone who is also in the lobby. If you are in a game you will only see the cursors of the players who are playing with you in that game.
This is done with two main features. Having the server only send mouse information to users if it relevant to their state in networking, and logic on the client side that decides on whether a cursor should be visible based on your position in the UI. This improves the overall clarity and speeds of networking as less is being communicated.
Next I will be working further on optimising these cursors and then on integrating the network protocol into LAN in binary.
Rivalry is a hotseat game where two players take turns moving their rag-doll character’s limbs and weapons using the mouse until one is victorious. While the beginning stages of each game captures the strategic essence of swordplay, as damage and limbs are taken, the endgame turns rather Pythonesque.
Imagine a game that's a turn based strategy game, mixed with a side scrolling fighter and then add some rag-dolls and you've got Rivalry.
As the result of a successful Kickstarter for the marketing on his game at PAX , 14 year old Kew McParlane is presenting 'Rivalry', playable wireframe of his turn based two player sword fighting game of deep strategy and hilarious fun.