Dylan Barry has kindly offered to make a loading screen for the game; here you can see a first attempt kind of draft/concept:
https://twitter.com/ASIC0451/status/976137973111681030He comes from the C64. As you may know, I've released a C64 game, and I like when communities mix a bit, importing ideas. Also, Dylan's first computer was a CPC, so he's really enjoining working on this (and he's talented!).
I've been busy, but I managed to get another tileset ready (looks a bit too Cybernoid, but I think it'll be OK). I got some cycles back by converting the remaining bits of the entity system from C to ASM.
I'm exploring a bit the gameplay ideas re: the beam pods and the potential for a minigame, but nothing final yet.
I'm still unhappy with the performance of the engine. There's some slow down when there's too much going on at the same time. I may be able to reduce it by making the action "smarter", but I'm not sure if it's even possible.
I should start programming new enemies next though.