You know what? I think I'm almost done with this level. All I need to do now is put a cap to it, then a transition to the boss fight.

Thankfully, it'll be the ONLY sequence like this.

Apparently, there are only three time zones between Brazil and the UK.

So, I might as well add some clouds and rain.

Why does this robot get twin six-shooters? Because these robots can only keep so many missiles, but you never run out of energy blasts from six-shooters.

That, and symmetry, and they look cool.

To quote George Lucas, "I might have gone a bit too far in a few places."

My only goal with this bot design was "something with missile launchers". Yeah, they're there. Just not in the hands.

I feel like I combined a Patlabor with Briareos.

I know it isn't a very lady-like pose, but it keeps her stable on a speeding vehicle.

Also, I don't need to animate walking in this section.

I figure it would be a bit cooler if we started flying at night, then as we cross time zones across the Atlantic, it would be daytime by the time the player reaches their destination in the UK.

...but it doesn't look like "night" yet.

This is how I know Game Maker's random() function isn't very random:

I put in the Kid Pix "Draw Me" prompt into my game, and the phrase "I am Commander Salamander with a magic cookie jar, and I live in your bathtub" is consistently the first thing I see.

I don't normally do mockups, but since the mockup is in-engine, I'll make an exception. It helps me figure out whether or not drop-shadows (and enemies that move in the background) would be effective in this level.

...I think the answer is "yes".

If you're flying over the ocean, it doesn't leave you much choice in what kind of bad guys you fight. They have to fly, too.