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.

There. MUCH better.

In The Future, space jets come with their own air-to-space rockets, and consume less liquid fuel. They might need to drop the rocket fuel tank, but at least it's not a giant cylinder. It's a big wedge instead.

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 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.

Concept art time!

Early on, Tiel had a backpack because in the fic she was originally created for, she was going on an adventure along with Rick. That's why I was kinda attached to her.

Well, I was looking through some old files, and found some cool stuff.

...and here's the wind-up frame.

It only appears for four frames, and each animation state has its own proprietary wind-up setup, so the animation continues to flow.

Also, now I have incentive for guns, but probably need a fourth button for punches only.

It helps to draw another angle. Can't say it's great, but if this thing is launching into space, another angle helps make the sequence work.

Okay, so maybe looking up how NASA does shuttle launches isn't the best solution, but it's at least less '50s than a Flash Gordon-style rocketship.

I never said perspective was my strong suit, but I'll try, anyway.

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

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