[T-Bone]

... or you could not predict a release date for us and just upload it when it does finish. That would add a bit of surprise.

All my projects that I have expected released dates for have failed to meet those dates. Some are over 5 years since some dates i predicted!

[RyanThunder]

T-Bone, on 31 March 2010 - 12:05 AM, said:

... or you could not predict a release date for us and just upload it when it does finish. That would add a bit of surprise.

All my projects that I have expected released dates for have failed to meet those dates. Some are over 5 years since some dates i predicted!

Good point. I think each technique has its own appeal. By setting a release date, you constantly build the anticipation in the coming weeks/months, but with the element of surprise, it's like "WHOA! Where did THIS come from?!"

[RyanThunder]

Your typical journal update

Yep, this is another update to signify that, yes, RT is still being worked on; it is not forgotten.

A recent hard drive scare actually helped motivate me to work on it more diligently again, and it brought back memories of just why I finish games in the first place, since it isn't the first time that a disaster like that has happened.

As of late, the main focus right now is music. A composer friend of mine was sick for a while, but now he's regained his stamina as well as his motivational drive. We've been working hard on collaborating, and we've been paying much attention to detail to every song thus far.

At the rate we're going now, it looks like the game will have a full original soundtrack within a decent time frame, as opposed to a partial one.

The soundtrack has been shaping up quite nicely, and I hope you guys will like it as much as I do. But, really, I hope you find some enjoyment in the game in its entirety. The recent hard drive disaster made me realize how important this game is to me, and how much it has evolved over these past few years.

I'm optimistic in finishing the game by the end of the summer, since RT has a very summer-ish feel to it. After all, there isn't too much left that needs to be made, but then again, you never know what kind of delay will cross your path.

[T-Bone]

RyanThunder, on 20 May 2010 - 02:15 AM, said:

Your typical journal update


A recent hard drive scare actually helped motivate me to work on it more diligently again, and it brought back memories of just why I finish games in the first place, since it isn't the first time that a disaster like that has happened.

This is the same reason why I'm pushing myself to get everything off and uploaded as well. I lost a shitload of projects recently and their backups were on basic floppies from years back I can't find. I'm glad to see that your still working on this game though and not quit!

[RyanThunder]

"The Committed Composer" or "How I Learned to Suck it Up and Make Music Myself."

For whatever reason unbeknownst to me, my composer friend stopped talking to me again.

This time around I've become irritated, because I've had this happen one too many times. So, this journal update is a call to arms, so to speak.

I'm looking for a talented individual to help me compose the rest of the soundtrack for Ryan Thunder. If I had to guess, I'd say the OST is a little over 1/3 done. Here are some things I'm looking for:

• You are familiar with music from the sidescroller genre, such as Sonic or Mega Man. Songs of one minute in length (not counting the loop) are all I'm looking for, though songs longer than that are always welcome.
  
• You are willing to compose on a disjointed schedule, and to compose for the love of music (in other words, for free).
  
• You can maintain good communication, and to keep long term interest in a project.

If you fit these criteria, please don't hesitate to post! If not, I'll just have to double my work load and compose the rest of the soundtrack myself.

This post has been edited by RyanThunder: 11 June 2010 - 08:20 AM

[RyanThunder]

As luck would have it...

After a talk with my composer friend, it turned out to be a misunderstanding on both our parts. So, what this means for you, the MZXer, is that a full original soundtrack is once again a very real possibility.

I spent the last Saturday working on one of the newer engines, and also one of the pivotal points in the story. I hit a bit of a roadblock with subroutines in regards to that, but I decided to use a creative work-around and disregard them entirely, using just normal labels instead. The gameplay will still be fun, and it is also saves me time in the long run.

If you are still keeping up with this journal over the past several years, a huge thanks to you! I'm glad that you are still keeping interest in my project, and I only hope that once you play the full version, it'll seem worth the wait. But, eh, what do I know?

"Put up Finish your MZX game or shut up."

[T-Bone]

How close are you with this project now?

[RyanThunder]

I'm still decently close to finishing. As it turns out I'll have to apply one more game mechanic before I start making new content. Three more levels need to be finished, as well as the final battle and ending.

I'm a bit more motivated again so I've been working on it on some weeknights after work.

[Baby Bonnie Hood]

So much for Spring 2007, huh?

[RyanThunder]

Musical Update...and Reflection

RT is still in a slow, steady development. Even if it's being worked on in bite-size chunks, at least it isn't collecting dust.

So, anyway...hmm...let's see. Well, it's official now: my composer friend is ignoring me. What troubles me is that I didn't do anything to condone this. I've stated numerous, numerous times that if he wanted to stop composing for RT, just go right ahead and say so. On top of that, I've helped him compose some of the songs he did for the game and I've also given him high praise along the way, and rightfully so; he is a very talented individual. We've been friends for a good amount of years, and even though we weren't that close, we still kept in touch via instant messaging. I guess that doesn't mean anything.

It's really discouraging to see this type of thing happen to anybody, and it also reminds me why I work alone on my creative stuff. Any collaborative partner I've had never sticks with it until the end. This is also a big reason why many independent team projects never get finished, MZX games or not. I'm sure any of you can relate to this type of situation. It's just too bad this is so common, and it puts such a damper on project development.

The Actual Update
I've now taken it upon myself to compose the rest of the soundtrack. I got lucky too, because there's only 2 tracks left to compose, one of which I'm working on right now. I was able to find the melodies that I wanted for it, so I'd say it might be halfway done by now. The next thing to do is to compose the accompaniment for those melodies. It's an important song in the game, and it's easily the hardest one I've ever had to compose. But, then again, I'm not a very good composer. This is why I've also taken it upon myself to sharpen my composing prowess with some good old fashioned reading/studying to remedy the situation.

Baby Bonnie Hood, on 01 July 2010 - 01:00 AM, said:

So much for Spring 2007, huh?

You said it!

[RyanThunder]

Developer Interview! ("KKairos Gets Curious")

Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood KKairos.

KKairos: The current iteration, how long's it been in development now? Feels like at least a year or year and a half...

Ryan: This iteration of RT began development in spring of 2006 to the best of my remembrance. Very early concept work for the game actually began shortly after Thunder Adventure was finished.

KKairos: Aside: is that on the archive somewhere?

Ryan: It is. You can find it on the Ryan Tyrrell Platinum Collection.

KKairos: Oh ok, cool. So early concept work circa spring 2006...

Ryan: Well, Thunder Adventure was finished in 2002. So, I would have to say the actual title screen for RT was designed sometime in 2003. My motivation was renewed to work on the project after playing Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X in early 2005, since that game showed how well you could make an old franchise feel fresh again.

KKairos: What're the chief influences on this Thing?

Ryan: Chief influences are said game, as well as Sonic and Mega Man and general. But I also wanted to re-tell the first RT storyline, and fix all of the plot holes and characters.

KKairos: Ah. Major plot-holes/continuity problems?

Ryan: Indeed. The first RT storyline spanned 9 issues and was made in 1996 through 1998. He even had Mario, Sonic, and Kirby on his team, which is absolute nonsense! But, I was at a very young age, so it's only natural to have that kind of stuff in comics made out of pencil and crayon.

KKairos: So was Kirby at all an influence?

Ryan: I'd have to say that he was, too. Kirby's Adventure really captured my imagination. I always liked Kirby games because they were fun, and sometimes easy to beat. I always loved that gradual contrast of style that each Kirby game goes through, going from light-hearted and carefree to dark and foreboding. I feel that the first story of RT also did that.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading everyone, and stay tuned!

This post has been edited by RyanThunder: 10 October 2010 - 05:27 AM

[Lachesis]

How's this coming along? We've talked about it a few times on IRC but I haven't seen you recently. Do you need any more Robotic help? Is this game still looking at a February 18 release at latest?

[RyanThunder]

Hey Lachesis.

Yes, it's still coming along at a steady pace. I've been working on it every day in bits and pieces. I'm not really sure about a release date yet, maybe sometime next year. However, I may need you for a beta tester in the future since I haven't seen Maxim around in months.

[Lachesis]

Sure thing! The screenshots you showed me yesterday sure have me stoed... that plain with the mountains background, the city, and the cave were my favorites.

[RyanThunder]

Still Job Hunting

Well, it's been quite some time since I posted. We are now into 2011, and so far it's been pretty busy.

I've been doing a lot of IT job hunting, which has taken up most of my devotion and concentration. While the ideal opportunity has yet to present itself, I've been getting some good interview experience and I've met some nice people. As for RT, every now and then I've been opening the MegaZeux executable and tinkering with little things here and there. Though this type of progress is slow, it is progress after all.

I love those moments where you code something, press ALT + T, and get that moment that widens your eyes and makes you say outloud: "Oooo, man, that is awesome!" It's those types of moments that are the most satisfying when creating a game, and especially in MegaZeux since it can take quite some effort before you get it just right (especially someone like me who isn't as advanced at MZX wizardry).

So, yea, RT is still going! As always, thank you for your continued interest in my project!

[asgromo]

Quote

and makes you say outloud: "Oooo, man, that is awesome!" It's those types of moments that are the most satisfying when creating a game,

Yeah, MZX is a that machine. It does give a lot of that in exchange for relatively little thought or care. I'm not sure if that effect is really healthy or desirable in a tool, but it feels good!

[A-Guymzx]

RyanThunder, on 16 April 2011 - 07:28 AM, said:

I love those moments where you code something, press ALT + T, and get that moment that widens your eyes and makes you say outloud: "Oooo, man, that is awesome!

I got one of these moments myself recently, after finishing an automatic particle system for the project I'm working on, which uses coding techniques and efficiency I've never used before, and everything worked just perfect right away.

[NoahSoft]

wow ryan. im sorry everyone came into your journal and was a huge stupid prick to you. im stoked on your game, we can beta test each others games

[RyanThunder]

NoahSoft, on 20 April 2011 - 02:27 AM, said:

wow ryan. im sorry everyone came into your journal and was a huge stupid prick to you. im stoked on your game, we can beta test each others games

Yes, they were pricks, and they could have been nicer about some of the things they said...

BUT...

The fact remains that they said what needed to be said, and the game is better because of it. While at first I took it as a personal attack, I eventually took their comments with a grain of salt and applied it to gain a better focus of what I wanted out of the game. Things like the intro probably wouldn't have turned out as good if they hadn't put my project through the trademark dMZX Motivation Meat Grinder. What's done is done.

As for your beta test offer, I might take you up on that. Which project of yours do you want to see finished more?

This post has been edited by RyanThunder: 23 April 2011 - 06:51 AM

[T-Bone]

Do your stages/zones/levels/areas use their own .CHR file or do you have a main one for most of the game? If you need any help with graphics let me know. I just got dumped, got more time on my hand then I did before and things here at the studio are getting boring... lol

[RyanThunder]

T-Bone, on 26 April 2011 - 04:59 PM, said:

Do your stages/zones/levels/areas use their own .CHR file or do you have a main one for most of the game? If you need any help with graphics let me know. I just got dumped, got more time on my hand then I did before and things here at the studio are getting boring... lol

The intro sequence uses its own .CHR file, while the rest of the game just uses one. I did a lot of CHAR EDIT for most if not all of the 1x1 char animations, so it hasn't posed a problem.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm quite satisfied with the way the graphics are right now. They have a nice, clean and colorful look to them. The game's graphics aren't going to win any awards anytime soon, but they're not atrocious either.

[T-Bone]

Stop fucken around and get this game done. Or else I'll request that you just send me what you have! <- Threat.

[RyanThunder]

T-Bone, on 25 May 2011 - 05:43 PM, said:

Stop fucken around and get this game done. Or else I'll request that you just send me what you have! <- Threat.

What is this I don't even...

I'll finish my "fucken" game when you get Mega Man MZX done.

[T-Bone]

Great... now your game will never get done lol

[T-Bone]

Where are you Ryan are why are you not finishing your game? I'm waiting here... lol

[RyanThunder]

T-Bone, on 01 June 2011 - 01:31 PM, said:

Where are you Ryan are why are you not finishing your game? I'm waiting here... lol

When I'm not here, that's a good thing! It means I'm working on my game!

[A-Guymzx]

Still desperate to play it once it is don- oh wait, IF it gets done... >.>
Let's all hope it will.

[Lachesis]

A-Guymzx, on 01 June 2011 - 12:54 PM, said:

Still desperate to play it once it is don- oh wait, IF it gets done... >.>
Let's all hope it will.

You don't have any room to speak! Where's the CR2-0 remake

[RyanThunder]

A-Guymzx, on 01 June 2011 - 02:54 PM, said:

Still desperate to play it once it is don- oh wait, IF it gets done... >.>
Let's all hope it will.

Where IS my CR2-0 remake? Last I heard of it was when you got the basic engine down. Personally I think that's the hardest part to do. I find level design is the easiest.


New Update!

Let's get one thing straight. I have been working on this game on and off for roughly 5 years. During that time, life has had major changes for me and so has this game. If you think that after working on it for 5 years that I'm just going to give up and do a project dump instead, you are dead wrong. This game has come too far and has gone through too many changes to just give up on. I've grown a personal attachment to it, and so I'm making it the very best it can be for what it is. To just abandon and give up on this project would prove nothing. As I have said many times before, it WILL BE FINISHED.

Fine, great, but I still don't have RT. Where the hell is it?
Please, be patient. If you've stuck with me updating this journal for this long, then that makes me really happy. I have no idea if I'll be able to live up to your expectations (if any), but the fact is I have a lot of fun beta-testing this game, and I hope that you will equally have as much fun playing the finished product, because I know I will. If you need a fix that badly, you can still play the old demo that's located in The Ryan Tyrrell Platinum Collection (Vault link). Take this demo at face value, however, because you will be playing a much different finished game.

OK, OK, but how far along are you?
I don't want to give this away entirely, because I keep jinxing it everytime I do. I will say that I have one musical track left to compose, and that summer is when I like to Zeux the most.

This post has been edited by RyanThunder: 02 June 2011 - 04:11 AM

[A-Guymzx]

Lachesis, on 01 June 2011 - 11:26 PM, said:

You don't have any room to speak! Where's the CR2-0 remake

Well excuuuuuse me for being the laziest mzx'er on this entire planet and easily unmotivated after some setbacks.
Still, good point. I'll see when I can get to do something on it. Think I made it too complex for me, hence these setbacks.

Oh, and I take the "if it gets done" comment back. Forgot you ARE very motivated and willing to complete RT.