[Lachesis]

djtiesto, on 22 November 2010 - 05:08 PM, said:

I think the game above (top down RPG/adventure game) looks fantastic, but I'd disagree about the clouds. While they would work very nicely for a game with more simplistic graphics, they seem a bit out of place in a detailed and moody game (which the above game looks like). Would like more info on that game tho :o

I was looking for a cloud design that I could quickly mass produce at runtime and store in as little space as possible which didn't take up very many chars and could also be easily manipulated. This one uses four, and I don't have any char space to spare for anything more detailed :)

And like I said, best place to learn more about it is to talk to Lancer-X on IRC (his nick is usually lolilover).

[Dr Lancer-X]

Basically, I'm making a Megazeux game and delegating out production of irritating things (like level design) to other people. Anyone who wants to join in is welcome if you can create passable levels with the limits given (96 chars, 10 colours). The idea is that I'll take whatever levels I get given and script them into the story, adding events and encounters as necessary. As such the only coding really required is if you want to add special effects and the like.

[Lachesis]

This was an experiment in generating level graphics off of a bare-bones outline I drew in layerEdit. It took 3.5 hours to make from start to finish :( I need to get better at this

edit: and the color variation in the ground isn't showing up as well as it does on my other screen :/

This post has been edited by Lachesis: 31 December 2010 - 06:30 PM

[NoahSoft]

i wish i knew how to do that stuff

[Lachesis]

//pseudo code of how I did this
for each char on the visible part of the board, from right to left, top to bottom, with two complete passes:
  get the color and char
  if we're on the first pass:
    if the color indicates that a goofy machine thing should be placed: place one
    if the color indicates that a hole should be placed: place one
    if the color and char indicates that the parser is on a wall: call wallCheck
  if we're on the second pass:
    if the color indicates that the parser is on ground or a wall: call makeFloor

wallCheck:
  for the eight surrounding squares:
    set a flag to true if the square is not ground
  if none of the eight surrounding squares are ground, return and let the second pass deal with it
  randomize the color for the new block that will be placed
  perform a check for each type of wall border and place a char appropriately
  return

makeFloor:
  randomize the character and color for the new floor that will be placed
  increase the color if it's a wall, so it looks like it's more elevated
  place the floor
  return

I basically ripped the color randomization off from Lancer's forest in his RPG

The base file I generated this on consists of blocks of c00, c01, c02, and c03, which indicate different things stuff

You need debytecode to run this

[Lachesis]

This is a level I started to make during the DoZ, but didn't finish or include in the final product for obvious reasons. I got bored after waking up and decided to finish it, though. :) Extract this in Thanatos Insignia's folder and play "lost.mzx"

link

[Lachesis]

KKairos wanted some screenshots of Dusk Lance but I basically just started reprogramming the whole game so here's some chars (top left: Ted; top right: status view; bottom left: the recurring midboss; mid-bottom: the villain)



and me using a gun on a non-moving target (couldn't catch the muzzle flash but you can see a cloud of smoke - notice how the player isn't aligned with the target)





This is using a very Oizys-ish engine but it has some stuff broken out of the main routine since the object controller's code will be constructed before entering each board from enemy data in a text file, and I'd rather not have the construct break the robot memory limit.

This post has been edited by Lachesis: 19 January 2011 - 07:40 AM

[Lachesis]

Readjusted the player movement in Oizys again. Horizontal movement is now variable, so there's reduced air control and attack momentum now (and it's truly wonderful), and everything's slowed down a bit. A lot of things need further adjustment, though. I'll need another round of beta testing soon enough, once everything's retuned and I have new dialogue.

[T-Bone]

I'd gladly beta test your next version

[Lachesis]

GreaseMonkey referred me to a maze generation algorithm that has inspired me to start another game. I think Ruin Diver III is also an influence on what I've drawn up in my mind but it should be more fighting-oriented than that, and have weapons a la River City Ransom. It's not a major project and I don't expect to sit on it very long, but I'm redesigning Oizys's engine again for it (this time for accessibility but I'm also adding some sorely missed features) and hopefully I'll be able to release the updated engine and some dev tools standalone when I'm done.

My current progress on Dusk Lance will be moved to the engine v2 when I've completed the base functionality, as it should be able to easily manage non-platforming games after I've had my way with it (top down shooters, puzzle games, raycasters, eroge.......)

[Lachesis]

Customary player character screenshot before I lose interest in project

[Dr Lancer-X]

those are pretty gr8

[Lachesis]

About 5 pages into the mechanics and story of yet another project. Influences include Saya no Uta and to a lesser degree Firefly. Involves psychic powers, is an RPG with minimalist mechanics and visual novel aspects, has a branching story, and will hopefully be finished because I already have a lot of it detailed out in my head, it'd be pretty short, and it should be interesting enough to put together. Overall it will be an experiment in me attempting to show instead of tell. I'll use the ascii char set so it actually gets done before timestamps start overflowing

[Dr Lancer-X]

sounds owesome

EDIT: i'll tell you what, i'll make one too, then we'll both have made RPGs no-one will play.

[A-Guymzx]

Lancer-X, on 14 July 2011 - 09:43 AM, said:

No-one will play.

That's sooooo not true.

[Lachesis]

Lancer-X, on 14 July 2011 - 01:43 AM, said:

sounds owesome

EDIT: i'll tell you what, i'll make one too, then we'll both have made RPGs no-one will play.

sounds like a good plan

[CJA]

A-Guymzx, on 14 July 2011 - 06:50 AM, said:

That's sooooo not true.

Maybe not at face value, but compared to C (or hell, even Game Maker) there's almost nobody playing.

However, that's assuming you can:

• Figure out C (takes a while to code in, mostly due to setup) or GML (Game Maker is fairly ridiculous)
  
• Successfully program in respect to different game states. (This is what stopped my last project. MZX does this for you: boards. You have a menu and then a gameplay board. I just can't seem to find a good way to organize that in linear code THIS IS A CALL FOR HELP LANCER)
  
• Market a game.
  
• Find a niche.
  
• Publish a game.

[Lachesis]

CJA, on 14 July 2011 - 08:52 AM, said:

Maybe not at face value, but compared to C (or hell, even Game Maker) there's almost nobody playing.

However, that's assuming you can:

• Figure out C (takes a while to code in, mostly due to setup) or GML (Game Maker is fairly ridiculous)
  
• Successfully program in respect to different game states. (This is what stopped my last project. MZX does this for you: boards. You have a menu and then a gameplay board. I just can't seem to find a good way to organize that in linear code THIS IS A CALL FOR HELP LANCER)
  
• Market a game.
  
• Find a niche.
  
• Publish a game.

Yeah, Python and Java are good steps away from MZX (especially PyGame in terms of simplicity) and will get you a ton more players, and Java's fast enough that I assume it could do pretty much anything you'd like unless you're trying to make THE NEXT BEST SPACE MAREEN FPS though I've had no experience with graphics and sound in Java, maybe they suck

MZX offers much faster results if you stick to its restrictions, though.


edit: CJA

Startup() {
  DRM();
  intro();
  initialize stupid crap
  new MainMenu();
}

MainMenu() {
  while (stillInTheMenu) {
    if (selectedThePlayGameOption) {
      new Game(config);
    }
    drawMainMenu();
  }
}

Game(config) {
  while(playing) {
    do stuff
  }
}

[Dr Lancer-X]

CJA, on 15 July 2011 - 12:52 AM, said:

• Successfully program in respect to different game states. (This is what stopped my last project. MZX does this for you: boards. You have a menu and then a gameplay board. I just can't seem to find a good way to organize that

I don't really see what's so hard about that, but Game Maker and stuff like that will handle state stuff for you like MZX does. Maybe if you rephrased your question or made it more specific I'd be able to help.

[KKairos]

Quote

EDIT: i'll tell you what, i'll make one too, then we'll both have made RPGs no-one will play.

I'll play them.

[CJA]

Lachesis, on 14 July 2011 - 11:33 AM, said:

MainMenu() {
  while (stillInTheMenu) {
    if (selectedThePlayGameOption) {
      new Game(config);
    }
    drawMainMenu();
  }
}

Game(config) {
  while(playing) {
    do stuff
  }
}

Hmm, I guess this works. I guess I was thinking about it too linearly.

[Lachesis]

[Dr Lancer-X]

lachesis' RPG has prettier levels than my RPG

[Lachesis]

pix?

[Dr Lancer-X]

[Lachesis]

Neat but bland. Nice font

[Dr Lancer-X]

It is a nice font.

Guy drew it for End Sky wwwwwwwww

anyway the game is actually more graphical than that, just not in the map exploration segments

[Lachesis]

I'll need somebody who doesn't suck at drawing to help make backgrounds, except not crappy like this one... I don't have any explicit requests yet, though. I'll be back when I know what I'm doing. Submit them without any down-scaling or color reduction, multiples of 80x50 or 640x350 (the original for this one is 80x50 and has more colors). Economize colors and aim towards the image getting reduced cleanly to 12 colors + black and white.

I guess the first request would be a high school classroom, one facing the front and another facing the row windows to the side at an angle, first person perspective from a desk in the front row, two desks away from the windows, anybody seated in the views is generic looking or blurred and out of focus, generally the scenery is sterile and slightly tinted blue...

...and then Saya no Uta-ified versions of those, looking like the scenery is alive and predominantly red-based. The generic people now look like mutilated corpses.

This post has been edited by Lachesis: 25 July 2011 - 07:48 PM

[iamgreaser]

Lachesis, on 15 July 2011 - 04:33 AM, said:

...and Java's fast enough that I assume it could do pretty much anything you'd like unless you're trying to make THE NEXT BEST SPACE MAREEN FPS though I've had no experience with graphics and sound in Java, maybe they suck

Java's sound is actually quite sufficient and easy to use, at least if you're trying to make your own audio streams. If you're playing multiple samples though, expect some of them to lag.

It's also possible to render a monkey head in software with phong shading + specular reflection at ~80FPS on this 1.66GHz laptop if you know what the hell you're doing (Java itself is actually quite fast but it also provides plenty of slow ways of doing things).



Seeing as nobody's going to touch GigaSuck with a barge pole (until it has its own editing tools, at least -- you actually use it like you're programming assembler on a typical 8-bit console, despite using Lua), I should at least consider making a decent Python/PyGame framework.

[Dr Lancer-X]

Quote

It's also possible to render a monkey head in software with phong shading + specular reflection at ~80FPS on this 1.66GHz laptop if you know what the hell you're doing (Java itself is actually quite fast but it also provides plenty of slow ways of doing things).

show plz

EDIT: although I note you didn't mention the resolution: if it's 640x480 i'll cut you

EDIT 2: actually 640x480 would still be pretty impressive at 80fps, although 80fps seems a bit silly on a laptop that probably only has 60hz refresh.

I suppose the thing is that Java is fast when you're not using it like Java. It's an OO language but avoiding OO altogether is one of the best ways to get great performance improvements out of Java (along with general performance tips like avoiding memory allocation)