Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
This is going to be the post for all information regarding the game Soul Catcher that my friend and I are working on. I'll be putting any ideas, sshot links, and/or demo links on this post. If you guys could give me some advice and criticing on the stuff here. Its will REALLY help me make this a good game. Summary: Storyline: Minsitry Value: Well, thats pretty much it. If you want to know anything else, feel free to post a comment or send me an e-mail. Farewell, ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken [This message has been edited by Ereon (edited April 15, 2005).] |
Goldrush13 Member Posts: 107 From: Registered: 02-27-2005 |
And you're using DarkBasic for this? Professional? |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Yes, DB Pro to be specific. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
Rhyolite Member Posts: 86 From: UK Registered: 08-04-2004 |
Hey, the story sounds really good and I like the idea of not being able to kill the 'demons' - nice  I think a game like this IS possible in DarkBasic (which is very similiar to BlitzBasic) as long as you do not expect it to look as good as the LOTR games. You are going to have to make some pretty large compromises to keep the game running at a decent framerate and also to keep within the capabilities of the language. I think your largest hurdle will be the timescale - this sounds like a huge project which could take years to finish! Have you looked at using an already completed game engine to help speed up the process? You might like to check this out: I am keeping a close eye on this myself because its written in BlitzBasic (the language I use) and the Pro version comes with all the source code All the best to you and your friend. God Bless, |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I've designed the engine in such a way as to make the levels VERY modular. Each individual level has its own main module, and from there it braches off to the various universal user control, enemy AI, and cut-scene control modules. In addition to this basic modules each level has its own special spot in the code where it stores special modules for triggers, special move animations, and other individual aspects that aren't required in other modules. I plan to overcome the speed issue by only loading one module at a time, and only having that single module run. I plan to kill loading time drag by having a nice long cutscene inbetween loading instead of one of those goofy LOADING PLEASE WAIT signs. I'm not going for pro level here, and I think Dark Basic's simplicity will help me keep from taking eons of geological time to complete the project. I don't expect to get uber smooth stuff, but with a little tinkering and a whole lot blessin' I know its doable. My goal for those game is to win the game of the year award at the Christian Game Developers Conference next year (that gives me a year and a quarter to work on it) I'm also homeschooled, so I don't have a job or regular school to tangle with like most other people. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
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Rhyolite Member Posts: 86 From: UK Registered: 08-04-2004 |
All the best to you, its good to see you have a worked out plan. If each 'level' is small that should really help framerate and probably means you dont need to worry about portalling/BSP to stop rendering of unseen areas (or does DarkBasic have that built in?). The rendering of the scene is always gonna be your biggest time slice so I guess most your optimising needs to be done there. Other than that, the only other 'real' time killer I have had to deal with (with todays PC specs) is AI pathfinding. But again, small levels should really help their. Gah, why did I have to choose making a game which covers huge areas!! God Bless, |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure if DB supports portalling, but I know it does BSP. I plan to use occlusion walls in some of the bigger areas, but the goal is to make the levels as low a polygon count as possible, and save the extra for places where real WOW factor is needed. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
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Goldrush13 Member Posts: 107 From: Registered: 02-27-2005 |
I'm a Blitz convert, started in Dark and then moved to Blitz. I like 2D, I enjoy how it's easier to make a 2D game fun than it is to make a 3D game fun. Whether you totally agree with that or not, everyone know there's at least a little truth in that. And given that Dark Basic loads that monstrous rendering system for even "hello world" it was causing problems, however to boost your confidence, I believe that (although a bit more complicated) Dark Basic rules 3D against all the other Basic variants, all that loading isn't for nothing, it seems to do everything with 3D in mind so when it finally gets to 3D, it doesn't dissapoint. What I don't like is why they changed the Dark Pro IDE to that bland rubbish we see everywhere on Windows, just ordinary Dark Basic had a really good IDE, black background with red scroll bar, very classy. I haven't left Dark Basic though, I still have Pro on my machine although I haven't used it for ages. I remember making visual displays when I used it, like the stuff you see in Media Player, except it also won't play tracker music anymore either, it changed too much and it dissapoints me now more than impresses me. But luckily, all of that comes from a 2D perspective. The Dark community doesn't help much either, what I thought was a bad language was actually a massive community of people doing terrible things to it. One thing I notice is that Lee Bamber and the team still seem to have an interest in all aspects and are constantly driving Dark forward. In short, I understand what Rhyolite says about you not expecting it to be as good as other professional games (or something to that effect), I still don't know of anything good made in Dark, but when I look at everything it's got going for it I constantly find my self thinking "Why not?". Dark Basic has got the tools to do something and I really hope that Soul Catchers restores faith in thousands of people who have dismissed it for its results so far. I still get "The Game Creators" newsletter and still believe in the power of Dark Basic, so if there is ANYTHING that I could contribute then I will be glad to, I offered to do some music for the one month project on this forum but got too much college work to ever even start. But if you notice lag, post the code and we'll figure out a quicker way around it. I wish you the very best, which is something I rarely mean (unfortunately), everything I see in Dark Basic turns to pretty much nothing, but your refreshing attitude might actually get the job done. Try not to lose sight of the determination you have right now. [This message has been edited by Goldrush13 (edited April 15, 2005).] [This message has been edited by Goldrush13 (edited April 15, 2005).] |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Thanks GoldRush, thats the first time anybody has ever said anything like that to me. Most of the time I get alot of that "Don't be too ambitious" or "who do you think you are" stuff . Then again this is also my first time on a christian board with a real, workable game idea. Thanks for the encouragment, I'll be sure to keep you guys posted, it always nice to have a few sets of fresh eyes that can look at your code. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken [This message has been edited by Ereon (edited April 15, 2005).] |
fingolfin Member Posts: 197 From: IL Registered: 03-19-2005 |
wow, sounds awsome... I have no real coding experiance yet, but I'd love to help with anything I could... |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, just a small update. The first quarter of the first level has just finished being boxed in (modelled without textures or extra geometry). I plan to release a demo after the final cut of the first and second levels are done. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, I finally wandered back onto the boards. SC is at a standstill right now due to lack of funds and software. I have designed weapons, whiteboxed levels, ect, but I'm stuck until I can buy some level design and 3D editing software. My birthday is coming soon, so hopefully I can afford it after that. I'll keep you guys updated as well as I can. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Excellent news, I now have all of the tools I need to begin production on SC. I'll be posting screenshots as soon as I have some to give. I decided to pay a little extra and go for the DB Pro engine, and I think it will be worth it. I'm going to include metallic reflection effects, cloth effects, some pretty good physics (including ragdoll physics), and some awesome special moves which are (care of yours truly) completely original to Soul Catcher. (Imagine being able to bash a bad guy over the face with a pommell strike and then put your hand down on the ground, grab his head with your legs, and hurl him into the side of a building, raising a very satisfying cloud of dust) It's going to be good, I can't wait to get a dwmo out for you guys. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
Ereon, this is exciting! I really look forward to seeing where you go with this -- it sounds like you've got a good idea and some serious drive behind it. Keep up the great work, and keep praying! Really looking forward to a demo. In Christ, ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Can Dark import 3ds? If it can get Wings3D, it's one of the best free modellers. |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Alright, time for another update. I had some software problems, but I got them all successfully ironed out now, so development is continuing as usual. Unfortuantely, in an attempt to fix the software issue, I had to reformat my computer, and did not backup any of my source code, textures, or levels....So, I get a whole new clean slate to work off of. Right now I'm working on the first level of the game (which will also be the level for the game demo *hint hint*) as well as a tool that will allow me to place special effects and props inside of the level and automatically generate DBpro code to plug into my main program, thereby saving me a large amount of trial and error and siginificant amount of time. More updates to come soon, as well as a link to a website with a guestbook and chatroom :P. Cya round. Ereon ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
hey, i just read thw hole thread..(i have a strange tendency to do that///). sounds like you've got a good game here.im sure the time for encouragement has passed, but really hope you stick with this. It sounds like you know how to pull it off. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I certainly hope I do, if I do then its news to me......:P. Naw, the big part is just not letting myself go overboard. I'll be looking for beta testers after I release the first demo, so if you're good at breaking things you might want to apply when I make the announcement. Thanks for the comment though, I appreciate it. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Good news, I just came across an amazing piece of source code for DBPro that I'm going to utilize tocreate a collision engine/gravity for my game. For info later. ------------------ The old that is stong does not wither From the ashes a fire shall be woken Renewed shall be blade that was broken |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
Excellent -- glad to hear the good report! --clint ------------------ |
Realm Master Member Posts: 1971 From: USA Registered: 05-15-2005 |
EuuuUUUhhHHAaaa... i got snot all over my hands... #()&@ cold! what? o, sorry! DNG! man, i wish every day i could start a game and be this succsess full... i also wish God had made with with standard implimentation of C++, but thats another story. wow, i can't wait to see some screenies on this! ------------------ Blessed are those who show mercy. Blessed are those who suffer for doing what is right. |
bennythebear Member Posts: 1225 From: kentucky,usa Registered: 12-13-2003 |
sounds good. i got 2 or 3 machines i can test it on. don't know how good my ability will be to break it...but i'm sure i can come up with something . ------------------ proverbs 25:7 www.gfa.org - Gospel for Asia www.persecution.com - Voice of the Martyrs |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, the basics are almost done, I just have to finish up the "smart camera" and I can begin texturing and detailing my first level. I've got a few interesting textures ready, and even came up with a good monster texture (Who coincidently was a bit too gross to use :P) ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
oh yeah, sorry I haven't gotten around to sending you more of those textures. What do you have in mind for me to send you next? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Whatever you've got I'll look at it. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
well I haven't made the textures yet, they take me about 10 minutes, but what I need is an idea of what you want. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
The game itself is very organic, and as such the textures need to reflect that. For the level I'm currently working on I'll need stone block textures (walls), flagstone textures (streets, ect.), Wood textures for beams and poles, some metal textures for gates, hinges, anvils, and furnaces, and possibly some bark textures. Thats a general rundown of what I need. As I rule I need them to looked stained, dark, and mossy, the entire level is a corrupted, rundown city, so everything has to have that almost rotted look to it. ------------------ |
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fingolfin Member Posts: 197 From: IL Registered: 03-19-2005 |
quote: I have 2 as well. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
SUCCESS! The collision detection and smart camera are DONE! YEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAA! This is the first time I've been able to make an actual 3rd person camera! I kept tinkering, and tinkering, and tinkering, and trying lines of code 20-30 lines deep  , and then I finally came up with the solution.....two lines of stinking code  Oh well, alls well that ends well. Anyhoo, so now the REAL fun begins, level design and such. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Aswesome that is so cool, I know what a pain 3d game development can be at times, I am happy for you BTW, I sent you an email. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Just a question, does anyone happen to know any good websites of architecture? I need to increase my skills in that area, everything I make seems a bit too simplistic (which is both good and bad). ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
I don't know any specific, but like if you want to improve on making castles look for Castle websites, if you want to improve on more classical architecture look for like Catholic Chruches. ------------------ |
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fingolfin Member Posts: 197 From: IL Registered: 03-19-2005 |
I'm looking forward to some screens! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Coming soon hopefully, as soon as I get the first part of my level done and polished sufficently. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Still working on the game, I'm polishing up the corners and working on the textures. As soon as I have the first part of the first level done I'm posting screens. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, just and Idea I'd like to run by you guys. This is what I'm going to base the lowest enemy in the game on, they're called Scavengers, they are sort of like border guards, created to work as demon bloodhounds for the more powerful enemies, and there are "wild" versions to scare the slave population of Daeshak's city out of any escape attempts. I'm going to tone it down a bit. but this is the basic anatomy, its pretty much a werewolf that can walk on two legs or four. http://www.fablefrance.com/images/bestiaire/B6.jpg http://www.fablefrance.com/images/bestiaire/B7.jpg *And yes, they're partially based off the game Fable* ------------------ |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
I like the idea! Feral werewolves roaming around in the forest would certainly keep me from escaping. --clint |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Then imagine this, you escape from the city (or rather circumvent the outskirts of it through some narrow back alleys) and then have to travel through a forest full of huge trees with moonlight trickling between the leave (thanks to a shader and a bit of fancy coding) and all is nice and peaceful and the crickets weet weeting in the peaceful dark, and then you come across a huge altar looking thing in the middle of a clearing, you step into the clear and FOOOOM! about 20 of these things jump out of it and start attacking you :P Oh, and the whole time you have scouts on tame version of these werewolf things chasing after you, so you have to move fast and use the shadows to hide and stuff  .------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
But I still REALLY need a character modeler, I stink at it, and I need someone who's good and a strong Christian to help me out with it, I can animate them myself, but I need someone to make them. Know any good places to look? ------------------ |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
Hrm, not sure right now, no. There were some really good modelers at the CGDC -- perhaps your best bet would be to post a help request on icgda-portal.org in their "help wanted" section. Good, available Christian modelers are pretty hard to come by from what I hear -- iirc, Peter Churness had to hire a commercial modeler to create the main character for their game Rebel Planet (just because he really needed a professional, high quality model with good animations). |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Thanks for the tip, I'll pray about it and post on there when I get a chance. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Just letting you guys know that this project (and me) and still very much alive. I'm working on some concept art (myself this time, my other concept artist only wanted to do anime  ) and still working on getting my levels to work (GRRRRRR, curse thee Truespace 3.2!!!!) the blasted textures won't load thanks to an outdated .x format exporter. I'm still working on the problem though, and tinkering with animation and characters in the mean time. I've got collision detection and movement worked out, just a matter of getting the TEXTURED levels in. It's gonna look pretty cool either way though, I'm excited. Working on some music to, and a trailer if I can get some characters to animate ready. I'll keep you updated. Also still looking for good character modeller (or tutorial for doing so) and a tutorial on skinning (making single texture of characters and so on).Blessings, ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Sounds great! I can't wait till, at last, some screens. I am looking forward to seeing your work Keep it up! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
SUCCESS HA HA SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!! *evil happy cackling* I FINALLY FOUND A PROGRAM WITH AN INTERFACE I LIKE THAT CAN EXPORT .x FILES WITH TEXTURES! *more evil cackling* I'll have to paste the levels together inside the game engine because it'll only export models of 650 polys or less, but that's a piece of cake and might actually work to my advantage. (streaming worlds with uber detailed levels that run great). This is AWESOME! BTW, I've been working on some modelling tutorials and I've almost finished my first model. (not for my game, just my first model). Anyone know any good tutorials for texturing characters? ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Wow that sounds great, any screenshots soon? What program are you using to model, Truespace right? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Truespace for some stuff, but I'm using Gamespace Lite now (like Truespace, except for games). I'm trying to win a full version of Gamespace in an online competition, but intil then I can make some small models and level sections. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I'm gonna try to get you some screenies from inside the game engine before the day is out, if not....then by the first of the week. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Sweet I can't wait! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Please keep in mind though that I only submit screens of projects when I'm satisfied with them.......and it's hard to get satisfied :P ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
I know exactly what you mean, lol. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
All righty, as I promised here are the screens. They're no where neared finished (I have to tweak the engine in a bit still) but they're ok, and the textures actually carried over! ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Whoa, That's looks awesome! Talent! I like the player model alot, ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Well it's not going to be in the final, it's just a place holder. I've got to add some more detail too, the sky outside the gate is going to be replaced by a city, and there's going to be an area of rotted masonry for you to bust through to open the gate. ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
that looks really good! when you originally came here, i doubted you. but eh, looks like i'm eating my words now. :-P good job. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I'm working on some even better stuff for the next set of screen. Mainly better textures, more details, and some cloth and flame effects. Can't wait to show it to you (and pop out a demo once I get some sound and music and enough to play). ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
just tell me, when did you start learning all of this stuff? Did you get this good in just one year? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I started about three years ago, tinkering with a copy of Qbasic 1.1 on an old computer I bought off an old lady for $40. I just kinda tinkered and looked through the help files and tinkered some more until I got to where I could work it and make some stuff. Then I found a book on game design at Best Buy that came with a copy of DarkBasic Lite, which I purchased for $75 and proceeded to tinker with. I took a class on Computer Programming in Qbasic last year, and learned some tricks there, but nothing for games. This is my first game that isn't just a text adventure (I made one text adventure that was actually ready for release, but I lost the source code during a move :_( ). Really it's just a really odd thing, I'll try something that I've never tried before, and just out of the blue BOOM it'll work. I really can't take any credit for it, it's just a matter of tinkering with it and it just happens. I look at it as God's doing. My skills are really His skills in the first place, I've just got them on loan. I submit myself to Him, and offer my skills for His glory, because they're really His in the first place. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Amen to that Ereon! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Anyone know a site that hosts files for download? I need a place to place betas for my testers. (sorry, not open testing yet, not enough level to spit at, much less play :P). ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
[ur]http://savefile.com[/url] ------------------ |
buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
only problem with savefile is they are messing up a lot lately... their ftp isn't working a lot, etc... i dunno ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Ereon, btw are there anyone on your team? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
No, not really, I have one guy working on some music, but he hasn't come up with anything yet. I don't really have a team at all really. I do all my own textures, level design, modelling and coding. It gets a bit tedious though. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Wow, that is impressive. You seem to need a concept artist, do you? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I have a friend who said he would do it, but he doesn't really know how to do concept art, and we're seperated by 100 miles or so, and that makes it tough also. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Are you volunteering? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
In reality this part is no where near finished, it's to simplistic. it needs more details and the lighting still has to be set up. There are no lights yet. I still have to work some other stuff also, like a breakable masonry wall and hood and cloak cloth effects for the character. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
quote: Well, I might do some, what do you need? If it sounds good to me I can show some of my work, kinda of like a portfolio, if you would like. ------------------ [This message has been edited by lava (edited January 17, 2006).] |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
It's just alot of different stuff. Bad guy and character template mainly to model 3D characters from. That's the big thing. If you want to I'd love to see your stuff. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Fixed my avatar....I think. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Ok, I'll post a sketch and if you think it's usable, but nessicarily model of it, but see if I got the basics down. Then I know if I am good at concept sketches, and if so I will probably help you. And I've tried it before so I have an idea. ------------------ [This message has been edited by lava (edited January 17, 2006).] |
QuestLeader Member Posts: 629 From: My house, Va, USA Registered: 04-20-2005 |
Wow Ereon, this game is looking awesome so far. I'm impressed that you have done it all bt yourself so far. If theres anything I can do to help you, please, feel free to ask me. I'm short on time, but if I can I'll do anything to help. ------------------ [This message has been edited by questleader (edited January 17, 2006).] |
Eternal_Happy_Dragon Junior Member Posts: 6 From: Pensacola, Florida, USA Registered: 01-17-2006 |
Well, technically Ereon hasn't done it ALL by himself [though I know he wants to!!]. I actually came up with the storyline of Soul Catchers, Bios, most map layouts, and the one he goes to when certain people don't keep up with production daily. Well, I can try to give you guys updates on the storyline/gameline as I am informed of progress. If anyone needs someone to make a storyline/bio of characters, give me a holler!! JLU! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
That's true, It's actually EHD's world, he came up with the characters and story, and I'm workin' on the game. I've been flyin' solo for a while because of a move, but it was all originally his. It's good to have him back though, that way he can help me out and answer your questions. ------------------ |
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QuestLeader Member Posts: 629 From: My house, Va, USA Registered: 04-20-2005 |
yay ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Welcome to the boards, Eternal Happy Dragon Here is a sample. I hope this is the basics of want. ------------------ [This message has been edited by lava (edited January 17, 2006).] |
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Eternal_Happy_Dragon Junior Member Posts: 6 From: Pensacola, Florida, USA Registered: 01-17-2006 |
What did I want that pic for?? ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
It was directed more towards Ereon actually ------------------ [This message has been edited by lava (edited January 17, 2006).] |
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Eternal_Happy_Dragon Junior Member Posts: 6 From: Pensacola, Florida, USA Registered: 01-17-2006 |
Aaaaaaahhhh... Sorry about that... Looks good though. A basic sketch that could be turned into almost any kind of character... [fanatsizing time] ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Hmmm, it seems a little too modern for the feel of the game. It's supposed to go along the idea of medieval. The outfit doesn't really fit, and you might want to give it long, stringy hair. Also, try to put it in a relaxed crucifix pose (with the arms a little loose). That makes it easier to add skeletal animation. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Well it's not supposed to be any offcial character or anything, it was just supposed to be a sample to see what you were looking for in the general term of concept art. ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
okay... calm down guys... [referee]Now I want a clean fight boys!! No hitting... well never mind![/referee] Lol kidding!! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ah, then from that POV it's excellent. You're good. . ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Just an update, all errors currently in the game engine have been eradicated, after I add a new room and cloth effects and fix up the animation I will be putting out invites for alpha (closed) testers. The suggested stats for your machine if you want to test are as follows. at least 50 MB of free HD That's what my laptop runs right now, not sure what the min is. If you're interested I'll be posting instructions on how to send an application later this week or early next week. ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
I'm interested.  Now, i will probably be unavailable for about 4 days sometime within the next week or two. Fear not, I shall return. Haha. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I wonder where Eternal Happy Dragon went? I'll have to IM him later . ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, here's an issue that I'd like your guy's input on. I'm debating over whether to make this game First person or Third person. Third person has its advantages 1. You can do awesome acrobatics And some cons 1. You feel detached from the player a bit And First has some nice advantages too 1. You feel more attached to the character. And cons 1. You're limited in combat manuvers (unless you wish to make the player sick 2. It's harder to fight large amounts of enemies, especially in close quarters. What do you guys think, I'd be glad to know your opinions. ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
wow... hard one... Third Person is my personal favorite... that's just me, but i like it better.... good luck!! ------------------ |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
Personally, I like third-person games. |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Third person, you see more action-adventure games targeted in that direction, Prince of Persia, Zelda, Lord of the Rings TTT and ROTK. Where you see first person more for FPS. But then that would make it unique, an action game as 1st person. And IMO you have to put alot more detail into a First person game because you are seeing it through their eyes, first person game developers get into alot of traps, like it's harder to control jumps and judge distances. I would go with 3rd person, but first person would add a different feel. ------------------ [This message has been edited by lava (edited February 16, 2006).] |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I contemplated giving the player all kindas of cool, flippy fighting moves in first person, but I wasn't sure how many would like it. If I DID do 1st person it would require some kind of situational awareness gadget to help you keep your bearing. It WOULD be REALLY cool though. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Just an update, my family went on vacation this last week (well, not really a vacation, more like a trip to check out a job opportunity). I got 16 hours of game design time (six of which I wasted on Neverwinter Nights (AGH! Addictive ) But I managed to get alot done, and I've been using the old wax rag a bit, polishing up the eye candy, and the effect is great. As soon as I get the first part of the level done I'm going to open up to Alpha testers. I'm also working on a new website and a developer's journal so you guys can following along and hold me accountable if I start wasting time. I'll be posting new screenshots soon also, as soon as I have the graphics polished a bit more. THe bad news is that my parents canceled our broadband and cable TV, so I have been thrown back to the stone ages and am now puttering along with dial-up, so that kinda zaps my abilities as far as the internet is concerned. ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
lol that sucks... NeverWinter Nights!! lol... 6 hours? lol... 16 HOURS OF PROGRAMMING TIME!? wow... i wish i could get that much... that's like my total programming time to date!! lol just kidding... i'll get an hour or two, and i have to get off... lol it's a wonder i program anything!! lol... ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
The first week i had WoW i played roughly 80-100 hours. 8AM till about midnight....for days on end.....woohoo. And I loved it so. Then i remembered i have school and responsibilities and such. Now i Just play every night and all day saturday, hahaha. level 24 Dwarf Hunter.....*eye twitch* ------------------ globalrant http://globalrant.wastextgames.com [This message has been edited by crazyishone (edited February 21, 2006).] |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
lol... .... ... speechless.... NEVER would be able to do that... lol... speechless... HOW CAN YOU DO THAT!! lol... ------------------ |
guategeek Member Posts: 107 From: Guatemala Registered: 11-08-2005 |
Sorry about the bad news Zack. Hope you can find some other option to get high speed internet. Also I found an easy way to center stuff on the web, but the problem is your BG image dousn't get centered. Well take care man. Jeff ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Just a question, is it taboo to use 1024x1024 textures? I'm using 512x512 right now, but in the large areas the tiling is still a bit worse than I'd like. ------------------ |
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guategeek Member Posts: 107 From: Guatemala Registered: 11-08-2005 |
I use 1024x1024 textures quite often, just depends on the texture compreshion that your engine uses, or that you decide to use. Here is a chart of some of the more common compreshion typs and the BPP (bytes per pixel). So to figure it out you do the math on your texture to find out the number of pixels and then multiply by the bytes, this will tell you the textures size in the VRAM: DXTC1 RGB: .5 Bpp (bytes/pixel) ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I might have to use them sparingly.....otherwise my games won't be playable by anyone with less that 128 MB VRAM. Personally I think it's about time they made a game (other than Eternal Wars) that requires something more than 8 VRAM, but then again you have to keep the customer in mind...... ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
Don't sacrifice quality unless you absolutely have to. ------------------ |
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QuestLeader Member Posts: 629 From: My house, Va, USA Registered: 04-20-2005 |
Hmm... I would like to be an alpha tester, if you don't mind. I agree with Crazy too, don't sacrifice quality unless you need to ;P ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Be assured gentlemen, quality is absolute formost in my mind. It's just annoying me that the tiling is so bad looking. I need to come up with a way to break it up. Large textures would probably work for large rooms, but I need to use them sparingly. And don't work Quest, I'll PM everyone who shows interest on this board and send you a link and password to the download, along with some rules about sharing info and stuff like that. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
BTW, kodus for the 100 post marker Thanks for the interest guys, I'll be posting more screenies as soon as I can download GIMP with this blasted dialup connection, fix some textures that I don't like, and fix my UV mapping issues with some arches. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
More screenies, PLEASE criticise. Even the most minute errors will be appreciated, I'm going for commercial here.   ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
awesome. superb. torches?? when?? :-p those textures are great. ------------------ Will the emo kids be my friends now? |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I'm tinkering with torchs now, I'll keep you posted. I'm having trouble with shaders, so I'll probably have to do some 2D animations instead, but they should still look cool. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Wow, thats a big improvement! I think that you should use the same texture for the walls, specifically the brick. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Reiterate please Lava. Same texture for what walls where? ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
Rather than have, say, an animated sprite for fire, that is completely 2D, i suggest using a particle emitter. (Whether it emits 2d particls of fire, or 3d fire particles matters little.) ------------------ Will the emo kids be my friends now? |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
On the walls, you see that there are 2 textures, the cobble and the brick, I think it should just be brick. But it's not really a big deal. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ah, I tried that but it was hard to tell the differenc between the wall and the arch ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Ok, that's really the only criticisim I could think of, lol. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
K, thanks for giving it ------------------ |
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QuestLeader Member Posts: 629 From: My house, Va, USA Registered: 04-20-2005 |
Hmm... Would it be possible to define the edges on those arches more? right now that looks kinda flat to me. Another thing is on the character model. There is a ddark line on his left hand where the side and palm meet. Those are the only things I see at the moment. If possible, could make a little video of the game in play? There are some programs you can use to do that, but I don't know the names of any. That would be a great help for the people who are looking for errors though. Well, best of luck, ~Chaz ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
well, i like it... agree with lava there tho... and quest... lol... ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, I've posted some video of some tests I've been doing with shaders, most notably normal mapping. This should give the game real looking bricks and flagstone and it look REALLY good. Tell me what you think please. Ereon http://pilgrimsjourney.bluegillweb.com/tests/Normal%20Map.wmv ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
Very, very nice. Will make the game feel all the more dynamic. ------------------ Will the emo kids be my friends now? |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Glad you like it, I'm gonna work on it some more but for now I think I'll focus more on having a playable demo (no matter how short). ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
lol... it confused me... what was it? ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Check out the way the light plays on the bricks, how 3D they look. Now consider that that is a completely flat surface.... ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
um... i didn't see any bricks... just a black surface being moved by the mouse... lol... ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Turn up the briteness on your monitor..... ------------------ |
MastaLlama Member Posts: 671 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
i agree with Crazyish, that's some nice stuff there! ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Thanks Now....if only I could figure out how to get it to work in the game.....My graphics card is kinda old, so I have to code all my own shaders, which I'm still learning how to do, so it might be a few days before I have screens of it actually used in game. ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
ugh... coding shaders? *shudders violently* lol... ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
It's not THAT hard......just a matter of learning the language. ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
lol yah, but i mean... that you have to do it... lol... ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Ok, new screenies including the new ladder and some shots from up on the ramparts. They still need polish (I'd like to make it so you can see the lands before the gate). Tell me what you think. ------------------ |
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guategeek Member Posts: 107 From: Guatemala Registered: 11-08-2005 |
I like your texturing better in these, helps bring out the detail in the mesh rather than hide it. Jeff ------------------ |
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guategeek Member Posts: 107 From: Guatemala Registered: 11-08-2005 |
Also don't forget that the only textures that need to be in the memory banks of your GPU are those that are on screen at the same time, same things applies to the tris. Your game seems to be based around a lot of small rooms. I would therefor put a lot more detail into the mesh and then UV and texture them. And since its all in small areas you shouldn't have to much of a performance hit. Jeff ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Excellent advice, I'll keep that in mind for the sewers beneath the city, so far though I haven't even got out of the tower/porticlus :P. Theres an entire city outside to explore (or rather there WILL be, if I can get by this blasted 600 poly limit). I'm going to be doing more polishing soon, Lava is working on some concept art for me, and I'll be finishing up this first playable part of the level. Soon hopefully I can put the real, finished characters into this new playground and tell them to play nice with the little demon warriors . ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
BTW, no wonder the game is running constantly slower on my computer, each texture is taking up 4 MB of RAM (very bad when you only have 32) so I'm spending 12 MB on just basic textures . I'll have to come up with a way around that too. ------------------ |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
And as another humorous side note there IS no detail in the mesh I just have to let the player know not to get within 3 feet of anything detailed looking . ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
Thats really where parallax mapping will help you out. Save on polys. Though it balances out in how taxing each option is on the system, sorta. ------------------ Will the emo kids be my friends now? |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
The painful thing is that my poor laptop can't handle parallax, and I'm having a hard enough time getting normal mapping to work. I'm skipping eye candy for now and focusing on gameplay for a while anyway. ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
good idea. Dont forget to back up all your code and resources from time to time. ------------------ Will the emo kids be my friends now? |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Gentlemen it is with great sadness that I must inform you that this project is being but on hold for an indefinate period if time due to some issues with the creator of this game's idea and myself. I am pleased to announe however that I will very soon begin work on a new project entitled "The Ithia Chronicles", and will but setting up a few threads for the game and storyline soon. I might continue this game later, but for now its on hold. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Ok, I'm perfectly fine with that, I would like to know more the new game. Though I hope it gets worked out for Soul Catcher ------------------ [This message has been edited by lava (edited March 22, 2006).] |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
that stinks... lol... looking forward to the new game... lol... ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Check your email Ereon  ------------------ |
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buddboy Member Posts: 2220 From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S. Registered: 10-08-2004 |
so... when ya gonna do the alpha testing? cuz i would like to test it... ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
He's still in concept and planning. He mentioned in one of the other threads that he'd be posting some concept renders soon. ------------------ |
