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GAF Indie Game Development Thread 2: High Res Work for Low Res Pay

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W

Water

Member
Valen said:
It's an option. Not everyone is a pro C++ programmer.
Click to expand...

There is a point where attempts to avoid learning and complexity just end up being more work and pain in the long run. I'm not yet familiar with UE4, but this smells like one of those times. What I'm familiar with is the analog situation in Unity, where C# is and always has been the only reasonable language for scripting, but for a long time Unity themselves pushed their so-called "Javascript" (actually Unityscript) and even Boo as alternatives. That has been over for some time now, and while Unity still has Unityscript reference docs for most things, they are at least telling everybody from beginner to expert to use C#.

In UE4, if C++ is too much, why not use Blueprints that is at least a first-party effort?

Two weeks from now I'm going to do a two-week workshop / extended game jam using UE4 with my students. We have worked exclusively in Unity until now, but it's good for them to see another environment for perspective. I'm personally excited to try Blueprints, from what I've heard it might be a really good tool eg. for short game dev courses for beginners where Unity / C# is too slow to learn.
 
P

Purple Cheeto

Member
Valen said:
It's an option. Not everyone is a pro C++ programmer.
Click to expand...

Well sure, but Javascript? Why would you pick Javascript? The cross section of skilled Javascript developers and people who will be using a high end 3d game engine is just so low that I don't understand why anyone would find it worthwhile, but who am I to judge I guess.

zulux21 said:
I want to say again I appreciate all of the responses not just the ones I am responding to.

I fully understand that an rpg is complicated, something simpler would be better as I will likely run hard into a wall and that the first things I create will be garbage it's just more important to get something made. That being said with my personality it would likely be a lot easier for me to spend 100-200 hours on some thing trivial like making damage numbers display in an rpg then it would be to do something like spend an hour designing a platformer level.

In this case would it still be better for me to try to force myself to do something simpler or should I just let my passion run wild and hope that I can use it to bust the walls that I will no undoubtedly face?

I mean I have played around in rpg maker before and it doesn't seem like a single floor dungeon with basic combat and equipment would take super long to do. I goofed around and had a working convo with someone and a single battle in the past.

Would merely aiming to make a single character, go through a single floor dungeon with like 2 doors and a single enemy be simple enough as a first project or should I still go simpler?
Click to expand...

Well I'm a negative nancy, and you know you better than I know you so in the end do what you think is the best usage of your time really.

Here's a super simple idea, make a rock/paper/scissors simulator in whatever game engine you choose, then think about how/what it would take to add Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy/Chrono Trigger/Earthbound/Insert favorite RPG style animations and menus to it.

When I was in college I worked on a lot of student game projects that went nowhere and most of them went nowhere because the scope was so insane that they became overwhelming. The one successful student project I worked on, the designers had a tight, simple idea and a basic, but solid, prototype. The game went on to get some IGF awards and an improved commercial version that got an 80+ meta critic, and we all got As in the class. The lesson I learned from this, and from working with those dudes, and from a lot of other failed projects is that you have to at some point in your life learn how to scope. I do think at the end that we should all only be limited by our own abilities and skills and passions, but it is important to know your own limits.

I'm rambling. My point is, make what makes you happy.
 
T

Theanine3D

Member
Purple Cheeto said:
Well sure, but Javascript? Why would you pick Javascript? The cross section of skilled Javascript developers and people who will be using a high end 3d game engine is just so low that I don't understand why anyone would find it worthwhile, but who am I to judge I guess.
Click to expand...

If I was a web developer with no experience with any language other than Javascript, and I wanted to try game development, this would be a faster way to try it out and get my feet wet. As easy as Blueprint is (to me, anyway), you still have to spend a lot of time learning it. It's still programming, just presented completely differnently. I spent over a year working on demos and personal projects with it before I finally felt comfortable enough to make a full game with it.

But yes, as a heavy user of Blueprint I'll always recommend that over this. I just don't think having more options available is such a horrible thing, is all.

The plugin was created and is being maintained by NCSoft, a major well-known developer of MMO's, so it's not some half-assed effort by an individual hobbyist dev that will just forget about it in a week. On the Unreal forums, the NCsoft employee behind the plugin states that "(ncsoft) are using this plugin for rapid-prototyping and editor extension." So it has its uses.

And because the code is being loaded at runtime, it also allows for some neat possibilities, like allowing your players to create their own scripted gamemodes within your game, which is what Garry's Mod has done with Lua for years.

Anyway, I don't even use this plugin and probably never will, so I really honestly don't care if anyone uses it or not. lol. I just think the more accessible game development is, the better off we all are, because more creative non-technically-minded people get a chance to contribute, and help the industry evolve from its current pathetic heap of AAA sameyness. And putting down or discouraging those people for using easier languages would be really uncool. I still run into elitist programmers that dismiss visual scripting in any form, even one backed by a world-leading AAA developer like Epic. It's both hilarious and sad.
 
N

Nosgoroth

Member
BlazeHedgehog said:
I uploaded some FEAR 2 screenshots an hour ago to show a friend after I'd finished playing, they were shrunk and weird too. I think the Steam Community servers are having trouble.
Click to expand...

Welp. Oh well, I emailed support, let's see what they say.

Last night they were fast to answer when I was panicking because the system was censoring my game title (Majotori) to Ma♥♥♥♥ri, breaking all my URLs too.
 
A

asa

Member
Damn, yesterday we submitted The Power Hover to Apple! and now we are biting nails :D

Also trying to come up with clever marketing strategy, anyone have good tips? :) Atm. our plan is to create a longer trailer, try to get that and maybe small stories about the game dev process featured on gaming sites & what not. Then once the app hopefully clears out, we will give out the review copies to the review-sites and youtubers.
 
Z

ZServ

Member
zulux21 said:
glad to hear that might be simple enough and that I indeed should go with my passion.

as for the technical things, I actually do have a multi page document on how systems would work I wrote up a much shorter version for my post lol (and that is with zero dialog done yet as the story is actually one of the least important things to me for this design) but I likely need to go into more detail, and designing a proof of concept for each thing definitely sounds like a good thing to do. My Document likely needs to be broken up a lot more and maybe made into a few documents to the key components , but that would be down the line after I have a grasp of how to make the engine do what I want and what not.

I'll likely try to at least give the simple design a crack tomorrow night and see how it goes. I'm tired of just sitting around wishing I could make one of my game designs a reality, or wishing I would finish one of my novels and what not. I want to create something and have others be able to get enjoyment out of it as I am not getting any younger.

again I appreciate the responses and will likely continue to ask some general design questions here, but I suppose that for the sake of any rpg maker stuff I should use this thread instead
Click to expand...

I'd say either thread is fine, personally. I'm using RPG Maker for Babel. I post here all the time :)
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
I've been doing some work on combat design. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelAdorableHornedtoad.webm

The parry window is kind of broken right now but I'll fix it later. It's also a bit pointless on such low level enemies, but whatever. Options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/NewMeatyGoitered.webm

A lot of enemies drop their weapon after you brutally murder them until they're dead. You can pick it up and use it. These probably won't ever be the best weapon in the game, but it's fun to do. And options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelShrillAmericancurl.webm
 
D

Dynamite Shikoku

Congratulations, you really deserve it!
liliththepale said:
I've been doing some work on combat design. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelAdorableHornedtoad.webm

The parry window is kind of broken right now but I'll fix it later. It's also a bit pointless on such low level enemies, but whatever. Options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/NewMeatyGoitered.webm

A lot of enemies drop their weapon after you brutally murder them until they're dead. You can pick it up and use it. These probably won't ever be the best weapon in the game, but it's fun to do. And options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelShrillAmericancurl.webm
Click to expand...

The way the camera moves when the character turns makes me feel a bit queasy
 
A

Ashodin

Member
Yeah I also feel the same, the camera moves WAY too jerky. Smooth it out a bit if you can, by making the character turn and the camera move softly to the "ahead" view you're trying to make.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
Ashodin said:
Yeah I also feel the same, the camera moves WAY too jerky. Smooth it out a bit if you can, by making the character turn and the camera move softly to the "ahead" view you're trying to make.
Click to expand...

That's interesting you're both saying this. The camera is centered a bit farther forward of the player than I would normally put it for a platformer because I want any enemies you're fighting to be well in frame. Consequently, it has to travel further when you switch directions. To me, watching the camera play catch up feels like a design flaw. When I'm playing the game, I don't want it to feel like I'm waiting for the camera to get on my level, so to speak.

From that, using a tight lerp felt like the best way to make the switch invisible. I barely notice it at that speed. When I slow it down, it brings back "now you're watching the camera pan". And I'm not sure if there's a reasonable medium between when I start consciously noticing the camera pan and when people start getting sick from it. That's fine, though. I can deal with the minute lag and I don't want people getting sick.
 
A

Ashodin

Member
That's the problem with development - you have to balance what you feel you want to see vs. what other people will see.

9 times out of 10, what other people will see matters more. You want your game to be accessible as possible without headaches.

Jobbs Not Included

edit: since the combat seems to be longer fights against enemies, perhaps some sort of lock-on camera that keeps the camera framed around the enemy? Then you could have it break if the enemy leaves the frame.
 
S

superNESjoe

Member
I don't have any great solutions for you, but I'll add my feedback to the list of others saying that the camera jumping around is too jarring. That would irritate me right out of playing the game pretty quickly (which is a shame because the artistic direction is great).

You could solve the issue by zooming out just enough to increase the screen real estate to the point where enemy placement being visible is no longer a concern. Waiting for the camera to play catch-up would be pretty irritating as a player as well, as you could find yourself losing an encounter for something you perceive as the game's fault, not yours. Have you tried simply centering the camera? That's usually not ideal but given the size of your characters on screen it might be a good temporary solution.

I'm sure you'll find a great solution here, but I'm not sure what advice to give. Take the feedback to heart though, it's totally an issue.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
Ashodin said:
That's the problem with development - you have to balance what you feel you want to see vs. what other people will see.

9 times out of 10, what other people will see matters more. You want your game to be accessible as possible without headaches.

Jobbs Not Included

edit: since the combat seems to be longer fights against enemies, perhaps some sort of lock-on camera that keeps the camera framed around the enemy? Then you could have it break if the enemy leaves the frame.
Click to expand...

superNESjoe said:
I don't have any great solutions for you, but I'll add my feedback to the list of others saying that the camera jumping around is too jarring. That would irritate me right out of playing the game pretty quickly (which is a shame because the artistic direction is great).

You could solve the issue by zooming out just enough to increase the screen real estate to the point where enemy placement being visible is no longer a concern. Waiting for the camera to play catch-up would be pretty irritating as a player as well, as you could find yourself losing an encounter for something you perceive as the game's fault, not yours. Have you tried simply centering the camera? That's usually not ideal but given the size of your characters on screen it might be a good temporary solution.

I'm sure you'll find a great solution here, but I'm not sure what advice to give. Take the feedback to heart though, it's totally an issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks both. I'm leaving for holiday in a few minutes, so I won't get to experiment just yet, but I want to try out some lock on solutions when I get a chance (hard lock, soft lock, et cetera). That might be just the thing I'm looking for, and it's also tangible enough to warrant a dedicated option in the settings menu.
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
The camera jerk when you turn around is a problem. I actually went through that same problem when trying to make the camera lead the player (which is desirable, I feel -- a perfectly centered camera that doesn't lead you at all is inelegant, IMO).

My solution was to create a camera target that extends ahead from the player as the player runs in a direction. This combined with some easing eliminated the jerking problem.

This is a gif I took back when I first figured this out: http://gfycat.com/InfamousSecretAsianlion
 
H

HellBlazer

Member
Yeah, Jobbs has a good solution there. I think the current problem isn't necessarily that the camera movement is too fast, but that it moves immediately to its maximum leading distance as soon as you turn around. Like, if you stood in place, but just turned to one side then the other a few times, the camera would shake wildly even though you're not covering any ground, right? That's the effect that's annoying, I feel. If you wait until the character has walked a little in a direction to move the camera to its leading position, you can still move it quite fast so that it doesn't feel like it's lagging behind, but it would be a lot less jarring, I think.

So... uh yeah, basically Jobb's gif.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
Jobbs said:
The camera jerk when you turn around is a problem. I actually went through that same problem when trying to make the camera lead the player (which is desirable, I feel -- a perfectly centered camera that doesn't lead you at all is inelegant, IMO).

My solution was to create a camera target that extends ahead from the player as the player runs in a direction. This combined with some easing eliminated the jerking problem.

This is a gif I took back when I first figured this out: http://gfycat.com/InfamousSecretAsianlion
Click to expand...

Oh, I see what you mean. Okay, I'll give something like this a shot when I get back to my workstation in a couple days. Thanks all :)
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
liliththepale said:
Oh, I see what you mean. Okay, I'll give something like this a shot when I get back to my workstation in a couple days. Thanks all :)
Click to expand...

Rest looks good though. I noticed there's no collision with the enemies. There is a roll move but you don't need to do it pass through them. I'm not sure if this is by design or just because it's not all hooked up yet, but I personally think some form of collision in a game like this would be nice. It adds a tactile feel which can be helpful in a sword and board game.

I don't have physical collision with most enemies in my own game, but that was more due to my own inability to get over some challenges with it than anything else.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
Jobbs said:
Rest looks good though. I noticed there's no collision with the enemies. There is a roll move but you don't need to do it pass through them. I'm not sure if this is by design or just because it's not all hooked up yet, but I personally think some form of collision in a game like this would be nice. It adds a tactile feel which can be helpful in a sword and board game.

I don't have physical collision with most enemies in my own game, but that was more due to my own inability to get over some challenges with it than anything else.
Click to expand...

There's not any collision, no, but rolling has like eight i-frames, and it's also just faster (albeit stamina depleting). Do you have any examples of 2D games where enemies have collision? (excluding those with contact damage, of course, as that won't be the case for most enemy types here).

I'm not inherently opposed to it, just didn't think there's been significant precedent for it.
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
liliththepale said:
There's not any collision, no, but rolling has like eight i-frames, and it's also just faster (albeit stamina depleting). Do you have any examples of 2D games where enemies have collision? (excluding those with contact damage, of course, as that won't be the case for most enemy types here).

I'm not inherently opposed to it, just didn't think there's been significant precedent for it.
Click to expand...

I may need to be corrected, but if I'm imagining things correctly it's not uncommon in brawling or melee type games. Collision but no contact damage. Obviously in 3D games like Dark Souls this is the case, but it's also true in 2D games. Just off the top of my head, Dust AET had it, and I think Muramasa The Demon Blade had it.

These are both brawling games where you often fight groups of enemies at once, and the ability for you and the enemies to stack on top of eachother would be undesirable. So -- While you may not spend much time thinking about it while playing, the collision is there.

edit; and now that I'm thinking about it, I think my own game would feel better if it had physical collision with enemies. I may look into it again later and see how many things it would break to try and retrofit it in.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
Jobbs said:
I may need to be corrected, but if I'm imagining things correctly it's not uncommon in brawling or melee type games. Collision but no contact damage. Obviously in 3D games like Dark Souls this is the case, but it's also true in 2D games. Just off the top of my head, Dust AET had it, and I think Muramasa The Demon Blade had it.

These are both brawling games where you often fight groups of enemies at once, and the ability for you and the enemies to stack on top of eachother would be undesirable. So -- While you may not spend much time thinking about it while playing, the collision is there.

edit; and now that I'm thinking about it, I think my own game would feel better if it had physical collision with enemies. I may look into it again later and see how many things it would break to try and retrofit it in.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I've had a bookmark on my browser for months now, meaning to check out Muramasa, but I keep putting it off. I'll go ahead and look into it!

For what it's worth, I did already solve the enemies stacking up on each other. Whichever one is in front will walk faster than the other, and one will walk around to the far side if the other is already attacking from the front, et cetera. I also have a two or more hitstun animations per enemy plus a global flag I query to make sure two enemies attacked in the same frame don't play the same hit animation and appear to be in lock step.

It's been a while since I've played Dust, but I'll take another look at it as well as Muramasa Thanks for the recommendation!
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
liliththepale said:
Interesting. I've had a bookmark on my browser for months now, meaning to check out Muramasa, but I keep putting it off. I'll go ahead and look into it!
Click to expand...

It's definitely something to check out, if only for the 2D visual spectacle.

LeadingTastyBeauceron.gif


For what it's worth, I did already solve the enemies stacking up on each other. Whichever one is in front will walk faster than the other, and one will walk around to the far side if the other is already attacking from the front, et cetera. I also have a two or more hitstun animations per enemy plus a global flag I query to make sure two enemies attacked in the same frame don't play the same hit animation and appear to be in lock step.
Click to expand...

Well then. That shut me up.
 
P

Pehesse

Member
liliththepale said:
I've been doing some work on combat design. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelAdorableHornedtoad.webm

The parry window is kind of broken right now but I'll fix it later. It's also a bit pointless on such low level enemies, but whatever. Options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/NewMeatyGoitered.webm

A lot of enemies drop their weapon after you brutally murder them until they're dead. You can pick it up and use it. These probably won't ever be the best weapon in the game, but it's fun to do. And options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelShrillAmericancurl.webm
Click to expand...

Jobbs said:
The camera jerk when you turn around is a problem. I actually went through that same problem when trying to make the camera lead the player (which is desirable, I feel -- a perfectly centered camera that doesn't lead you at all is inelegant, IMO).

My solution was to create a camera target that extends ahead from the player as the player runs in a direction. This combined with some easing eliminated the jerking problem.

This is a gif I took back when I first figured this out: http://gfycat.com/InfamousSecretAsianlion
Click to expand...

Agree with Jobbs' take and camera work, but just in case, here's a link about general camera considerations for 2D games!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNSQIyNpVGHeak6isbP6AHdHD50gs8MNXF1GCf08efg/pub?embedded=true

From what I understand in there, Jobbs' camera functions similarly to Cave Story's, which underlines how well it can work with hectic movement and enemies all around requiring changing directions repeatedly, but there are also plenty of other nice examples in there.

I agree about the enemy collision being worth considering, too - it's pretty much a staple of the beat'em alls I remember, and it definitely helps to add weight to the player movement (and give even more of a strategic reason for the roll to be there at all). Also, it can help avoid some hitbox annoyances when even your basic hits extends forward, if enemies can't pile on top of you, since you'll always be keeping them at arm's length :-D

(And Muramasa is definitely worth checking out, not only for the study factor! The DLC, like Jobbs linked, is very worthy of consideration as well, and in some respects, even more interesting than the base game)

And, uuuh...

liliththepale said:
For what it's worth, I did already solve the enemies stacking up on each other. Whichever one is in front will walk faster than the other, and one will walk around to the far side if the other is already attacking from the front, et cetera. I also have a two or more hitstun animations per enemy plus a global flag I query to make sure two enemies attacked in the same frame don't play the same hit animation and appear to be in lock step.
Click to expand...

I'll just... bookmark this... for, uh, reference.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
Hi guys, if you could vote our game on greenlight, that would be amazing.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=562372084&searchtext=super+helmets
Is the runner game Ive been showing on this thread, and put some codes here for the iOS version. We are trying to add a multiplayer for it if we get it soon into steam, the game is already finished and we already did the whole conversion (controller support, pc menus...) and bug testing on PC.


liliththepale said:
I've been doing some work on combat design. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelAdorableHornedtoad.webm
Click to expand...

The camera is a bit strange like Jobbs said, but I want to add. I love the kick to the chest animation nof the first video.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
Pehesse said:
Agree with Jobbs' take and camera work, but just in case, here's a link about general camera considerations for 2D games!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNSQIyNpVGHeak6isbP6AHdHD50gs8MNXF1GCf08efg/pub?embedded=true

From what I understand in there, Jobbs' camera functions similarly to Cave Story's, which underlines how well it can work with hectic movement and enemies all around requiring changing directions repeatedly, but there are also plenty of other nice examples in there.

I agree about the enemy collision being worth considering, too - it's pretty much a staple of the beat'em alls I remember, and it definitely helps to add weight to the player movement (and give even more of a strategic reason for the roll to be there at all). Also, it can help avoid some hitbox annoyances when even your basic hits extends forward, if enemies can't pile on top of you, since you'll always be keeping them at arm's length :-D

(And Muramasa is definitely worth checking out, not only for the study factor! The DLC, like Jobbs linked, is very worthy of consideration as well, and in some respects, even more interesting than the base game)
Click to expand...

Whoa. That's a lot to take in. Sounds like I have a lot to consider, but I'm okay with that! You guys honestly have been awesome, and I can't thank you enough. :)

SpacePirate Ridley said:
Hi guys, if you could vote our game on greenlight, that would be amazing.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=562372084&searchtext=super+helmets
Is the runner game Ive been showing on this thread, and put some codes here for the iOS version. We are trying to add a multiplayer for it if we get it soon into steam, the game is already finished and we already did the whole conversion (controller support, pc menus...) and bug testing on PC.
Click to expand...

This looks fun! Good luck with the campaign.
 
P

Pehesse

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Hi guys, if you could vote our game on greenlight, that would be amazing.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=562372084&searchtext=super+helmets
Is the runner game Ive been showing on this thread, and put some codes here for the iOS version. We are trying to add a multiplayer for it if we get it soon into steam, the game is already finished and we already did the whole conversion (controller support, pc menus...) and bug testing on PC.
Click to expand...

Did my part! :-D

On the topic of promotion: did anyone encounter issues with presskit() and wordpress? I have a wordpress based site, and installed successfully presskit() on it, but I can't upload any of the required images to complete the procedure and make the presskit, well... actually work.

(Filezilla says something about being "unable to create files", but doesn't get much more explicit in the specific issues it encounters, so I'm really not sure what the problem is, except that it's not easily fixed)
 
R

Razlo

Member
Jobbs said:
I made this gif and noticed how odd it looks when it walks up or down an angle.

http://www.gfycat.com/TatteredHappygoluckyCob

So I allowed it to rotate itself when going over an angled surface:

http://www.gfycat.com/WetAlertCrab

Not perfect... But as long as I'm using totally static traditional 2d animation, there'll never be perfect solutions for stuff like this.
Click to expand...

I think it'd be best to keep these enemies in non-angled areas if you're not going to have their body bend to conform to the floor, because it looks really weird as is. Since it's an intimidating monster, it's doubly bad having it look silly.
 
C

CrazyArcadia

Member
neko.works said:
I've been working on some alternatives for a few stages. Here's a few examples:

438.jpg


439.jpg


440.jpg


441.jpg


Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Continues to look cool :) I still think the night stages are a bit too dark but I like the atmosphere especially on the last pic with the trees and effects. I think to fully appreciate the changes, it'd be great to see some of those in movement again. ( Since it is the inspiration, in Super Hang-On on screenshots it's more difficult to see what they're going for stylistically compared to seeing it in motion.)
I also noticed (after playing some Hang-On on my 3DS) that they have these stripes on the roadside, probably to highlight the speed ingame. Maybe that would be an aspect to work into the design? (You had that on one of the older screenshots in the night stages with the yellow-reflecting road lines).

CrazyArcadia said:
wzQ06VJ.png
Click to expand...

Continuing from this post, some updates on our progress on Gunkatana. First of all thanks
liliththepale said:
Welcome to the thread! Your game looks great. :)
Click to expand...
(I've been looking at your game Nether Mind a lot in this thread, dig the artstyle! Need to read up more about the game.)
Tricktale said:
Looks great, and a lot of fun. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this.
Click to expand...
for the comments. We're currently in the progress of giving the game more presence on the internet, sharing more information, animations and screens with a hopefully growing group of people interested.

Geraldo's visit to GameCity was a neat success, people liked the game and we even got a bit of press coverage via Impact Nottingham and even a mention on The Guardian. These kind of things of course give us a lot of boost and motivate us to work even harder to get Gunkatana into the hands of multiplayer action fans!

Also, Geraldo posted an indepth blog entry about how Gunkatana started: The Origins of Gunkatana. It's actually similiar to some of the things I posted in my first post within this thread, but coming from his perspective and going right to the roots of the game. Also I think very interesting for people who have yet to show off their game for the first time in public - it's always worth it!

There, you'll also find lots of other animated images such as http://geraldonascimento.ghost.io/content/images/2015/11/Gunkatana---Revolt-of-the-AI.gif (maybe NSFWish) showing off several AI controlled characters fighting. The AI Geraldo is programming is making lots of progress, I found myself getting slaughtered by it in the latest build I tried out yesterday :D They grow up so quickly... Anyway, this also shows a new way to fight in the game, grail kills. Speed-grinding into other players will hurt them a lot!

BeefyGif.gif


Lately, on the visual side of development, I was mostly working on new effects and juice for fights (e.g. enhancing the grail usage and grail kills) and character movement. And of course creating sets of level backgrounds to be easily palette swapped:

cMHhCyB.gif


HDVSIAe.gif


I'm very interested in more feedback about the look and the gameplay we're going for (fast stylish multiplayer action). I will prepare some more detailed update for the coming weeks, we have a lot of things scheduled to happen soon :)
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
Razlo said:
I think it'd be best to keep these enemies in non-angled areas if you're not going to have their body bend to conform to the floor, because it looks really weird as is. Since it's an intimidating monster, it's doubly bad having it look silly.
Click to expand...

Generally I'd probably keep them in level areas, but I needed to make sure that if it ended up in worm mode while passing over an angle that it would at least work. Thus testing in a room with that slope.
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
I know I've been missing from this thread for personal reasons and I apologize but - E3 registrations for industry passes are open.

Who is going so I can start getting names down for meet n greets?
 
A

asa

Member
Working on Appstore icon and I'm bad at making icons, I've been struggling between different variations for days now! Simplifiyng things is somehow really hard for me. I'm pretty okey with latest try though.
here's the highres:
tumblr_nyfs0gbqHp1ukj7blo1_1280.png
 
D

DNAbro

Member
Asking this both in this thread and the RPG Maker thread since I don't know how much crossover there is, can anybody explain this to me?

I was modifying a script for my use and realized I didn't understand a certain part of it.
http://pastebin.com/MHG0HuZL

I don't know what "weapon ids" are in the context of RPG Maker. I don't know how they are defined and how to see which weapons have which IDs or how to set IDs. I feel like it should be obvious but I'm not getting it. I guessed it was the numbered weapon types but it's not working like I'm expecting, though they may be due to a bug in my code.
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
liliththepale said:
I've been doing some work on combat design. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelAdorableHornedtoad.webm
Click to expand...

Holy shit, the jerk on that thing. It wouldn't be s obad if the camera didn't pull so far away.

The parry window is kind of broken right now but I'll fix it later. It's also a bit pointless on such low level enemies, but whatever. Options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/NewMeatyGoitered.webm
Click to expand...

I mean, other than that, combat looks badass.

A lot of enemies drop their weapon after you brutally murder them until they're dead. You can pick it up and use it. These probably won't ever be the best weapon in the game, but it's fun to do. And options are good.

http://fat.gfycat.com/HighlevelShrillAmericancurl.webm
Click to expand...

And the enemy design is on point.
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
How big do you guys like to keep your HDD space for projects?

AbsintheGames said:
I know I've been missing from this thread for personal reasons and I apologize but - E3 registrations for industry passes are open.

Who is going so I can start getting names down for meet n greets?
Click to expand...

I'd like to but next year is up in the air for me.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
liliththepale said:
Huh, good to know. I wonder if this is one of those things you feel more when you're not in control and anticipating it. I get nauseous pretty easily and don't think this is too fast, but I can tone it down. Thanks for the input! :)
Click to expand...
Slow it down a bit and make the easing smoother and slower to full speed. It's too off-putting right now. You don't realize how often you turn around in games like that until you have a camera system like that. I'd suggest watching some various GDC talks on camera system implementation and how many games do it. Or studying something like Mario World.

Here's a good starter: Scroll Back: The Theory and Practice of Cameras in Side-Scrollers
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
liliththepale said:
Whoa. That's a lot to take in. Sounds like I have a lot to consider, but I'm okay with that! You guys honestly have been awesome, and I can't thank you enough. :)



This looks fun! Good luck with the campaign.
Click to expand...

Pehesse said:
Did my part! :-D

On the topic of promotion: did anyone encounter issues with presskit() and wordpress? I have a wordpress based site, and installed successfully presskit() on it, but I can't upload any of the required images to complete the procedure and make the presskit, well... actually work.

(Filezilla says something about being "unable to create files", but doesn't get much more explicit in the specific issues it encounters, so I'm really not sure what the problem is, except that it's not easily fixed)
Click to expand...

Thanks guys!

Situacao said:
Yesterday evening brought geat news. Pulsar Raiders was Greenlit!

12311265_555050351311678_7144797368296712920_n.png
Click to expand...

Congrats! We entered greenlight 2 days ago.
How much time did you wait?
The last time I put a game on it took a bunch of months.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
Situacao said:
Thank you guys very much!

Well, we entered on Halloween, so it took us a lil' less than a month. But it really depends, I know plenty of projects which look better and took longer than Pulsar did!
Click to expand...

Seems that times are shorter than at the beggining then. Thanks for the info!
BTW, did you get a lot of no votes? IIRC Valve said no votes didnt count, but still seeing so many of them is hard lol
BTW Just looked for it and your game looks great, hope for the best.
 
S

Situacao

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Seems that times are shorter than at the beggining then. Thanks for the info!
BTW, did you get a lot of no votes? IIRC Valve said no votes didnt count, but still seeing so many of them is hard lol
BTW Just looked for it and your game looks great, hope for the best.
Click to expand...

We were roughly on Steam's average.. It depends on the stage of development you're in, but I wouldn't mind too much about that :)

Thanks a lot, really appreciated!
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
Stencyl has limited audio features, but I came up with a semi creative solution for making a sound taper off and change as you get further away.

The long and short of it is I made it so two sounds are playing at once -- a "dry" version, and a version with the highs removed and reverb added (or whatever, but that's what I did in this test case). I play these at the same time on two different audio channels, and then I use the distance between the player and the target to set the volume levels of the two channels. Close up = 100% / 0%, max distance = 0% / 100%. The max distance was a number I set arbitrarily based on what seemed to feel right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3iKQrOPjjc

Surprisingly good first test result.
 
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