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Nephilim
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Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414
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 Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 3:01 am Post subject: 'DungeonCrawl Saga' screenies |
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Ahh, fine Memorial day weekend. An extra day of slack that had no demands on my time. So, I sat down with my Mac and busted out the console-style RPG system I had been working on, and did some major work on it. Due to RL issues, I hadn't had much of a chance to do anything with it for a while, but this weekend, I made some major progress.
(I credit DarkDread's work on the compo with giving me the boost I needed to delve into it again. Thanks, DarkDread!)
The main innovation this weekend was adding object-oriented scriptability to any tile, so that any tile can know what to do when they are walked on, bumped into, nudged, etc.
You can check out screenies on my project page at http://www.rpgdx.net/showgame.php?project_id=18. One of the screens is the map editor, and the other four show the walkaround demo in action. It's finally solid enough that I can go back and forth from the map editor to the game engine to create nontrivial gameplay, which is a major milestone. If I only wanted a talk-to-people RPG with no combat or collecting, I'd be all set to go.
I also added a lot of graphics to the core tileset, bumping it up to 32x32 tiles from 16x16 tiles, which lends itself to nicer graphics, I think.
The next thing is to decide how combat and inventory are going to be handled. The system I was planning before was fun, but was going to entail too much work to realistically finish, so I'm trying to pare back on my expectations with this game. Just for simplicity's sake, I may fall back on the overused 'Attack / Cast / Use item / Flee' thing. It's cliche', I know, but it's also time-tested (and hopefully the story would make up for the lack of an innovative new combat system...).
Anyway, thought you guys might enjoy a little update.
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Ninkazu
Demon Hunter
Joined: 08 Aug 2002
Posts: 945
Location: Location:
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| Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 3:22 am Post subject: |
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Looks really cool! I can't wait :)
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akOOma
Wandering Minstrel
Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 113
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 5:04 am Post subject: |
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When do we get a real first demo to look at??
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ThousandKnives
Wandering Minstrel
Joined: 17 May 2003
Posts: 147
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 7:09 am Post subject: |
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9 layers? Wow, thats a lot of map layers! Should certainly make detailed map designs possible though.
Graphics looks very nice. Excellent color choices (probably the most overlooked element of pixel art...) I especially like the house.
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Bjorn
Demon Hunter
Joined: 29 May 2002
Posts: 1425
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 9:32 am Post subject: |
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Looks like a nice integration of scripting in the editor! It looks a lot cleaner without all the details involved when describing Lua objects too.
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Nephilim
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Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 1:07 am Post subject: |
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| Bjørn wrote: | | Looks like a nice integration of scripting in the editor! It looks a lot cleaner without all the details involved when describing Lua objects too. |
Yeah, I was going for something that would be easy to build levels with, even if it meant sacrificing a bit of the generality of the engine. I don't have a lot of time, and that seemed like a no-brainer as far as being something I could do to reap a lot of benefit time-wise.
But I'm really not sacrificing a lot of generality - it generates actual source code, so if necessary, it can hack into any part of the engine.
| ThousandKnives wrote: | | 9 layers? Wow, thats a lot of map layers! Should certainly make detailed map designs possible though. |
Yup. Actually, it's eight layers of map graphics and one layer for the "actors". It's pretty flexible, but still not perfect. Basically, it allows me to have tiles that perform several tasks. For instance, I can have a grass edger that can be overlaid against anything - I don't need edgers for transitions between every single terrain type.
The way it draws maps is like so: first, it draws the first four layers. Then it draws the actors. Then it draws the last four layers. Each layer reference is a pointer into the tileset, which can be changed by the scripting system, so you can dynamically change the way the map looks based on the player's actions. Combine that with the little actors that can walk around and do things, and you have a pretty complete map-world engine.
| ThousandKnives wrote: | | Graphics looks very nice. Excellent color choices (probably the most overlooked element of pixel art...) I especially like the house. |
Thanks! Glad you liked it. I've actually tweaked the house a bit since I didn't like the proportions on it, but it's still pretty similar. I've been really struggling with the pixel art for this project. Part of it is that I'm not the greatest of pixel artists, but the other part is that I appear to go through phases where I like different pixel art styles, and when they all end up on screen, they clash. I think I'm finally starting to get a somewhat consistent art style to them.
| akOOma wrote: | | When do we get a real first demo to look at?? |
Not for a while yet, I'm afraid. I don't think I have to explain to anyone here that a walkaround demo doesn't make an RPG. Heh. The walkaround demo I have now really has nothing in common with what the final product will have - I haven't got any of the character, setting, or gameplay I'm planning in the engine yet, so it really wouldn't be representative of anything other than proof that I can make a walkaround demo. *smirk*
That said, I'm encouraged that you're asking! Having a community of people looking forward to a game is the sort of thing that will keep me going through the project.
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BigManJones
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Joined: 22 Mar 2003
Posts: 196
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 1:10 am Post subject: |
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Yep, the screen shots look nice but to tell the truth, there is zero chance I will play it since its in Macromedia/director. I despise plugins.
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Nephilim
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Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 1:29 am Post subject: |
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| BigManJones wrote: | | Yep, the screen shots look nice but to tell the truth, there is zero chance I will play it since its in Macromedia/director. I despise plugins. |
Well, Director isn't just for making web-delivered content - it can make normal executables, as well. In fact, I'd say Director is better known as a CD-ROM/kiosk/executable programming tool, with Shockwave a relatively recent thing.
I'm planning on releasing both an executable version and a web-based version. The web-based version would be for people who want convenience. The executable version would be for the people who want a full-screen experience (and for people who hate plugins, I guess - heh).
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ThousandKnives
Wandering Minstrel
Joined: 17 May 2003
Posts: 147
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 1:33 am Post subject: |
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Actually, it sounds like your layers work somewhat similiar to the layers in my game.
But, I wish by times that I had the capability to have multiple walking layers (so the player can walk under a bridge or over it, for example). Doesnt sound like your layers accomplish that?
Anyway your graphics are definately a little eclectic (glowing yellow pathways?), but you are avoiding a LOT of the pitfalls that are so common in indie RPG graphics, which makes me so very happy.
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Nephilim
Mage
Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2003 2:09 am Post subject: |
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| ThousandKnives wrote: | Actually, it sounds like your layers work somewhat similiar to the layers in my game.
But, I wish by times that I had the capability to have multiple walking layers (so the player can walk under a bridge or over it, for example). Doesnt sound like your layers accomplish that? |
It can, but it's a shameless hack. Basically, when the player moves to a certain spot, you bump things that are in the ground layer up to the canopy layer so that when they traverse the tile again, they go under it rather than over it. It also means you need to dynamically set the walkability of the adjacent cells. Luckily, I have quick-and-easy script access to this stuff.
This method works fine if (a) you don't do it all over the place, and (b) you don't need NPC's walking over the bridge above you while you're walking under it - the bridge has to be "on" or "off".
If you were planning an engine similar to this but wanted more flexibility for this sort of thing, it would be a simple matter to define three planes, and allow actors to be drawn between layer 1 and 2 or between layer 2 and 3. The biggest overhead would be drawing that extra layer each frame, but if your engine is fast enough, that probably wouldn't matter.
| ThousandKnives wrote: | | Anyway your graphics are definately a little eclectic (glowing yellow pathways?), but you are avoiding a LOT of the pitfalls that are so common in indie RPG graphics, which makes me so very happy. |
"Glowing yellow?" Damn, our gamma settings must be totally mismatched. I guess I'll revisit that sand color. Heh.
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Nephilim
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Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2003 5:16 am Post subject: |
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I just posted a new screenshot on my project page. It has new 'tree' graphics (trees are now taller than characters!) and a sand graphic that should be less "glowing yellow".
Does it look better? http://www.rpgdx.net/uploads/screenshot183.png
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ThousandKnives
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Joined: 17 May 2003
Posts: 147
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2003 8:38 am Post subject: |
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Actually I think my issue with your "glowing yellow pathways" is that, as you mentioned, its supposed to be sand. Pathways are usually more dirt-like. Sand tends to blow around and wouldnt form in a path, especially in a temperate climate.
So yeah, the graphic is good for sand (especially in the new pic, I like the changes), but the paths probably should be a medium-darkish dirt and not a light sand. But, that's just me.
On a different note, I really like the new trees and the glowing windows on the house. Lookin' very good.
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BigManJones
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Joined: 22 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Sat May 31, 2003 2:13 am Post subject: |
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Lookin good!
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Barok
Stephen Hawking
Joined: 26 Nov 2002
Posts: 248
Location: Bushland of Canada
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| Posted: Sat May 31, 2003 7:11 am Post subject: |
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it looks quite nice. keep up the good work!!
p.s. Don't pull a mortal kombat: By that i mean just changing a character's color and call him a whole new character! ;)
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Nephilim
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Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2003 3:23 am Post subject: |
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| Barok wrote: | | p.s. Don't pull a mortal kombat: By that i mean just changing a character's color and call him a whole new character! ;) |
For the most part, I'm not planning on doing that - every major character will have his or her own sprite sheet - but I've also got the Ultima-like "towns full of people to talk to" thing going in the design document, and I doubt I'll be industrious enough to give every living creature in the game world their own graphics, so there will certainly be some sprite re-use somewhere.
If I bother to make a new sprite sheet, though, I'll most likely do more than just swap some colors around. The 'red and blue' wizard sprites you saw were just for testing. Heh.
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