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[correojon]

So right now I'm focusing on getting the escher blocks prettied up ie movement transitions and shadow transitions. Here's a gif of my escher test level. You can see the shadows aren't quite convincing/smooth, and for some reason shadows are casting through the blocks. Need to figure out whats up with that.




Once that's finished up I do need to come up with more ideas. Right now one of them I have is having a block type that doesn't move relative to the camera, so when you rotate it could bridge a gap you need to cross. Do you have any examples of what you mean by changing behavior/state? I'm all ears.

It´s looking great! You could also play with block displacement, having blocks that don´t move like you said, that move in the opposite direction to the rest, or that move continuosly independently to perspective changes. Another type of block could allow the player to climb it´s side, or make the player stay glued to it when changin perspective. Also, blocks that can´t be stood on in certain perspectives,
You have 2 mechanics: basic movement and perspective changing, so think of different ways to make them do different things, affecting (or not) the player, the blocks or both of them.

 

[TheHollowNight]

I feel kinda bad since scrolling through the next six or seven pages the only name I recognized was Peter Molyneux. I think it might help new audiences if there was a blurb next to the interviewee names. (I'm assuming the primary/Patreon audience reads them all regardless)

Which one is yours?

Yeah, I agree. I knew a decent portion of the interviewees, but also found myself skipping a bunch here and there.

http://www.nodontdie.com/arran-seaton/

My chat I felt was nowhere near as interesting as some of the others, but hey, i enjoyed being part of it!

 

[Exuro]

It´s looking great! You could also play with block displacement, having blocks that don´t move like you said, that move in the opposite direction to the rest, or that move continuously independently to perspective changes. Another type of block could allow the player to climb it´s side, or make the player stay glued to it when changin perspective. Also, blocks that can´t be stood on in certain perspectives,
You have 2 mechanics: basic movement and perspective changing, so think of different ways to make them do different things, affecting (or not) the player, the blocks or both of them.

Yeah thanks. Those are good ideas. After thinking about it I think I need to redo my data structure for handling the movement and updating the grid when the rotation happens. Currently its all balled up into a single class which is kind of terrible to read now. I'm thinking of making it more component based and applying the scripts/behaviors per gameobject instead of having a single object handling it all. That will help a lot when coming up with more block types as right now I'd have to keep adding to the mass the more I add and with the new method I can just add the "This block needs to update its neighbors on rotation" script. I'm glad I got the movement all figured out though. Everything I've done so far has been very "will this work?" so now I'm going to try to clean it up and make it more easy to use/modular.

edit: decided to kind of/kind of not do the above. I'm rebuilding the movement grid by hashing every angle's movement so the only time I need to update the grid is for moving platforms, otherwise no calculations will be done. Makes a ton of sense but i didn't realize it until a while ago. So I'll still do component classes that derive from a base block class I have that will handle their own updating and remove/add from the hashes. This will be the one for sure. Once this is up to parity with the old system I'll start working on moving platforms. After that I think I'll have enough to make a starter set of puzzles so I'm gonna get into getting my xml load/save class going and then make some sort of intuitive editor.

 

[el_Nikolinho]

Having this problem with unity where everything gets dark when I change from fullscreen.
Before:

After:

Was happening with some of my builds too. I'm guessing it's not building the lighting right but I'm not sure.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Hmm, would not supporting screen aspect rations narrower than 4:3 be bad form today? Noticed that with the way the UI is set up with regard to a virtual 320x240 display, any display narrower than 4:3 would start to crop.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

If you don't have any machine you can dual-boot, try downloading VirtualBox (open-source, commercial use allowed last I checked) and installing Ubuntu (or Debian or whatever) on it. That might let you run Steam and check it yourself, and it'll also provide you very useful experience for Linux debugging, plus a simple platform for Linux testing.

It might not provide the performance your game needs, but it might help you fix install issues like missing files.

Ubuntu does not work on my machine.

I don't know why I care so much, as I've only sold 2 Mac copies as oppose to 160+ PC.

 

[Blizzard]

Ubuntu does not work on my machine.

I don't know why I care so much, as I've only sold 2 Mac copies as oppose to 160+ PC.

What specifically does not work about Ubuntu?

Also, VirtualBox is a virtual machine, so it might work inside that.

 

[justsomeguy]

That acronym went over my head. I never went to school for programming so a lot of what I do

Spoiler

everything

is from the hip and never learned right or wrong ways to do stuff. I only know I like compartmentalizing stuff because its easier for me to debug and fix things when I inevitably break them.

I'm an incredibly dumb programmer, tbh.

Google it some good tips in there (eg its wiki page). Don't try and get your head around all of it, just use it as step 1 to spark a few thoughts.

 

[justsomeguy]

. Do you have any examples of what you mean by changing behavior/state? I'm all ears.

On the lines of... you might have a block made of glass and it's only safe to cross if it's next to a concrete block on either side. Two glass blocks in a row isn't strong enough and would shatter.

Or you have a block with a number on it and it has to be touching that many other blocks before you can walk on it.

What about rotating about the other axes by the way... Not just in that plane.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Hmm... I think I'm outgrowing Beepbox, and was thinking if there was an option that let me enjoy the same or similar interface, with the same way of producing loop patterns for the whole music, but also allows more flexibility by also integrating a sampler for, well, sampled instruments?

(I think I can still work with just Beepbox for now. Famitracker seems to not fit my needs.)

 

[LordRaptor]

Hmm... I think I'm outgrowing Beepbox, and was thinking if there was an option that let me enjoy the same or similar interface, with the same way of producing loop patterns for the whole music, but also allows more flexibility by also integrating a sampler for, well, sampled instruments?

(I think I can still work with just Beepbox for now. Famitracker seems to not fit my needs.)

I've used LMMS for 'real' music creation before, but I don't know if its too distant from beepbox in usability or product for your needs

 

[Jacksinthe]

Google it some good tips in there (eg its wiki page). Don't try and get your head around all of it, just use it as step 1 to spark a few thoughts.

Pretty sure I employ like 90% of this without knowing the proper terminology if I understand it properly. I may not buy I think I get it :F

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

I've used LMMS for 'real' music creation before, but I don't know if its too distant from beepbox in usability or product for your needs

I think I'm going to play around with it.

Speaking of which, how does one create and prepare music that should loop indefinitely at a specified point that isn't the beginning when used in a Unity project? I think I'd like to do something where beginning section only plays when the song has just started.

 

[LordRaptor]

I think I'm going to play around with it.

Speaking of which, how does one create and prepare music that should loop indefinitely at a specified point that isn't the beginning when used in a Unity project? I think I'd like to do something where beginning section only plays when the song has just started.

Well, a workaround solution would obviously be to split your track into an intro that plays once, and a maintheme that loops forever.

JSR on the Dreamcast did something pretty elegant, where it had each song have a 'main song' part, but each song also had a lot of intro and outro mixtracks to other songs, so the soundtrack was a seamless 'mixtape' but players could move freely between stages with each stage having its own signature theme

 

[ZServ]

After this final area of Babel is finished, the game will be done. Right now looking into Greenlight and all that jazz, but I'd like to pose a question that I'm unsure of.

What's the "better" decision here-- launch on Early Access once the game is content complete, and use that for bug fixing for a couple months, or spend a couple months fixing as many bugs as I can personally find, then release straight onto Steam, and then fix whatever bugs crop up?

Personally, I'm leaning towards the latter due to the fact that first impressions matter. Additionally, Early Access games seem to mostly be incomplete, and I fear that people will see "Early Access" and not even realize the game is actually *done*, just a tad buggy.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Well, a workaround solution would obviously be to split your track into an intro that plays once, and a maintheme that loops forever.

JSR on the Dreamcast did something pretty elegant, where it had each song have a 'main song' part, but each song also had a lot of intro and outro mixtracks to other songs, so the soundtrack was a seamless 'mixtape' but players could move freely between stages with each stage having its own signature theme

Hmm, interesting.

*groan as he finds himself to be rather inept at making music... sounds quite boring. Trying his hardest to think of something that would work as a world map music... something that won't bore quickly in other words*

*also has a distinct lack of general purpose samples for LMMS... too string/synth heavy*

 

[Pehesse]

After this final area of Babel is finished, the game will be done. Right now looking into Greenlight and all that jazz, but I'd like to pose a question that I'm unsure of.

What's the "better" decision here-- launch on Early Access once the game is content complete, and use that for bug fixing for a couple months, or spend a couple months fixing as many bugs as I can personally find, then release straight onto Steam, and then fix whatever bugs crop up?

Personally, I'm leaning towards the latter due to the fact that first impressions matter. Additionally, Early Access games seem to mostly be incomplete, and I fear that people will see "Early Access" and not even realize the game is actually *done*, just a tad buggy.

Yeah, I'd lean towards the latter, myself. I also read that you only ever really launch once, contrary to popular belief regarding early access, so might as well make your one chance at first exposure through the press the right one. There's such a stigma associated with Early Access nowadays, unless your economic plan relies on it, or you *need* the feedback it can provide, I'd avoid it whenever possible!

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get my game into a "publishable" state at this rate.

I think I'm pretty happy with this piece I've made just now... I think I get what it should sound like now, at least now that I've played another song on repeat just to "get" what the melody, harmony, bass, and percussion should look like. This doesn't sound like cacophony anymore.

 

[Paz]

Hmm, interesting.

*groan as he finds himself to be rather inept at making music... sounds quite boring. Trying his hardest to think of something that would work as a world map music... something that won't bore quickly in other words*

*also has a distinct lack of general purpose samples for LMMS... too string/synth heavy*

should be able to create a loop region (or loop points) in to your music so that when it's set to loop it doesn't go back to the start of the song. Never used LMMS though, but I've done this in Reaper.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

should be able to create a loop region (or loop points) in to your music so that when it's set to loop it doesn't go back to the start of the song. Never used LMMS though, but I've done this in Reaper.

I think I'm in no hurry to learn that since I already know how to do it in LMMS. It's just that I have a distinct lack of general samples. The provided samples are rather harsh and/or synthy, so I'm now on the lookout for sample sets that should sound more in place in a JRPG.

I'll keep using BeepBox as a sketching tool, as well as the source for the chiptune part of the music. Planning to end up doing a mix that's both chiptune and sampled. (and maybe let the player choose?)

 

[HandsomeCharles]

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get my game into a "publishable" state at this rate.

I think I'm pretty happy with this piece I've made just now... I think I get what it should sound like now, at least now that I've played another song on repeat just to "get" what the melody, harmony, bass, and percussion should look like. This doesn't sound like cacophony anymore.

Stardew Valley and Axiom verge both took their creators around four years to make. If someone said to me "Charlie, work hard for four years and you'll make $1000000+ sales, I'd jump at it!

Obviously, nothing is ever guaranteed, but it just puts things into perspective. A good game takes time, and you shouldn't worry about getting it done "soon", just get it done.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Stardew Valley and Axiom verge both took their creators around four years to make. If someone said to me "Charlie, work hard for four years and you'll make $1000000+ sales, I'd jump at it!

Obviously, nothing is ever guaranteed, but it just puts things into perspective. A good game takes time, and you shouldn't worry about getting it done "soon", just get it done.

Heh! Here's hoping I don't end up with a total HDD disaster that takes out multiple internal and external HDDs, wiping all traces of the project! I think I probably have enough backups as is...

I think I'll try implementing a basic sound system tomorrow, with the newly-created music (well, one of them) and a menu UI sound effect.

Speaking of the UI, how would one make a UI keyboard-accessible? Right now, I have a Field UI prefab that has its own scripting and stuff, and said prefab contains multiple message boxes and groups of message boxes and buttons. I think I'd like to know whether it's possible to enable keyboard/controller control on the UI and let the player highlight and confirm buttons on there. (The mouse part already works, obviously, but if things might affect the mouse's portion, do tell.)

 

[LordRaptor]

*also has a distinct lack of general purpose samples for LMMS... too string/synth heavy*

Well, LMMS is a full fat digital audio workstation, its just available for that sweet sweet open source price of free.
You can grab any VSTs you want from somewhere like http://www.dskmusic.com/ (has a bunch of free ones) and load them up by adding VeSTige as an instrument in LMMS and configuring it to use a VST

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Well, LMMS is a full fat digital audio workstation, its just available for that sweet sweet open source price of free.
You can grab any VSTs you want from somewhere like http://www.dskmusic.com/ (has a bunch of free ones) and load them up by adding VeSTige as an instrument in LMMS and configuring it to use a VST

OK, I think I'll try to see what I can find tomorrow. Hopefully I can find samples that sound soft enough. Something that like, wouldn't be out of place in an SNES/GBA game.

The tutorial for LMMS did get me up to speed on usage, at least, and now I'm also comfortable using the normal chart in Beepbox. Guess I gained additional knowledge that might come useful elsewhere, now that I finally managed to actually produce a piece of music that I'm happy with!

Speaking of which, listening to a specific song on a repeating loop did the trick in picking out exactly how notes should be laid for the harmony and bass lines - that song is in fact the first world map music for Final Fantasy V, but you might have also noticed that what I posted as the link sounds nothing like that. I was thinking "why does my songs sound like a hot mess", then... well, I finally clicked!

 

[Geminosity]

I'm dabbling with increasing the colour on my robots and removing fog just to make it easier to see what's going on. With the more subtle colours and veil of fog I feel like some of the robots were just kind of fading into the arena floor and being visually 'lost'

Before:

After:

What's people's thoughts? :3

 

[Pehesse]

I'm dabbling with increasing the colour on my robots and removing fog just to make it easier to see what's going on. With the more subtle colours and veil of fog I feel like some of the robots were just kind of fading into the arena floor and being visually 'lost'

Before:


After:


What's people's thoughts? :3

Whoa, they definitely pop a lot more on the second screen, I'll admit I didn't even see them on the first one for a minute. I don't know if that makes it "better", since it looks a lot more artificial now, maybe there's a middle ground to be found, but if I had to choose, for legibility's sake, I'd go for the second one!

 

[RelentlessRolento]

I'm dabbling with increasing the colour on my robots and removing fog just to make it easier to see what's going on. With the more subtle colours and veil of fog I feel like some of the robots were just kind of fading into the arena floor and being visually 'lost'

Before:


After:


What's people's thoughts? :3

It's nice that they pop more and are easily readable now, but here's two suggestions maybe:

You could put a UI element under their legs designating a color or something... don't know. Something like what sports games do but minimal? It might be too much, but hard to say honestly.

Also, different robot models might help, but I know you may be doing that anyway.

don't know if that helps.

 

[Geminosity]

Whoa, they definitely pop a lot more on the second screen, I'll admit I didn't even see them on the first one for a minute. I don't know if that makes it "better", since it looks a lot more artificial now, maybe there's a middle ground to be found, but if I had to choose, for legibility's sake, I'd go for the second one!

Heh, agreed. While it kind of leeches out the contrast I kind of like the fog, but removing it improves the readability of what's going on in the arena quite a bit :3

It's nice that they pop more and are easily readable now, but here's two suggestions maybe:

You could put a UI element under their legs designating a color or something... don't know. Something like what sports games do but minimal? It might be too much, but hard to say honestly.

Also, different robot models might help, but I know you may be doing that anyway.

don't know if that helps.

Thankies :3
I'm somewhat limited in what UI I can put under them as I use AI at their feet for some of the game-modes to clearly indicate owernship changes (for switch, claim and waltzing queen) though admittedly in the mode pictured and a few others I don't so it might be an option. That said the colours and whatnot are just for visual interest than to indicate anything (hidden info is the main name of the game after all :3 )

I was thinking that maybe making the bottom border on their 'skirt' metallic would help separate them from the floor more as metal-coloured parts seem to stand out pretty well (the arms are bare metal)

more avenues to investigate are always welcome though XD

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

Run animation:

 

[Pehesse]

Run animation:

At first glance I'd say his legs don't extend forward, making for an awkward jog, almost like he's running up stairs. The bust might also stand to be a little more arched forward depending on the speed you intend to evoke (it looks like a pretty intense run to me because of the arms movement - consider slowing them down/arcing less if you want the run to appear slower)

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

What specifically does not work about Ubuntu?

Also, VirtualBox is a virtual machine, so it might work inside that.

I start up my VM and it says I have the wrong kernel.

 

[Blizzard]

I start up my VM and it says I have the wrong kernel.

I'm sorry, I'm very confused.

1. When you tried to install Ubuntu before, did you use a virtual machine? Or are you talking about dual boot?

2. When you say VM, which VM are you using?

3. When you say it says you have the wrong kernel, at what point does this happen? When you try to run the VM? As soon as you start trying to install Ubuntu? Late in the Ubuntu install process?

 

[SeanNoonan]

I finally got around to making another video devlog...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzMA9gg8SoU

Spoiler

Getting a little better at editing.

 

[Exuro]

On the lines of... you might have a block made of glass and it's only safe to cross if it's next to a concrete block on either side. Two glass blocks in a row isn't strong enough and would shatter.

Or you have a block with a number on it and it has to be touching that many other blocks before you can walk on it.

What about rotating about the other axes by the way... Not just in that plane.

Interesting ideas. I'll make a note. As for the other axis...rotating not just in y but x and z...hmm. It could make some crazy puzzles and I have the knowledge to do it but I think for this project I'm going to start small and just try to finish it. If I end up not hating the game/myself by the end of it and want to pursue a sequel this would definitely be one of the features.

I finally got around to making another video devlog...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzMA9gg8SoU

Spoiler

Getting a little better at editing.

You have a great voice.

 

[locet]

Hello everyone!

My brother and I made a Sokoban game. We don't have a lot of devices available nor are we familiar with mobile games, so if anyone could help us and test our game, we would really appreciate it.


Any feedback is good, but I want to know what you guys think about:

- does it run smooth in your device?
- are the ad's intrusive?
- can you understand the "how to play"?
- do you like the virtual gamepad?


Here's the link and thanks!

Play Store
http://bit.ly/1puLO36

Amazon
http://amzn.to/1QyZDGL

 

[Diablohead]

Run animation:

It's nearly there, I can see the legs starting to go backwards before they hit the ground, way too early IMO it's a little like he is trying to skip instead of run.

This is not the best example as it was me messing about with drawing over my sprites to see how they would look, but i'll post it here anyway.

Just note that this is a very exaggerated run to look fierce and strong.

I did some 3D animation at uni and I know how annoying it can be but keep at it! you can only improve the more you try.

 

[Jacksinthe]

It's nearly there, I can see the legs starting to go backwards before they hit the ground, way too early IMO it's a little like he is trying to skip instead of run.

This is not the best example as it was me messing about with drawing over my sprites to see how they would look, but i'll post it here anyway.

Just note that this is a very exaggerated run to look fierce and strong.

I did some 3D animation at uni and I know how annoying it can be but keep at it! you can only improve the more you try.

You and Pehesse throw out some top notch shit, damn. Between the two of you I'm like daaaamn DAAAAAAMN DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN

 

[SeanNoonan]

You have a great voice.

Sarcasm surely? I hate my voice; I am so paranoid about sounding bored - I honestly do enjoy my game!

 

[SplitYourInfinities]

For all the people new to animation: get a copy of The Animator's Survival Kit. It's like the Bible for that stuff.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

I'm sorry, I'm very confused.

1. When you tried to install Ubuntu before, did you use a virtual machine? Or are you talking about dual boot?

2. When you say VM, which VM are you using?

3. When you say it says you have the wrong kernel, at what point does this happen? When you try to run the VM? As soon as you start trying to install Ubuntu? Late in the Ubuntu install process?

1. virtual machine
2. I forget the name. I am working with other Steamworks devs on the issue now.
3. I go into VM. Click on the Ubuntu drive. Linux loads up. Then it takes me to a black screen.

 

[ThePhotoshop]

New grass graphics for Wildfire

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Pixar materials.

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

At first glance I'd say his legs don't extend forward, making for an awkward jog, almost like he's running up stairs. The bust might also stand to be a little more arched forward depending on the speed you intend to evoke (it looks like a pretty intense run to me because of the arms movement - consider slowing them down/arcing less if you want the run to appear slower)

It's nearly there, I can see the legs starting to go backwards before they hit the ground, way too early IMO it's a little like he is trying to skip instead of run.

This is not the best example as it was me messing about with drawing over my sprites to see how they would look, but i'll post it here anyway.

Just note that this is a very exaggerated run to look fierce and strong.

I did some 3D animation at uni and I know how annoying it can be but keep at it! you can only improve the more you try.

Better?

 

[justsomeguy]

Interesting ideas. I'll make a note. As for the other axis...rotating not just in y but x and z...hmm. It could make some crazy puzzles and I have the knowledge to do it but I think for this project I'm going to start small and just try to finish it. If I end up not hating the game/myself by the end of it and want to pursue a sequel this would definitely be one of the features.

Very wise!

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Better?

Yup.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

*has the strange feeling that maybe, just maybe, he should move the scripting portions of a bunch of scripts right into the manager classes*

Well, right now, everything has a manager, of which then houses the actual scripts. It's kludged in, since the scripts came first before the managers. Was wondering if I should just straight up move all the script content into the actual manager classes, but on the other hand things do still work anyway.

In the meantime, I'm still working on implementing the audio system >.< Trying to think of a good way to make the sounds just "work"

Is actually thinking of just having the sound events fired right off the relevant object classes (like player sounds coming straight from the player script, UI sound from the UI, the works), though I wonder if it's bad form (and I could do better). As for music, I'm thinking of having the music portion be separated from the sound portion (two scripts), and the combined manager object contains some extra variables for the three volume settings and the default song for the scene. Would that work? (Let's hope it's possible for the audio system to find and play a song simply by a given string)

I think I'll probably just read up on how to make audio work somewhere in the documentation, but tips to keep it clean enough so that I won't confuse myself in the future works.

 

[correojon]

New grass graphics for Wildfire

I love the look you´re getting for the game, it´s brimming with personality.

Better?

Much better, I think the leg could still extend forward more, but it looks nice already. Do as SplitYourInfinities said and get a copy of The Animator´s Surival Kit, it explains with detail how to make a walk/run cycle using a million examples and the principles you learn will also help you a lot with any other animations. I still haven´t read it completely but my animations are already on a totally different league than before.

Here is an eschematics for Kitsune´s normal walk, it´s a kind of goofy run with lots of bouncing and stretching in some parts to make it look cartoony:

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

I think I have now a rudimentary music script that can and will handle music that can have a beginning that is played once, and a looping part that always plays indefinitely, and will pick the correct portion to play depending on the format of the music package passed into it.

I wrote a new class to have two distinct audio clips, one for the beginning portion, and another for the loop. That is contained into the music script's variables, and it does work fine, though once again I have to make prefabs for basically every song...

Would that be bad form? I mean, is there a better way to do this? Right now, all I have to do is to tell the audio manager in the scene what default music package to load on a per-scene basis, and everything will handle itself beautifully.

 

[mStudios]

Anyone knows more or less how are the prices of 3D models?
I want to experiment with 3D translating one of my 2D background into 3D... But I don't know how expensive that will be.

Let's say a regular bedroom (bed, desk, window, a few objects here and there)
Any ideas?

 

[missile]

So... this is kind of a really long read (it took me about an hour), but it's really interesting. It's a candid interview with Rebecca Heineman (who's been in the industry for 30+ years) about the harsh realities of game development both AAA and indie. Of particular interest is a sobering discussion regarding the theoretical limit of indie game marketshare and the ensuing race to the bottom, but really the whole thing is worth reading.

http://www.nodontdie.com/rebecca-heineman/ ...

"... Because I can tell you right now, it isn't for the money. [Laughs.]"
Laughs. xD Good read. Thx for posting.


On another news:
Progress is a lil dragging on my end at the moment. Lots of paperwork again...



PS: Jacksinthe <- that's funny! xD