March Goals & Progress Thread

[VideoWizard]

@ksjp17 He's still adjusting to his surroundings outside his native land where things are more normally scaled to him.

@Chiara Hope you feel better soon!

@bgillisp I remember trying to come up with a stadium back in the early RM2k days and settled for an arena setting instead. That way the field isn't scaled so large and the party can watch and participate in arena fights.

Wed 3.11.15- Finished mapping the field map immediately west of the town. Since the map is fairly large, but not too large, there are a few way points that are there, such as the Fishing Pond, Hills Cave, Travel Center (this one links to other regions. At the start of the game there is only one region, though.), Beach House, and Lowland Cabin in addition to the three main exits, Lakeland Township Gate, Entrance to Lakeside Cliffs and Entrance to Swamp of Disappointment. 

Total progress for the day was about an hour. Seems to be the magic number so far, maybe that will improve as I dive further into the project.

 

[GrandmaDeb]

@Bgill - the raised floor looks good.

@Chiara - I love faces! But some folks find them distracting if they are used for NPCs. Do you plan to use them for all chars, or just significant ones

@Leila - so jealous! lookin' Good!

@Slimmm - Gratz on your Proj Dev thread! =]

Waiting on feed back.

Going to start getting a post ready. It will take awhile as it entails getting together a bunch of links and terms and formatting and stuff....

 

[Another Ned]

@VideoWizard: So William's not only the reason the area has only weak monsters, but the reason for the whole game? : D I like that.
You already had the time change? D: So it's not at the same time everywhere (I still have until end of the month until the time is wrong again).
Regarding your other post: I actually think progress can't really be measured in time. One can spend 8 hours without getting much done, or do a lot in one hour. Your update sounds like it falls into the latter category.

@Tuxedo Leila: Mapping is like everything creative, I guess. One never stops learning. : )
And thank you. I have fun commenting on everyone's progress and if it's encouraging, all the better. Win-win and all. <3
The traffic system sounds... Complex. And rewarding, getting something like this implemented. Is it a sandbox-y type of game?
One question regarding Variable 1: In which direction go quickly-moving people?
But I know the carried away with little things problem. I actually completely disregarded story and characters at the beginning (though this made things easier when I had to cut stuff). : D

@slimmmeiske2: Congrats for getting your game topic out there!
I can only imagine how scary it is. All those people, suddenly aware of what you're working on.
You can call it "researching dramaturgic structures" or something like that. It's my excuse for about everything. : D

@ksjp17: Not noobish at all, maybe it's just my brain being stubborn. But it is a bad thing because... This is my "default" style:

Spoiler

(an excerpt of a comic project on hold; chosen because it's in colour). It's a pain for drawing expressions (it's too easy to have a heartfelt smile look like a monster showing its teeth), and I'm not sure if it doesn't clash too much with the ACE sprites. This is why I was trying to find a more stylized way of drawing faces – but it doesn't really work out when I'm always going back to "realistic" proportions (don't even know if I'm worrying too much and everything works out in the end xD But well, complaining now gave me the idea to simply try it out, so thanks for listening : D ).
200? You have done twohundred maps? Wait while I have to get my jaw back in place.
Maybe work in passes? It works for drawing, so maybe it applies to mapping, too. Basically only map the layout of a bunch of maps, then go over them for "big picture" details, and have a polishing pass later on. Keeps things fresh enough to not feel discouraged, in my opinion. Plus, I find it speeds up the process considerably.

@imascribble: Yay for this huge list of stuff that got done!

@SquallStorm: It's so easy for the database to get disorganized, isn't it? D:

@hiddenone: I do find a combination of both rather... Well, if there are sparkles, even I, who talks to every window and flower pot in a game otherwise, get lazy and only keep a lookout for sparkles. And then I miss stuff.
And thanks.
(btw, the sketch looks cute <3)
Phase 2 is to add things you forgot in Phase 1? I like that way to categorize. x)

@GrandmaDeb: That's a good point, thanks for bringing it up, but in this case, there are only 12 characters in total (excluding "disposable" NPCs for flavour at the beginning, and including the final boss). I may draw faces for the "disposable" NPCs so it isn't too obvious that they're unimportant, but even then, there are only a few of them. : )
____
Yesterday I had an appointment which took a lot of energy (I'm not used to talking so much anymore), but made me feel better (and I learned something new!). So only a bit of progress: Haven't realized how much it was until I wrote it down. Morale buff received!

• deciphered my cryptic notes regarding an implementation idea
• had sudden new ideas for tying in exploration with combat mechanics and had to write them down and critically examine them. They actually do fit in. One is simply being "drenched" (think Dragon's Dogma) when crossing water, or being de-frozen by a Heat spell (two elements: Heat and Cold), which interacts a lot with the Heat/Cold spell thingies, the other one is actually suffering lasting effects when HP damage is received (which only happens after MP is reduced to 0, which I use as some kind of resilience/stamina/needATermForIt bar) which can only be healed by returning to the small settlement. I still have to think a bit more about it and prototype it. Don't actually want to add new things while I'm still in the process of cutting other stuff, but if it proves to be well-fitting and fun...
• made a list of possible enemy behaviours and their interaction with the core mechanics
• began thinking about how to utilize the three party members' strengths vs skills and spells being available to all of them, since they're tied to equippable objects. Probably have to have a few spells which are mostly supportive, or have an added effect once requirements are met for less magically-inclined characters (they don't a have cost in points, so this I don't have to think about at least)
• decided to cut a skill I was proud of implementing since it didn't fit anymore (it added a buff which only one party member at the time can have, and thus cancels out the buff on another actor, as well as canceled out any other buff of the same type on the target)

 

[MisterTorgue]

It's partially an update and partially a what do you think this time.

So for my intro/tutorial, you wake up at a crash site, you have a brief discussion with the other main character, as you venture towards the first cave.

You first encounter a roaming monster sprite, (**I want it to darken the screen but keep the monster sprite light) and explain what they do and what different colours are.

and again will do this with save points.

You get to the cave, and then its more like playing through a cut scene, explains how to jump over stuff e.c.t.

I have it all in place EXCEPT the darkening bit, and was curious to how this could be accomplished?- if anyone knew on here

Cheers

 

[Kes]

Screen tints will darken the map but not the sprites, so....

 

[Tuxedo Leila]

@ksjp17 You can do it! Is there a deadline for your game or is this just a guideline to keep things on track?

@Chiara The game will be taking place in two places as of now: a modern town called Runeville and a program called Calliope's Maze. I still need to figure out where I'm going with this *tries to not get distracted anymore*! 

Those mechanics sound interesting! Maybe you could go further with that; for instance, if a character is drenched, they are more susceptible to lightening and ice.

@hiddenone Thanks! I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew with this. Btw, your sketch is really pretty! Did Eve lose her arm in a battle or accident of some sort?

@GrandmaDeb I'm more jealous of the fact that you have completed so many A3 and A4 tiles!

I know I was supposed to leave this until later but I couldn't help just trying it out. 

Once I actually started working on the traffic system, I realized that I made it more complicated than it was supposed to be. Firstly, I removed the speed up switch because I figured out an easier way to make nobody start crossing when the light is orange. I will also set aside the accident function for a while since I need to get the basics down.

The only thing I have finished so far are the traffic lights, which will be controlled via 2 variables but in actuality I should just change it to one (you can't see the traffic light if it is facing right, left, or up). I'm surprised at the amount of switches (4) and variables (3) I have so far. I might have to add one more switch just to turn the traffic system on or not.

But I have encountered three main problems: 1) I need to figure out how to use one main event that will affect several coordinates' passibilities on the map and 2) how to make a those coordinates impassible for everyone except the player or a specific NPC at certain times and 3) how to make the cars change event location after they reach a certain area (also if the light turns red and they stop, I don't want their movement to be skipped or start at the beginning again). I'm trying to figure out if I can do this via events, but I'll try and find scripts if I have to. I think #3 can be accomplished via a pathfinding script.

VARIABLES:

Variable 10: Traffic Light Vertical

->This will control the colour of the traffic light.

Variable 11: Traffic Light Horizontal (I might remove this)

Variable 12: Morality

->If the player's morality is low, they can disobey the traffic system.

SWITCHES:

Switch 95: Traffic System (not included yet)

->Controls whether the traffic is on or not.

Switch 96: Chase Scene

->Controls whether the chase scene is active.

Switch 97: Rush Hour

->If on, this will determine the wait time for the traffic. It will also activate extra cars.

Switch 98: Block Horizontal Movement

->This will block cars and people crossing the road horizontally.

Switch 99: Block Vertical Movement

->This will block cars and people crossing the road vertically.

 

[slimmmeiske2]

Thanks for the congratulations, guys!

@ksjp17: I feel your pain, but at least knowing your maps will look a lot better helps with the re-mapping. I've had to at least remap every single map twice and some of the big ones four times. Don't be discouraged! Even if you won't make your own deadline, you've done a lot of maps already. Just keep swimming going at and who knows you might even make it   
@bgillisp: Hopefully you'll hear something soon ^^ I know it was quite a wait until my testers finally posted bugs and feedback, but they're definitely invaluable and worth the wait
@imascribble: Wow, that's a lot done! Congrats!
@hiddenone: Owh, nice sketch. Can't wait to see more
@Videowizard: I'm trying to imagine what a Swamp of Disappointment looks like, but I'm failing so far.
@Chiara: Very scary. I did it in a few steps by first posting on other forums, getting my testers from there and then listening to their feedback. Still it was mostly scary to post here, because I was afraid the demo would get destroyed, which so far it has not. Either way, I'm really glad I put my project here. I'm probably going to put up my side project soon too.  Well I'm almost there, just 7 more episodes to go and then to start Better Call Saul.
@Leila: Such a system seems quite hard to do. I hope you'll get it working
 
I've written the story of Goldilocks today. For some reason I had skipped that, when I had been writing all the scenes and stories. However, since the next demo starts with finding Goldilocks, it really needed to be written. I second guess a lot and might slighty rewrite it before I start eventing it (which is still a long way, as I need to map out the entire animal village, including the house of the three bears), but as for now I'm satisfied.

 

[Kes]

@immascribble

That's very good going.  

@SquallStorm

Disorganized database - yup, know that one intimately.  However, this time round I'm really pleased with how organized the data base and my scripts are; all neatly categorized and grouped logically.  It pays off in the long run, so any reorganizing you can do is well worth it.

@hiddenone

as has already been said, your definition of Phase 2 is admirable, as is your sketch of Eve.

@VideoWizard

For just one hour that's an impressive amount to get through.  You must have been super-focused.

@Chiara

Thanks for your suggestion about doing things in passes.  It seems to be helping, though as you will see from my update, I allowed myself to get sidetracked.  And as regards your character sketch, I love your default style.  I think to have a game with those sorts of faces would be brilliant, though I accept it might not suit the game you're doing at the moment.  How I envy your skill.

@Tuxedo Leila

I think this system is approaching jaw-dropping levels of excellence.  Pull this off and it will definitely be something to be proud of.

@slimmmeiske

As I said in your thread, I loved the bit of your demo that I played.  You're doing well.

As for me, I took Ciara's advice and started doing maps in passes, rather than my usual which is to get it as fully done as possible before moving on to another.

Inn - entrance floor - done

Inn - one floor of bedrooms - done

Item Shop - first hitch in the new system.  I found myself thinking: "If I tweak these tiles, and put them with those tiles, I can do a whole thing about this being the first shop in Riema (the nation where they are) for Hygienically Prepared Potions.  So I did all that, which also involved doing the dialogues before I forgot what I wanted everyone to say, and then realised that the ordinary Item Shop sign would not do, so had to make a new one for the post outside.  So something of a brake on progress.  But I pushed on, only to meet another hurdle.

House interior - I have become exceedingly bored with the side view furniture I have, and that may mean that the player is too.  So I went hunting for a side view of the XP couch, as I could easily repaint the main one so that it matches in with Ace more.  The only one that the ultra knowledgeable Avery could come up with was possibly not available for commercial, so that meant if I wanted one, I'd have to do it, so I did.  (And actually, it's easily as good as the one Avery found).  But then I thought - while I've got this in layers, why not do some recolours of it?  So now I have couches and chairs facing all 4 directions in 5 new colours.  Useful, but in that time I could have done another couple of maps.  

So here is my first pass at the house map showing the side view couches. The wood on the back view one needs a bit more work to make it less pixelly, but this gives an idea of what they will be like when finished.

EDIT

When I finished posting this, I went to look to see what was in 'New content' and saw that Avery has just done an excellent side view version of the couch for me.  All that time I spent when I needn't have! 

 

[SquallStorm]

Recent updates:  I've had a lot to do recently, and the database organization is mostly done.  I just need to add a few more abilities down the road.  I've also began remapping older areas to match my newfound skills, and I gotta say, there's a major difference.  Here's a few new screens.  If anything seems out of place or you see a character on the ceiling, or overlapped, it's because of Tsukihime's script and they're for cutscene purposes.  xD

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[bgillisp]

3.12 Update: One of my testers finished the demo, so I spent the first part of today fixing the bugs and typos they noted. After that was done, I drew the last map I needed for the stadium (or at least the outline, I still need to fill in the East side of it), added in the shops/stands/areas/etc to the main area. Spent a little time on the side coming up with 12 team names even, though that didn't proof too hard with 4 chapters done in the game and most of the towns implemented now.

Still haven't done the plot events yet, but you can now walk around it, and the main level is not just an empty map now. I hope to spend a little time on the plot events tomorrow or Saturday, though first priority does go to fixing the bugs the testers report.

 

[imascribble]

Update: - Figured out names for the cities and towns in my game

- Began working on last names and profiles for my actors

- Determined basic layout for my next dungeon

 

[Marsigne]

Hey guys, here is the progress I've been doing (excluding weekdays). I thought on posting but didn't felt like posting XD

February 9, 2015: I was not making progress in the map, but instead I was being a tester of a game *hides*

February 10, 2015: It was like yesterday, further testing the game.

February 11, 2015: Finished testing but didn't upload the bugs at that time. Inspired by a post of my best friend, I started making cinematic scenes in relation to friendship.

February 12, 2015: Uploaded the folder with the bugs/grammar errors/concerns/things and also went to a part that is supposed to be for high level player and being later in the game, but I went in there for the challenge. I also noted to the developer the experiences and such, haha. Also, I further developed the cinematic scenes and, while it won't be that long, one word I will say you that it will be: epic hopefully I'll have it finished by tomorrow and then resume working on the cinematic scenes I was working on before. Since the cinematic scenes I am working exceeds one minute, I thought on adding it as one of the cinematic scenes that I wanted to make (5 of them), and since it'll be epic, I will put it last and won't be shown until then, sorry guys it's supposed to be a surprise, but since I want to show progress, I'll show one screenshot, okay? xD I hopefully won't spoil too much xD

 

[Another Ned]

@MisterTorgue: I hope that the information is also available through some kind of ingame menu for people who didn't pay attention/haven't played in a long time and want to review what colours mean, etc.

@Tuxedo Leila: A program? As in cyberpunk-esque programs?
Haha, thanks for the suggestions. I want "drenched" to lower resistance to being frozen and infected and increase the temperature malus from Cold spells (hypothermia is what happens if an actor's temperature is too low), but at the same time have some advantages – so it's an actual gameplay option. But more thinking required (currently jumping back and forth between plot and gameplay, procrastinating on visual things).
Regarding coordinates' passabilities: Have you already thought of using Region IDs? I'm sure there are some ways to utilize them, though I'm not awake enough yet to think of some. Sorry.

@slimmmeiske2: Why would it get destroyed here? Are the people here more critical than elsewhere? D:

And yay for having written the story! : )

@ksjp17: Thanks for the kind words regarding the style. I'm trying to work something out. Once I overcome "bad face day" (see below).
I'm glad it helps. I admit it may take a bit of getting used to, especially in regards to staying focused. Which is why I have a piece of paper handy and take notes of sudden thoughts "hey, I need object x!" (something an internship working on graphics for a browser game's re-launch had taught me).
Regarding your "edit": Just see the time spent as additional xp added to your tiles editing skill. : )
Oh, and before I forget: My current location's town hall has a newer building built over the old timber-framed facade and thus it is visible from inside. It looks very interesting, maybe inspiration?

@SquallStorm: I really like the dungeon map. Love the XP dungeon tiles. <3 But there's a missing corner tile in the lower middle area.

@bgillisp: I expect at least 20% alliterations among those team names. : P
Sounds like you're progressing well. : )

@imascribble: Naming things can be such a roadblock (to me, at least). Glad that it sounds like it went well for you. It did, yes?

@Marsigne: I'd count testing games as making progress – one usually also learns from other's mistakes, right? : )
___
Yesterday I checked an abandoned project of mine from more than a year ago to see how I implemented something there and realized that what I had was actually fun and I had to be a paragon of self-discipline to NOT think about how I could revive it. This I'll have to keep up until I finish the current one. >__<
Apart from that I did the following:

• completed the outline for the complete plot (crit path only); I had forgotten to mention yesterday that I already did half of it the day before
• tried to draw more to try out face style in regards to fitting with the map style, but I had a "bad faces day" and stopped before frustration set in
• took notes regarding optional conversation with all the characters

 

[Marsigne]

@Marsigne: I'd count testing games as making progress – one usually also learns from other's mistakes, right? : )

True, my friend. I actually got an game making idea by testing the game and also learned some things

@bgillisp - I've seen some posts of yours; so that is the Monsterball stadium Josie mentioned? awesome xD

 

[VideoWizard]

Thurs 3.12.15- Looks like nothing substantial was completed, however, what tends to happen after progressing on a project for a while is that it gets you thinking about it and what can be done next. So far the only zero day was on the 10th, as a result. I didn't see any rule that it had to be physical work on the project, after all.

 

[bgillisp]

True, my friend. I actually got an game making idea by testing the game and also learned some things

@bgillisp - I've seen some posts of yours; so that is the Monsterball stadium Josie mentioned? awesome xD

Yep, home to the Silas Beef. Their team chant is a Cow Moo.

Hey, we actually have a football team called the Beef around here. At some point you just name it what you know.

 

[Marsigne]

Yep, home to the Silas Beef. Their team chant is a Cow Moo.

Hey, we actually have a football team called the Beef around here. At some point you just name it what you know.

Hahaha, funnily interesting xDD yeah, I've too named things off things I know haha xD maybe a lot of times? *runs*

 

[slimmmeiske2]

@Squallstorm: Love the dungeon map! But your interior map is a bit empty near the bottom of the house (as well as on the right section).
@Chiara: It's my first game, so there's bound to be faults with it. As for being more critical, we're all developpers here, while the other forums I posted is where most of the forumgoers are just gamers. That being said, all the people are really nice and give constructive criticism
I know it can be quite a temptation. I've only started looking at my side project after I'd gotten my demo out for my main project. I do find it quite handy when I'm burned out of working on one, I can just switch to the next for a while. Yay for writing, yourself  
@VideoWizard: Planning's progress and a vital part of game making. So of course it counts.
 
I've been working on my animal town. I'm terrible with towns and villages. (I guess with outdoors in general.) So I first had to make a list of every character that lived there, draw a sketch in Paint to decide who lives where and what landmark stands where and only then start mapping. This is what I have so far:

Spoiler

It's still very empty and I'll be making a more compact version tomorrow or next week somewhere. The water basins will be changed to statues (with the exception of the two next to each other which will become a patio), but I haven't gone around to draw the characters that have to go on the pedals.

 

[Keniisu]

NEW Goals!:

• Finish the first three quests in the town!
• Get some story progress done for the game!
• Finish my website and hopefully get some more traffic!
• Write and Finish 3 character backstories!
• Update my thread much more often!

 

[bgillisp]

3.13 Update: I finally started the plot events for the stadium. Wrote the first cutscene (when you enter it), and the first couple events. Probably could finish it still tonight, but already feeling tired and scenes written while tired don't usually come out too well I've learned.

Plan for tomorrow is to maybe finish off that area? However, if more bug reports come in from the testers I'll need to shift gears and fix that too. Guess we will see how the day starts out.