Sagramore, WebMMORPG, A new idea :)

[maever]

*updated with many new updates on the 15th of april*

Hello folks,

This is just a small showcase on a game we are developing,
We made our own realtime 2D WebMMORPG (online multiplayer game).
The game engine consists of Javascript and flash(for the connection object).
Actual ingame walking is smooth and experience similar to any normal MMORPG engine.


Welcome to...
Sagramore


http://www.sagramore.com/images/intro.jpg[/img]

** There is a Risk that the information in this post is slightly outdated **
** For The most recent information we suggest looking on the sagramore website **

**** Quick Info ****

• Official site: http://www.sagramore.com
• IRC: irc.excalibur-nw.com / #sagramore
• Project state: Open Alpha

What is Sagramore ?

Well as I stated above, sagramore is a 2D Online WebMMORPG,
The story will take place on the continent of Asgard,
In a time where peace between the Humans, Elves & Tallons existed again for 3 years now.
Though in Asgard mysterious things and sightings are taking place, the lands are plagued with creatures and animals.
recently there have been many reports of attacks by them.
Most merchants fear for there live and safe trade routes are hard to come by.
The goal will be to seek your destiny, fight monsters & thieves and discover the secrets of Asgard.
(the full concept for the story can be found here: http://www.sagramore.com/?page=story )

It will also be a true interactive mmorpg engine similar to Ragnarok Online, MU, UO, etc.
The game will work with a mouse-click based walking-style in a big live world where you can run into players,
The advantage with our game is that it needs nothing, no RTP, no big client download.
it will also have no compatibility issues, as its browser based, it will work in any browser.

It can also be played from anywhere (school, uncle, you name it) and it plays like you would expect from any normal mmorpg (WoW, RO, Lineage II, etc).

The game uses our own tileset and characters
(it will not be using RMXP engine or parts of it)

The game is already open to the public but we keep developing,
These are some screenshots taken ingame.
All areas taken on screenshots are accesible to players.

screenshots & gameplay movies:
Screenshot: http://www.sagramore.com/?page=image&act=fullview&file=52
Screenshot: http://www.sagramore.com/?page=image&act=fullview&file=50
Screenshot  boss:  http://sagramore.com/?page=image&act=fullview&file=54
Map Editor:  http://www.sagramore.com/?page=image&act=fullview&file=30
Ingame videos: http://www.sagramore.com/?page=movies
(any RTP graphics used in these screenshots/movies/website are for proof of concept & testing purposes ONLY...
they will not be used in the final game!!)

you can view many more screenshots on our website.
http://www.sagramore.com

Game specifications
Here is a list of some basic game elements which would be common for most mmorpgs.
Feel free to share any cool ideas you might have though, we appriciate it
Some of the basics Sagramore has:
-Melee & Skill battle system with monsters
-Monster walking/pathfinding and basic AI settings
-Fully customizeable characters & equips
-A questing system
-NPCs and Shops
-Stat increase system (every 3 levels a skillpoint)
-Basic skill levelup system (with skillpoints, max level 1)
-Map editor (players will eventualy be able to submit self-made map, which may end up ingame)

We do not plan to compete with other popular mmorpgs.
This is a simple game made in our spare time, we aim just to provide a fun game.
We also will not follow in the pattern that most mmorpgs nowadays seem to follow.
(the whole basic setup and roles of npcs seems the same everywhere).
This game will have more focus on the story surrounding the game (like many great Snes games).
though still allowing a fun and diverse multiplayer system with it.

Technical specifications
Client:
Sagramore uses a combination of javascript, div layers and flash xmlsocket object for the connection.
We were able to create a proper browser based client with a stable connection.
Due to the xmlsockets maintaining the connection this game will play like any mmorpg client.
We will also offer an Ajax-polling connection method as an alternative to flash.
It will be a bit slower but will assure compatibility.
Editor:
The editor is a javascript based web-editor,
though it offers similar map-making functionality as any RPGMaker tools.
Server:
We coded our own server for our game in C++,
This allows us to add many unique skill calculations and offer a direct server-client connection.
Not many webmmorpgs seem to have this.

Team
Our dev team consists out of:
-Borf ( experienced C++ programmer, knows php/C#/java/basics/etc/etc)
-Maever ( Network admin / Project Promoter and java/php programmer)
-Jappie (Designer, highly experienced with java, Photoshop, Flash & PHP)
-Green Raven (Pixel artist)
-Excalibur network staff (who will occasionally chip in and help out)
(accurate team list on website)

Currently Borf and me are the main managers/developers of this project,
Borf does most of the code work and I try to help where I can.
Our other teammates help out when needed but an extra hand never hurts.
We have good hopes that we will complete this project as both of us have decent amounts of free time which we spend developing it. We Release the game under excalibur network.

Some previous projects from borf are
spacialonline - basic engine for 3d mmorpg
Browedit - ragnarok online map editor

How to register/play?
Sagramore Alpha demo is publically available and can be found on our website.
Feel free to register an account and have a look
http://www.sagramore.com/?page=play
more info can be found on the wiki & website

What do we intend to achieve?
We hope to create a fun and diverse game for the players to enjoy.
A simple game but with some unique elements that even a true MMORPGer could enjoy, A game that doesn't require an uber computer but offers gameplay to anyone with internet
We seen many games get ruined by unbalanced "donation" items.
while others cost a pretty peny to play.
We will provide a free-2-play game with game balance as one of the main priorities

How is this different from any other webMMORPG?
We actually aim to be a full interactive mmorpg where no page refreshes are needed.
Our game uses a Javascript & divsheet styled layering system attached to a flash XMLSocket object.
All ingame elements will exist within this main gameplay screen through smartly adapted javascripts.

What do we NOT intend to achieve?
To clear out some common misconceptions
-This is not a browser text based mmorpg, it will have real interaction.
-We are not creating this game to make money.
-We are not aiming to steal graphics from anyone and claim them as our own
(we will credit the people accordingly for their work and the final game wont have any RTP elements!)

Can I join your team?
We happily accept anyone with the right skills to help us.
Since this will be a free game we do not have the money to hire actual expensive designers,
We will manage but if you feel you could help out then your welcome to try

We are in fact looking for people in these fields.
-Storyline developers (to help think up the story around the game/quests)
-Graphic artists ( to help make RMXP style graphics/tiles/chipsets)
-Designers ( to help make custom website features and cool artisttic stuff)
-Concept artists ( to help make concept art for the game)
-Musicians (to compose music & sounds for the game)

Don't apply out of the blue,
take your time to look around.

Understand that all that I intend to achieve here is merely to get feedback/suggestions.
We aim to provide a fun gameplay enviroment for the players of this game.
This game is ready for public, so I do hope everyone can post their thoughts about it.
For more info/account registration visit our website

The website is:
http://www.sagramore.com

Feel free to express your thoughts about our project

 

[holloway]

The game will also be using RPGMaker XP style Graphics.

That's illegal man, sorry.

 

[maever]

No your getting me wrong
see how i say "style" i was referring to that specific style of graphics, we do not plan to use RTP graphics
We plan to make them ourself or use community released ones (with permission) we are well aware of copyright restrictions

*updated the post to make clear that we do not intend to use RTP graphics, thanks

 

[holloway]

Oh right. Well go for it then- so many people don't ever read license when this is essentially a game engine so...

 

[Danton Lavergne]

So, if this is not going to use the RPG Maker XP engine, shouldn't it be moved to the Game Creation forum?

 

[maever]

Well i Wouldn't know,
This section states "Ask for people to join your design team."

Since it is somewhat RMXP related and seeing as i need the same things done as with any other normal RMXP game, i wouldn't see the need to, as we need character and chipset design in the exact RMXP style.

but your right, it would officially belong in that section, i overlooked it. Ill try to see if a moderator can move it later.

 

[Sles]

I sent you a PM.

 

[maever]

Ok, many updates happend last few weeks,
I decided we should first do more development before posting it again.

I heavily edited the main topic as it was a bit too cocky for my taste,
All im hoping to achieve with this topic is gathering opinions and sharing ideas

Hope you guys like it.

 

[Brosek]

Spoiler

http://www.sagramore.com/?page=image&act=fullview&file=21

Isnt that illegal?

 

[Ellie]

Yes, that is illegal. That's not RMXP style graphics dude, that's RMXP graphics.

 

[Brosek]

Well, I never really saw Enterbrain get on anyone about copyright infringement but.. there is always a first time.

 

[maever]

Listen... guys..,

These graphics are only for testing purposes of our game.
(mainly because we have no spriters... hunch why im posting here).
The final game WILL NOT CONTAIN RTP GRAPHICS

Let me quote myself ... twice...

The game will also be using the rmxp style of graphics like seen in many RPGMaker XP games.
We do intend to make all final graphics ourselves, we would need help making these.

and

(we will credit the people for their work and the final game wont have any RTP elements!)

Why do you guys have to turn this into a copyright-spam?
We are aware of the copyright issues and we are working on this.
The game is not public, the final game will contain NO graphics which I am not licensed to use. These graphics that you see in the screenshot are used ONLY for our proof of concept, nothing more...

The final game will have a custom self made sprite generator to allow people to customize their characters.

If you guys feel that this game is categorized as "pirated software" simply
because I used some graphics in my proof of concept, then I will clear out this topic and seice to post here.

I've edited my main post and dramatically increased the font size,weight & color to
make it clear that the final game WONT use RTP graphics..

I'm sorry if I seem a bit ticked off, because I am.
I do not intend to cause problems nor infringe anyone's copyright.
I will not stand to see my topic turn into a "why is copyright important" spam chat.

Please lets just leave it at this, stay on topic... ok?

 

[Brosek]

.. so you're trying to get spriters here.. for free? Good luck.. I've been barking for spriters that I'd pay money for.. no takers.

 

[maever]

Well its not the main reason, I just want to share our game idea.

I do really hope that people can understand that these graphics are purely for proof of concept.

I see there are many people skilled in the art of pixelling, we do intend to (to an extent) use the same kind of style and sheet forms like RMXP.

Im sure someone with some skill will chip in eventually
And if not, no worries, we'll get there, I do have contacts,
they just dont have much time :P

If we ever do make money on this game (maybe with adds or something)
I'll share it with them, we're not doing this for the cash.

 

[maever]

I've Severly updated the main post,
new screenshots, gameplay movies, general updates.

This project is still going strong,
Please visit our website for more updated information on this project.

 

[maever]

We released our sagramore public demo,
Feel free to check it out and leave any feedback.

 

[Grathea]

Wow, you got green raven working for you?
I'd recognize that template and style anywhere.
Grats on that.
Now I need to download this just to marvel at the pretty pretty pictures.

 

[maever]

Yes green raven is a dedicated team member,
I understand he has a reputation here.
He has designed all graphics in our game and the game is also used as a showcase for his pixelart.

This isn't a game you really have to download,
it can be played through the browser

let me know what you think if you try it out.
If its down, we might be doing some repairs.

 

[Caesis]

My assesment:
Pros:
I love your graphics and tilesets. Like DANG, its the best 2D stuff I've ever seen for this type thing.
Good interface, menu screens.
Pretty good name.
Good logo.
BROWSER BASED. You gain like 60% more players cause a download is such a turn off.
"UGH, the patch failed, it can't launch anymore" "It takes up all of my RAM when it runs" "5 hours download only to find out I don't like this game"
You can avoid all that.

Cons:
No arrow keys or WASD movement, very very annoying for people who look at the graphics and expect it to be a cool 1990s thing that they grew up with.
Slow. I dunno, its just slow and loading and choppy.
Sprites sorta don't fit in. They are a little tall and skinny. The tilesets are gorgeous but the sprites are made up of like 25 differant pixels! >.>
Overall glitches.
Website is not finished.

-------------

Conclusion:
Do not, I repeat, do not replace whoever the heck is doing your tilesets. Do that and your game is done for. That guy is a genius, expecially with outdoor tilesets.

The sprites need replaced before the gold version, imo.
Just needs alotta polishing.
And its overall slow, and I'm on a decent computer. Anything you could do to speed it up?



(If I seem critical, its cause its my nature. I don't hate your game and I'm not trying to make you stop working on it or discourage you.)

 

[maever]

Thanks for your review,

just wanted to explain some things.

No arrow keys or WASD movement, very very annoying for people who look at the graphics and expect it to be a cool 1990s thing that they grew up with.

We considered this and we migth add it in later.
issue is that that it's a lot more resource hogging that way.
(walking to 1 square every requires sending data to the server everytime instead of saying "I want to walk to X,Y please).
plus because its an mmorpg mouse interaction is usually prefered.

Sprites sorta don't fit in. They are a little tall and skinny. The tilesets are gorgeous but the sprites are made up of like 25 differant pixels! >.>

well the sprites small but their height relative to the height of trees and houses should be correct.
bigger sprites would mean more work for Green Raven.
but for me, gameplay > sprites.
The engine can be made to handle any size sprites.
later we probably will open up this engine to allow people to develop their own games in it (with own sprites).

Website is not finished.

In what way?
It might not look that great but content wise it offers the needed information.
We do plan to redo the entire website and interface though for the beta.
(looked at the wiki?)

The sprites need replaced before the gold version, imo.
Just needs alotta polishing.
And its overall slow, and I'm on a decent computer. Anything you could do to speed it up?

Not sure about the sprites,
Now the overall slow performance i'm interested in.
Throughout your small review you list "choppy performance" multiple times.
The performance I get is quite decent even on my slower pcs.
We aim to improve but you gotta give us more then just "choppy performance" and "Overall glitches."

So here I wonder what browser you're using?
also have you disabled any "zooming" options (if you have your screen or fonts zoomed by 10% or more you will get a massive performance decrease as well as pixelated sprites). but this varies between browsers.
I found IE7 and Opera to give the best overall performance.
if you were using some browser like safari, I suggest you use either:
-Internet explorer 7+
-Firefox 2+
-Opera 9+

So if you could PM or post your computer stats this could help us get an Idea where performance issues arise.

I'm Thankful for your review and hope you will keep sticking around so that we may improve our game even more.