What are you working on? (Game Making Thread)

[Nathaniel3W]

.. but damn, I was struggling to make it work. Like WHY ISN'T MY ALIAS FUNCTIONING?! [3hrs later] Oh, I see. Wait. Now it's only playing 4 frames. Did I change something somewhere... [3hrs later] WHY DOES RPG MAKER HAVE A MAX FRAME COUNT! Where is it even using this?

I've spent my share of time tracking down undesired behavior to some optimization that someone made somewhere inside an engine I didn't write from scratch. Unreal wasn't designed for sprites and so it does some annoying texture compression (with different compression for each color channel) that really messes up the sprite colors.

As for what I've been up to, I spent most of the day tracking down a bug that was crashing my game. The interpreter detected 100,000 iterations on a function and crashed. I went through all the code line by line over and over. It looks like my code was working as intended. It just required a lot of iterations: If the AI wants to make a ranged attack, but there are no targets in range, find each player unit, for each player unit find all the hexes within range, and find a path to each hex, and find which path is shortest. So depending on how many player units there are, and how open the terrain is, one of the functions in the pathfinding algo gets called a lot.

Some of my players had been reporting seemingly random crashes during battles and I thought my battle system was pretty solid. But today I got lucky and got put in a situation where the bug happened 100% of the time so I was able to test the bug properly. I ended up caching some of the info to reduce the amount of times the problem function gets called, and the pathfinding algo now runs a lot faster and doesn't crash. Honestly though, if I knew of a variable somewhere that just increases the amount of iterations before the interpreter crashes, I would have just increased it and worked on something else.

This is something I already know, but I just become more aware of it sometimes. Making a game requires a lot of work on stuff on some really in-the-weeds details, most of which nobody will ever notice.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

I just made an optimization that reduces the average pathfinding time of ranged units by about 70% and completely gets rid of the runaway loop crash. And it usually finds the best path. The old algorithm I was using found the best path to every possible hex where you can launch a ranged attack on the target, and then picks the best one. The optimization just goes with the first path it finds, and then for all of the other possible launch sites, it says "Is this possible launch site farther from my start than launch site I already found?" and "Is this possible launch site closer to the target than the launch site I already found?" If the answer to either question is yes, I skip the pathfinding and just move on to the next possible site. It doesn't exhaustively find the best path 100% of the time, but it's good enough and it's a lot faster.

 

[Xilef]

If your grid is static you can bake in the best path (and the weight/distance) to every other node on each node, could even bake in the best ranged shot to a node for each distance - so if I want to shoot an enemy at a particular distance I just get the list of best locations then test my path finding to those locations, if I can't make it all the way there in one turn then I just go as far as possible.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

That's not a bad idea. I had never thought about that. But the pathfinding does have to be dynamic because you can't go through enemy units, and they have zone of control, and there are nodes that only flying units can go over, so the best path can vary depending on the situation. But now that I think about it, there are a few things that I really should bake ahead of time.

 

[coyotecraft]

I'm brainstorming more "close encounters" for my game. The idea being that encounters become equipment. I hadn't thought much beyond Slimes and Tentacles. I started to think, maybe not everything had to be alive. And that maybe there could be special effects between them. Like an Arm encounter with a Static Cling Balloon while equipped with a cactus might cancel each other out and drop a rare item.
Cursed Armor might be too fantastique. Although I could substitute it with Cybernetics.

 

[coyotecraft]

I haven't made any progress. But I'm really itching to report progress. So I'm scratching that itch, even though I've got nothing to report. I really hate the idea that motivation is rooted in a primitive desire to socialize, which doesn't serve my creative ideals, and just wants to distract me to pursue something that's more immediate and tangible.

 

[Xilef]

I made this GBA demo today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBOzy8gV3YM

Proved a good, quick test of my tools.

It looks fantastic on actual hardware:

Back to working on font/text tools. Discovered the DSi firmware has a bitmap font format, pretty lucky as I was preparing to roll my own.

 

[coyotecraft]

Looks awesome!

 

[Nathaniel3W]

Coyote, that's funny. I never really felt any desire to socialize and never really saw progress reports as a social event. Marketing, requests for feedback, transparency to Kickstarter backers and Early Access players, but not socializing. Maybe once in a while I'll want to brag or complain though. Does that count as socializing?

And Xilef, that looks great. Let us know where you go with that.

 

[coyotecraft]

Oh yeah. Any interaction between humans. Positive or negative. I guess I'm coming from the social brain hypothesis. Which my interpretation is used to explain these dry spells I go through. I'm plenty motivated, but it feels like I can't do for myself what I do for others.

So it's like. The human brain evolved to solve social problems. Or I should say, it developed these regions to perform complex functions for the benefit of society.

So it doesn't matter what you know, or how talented you are. If you took Shakespeare or Da Vinci and stranded them on an island, they couldn't perform. Not because they don't know how, or don't want to. Introverts might do better in isolation than extroverts, but they still need people.

 

[BizarreMonkey]

Interesting talk, I'm likely the exception to this rule more than the norm, but yeah I tend to not need a whole heap of social to get work done. I worked in solace for four years and never asked anyone for advice or feedback, i wasn't on the net back then, and was a hermit.

That said I am extremely introverted, and was even more so back then. Due to being largely antisocial I simply sought to make games in peace and quiet.

I've grown out of that a large amount, and do love showing people what I've been doing, but i could make do and have made done without, I'm not making games to become famous or be accepted, I'm just making games because its a hobby and I enjoy it immensely.

Obviously, fame and acceptance will come or has already, and I'm fairly ready for the increase in attention I may get, but I'm in no rush to really awaken that for my sake- it's not why I'm here.

I'm here to make games, the hope being that they may make someone... anyone's day just that bit more gosh-darned awesome.

But to spread the mirth and joy of my games, I have to become known, and that will require the presence of fame I'd otherwise abjure. But at this point I'm excited for when the big transition happens, when I finally find a way to reach the hearts of many, many people and make them feel epic.

To that end, I've been working on some marketing materials for Fantasia Demo 2 lately.

I'd show this more but Shadowbringers is done patching so you'll have to excuse me~

 

[coyotecraft]

It could also just be that, because I'm story writing, I'm engaging a part of my brain that I simply don't use when coding or drawing. I'm narrating and listening to myself, you know, meditating on a theory of mind. Questioning if the information and emotion is comprehensible. And from their I might drift into a imaginary conversation about design and why I'm using the method and structure that I'm using. Just talking basically, to no one, but expecting a response. Idk.

I was on TVtropes again last night. The main trope I'm using is Adventure in Comaland and possibly Lotus-Eater Machine.
I don't actually have a solid explanation for how Sven get's stuck in a dream yet. In my earliest concepts, he just smoked some funky weed because he was out of cigarettes. and he wasn't stuck at all, but actually wakes up inbetween dream levels to walk around the house at night. Kinda like Assassin's Creed sequence breaks when they step out of the Animus.

 

[BizarreMonkey]

Might help to know how the Astral and Physical Planes react and work in my cosmos then.

This document helps
Good or unusual but not horrific dreams are typically the result of visiting other dimensions via astral projection, a souls astral body is all that can travel into and beyond the Mamix. On that note, nightmares are a result of astrally travelling into the mamix.

The mamix is a prison which houses the unspeakable horros Yi has created for "fun" as well as being a hard-limit to physical exploration in any single universe.

In 2112 Sacreblu shattered it, but Perseverance takes place in 2100-2101 meaning its still there during the time Sven is alive.

Another handy convention is that dreams pass at a hundredth of the time reality does, in other words, 60 minutes in the physical world (1 hour) is 600 minutes (10 hours) in a dream.

Also Soulcatchers in general can mess with dreams and how people experience them, so there's a start.

 

[coyotecraft]

@monkey: I thought about using the Mamix. It's funny, it's almost like the Anti-Spiral Labyrinth dimension in Gurren Lagann, I've thought about Spoofing. The disembodied elementals like Maw are kinda like the Gunmen.

Which reminds me. The Cookiedoe family and the Resistance hide out in the Heartwood, protected from the Angular eyed Sight. It was my understanding that the spirits of an old battleground were shielding them. But after playing Intelligence again, I got to wondering if this was the same place Maw was sealed up in. And if his containment field, or just his presence in general, is what's blocking the sight.

Coincidentally, my first dream level is set in snow. It was tentatively to do with Esperia, but now I'm formulating a plot where Maw saw a way to steal Sven's body. And this could explain how Sven gets stuck in his dream. Like Esperia left a door open and Maw snuck in. And Sven loses his dreambody and has to reconstitute it through the Close-Encounter Battle system. He get's it back but he reconstitutes on the wrong side of a wall, outside of his nightmare. Getting locked out, in a sense, and can't wake up properly.
So getting back in requires visiting Sensor's Bar. Then maybe a hop & a skip through the Mamix, into Esperia's Casino for a heist. Or maybe it's Naxon's.
I kinda want to foreshadow Sven defeating Naxon. Like in a prophetic dream. 'Cause ultimately, I'm writing towards an explanation for why Sven stayed behind.

 

[BizarreMonkey]

@monkey: I thought about using the Mamix. It's funny, it's almost like the Anti-Spiral Labyrinth dimension in Gurren Lagann, I've thought about Spoofing. The disembodied elementals like Maw are kinda like the Gunmen.

I haven't seen Gurren lagann but I'll take your word for it.

Which reminds me. The Cookiedoe family and the Resistance hide out in the Heartwood, protected from the Angular eyed Sight. It was my understanding that the spirits of an old battleground were shielding them. But after playing Intelligence again, I got to wondering if this was the same place Maw was sealed up in. And if his containment field, or just his presence in general, is what's blocking the sight.

It is spirits of an old battleground. Maw's prison is located on the east coast of NSW Australia, about one hour inland, just north of the village of Mallanganee.

As a fun aside, I've lived in Mallanganee and Lismore, and been through Casino quite a few times. There is also a town north and west of Mallanganee called Bonalbo, you can actually see the 'bo' of it in that map.

The Heartwood Forest meanwhile- is a Rainforest north of St. Albans and London in England.

Coincidentally, my first dream level is set in snow. It was tentatively to do with Esperia, but now I'm formulating a plot where Maw saw a way to steal Sven's body. And this could explain how Sven gets stuck in his dream. Like Esperia left a door open and Maw snuck in. And Sven loses his dreambody and has to reconstitute it through the Close-Encounter Battle system. He get's it back but he reconstitutes on the wrong side of a wall, outside of his nightmare. Getting locked out, in a sense, and can't wake up properly.
So getting back in requires visiting Sensor's Bar. Then maybe a hop & a skip through the Mamix, into Esperia's Casino for a heist. Or maybe it's Naxon's.
I kinda want to foreshadow Sven defeating Naxon. Like in a prophetic dream. 'Cause ultimately, I'm writing towards an explanation for why Sven stayed behind.

Heh, well sorry to debunk that Maw part a bit, he kinda exists on a different part of the world, like, a different continent... but I'm sure you can still find a way~

Alright, so hey i've made... my employees have made some progress!

Let's start with a new sprite, talk about topical! Highlord Naxon!

Next! Jake Gamelin has finished both of Rolly Dorito's tracks, and begun work on Lyza's! He's already done her passive theme and her hero mode / battle theme is halfway there! He also did Tristy's second hero mode / battle theme!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJIVw1lG5vwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu62E6e93YI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_j1aaXLQIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Iz1bG6CrE

I haven't done been doing zero work, either! At last the 7 minute monster is fully finished, voice acting, music and all!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyOLar3LgRw

I have also been adding flavor text all around the place, there is anywhere from 30 minutes to an hours worth for Rolly and Tristy each of completely optional dialogues. Here's Rolly's over four videos if you're interested!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xgtrrrVHWQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPH6uXPt3pg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oiXExkaZTIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjBrs09fJt4

I've also been restructuring Tristy's arc so you can meet her earlier and have her present for flavor dialogues. I've also done many of them, nearly all. But there's a lot of typo's and conventional flaws currently so it's not yet ready for a video preview.

 

[coyotecraft]

I've concocted a new explanation for the beginning of my game. But getting the sense of it across effeciently while respecting the game medium is tricky.

How long did it take the movie inception to convey the concept of inception? It took a few scenes, broken up in pieces of dialogue as it introduced the characters.

I'm currently working out how I can make this new introduction playable.

 

[Xilef]

Make it your goal to have the player in control after the first two dialogue boxes, imposing that restriction will help you figure out how to handle the introduction in a player-friendly way.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

I saw a list somewhere of all the RPGs someone had played and he wrote down the amount of time from pressing "new game" until getting control of the character. He kept track of a bunch other checkpoints too: first combat, access to inventory, level-up, and then recorded how long he had to play until he had access to all the systems in the game. I don't remember all the stats, but one of the worst offenders was FFXV, where you had to play for something like 15 hours before you're given free reign with all the game systems.

 

[coyotecraft]

It's definitely a rule, if your character isn't already battle ready, then the first thing they're going to do is get a sword or go through a training session. "It's dangerous to go alone"

 

[BizarreMonkey]

For most characters they would be somewhat battle ready as it stands, Sven however- may not be the most equipped. As an additional complication, fighting in dreams tends to be very different to fighting in reality... or at least the anime-esque cliche-fueled cosmic reality of the physical Biztopian cosmos.

Pjcr came through, somewhat anyway- and I have been eagerly working away at getting things implemented. In fact I just finished adding 96 faces for Pep, Rolly and Tristy(24 each), as they have new portraits, this can be multiplied by three due to me adding a couple animated frames per piece. It's been a monotonous flurry of GIMP file editing mixed with the exhiliration of drawing faces in sai on the nice bases Pj provided. ANYWAY!- To get us started~ Here are those bases.

From right to left, Rolly Dorito, Pep Cookiedoe and Tristy Heals.

And yes, I do have a facegrid for all three, now compiled into one convenient globule! These aren't animated so not everything I did can be seen here, but suffice it to say, this has virtually been my work for the last two days.

The great thing is that using placeholders means all I need do is replace them in the game files and these are ready to go, albeit- after some great deal of file-editing monotony! As an extra bonus, if I wanted to start working on Intelligence: Multi-Vitamin at some point I now have a good library of resources for it!

And Pjcr isn't the only one who has been doing incredible work, Xiie as a matter of fact- just finished Nola Worthington's Sprite and it looks amazing!

With this, all that remains for her is to do is Lady Tiramisa (Pep's grandmother, and her current project) and Kara (Khao Manee swordslinger from PFC). That's it, then she's done!

Jake has also been hard at work, finishing Disk 1's themes and moving forward- speaking of, here's the Exile Lyza's epic battle theme, and a new theme for the Man of a Thousand Names.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbvNmgZcTx0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIay_cAqrv4
He's also been getting a good ways with the Insidious Architect's battle theme, which does play in Demo 2 IF and ONLY IF you get Yi down to half health or below while fighting her on Vahnus. (A fight which is INCREDIBLY difficult to stay alive for.) A good queue is that at the same time she'll start casting ZERO UNIVERSE. I've heard a demo of the soon-to-be theme and it sounds EPIC so far, so keep an eye out for my next post where that will be included in all likelihood.

I've also been adding and refining polish, removing typos bit by bit, and I've been making SOME progress on the Tristy fights. Outside of needing some extra mechanics the first phase is done, the second phase "can" be beaten but its not yet very functional. I have plans for it but currently I'm trying to think on how to best work it. Suffice it to say while I have all of Tristy's baseline portraits done, I don't have her with six wings and her angelic get up, so I'm not in any huge hurry there~

But yeah, progress is going very well! Pjcr also got me some handy files like Sacreblu with crossed arms and Fyori with her hands down in her lap, basically poses I hadn't yet received. I'll make a big song and dance about them once all the hype for Pep, Rolly and Tristy has died down.