What are you working on? (Game Making Thread)

[Jason]

Well, he WOULD be testing it for me, but the compressed version keeps throwing an error at a certain point in the demo:

Script 'Cache' line 106: RGSSError occured failed to create bitmap

I've checked all my picture files, replaced them with fresh copies, looked through all my custom scripts, tried checking in the console to see if it'll show me which graphic it has a problem with, but absolutely NOTHING is working... and the best part, the area of the demo where the error comes, there AREN'T any graphics or anything, just a normal map with characters on, nothing fancy!

If anyone has any ideas how to fix it, throw them my way, cheers!

 

[coyotecraft]

Maybe there's an unrecognized file type like a .gif? Or maybe the image file wasn't in the graphics folder or in a subfolder? IDK, just stabs in the dark.

 

[StrawberrySmiles]

Working on balancing battles. Fun.

;_;

 

[Glitchfinder]

Well, he WOULD be testing it for me, but the compressed version keeps throwing an error at a certain point in the demo:

Script 'Cache' line 106: RGSSError occured failed to create bitmap

I've checked all my picture files, replaced them with fresh copies, looked through all my custom scripts, tried checking in the console to see if it'll show me which graphic it has a problem with, but absolutely NOTHING is working... and the best part, the area of the demo where the error comes, there AREN'T any graphics or anything, just a normal map with characters on, nothing fancy!

If anyone has any ideas how to fix it, throw them my way, cheers!

Have you googled it yet? A quick search showed me this thread, which may or may not be of help to you. It seems to be that empty images (not empty as in no colors, it's actually empty as in no pixels) will cause it to crash.

 

[Xhukari]

Still working on sprites for this game T_T
Also thinking of plot elements for the Gaming Month Writing thingamajig!

 

[Xilef]

Currently reviewing and sorting out our human resources mostly involving redefining job roles and solidifying a content creation path.

Also I spent a few moments yesterday writing out some of the plot holes at the end of BWRPG's scenario, not sure if we'll actually reveal some of the things behind the game's world but we can always pull these things out to answer questions/expand on in side-quests.

EDIT: Looks like that moved quickly, I'm now trying to write up network specs.

 

[Jason]

Well, he WOULD be testing it for me, but the compressed version keeps throwing an error at a certain point in the demo:

Script 'Cache' line 106: RGSSError occured failed to create bitmap

I've checked all my picture files, replaced them with fresh copies, looked through all my custom scripts, tried checking in the console to see if it'll show me which graphic it has a problem with, but absolutely NOTHING is working... and the best part, the area of the demo where the error comes, there AREN'T any graphics or anything, just a normal map with characters on, nothing fancy!

If anyone has any ideas how to fix it, throw them my way, cheers!

Have you googled it yet? A quick search showed me this thread, which may or may not be of help to you. It seems to be that empty images (not empty as in no colors, it's actually empty as in no pixels) will cause it to crash.

I've had a look at this, but it doesn't help me, since I don't have any empty images in the directories or anything, just the ones I use in the game... god this is annoying -.-"

 

[rey meustrus]

Well, he WOULD be testing it for me, but the compressed version keeps throwing an error at a certain point in the demo:

Script 'Cache' line 106: RGSSError occured failed to create bitmap

I've checked all my picture files, replaced them with fresh copies, looked through all my custom scripts, tried checking in the console to see if it'll show me which graphic it has a problem with, but absolutely NOTHING is working... and the best part, the area of the demo where the error comes, there AREN'T any graphics or anything, just a normal map with characters on, nothing fancy!

If anyone has any ideas how to fix it, throw them my way, cheers!

What you have is a scripting error. Sometimes that error can be caused by trying to create a bitmap with 0 width or height (meaning there are no pixels in the image, not that the pixels are just empty). Other times it can be caused by not having enough memory available to create a large bitmap. This isn't just things loaded from files; it's any time the game is dealing with graphics at all excluding built-in classes, so it includes window contents, weather, character sprites, animations, and anything else that isn't a window background or a tilemap.

What scripts do you have running and what are you doing when the error occurs? I could try to help you troubleshoot if it's a scripting mistake or help optimize your scripts if it's a memory issue.

 

[Jason]

I'll PM you stuff

 

[Ellie]

At risk of completely justified cries that I can't stick to or complete a project, I noticed some people playing it, so have been playing Afar again, six months or so after deciding to stop developing it. I needed a break from it clearly as coming back to it I cannot believe how extensive the game is, without meaning to blow my own trumpet, there is so much there that I don't even know what to do. It's definitely the project I've put most effort and work into, and it's my most successful, with people still coming back to play it.

I'm considering doing a one-off big content release, somewhat of an expansion pack, to burst a load of spunk into it, and then seeing how that goes down; if people enjoy it I will continue with it, if not, I'll just leave it online but not updated as it has been the past six months.

Regardless, I think it's more worthwhile than all the little projects I've been failing with. More doable. It's already out there so it can't fall into shit by me giving up or losing interest. Whittling away adding small new things to a "completed" game is much more fruitful.

So the Ahandru's Armoury Expansion will add:

• Battle graphics for every weapon in the game (the main point of the expansion)
• A chunk of new enemies for the first time in a while
• A new quest: Ahandru's Armoury
• Some new mini-quests and dungeons, and new explorable areas
• A load of various bug fixes, tweaks, and nicer looking/working systems

It's a lot, but it's doable, and in small chunks, so should be achievable. More importantly if it fails the game's still there online so it doesn't matter.

 

[Xilef]

Started designing my C++ multi-threading library, I have quite a solid idea of what I want to do and I think it's the right way of doing it. Will have to write it with sleepy systems in mind, on desktops you are given full attention with your program but if I want to port to other systems then there's the problem of sleeping threads and such.


Would anyone be interested in an article on multi-threading?

 

[coyotecraft]

Normally I don't bother working on anything unless I have an hour or more to commit to it. But starting this weekend I'm going to try physically working on something any chance I have. Not thinking or visualizing, I want tangible results. So like in the morning, if I have 10 minutes before I need to load the car I'm going to be laying down pixels. If I'm not driving, pixels. Time after eating lunch, pixels. If my battery is dead, I whip out my sketch book to do character portraits or animation key frames .
I'm going to really challenge myself to take advantage of every second.

 

[Ellie]

Finished the last of about 20 interior maps for me Afar expansion. Going well so far! At the moment the expansion will include: ~20 interior maps (completing the city of Damascar and all towns in the Eastern Desert), 51 new head sprites, ~50 new weapon animations, and at least 5 new enemies.

Still left to do is: 20 new NPCs, various linking things, 6 shops (with some new items), at least one lengthy new quest, and another new enemy.

Think I might have overdone the Python references though. I was trying to spruce up a town that's predominantly boring deserty walls and couldn't resist the urge to plaster ROMANES EUNT DOMUS on them.

 

[Xilef]

I was about to work on my scripting system but then FF7 came out on steam.

 

[StrawberrySmiles]

Making grass tiles.

HOW DO YOU NOT MAKE IT LOOK TILED? D=

 

[Xilef]

Making grass tiles.

HOW DO YOU NOT MAKE IT LOOK TILED? D=

GIMP mapping->make seamless

 

[Xhukari]

Making grass tiles.

HOW DO YOU NOT MAKE IT LOOK TILED? D=

GIMP mapping->make seamless

I think that's a bad idea, usually. Especially for pixel art.
What it does is introduce a boatload of new colours to anti-alias and warp the borders of your tile so it is seamless.
I find it much better to do it by hand, and just keep testing what it looks like by using GIMP's tiling options.
Filters > Map > Tile... It also depends how you tile works... I mean, my grass tile is not seamless at all, but how ym grass works, when tiled, it looks pretty good.

I mean, take a look at my tiles... This is my 32x32 Grass Tile, which has been tiled in a 5x5 square...

And this is the same tile, just 'made seamless' before tiled to a 5x5 square:

Now the seamless looks more uniform, but for grass I think thats the wrong effect - you want something natural looking. And tbh, the 'made seamless' looks more obviously tiled. Of course, each to there own.

 

[Xilef]

Holy crap I managed to separate engine logic from renderer, now I can go multi-threaded.

The best part is, I can on-the-fly rebind the game logic, so I can switch from field to battle to world map without having to restart any part of the graphics renderer.

 

[rey meustrus]

@Xhukari: There are several ways to make things look less tiled. Just altering the tile itself, there are only three. The first is to try to erase any details that are so distinctive they catch the eye when it's tiled and create a pattern. The second is to try and duplicate those details so that the eye doesn't see the pattern so obviously. The third is to increase the size of the pattern or make more than one pattern that can be picked at random to break up the tiling.

You can also make it look less tiled just by mapping. Make another kind of grass and a transition from what you have to the new grass, and draw them together in snaking boundaries. This is what most people around here do with the RTP when you see something florid and gorgeous; they're using the "long grass" extensively, interspersing "normal" grass and layering extra tufts of grass and flowers on top of the ground.

As a more general critique, your grass may look better if you use multiple shades to simulate lighting on your blades of grass. Your somewhat cel-shaded look would however look great if the sprite graphics are similarly cel-shaded.

 

[coyotecraft]

I told my dad I didn't want to go work with him next weekend because I have something I want to finish soon. Bad Idea. There's no way I can convince him that people need me to do anything more important than what he wants to do. It'll throw off his plans. He'll talk about me with an irritated voice explaining on the phone why the family won't see me at the rodeo as if the rodeo was the real reason we were going out there to work. And since he is now aware that "I'm working on something" he'll start asking questions. I don't need scorned family members judging me. I might as well throw in the towel.

Oh sorry. This is "what are you working on" not "why aren't you working". Redirecting focus to battlers. Gotta Finish them all.