Holy hell where have I been?
Posted 11 years agoLook at that updates!
Sorry for that disappearance folks, I'm still here and the game is still being made, not as fast as I'd like but, progress is still there. Getting into putting in the writing I have for the characters in game, and having plot and lore and all that wold building stuff!
I'll be getting back to updating weekly, even tho I have said this for the umpteenth time. Here's to progress. :3
Sorry for that disappearance folks, I'm still here and the game is still being made, not as fast as I'd like but, progress is still there. Getting into putting in the writing I have for the characters in game, and having plot and lore and all that wold building stuff!
I'll be getting back to updating weekly, even tho I have said this for the umpteenth time. Here's to progress. :3
Heads up on my Game Demo. (It should work now!)
Posted 11 years agoWas getting comments that my game demo wasn't downloadable. Sorry about that folks! It seems Dropbox took a crap on me, I updated the link to a different file hosting service. It should work now.
EDIT: I'm silly, I updated the link in the game demo submission but not on my front page! That's been fixed now.
EDIT: I'm silly, I updated the link in the game demo submission but not on my front page! That's been fixed now.
A much needed update
Posted 11 years agoHello folks. Sorry for that long absence.
I hit a snag, motivation and time wise this past month. Posting this journal to say the project isn't dead, and I didn't run off into the wide blue yonder.
The days I did get to work on C.A.T.U.P. was mostly writing notes and ideas. Working on getting all the skills Roman will aquire throughout the game. I was having difficulty deciding on the number of skills and how they'd work with each other. It was frustrating until I came up with the idea of having 'themes.' I would think up of a profession or person in my world, say your classic heavy armoured knight. Big, bulky, classic sword and shield, slow, hits hard. Then I'd design skills that would fit this knight. Big ol shield? Well a Cover type skill where he takes damage for other party members fits. Thick heavy armour? Him body slamming into you would hurt and stun/knock you down. He'd be part of a military so he would have Rations or something, which would put an health regen buff on you.
Doing this also helped in designing equipment. What would these professions wear? The knight example would have gear that is tough, so it would add HP and Defense. Strength too since a lot of the skills are physical. It's heavy so it wouldn't boost Agility at all, or may lower it. No magical skills so the gear wouldn't raise Intelligence or MP.
So that's where it stands on my project. See you guys next update. :3
I hit a snag, motivation and time wise this past month. Posting this journal to say the project isn't dead, and I didn't run off into the wide blue yonder.
The days I did get to work on C.A.T.U.P. was mostly writing notes and ideas. Working on getting all the skills Roman will aquire throughout the game. I was having difficulty deciding on the number of skills and how they'd work with each other. It was frustrating until I came up with the idea of having 'themes.' I would think up of a profession or person in my world, say your classic heavy armoured knight. Big, bulky, classic sword and shield, slow, hits hard. Then I'd design skills that would fit this knight. Big ol shield? Well a Cover type skill where he takes damage for other party members fits. Thick heavy armour? Him body slamming into you would hurt and stun/knock you down. He'd be part of a military so he would have Rations or something, which would put an health regen buff on you.
Doing this also helped in designing equipment. What would these professions wear? The knight example would have gear that is tough, so it would add HP and Defense. Strength too since a lot of the skills are physical. It's heavy so it wouldn't boost Agility at all, or may lower it. No magical skills so the gear wouldn't raise Intelligence or MP.
So that's where it stands on my project. See you guys next update. :3
Game Demo v. 1.0 Released!
Posted 12 years agoMerry Christmas, Happy New Year. all that jazz, OMG ITS FINALLY HERE!
Posting this Journal along with my submission to say I finally have v. 1.0 of my Demo out. Its been almost one year to the date, and I'm actually a bit relieved I have something to show and I'm not talking out my butt that I really am doing something. This isn't vapour-ware guys! Honest!
This demo showcases how Roman starts off his adventure, and up to his meeting with three other major characters in the story. It would have been released before christmas but my testers found a game breaking bug that would have prevented you from finishing the game. They also zoomed through it way faster then I thought, proving that users will always chew through content faster then developers can make it.
I already have feedback from them on what to change, and what to keep so when I release another demo in the next fewmonths, year, decade it will be a bit different. The beginning caves and forest will be expanded on, as well some more equipment and skills to hunt down.
I was also thinking of submitting my work to
furrygamemaker Add my name to furries that make games. :3
I'll be honest, I'm worried about the criticism that's to come, putting your creation out in front of others to be viewed and judged. Hundreds of other artists do it every day on here, I guess I've got something in common with everyone else here. :3
Well that's all I have this journal, Enjoy the glimpse into the world I'm making and let me know what you think.
Posting this Journal along with my submission to say I finally have v. 1.0 of my Demo out. Its been almost one year to the date, and I'm actually a bit relieved I have something to show and I'm not talking out my butt that I really am doing something. This isn't vapour-ware guys! Honest!
This demo showcases how Roman starts off his adventure, and up to his meeting with three other major characters in the story. It would have been released before christmas but my testers found a game breaking bug that would have prevented you from finishing the game. They also zoomed through it way faster then I thought, proving that users will always chew through content faster then developers can make it.
I already have feedback from them on what to change, and what to keep so when I release another demo in the next few
I was also thinking of submitting my work to

I'll be honest, I'm worried about the criticism that's to come, putting your creation out in front of others to be viewed and judged. Hundreds of other artists do it every day on here, I guess I've got something in common with everyone else here. :3
Well that's all I have this journal, Enjoy the glimpse into the world I'm making and let me know what you think.
Week, I'm not dead, just zombie like!
Posted 12 years agoHoly smokes its been a month since I posted something here.
I'm not dead, and neither is production on this honest! Work just slammed me with overtime lately and only having one day a week to do all yer running around leaves ya drained.
Things are progressing still, for the beginning part of the game. All the maps are done, monsters put in, treasure, cut scenes, little knick-nacks. All sorts of stuff. I had a minor set back with the skills and animations for all the monsters in this are. When programming them I looked back to older skills and was confused why I had skills broken up into two blocks of code. So I coded everything in a single block of code thinking I was becoming more efficient...until I realized I was using the wrong hit type for all their attacks. When I changed it to the proper type, it buggered up all my animations for them. Then I had a light bulb going off above my head and remembered why I coded them in two blocks of code. So that's all fixed and now continuing on coding for my first boss and minor tweaks.
I realized it's half way through November and coming up to the one year mark when I started this project. I have...45 days-ish to finish this project. Ya that's not happening at all. I don't know what I will do at the one year mark. It does worry me that Jan 1st will hit and I'll feel like a failure for not working hard enough on this. I'll have to deal with that when the day comes. So until then, I'm off to tinker with more code. <:3
I'm not dead, and neither is production on this honest! Work just slammed me with overtime lately and only having one day a week to do all yer running around leaves ya drained.
Things are progressing still, for the beginning part of the game. All the maps are done, monsters put in, treasure, cut scenes, little knick-nacks. All sorts of stuff. I had a minor set back with the skills and animations for all the monsters in this are. When programming them I looked back to older skills and was confused why I had skills broken up into two blocks of code. So I coded everything in a single block of code thinking I was becoming more efficient...until I realized I was using the wrong hit type for all their attacks. When I changed it to the proper type, it buggered up all my animations for them. Then I had a light bulb going off above my head and remembered why I coded them in two blocks of code. So that's all fixed and now continuing on coding for my first boss and minor tweaks.
I realized it's half way through November and coming up to the one year mark when I started this project. I have...45 days-ish to finish this project. Ya that's not happening at all. I don't know what I will do at the one year mark. It does worry me that Jan 1st will hit and I'll feel like a failure for not working hard enough on this. I'll have to deal with that when the day comes. So until then, I'm off to tinker with more code. <:3
Week, I can't think up of a title because its Sat.
Posted 12 years agoBack again for another report on my game.
I noticed I was unwatched by someone. I wonder if I spam people too much with these weekly updates. (I totally do these every week <_< honest)
Back on topic, I uploaded a new screenshot, one in the main gallery and one Work In Progress in scraps. I'll leave more polished things in my gallery and anything I happen to tinker with will be thrown into scraps. Hopefully it means I'll go without long stretches of no updates.
This past week I sat down and started tweaking the combat system more, specifically how damage is calculated. I was not a fan of the default formula since it grew into high 4 digit numbers quickly. I started reading up on how other RPG's did their damage formulas, finding out that it can be boiled down to two types. Subtractive which is Attack - Defense or Divisively which is Attack/Defense. Both have their positive and negatives. Subtractive is easily controlled, but you can get into things like attacks hitting for 1. So if you're not strong enough to break through their defense, you're not going anywhere till you increase your power via leveling or new equipment. Divisively you'll never get to that, but power gains can feel slower, and a difference of one number can throw things all over the place. (Attack/3 vs Attack/4 as an example.)
After playing with both, I'm more fond of Divisive formulas. Even if you're under leveled or weaker then what you're fighting, you're not going to get completely creamed. It can open up strategies such as outlasting your opponent. It also means that mobs will never hit the player for 1 damage after a certain point and will be a threat long after he can move on to higher areas.
So to recap, Defense against attacks will be percentage based, I'll probably cap it at 75-85% damage reduction, and that's if you build all defense and use buffs. Attack, I'm still working on that, Unsure if I want a straight multiplier or have it where Attack is base damage then it's divided to work out a multiplier. (Say Attack * 3 vs [[Attack/4] * Attack] )
That's all from me this week folks :3
I noticed I was unwatched by someone. I wonder if I spam people too much with these weekly updates. (I totally do these every week <_< honest)
Back on topic, I uploaded a new screenshot, one in the main gallery and one Work In Progress in scraps. I'll leave more polished things in my gallery and anything I happen to tinker with will be thrown into scraps. Hopefully it means I'll go without long stretches of no updates.
This past week I sat down and started tweaking the combat system more, specifically how damage is calculated. I was not a fan of the default formula since it grew into high 4 digit numbers quickly. I started reading up on how other RPG's did their damage formulas, finding out that it can be boiled down to two types. Subtractive which is Attack - Defense or Divisively which is Attack/Defense. Both have their positive and negatives. Subtractive is easily controlled, but you can get into things like attacks hitting for 1. So if you're not strong enough to break through their defense, you're not going anywhere till you increase your power via leveling or new equipment. Divisively you'll never get to that, but power gains can feel slower, and a difference of one number can throw things all over the place. (Attack/3 vs Attack/4 as an example.)
After playing with both, I'm more fond of Divisive formulas. Even if you're under leveled or weaker then what you're fighting, you're not going to get completely creamed. It can open up strategies such as outlasting your opponent. It also means that mobs will never hit the player for 1 damage after a certain point and will be a threat long after he can move on to higher areas.
So to recap, Defense against attacks will be percentage based, I'll probably cap it at 75-85% damage reduction, and that's if you build all defense and use buffs. Attack, I'm still working on that, Unsure if I want a straight multiplier or have it where Attack is base damage then it's divided to work out a multiplier. (Say Attack * 3 vs [[Attack/4] * Attack] )
That's all from me this week folks :3
Week, Bah I totally lost track of the number
Posted 12 years agoUpdate time woooo!
annnnnd I have no screenshot this time. I don't have anything I feel that's polished enough to put on here actually. I'm starting to think I should throw work-in-progress things in scraps every week and have finished and polished areas and things in my actual gallery. At least it would look like I'm doing something :P
These past 2 weeks I have been working on how I wanted the beginning of the game to start and the area Roman adventures in and last night I finished up the final cut scene for the area which shows how Roman stumbles into the neighbouring province. Still have to do the intro cut scene into the game, but the ground work is in place for that. All that's left is populating the area with nasty monsters and treasure.
On the monster note, sat down to tweak the combat system, mostly how damage formulas work since RPG Maker's default one is terrible and scales into giant numbers quickly. I wanted nice small values to work with. I learned that I'm terrible with algebra and fancy formulas don't make a game. Stay in school kids, math is important. :P
That's all I have this week folks. See you all next week :3
annnnnd I have no screenshot this time. I don't have anything I feel that's polished enough to put on here actually. I'm starting to think I should throw work-in-progress things in scraps every week and have finished and polished areas and things in my actual gallery. At least it would look like I'm doing something :P
These past 2 weeks I have been working on how I wanted the beginning of the game to start and the area Roman adventures in and last night I finished up the final cut scene for the area which shows how Roman stumbles into the neighbouring province. Still have to do the intro cut scene into the game, but the ground work is in place for that. All that's left is populating the area with nasty monsters and treasure.
On the monster note, sat down to tweak the combat system, mostly how damage formulas work since RPG Maker's default one is terrible and scales into giant numbers quickly. I wanted nice small values to work with. I learned that I'm terrible with algebra and fancy formulas don't make a game. Stay in school kids, math is important. :P
That's all I have this week folks. See you all next week :3
Week, Something, Something Slacking.
Posted 12 years agoHurray FA is back up! Now I can update. I was going to update on time...honest! >_>
It's been a month since I posted a journal and much updates. I'm still around working on this project, it's was put on a back burner for a while there. Between a full time job and working on this unfinished house for a year, the time I have to work on this isn't a lot. With only 3 months left, I realize my 1 year goal is unobtainable and frankly unrealistic.
Negatives aside, I'm going to see this project through till the end, even if it takes me years. Seeing my world get put together piece by piece is fantastic. Each asset I make for this project takes less and less time to put together, and I'm proud of that.
Going to end this journal here and work on updating my FA page to reflect come changes. :3
It's been a month since I posted a journal and much updates. I'm still around working on this project, it's was put on a back burner for a while there. Between a full time job and working on this unfinished house for a year, the time I have to work on this isn't a lot. With only 3 months left, I realize my 1 year goal is unobtainable and frankly unrealistic.
Negatives aside, I'm going to see this project through till the end, even if it takes me years. Seeing my world get put together piece by piece is fantastic. Each asset I make for this project takes less and less time to put together, and I'm proud of that.
Going to end this journal here and work on updating my FA page to reflect come changes. :3
Week...Crap I dont remember, But there was a Con!
Posted 12 years ago*kicks the pile of backlog out of the way*
OMG HAI!
So I have been slacking on updates and then a con appeared out of no where and kidnapped me, True Story. >_>
I've been looking at Condition ever since it started up and decided this year I was going to go, and It was a blast! My con experience has just been AC with its massive fan base and tons of panels, I went in knowing it wasn't going to be that large, but WOW what a difference, its was small and relaxed, it was GREAT! I didn't feel rushed going from one place to another. The Con staff cooked some amazing burgers. I got to actually sit down and chat up some artists and not feel like I was taking up their time or blocking people. Also, Iron Artist is the best thing I've ever seen. There needs to be more of that at cons.
airless This artist is awesome, go watch her, do it! Totally worth your time! She's super friendly. :D
missmab Who turned out exactly like I pictured, I admit my brain locked up and I fanboi'd a bit when I got to her table.
kv1nn4 Comissioned my very first badge ever from her, I LOVE THE DICE. :D
Durangil-Estalio I bumped into him and his boyfriend at the last day and we played the utter crap out of Nordguard! (Screw random glaciers blocking towns >:( )
And I am probably forgetting a bunch or other things, but whatever, 10/10 would go again. :D
GAME WISE....It's official I'm a picky bastard. I'm falling into a trap where I finish something then I realize I can add this or make this better or tweak it and I spin my creative wheels on the same content over and over. My plan was to get a bare bones demo out, but then I felt it would be boring without some cut scenes and story telling. My little cut scenes for story and things never satisfy me it feels. So I keep thinking up new things I could add then off to drawing board to create them and stick them in. I feel like I'm flaking out on progress. Art'ing and Programming is haaaaaard! D: *flails* On a more positive note, I'm aiming to get a screenshot or two out in the next week on what I've worked on. Because I do feel proud of what I'm making. <:3
Ok that's enough rambling, back to work!
OMG HAI!
So I have been slacking on updates and then a con appeared out of no where and kidnapped me, True Story. >_>
I've been looking at Condition ever since it started up and decided this year I was going to go, and It was a blast! My con experience has just been AC with its massive fan base and tons of panels, I went in knowing it wasn't going to be that large, but WOW what a difference, its was small and relaxed, it was GREAT! I didn't feel rushed going from one place to another. The Con staff cooked some amazing burgers. I got to actually sit down and chat up some artists and not feel like I was taking up their time or blocking people. Also, Iron Artist is the best thing I've ever seen. There needs to be more of that at cons.




And I am probably forgetting a bunch or other things, but whatever, 10/10 would go again. :D
GAME WISE....It's official I'm a picky bastard. I'm falling into a trap where I finish something then I realize I can add this or make this better or tweak it and I spin my creative wheels on the same content over and over. My plan was to get a bare bones demo out, but then I felt it would be boring without some cut scenes and story telling. My little cut scenes for story and things never satisfy me it feels. So I keep thinking up new things I could add then off to drawing board to create them and stick them in. I feel like I'm flaking out on progress. Art'ing and Programming is haaaaaard! D: *flails* On a more positive note, I'm aiming to get a screenshot or two out in the next week on what I've worked on. Because I do feel proud of what I'm making. <:3
Ok that's enough rambling, back to work!
Week 28, Back from my vacation, I'm not dead D:
Posted 12 years agoI'm here I'm here! Didn't think I was gone that long from this page!
Where do I start? Went down to the states to visit a great friend of mine in PA. Ate, drank, gamed, visited more friends! Then it was off to AC for more furry action.
This was my second con ever and I did have a lovely time down there. I wish I talked to more people, and not felt so busy from panels and events going around. Also need to do more restaurants @_@ So much good food!
Now to get back to the reason I made this FA page...My game and all its 'lovely' programming causing me to flip a table. From making sure animations work correctly to having cut scenes run smoothly, I'm a tad frustrated. I have nothing major to show off since most of it is code, and I do want to keep some things a surprise to all you guys. So I'm going to be changing my update schedule to every 2 weeks for now. I feel saddened that I couldn't get a working demo out before AC, and that is attacking my motivation something fierce. So now its a lot of midnight oil burning so I I can prove I'm not just a bunch of hot air here.
So on that note...oh god work work work!
Where do I start? Went down to the states to visit a great friend of mine in PA. Ate, drank, gamed, visited more friends! Then it was off to AC for more furry action.
This was my second con ever and I did have a lovely time down there. I wish I talked to more people, and not felt so busy from panels and events going around. Also need to do more restaurants @_@ So much good food!
Now to get back to the reason I made this FA page...My game and all its 'lovely' programming causing me to flip a table. From making sure animations work correctly to having cut scenes run smoothly, I'm a tad frustrated. I have nothing major to show off since most of it is code, and I do want to keep some things a surprise to all you guys. So I'm going to be changing my update schedule to every 2 weeks for now. I feel saddened that I couldn't get a working demo out before AC, and that is attacking my motivation something fierce. So now its a lot of midnight oil burning so I I can prove I'm not just a bunch of hot air here.
So on that note...oh god work work work!
Week 25, Missed a whole week.
Posted 12 years agoJust posting to show that I'm still around! I didn't just up and leave the project.
Some RL things have been cropping up left and right sapping my free time these past few weekends, and most of the work I've been doing is coding, and screenshots of code isn't that fun to look it :P
My vacation down to AC is zooming up fast, so now its looking like I will not have a demo out before then :( Not unless you all want to play an unbalanced encounters, very little story RPG. Everything is on the very easy side so I can test to see if animations and damage formulas actually work.
Speaking about damage, I recently discovered that you can have "else if" commands in damage calculations. It sparked an idea for my combat. Most rpgs have weaknesses like 'such and such is weak to fire, burn the sucker.' That will be in this game, as well, most skills will do additional damage if they have a debuff on them.
There will be two ways this can work. First, a skill could do extra damage as long as the debuff is on the mob. One of the early skills will have a chance to inflict 'Daze' and once the mob is afflicted with it, repeated use of that skill on the same mob will do more damage. The second way this can work is that a skill will consume the debuff to do a massive damage increase. Say a mob is inflicted with 'Chill' a cold type debuff, if you hit that mob with an Earth type attack, it'll consume the Chill effect for extra damage. (Hard things shattering frozen thing idea) So now you have to decide, do you want to leave that debuff on the mob to keep it weak? Or will you consume it and use the extra damage to finish it off?
Elemental spells will do a lot of the consuming thing. I have an idea where you rotate between elements for extra damage, or you can just find the mobs weakness and nuke it. Choices! I love it.
That's all for this week folks, now back outside work on outdoor stuff. @_@
Some RL things have been cropping up left and right sapping my free time these past few weekends, and most of the work I've been doing is coding, and screenshots of code isn't that fun to look it :P
My vacation down to AC is zooming up fast, so now its looking like I will not have a demo out before then :( Not unless you all want to play an unbalanced encounters, very little story RPG. Everything is on the very easy side so I can test to see if animations and damage formulas actually work.
Speaking about damage, I recently discovered that you can have "else if" commands in damage calculations. It sparked an idea for my combat. Most rpgs have weaknesses like 'such and such is weak to fire, burn the sucker.' That will be in this game, as well, most skills will do additional damage if they have a debuff on them.
There will be two ways this can work. First, a skill could do extra damage as long as the debuff is on the mob. One of the early skills will have a chance to inflict 'Daze' and once the mob is afflicted with it, repeated use of that skill on the same mob will do more damage. The second way this can work is that a skill will consume the debuff to do a massive damage increase. Say a mob is inflicted with 'Chill' a cold type debuff, if you hit that mob with an Earth type attack, it'll consume the Chill effect for extra damage. (Hard things shattering frozen thing idea) So now you have to decide, do you want to leave that debuff on the mob to keep it weak? Or will you consume it and use the extra damage to finish it off?
Elemental spells will do a lot of the consuming thing. I have an idea where you rotate between elements for extra damage, or you can just find the mobs weakness and nuke it. Choices! I love it.
That's all for this week folks, now back outside work on outdoor stuff. @_@
Week 23, Oh life and your curve balls
Posted 12 years agoLate journal entry engage!
So, this week as I was working on getting the skills for the Adventurer class worked out, I got to thinking. I wanted that class' skill set to be realistic. No flashy spells, or showy sword skills. Just items you'd find in your backpack if you were out camping or exploring a dungeon or something. Then I got to thinking. Well if this class is just using what he finds, what is preventing him from finding an old wand still charged with magic, or that sword that has lightning powers, or that manual on how to fire off a golems rocket arm attachment? Then the gears in my head started turning after I realized I could have equipment grant skills just by having them equipped.
So now after some thought about my original system I was going to have, where the player chooses which path he wanted to go down, I'm now going to go with one class, the Adventurer. Who gets by with whatever he can find. So the jist of it is, all the equipment you find will grant skills to your hero. The stats they boost will reflect the skills granted too. Heavy armour and weapons will give more physical skill sets, and higher strength and HP, while magical items will give magical skills and MP and the like. So you want to be a hulking warrior, wear all that heavy gear! Want to be a caster that nukes stuff? Wear all that robe stuff! Want to be both? Mix and match!
I never really felt the original idea I started with fit. I kept it only because I thought it would be the best fit. Now this idea, feels a lot more fitting to my game. This will change development time, since I am now combining equipment and skills together at once. Whether this will be good or bad...I'm not sure yet. Here's to hoping it makes it all faster ^_^
So, this week as I was working on getting the skills for the Adventurer class worked out, I got to thinking. I wanted that class' skill set to be realistic. No flashy spells, or showy sword skills. Just items you'd find in your backpack if you were out camping or exploring a dungeon or something. Then I got to thinking. Well if this class is just using what he finds, what is preventing him from finding an old wand still charged with magic, or that sword that has lightning powers, or that manual on how to fire off a golems rocket arm attachment? Then the gears in my head started turning after I realized I could have equipment grant skills just by having them equipped.
So now after some thought about my original system I was going to have, where the player chooses which path he wanted to go down, I'm now going to go with one class, the Adventurer. Who gets by with whatever he can find. So the jist of it is, all the equipment you find will grant skills to your hero. The stats they boost will reflect the skills granted too. Heavy armour and weapons will give more physical skill sets, and higher strength and HP, while magical items will give magical skills and MP and the like. So you want to be a hulking warrior, wear all that heavy gear! Want to be a caster that nukes stuff? Wear all that robe stuff! Want to be both? Mix and match!
I never really felt the original idea I started with fit. I kept it only because I thought it would be the best fit. Now this idea, feels a lot more fitting to my game. This will change development time, since I am now combining equipment and skills together at once. Whether this will be good or bad...I'm not sure yet. Here's to hoping it makes it all faster ^_^
Week 22, Life working against me
Posted 12 years agoWeekly journal again, and no screen shots this week.
This marks the first week where I got nothing done. Zip. Nada. Sunday started with my free time being stolen away and it just snowballed along the entire week. Even tomorrow I have to go into overtime for work. As the week crept along I got caught into a circle of no productivity. "Didn't do anything -> Feel bad as it gets closer to Friday -> no motivation because I feel bad -> Don't do anything"
I'm hoping Sunday will be a fresh start again and I can get back to pumping out programming. Not everything is doom and gloom tho. Idea's have been tossed around my head. I want to change the first boss to something different that will fit with the story better. Looking at how to make the battles have some kind of strategy so its not just "Mash biggest attack."
I've also started looking into how music is made, since I will want to get away from the default music that came with RPG Maker. This idea scares me a bit tho, bad music could very well chase people away from playing my game. XD
Now off to relax a bit before bed. :3
This marks the first week where I got nothing done. Zip. Nada. Sunday started with my free time being stolen away and it just snowballed along the entire week. Even tomorrow I have to go into overtime for work. As the week crept along I got caught into a circle of no productivity. "Didn't do anything -> Feel bad as it gets closer to Friday -> no motivation because I feel bad -> Don't do anything"
I'm hoping Sunday will be a fresh start again and I can get back to pumping out programming. Not everything is doom and gloom tho. Idea's have been tossed around my head. I want to change the first boss to something different that will fit with the story better. Looking at how to make the battles have some kind of strategy so its not just "Mash biggest attack."
I've also started looking into how music is made, since I will want to get away from the default music that came with RPG Maker. This idea scares me a bit tho, bad music could very well chase people away from playing my game. XD
Now off to relax a bit before bed. :3
Week 21,
Posted 12 years ago*looks up at his progress* Holy SMOKES
Wow, I'm farther along then I thought with that. That's the bare minimum I need to put out a demo and its almost done. That is for a very bare bones demo tho, and that might make for a boring game. This just means I can spice up the monsters attacks a bit, throw a few more cut scenes in there and things. Of course this is provided nothing goes wrong with the coding. Looking at you Magnet Tool! 3:<
I'm thinking of setting a few more goals on there to hit so its much more polished when it comes out. Of course AC is a month away and I wanted to get it out before I go. The one thing holding me back is the basic class skills. Our hero is an adventurer, no magic stuff and I want something more then "Power Slash" and Head Butt" type skills for him. I envision things that an explorer or a really hardcore camper would take with him. I have stuff down on paper but nothing really jumps out and says "Yes I can see someone totally doing this in a fight"
Also, I have to start looking into hosting sites, anyone have any recommendations? I've never used any sites like Megaupload or Rapidshare.
That's all for this week folks :3
Wow, I'm farther along then I thought with that. That's the bare minimum I need to put out a demo and its almost done. That is for a very bare bones demo tho, and that might make for a boring game. This just means I can spice up the monsters attacks a bit, throw a few more cut scenes in there and things. Of course this is provided nothing goes wrong with the coding. Looking at you Magnet Tool! 3:<
I'm thinking of setting a few more goals on there to hit so its much more polished when it comes out. Of course AC is a month away and I wanted to get it out before I go. The one thing holding me back is the basic class skills. Our hero is an adventurer, no magic stuff and I want something more then "Power Slash" and Head Butt" type skills for him. I envision things that an explorer or a really hardcore camper would take with him. I have stuff down on paper but nothing really jumps out and says "Yes I can see someone totally doing this in a fight"
Also, I have to start looking into hosting sites, anyone have any recommendations? I've never used any sites like Megaupload or Rapidshare.
That's all for this week folks :3
Week 20, Long weekend!
Posted 12 years agoIt's that time again! Time to spam yer inbox with another journal! :P
Gonna keep this one short since its the long weekend and I have things to do and whiskey to attack.
It's now about 6 weeks till AC, so I have 6 weeks to get my list I have on the top of my page done. With every new thing I complete, 4 more things pop up that I didn't think about. Like monster attacks, and cut scenes, and items. I had in my head a polished beginning part of my game as the demo I'd like to put out. Now its looking like it's going to be an unpolished beginning part of my game.
As it gets closer to AC, I'll have a better idea what I'll be putting out. But enough of being a panic-y fussy rat....LOOONG WEEEEEKEND
*runs off to a lawn chair*
Gonna keep this one short since its the long weekend and I have things to do and whiskey to attack.
It's now about 6 weeks till AC, so I have 6 weeks to get my list I have on the top of my page done. With every new thing I complete, 4 more things pop up that I didn't think about. Like monster attacks, and cut scenes, and items. I had in my head a polished beginning part of my game as the demo I'd like to put out. Now its looking like it's going to be an unpolished beginning part of my game.
As it gets closer to AC, I'll have a better idea what I'll be putting out. But enough of being a panic-y fussy rat....LOOONG WEEEEEKEND
*runs off to a lawn chair*
Week 19, Progresssssss *wiggle*
Posted 12 years agoIt's that time again! Time to ramble on about things.
Crafted 3 sprites this week and a bit of coding for my plant one, I'm giddy about it. Then it got me thinking about in combat and what they'd do to inflict pain on our hero. I have a basic idea what mobs would do, but nothing set in stone..or programmed.....or animations created...AAGGGHHH didn't think this all through! D:
The more I think I'm closer to the end the more work pops up I didn't think about. How many skills do I give monsters? 2? 3? 15? Then there is the topic of recolours. I have a minor one to tell the difference between two monsters atm. I like the idea of having all sorts of different monsters but how acceptable is having the same model but a different colour all over the game? I know its been done before in many a RPG, I just worry about being excessive about it. It would save a bunch of time tho <_<;;
Ever since putting my progress on the top of my page my motivation did skyrocket, so I think I'm going to keep it there. Small chunks of progress at a time so I'm not feeling overwhelmed.....Now I feel like I sound like a broken record, cause the theme of worrying about progress seems to get into every journal I write!
.....Oh god *panics and flails back to work*
Crafted 3 sprites this week and a bit of coding for my plant one, I'm giddy about it. Then it got me thinking about in combat and what they'd do to inflict pain on our hero. I have a basic idea what mobs would do, but nothing set in stone..or programmed.....or animations created...AAGGGHHH didn't think this all through! D:
The more I think I'm closer to the end the more work pops up I didn't think about. How many skills do I give monsters? 2? 3? 15? Then there is the topic of recolours. I have a minor one to tell the difference between two monsters atm. I like the idea of having all sorts of different monsters but how acceptable is having the same model but a different colour all over the game? I know its been done before in many a RPG, I just worry about being excessive about it. It would save a bunch of time tho <_<;;
Ever since putting my progress on the top of my page my motivation did skyrocket, so I think I'm going to keep it there. Small chunks of progress at a time so I'm not feeling overwhelmed.....Now I feel like I sound like a broken record, cause the theme of worrying about progress seems to get into every journal I write!
.....Oh god *panics and flails back to work*
Week 18, Whoops I missed one.
Posted 12 years agoI could have swore I did a journal last week. <_< Whoops.
Its now May, 5th month working on this project. When I started at x-mas I had this vision where I would have a huge chunk of my game done and ready to go. To have this done in a year doesn't look reasonable with the large scope I had planned. So now I have to make some choices. What do I cut back on? Most of my time is spent learning how to create sprites and things for the game, do I start using a lot more default stuff? Do I cut back how long the game was going to be? Do I break it the story into multiple games? Do I scrap the entire thing and start with a much smaller and simpler project?
Looking back, I think I should have done something much simpler. A tiny RPG to learn the ropes then work on my next game with more experience. I am a stubborn person tho, So I am going to finish this, one way or another. Even if it I can't finish it in a year.
On a more positive note. I already have outlined the minimum I need to make in order for the demo to be released before AC. So I'm going to be posting it at the top of my FA page and every time I get a part done, check it off. At the very least have something there to help motivate my arse into working smarter.
That's it for this week folks, and if you havn't guessed, no screenshot this week. If I get something worthy to show I'll slap it up on the page ASAP. :3
Its now May, 5th month working on this project. When I started at x-mas I had this vision where I would have a huge chunk of my game done and ready to go. To have this done in a year doesn't look reasonable with the large scope I had planned. So now I have to make some choices. What do I cut back on? Most of my time is spent learning how to create sprites and things for the game, do I start using a lot more default stuff? Do I cut back how long the game was going to be? Do I break it the story into multiple games? Do I scrap the entire thing and start with a much smaller and simpler project?
Looking back, I think I should have done something much simpler. A tiny RPG to learn the ropes then work on my next game with more experience. I am a stubborn person tho, So I am going to finish this, one way or another. Even if it I can't finish it in a year.
On a more positive note. I already have outlined the minimum I need to make in order for the demo to be released before AC. So I'm going to be posting it at the top of my FA page and every time I get a part done, check it off. At the very least have something there to help motivate my arse into working smarter.
That's it for this week folks, and if you havn't guessed, no screenshot this week. If I get something worthy to show I'll slap it up on the page ASAP. :3
Week 16, Back in the ring.
Posted 12 years agoSuper Late Journal Activate!
Another week gone, and I'm back into the swing of things :3
Crafted a new NPC, Worked on some maps, No more feeling burnt out on the project. Still worry about biting off more then I could chew with this whole thing, but I think that feeling will be there till I actually finish.
It's almost the end of April which means 2 months till AC. I was planning to have a demo out by then so people could play/see/critique/flame me and all that. Going to try real hard to meet that goal so while I'm away doing furry things I can come back all refreshed and see feed back...unless you people are there at AC instead <_<;;
Now off to sip some tea and be a code monkey :3
Another week gone, and I'm back into the swing of things :3
Crafted a new NPC, Worked on some maps, No more feeling burnt out on the project. Still worry about biting off more then I could chew with this whole thing, but I think that feeling will be there till I actually finish.
It's almost the end of April which means 2 months till AC. I was planning to have a demo out by then so people could play/see/critique/flame me and all that. Going to try real hard to meet that goal so while I'm away doing furry things I can come back all refreshed and see feed back...unless you people are there at AC instead <_<;;
Now off to sip some tea and be a code monkey :3
Week 15, Burn out
Posted 12 years agoNo screenshots today everyone :(
This week I finally burnt out on the project, only managed minor programming things like linking maps together and small animated things like smoke for chimneys or the gears in my fox's house and it was a struggle doing that. I figured I'd post up the weekly journal today to let everyone know whats going on.
This isn't to say I'm giving up on the project, heck no, I will finish this thing. I'm starting to feel like I bit off more then I can chew with the size of it. I didn't plan on a long game, but making all the sprites myself is very time consuming, I have yet to even start the animations for in battles and other effects I want in cut scenes. I wanted a demo out before I went to AC this year and its slowly creeping up.
That's all I have this week folks :(
This week I finally burnt out on the project, only managed minor programming things like linking maps together and small animated things like smoke for chimneys or the gears in my fox's house and it was a struggle doing that. I figured I'd post up the weekly journal today to let everyone know whats going on.
This isn't to say I'm giving up on the project, heck no, I will finish this thing. I'm starting to feel like I bit off more then I can chew with the size of it. I didn't plan on a long game, but making all the sprites myself is very time consuming, I have yet to even start the animations for in battles and other effects I want in cut scenes. I wanted a demo out before I went to AC this year and its slowly creeping up.
That's all I have this week folks :(
Week 14, No title here today >_>
Posted 12 years agoOh gawd I slept in again! So this is going up late.
Wooo its weekend, time to pump out some more pixels. Only one screenshot up this week, due to work making me tired with training two people at once all week @_@ I'm still happy with my golem sprite. He started out being crafted so I could use him in a puzzle, which then I started thinking up how these things would fit in my world.
I've always liked magic vs technology scenarios or an odd blend of both. I always envisioned a world like the game "Torchlight" where you had steampunkish technology and magic being tossed around at the same time. Magical bullets and swords with gears and stuff!....maybe. I want to give that feel to the player as he travels from place to place :3
That's all I have to say this week, not much else to comment on <:3 see you all next week.
Wooo its weekend, time to pump out some more pixels. Only one screenshot up this week, due to work making me tired with training two people at once all week @_@ I'm still happy with my golem sprite. He started out being crafted so I could use him in a puzzle, which then I started thinking up how these things would fit in my world.
I've always liked magic vs technology scenarios or an odd blend of both. I always envisioned a world like the game "Torchlight" where you had steampunkish technology and magic being tossed around at the same time. Magical bullets and swords with gears and stuff!....maybe. I want to give that feel to the player as he travels from place to place :3
That's all I have to say this week, not much else to comment on <:3 see you all next week.
Week 13, How high can I count.
Posted 12 years agoHappy Easter people :3
Welp my prediction about video games sapping my time came true. RPG time was put on the back burner while I ran around as Zerg and hacked up things with my guildies in Guild Wars 2. I even got Dark Souls when it was on sale and have yet to dive into it. >_>;;
It was a nice little break tho, and now I can understand why art doesn't get churned out quickly. You can't force creativity, doing so you just putter out. After a few days of work, it's always a struggle to get things going, or put anything down on paper. I now have a bigger appreciation to any artist that can pump out artwork like no ones business. You guys are amazing. o_o
I'm slowly getting more watchers and I'm wondering, am I bring rude by not thanking you people for a watch? <_< What is the etiquette for these things? Is just a thank you enough, or do I run amock on your FA pages leaving comments everywhere? I do venture to a new watchers page when I get one to see who they are and what they like. Do I start watching people on this account? I wanted to keep this somewhat professional by keeping personal stuff out. Then again I've spent most of this journal ranting on about things other then my game! Gyah back to work I go!
Welp my prediction about video games sapping my time came true. RPG time was put on the back burner while I ran around as Zerg and hacked up things with my guildies in Guild Wars 2. I even got Dark Souls when it was on sale and have yet to dive into it. >_>;;
It was a nice little break tho, and now I can understand why art doesn't get churned out quickly. You can't force creativity, doing so you just putter out. After a few days of work, it's always a struggle to get things going, or put anything down on paper. I now have a bigger appreciation to any artist that can pump out artwork like no ones business. You guys are amazing. o_o
I'm slowly getting more watchers and I'm wondering, am I bring rude by not thanking you people for a watch? <_< What is the etiquette for these things? Is just a thank you enough, or do I run amock on your FA pages leaving comments everywhere? I do venture to a new watchers page when I get one to see who they are and what they like. Do I start watching people on this account? I wanted to keep this somewhat professional by keeping personal stuff out. Then again I've spent most of this journal ranting on about things other then my game! Gyah back to work I go!
Week 12, Damn you video gaaaaaaames D:
Posted 12 years agoWooooo update time!
Week 12 and I'm getting better at not fussing over how little I get done during the week. As most of you have seen I posted another video of my game, and I'm just super happy I got that one thing done. I was worried on the programming aspect. I now feel much more confidant in getting the rest done and other things that need to be programmed in. I'm still on the fence if I want you to actually equip the item to use it, which means lots of default menu switching, or do I want to hunker down and design my own menu for using the Tools.
I was actually having FUN getting that to work and designing that little dungeon. Putting the pieces in, getting a puzzle or two in, crafting Roman's dialogue, this is the excitement I get when making a game. Now I'm stuck on what to work on next. Mapping areas is boring, actually drawing/editing characters and monsters pixel by pixel is boring. Programming events and drawing concepts is fun to me, designing animations and seeing them in combat is fun. I want to complete this game, so I'm forcing myself to get through the stuff I find boring so I have all the exciting fun stuff at the end to do.
I also want to get a demo out for people so everyone can see my little world...and criticize the hell out of it, because I know not everything will be perfect :3
In other news, Steam unleashed a new sale this coming week, all those fun looking indie games....and I still have to play Starcraft 2....and a new patch for Guild Wars 2 is hitting Tuesday...hhhrnnnggggghh Why is all the fun distracting stuff coming out now?! Before I started this project some days I was bored to all hell, now all EVERYTHING seems to call to me...play us Fuzzy, We're so fun! >_> Damnit! *dives headfirst into his RPG*
Week 12 and I'm getting better at not fussing over how little I get done during the week. As most of you have seen I posted another video of my game, and I'm just super happy I got that one thing done. I was worried on the programming aspect. I now feel much more confidant in getting the rest done and other things that need to be programmed in. I'm still on the fence if I want you to actually equip the item to use it, which means lots of default menu switching, or do I want to hunker down and design my own menu for using the Tools.
I was actually having FUN getting that to work and designing that little dungeon. Putting the pieces in, getting a puzzle or two in, crafting Roman's dialogue, this is the excitement I get when making a game. Now I'm stuck on what to work on next. Mapping areas is boring, actually drawing/editing characters and monsters pixel by pixel is boring. Programming events and drawing concepts is fun to me, designing animations and seeing them in combat is fun. I want to complete this game, so I'm forcing myself to get through the stuff I find boring so I have all the exciting fun stuff at the end to do.
I also want to get a demo out for people so everyone can see my little world...and criticize the hell out of it, because I know not everything will be perfect :3
In other news, Steam unleashed a new sale this coming week, all those fun looking indie games....and I still have to play Starcraft 2....and a new patch for Guild Wars 2 is hitting Tuesday...hhhrnnnggggghh Why is all the fun distracting stuff coming out now?! Before I started this project some days I was bored to all hell, now all EVERYTHING seems to call to me...play us Fuzzy, We're so fun! >_> Damnit! *dives headfirst into his RPG*
Week 11, Oh god finally have a Sat off
Posted 12 years agoOH MAH LAWD! My first Sat off in 5 weeks.
This week has been pretty slow going, so not much to talk about sadly. I have finished all the outside maps for the Farms, just a few maps of the inside of the houses and its done. I'll have my first major adventuring area done! *SQUEES* then there is programming the events, puzzles, monsters, putting in the shiny TREASURES! (You have received Pitchfork of Poking +2) Ok so its not completely done but its close! I swear D:
If you noticed I only have one screenshot up this week, its because my second one was taken down. Apparently its against the AUP to post screenshots of games, which is my entire gallery. I'm now worried my entire gallery is at risk since everything is a screenshot. If it happens that all my submissions have to be taken down, I'm going to have to move to a different website to upload my work. I don't know where I'd go yet, I hope it doesn't come to that.
This week has been pretty slow going, so not much to talk about sadly. I have finished all the outside maps for the Farms, just a few maps of the inside of the houses and its done. I'll have my first major adventuring area done! *SQUEES* then there is programming the events, puzzles, monsters, putting in the shiny TREASURES! (You have received Pitchfork of Poking +2) Ok so its not completely done but its close! I swear D:
If you noticed I only have one screenshot up this week, its because my second one was taken down. Apparently its against the AUP to post screenshots of games, which is my entire gallery. I'm now worried my entire gallery is at risk since everything is a screenshot. If it happens that all my submissions have to be taken down, I'm going to have to move to a different website to upload my work. I don't know where I'd go yet, I hope it doesn't come to that.
Week 10, The double digit update.
Posted 12 years agoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO yeaaaaa, Week 10 and I'm feeling good.
My little world is growing day by day and I get excited as more pieces fall into place. I do enjoy seeing my project coming to life :D
It still feels like I don't do enough every week and that I have to whip my butt into shape, but I'm getting better at marking down my goals for the week and getting them done on time. Soon I'm going to have to start working on the skill sets for our hero.
Since the game had two different resource systems for combat, I knew I wanted to use both. TP will be for physical type skills, where you have to build up some TP in combat by fighting then unleashing a stronger attack. MP will be used for magical type skills, Where you can unleash devastation right from the get go but will fizzle out if you over do it.
So I figured I'd do a small 'class' system, that way the player can choose how he wants to battle his way through the game. There will only be four classes, The default one you start with and then you branch out to one of the other three. Those three consisting of yer classic "Warrior" "Rogue" "Mage." The Default one will be a hybrid, using both the TP and MP resources. It will feature some skills from all other classes so the player can decide which path to go down.
The "Warrior" class will only use the TP resource, having skills to protect his allies and buffing their defense. That isn't to say he won't be able to lay the smack down. After building up some TP in combat, He can charge out to knock down, toss up, and wade into the thick of battle with slicing whirlwind attacks.
The "Mage" class will only use the MP resource, having a variety of different elements at his command. Bringing down the enemy in a flashy display flames and thunder, he can unleash devastation in battle right from the get go. Exploiting elemental weaknesses will bring down the mightiest foe.
The "Rogue" class will use both systems like the Default class, continuing to be hybrid. The theme is more of a gadget using adventurer, able to perform pseudo-magical attacks at the start of combat, or saving up TP to get into the thick of things with precision strikes. Being a jack of all trades in combat.
I figure somewhere between 6-9 skills per class will be enough, and I promise I'll be more original then "Fire 2" or some jazz. :P
My little world is growing day by day and I get excited as more pieces fall into place. I do enjoy seeing my project coming to life :D
It still feels like I don't do enough every week and that I have to whip my butt into shape, but I'm getting better at marking down my goals for the week and getting them done on time. Soon I'm going to have to start working on the skill sets for our hero.
Since the game had two different resource systems for combat, I knew I wanted to use both. TP will be for physical type skills, where you have to build up some TP in combat by fighting then unleashing a stronger attack. MP will be used for magical type skills, Where you can unleash devastation right from the get go but will fizzle out if you over do it.
So I figured I'd do a small 'class' system, that way the player can choose how he wants to battle his way through the game. There will only be four classes, The default one you start with and then you branch out to one of the other three. Those three consisting of yer classic "Warrior" "Rogue" "Mage." The Default one will be a hybrid, using both the TP and MP resources. It will feature some skills from all other classes so the player can decide which path to go down.
The "Warrior" class will only use the TP resource, having skills to protect his allies and buffing their defense. That isn't to say he won't be able to lay the smack down. After building up some TP in combat, He can charge out to knock down, toss up, and wade into the thick of battle with slicing whirlwind attacks.
The "Mage" class will only use the MP resource, having a variety of different elements at his command. Bringing down the enemy in a flashy display flames and thunder, he can unleash devastation in battle right from the get go. Exploiting elemental weaknesses will bring down the mightiest foe.
The "Rogue" class will use both systems like the Default class, continuing to be hybrid. The theme is more of a gadget using adventurer, able to perform pseudo-magical attacks at the start of combat, or saving up TP to get into the thick of things with precision strikes. Being a jack of all trades in combat.
I figure somewhere between 6-9 skills per class will be enough, and I promise I'll be more original then "Fire 2" or some jazz. :P
Week 9, Into the third month
Posted 12 years agoHurray its March! Soon it'll be spring and all this icky snow will be gone.
Time is just flying by, this week I started to work on the first "dungeon area" of the game, as much as a farm can be dungeon-y. :P I had to sit down and sketch out how it'd look, what would be in it, how many maps would in it, and then I thought "What is the players purpose here?" Going back into my notes to see what I had planned story wise and then remembered the player was to find one of his Tools here.
Every RPG always has some puzzle elements to it, from yer simple block puzzle to maddening vague writings on the wall on what yer suppose to do in this room. (I'm looking at you Legends of Grimlock >_>) My puzzles here are going to be inspired by the Wild Arms series, which had the player pick up various tools that you'd use to solve puzzles, and each character had their own unique set. From a radar to find hidden treasures, to grappling hooks to cross gaps to matches to light things on fire, it was fun trying to figure out which tools you needed for the job. I guess you could say that was inspired by Zelda, for its "here's a new item in this dungeon now go beat it" thing.
So that's how its going to be, going to try to stay away from using dozens of push block puzzles where everything you need is in the room, and instead have puzzles where the player is part of the solution. If you cant solve this one you're probably missing a Tool you'll need down the line. Backtracking! It's not so bad in small doses right? :P
That's it for this weeks journal, now back to erecting another barn then off for more overtime at work. :3
Time is just flying by, this week I started to work on the first "dungeon area" of the game, as much as a farm can be dungeon-y. :P I had to sit down and sketch out how it'd look, what would be in it, how many maps would in it, and then I thought "What is the players purpose here?" Going back into my notes to see what I had planned story wise and then remembered the player was to find one of his Tools here.
Every RPG always has some puzzle elements to it, from yer simple block puzzle to maddening vague writings on the wall on what yer suppose to do in this room. (I'm looking at you Legends of Grimlock >_>) My puzzles here are going to be inspired by the Wild Arms series, which had the player pick up various tools that you'd use to solve puzzles, and each character had their own unique set. From a radar to find hidden treasures, to grappling hooks to cross gaps to matches to light things on fire, it was fun trying to figure out which tools you needed for the job. I guess you could say that was inspired by Zelda, for its "here's a new item in this dungeon now go beat it" thing.
So that's how its going to be, going to try to stay away from using dozens of push block puzzles where everything you need is in the room, and instead have puzzles where the player is part of the solution. If you cant solve this one you're probably missing a Tool you'll need down the line. Backtracking! It's not so bad in small doses right? :P
That's it for this weeks journal, now back to erecting another barn then off for more overtime at work. :3