Heart of the OHR Contest

[FnrrfYgmSchnish]

DW1 is pretty short if you tone down the leveling. I wouldn't use DW1 as reference anyway, it's much more like an MMO than a lot of JRPGs.

I knew there was some reason I never really liked the original Dragon Warrior, once I got past the neat monster graphics. It has lots of things in common with a kind of game I absolutely can't stand!

I did like the overworld music, though... which is a good thing since you spend 90% of the game there, between leveling up on random encounters and looking for that ridiculous invisible item hidden on one of the maptiles.

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In other news... it's looking like I'm going to have to drop Okédoké! out of the contest. There's just no way I'll ever get enough of it done before December to justify coming out with a new demo, and I really don't want a demo of Chapter 6 to end with partially-completed maps of the final dungeon just sitting there and being mostly unexplorable.
The only "new" part that's complete enough to have 30+ minutes of gameplay time is the Chapter 4 secret area, which technically isn't "new" so much as "unreleased," since it's been done for months, I just haven't actually released a new demo with the area in it yet.

However, I don't think I'm going to put myself down as "definitely out of the contest" just yet. There's still a small chance that I might be able to come up with an updated Puckamon demo in time, or maybe even a (short) demo of some other game... possibly a completely new one if an idea pops into my head before the end of this week.

[ajguy93]

scraping my current game, and making another,using only sprites from freeware games, does anyone know any other freeware games on here?

[NayusDante]

scraping my current game, and making another,using only sprites from freeware games, does anyone know any other freeware games on here?

I don't know about OHR games, but this page has a lot of nice free resources.

[Pepsi Ranger]

In other news... it's looking like I'm going to have to drop Okédoké! out of the contest. There's just no way I'll ever get enough of it done before December to justify coming out with a new demo, and I really don't want a demo of Chapter 6 to end with partially-completed maps of the final dungeon just sitting there and being mostly unexplorable.
The only "new" part that's complete enough to have 30+ minutes of gameplay time is the Chapter 4 secret area, which technically isn't "new" so much as "unreleased," since it's been done for months, I just haven't actually released a new demo with the area in it yet.

The secret area may not be new to me, but it is new to most people who are playing the contest games, so I say it's better than nothing at all. I'd certainly accept it as an entry. The secret area alone has more content than I'd expect a handful of entries to have in their entirety.

I'm unfortunately going to have to announce that this update isn't going to be done in time for the Heart contest. I really wanted to pull it off, but I've been busy for months and only now am I finding more free time. If by some act of God I get it done in time I'll release the Indian Chief update, but it's not looking likely.

I'm seeing this pattern spread across quite a few games. I've also noticed that James is behind on his bugfixes still. And I also see by the calendar that time is almost up...

Obviously, I want this contest to work, and for it to work, it needs contestants. I also want a guarantee that some quality titles will emerge from this. But, I'd also like to start wrapping it up, as the deadline is fast approaching.

With everything beginning to rain down at once, I suppose now we can admit that we're in the decision hour (as, based on history, I figured we'd have to address eventually).

So, here's what we need to figure out:

Do I need to revert back to my infamous Deadline Extension PR form that first appeared in the Magnus Sequel Marathon? I don't really want to bring that guy back, but stories like these are steadily convincing me to let him make a two-week appearance.

Normally, if the story was about procrastination, then I would just keep to the schedule, and let the procrastinators live with the results. But I'm getting the feeling that many of you legitimately tried to make the November 30 deadline, but just had too much to do.

So...

Let's get a raise of hands. Who thinks he or she can make the deadline (bugfixes included)?

Who thinks a few extra days will make the difference?

Who knows that without the Sands of Time, there is no hope in making this contest?

Your votes will decide whether Strict PR stays or Deadline Extender PR rears his sympathetic head. This is the time to voice your progress. Based on your feedback, I'll decide what needs to be done regarding the November 30 deadline.

James, I'd like your feedback, too, since you're the one who can benefit the most from this decision.

Voice your thoughts as soon as possible, or brace yourself for the coming deadline.

[JSH357]

I'm on track for the deadline. Just adding any music Vampiducki finishes, putting in filler anywhere necessary for the release. The demo's done otherwise. (and we're actually working on 50% now!)

[Mogri]

Let's get a raise of hands. Who thinks he or she can make the deadline (bugfixes included)?

*raise*

I'll admit to procrastinating, and the extent to which I continue to procrastinate will determine whether I add one new world or two. One's already done, and I have all the graphics for the next -- and I haven't touched the game in months.

Regardless of how it happens, I'm going to release something for the contest.

[NayusDante]

I can release on the deadline for sure, but an extension means more time to put into graphics, music, and testing. All I have left at the moment is to do stats and scripts, then work with my friend on the sprites, tiles, and music. Somewhere in there I would like to do some sound effects and submit the game to a few testers for feedback.

Is there a scoring system? Maybe any entries that keep the original deadline get a few extra points or something.

[guo]

On schedule.

PR, if you extend the deadline THEN I will begin to procrastinate

[Baconlabs]

Let's get a raise of hands. Who thinks he or she can make the deadline (bugfixes included)?

I'm gonna make it. I just know it.
Despite juggling odd jobs and getting sucked back into Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I think I can make it. I'm sure I can make it! My work ethic tends to get exponentially better as a deadline approaches.
If all goes extremely well, I'll have a chapter of Viridia to submit, along with a next-chapter preview article or video that I may submit to Hamsterspeak.
No promises on the latter, though.

[Mystic]

I've come to the decision that I'm releasing whatever I have when the deadline comes - for the sake of the contest and just to get other people to release their stuff, too. There's not going to be a lot of content in mine, and it's going to have a lot of unfinished systems, unpolished graphics, balance issues, etc. So, if I'm going to release what I've got - other people may as well too.

I think it's important just to get something out. And if everyone does the same, I think everyone will benefit.

That being said, a couple extra weeks would definitely go a long way in my game. Grad school applications and finals have been getting in the way, those extra weeks of december would give me a lot of time to do things like... bug fixing.

[FnrrfYgmSchnish]

The secret area may not be new to me, but it is new to most people who are playing the contest games, so I say it's better than nothing at all. I'd certainly accept it as an entry. The secret area alone has more content than I'd expect a handful of entries to have in their entirety.

Oh, so the secret area's eligible as "new content" for the contest? Okay, then. I guess Okédoké isn't quite dropped out yet after all!

Chapter 6 will probably be extremely incomplete at the end of November even if I do get any significant amount of work done on it, so I'll probably just cut it off with an "END OF DEMO" after Beaverfoot (I'd rather not have the final dungeon accessible at all if it's going to be incomplete; it will have to wait until the final version.) I'll probably add a few minor things into older chapters too, though, so it won't be just the secret area.

[Bob the Hamster]

I am favorable to a deadline extension. Real-life has been way too busy for me lately. :P

[NayusDante]

Here's where I am.

Code: Select all

ToDo

Milestone 1 - The game works from beginning to end
Dialog Tags and Progression
Scripting

Milestone 2 - The game is actually challenging to play
Character Stats
Character Skills/Spells
Monster Stats
Monster Skills/Spells

Milestone 3 - The game doesn't use any ripped Dragon Quest tiles
Original Graphics & Music
Sound Effects
Fine Detail

Milestone 4 - The game starts and ends properly
Title Screen
Ending, Credits

Milestone 5 - Feedback
Testing
Revision

Once I get the game scripted (today?), it's just art assets and stat balance.

[Baconlabs]

I'm finally moving onto plotscripting. It's been so long since I did this! It's so time-consuming, and yet it's incredibly fun to watch everything unfold

[Fenrir-Lunaris]

James is correct in saying that real life issues take precedence over game-related ones. I'm open to either position - the only difference being that an extension would allow me to suitably prepare my entry for an actual engine release (and not make it look half-arsed). I'd ask for December 25thish at least to polish up what I have currently, and end it as a suitable demo.... assuming Zenzeziac/Zoidburg/Zarathrustra will be ready by then?