Spoonweaver's OHR Journal

I've decided to group all my game journals into this one instead of starting a new one, or spamming the hype thread.

--------------------------------
I've finally started development on the sequal to my "hit" game, Tim-Tim "The Mighty Gnome".

As I've mentioned, it's roughly based of the game mechanics of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. ( Or Commander Keen perhaps? ) Meaning, there's an over world map, and entering a place, like a dungeon, or town, will send the game into sidescroller mode.
You will also be able to:
-earn exp
-level up
-collect gold
-buy items
-equip said items.

I'm not prepared to set a release date, but I have been thinking about releasing a demo/beta. If that becomes the case then it will most likely be in July.

I have a question for all of you.

One of the complaints about my last game was the number of buttons it used, and where said buttons were on the keyboard.

My plan:
5-6 buttons + arrow keys and esc
ASD
ZXC

So, how many buttons is too many? and which buttons should be used?
I also plan to implement Joystick controls this time so how many buttons does one normally have on those? ( Mine has 12, I'm not sure if that's normal )

For what it is worth, the large number of buttons in Tim-Tim 1 never really bothered me.

I think ASD/ZXC is a great set of keys for keyboard control.

My own gamepad has 8 buttons (6 normal, and two shoulder buttons)

You probably already know, but TMC just fixed the joystick support in the gfx_sdl backend so it is no longer limited to 2 buttons. Yay! :)

Well, good to know James. I suppose I'll just stick with my asd/zxc plan.


Progress update: So far, I've mostly focused on the molding of the 2 game types together. I've got the walkabout game play (pixel based) flowing smoothly into sidescroller mode and back again. (Though problems might still occure in the future).

I've begun working on something I've done very little of before this game. Pixel based movement for enemies. In the past, I've relied heavily on the engine's npc movement. However, with my goal of bridging the gap between OHR and raw code game development in mind, I've decided to use built in engine mechanics as little as possible. This also means I'll be making some of my own menus. Hopefully, this will add to the quality of the game rather then take away from it.

I also believe I've completed the HUD for now. As you'll notice, I've updated the screen shot of the sidescroller mode above.
How does it look?

I can't begin to describe how excited I am by this game already. I'm presuming that you'll be able to set what "attacks" or abilities Tim-tim will be able to use, yes? If so, that's amazingly freakin' AWESOME.

My biggest complaint about the first game was that your MP runs out too fast, and that without MP, you have no attacks. This exact same problem comes up in Castlevania:OoE, but therein it's only a problem if you're using huge attacks faster than your MP is restored, since your MP is continuously regenerating. I would ask that you have an attack that deals small amounts of damage with no MP cost as your base attack OR have Tim's MP very slowly regenerate over time. Either one of these solutions would be fine, though I'm partial to the second one.

How are you doing equipment? Or for that matter level-ups?

---

To friends long gone, and those I've yet to meet - thank you.

Yes, that's exactly the goal and what I'm currently working on.



The first attack completed is Thrown Alchemist Fire. Which, uses no MP and instead uses up items in your inventory. I also plan to have items such as a dagger that will never run out or use MP.



Well, equipment is mainly used as attacks right now. But, I'm also planning to have robes, hats, and/or rings that will give Tim-Tim some sort of special power that would be active as long as he wore the item. (Such as the Mana regen you mentioned) and/or increase stats. This leads to the next part of your question, leveling up. Not only will leveling increase your Life and Mana meters, (there's not heart containers in this game) but it will also increase your stats, such as Attack, Magic Attack, Defense, and Magic Defense. More stats (or less) might end up being in the final game.

separation of background and foreground elements.



Does everything in this picture seem right to everyone? You guys get that 1 tree is in the background and 1 is in the foreground and you can step on said foreground tree??

It looks clear to me. The dark outline around the stumpy tree makes it clear.

I DO believe in a healthy use of outlining. Thank you.

The outline separates the trunk from the far background, but doesn't do much to put it into the foreground, making it in-between and still unsure whether you can jump on.

Your grass is very bright, and immediately tells the player that you can stand on it. The stump doesn't do this, it should have more contrast from the background.

---

<TheGiz> oh hai doggy, oh no that's the straw that broke tjhe came baclsb

I followed your advise, newbs, to see what would come of it. I think I like the results.




Also, do you guys prefer the leaves to the ground (left of picture) of lefts till a point (right of picture).

Can you both walk in front of the stump as well as on it? (I can see that door-ish looking tile)

(yes)
I think the outline is enough.

(no)
If the player only can walk on top of the tree (not in front), I'd suggest that the brightness is fine, but that you have the tree's roots visibly go into the ground ... or ... find some other way to "un-flatten" the visual boundary between the stump and the ground.

I would do this:

---

<TheGiz> oh hai doggy, oh no that's the straw that broke tjhe came baclsb

Oddly enough, my girlfriend suggested the same thing and it's already been done. lol. She called the middle root a door as well.

Here's what I came up with after her/your advise.