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Alan's new portrait looks great!
You are really learning to take control of the texture of your sprites. His skin looks smooth and his hat looks fluffy. Good job!
Thu May 22, 2014 3:25 am 
Thu May 22, 2014 1:28 pm
Spoonweaver wrote:
If you mean releasing it on Android, then free is really the way to go. The difference is basically like 5 downloads or 5000. And people don't look down on free games on the android platform, they expect them. Even the bigger games on there like angry birds and plants vs. zombies are free, or at least have a free version.
Meatballsub wrote:
- It will most likely be released free of charge -
I'm still on the fence as to whether I will do this or not, but it is definitely possible. This in no way reflects the quality of the game itself, but rather a change of heart in how I'd like to present it. I have a feeling that releasing a game for free "could" attract more players as opposed to it costing something. Then again, people may take it more seriously if there was a price tag involved. It's hard to say what really would be best honestly, but I feel like I'm leaning towards it being free at this point.
- It will most likely be released free of charge -
I'm still on the fence as to whether I will do this or not, but it is definitely possible. This in no way reflects the quality of the game itself, but rather a change of heart in how I'd like to present it. I have a feeling that releasing a game for free "could" attract more players as opposed to it costing something. Then again, people may take it more seriously if there was a price tag involved. It's hard to say what really would be best honestly, but I feel like I'm leaning towards it being free at this point.
If you mean releasing it on Android, then free is really the way to go. The difference is basically like 5 downloads or 5000. And people don't look down on free games on the android platform, they expect them. Even the bigger games on there like angry birds and plants vs. zombies are free, or at least have a free version.
You're right. That's probably what I'll do.
Quote:
Alan's new portrait looks great!
You are really learning to take control of the texture of your sprites. His skin looks smooth and his hat looks fluffy. Good job!
Alan's new portrait looks great!
You are really learning to take control of the texture of your sprites. His skin looks smooth and his hat looks fluffy. Good job!
Thanks. I'm really trying to improve as I go, even if it's just a little at a time.
Cornbread Chemist
Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:14 pm
A little over a week has passed since the last update, and now I have quite a bit more to share.
I've primarily been tidying up the first part of the game and the main menu. First, here are a few shots from the demo version of Ruin, for comparison's sake.
Here's all the new stuff I've done:
Gluep isn't named Gluep any more? What kind of blasphemy is this?! He also sports a new portrait that some of you may or may not like. I think it is a vast improvement over its predecessor, though.
I am aware that the tracks magically appear over the water in the shot above. Blame science.
YOU CAN LOOT OUTHOUSES?!
Cornbread Chemist
I've primarily been tidying up the first part of the game and the main menu. First, here are a few shots from the demo version of Ruin, for comparison's sake.
Here's all the new stuff I've done:
Gluep isn't named Gluep any more? What kind of blasphemy is this?! He also sports a new portrait that some of you may or may not like. I think it is a vast improvement over its predecessor, though.
I am aware that the tracks magically appear over the water in the shot above. Blame science.
YOU CAN LOOT OUTHOUSES?!
Cornbread Chemist
Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:55 pm
This all looks great. I like Chip's portrait; the strange black marks on his skin (does he have skin?) look exactly like strange black marks and not like artist error. The addition of the shadows especially is a big improvement to the depth of the maps. I really like the view of the landscape far below.
However the sharp edges of the shadows, especially those sharp 45 and 135 degree angles, are a a bit jarring. It's much less of a problem on the rock floor, because that hides the edge in the unevenness of the surface, but it sticks out on the grass.
Regarding the menus (which is all very neat), maybe consider a little bit of decoration rather than just solid colour rectangles and text right up to the screen edges, which I recommend against. They're functional and not ugly, but they can be made to look nice too. Borders and additional rectangles help: I think that even a border of a few pixels around the edges of the rects/screen and some plain 1 pixel wide box edges would already help. Have you considered styled rectangle slices (like textbox boxes)?
However the sharp edges of the shadows, especially those sharp 45 and 135 degree angles, are a a bit jarring. It's much less of a problem on the rock floor, because that hides the edge in the unevenness of the surface, but it sticks out on the grass.
Regarding the menus (which is all very neat), maybe consider a little bit of decoration rather than just solid colour rectangles and text right up to the screen edges, which I recommend against. They're functional and not ugly, but they can be made to look nice too. Borders and additional rectangles help: I think that even a border of a few pixels around the edges of the rects/screen and some plain 1 pixel wide box edges would already help. Have you considered styled rectangle slices (like textbox boxes)?
Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:19 pm
TMC wrote:
This all looks great. I like Chip's portrait; the strange black marks on his skin (does he have skin?) look exactly like strange black marks and not like artist error. The addition of the shadows especially is a big improvement to the depth of the maps. I really like the view of the landscape far below.
However the sharp edges of the shadows, especially those sharp 45 and 135 degree angles, are a a bit jarring. It's much less of a problem on the rock floor, because that hides the edge in the unevenness of the surface, but it sticks out on the grass.
Regarding the menus (which is all very neat), maybe consider a little bit of decoration rather than just solid colour rectangles and text right up to the screen edges, which I recommend against. They're functional and not ugly, but they can be made to look nice too. Borders and additional rectangles help: I think that even a border of a few pixels around the edges of the rects/screen and some plain 1 pixel wide box edges would already help. Have you considered styled rectangle slices (like textbox boxes)?
However the sharp edges of the shadows, especially those sharp 45 and 135 degree angles, are a a bit jarring. It's much less of a problem on the rock floor, because that hides the edge in the unevenness of the surface, but it sticks out on the grass.
Regarding the menus (which is all very neat), maybe consider a little bit of decoration rather than just solid colour rectangles and text right up to the screen edges, which I recommend against. They're functional and not ugly, but they can be made to look nice too. Borders and additional rectangles help: I think that even a border of a few pixels around the edges of the rects/screen and some plain 1 pixel wide box edges would already help. Have you considered styled rectangle slices (like textbox boxes)?
Thanks man. Honestly I'm not sure how I'd classify Chip's skin. In the early days, Gluep was a full-fledged blob (or slime), but since has taken more of the shape of a human. I wouldn't say he has human skin though, but maybe somewhere in between a flesh-like substance and goop.
Those "black lines", which are actually dark browns and yellows, are a continuation of the "goop" that can be seen in Chip's walkabout graphic. I see what you mean though, so I may continue to work on his portrait so it looks a bit better.
I also agree with what you mentioned about shadows. I'll probably mess around with them some more, but probably won't spend a whole lot of time on it. I've realized that if I'm ever to release this game and move on to another project that I'll have to say "good enough" on some things.
When I say that, I don't mean gameplay elements but rather graphics. I think that there will always be room for improvements there for sure, but I'll continue to implement them with future projects. I'm glad you mentioned this though, cause it made me look and realize that the shadows on the left side of the conveyer belts make no sense at all. I'll definitely change that at the very least.
The menu design is still a work in progress for sure.
Cornbread Chemist
Mon Jun 02, 2014 3:20 pm
OK. I wasn't complaining the way Chip's portrait is drawn at all. However it does seem rather inconsistent with the in battle and walkabout graphics. Walkabout graphics don't matter because they're tiny, but since battle sprites are higher res I guess you could focus on those if you wanted to.
Mon Jun 02, 2014 4:08 pm
TMC wrote:
OK. I wasn't complaining the way Chip's portrait is drawn at all. However it does seem rather inconsistent with the in battle and walkabout graphics. Walkabout graphics don't matter because they're tiny, but since battle sprites are higher res I guess you could focus on those if you wanted to.
Oh I know you weren't complaining and I really appreciate the feedback. It's why I post this stuff here!
Cornbread Chemist
Sat Jul 05, 2014 4:38 pm
Due to an extremely hectic schedule, I did very little on the Ruin in June. In fact, I really didn't do anything last month except make this new portrait (which, to me, is terrifying). Now that college finals are over, I'm going to be hitting this full force again starting today.
I have six weeks before I have to start school again, and my hope is to have the game completed and start testing by the middle of August. It will be a challenge, but it is doable if I don't get too lazy.
Having said that, I NEED TESTERS that can help me out around the middle of August. If you have any interest, please let me know as I'd really like to get that figured out before that time.
I really have no idea how long the game is at this point. If I had to guess, I'd probably say 15-20 hours if you do everything, so keep that in mind.
Cornbread Chemist
I have six weeks before I have to start school again, and my hope is to have the game completed and start testing by the middle of August. It will be a challenge, but it is doable if I don't get too lazy.
Having said that, I NEED TESTERS that can help me out around the middle of August. If you have any interest, please let me know as I'd really like to get that figured out before that time.
I really have no idea how long the game is at this point. If I had to guess, I'd probably say 15-20 hours if you do everything, so keep that in mind.
Cornbread Chemist
Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:58 pm
Here's a quick look at some of my most recent work. The photos in the left column are from the demo version while the ones on the right are the latest.
Timeless Plane
Early Boss Fight
Uje - An Underwater City
This one I'm VERY excited about. The demo graphics were left somewhat incomplete. I did a pretty big overhaul to them though.
I STILL NEED TESTERS that can help me out around the middle of August. If you have any interest, please let me know as I'd really like to get that figured out before that time.
I really have no idea how long the game is at this point. If I had to guess, I'd probably say 15-20 hours if you do everything, so keep that in mind.
Cornbread Chemist
Timeless Plane
Early Boss Fight
Uje - An Underwater City
This one I'm VERY excited about. The demo graphics were left somewhat incomplete. I did a pretty big overhaul to them though.
I STILL NEED TESTERS that can help me out around the middle of August. If you have any interest, please let me know as I'd really like to get that figured out before that time.
I really have no idea how long the game is at this point. If I had to guess, I'd probably say 15-20 hours if you do everything, so keep that in mind.
Cornbread Chemist
Sun Jul 13, 2014 12:16 pm
That's a lot of redrawn sprites and overall a good improvement. In some places there are still things I would complain about, like strange shading choices (the scythe for example doesn't convey a blade very well). The shift to black outlines is quite a big stylistic shift. It trades realism for clarity. The final screenshot is a good example: the divers with the polearms look more natural in the original, but that's because I can hardly see where their arms are positioned. In the new versions it looks like they couldn't possibly be holding those polearms with one hand positioned right at the end.
I'm afraid I don't want to pre-commit myself to 20 hours of playtesting! But since I hope to play the completed game some time this year anyway I'll let you know in August if I feel up to it.
I'm afraid I don't want to pre-commit myself to 20 hours of playtesting! But since I hope to play the completed game some time this year anyway I'll let you know in August if I feel up to it.
Mon Jul 14, 2014 4:52 pm
Thanks man. Well, I've always used black outlines up in my games up until the demo version of Ruin.
I tried to do it without them until I changed my mind and decided to go back to them. Now I'm going back through and changing the last few enemies that were still outline-free while making some shading enhancements as I can.
The divers holding the polearms at the end use the same science that Cloud uses to hold up his gigantic weapons
Cornbread Chemist
I tried to do it without them until I changed my mind and decided to go back to them. Now I'm going back through and changing the last few enemies that were still outline-free while making some shading enhancements as I can.
The divers holding the polearms at the end use the same science that Cloud uses to hold up his gigantic weapons
Cornbread Chemist
Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:46 pm
Here are a few more graphical updates:
The achievements are starting to pile up. My guess is that there will be at least 25 of them at launch.
The amount of craftable items is also becoming large. I anticipate having between 75-100 craftable items when it is all said and done.
And the thing I'm most excited about is...
That counter in the top left corner.
I'm not going to give any specifics about it, but it is a pretty unique system I've created for the game. Something similar may have been done in commercial games (maybe not, I don't know), but I've personally never seen it done before in the OHR world. Either way, it is a refreshing take on the traditional system that I hope everyone enjoys as much as I do. I will say that it is more than just a random enemy counter though.
Cornbread Chemist
The achievements are starting to pile up. My guess is that there will be at least 25 of them at launch.
The amount of craftable items is also becoming large. I anticipate having between 75-100 craftable items when it is all said and done.
And the thing I'm most excited about is...
That counter in the top left corner.
I'm not going to give any specifics about it, but it is a pretty unique system I've created for the game. Something similar may have been done in commercial games (maybe not, I don't know), but I've personally never seen it done before in the OHR world. Either way, it is a refreshing take on the traditional system that I hope everyone enjoys as much as I do. I will say that it is more than just a random enemy counter though.
Cornbread Chemist
Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:43 pm
After a nine month hiatus, I'm back in the saddle.
For those interested, here is an idea of the current progress of Ruin from a statistical standpoint:
Story -- 100%
Dialogue -- 90%
Graphics -- 90%
Enemy Stats & Abilities -- 50%
Hero Stats & Abilities -- 75%
Music & SFX -- 90%
Scripting -- 75%
Extra Content (Side Quests, Crafting, etc) -- 50%
If I can remain diligent, I could easily have it 100% complete and ready for testing within two months. My hope is since I'm back from such a long break, that I can work on the game at a consistent rate without delving off into other things again.
Cornbread Chemist
For those interested, here is an idea of the current progress of Ruin from a statistical standpoint:
Story -- 100%
Dialogue -- 90%
Graphics -- 90%
Enemy Stats & Abilities -- 50%
Hero Stats & Abilities -- 75%
Music & SFX -- 90%
Scripting -- 75%
Extra Content (Side Quests, Crafting, etc) -- 50%
If I can remain diligent, I could easily have it 100% complete and ready for testing within two months. My hope is since I'm back from such a long break, that I can work on the game at a consistent rate without delving off into other things again.
Cornbread Chemist
Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:57 pm
Yay! :)
Welcome back
Welcome back
Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:43 pm
Wow, it really doesn't seem like it's been anywhere near 9 months since the last update. Good to hear that the finish line is in sight; good luck!