Macabre

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:20 pm

Hey guys,

It's been a long time since I've actually done any game making. Seeing a Livestream of SDHawk playing through The Omega inspired me to start working on stuff again. I have a few ideas in the works for future titles but there's two things I want to do before I start anything new.

I'd like to complete Duck Duck, and I also want to make some updates/improvements/alterations to The Omega. Most changes/additions will be minor, but I have some plans for some big changes that could even affect some of the story. I will for sure be changing the last portion of the game, so another play through would be encouraged nonetheless.

First things first, the title is being changed. I've long thought that the original title was way too long, and I was reminded by that in IRC a few days ago.

Right now I'm just codenaming the project Cataclysm. This may not be what the game will be named, but it could be potentially (and it fits given the events that unfold in the game). Another thing I'm going to do is get rid of all the ripped music in the game and replace it with original music.

Post by **Mogri** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:30 pm

Will you take MIDI or are you an MP3 snob like JSH?

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:39 pm

Glad you mentioned that. I actually prefer MIDI over mp3 for OHRRPGCE games. So yeah, this stuff needs to be in MIDI format for sure.

SDHawk · Post by **SDHawk** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:54 pm

Little bit off topic from the topic at hand but there's a few things about the game I wanted to talk about but I didn't really have any place to stick in my upcoming hamsterspeak review and I guess this is as good as anywhere (maybe I should've just pmed it...eh oh well):

-There's a bug where if you get more than 4 ash logs at once the NPC won't register you as having met the requirement (at least for the first time, didn't risk it for the subsequent attempts)
-The location of the thicket is easy to accidentally walk into a point of no return accidentally when just trying to explore (plus it's not even next to the forest on the world map), a sign warning about it would be useful.

Regarding the ending:
While most people might write it off as anti-climatic I like the idea of something just being over the party's head. I just feel like it was presented poorly/rushed, since the attack fish appears out of nowhere it's like the party's presence was entirely unnecessary (beyond getting the book). Having a scene where they rescue the attack fish from lava or something would probably go a long ways towards not making the journey feel almost pointless.

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:46 am

Thanks for the heads up on those issues and it's funny you mention that section being a bit rushed.

Sadly it was and it shows, which is why Id really like to make some changes to it now. In addition I'm really unhappy with the sprite of the big boss right before that whole ending section .

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:05 pm

I've just commissioned Nigel "Jabbercat" McBride to do the entire soundtrack (thanks for the suggestion, James!), so the pieces above are no longer needed.

Since I will be making quite a few updates to this game, I've decided to make this thread a development journal for it.

Over the past few days I've been slowly playing through the original game and taking notes of things that need to be changed/added/updated. I'm about 75% through playing it and expect to have my complete to do list ready in just a few days.

Some things that you can expect:
- Revamped dialogue and (some) graphics
- Character Portraits
- New ending and ending area
- Several new side quests
- Original soundtrack by Jabbercat

I'll keep you guys posted on my progress.

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:25 pm

I just started working on some portraits. I would love any and all advice given as portraits are still a new area for me.

I enlarged the picture some to make it easier to see:

JSH357 · Post by **JSH357** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:43 pm

I suggest giving him more of a neck, he looks really disproportionate.

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:33 pm

How about this:

JSH357 · Post by **JSH357** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:36 pm

I like that a lot better

Shizuma · Post by **Shizuma** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:53 pm

Your face stuff needs work. If you need any help contact me on AIM/MSN, I'm glad to help you with Attack Fish.

EDIT: my g-chat is draculazeta at gmail.com

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:36 pm

After several new attempts and some advice from Shizuma, this is where I'm at now. I plan to continue tweaking it and any additional advice is welcome.

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:41 pm

Shizuma's advice is definitely sound, but that expression comes off as a grumpy old man.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:42 pm

Definitely moving in the right direction.

Post by **Mogri** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:51 am

Hey, I am going to start working on some tracks for you. I assume they're all unclaimed at the moment -- if anyone else is interested, I can list out the tracks I'm doing as I work on them, but there's not a flood of volunteers and I'm really not sure what order I'll do any of them in, so otherwise I'll just let you know what I get done.

If there's a particular style or sound you're going for, let me know. Otherwise, you get what pops into my head