17 replies to this topic

[IndigoFenix]

Soo... It's been a while, and I'm not sure if anybody's looked here in several months, but...

I've improved on the BoundWorlds project significantly. I don't remember what it was capable of the last time I posted here. It was just tilesets, wasn't it...

Now there are:

Tilemaps (with an improved interface)
Sprites (you can't make them move yet, but you can give them an image and a dialogue box)
Multiple-layer motion (for quasi-3D rooms)
Functions to make doors leading to other rooms, including the ability to link to other people's rooms
Background music importer

There is also a built-in tileset in case you don't want to make/find your own - just type in "blocks" in place of an image URL. It's basic but decent enough for simple things.

Also, the tutorial has been improved greatly.

Anyone want to give it another shot?

[lazlo falconi]

Not sure if this is a bot, but everyone should be careful of that link.

[Monkeydog]

I'm pretty sure that's the same place Money linked to a few weeks ago.

[Septerra]

already seen it once, did not understand how to wok with it then, and still not now.

[IndigoFenix]

Not sure if this is a bot, but everyone should be careful of that link.

Wow, I've never been suspected of being a bot before... I assure you the link is completely harmless (there aren't even any ads or anything, it's just a bare-bones webpage with the alpha and instructions.)

Yes, it is the same place that Money linked to a while ago. I asked him if he knew of anyone who might be interested in testing the program, but he posted way too early, before you could save your work or anything, so it was pretty pointless except as a basic physics test (if you could call grid-based RPG behavior 'physics').

It's still pretty basic, but you could make maps, mazes and the like, and link to them, which is pretty cool. I'd like to get some feedback and suggestions before I move on to the next step, which will be adding objects and events, and particularly the main novelty of the system, which is the ability to link your maps directly to maps created by other people. Think of it as RPG Maker crossed with a single-player version of Second Life. (I think. I haven't actually used either of those, so it's just a shot-in-the-dark comparison, I'm afraid...)

Oh, I'm still working on limiting the cache. EP, was it the same for you as it was before? Try refreshing the page... I forgot to mention that problem. I think my rewritten instructions are fairly better than the old ones.

[Donkeymog]

Looks like this still needs months of development before it's ready to be revealed to the public but keep up the good work.

[Stars]

Yeah, that's mah brother, and he's no bot.

He, however, is.

[Vicious Parker]

Not sure if this is a bot, but everyone should be careful of that link.

The only reason I can see to agree with this is because the site has a donation link, which is a bit presumptuous for a project like this. :\

[IndigoFenix]

Not sure if this is a bot, but everyone should be careful of that link.

The only reason I can see to agree with this is because the site has a donation link, which is a bit presumptuous for a project like this. :\

I'll get rid of it if it's bothering anyone.

Seriously, I'm just looking for feedback on the program itself, without attracting too much spam. Try it out, tell me what you think, okay?

[lazlo falconi]

Wow, I've never been suspected of being a bot before... I assure you the link is completely harmless (there aren't even any ads or anything, it's just a bare-bones webpage with the alpha and instructions.)

Yeah, sorry. This forum gets a lot of bots that just make one really big post with a link and that's it. So whenever I see that, I naturally get suspicious. Sorry if I offended you.

Not sure if this is a bot, but everyone should be careful of that link.

The only reason I can see to agree with this is because the site has a donation link, which is a bit presumptuous for a project like this. :\

Yeah, I didn't click it, it just looked like a bot post to me.

[IndigoFenix]

Okay, I hope it's cleared up then that I am, in fact, human.

I don't like advertising myself for the most part, but it looked to me like there are a lot of people here who use a varied group of game making programs (as opposed to just one - I didn't want to post on a site that specialized in RM or GM specifically since it would be butting into another domain) and I thought there might be some interest in a new one. Especially one that's free, online and Flash-based. I don't think I've ever seen one of those.

Part of the reason I'm looking for testers is that, as I mentioned before, I'm not always too good at explaining things, and I'm not actually sure how intuitive the program is. I want it to be really easy to use, and although I find it perfectly simple, so far I'm the only one who has actually used it to make a map, despite the fact that a fair number of people have seen the page. I'm not sure if that's because the instructions aren't good enough or if it's just that nobody's cared enough to try. Probably the latter, but I would like at least some feedback from someone who's actually tried using the program.

The other reason is that the details of the project's plan aren't entirely set in stone, and it'll be a lot easier to implement any suggestions early on in development. I'd like to get some suggestions from people who are already accustomed to making games (keeping in mind the somewhat unorthodox objective of this project, naturally).

[Monkeydog]

Well how it presents itself, as it is, is pretty off putting. However, I just actually read the instructions for the first time and figure out how to do things. It is quite easy, it just doesn't come off as it on first glance. The instructions are fine, just a bit long which does make me lazy.

I don't really know what to say that you may not know yourself. It doesn't import chipsets from RPG Maker 2000/2003 correctly, and the interface for making the maps feels very stiff.

How does the importing of the tile set work? If it's linking to a file off site then I think that's a faulty idea in the long run. Considering most people who'd use it won't have their own servers to make sure their images stay safe and alive.

Secondly, if possible, I think it'd be better if you allowed users to set their own dimensions for a tile. Instead of a preset. This would also kind of fix the problem of the RPG maker tiles not really importing correctly. (Or maybe they already do and the chipset I was using is dumb, I don't know, it's been a while since I've even used RPG Maker)

The idea seems promising, I think, and I'd love to see where it goes and support you in any way I can.

[IndigoFenix]

Well how it presents itself, as it is, is pretty off putting. However, I just actually read the instructions for the first time and figure out how to do things. It is quite easy, it just doesn't come off as it on first glance. The instructions are fine, just a bit long which does make me lazy.

Yeah, I do plan on putting a learn-as-you-go tutorial in it eventually (I know that long pages of instructions can get annoying), though that probably won't happen for a while. I could try to organize the instructions a little better, though.

I don't really know what to say that you may not know yourself. It doesn't import chipsets from RPG Maker 2000/2003 correctly, and the interface for making the maps feels very stiff.

How does the importing of the tile set work? If it's linking to a file off site then I think that's a faulty idea in the long run. Considering most people who'd use it won't have their own servers to make sure their images stay safe and alive.

Secondly, if possible, I think it'd be better if you allowed users to set their own dimensions for a tile. Instead of a preset. This would also kind of fix the problem of the RPG maker tiles not really importing correctly. (Or maybe they already do and the chipset I was using is dumb, I don't know, it's been a while since I've even used RPG Maker)

WOT version:

Truth is, I've never actually used RPG Maker. As I understand, the tilesets come in specific formats that let you make animations, auto-tile maps, etc. BoundWorlds doesn't do all that (I MAY put in something like that later). It works in a much simpler style - it simply imports a picture, breaks it up into 32x32 tiles, then lets you place those tiles.

So, yeah, you can't import 16x16 chipsets - they have to be 32x32. I tried to make an option where you could choose to import a 16x16 chipset instead and the game would simply double their size to make them compatible with the engine, but for some reason Flash has trouble enlarging things and keeping the pixels clearly defined. The best I was able to do still left white artifacts around the edges whenever you tried to use a tile with any kind of transparency. I could keep trying and maybe come out with that kind of option later, but for now the next best thing is to double-size the image, save it, and link to the double-sized file instead.

The image importing system (as well as the sound and music importing system, which hasn't been included yet but will be soon) works by linking directly to an off-site file. I realize the disadvantages to this - possibility of import failure, deleting of images, and ridiculous loading time if you import too many different large images. On the other hand, it does mean that I don't have to worry about storing the images on the server itself, which means that there doesn't have to be any limit to the size of imported images or the number a user can upload (which will be very important when you're able to create backgrounds), and leaves the memory on the server open to store the comparatively small files that hold the worlds together. It's a trade-off. At the very least, the system doesn't crash if an upload fails - the game just uses a blank tile instead.

That being said, you don't need your own server to save the image files - uploading images on Photobucket or any other image hosting site and then linking to them works just as well. You just have to make sure that the site doesn't auto-delete your files. Though it is funny when a tileset image links to a deleted file - the map ends up being made up of pieces of the site's 'this image was moved or deleted' picture.

Later, or sooner if I can find some willing artists, or get the permission of someone who already made some good tilesets, I hope to include a set of 'official' tilesets in order to lessen this problem.

TL/DR version:

You can make tilemaps out of any image that exists on the Web, including those stored on an image hosting site. If the image is deleted from the hosting site after you build your room in BoundWorlds, your room will not load that image properly. The image must use 32x32 tiles to work properly, but it can be any size you want, and there is no limit to the number of images you can load - although using too many large images will increase your room's startup loading time.

The idea seems promising, I think, and I'd love to see where it goes and support you in any way I can.

Thanks, and thanks for your suggestions - I'll see if I can incorporate them in later versions.

[Monkeydog]

Yeah, I fully understand how the image thing works, but even places like Photobucket has limits to how much bandwidth you use. Which I believe will be a huge disadvantage if you get more and more people to use this. I think, maybe, it'd be a better idea to have the option to link offsite or just upload it. Since some people just aren't going to be able to keep their images up without the possibility of making odd things happen. But, I don't know.

[IndigoFenix]

Yeah, I fully understand how the image thing works, but even places like Photobucket has limits to how much bandwidth you use. Which I believe will be a huge disadvantage if you get more and more people to use this. I think, maybe, it'd be a better idea to have the option to link offsite or just upload it. Since some people just aren't going to be able to keep their images up without the possibility of making odd things happen. But, I don't know.

Hmm, that could be an issue. If this project ever gets so big that it becomes a problem, I'll consider it - it shouldn't be too hard to implement, since I would just have to add a resource section to the site and link the pictures in the same way. But at a 25 gb/month limit, I very highly doubt that it'll become a problem anytime soon.

[IndigoFenix]

Soo... It's been a while, and I'm not sure if anybody's looked here in several months, but...

I've improved on the BoundWorlds project significantly. I don't remember what it was capable of the last time I posted here. It was just tilesets, wasn't it...

Now there are:

Tilemaps (with an improved interface)
Sprites (you can't make them move yet, but you can give them an image and a dialogue box)
Multiple-layer motion (for quasi-3D rooms)
Functions to make doors leading to other rooms, including the ability to link to other people's rooms
Background music importer

There is also a built-in tileset in case you don't want to make/find your own - just type in "blocks" in place of an image URL. It's basic but decent enough for simple things.

Also, the tutorial has been improved greatly.

Anyone want to give it another shot?

[Hyperlisk]

Hmm, I don't think registering works... Or something... I clicked 'Sign Up' and the login box stopped input, but just hung there. It does look good though, from the beginning screen. The engine appears to be in good shape. Message boxes work, object interactions work, graphics work. You've got the beginning of a nice engine there, I think. What's running on the server side? PHP, ASP?

[IndigoFenix]

It's mainly PHP. I don't think it's the code, though, I think that the host is just somewhat unreliable - it just fails to connect sometimes (the Universal Gate also fails during these times). Try refreshing the page and/or coming back in a few minutes. The login box should disappear when you log in properly.

I'm making a bug list on the "about" page, so keep me posted if you find anything new.