39 replies to this topic

[dhm]

I hinted at a small, one-month project in the Android App Developers thread, and after some thought I decided to update my progress with you guys here exclusively. (Lucky you!. )

The purpose of this thread is three-fold:

• outline a small (emphasis on small... I don't want to spend years on this *cough*) sidescrolling RPG I'll be developing over the next month or so
• provide updates so you can see this game evolve in NEAR REAL-TIME.
• collect feedback from any of you who'd like to contribute

dhm's Untitled RPG!
Platforms:
Desktop, Android, maybe HTML5

Developed with:
libgdx--a multi-platform Java game library.

Features:

• Side-scrolling platformer/action RPG blend
• 100% original graphics (need to practice my pixel art)
• 4 dungeons, possibly randomly-generated
• visual equipment
• multiplayer

Implemented

• Map converter - Converts exported JSON with Tiled Map Editor to a format I can use.
• Tileset renderer - Reads map files and displays them on-screen

Screenshots

Got the tile renderer going

Support
If you want to contribute something to this project (graphics, maps, music, etc), please let me know! Feedback, suggestions, criticism, and encouragement is all welcome. Seriously give me ideas (within reason) and I'll make them happen.

[Stars]

Are you planning to have much of an emphasis on story, or will it be more of a, "Here are some dungeons. Go explore them," sort of deal?

[dhm]

/>Are you planning to have much of an emphasis on story, or will it be more of a, "Here are some dungeons. Go explore them," sort of deal?

Definitely the latter. If there is a story, I'm thinking it won't be terribly complex.

I imagine there will be a hub sort of area where you start, buy items, rest, etc., and from there you explore one of a few dungeons. How the player initially gets to this first hub area should probably be explained.

[Monkeydog]

You should do it Megaman X style.

Have it start off so the player can slowly figure out the mechanics and then throw them off to do whatever they choose.

I am interested.

Edit:
Also, two things:
A) How come you've never made a Starless Umbra topic here? That game is tops.
B) Can we put the latest demo on MP and feature it?

[dhm]

/>You should do it Megaman X style.

Have it start off so the player can slowly figure out the mechanics and then throw them off to do whatever they choose.

I am interested.

Edit:
Also, two things:
A) How come you've never made a Starless Umbra topic here? That game is tops.
B) Can we put the latest demo on MP and feature it?

I like that. You can pick n choose your dungeons, then have it scale with level or something so they can be done in any order.

I was waiting for a new release to re-post it here, as the current version is a bit old... however I don't mind. :)

A rudimentary collision detection system is in-place. I also added more tiles and a temp background..

[Monkeydog]

Yay thank you!

I have a question, how are the controls going to work on Android?

Also I'd be interested in making some maps for you, maybe. I've always wanted to use Tiled for something.

[dhm]

/>Yay thank you!

I have a question, how are the controls going to work on Android?

Also I'd be interested in making some maps for you, maybe. I've always wanted to use Tiled for something.

I was thinking the usual joypad on the left with two buttons on the right side to jump and attack. I haven't given it much thought because it's mostly been a desktop app at the moment. As I design skills and menus I'll have to give it more thought.

I just implemented screen panning and collision detection works nicely for simple squares. I'm going to follow this article on SonicRetro and use the algorithm used in the sonic games for slopes.
It's late though, and I've learned not to write code while I'm sleepy, so I'll do more tomorrow. (I have the next three days off so I want to get a lot done!)

EDIT oh and maps would be really cool! :) Once I get more tiles I'll post the sheet.

[dhm]

Since the last post I've implemented the following:

• Scrolling camera
• Better collision detection
• Parallax scrolling
• Simple Animations

Check it out!

[Monkeydog]

That looks really nice!

[Tau]

I saw the video in my subscriptions :D Looks amazing man. You never cease to impress me, nice pixel work too, that little guy is so adorable haha.

[dhm]

Thank you both for your kind words. I appreciate it.

And at the end of my four-day weekend, I implemented little slimes that you can fight and an NPC that you can talk to. Plus there's some simple sound effects.



Lots of things could be added here:

• slashing animations through the slimes when they get hit
• flashing the slimes red when they get hit
• different colored damage numerals for player vs enemy damage, etc.
• animated idle poses for the hero and enemies

However, this should give you an idea of what I'd like basic combat to be like.

EDIT: so the character appears invisible at times in the video when he's hit. I'm assuming that's because the game runs at 60fps and I have him flash every other frame. The video captured at 30fps and only captured the frames where he was invisible (most of the time). I'll fix this in the next video...

[Glaciermage]

That looks amazing DHM. You have some serious skills. I can't wait to see more of this.

[dhm]

/>That looks amazing DHM. You have some serious skills. I can't wait to see more of this.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it.

So since my last post I implemented everything I hinted at in the bullet-points from my last post and then some:

• Animations play when you strike an enemy and they flash red.
• Enemies/players can have an idle pose that is animated
• I implemented a proper monster spawning engine. You feed it a list of monsters and a list of spawn points, and it will gradually spawn them about the map (up to a certain map-defined limit). As a bonus, the monsters fade in and the effect looks really nice. :)
• Implemented a HUD (shown) with your health, EP (your resource for using skills), and EXP to next level.
• monsters give exp and I added a nifty level-up animation.
• Sprited and implemented a second monster (not shown) that is stationary and fires off little projectiles at you when you are nearby.
• added music, composed by bXm Music

I'll post a new progress video very soon.

[Monkeydog]

Damn it's all beautiful.

How do you have enough time to do stuff so quickly?

You impress me so much.

[dhm]

/>Damn it's all beautiful.

How do you have enough time to do stuff so quickly?

You impress me so much.

Thanks! I work a standard desk job, 9-5 M-F, but I try to take off at least two extra days a month to sit at home and work on stuff. Last Monday and Tuesday I was off, so I spent four solid days developing. I don't have much of a social life at the moment because I've been so motivated to sit down and code. Socializing, though enjoyable, for me comes in small quantities.

Oh and I'm not playing any video games at the moment. That helps.

[Glaciermage]

Where do I sign up for the beta test, dhm?

[dhm]

/>Where do I sign up for the beta test, dhm?

I will post something here very soon.

I'm currently working on the in-game menu. I seriously underestimated how tedious positioning all the screens, text, and manipulating the cursor would be. After I finish the equip screen I'll post a tech demo I think.

[kspr]

will this be playable on iphone at all?

[dhm]

/>will this be playable on iphone at all?

The developer of the library I'm using is working on an iPhone port, but it seems like it's only very early in development. It's something that could happen in the future.

If anyone wants to make maps--try downloading Tiled and use this tileset. My custom map format supports two layers: upper and lower.

Game updates:

• The status screen and equip screen are 100% complete and functional. The item screen is nearly done. (this takes a lot of time actually)
• Enemies now drop gold/loot
• various performance tweaks; asynchronous asset loading

The desktop version of the game is nearly ready for the tech demo. The Android version will require some extra work to be presentable: namely, I need to implement an on-screen keypad and handle resource/memory management a bit better, but I'd like to get a small tech demo out in the next week or so.

[Glaciermage]

It costs money to port anything to iphone, doesn't it? I'd like to eventually try my hand at creating a few new maps for you, dhm. But i'd like to play the demo first to get a feel for what you're looking for.