Flux World is Still Recruiting Background/Sprite Artists

[fluxmaster]

Here is my latest bug report:

When trees are cut down in Melloria to construct new barracks, the trees and the barracks shift in place.

I'll fix this when the graphics are finalized.  This particular animation is very tedious to get right, and any fix I did now would have to be redone later if and when the background and sprites change.

In the first half of the game, whenever new barracks are built, a road is built to the barracks if the barracks are not already on a road.  But in the second half, when the Vortex Builder barracks are built, there is no road there already, yet no road is built out to them.  I don't know whether this is a bug or not, but it is an inconsistency.

That's a bug.  I'll fix it.

The Vortex Builder constructs a new vortex in Melloria, but when I click the eye icon on it to find out the name of the vortex, no message comes up.

I'll add a message.

The second time that the Samgiang takes me to Koinotia, after I have obtained the gift basket, upon entering Koinotia I get the following error message:

An error has occured.  Please contact the game author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
(ACI version 2.72.920)

in Lumberjack (line 6)
from Room 16 script (line 63)

Error:  SetObjectFrame:  invalid object number specified

Could you please e-mail me a saved game file from the point right before this happens and tell me exactly what you did after saving the game to make this happen.  Thank you.

[Meistari F]

I'm really not sure if you like this. But I know the trees are objects so I didn't want to add them on this. And I really don't know how the temple should look like but I think this is a good start right?  :

[fluxmaster]

Yes, that's a good start.

I've just sent you an e-mail explaining some of the secret symbolisms of the game so that you can draw the remaining backgrounds correctly.  You need this information to do the remaining graphics for the game.  Remember, everything in that e-mail is secret, so don't repeat it on this forum or discuss it with anyone who has not yet completed the game.

From the e-mail you may notice that the names Narulung and Shultung are very similar to the Icelandic words for what their respective precincts symbolize.

As explained in the e-mail, all buildings in Troforia must be made of wood, and all buildings in Carfurgia must be made of stone.  I would also put just a bit more space between the barracks.  Otherwise, it's looking good.

[Meistari F]

If you could send me in the e-mail all of the background images (Bakgrunnamyndir) from the game I would be happy to work more on them. I will then work on the objects (hlutunum) and the animations. (hreyfimyndunum).

Of course I will be veru silent with that secret of yours. 


PS. Why does this always happen when I write "u"?  But "you" appear always instead

[fluxmaster]

I have uploaded new versions of both the 8-bit color and 16-bit color versions of the game that fix most of the reported bugs.  In particular, the fatal error in egamer's last bug report has been fixed.

I am still working on the F9 problem.  I have put in a fix, but now pressing F9 restarts the game in the room with the man behind the desk.  I had wanted it to restart the game in the bedroom.  I have posted a question about this in the Technical Forums to see if there is a way to get it to work the way I want it.  In the meantime, the F9 key does work, just not the way I intended it to.  I have only put this fix in the 16-bit color version; in the 8-bit color version, you must still use the workaround (click on '?' then click on Help) if you use the F9 key.

Fribbi, I have created a special version just for you where you can start the game at any point, not just at the beginning.  This will enable you to look at parts later in the game without having to play the game through.  I have sent you an e-mail telling you where to get this version.  In your version, if you use this feature, pressing F9 will restart the game at the title screen, not in the room with the man behind the desk.  If you do not use this feature, pressing F9 will work as in the normal 16-bit color version.

PS. Why does this always happen when I write "u"?  But "you" appear always instead

This forum automatically converts certain abreviations to their full spellings to discourage their use.

[thebaddie]

in my opinion original flux world graphic was better than the revisited one, btw I only saw this few screenshots, so I can be in error with myself

[egamer]

Here's my latest bug report:

The Prokatameric Vortex starts out transparent, but, after it knocks down the Gonthanten, it becomes opaque.  Was that intended?

In the dialog with weaponsmaster, a sentence ends with a comma ("worbench,") instead of a period.

In the first part of the game every precinct has a distinguishing background, but in the second half all the backgrounds are  the same.  This makes it difficult to remember where you are at any given time.

The Katameric Vortex is not transparent, ever.  All the other vortices are transparent all or most of the time.  Was that intended?

According to the game, the Latorian carries the cart.  However, the graphic of the Latorian doesn't show him using the cart; it shows him carrying the elephant-sized Regulung in his arms.

The weapon cursor for the Donatist does not appear.  The walk cursor appears instead, and it functions like a walk cursor, not a weapon cursor, so it's not simply a graphics problem.

The third time that I enter Koinotia, the god of that precinct tells me (as I'm ready to leave) "The next time you enter my precinct, you must provide a soldier to make offerings to the red tribe," even though I have already done so.

When the player enters the armory, shouldn't he leave his horse, er, I mean the Zunkanten, outside?

In Melloria I keep getting attacked, no matter what I do.  I have the the Flux Zapper, the Flugorg, and the Lanvorst.  What else do I need?

I think I've figured out the symbolism of the Telnorg and Telmorg weapons.  First, note that the Telnorg requires you to make two offerings, both your offering and that of the other tribe.  Second, note that the Telnorg works all the time, but is only half as effective as the Telmorg, which only works half the time but is twice as effective when it does work.  So I think that the Telnorg represents cooperating or sharing, since when you coorperate or share you always get something, but not as much as you want.  The Telmorg represents fighting, because when you fight you sometimes win and sometimes loose, but when you win you get more than when you share.  Am I right?

Can I get a copy of that special version you made for Fribbi so that I don't have to replay the game from the beginning every time you release a new beta version?

[fluxmaster]

Here's my latest bug report:

The Prokatameric Vortex starts out transparent, but, after it knocks down the Gonthanten, it becomes opaque.  Was that intended?

No, that was an oversight.  I'll fix that.

In the dialog with weaponsmaster, a sentence ends with a comma ("worbench,") instead of a period.

You have sharp eyes.  Either that, or you're playing the game in full-screen mode.  My monitor doesn't support full-screen mode, so I miss typos like these.

In the first part of the game every precinct has a distinguishing background, but in the second half all the backgrounds are  the same.  This makes it difficult to remember where you are at any given time.

Each precinct has its own building material.  For example, the building material for Troforia is wood; for Carfurgia it is stone.  I haven't decided what the building materials should be for the second half of the game; that's why all the backgrounds in the second half look the same.  When Fribbi and I decide what building materials to use for the second part, then Fribbi will draw unique backgrounds for each of the precincts in the second part.

If you could send me in the e-mail all of the background images (Bakgrunnamyndir) from the game I would be happy to work more on them. I will then work on the objects (hlutunum) and the animations. (hreyfimyndunum).

That's the reason that I only sent you the backgrounds from the first half; the backgrounds from the second half all look the same.  If you play that special version of the game that I made for you and start the game in the second half, you will see what I mean.

The Katameric Vortex is not transparent, ever.  All the other vortices are transparent all or most of the time.  Was that intended?

No, it was just laziness.  I'll make that one transparent, too.

According to the game, the Latorian carries the cart.  However, the graphic of the Latorian doesn't show him using the cart; it shows him carrying the elephant-sized Regulung in his arms.

I'll fix that.

The weapon cursor for the Donatist does not appear.  The walk cursor appears instead, and it functions like a walk cursor, not a weapon cursor, so it's not simply a graphics problem.

I'll take a look.

The third time that I enter Koinotia, the god of that precinct tells me (as I'm ready to leave) "The next time you enter my precinct, you must provide a soldier to make offerings to the red tribe," even though I have already done so.

Since the Donatist is the soldier who makes the offering to the other tribe, this is probably related to the problem above.

When the player enters the armory, shouldn't he leave his horse, er, I mean the Zunkanten, outside?

I was planning to do this.  Fribbi, when you get to this background, perhaps you could put a corall outside the armory to put the Zunkanten in when the player is riding the Zunkanten and enters the armory.

In Melloria I keep getting attacked, no matter what I do.  I have the the Flux Zapper, the Flugorg, and the Lanvorst.  What else do I need?

Have you tried starting your own business?  Go to the armory and see what weapon you can create for starting your own business.

I think I've figured out the symbolism of the Telnorg and Telmorg weapons.  First, note that the Telnorg requires you to make two offerings, both your offering and that of the other tribe.  Second, note that the Telnorg works all the time, but is only half as effective as the Telmorg, which only works half the time but is twice as effective when it does work.  So I think that the Telnorg represents cooperating or sharing, since when you coorperate or share you always get something, but not as much as you want.  The Telmorg represents fighting, because when you fight you sometimes win and sometimes loose, but when you win you get more than when you share.  Am I right?

You are on the right track.  Your analysis is basically correct, although the exact symbolism is not what you have said.  But it is very close.

Can I get a copy of that special version you made for Fribbi so that I don't have to replay the game from the beginning every time you release a new beta version?

No, I want you to test each beta version from the beginning.  After the first half of the game has been thoroughly tested, I'll consider it.  You might not catch all the bugs playing the special version I made for Fribbi.

[egamer]

[Y]ou're playing the game in full-screen mode. 

Is there any other way?

Have you tried starting your own business?  Go to the armory and see what weapon you can create for starting your own business.

I have tried every possible permutation of memories and workbench, but I cannot create any new weapons.  And why would I need a weapon to start a busines, anyway?  What kind of weapon would you use to start a business?  A hostile takeover bid?

[fluxmaster]

Have you tried starting your own business?  Go to the armory and see what weapon you can create for starting your own business.

I have tried every possible permutation of memories and workbench, but I cannot create any new weapons.

You have to drop the hotspot of the memory on the foreground of the target memory or workbench, not on the background.  The hotspots are not marked, but wherever the hotspot of the hand touches the memory (i.e. the painting), that is the hotspot of the memory.  It's a bit tricky, so you may have to try it several times to get it to work.  I'll try to get the hotspots marked to make it easier.

And why would I need a weapon to start a busines, anyway?  What kind of weapon would you use to start a business?  A hostile takeover bid?

Don't forget, everything in this game is symbolic, so weapons are symbolic of something else.

[egamer]

You have to drop the hotspot of the memory on the foreground of the target memory or workbench, not on the background.  The hotspots are not marked, but wherever the hotspot of the hand touches the memory (i.e. the painting), that is the hotspot of the memory.  It's a bit tricky, so you may have to try it several times to get it to work.  I'll try to get the hotspots marked to make it easier.

I've tried this repeatedly, and it still doesn't work.

There's one other thing that I've just noticed.  If you talk to a NPC and then talk to him later in the game, there are additional topics you can ask about.  So I talked to one of the soldiers (the Phylotist, if I remember correctly) and asked about using the Lanvorst.  He said that to use the Lanvorst I must also use the Silver Mirror.  But I have no silver mirror in my inventoy, only a Gold Mirror and some flux jars.  So where do I get the Silver Mirror?

[fluxmaster]

. . . I talked to one of the soldiers (the Phylotist, if I remember correctly) and asked about using the Lanvorst.  He said that to use the Lanvorst I must also use the Silver Mirror.  But I have no silver mirror in my inventoy, only a Gold Mirror and some flux jars.  So where do I get the Silver Mirror?

That's exactly the reason that I don't want to give you a copy of the special version I made for Fribbi.  That version is based on a testing version that I made for myself so that I wouldn't have to test the game from the beginning everytime I made a change.

The reason that you don't have the Silver Mirror in your inventory is that the code to put it in your inventory is only found in one of those special versions that I made.  You can't get it if you play the game from the beginning.  This is also the reason that you cannot get the weapon to start your own business.  I will fix this promptly.  Please discontinue beta testing until I fix this.  It will probably be done by tomorrow.

EDIT:  I have uploaded a new beta and updated all versions.  This update corrects the punctuation error in the armory and fixes the problems with the Donatist cursor and the Silver Mirror.  In addition, the F9 key now works as I intended it to in all versions.

[egamer]

Here's my latest bug report:

In Skefalia, after I encounter some new vortex that looks like a heart beating, I get the following error message:

An error has occured.  Please contact the gam author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in

AGS.
(ACI version 2.72.920)

In FluxWorldView (line 384)
from Global Script (line 279)

Error:  DisplayMessage:  Invalid message number to display

[fluxmaster]

in my opinion original flux world graphic was better than the revisited one, btw I only saw this few screenshots, so I can be in error with myself

You may prefer the simple style of my original graphics over Fribbi's style.  However, I would like the backgrounds to give subtle hints to the nature of the symbolism of the game.  When Fribbi understands the game thoroughly, I think that he will be able to add those hints to the background much better than I could.

Here's my latest bug report:

In Skefalia, after I encounter some new vortex that looks like a heart beating, I get the following error message:

An error has occured.  Please contact the gam author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in

AGS.
(ACI version 2.72.920)

In FluxWorldView (line 384)
from Global Script (line 279)

Error:  DisplayMessage:  Invalid message number to display

That message was triggered by a timer, so I assume you left the room before the timer went off.  I have changed it to a global message and updated all versions.

[egamer]

Here's my latest bug report:

When the Hagorian isn't carrying the cart, he will walk off the path to get the Narulung, but when he is carrying the cart he will not.  Was that intentional?

The man at the beginning of the game says that the Gonthanten will roll over and play dead, but he never does that.

According to the Phylotist, the Kratameric Vortex must first be created before a piece of Flux can be added to it.  Yet the first time that the player commands the Phylotist, the Kratameric VOrtex appears out of nowhere, and a message appears saying that the piece of Flux could not be added to it.  Then the Arotist says that he will reshape the vortex, but there is still no indication of how the vortex got there in the first place.  In the dialog with the Arotist, he says that when there is no Kratameric Vortex he will reshape the Flux in the area where the Vortex will be created.  So it appears that the vortex should not be there yet, that it must be created first.

When I click on Help, the message says to try using the Silver Mirror before making a Flux Attack, but I don't have the Silver Mirror yet.

You have added the graphics of the Latorian carrying the Regulung on the Cart.  Yet after he has made the offering at the temple, he returns to his barracks still carrying the Latorian on the Cart.  He should return with the Cart empty.

When we encounter the Purple Tribe, the eye cursor does not appear when I cycle through the cursors, but it does appear on the menu bar.  When I click the eye icon on the members of the Purple Tribe I get important information, so I think it should be included in the cursor cycle.  The walk cursor is also missing from the cycle, so I had to go to the menu bar to get to the walk cursor so that I could leave the room.  When I then proceed to the armory, when I try to grab a painting off the wall, instead of the cursor changing to the painting, as it has done in the past, the cursor changes to the prohibition cursor, but the action still works.

When I return to SKefalia, new barracks are built for a new soldier.  After speaking to the new soldier, I walk south and then north again, and the barracks are built all over again.

The basket cursor remains in the cursor cycle long after we have left Koinotia.

After traveling to Skefalia, visiting the home of the Purple Tribe, and returning to Melloria, the Gonthanten again wants me to travel to Melloria.  But I cannot get there; I am stuck in the room with the four trees lined up in a row and cannot leave the room.

I am still unable to get the Silver Mirror, so I cannot start my own business or finish the game.  I think that I am almost finished, though, since my approval ratings are either at 100% or close thereto.

It appears that very little testing was done on the second half of the game, compared to the first half.

[fluxmaster]

After consultation with my graphic artist Fribbi, we have decided that Flux World will utilize 32-bit colors when it is released, so all further development and testing will be with a 32-bit color depth.

Supporting an 8-bit color version, a 16-bit color version, and a special version for Fribbi was causing problems keeping all three versions in sync.  In particular, the code to add the silver mirror to the players inventory was added to the 8-bit color version and the Fribbi version but not to the 16-bit color version.  I have added this code to the 16-bit color version and have uploaded it to the server.  The 8-bit color version and 16-bit color version will still be available to download, at least for a while, but they will not be further updated or supported.  From now on, only the 32-bit color version will be updated.  The 32-bit color version is now available for download on my website and contains several bug fixes not found in either of the unsupported versions.  Fribbi's version will be updated with the new backgrounds as he draws them, but, to avoid syncronization problems, most bug fixes will not be made to his version unless they are crucial ones.

Utilizing 32-bit color depth, as well as higher resolution, will allow Fribbi to add significant details to the backgrounds.  Several people have commented that the game looks interesting but difficult to understand.  The new high-resolution backgrounds will provide important clues to playing the game and understanding its symbolism that will make the game more playable and enjoyable.

It appears that very little testing was done on the second half of the game, compared to the first half.

Well, if you thing about it, you can't get to the second half without going through the first half, so, of course, the first half had to be played through thoroughly before I could do any testing at all on the second half.  That's why I made the special test version, but that version had its limitations, as you have seen.

[Meistari F]

I made a two version of this new screenshot. But I really don't know wich of it you would like for your game.







I will of course add something to animate the river and fix the picture once more but I don't know if I should add that pink berries bushes thing on that landscape image.

[fluxmaster]

The second image is very good.  The scene must have a lot of plants, vines, and fruit, but they don't all have to be the same.  I just used the spray paint tool to paint those violet dots on the lanscape to look like grapes in my graphics, but it would be better if there were more variety of plants.

The background that you drew is about 75-80% sky.  The sky is important because in one scene there is thunder and lightning, and then the sky turns dark.  But the sky should be no more than 25% of the background.

Because the sky takes up so much of the background, the buildings are very small.  Small buildings mean small people.  As I stated in my private e-mail, each of the NPC's must have a distinct uniform so that players can tell them apart.  In my graphics, all the NPC's look the same, but that makes it difficult for the player to understand what is going on.  In order for the NPC's to have distinct uniforms, they must be larger, and so the buildings must be larger.  That means more ground and less sky.  If you need to make the room scrolling in order to make the buildings large enough, that is fine, provided that at least five buildings can be visible at the same time.

So, in short, the second image is good, but (1) the plants should have more variety, (2) there should be more ground and less sky, and (3) the buildings should be larger.

[egamer]

Okay, I finally got the Silver Mirror and that thing that I needed to start my own business, but now I'm stuck in Melloria and the game won't progress any further.  I can trade with the other tribe over and over again, but nothing else happens.

[fluxmaster]

Have you made the offering to the god of Melloria?  Making the offering to the god of any precinct generally triggers the next sequence.