(http://i.imgur.com/ZNNTVdz.png)
The Gateway to Vespuccia, the City of Air and Light, Lamplight City—the thriving port city of
New Bretagne is a beacon of progress and industrial advancement in the New World. Yet beneath the promises of a shining 19th-century future, the city rests upon foundations of poverty, class struggle, and crime.
For police detective turned private investigator Miles Fordham, Lamplight City's shadowy corners are just part of the territory. But with his former partner constantly speaking to him from beyond the grave, his grip on sanity is slowly loosening. Can Miles find justice for his clients and track down his partner's killer before his entire world comes apart?Lamplight City is a detective adventure set in an alternate steampunk-ish "Victorian" past.
Features:- Five cases to solve, each with multiple potential suspects, false leads, and lasting consequences.
- Single click interface and no inventory (gather clues in your casebook)
- An entire fictional city with four boroughs to explore, each with their own unique flavor.
- A whopping 640x400 resolution!
- Heavily inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens.
Estimated Release: 2018Brought to you by:
(http://www.application-systems.co.uk/images/asllogotext.png) (http://www.application-systems.co.uk/)
Screenshots(http://i.imgur.com/gaoRqDP.png)
Navigate the filth and squalor of Cholmondeley, AKA "The Chum."
(http://i.imgur.com/pOPdPJ2.png)
Investigate the homes of the fabulously wealthy residents of Lyon.
(https://i.imgur.com/aloFVBi.png)
Explore the borough of Gascogne, inspired by New Orleans's French Quarter.
(http://i.imgur.com/ceylhlH.png)
Search for clues in Worcester, the working class part of town.
(https://i.imgur.com/naDy0oO.png)
Interrogate suspects and witnesses in a closeup view.
(http://i.imgur.com/h2vDKHQ.png)
The dead hold just as many secrets as the living.
(http://i.imgur.com/xef4H6V.png)
The residents of Lamplight City make their voices heard.
Steam Store page (http://store.steampowered.com/app/761460/Lamplight_City/)
Mark Benis, the game's composer, has released a preview album of music from the game's prologue. You can pay what you want now, and receive the full album free when it and the game are released next year!
(https://i.imgur.com/tMFUiaV.png)
Track Listing:
1. Lamplight City
2. Partners for Life
3. The Slums of Cholmondeley
4. The Stakeout
Check it out on Mark's Bandcamp page! (https://markbenis.bandcamp.com/album/lamplight-city)
Awesome looking! Can't wait!
So Poe Dickens finally gets a name. ;)
Sounds mighty interesting, and gorgeous backgrounds too.
I knew just from the name that I was going to fall instantly in love with the game, and the screenies have confirmed it! Can't wait and best of luck!
Dang! I bet this'd be great on Steam too!
This looks sick!
If that air ship is animated in the first screen.. yum.
UI sounds intriguing.
Looking fantastic!
Love the look of the screenshots (nod) I see a lot in common to my favorite game Gabriel Knight too! Best of luck with this :)
Absolutely love the first screenshot - everything about it is perfect. The atmosphere, the colour palette, the air-ship-blimp-thing in the background... awesome! Can't wait to try this one out. :D
From Shardlight to Lamplight, eh? ;) Looking forward to this.
Looks very intriguing. It has Gabriel Knight vibe written all over it. Hope it doesn't get too Blackwell-ish (friend's ghost).
Looks great, Francisco!
I've shared this to all my Twitter friends already!
The backgrounds and portraits look simply marvelous, I look forward to seeing more of this game!
This is awesome. I can't wait to play this.
Beautiful graphics and an intriguing premise. Looking forward to it!
Looks beautiful. Nice one Grundy. All the best.
Looks absolutely giraffous! :)
Am I the only one who's slightly bothered by the visual inconsistency? You've got beautiful (640x400) painted backgrounds mixed with low color pixel art characters from the other dimension resolution.
While both components are well crafted, they don't really seem to mix for me. It just feels somewhat jarring when an 8x8 pixel doorknob uses way more colors and looks more detailed than the character standing next to it. I understand the possible reasons behind it, but I'd say that instead of looking incredibly fantastic, the game only looks adequately enjoyable like this :)
Loving everything else about it though! The setting is very promising and I'm hoping that having no inventory will be a refreshing experience. Have a fun time making the game!
Looks great!
Nice looking and intriguing, best of luck dude!
BTW, is this a Wadjet Eye title or have you gone solo again?
I think the mix of 640x400 backgrounds and character sprites in half that resolution looks fine, and a good compromise if the full-res character animation is too costly/time-consuming/difficult. It's sort of a nineties vibe, like in those games that used low-resolution video captured characters against high-resolution static backgrounds. Will be interesting to see how it looks with character scaling.
Quote from: Grundislav on Mon 26/09/2016 00:43:54
- Heavily inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens.
I'm calling it now: the mysterious benefactor is a homicidal orangutan.
Quote from: Hobo on Mon 26/09/2016 18:41:06
Am I the only one who's slightly bothered by the visual inconsistency? You've got beautiful (640x400) painted backgrounds mixed with low color pixel art characters from the other dimension resolution.
Not just you no, my 1st thought was: "Wow! Lovely, beautiful, love the art and... why do the characters look like they are 320x200 upscaled sprites?". :-\
Hope they are place holders waiting for the super duper though. ;)
And yes! GK is my favourite of all times, and this gives that vibe, which makes me very happy just thinking about it.
Keep up the good work, and looking forward to follow this. (nod)
No, the character sprites are how they appear in game. The compromise here is that there is no in-game scaling. But they're all lovingly rotoscoped, so I'm hoping that will let people overlook the resolution mismatch.
Thanks for all the feedback so far!
The portraots look very expressive
This looks lovely and moody. After reading the other comments I had to check again and find I totally don't mind the characters in this scaling, imho this totally fits the BGs. At least in the screenshots. Obviously I have no idea how it is when playing for a long time and always watching the same walkanimations again, but I think you get used to it pretty soon in a dark detective case. Actually I'm wondering if you scale them characters in AGS to 200% or in PS before. The prerendered highreslowres or the total scaling control?
What bothers me more is the ratio of only 2:3 nightscenes to dayscenes in lamplight city (...in the screenshots).
Just out of interest... how does Miles' partner speak to him from beyond the grave?
Looking so good, Francisco! Very excited for this one!
So cool! I love the range of colour in the backgrounds. The name is really cool too. Are you doing the backgrounds Grundislav?
Quote from: selmiak on Mon 26/09/2016 23:49:19
Actually I'm wondering if you scale them characters in AGS to 200% or in PS before. The prerendered highreslowres or the total scaling control?
What bothers me more is the ratio of only 2:3 nightscenes to dayscenes in lamplight city (...in the screenshots).
Just out of interest... how does Miles' partner speak to him from beyond the grave?
I scale them up after drawing them in Photoshop. As far as the ratio of night to day, currently I've only done the art for the prologue, first case, and some of the second, so there's still a lot more to do (so don't worry, there will be a lot more lamplight in Lamplight City :))
His dead partner serves as the game's narrator.
Chicky: So far, yeah, it's all me.
thanks for the clarifications grundy. The dead partner as the narrator could and should lead to some interesting revelations how his dead partner can actually narrate the whole story. Cool. Please don't go the it's a mystery, the player can explain this to himself route in the end ;-D
Looks fantastic, Francisco. I'll be keeping an eye on it. Working with Dave/Wadjet Eye for this one as well, or is it a solo joint?
Quote from: SpacePirateCaine on Tue 27/09/2016 04:25:26
Looks fantastic, Francisco. I'll be keeping an eye on it. Working with Dave/Wadjet Eye for this one as well, or is it a solo joint?
I'm pretty sure Dave is interested in publishing, but for now it's solo.
Fantastic stuff! Except for the resolution mismatch (which is something I never liked in any game ever) this game looks right up my alley. Some of these backgrounds look incredible. Great atmosphere!
Super awesome - this looks brilliant. Good job, Francisco!
Your progression over the years is truly inspiring my friend.
This looks/sounds amazing.
I love it. Great work as usual :D
Straight to the top of my "I can't wait for this game!!!" list :)
Quote from: Grundislav on Mon 26/09/2016 19:10:27
No, the character sprites are how they appear in game. The compromise here is that there is no in-game scaling. But they're all lovingly rotoscoped, so I'm hoping that will let people overlook the resolution mismatch.
Very sad to read this as the atmosphere and style of the individual assets is outstanding. But this mismatch is a total no-go for me on the same level as bad English texts. It just totally kills the atmosphere/immersion for me. Hope others will enjoy it though. *sad*
Have i imagined or you have a Hebrew graffiti in one of the images? :smiley:
Incredible. One word for this.
I gave a brief interview about the game on TechRaptor (https://t.co/VXkgxiSiTD).
Nice portraits and conversation UI. I'm in the "all one resolution" camp, but very much looking forward to this!
Can't wait to try this one, great art and concept.
(http://i.imgur.com/0l0qrD6.png)
Conversing with Jonah Solomon, professional tailor and owner of a butt-beard.
Lamplight City mentioned on Rock Paper Shotgun (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/10/23/lamplight-city-announced-a-steampunk-ish-adventure-game/).
While sprite upscaling over backgrounds looks a bit weird, It definitely looks fantastic nevertheless!
I get Gabriel Knight vibe from those shots.
Unless text appears over portraits' heads, positions of talking heads looks a bit strange too.
Waiting :)
(http://i.imgur.com/fVSEo8U.png)
Just a typical afternoon investigation of an attempted murder.
Ooh, looking nice.
That artwork is simply gorgeous. :-D
Stunning stuff and love the setting, looking forward to playing this one!
The colour choices in those sprites compliment the background perfectly, looks like you've taken the angle of the light source into account!? :shocked: I really dig the 320 sprites, it gives the game it's own style/identity.
A nice little writeup (http://www.rpgfan.com/previews/Lamplight_City/index.html) from someone who tried out the game at AdventureX (contains minor spoilers)
Great looking background there!
I love your gabriel knight style :shocked:
Quote from: harima on Wed 30/11/2016 03:38:48
I love your gabriel knight style :shocked:
Well, here's some more! :D
(http://i.imgur.com/oUQcXYi.png)
Visiting the Spectre Society for some help from beyond.
Love that bg, great details (like the paintings, which are often underdeveloped in background art), and excellent control of textures and perspective.
OMG! please, let the chandelier fall down 8-0
(http://i.imgur.com/kj80iob.png)
Enjoying a drink between cases at The Fallen Angel.
Oooohhh. Nice fire and great angle. Now I feel like a peeping tom... (laugh)
Mentioning how wonderful the BG is, is though pointless, cause you already know that! ;)
It all look beautiful, and I like the steampunk setting!
I love the outside-looking-in framing of that last picture. It makes the inside of the pub feel all that more cozy and inviting.
Wow, this looks beautiful, Grundislav! I can't wait to play it.
Looking awesome dude!
Because every game about an inner struggle needs a screenshot of its main character looking in a mirror...
(http://i.imgur.com/aIeqtLg.png)
Graphics are simply amazing!;-D Remember me this good old Gabriel Knight!;) Keep up the good work!
Nice! Wonder if he'll be able to get a brush or comb from the dresser... his hair is messy. (laugh)
Really great work! (nod)
Haha my eyes were a bit blurry when I first looked at this and I thought it was a very tall man standing in front of a mirror!
Now that my eyes have cleared up a bit... wow, very nice indeed.
Nice work! I bet coding the mirror was fun.
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 09/01/2017 23:19:28
Nice! Wonder if he'll be able to get a brush or comb from the dresser... his hair is messy. (laugh)
There are a few in-game jokes about that, especially since his wife is a hairdresser :D
Quote from: SilverSpook on Tue 10/01/2017 08:59:28
Nice work! I bet coding the mirror was fun.
Thanks! I just copy/pasted some code from A Golden Wake so it wasn't too tough :)
From the look of it, fantastic work as ever. You've come a long way since the first Ben Jordan (which was brilliant too by the way)
[/quote]
Thanks! I just copy/pasted some code from A Golden Wake so it wasn't too tough :)
[/quote]
Curious about how it works. I've done mirrors before, don't have my scripting handy, but my basic method was:
The mirror is against the back wall. There is a walkable area within the wall with walk behinds on either side, above and below the mirror. When the player enters a region in front of the mirror (but much larger than it), a character (the mirror image) is triggered to appear in the wall walkable area. It then mimics the player's movement (but only visible when not under the walk behind) by resetting its x and y co ordinates to that of the player plus or minus various amounts depending on distance from mirror etc. The view of the mirror image character is essentially the same as that of the player but with front and back images transposed.
It works okay, but does have one noticeable issue: As the mirror image moves by re calculating the x and y co ordinate based on that of the player character, the mirror image appears to glide stiltingly along as opposed to walking. But of course if use the walk function, it tends to lag fractionally and the arm swing, leg positioning etc gets out of sync with the player. These issues are even more noticeable than the stilting glide issue.
Any quick tips on this one? Sorry to ask for a tip here and not in the general help forums, but its more a curiosity seeing as we are talking mirrors here.
Use the new function late_repeatedly_execute_always() to set the position and frame of the mirror image. This ensures that it always matches the character every loop.
(http://i.imgur.com/xef4H6V.png)
The citizens of Lamplight City make their voices heard.
Lovely as usual! (nod)
Good job.
The guy with the "no steam tech" sign arms look a bit off though.
PS - Though, it might not be a problem when animated (I'm assuming these guys are animated with a few frames of waving anger. (laugh) )
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sat 04/02/2017 18:40:57
The guy with the "no steam tech" sign arms look a bit off though.
PS - Though, it might not be a problem when animated (I'm assuming these guys are animated with a few frames of waving anger. (laugh) )
Yeah, I captured it at his "hold the sign up high" frame :)
Cool scene. Take a sledgehammer to the looms!
I spoke to a few pres outlets at GDC, and one of them already did a writeup!
iDigitalTimes Preview (http://www.idigitaltimes.com/lamplight-city-pairs-steampunk-style-kings-quest-gameplay-587027)
Nice, is that a zeppelin being constructed in the background?
Yes it is!
(http://i.imgur.com/VfhQeXD.png)
Visiting a falsely(?) accused prisoner at the Bow Street Gaol.
gonna be a great looking game bud..
are you getting all architecture crazy like in Golden Wake (which was cool)
I love the prison bars. I would go steal someone's horse just to get thrown in that Gaol!
Interview with HeyPoorPlayer (https://www.heypoorplayer.com/2017/03/17/exploring-lamplight-city/)
The setting is a combination of the familiar and not-familiar, which I find very interesting. I felt that way about Shardlight too (a terrific game, by the way). I'm greatly looking forward to the release!
Really looking forward to this one. Played a demo at AdventureX and was immediately hooked :)
(http://i.imgur.com/8JFfaYr.png)
It's a jungle out there, but sometimes it's a jungle in there too.
Looks awesome!
Taking design notes from Unavowed, I see. :)
Haha well, this is created with science, not magic :D
Hey Grundi. Big fan of you and Ben's podcast, looking forward to more!
I'm working on an HD game and it's taking forever to paint the backgrounds, I'm really curious how much you're putting into painting one of these rooms, on average.
Keep up the good work, excited for Lamplight City!
Quote from: Mr Underhill on Fri 21/04/2017 11:19:21
I'm working on an HD game and it's taking forever to paint the backgrounds, I'm really curious how much you're putting into painting one of these rooms, on average.
It takes me on average about a day and a half or so depending on the complexity of the background. But also keep in mind that I'm painting them at 960x600, so it's really not that high res.
Your game's looking great, btw!
I want to marry this game. Any estimates on when it'll be finished yet?
Quote from: Ghostcat on Mon 01/05/2017 21:46:20
I want to marry this game. Any estimates on when it'll be finished yet?
Still aiming for late 2017, thought that might not be super realistic.
Here's a sneak peek at the Main Title Suite, which you'll hear appropriately enough, on the title screen!
[embed=720,405]http://youtu.be/FY2guu2tP1Q[/embed]
Another screenshot showing some more actual lamplight in Lamplight City :)
(http://i.imgur.com/e6VZ0n9.png)
Nice, very atmospheric!
That's really cool. I like the unfinished paintings in the background.
Neato magneto!
I remember you said you were inspired by Atkinson Grimshaw for the art in this game, and I can definitely see that in this background.
Quote from: Snarky on Sat 20/05/2017 17:10:30
Neato magneto!
I remember you said you were inspired by Atkinson Grimshaw for the art in this game, and I can definitely see that in this background.
Yes, a quick Google Image search of Atkinson Grimshaw definitely shows where the influence is coming from.
Quote from: Grundislav on Mon 08/05/2017 17:47:07
Quote from: Ghostcat on Mon 01/05/2017 21:46:20
I want to marry this game. Any estimates on when it'll be finished yet?
Still aiming for late 2017, thought that might not be super realistic.
Here's a sneak peek at the Main Title Suite, which you'll hear appropriately enough, on the title screen!
[embed=720,405]http://youtu.be/FY2guu2tP1Q[/embed]
Really good! Looking forward to hearing the rest :)
(https://i.imgur.com/fLjuaAU.png)
Some more lamplight in a manor hallway.
Quote from: Grundislav on Fri 16/06/2017 22:31:46
[snip]
Some more lamplight in a manor hallway.
Looking fantastic. I love all these detailed wallpapers!
This game looks utterly stunning, the detail is fantastic! ;-D
Looking great, Francisco, love the measured and careful attention to the lighting, it fits the title :=
Quote from: Grundislav on Fri 16/06/2017 22:31:46
(http://i.imgur.com/s2SwsQo.png)
Some more lamplight in a manor hallway.
Oh, looks awesome :D
Though by the title of the game i sort of hoped it would be about the actual city of lamps, in Lucianos' "A real story" :=
"And death is to be extinguished"...
The last screenshot looks great, love the details on the wallpaper!
However, is it just me, or does the shadow in the right corner look weird, like it was cut off?
Quote from: Blondbraid on Sat 17/06/2017 18:55:39
The last screenshot looks great, love the details on the wallpaper!
However, is it just me, or does the shadow in the right corner look weird, like it was cut off?
Maybe it is just wallpaper there, covering a dent in the wall :=
Gorgeously rendered. That portrait at the bottom center looks quite important (and presumably you see more of it when you're downstairs). I smell a puzzle!
Quote from: Snarky on Sat 17/06/2017 21:16:27
That portrait at the bottom center looks quite important (and presumably you see more of it when you're downstairs). I smell a puzzle!
Thanks for pointing that out. I've gone back and made it less important looking :)
nice background, looks really amazing. I was wondering why there is no ceiling lamp, even when turned off...
So after a LOT of consideration, deliberation, etc. I decided it was time to make a tough decision.
As many people pointed out in this thread and elsewhere, the character sprites are not the same resolution as the backgrounds. The reason for this was because when I started the project, I didn't feel confident enough in my skills to do sprites at a higher resolution than 320x200. I tried out a few times and wasn't pleased with the results. As a solution, it was suggested that I do what I did and draw the sprites at 320x200 resolution, then scale them up using a nearest neighbor filter. I thought it worked, and hoped that the animation quality would mask the difference, which I didn't find to be too jarring.
However, as time has gone on, it has become apparent that more and more people started noticing the mismatch. I was extremely resistant to redo all the sprites I'd done so far, because I have roughly 800 frames of animation in the game already. But the truth is, it's noticeable, and it's detracting from the game. So, I decided I'm going to bite the bullet and just redo all my sprites in the correct resolution so they match the backgrounds.
I did a test and redid Miles, then a few other characters, and for the first time I was pleased with the results. You can see the comparison here:
(http://i.imgur.com/XKHaVSq.png)
It's going to be a lot of work, but I think it will benefit the game in the end, because I really do want it to look the best it can. I'll update the screenshots in this post once I get everything taken care of.
Quote from: Grundislav on Fri 16/06/2017 22:31:46
Some more lamplight in a manor hallway.
Gorgeous!!
Glad you finally came to a decision. That's a huge commitment, and it makes a huge difference.
The new updated sprite looks fantastic, and I am even more excited about this project than before.
@Grundislav Amazing new sprite and a great decition now it looks better than ever very glad you made it. Looks Excellent!. Keep the good work. I`m so exited about this game
The new sprite does look much better. I'm not someone who generally cares much about matching resolutions (some people really over-react about it) and would've bought the game anyway. But now you've made the change the improvement is plain to see.
Lamplight Siddeh!
The new sprite does fit a lot better with the backgrounds. I'm sure all your hard work will be worth it in the end, because it looks like it'll make a huge difference to the overall quality of the game. :)
Quote from: Riaise on Thu 22/06/2017 11:33:05
The new sprite does fit a lot better with the backgrounds. I'm sure all your hard work will be worth it in the end, because it looks like it'll make a huge difference to the overall quality of the game. :)
+1
It looks nice, but just on a sprite-by-sprite basis I wouldn't necessarily think the upgrade is worth the extra work.
However, I suppose it also gives you freedom to do more stuff with scaling, means you don't have to worry about pixel-grid mismatches when two characters interact, etc. Anyway, good luck making the game in a way you're happy with!
Personally, I prefer the old low-res sprites. Funnily enough, they matched the backgrounds better than that hi-res sprite appears to do.
Plus, I liked the unique style, since I don't think I've ever seen such incredibly and purposefully mismatched pixels since the boss fights in old SNES JRPGs (you know, the ones where they just got a normal enemy sprite and scaled it up).
But it's your project, and if you feel you need to redo over 800 sprites, then I wish you all the luck in the world.
Love the new sprite. (nod)
Remaking such a vast collection of sprites is a huge and daunting undertaking, and I wish you the best of luck.
Have you considered just reducing the resolution of the backgrounds? It'd be about a metric ton less work, and it'd look just as good. Touching up backgrounds you've shrunk is a lot easier than reanimating loads of sprites at a higher resolution.
Quote from: Scavenger on Sat 24/06/2017 13:44:05
Have you considered just reducing the resolution of the backgrounds? It'd be about a metric ton less work, and it'd look just as good. Touching up backgrounds you've shrunk is a lot easier than reanimating loads of sprites at a higher resolution.
Yes, I tried that first, and I wasn't happy with the results, as the amount of detail lost was just too much. If I'm going 640x400, I'm going to make the full commitment!
I have updated the screenshots on the first page with the new sprites.
Quote from: Grundislav on Sat 24/06/2017 14:11:13
I have updated the screenshots on the first page with the new sprites.
They look so good! This game went from a maybe yes to a solid yes in an instant.
I love the new sprites. When I was showing my sister your game (she never plays games) the low res sprites were the first thing she noticed.
It's a huge amount of work but I definitely think it's worth it!
I have now sneakily gone through and updated all screenshots in this thread to reflect the higher resolution sprites.
And here is a sample of a handful of characters redone at higher resolution.
(http://i.imgur.com/aCIQBEw.png)
I realize the last 2 on the right are a bit funky below knee level. That's because they both always stand behind counters so I got lazy :D
Oh, wow, those look so much better! The detail really makes the characters come to life. :)
Congrats! Looking amazing they match more better with the backgrounds. Really good art, i`m a big fan of gabriel knight series and this games give me that anxious felling of playing that I had as a kid with this game. The same happened yaers ago with your Ben Jordan series :-D :-D. Well Done!
So, as you may or may not have heard, Lamplight City won't be published by Wadjet Eye (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/06/27/shardlight-designer-and-wadjet-eye-games-part-ways/).
I hope to be able to make an announcement about the game's future within the next couple of weeks, but details are still being ironed out.
I didn't actually realise Lamplight City was slated as another Wadjet Eye collaboration, but I suppose that was implicit after Dave published your last couple of games, and with being Shardlight being such a winning combination of your talents.
Regardless, the game looks like it shaping up really nicely, and I shall of course be snapping it up regardless! Good luck with the continuing development and with lining up another publisher, if that's still the plan.
Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 04/07/2017 02:44:37
So, as you may or may not have heard, Lamplight City won't be published by Wadjet Eye (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/06/27/shardlight-designer-and-wadjet-eye-games-part-ways/).
I hope to be able to make an announcement about the game's future within the next couple of weeks, but details are still being ironed out.
Not great news. Please don't give up on this wonderful project.
Quote from: AndyfromVA on Wed 05/07/2017 19:24:29
Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 04/07/2017 02:44:37
So, as you may or may not have heard, Lamplight City won't be published by Wadjet Eye (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/06/27/shardlight-designer-and-wadjet-eye-games-part-ways/).
I hope to be able to make an announcement about the game's future within the next couple of weeks, but details are still being ironed out.
Not great news. Please don't give up on this wonderful project.
Oh, don't worry, the project isn't going anywhere. It'll be released one way or another, it's just those details that I'm currently sorting out :)
Well, this is some unexpected news, at least for me, but I'm glad that it seems to have been resolved in a friendly and civil manner. Anyway, I have utmost confidence in your ability and I'm sure that the game will end up being excellent one way or the other. Also, great job on the new sprites! A very bold decision, considering the amount of work.
Good luck with the development and hopefully you'll catch some positive wind in your sails!
I read the news about your game and Wadjet Eye on one major Polish gaming portal - I was really glad it won't impact the release of the game.
Best of luck with the publishing! Hope those details you're speaking of won't get that much in your way!
(http://i.imgur.com/MKEk8Dq.png)
Investigating a murder in the rough part of town.
That lighting is top notch!
Are the black bars there to prevent spoilers?
Quote from: ClickClickClick on Sun 23/07/2017 16:23:45
Are the black bars there to prevent spoilers?
No, the game is just letterboxed. The GUI appears in the top bar and some game text appears at the bottom.
New sprites + the new background are so beautiful
Just so beautiful.... (nod)
It's great to have something to aspire too... Hope to someday be able to do such a lovely BG!
The atmosphere in these backgrounds really draws you in. Amazing work!
This is , well, beyond amazing.. cream of the crop in looks .. I am curious how long (consolidated hours) dose it take on average to complete a typical background?
Depends on the background, but generally speaking about 1-2 days. I didn't keep track of how long this latest one took me, but I'd estimate about 16 hours total. I've definitely gotten faster with practice!
The lighting is spot on, I really like the eerie feeling of this place.
Were chalk outlines an actual professional investigation thing? They always struck me as kind of odd.
Quote from: Hobo on Mon 24/07/2017 22:31:54
Were chalk outlines an actual professional investigation thing? They always struck me as kind of odd.
I'm pretty sure the practice of chalk outlines at crime scenes is purely in the realm of fiction, considering it would contaminate the evidence at the scene. It is a visually striking image, though, so I'm willing to trade realism for style :)
this looks really great and atmospheric.
Is the farther cityscape in the background really painted on a wall or how should one read this?
Ah, I can see how it looks like a cityscape! It's just supposed to be a crumbling wall with the brick exposed. I'll tweak it a bit so it reads better.
(http://i.imgur.com/7eZrxyO.gif)
Playing with some environmental animations. A light breeze wafts through St. Denis Cemetery.
The effect looks alright with the bush in the foreground but "off" with the branches. Not like I could do it better but there you go, feedback.
The background as a whole looks great, though.
Yeah, I agree. It's a cool effect, and the bush (palm frond?) looks fine, but the branches or Spanish moss or whatever it is aren't quite there yet. You've probably already thought of this on your own, but a couple of things that could improve the animation of the branches:
-Instead of a straight skew, have them bend (less movement near the top, more further down to the tips of the branches)
-Don't make every bit of the branch move together in perfect alignment. Maybe some parts bend more than others, and maybe they move slightly out of sync.
-Also, be very careful about the lengths. When you skew a vertical line, it makes it longer, and the image appears to stretch.
More work, I know!
Yeah, it's my first real go at this, so I'm learning! Thanks for the feedback :)
That's a really cool background. I love the animations so far. The idea of animating that background is a great one, though. It makes it feel more alive (ironic considering the location).
Right, I went back and properly animated the Spanish moss. Hopefully it looks a bit more natural now :)
looking a lot better now. the top part is not moving though. there the distortion effects you had on the moss before would fit nicely together with the moving moss.
bonus points for dust and dirt particles or leaves blowing along ;)
All in all great progress ;-D
Nice! That looks much more realistic. Compared to the first version, this animation makes the wind look quite a bit stronger â€" not really the "light breeze wafting gently" that you describe. It might be cool to tone it down a bit for the environmental animation and use this gust of wind as a special effect to add drama to some particular event or plot beat (e.g. if the tomb starts off closed and you have to open it at some point, or if you meet a sinister character).
PS: Also aside from the animation it's a very pretty background. Looking forward to the game!
I'm sorry to say that I find those vines so elaborately animated that it makes the stillness of the rest of the scene look pretty weird! I think to make it really work, you'd have to animate rustling leaves on pretty much all the other bushes and trees in the scene, which seems like a lot of work. And in turn that could involve making the branch locations shift slightly, which would mean the positions of the already drawn vines would move a bit as well! But if you see any value in my assessment of this, then I dunno, maybe it's something you'd be willing to spend time on anyway?
Sergio is right. Now the character's clothes and hair look like they've been treated with starch.
Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 06/08/2017 05:32:21
Right, I went back and properly animated the Spanish moss. Hopefully it looks a bit more natural now :)
It looks so much better than it did before! Excellent progress! I'm glad that you are so diligent on this stuff, it always shows improvement and shows that you care deeply about your creation.
(http://i.imgur.com/ljrAn3Y.png)
Visiting the University Greenhouse.
Reminds me of the greenhouses you visit in SH Crimes and Punishment, really nice Grundi.
Looks simply amazing! Keep up the good work :D
Art style is awesome, good luck with it dude :smiley:
Hey this game looks pretty and I like this colorful greenhouse! ;-D
(https://i.imgur.com/4owSXQv.png)
The NBPD Morgue is not for the squeamish or faint of heart.
That's some serious level of detail, your old characters would have looked VERY out of place here.
- Now for the feedback: The scales display on the left seems to be oval. How is the arrow supposed to go all around?
- Shouldn't the brain in the jar be submerged completely? Or does the upper half not need to be conserved?
- At first I thought the coroner didn't have a left hand, the glove could be a shade more different from the wood of the cabinet. Might be worth it if that's where he stands all the time.
The eyepiece on the skull is their brand of workplace humour, I take it? Great touch.
Quote from: ClickClickClick on Sat 16/09/2017 21:53:30
That's some serious level of detail, your old characters would have looked VERY out of place here.
Old characters? What are you talking about? ;D
Quote from: ClickClickClick on Sat 16/09/2017 21:53:30
- Now for the feedback: The scales display on the left seems to be oval. How is the arrow supposed to go all around?
- Shouldn't the brain in the jar be submerged completely? Or does the upper half not need to be conserved?
- At first I thought the coroner didn't have a left hand, the glove could be a shade more different from the wood of the cabinet. Might be worth it if that's where he stands all the time.
- The scale is turned at an angle, but I'll add some rim lighting to make that more obvious.
- Probably, but I think it looks cooler half-submerged :)
- He does stand there, but not in that position the whole time.
Really neat.
Quote- The scale is turned at an angle, but I'll add some rim lighting to make that more obvious
If the scale was in a plane roughly parallel to the left wall, the lines written behind the arrow should follow the same direction as the tiles of the wall, instead of being horizontal.
Wow that brain looks brilliant.
Uploaded a dev livestream from last week on YouTube!
Wow nice cool to see how you work in your bgs, interesting technique, keep the good work.
Mark Benis, the game's composer, has released a preview album of music from the game's prologue. You can pay what you want now, and receive the full album free when it and the game are released next year!
(https://i.imgur.com/tMFUiaV.png)
Track Listing:
1. Lamplight City
2. Partners for Life
3. The Slums of Cholmondeley
4. The Stakeout
Check it out on Mark's Bandcamp page! (https://markbenis.bandcamp.com/album/lamplight-city)
Listening the music while looking at the screenshots. I can almost imagine myself playing the game...
The devstream was also a good watch, you should definitely do more of those and maybe even throw in a shirtless one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-XQ4QUR6pY) :)
Did another dev stream today!
Can't wait to play this game, it looks awesome! Already bought the soundtrack :)
I love the mysterious feel of the music and its peaking and shallowing moments...
It might be a bit of a challenge to properly apply the music to the gameplay though because of these signature moments, but with proper editing of the soundtrack I'm sure your team is up to the challenge...
Lovely!
(https://i.imgur.com/agQb893.png)
Sadly, these dead animal heads don't come to life and teach you about John Muir.
Also, some exciting news about the game will be announced next week!
Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 15/10/2017 04:36:09
Also, some exciting news about the game will be announced next week!
I like announcement announcements.
Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 15/10/2017 04:36:09
Sadly, these dead animal heads don't come to life and teach you about John Muir.
I hope they at least have interesting descriptions!
The room looks great!
Damn, that's some good looking room backgrounds there :).
To be honest, this last screenshot makes me wish there were some kind of a "softening" shader for characters in AGS. It might be difficult to keep sprites consistent with any possible background in game.
Looking great! I'm marking calendars for that announcement.
Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 15/10/2017 04:36:09
Also, some exciting news about the game will be announced next week!
Hype!
the announcement is the publisher, that is...
Selmiak is right!
After a long few months, I'm excited to announce that Lamplight City will be published by Application Systems! You may know them as the publishers of Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet as well as the upcoming Unforeseen Incidents.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support, and look for the game in mid-2018!
Brilliant! Glad it worked out, and your game will be in good company.
Great news. I'm looking forward to it.
Yuhu!!! Congratulations Grundislav 8-) This means the game will be released on OSX?
Yay! That's great news! :-D
Congrats on the publishing deal!
Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 17/10/2017 18:28:15
Selmiak is right!
It's so nice to be right :D
Congratulations on scoring that publishing deal, thanks for publishing that info.
Congratz on finding a publisher. :-D
Official promo art!
(http://grundislavgames.com/lamplightcity/LC_Poster.png)
Done by the amazing Karen Petrasko, whose portfolio you can see at www.karenpetrasko.com (http://www.karenpetrasko.com)
Awesome news on the publisher! Really nice guys at App Systems.
Did you miss out an image in the post above mine though?
Now that is a gorgeous piece of art! Very nice. Also, congrats on finding a publisher. I hope it is a fruitful relationship.
Congrats on the publisher! :-D
And that poster is superb! I would not mind having that framed in one of my walls! (nod)
Congrats, and that promo art is great, the flowers, the expression of the main man, the man in the shadows, it all has me intrigued! ;-D
A couple of new spooky screenshots!
(https://i.imgur.com/F0QVmJd.png)
Not the best place to go trick-or-treating.
(https://i.imgur.com/1sMNx15.png)
How do we sleep while our beds are burning?
Looking good!
Took me a while to figure why the 1st was "spooky" (laugh)
Great new screenshots, and that last one looks nasty, spontaneous combustion? :)
Very nice screenshots! The shadowy figure is definitely spooky, hiding in the doorway. The burn victim must have really loved that woman in the painting, that is a huge painting!
Gorgeous screenshots, as always. That second one is disconcerting, but intriguing!
Love it. Such a gorgeous blue on that wallpaper!
Great looking game, but there is one thing in screenshot 2 that seems odd. How come the flame was so strong that it did burn the ceiling, but not bed, wall and the painting?
Quote from: CyberUncleCat on Mon 06/11/2017 00:40:29
Great looking game, but there is one thing in screenshot 2 that seems odd. How come the flame was so strong that it did burn the ceiling, but not bed, wall and the painting?
Now that you mention it, the black spot should at least go down the wall a bit. For some reason I think the victim was levitating.
Quote from: CyberUncleCat on Mon 06/11/2017 00:40:29
Great looking game, but there is one thing in screenshot 2 that seems odd. How come the flame was so strong that it did burn the ceiling, but not bed, wall and the painting?
You call that 'odd', I call it 'a clue' (nod)
I see so its intentional. Spooky:).
Here's a couple of interviews from AdventureX! Guess which one was done at the end of the conference when I was very tired :D
Very cool! Thanks for sharing these interviews. The game sounds very interesting, and quite different from a traditional point & click adventure. I'm looking forward to experimenting with this, and seeing how good a detective I can be!
Exciting stuff, man. Nice to get some more nuggets from this game. I wish I'd been at AdvX to get a little sneaky peek.
I'm really pleased you managed to get a publisher and can focus on the dev side. Must be a hell of a weight off your mind.
All the best for the final stretch.
P.S. I'm intrigued about these two other game ideas you mentioned.
Borough of Cholmondeley? Cool! :)
Just make sure the voice actors pronounce it Chumly.
Oh, don't worry, I'm going to have a pronunciation list for all the weird names I threw in :)
Good call! I've been playing Technobabylon, and bothered by the actors pronouncing "Corps" as "corpse" instead of "core".
Quote from: Snarky on Sun 03/12/2017 14:47:44
Good call! I've been playing Technobabylon, and bothered by the actors pronouncing "Corps" as "corpse" instead of "core".
The game takes place in the future. Things are pronounced differently.
Sure... ;)
Teaser trailer!
Steam Store page (http://store.steampowered.com/app/761460/Lamplight_City/)
GOG, yes or no?
Not sure yet!
The animations are amazing! ;-D
Is there a rule that policer officers always become private investigators when their partner gets killed?
Trailer is excellent! Also, glad it has lots of string sections, like Arcanum. :D
Looks like an awesome trailer!
A few new screenshots :)
(https://i.imgur.com/2qFuVnk.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/i51UDL5.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/mhBHgbQ.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/KX20q08.png)
Another new screenshot. Can you deduce what the owner of this apartment's primary interest was? ;)
Looks great!
Quote from: Grundislav on Sat 23/12/2017 16:20:56(https://i.imgur.com/2qFuVnk.png)
The chilis on the left seems italian! (yes can be south-american imported, but Italia is nearest)(laugh)
Grundislav, are you planning a series of Miles Fordham games? It may be fun if he travel in other steampunked countries, as Italia or Russia (reference to Little Girl in Underland) for example...
_
Quote from: TheFrighther on Wed 03/01/2018 08:52:00
Grundislav, are you planning a series of Miles Fordham games? It may be fun if he travel in other steampunked countries, as Italia or Russia (reference to Little Girl in Underland) for example...
I definitely want to make more games set in the world of Lamplight City! But first I need to focus on finishing this one :)
Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 02/01/2018 17:17:45
Another new screenshot. Can you deduce what the owner of this apartment's primary interest was? ;)
Masks! Love it.
Also, failed to post about this earlier, but the trailer is great. Definitely heightens the intrigue.
Looks great! I like the chili peppers. :) (I like the look, and also like them generally)
I got ants in my pants :)
Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 02/01/2018 17:17:45
Another new screenshot. Can you deduce what the owner of this apartment's primary interest was? ;)
traveling? to africa or the like?
great image. The cupboard and the picture to the right of it have no shadow though and seem to float over that nice trippy wallpaper.
:angry: Then there was nothing:(
Quote from: sawyer on Tue 23/01/2018 18:55:27
:angry: Then there was nothing:(
I'm not quite sure what you mean.
He means he is impatient and wants you to post more stuff.
Well then, here's a brief sample of VO and lip sync (special thanks to Snarky for his TotalLipSync module)
Not bad, even though the guy on the right looks a bit like a ventriloquist puppet. Might be the hat.
Awesome 8-0
This is a great illusion of speech, I love it. Though you never know who is talking next and my eyes cannot see everything of this cool face movements while resting on the person not speaking and waiting for another line of that person, so I suggest adding a slight glow behind the person talking, maybe in the orange that is already the rim light and like that orange rim light would glow. Using a function for lighting up the backlight glow a few frames before the person actually starts speaking will subtly guide the eyes to the action. Leave me a thanks in the thanks/credits/end section of the game if you add that :D
most impressive! This and wadget... games makes awesome games, you guys are top notch, n me ......just sorry to press anyone for whats up now... Just very excited to see you produce such excellence. I just cant help myself...sorry....
Keep up the good work :grin:
Quote from: sawyer on Wed 24/01/2018 23:28:53
most impressive! This and wadget... games makes awesome games, you guys are top notch
Well, I DID work for Wadjet Eye for a bit, so it makes sense ;)
Thanks!
I'm amazed by everything in this game. But mostly by the detailed animations moves. You put a lot of efforts there. Great work!
(https://i.imgur.com/R00nWu6.gif)
Implementing some environmental effects to bring a scene to life! Pardon the awful GIF compression :)
Sofisticated!
_
OoooOoo, looking glowy. (nod)
That is some crazy bridge!
At least the strings seem a little off.
Did another art stream! Get a glimpse into the process of rotoscoping.
Nice! (nod)
Always cool to be a pro in action. :)
(https://i.imgur.com/bZMaZ1R.png)
It wouldn't truly be a detective game without a puzzle involving guessing someone's combination.
Looks great and very atmospheric!
Though it feels less claustrophobic than these places tend to be. ;)
I love the steampunk details on the lockers, a really cool touch! 8-)
:cheesy: The further down the list this goes fortifies the fact that good things come to those who wait.
So I will put my porch Lamplight on and shine my city with gratitude all because of you!.!!
Thanks := :smiley:
All backgrounds are now finished! This was the last one. Getting ever closer to getting this game done.
(https://i.imgur.com/ORDAF1j.png)
Oh look. A lamplight!
I can hear babooshka in the distance
Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Wed 28/02/2018 17:47:25
Oh look. A lamplight!
lol.....
only the shadow knows...;)
Here's a fresh batch of screenshots:
(https://i.imgur.com/Qdf1CkO.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/xEMKFNm.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/PUikK9c.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/XtLXJxt.png)
Really can't wait to explore this world, everything looks so convincing! It really feels like all of these locations are part of the same gritty city, great work Fransico!
Quote from: Grundislav on Sat 10/03/2018 15:20:06
(https://i.imgur.com/Qdf1CkO.png)
Oh, another old oriental that speak as a book of poetry! (laugh)
_
Nah, the character isn't Asian, and he's only talking that way because he's very high :)
Just kiddin', Grundislav!;)
I like the map on the wall and the paintings, are you planning a gallery-mode to wiev all the arts at the end of the game?
I love that dragon in the corner, it looks so cheerful! :-D
The sign next to the giant cogwheel is a bit hard to read. Other than that, everything's looking good.
I cannot wait for this game. The end.
(...wait, edit: how many rooms are there, now that you've finished them all? (and congrats on that!))
Quote from: SarahLiz on Tue 13/03/2018 02:54:37
(...wait, edit: how many rooms are there, now that you've finished them all? (and congrats on that!))
There are 111 rooms. Definitely the biggest game I've ever made!
Another art stream! Animating mouths on character portraits.
Sorry for the triple post, but here's a blog entry I wrote explaining what I mean when I say that Lamplight City is a detective game where failure is okay: http://agwspeakeasy.blogspot.com/2018/04/lamplight-city-detective-game-where-its.html
Nice explaination!
_
Normally I'm not so much into detective games, but I must say, this sounds quite exciting! Quite ambitious too. I really like the idea of following wrong clues and making (bad) choices that alter story and character reactions while still being able to progress through the game.
Good luck with the development :)
Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 10/04/2018 21:24:53
Sorry for the triple post
It's a sin that you've been able to post 3 times in a month without response.
Everything is looking fantastic. If I had anything new to say, I would chime in more often!
>:( Really looking foward to this if it is ever released. Like one dont want to let go until the other one lets go first.(nod) but I dont want yall get wrong idea. N I know U were at Wadjet and dave not done either.. like its a comp or something. O'well, guess I'll keep on waiting..like late 2018 dec...
Oh, it will be released, don't worry! There's no need to let go :)
Also here's another art stream where I do some rotoscoped animation.
Sawyer: Grundislav has no intention of giving up on this, I'm positive! These things just take time, especially at the level of detail he is giving to this game.
Grundislav: Looking fantastic! I might look at drawing over photo references, I've been just looking at a different image. How come your windows defender keeps coming up, can't you add it to trusted programs? Go to windows defender, click on settings I think, and should say something like excluded processes, add your .exe program. See if that works?
Thank you so much..It was quiet for a while..Thank you for update info..
Patiently awaiting.:shocked:
A little update: the game is now in another round of beta and is fully art asset complete. Currently I'm editing all the VO as well as lip syncing, so there's still a bit left, but hoping to release very soon! Stay tuned for more info.
In the meantime, here's a new screenshot:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DettnvJXUAI4qbo.jpg)
Might be my web browser error, but can't see any screenshots in thread, had to quote it to get the link :)
Is that a color coded book cabinet?
At first I thought the right guy was levitating. Helped by the fact that the desk is mirrored in the floor and the characters aren't.
Another piece of wonderful art! Glad to hear it's getting closer to release!
Just a small update: a new trailer is coming, as well as a major announcement! (Hint: it rhymes with "police gate")
Meanwhile, here's a couple more screenshots.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DiE3sEMU8AY5T0p.jpg)
No game is complete without a sewer level
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dio_gFbV4AIzfHb.jpg)
Being a private investigator means facing resistance from the police.
Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 22/07/2018 17:06:14
(Hint: it rhymes with "police gate")
Dragon Gate? 8-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-BPLiiGCfw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-BPLiiGCfw)
(laugh)
_
Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 22/07/2018 17:06:14
Just a small update: a new trailer is coming, as well as a major announcement! (Hint: it rhymes with "police gate")
Release Date? That would be very nice!
Love these new screenshots. Great work, as always.
Quote from: dactylopus on Mon 23/07/2018 00:26:49
Release Date?
You'd make an excellent detective ;)
Obese mate?
Well, I hope he gets help.
Loving the new screens.
I love that there's tons of rotoscoping <3
EDIT: Frasisco, have you ever considered using the "liquify" tool in Photoshop after scanning your drawings? I found that it helps a great deal fixing my sloppy perspectives in adventure games where they need to be absolutely perfect (in particular, stairs are a pain in the ass). In a click you discretly realign what needs to be realigned without altering the quality of the drawing. It's also very useful for portraits, whenever there is any kind of defect (asymetrical face, eyes with different sizes, mouth too low, etc.)
We have a release date!
September 13!
We also have a new trailer made by the extremely talented Alasdair Beckett-King:
WOW! Cool Trailer!
*rewatches* 8-)
Cool! Congrats on the release date! (nod)
hope all goes smooth.
Fantastic trailer! That makes the whole thing feel really deep and cinematic. Really looking forward to September for this.
Looks great! Good luck on the release!
And then straight to Mittens!
Hope the launch goes well.
Looks so good. That cutscene where he pulled the pistol from the water was so reminiscent of Flashback I swore it was 1991 for a moment! Best of luck on the release.
Quote from: Snarky on Sat 28/07/2018 07:39:15
And then straight to Mittens!
Hope the launch goes well.
Hah yeah, me too. Otherwise I might be a bit distracted at Mittens :D
Indeed, very well-done trailer & i like the Gabriel Knight style of it all + rotoscoping apparently was used?
8-)
Sweet. I'm hyped for this.
In case you're not all sick of me talking about this game yet:
You were drunk? :-D
_
Lamplight City will also be available on GOG (https://www.gog.com/game/lamplight_city)!
Got a price tag yet?
It'll be $14.99!
Quote from: Grundislav on Wed 05/09/2018 15:34:31
It'll be $14.99!
I see you're sticking with the age old wisdom of never paying more than twenty bucks for a video game. (laugh)
Awesome, good luck with the release!
;-D Thanks for making this!!
Damn nice work son.....