I'm making and vlogging: AGS Dungeon Crawler with editor (update: video 7 up)

ShiverMeSideways · Sun 11/09/2011 22:39:56

Hey, guys!

So, yeah, I'm making a dungeon crawler with AGS and I was really excited to show everyone, so I'm taking the Notch route and sharing with everyone from day 1. (triple) So, this will be a diary thread, because I don't want to make a GiP thread yet (although, technically, when you think about it...).

As with CybMusic, I'm focusing on the engine part of it, working out the different gameplay elements and making sure that almost anything can be implemented via the editor. This will, hopefully smooth the way for the actual development of the story mode.

So, enough jibber-jabber, here are the videos showcasing what I've got so far and what my plans are:
* Episode 1: The start of the building of the level editor
* Episode 2: Modest Play Mode & fog
* Episode 3: Monsters (MOBs)
* Episode 4: Main Theme Music?
* Episode 5: Inventory, Loot, Weapons, Armor, Ammo
* Episode 6: New artwork, ranged combat, music, editor overhaul, signs, and more!
* Episode 7: Crafting, environment manipulation, some more new art

Ok, did you watch them? Thanks! Please leave any suggestions and comments and questions you may have, as your input may very well influence the shape of the final product! Do you find this idea interesting? Would you WANT to play a game like this? Would you WANT to make levels for it?

AGS Crawl
* Current version: Pre-Alpha 0.5
* Last thing achieved: Crafting and environment manipulation
* Current goal: NPCs and shops

Contributors:
* Alan V. Drake - Artwork
* IndieBoy - Artwork
* Jonathan Sjoblom (jon_swe) - Title, cutscene, and GUI artwork
* Jonas Thiem (Yarcanox) - Editor music

Webpage: http://shivermesideways.agser.me/agscrawl.html

Official full changelog and feature list: here (updated as of Oct-20)

Check Twitter for behind-the-scenes stuff and to see exactly what stage of development the game is in.

Baron · Mon 12/09/2011 01:30:50

That voice! It's perfect for a project I'm working on!

If you find anyone who has good GUI ideas please forward me his/her contact info.

As for the tile-based level editor, it really looks as if it has potential. I'm not sure about the logic of having one sided walls (you wouldn't be able to walk through them from the other side, would you?), and I would definitely leave a pixel between terrain options to make them easier to differentiate. Up and down arrows instead of D & U would definitely be more intuitive as well. Finally, I can see the 5x5 grid being a bit small if you were working with a complex structure. If it plays as 5x5 too I think that will make it hard to strategically play: do you fight a villain and gamble that he doesn't have a lot of backup nearby?

That is the end of me being nitpicky. I think the idea of building your own dungeon crawler editor is awesome, and you're clearly off to a good start. Good luck!

Wonkyth · Mon 12/09/2011 09:03:32

Love how it looks, Shiver!

* Wonkyth+ goes off to play Castle of the Winds as prep.

ShiverMeSideways · Mon 12/09/2011 10:51:25

New video up!

Quote from: Baron on Mon 12/09/2011 01:30:50
That voice! It's perfect for a project I'm working on!

Will get to that tomorrow!

QuoteIf you find anyone who has good GUI ideas please forward me his/her contact info.

Ok!

QuoteI'm not sure about the logic of having one sided walls (you wouldn't be able to walk through them from the other side, would you?), and I would definitely leave a pixel between terrain options to make them easier to differentiate.

Only the graphic is one-sided. A wall is a wall is a wall, it's solid, you can't pass through it. (At least until I implement secret walls!

)

QuoteUp and down arrows instead of D & U would definitely be more intuitive as well.

Of course, will get to changing that eventually!

QuoteFinally, I can see the 5x5 grid being a bit small if you were working with a complex structure. If it plays as 5x5 too I think that will make it hard to strategically play: do you fight a villain and gamble that he doesn't have a lot of backup nearby?

Well, it's not a problem, it's a feature!

But seriously, I'll, eventually, make a video showing how everything works, but suffice to say that a 5x5 visible tile space is a compromise, because if I put in more, it'll seriously make everything harder to control and cause me more problems. That's why I really wanted a minimap - it'll show loot and monsters, so you should have a good idea of what to expect. Besides, adding in a sense of fear and randomness is fun for me and makes the game more exciting. There will be a save feature (thanks again CJ for that

) and I'll try and implement a quicksave feature as well, so every time you have a bad feeling, you can lean back on that.

QuoteThat is the end of me being nitpicky. I think the idea of building your own dungeon crawler editor is awesome, and you're clearly off to a good start. Good luck!

By all means, be nitpicky! Thanks a lot for the feedback and kind words!

Quote from: Wonkyth+ on Mon 12/09/2011 09:03:32
Love how it looks, Shiver!
* Wonkyth+ goes off to play Castle of the Winds as prep.

Thanks, Wonkyth! Actually, Castle of the Winds is a major inspiration for me, I played the hell out of it when I was younger and only had a 386!

Wonkyth · Mon 12/09/2011 12:03:51

Actually, does the level format use an easily editable system, like xml of something?
I've been feeling like making a level editor for a week or two, but haven't had something I actually wanted to make one for...

bicilotti · Mon 12/09/2011 13:40:42

That's great! Good luck with it!

Wyz · Mon 12/09/2011 13:59:52

Hey good show Dan!
I'm interested where this goes, so nice to see you're going to 'blog' about it.

Looks interesting so far, maybe a cheap trick to solve your wall problem: Move the wall edges to the floor tiles. Then you would need fewer tiles. Let me demonstrate with stupid ascii art:

Floor:
......
. .
. .
......

+----------------++----+
| 0 .. 1 .. 2 || 3 |
| .. .. || |
|................||....| This: Becomes:
|................||....|
| 4 .. 5 .. 6 || 7 | XXX C12
| .. .. || | XXXXXX 891112
|................||....| XXXXXXX 4555DD2
|................||....| XXXX XXX 899A 412
| 8 .. 9 .. A || B | XXX 456
| .. .. || | XXX 89A
+----------------++----+
+----------------++----+
| C .. D .. E || F |
| .. .. || |
+----------------++----+

InCreator · Mon 12/09/2011 14:11:24

Can't you stack different tiles while retaining alpha?

Wyz · Mon 12/09/2011 14:25:09

Yes, there are even tools for that. Best is to render the combined tiles to a new tileset so you only need to draw the tile once every time for performance sake.

ShiverMeSideways · Thu 15/09/2011 21:50:12

NEW VIDEO IS UP!

Quote from: Wonkyth+ on Mon 12/09/2011 12:03:51Actually, does the level format use an easily editable system, like xml of something?
I've been feeling like making a level editor for a week or two, but haven't had something I actually wanted to make one for...

Yes, and no...

Quote from: bicilotti on Mon 12/09/2011 13:40:42That's great! Good luck with it!

Thank ye!

Quote from: InCreator on Mon 12/09/2011 14:11:24Can't you stack different tiles while retaining alpha?

Unfortunately, the way I've got the engine working at the moment does not allow me to stack tiles. But I can use other cheap tricks like filling the whole tile with a wall, like I did with the cave walls.

Quote from: Wyz...

We talked about this on Mumble

Wonkyth · Thu 15/09/2011 23:16:27

So... does that mean I can make an awesmoe level editor?

ShiverMeSideways · Thu 15/09/2011 23:23:05

Quote from: Wonkyth+ on Thu 15/09/2011 23:16:27So... does that mean I can make an awesmoe level editor?

Why would you make a level editor if I'm making one and incorporating it in the game?

Wonkyth · Thu 15/09/2011 23:33:24

fo' fun, yo!

As I said, I've been wanting to try my hand at creating a level editor, but haven't seen anything I'd actually want to make levels for.

ShiverMeSideways · Sat 17/09/2011 17:42:39

New video up!

Quote from: Wonkyth+ on Thu 15/09/2011 23:33:24fo' fun, yo!

As I said, I've been wanting to try my hand at creating a level editor, but haven't seen anything I'd actually want to make levels for.

Ok, well, if it's for your own personal use/learning/hobby/whatever, then it's fine! I just hope you don't make an awesome-ererer one than me ;o

Wonkyth · Sun 18/09/2011 03:52:01

Heh, considering the number of projects I've completed - none - I doubt you're in trouble.

tzachs · Sun 18/09/2011 21:44:39

Looks like it is coming along nicely.
The music is perfect for the game, well done!
Waiting for more videos, though maybe just a tiny bit more concise, it is much easier to swallow your food in smaller chunks, you know...

ShiverMeSideways · Tue 20/09/2011 18:58:49

NEW VIDEO UP!

Quote from: tzachs on Sun 18/09/2011 21:44:39Looks like it is coming along nicely.
The music is perfect for the game, well done!
Waiting for more videos, though maybe just a tiny bit more concise, it is much easier to swallow your food in smaller chunks, you know...

Thank you so much for watching and for the kind words!

Yes, I agree that I can be a bit verbose. I try to keep it short, but I also want to show off the game, so I go a bit over the 10 minute mark. I'll try to be more concise in the future, barring when there are major updates (like today is!).

Wyz · Tue 20/09/2011 23:54:44

Looking fly

It already shows a lot of game elements, keep it up.

Maybe a thought: have different images for loot as to the items it is composed of.

ShiverMeSideways · Wed 28/09/2011 21:56:11

NEW VIDEO UP!

Quote from: Wyz+ on Tue 20/09/2011 23:54:44
Looking fly It already shows a lot of game elements, keep it up.

Maybe a thought: have different images for loot as to the items it is composed of.

Thanks and I'll try to implement that.

If you don't want to watch the video, but are curious as to what I've added, I'll leave this here from the changelog:

Code: ags

Version Pre-Alpha 0.4
---------------------

* Play mode:
   * Can use items to restore health.
   * Ranged combat for both the player and for MOBs.
   * Can read signs.
   * Certain MOBs drop loot when they die.
   * Can get information on any item.
   * Indicator appears next to mouse cursor to show objects/MOBs which can be interacted with

* Edit mode:
   * Overhauled placing of tiles. Pick up a tile of a certain type and then change the sprite via
key press.
   * Can place signs.

* Art/Assets
   * Redone tilesets and new tileset additions - featuring the artwork of Alan V. Drake:
      * Cave Tileset
      * Military Base 1 Tileset
      * Military Base 2 Tileset
      * Military Base Floors
      * Stone Floors
   * Inventory items and weapons
      * Rifle
      * Cartridges
      * Painkillers
      * Medpack
      * Rat corpse
   * Sound effects:
      * Rifle fire, shot ricochet, health restore.
   * Music
      * Editor track: Slow Space - by Yarcanox.
      * Play Mode track: Ambient 1 - by ShiverMeSideways.
   * New artwork for Pistol and Helmet, courtesy of IndieBoy.

* New Aggressive MOBs:
   * Thief (3 DMG / 20 HP)

* Other
   * Doors (purely aesthetic so far)

ShiverMeSideways · Thu 20/10/2011 09:08:25

NEW VIDEO UP!

Rest assured, all the things I've shown off in play mode can be edited in, I did use the editor to put in the new items and the minerals and such in order to make the level!

I also tried to make a behind-the-scenes video to show how everything works, but I failed, will retry later. Now to get onto to other stuff I need to do!