JP and Cosmo :: Soon to be released ...

Darth Mandarb · Tue 09/12/2003 23:14:12

THE GAME IS REALEASED!! - See the thread in the Completed Games section!!

The Story ...

You play as JP, an average everyday kind of guy. Your best friend is Cosmo McGillicuddy.

You're just making your way through life when one day it's announced that an asteroid is headed towards Earth and the planet is doomed!! Not knowing what to do you begin to panic! That's when you remember Cosmo telling you once that he's got an old bomb shelter in his basement. You try to call him but you can't reach him. You decide to head over to his place to seek whatever protection his bomb-shelter might offer against an asteroid impact.

Upon arrival to his house you find him not there. You must located the bomb shelter and find your way into it.

But once you do, you find something more suprising than the incoming asteroid!

What will happen? What's the suprise? Will the asteroid destroy the planet? Where is Cosmo?

Find out in The Adventures of JP and Cosmo: A Friend Indeed. Coming Soon!!

Screenshots ...

A.

B.

C.

D.
A - The garage : B - The Upstairs : C - The groundfloor : D - The basement

Features ...
- 15 rooms
- Custom GUIs

- Custom cursors

- Fully animated characters
- Over 200 sprites/objects
- Alternative (hidden) ending
- Time limited play
- Fully interactive environments
- Intuitive/Logical puzzles
- and more?

Characters ...

This is JP and Cosmo

More characters coming soon ...

Game Status ...
Plot/Story: 100%
Graphics/Animations: 95%
Puzzles: 45%
Game Mechanics: 95%
Music/Sound: 0%

I'm going to add some MIDI music and sound effects after all is said an done. I want to get everything else done first before I start messing around with sounds.

Expected Completion Date?
The best answer I can give is 2004. It'll be done when I get it done!

juncmodule · Tue 09/12/2003 23:23:14

Weeee!!! Super ISO fun! Looks great Darth.

later,
-junc

WanderLady · Wed 10/12/2003 00:07:14

Excellent, excellent, excellent.

Just walking around looking at the detail you put into the house was enjoyable enough for me. It's exciting. The outlet on the wall upstairs made me laugh.

I'd like to see BG animations, DM. Maybe a drippy faucet, or the fish tank, or a rat in the basement, or the clock....

What's the character's name?

Domino · Wed 10/12/2003 00:15:18

Darth,

I have to say that from playing the short demo for a few minutes that i love it. The graphics are very good, i love the detail that you put into the house. It reminds me of the perspective used in the game Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Very well done!! I'd love to play a whole game in this style. Don't stop. Hey, even this demo would make a great game.

BG

James Kay · Wed 10/12/2003 05:08:25

COO-OOL!
And I'm not saying this because I'm biased in favour of isometry, it is brilliant! I love the wall-disappearing trick (might be nicer if they fade out, rather than pop on or off?).
Reminds me of Little Computer People. Hell, you don't even need to make an adventure game out of it, just make a LCP update in stead.
Either way, I'm gagging for the final, so get your thumb out and finish this!

remixor · Wed 10/12/2003 07:44:48

Beautiful, Mandarb! Very professional and clean-cut. I'm looking forward to see how this shapes up.

Darth Mandarb · Wed 10/12/2003 16:59:55

Thanks guys!

I think I'm going to go ahead and finish this up. I might add another room (possibly 2) just to liven it up and expand it just a little.

WanderLady - I will definately be adding some animations in. Just outta curiousity what outlet are you talking about:

QuoteThe outlet on the wall upstairs made me laugh.

and why did it make you laugh? I'm trying to determine if I acheived humor without trying

I'll post updates as I have them! The game has been in this state (with just a few changes I made yesterday) for some time but I've been so damn busy lately!! Darn real-world gettin' in the way of my AGS time!!

Thanks for the praise!

])]v[

WanderLady · Wed 10/12/2003 17:35:29

The one on the wall that disappears in the green bedroom. It just gave me a good laugh that you put it there.

Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Wed 10/12/2003 16:59:55I'm trying to determine if I acheived humor without trying

Yeah, you did...to me, anyway.

And about music and sound effects - You might not need music if you put in several sound effects.(a creaking floor, the clock ticking, faucet drip, ...)

I also just noticed the reflections on the table and kitchen floor...very good.

Can't wait...

Blackthorne · Wed 10/12/2003 18:11:03

Mandarb,

Wicked. Just wicked.

As said by others before, very professional...... and fun! Must have taken a lot of planning and testing. It's nice to see actual work go into a game!

Can't wait to see more. Innovative, for sure.

Steve

veryweirdguy · Wed 10/12/2003 19:31:08

First of all, well done DM. This art style rules. I love it and I look forward to the finished thing, but I have one small problem.

It's not actually isometric.

* Studio audience gasps

An isometric view has three 'dimensions' - one vertical and two at 30 degrees to the vertical. It's hard to explain without an example, but this applet should give you an idea of what I mean:

http://illuminations.nctm.org/mathlets/isometric/index.html

You see? I'm not trying to sound nasty or mean, I still love the screenies.

Darth Mandarb · Wed 10/12/2003 19:46:10

HOW DARE YOU!!!

Just kidding!

I guess I was mistaken. I thought Isometric was simply "lack of perspective".

No biggie ... I just haven't come up with a name for it yet!

])]v[

Ghormak · Wed 10/12/2003 20:13:25

Very nice graphics. I love how the walls appear and disappear to show you more of the rooms as you walk through them.

Not much of a game yet, but I hope the gameplay will eventually be just as good as the graphics!

Alynn · Wed 10/12/2003 20:22:52

I actually think the term for that is 3/4 view.

After · Wed 10/12/2003 21:15:08

It's a brilliant idea. The sort of thing that could spread like wildfire ... if it's not too difficult :

The background uses planometric drawing, but this idea could work with other systems too.
(P.S. "Isometric" means 'same scale' for each dimension, so it only applies to the everything-at-30-degrees technique).

Kweepa · Wed 10/12/2003 21:16:33

Great stuff!

big brother · Thu 11/12/2003 16:45:21

Wow, I'm really digging the new title. Planometric Insanity. Nice.

One suggestion, though. IMO, the main character looks a bit generic. I think it would benefit the game greatly you played as a hyper cephalic Indiana Jones or Luke Skywalker instead. Hey, that would be cool! You could do missions for Marcus Brody or Yoda, respectively.

Food for thought anyways.

Darth Mandarb · Thu 11/12/2003 17:15:02

Big Brother - The character is VERY generic. I'm going to replace him. I've been thinking of using one of these two characters:

- or -

Haven't decided which one yet.

])]v[

Joseph DiPerla · Thu 11/12/2003 17:31:54

Holy moly! Good stuff! You truly deserve the rank of Sith Lord!

I think you should use the guy in the hat by the way.

James Kay · Fri 12/12/2003 01:19:10

Damn you, Darth Mandarb. I might as well give up on Devco Quest right now.

big brother · Fri 12/12/2003 02:59:42

Originally, I was going to say I liked the personality you put into new sprites, and the one on the left's tie wiggles funny...

BUT

A brilliant idea hit me!

BEN THROTTLE'S DESKTOP ADVENTURES

(rolls off the tongue nicely, I might add)

It's worth at least a MAGS. What do you guys think?

sergiocornaga · Fri 12/12/2003 03:32:21

I think you have too much time on your hands. But then again, I probably would get it so what do I know.

evilspacefart · Fri 12/12/2003 06:05:40

Darth:

are you going to tell us how you were making the walls appear/disappear?
are they objects?

edit:
btw... nice top down graphics. 8) to me it kinda suits rpg style (console rpg) as well.

Darth Mandarb · Fri 12/12/2003 16:36:32

Quote from: evilspacefart on Fri 12/12/2003 06:05:40
are you going to tell us how you were making the walls appear/disappear?

Yes they're objects. Each wall is an object triggered by HotSpots.

This image is with ALL objects removed and the HotSpots trigger some on and some off. For example; when you step on the dark blue hotspot it removes the wall at the bottom of the living room but it also makes visible the wall at the top of that room. It does both because you can enter that room from two different spots. So if you enter that room from the den/office room, where the top wall of the living room would be gone, it will then come back on.

I'm working on a feature (as suggested earlier) to make them fade in and out. If it slows down too much I won't use it. I kind of like how quickly then just appear/disappear so I don't know ...

])]v[

big brother · Fri 12/12/2003 18:51:52

QuoteI think you have too much time on your hands.

Not to mention nicks and scratches.

KA-ching!!!

Chicky · Fri 12/12/2003 20:43:18

wow darth, thats amazing

thats the edzact style ive been working on for ages! the only problem ive had is the wall on/off thing , ive been trying to draw the camera angle so you can see enough of the room, but not to loose the wall style.

I really hope you dont mind me using this planeometric style, its just perfect for what im doing. If you really do have a problem with me using your unique style then say and i could try and change my current bg's.

again, nice one darth

Darth Mandarb · Fri 12/12/2003 22:05:51

Quote from: oversizedchicken on Fri 12/12/2003 20:43:18I really hope you dont mind me using this planeometric style, its just perfect for what I'm doing. If you really do have a problem with me using your unique style then say and i could try and change my current bg's.

It's mine I tell you ... MINE!!!!

I don't mind at all! In fact I'd love to see what others can come up using this style. So keep me in the loop

])]v[

Chicky · Mon 15/12/2003 12:23:41

Look's like we'll have to fight for it! lol jk

Cheers darth, im making a small 1 room kinda game in this style set during the aftermath of the jewlery heist from RESORVIOR DOGS!

Whoo, im working on a low-res mr brown (quentin tarrentino) at the moment.

I'll pm you as soon as ive finished , should be a week or soo.

l8rs

-a chicken

Harvester · Wed 17/12/2003 23:13:53

Wow! These screenshots look fantastic, so I'm downloading the demo right now! The pictures remind of those old Japanese games like Cobra Mission, but yours look much better. Good work!

Igor · Thu 18/12/2003 12:19:49

Damn it! This looks superb! Just walking around the house was great- nice touch with appearing/disappearing walls.
One suggestion though- make the character's movement a bit faster

Darth Mandarb · Wed 07/01/2004 10:03:19

See first post for updates!

])]V[

James Kay · Wed 07/01/2004 12:20:47

Stop wasting your time posting here and get that mother finished already! Want want want!

BTW: still looking gorgeous of course, but you might want to do something about the doorways. I mean, see the living room downstairs (with the telly), it has a very obvious entrance, However, on the 1st floor (or 2nd floor depending on where you live), if you're standing in the hallway and the middle wall is invisible it can be a bit hard to discern where the doorways are. Sure, you have the light thing going on, but maybe something a tad more obvious. No, sorry, I can't think of anything either. But I am splitting hairs. So feel free to ignore me.

Trapezoid · Wed 07/01/2004 17:03:28

Wow, I love the demo. That's such a nifty style.
I bet, with a little programming, you could make the walls fade in and out instead of blinking on and off. Unless the game's only 256 colors...

Squinky · Sat 10/01/2004 02:28:07

Just to let everybody know, I've done up a little article about this game on "A"
http://www.sylpher.com/a/art.php?artid=51&PHPSESSID=1bca019f5df47bc13d6be5b20354db35

And from the stuff I've seen, this game is gonna rock...

Darth Mandarb · Tue 20/01/2004 17:06:02

I have updated a lot of the screenies since last posting them.

Here are the updates +1 new screenie.

Updated:

The upstairs.
* Added some doors to make them more obvious and easy to locate when walking about.
* Added in 'exterior' elements as well (grass, garage roof, driveway)
* no more stairs to 'attic' ... now it's a secret 'suprise' room!! But how do you get in it??

The Groundfloor.
* Added in 'exterior' elements (bushes, address plaque, driveway, garage)
* Changed the kitchen around to make it better (dishwasher, oven/stove, etc.)

The Basement:
* Added dirt surrounding a subterrainian level!
* lowered the little mop-bucket room (bottom right)

New:

The Garage!
* This is where you go if you exit the open door at the top of the groundfloor level.
* Ignore the player character in this shot, he's completely redone now.

This will be the last new screenshot(s) until the game is released. I'm not going to spit out a release date 'cause nobody ever makes it! It'll be done when I finish it!

Progress Meter
Graphics: 98% (I think I'm done ... but there's always the little ones that pop-up!)
Story: 100%
Puzzles: 100%
Coding/Scripting: 60%
Music/Sound: 0%

The music is my biggest setback! I can add in sound effects myself, but the music will knock me down. Since this is free I might just snag some midi of songs I like and toss them in there. We'll see ...

I have 1 person who is beta testing stuff for me ... anybody else interested?

Thanks!

])]V[

veryweirdguy · Tue 20/01/2004 18:02:13

I'd be very interested in betaing. Sign me up!

Email: veryweirdguy@yahoo.co.uk

Nacho · Tue 20/01/2004 21:17:47

That's coooooool... Make sure to do some graphics in that style for me, Arizona Scott will need them...

Penguinx · Fri 23/01/2004 19:03:06

The graphics in this game easily look like some of the most impressive AGS work I've seen. Really top quality.

Darth Mandarb · Fri 23/01/2004 20:19:18

Penguinx - thanks! Talk about motivation

Here's the newest GUI update. I wanted to try something a little different with this:

It's like a normal popup GUI only instead of opening by the Y location, it opens by the X location. Just move your mouse to the left side and it pops-up! It's pretty cool and functions flawlessly! (at least on my machine) The Actions (walk ... take) have cursors that are the colors of the little 'bullets' next to them. So you know what mode you're in. (I don't like the feet, hands, eyes, etc as cursors.) (thanks James Kay!)

Just give me a little bit longer and maybe I'll release a small, playable demo

What do you guys think of the GUI?

])]V[

AGA · Fri 23/01/2004 21:35:21

Seems pretty cool, but you could have right-click change the mode, like in the SCI1 GUI... Unless you already have right-click do something else...

James Kay · Sat 24/01/2004 01:40:20

Looking cool as ever!
The new GUI looks cool there, just hope it doesn't interfere with clickable objects in that general area. But I'm sure you already thought of that.

Can't wait.

piraatlife4me · Sat 24/01/2004 03:08:21

Yo Darth!
Your game is looking too freakin good!
I am totally diggin on the art style and the design of your cursors and custom GUI interface. WOW!
Daniel
Winebarger

Darth Mandarb · Sat 24/01/2004 23:15:54

AGA - the right click still scrolls through the cursors. I was going to change it to pop up the GUI but then I realized (after testing) that I just don't like it that way. Sometimes knowing I have to click 2 times to get back to walk is much faster than selecting it from a GUI.

James Kay - the GUI pops up at mouse.x=5 and none of the graphics (that you need) extend to that edge of the screen! So it never gets in the way. Which is one of the reasons I decided to do it!

Pirate - Thanks! I'm anticipating Razors in the Night as well!!

I have (as usual) added a few more screens/graphics here and there. This will extend the time until release but trust me ... they make it better!!

Still truckin'!

])]V[

Darth Mandarb · Sun 25/01/2004 20:23:41

Well ... it happened.

My hard drive took a crap on me and I lost everything!

HOWEVER!!!

Being the intelligent person that I am, I had it backed up!!!!

** breath a collective sigh of relief with me **

I won't be working on it for a few days as I'm going to be getting a new computer set up and getting everything working again.

Darth's Tip for the Day
BACK UP REGULARLY YOU SUCKAS!!!!

I can't tell you how relieved I am that I have made a habbit of backin' stuff up. I have CDs on CDs of backups. Which I was starting to think was such a waste. Guess who's happy now??

Cheers,
])]V[

Hueij · Sun 25/01/2004 22:49:02

Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Sun 25/01/2004 20:23:41
Guess who's happy now??

Cheers,
])]V[

I have absolutely no idea

Good to hear you made a back-up. This is one of the games I'm looking out for.

Chicky · Sun 25/01/2004 22:56:11

Whoa Darth,

nice one with the backup's, maybe i should backup my work ... nah

lol l8rz

-a chicken

piraatlife4me · Mon 26/01/2004 17:09:38

Phew!
Man! You gotta love those backups! Close call! See what a few CD-RWs saved you...A lot of work...right?
I would be pretty bummed if you had lost everything because I think your game is going to be something else.
Nice one
Daniel
Winebarger

Darth Mandarb · Fri 30/01/2004 21:39:08

The Story ...

You play as JP, an average everyday kind of guy. Your best friend is Cosmo McGillicuddy.

You're just making your way through life when one day it's announced that an asteroid is headed towards Earth and the planet is doomed!! Not knowing what to do you begin to panic! That's when you remember Cosmo telling you once that he's got an old bomb shelter in his basement. You try to call him but you can't reach him. You decide to head over to his place to seek whatever protection his bomb-shelter might offer against an asteroid impact.

Upon arrival to his house you find him not there. You must located the bomb shelter and find your way into it.

But once you do, you find something more suprising than the incoming asteroid!

What will happen? What's the suprise? Will the asteroid destroy the planet? Where is Cosmo?

Find out in The Adventures of JP and Cosmo: A Friend Indeed. Coming Soon!!

Screenshots ...

A.

B.

C.

D.
A - The garage : B - The Upstairs : C - The groundfloor : D - The basement

Features ...
- 15 rooms
- Custom GUIs

- Custom cursors

- Fully animated characters
- Over 200 sprites/objects
- Alternative (hidden) ending
- Time limited play
- Fully interactive environments
- Intuitive/Logical puzzles
- and more?

Characters ...

This is JP and Cosmo

More characters coming soon ...

Game Status ...
Plot/Story: 100%
Graphics/Animations: 95%
Puzzles: 45%
Game Mechanics: 95%
Music/Sound: 0%

I'm going to add some MIDI music and sound effects after all is said an done. I want to get everything else done first before I start messing around with sounds.

Expected Completion Date?
The best answer I can give is 2004. It'll be done when I get it done!

BerserkerTails · Fri 30/01/2004 22:07:54

This is going to rock... SO HARD...

I can't wait to play the game Darth, it looks amazing.

Squinky · Fri 30/01/2004 23:27:17

Looks sweet, cool title...cool art....

Keep it up man...

Dorcan · Sat 31/01/2004 00:00:44

OOoh yes, awesome ! It's so... So cute hehe

These screenshots are full of details, I'm sure it will be a pleasure walking around in this house.

I'm really looking forward for this game (since I tried your gui eh

)

Moox · Sat 31/01/2004 05:17:32

If you need another tester give me a pm

LordHart · Sat 31/01/2004 05:32:21

Do you mind if I cream my pants? :

This is definately one of the games I'm looking forward to, and I just can't wait to see it completed...

Darth Mandarb · Wed 18/02/2004 12:14:26

Well ... the game is completed (I think!) I decided to keep the older character I was using just because the blue shirted fellow was so deeply entrenched in the game (too many animations created and I didn't feel like starting over!)

I'm looking for some Beta Testers before I release it completely to the public. I've played it through so many times I don't know what does and doesn't, might and might not be working!

Soooooo ....

If anybody is still interested in testing for me either PM me or respond to this message and I'll send you a link!

It looks like it's going to be about a 5MB download total.

* Ended up being about 20 rooms (about 16 playable rooms).
* Too many sprites to count
* Lots of animations
* Some cut scenes

Mr Mushrooms · Wed 18/02/2004 12:37:02

I'd be more than happy to give your game the once-over, it's looking very promising so far but I'll tell you whether I think it's ready to be unleashed on the public! I can only receive files from a server or on MSN Messenger however, PM me and let me know how I can get my hands on it!

Mushrooms (1st post!)

piraatlife4me · Wed 18/02/2004 14:22:58

Hey Darth!
I would be more than happy to give your game a test run.
Just Pm me with the link!
Daniel
Winebarger

Squinky · Wed 18/02/2004 15:13:56

I would love to beta for you man, and this time I actaully will do it. I Promise ...

Lauzzy · Wed 18/02/2004 21:46:41

I'd love to Betatest this one, as I've been looking forward to playing it for quite a while!

If you need any more betatesters, please send me a link!

Chicky · Wed 18/02/2004 22:42:30

hey darth,

im on half-term and need somthing to do. can i beta test pweeese

cheers

-nath

Inkoddi · Wed 18/02/2004 22:52:52

And while you're at it, you can put me on the beta tester list aswell.

Kal-El · Wed 18/02/2004 23:56:36

WOW!!! This game look AMAZING!!!!!!

Dorcan · Thu 19/02/2004 00:41:22

You have lot of applicants now, too bad I came home so late tonight. If there's still a place for me, I would love to beta-test your game too.

Darth Mandarb · Thu 19/02/2004 00:47:27

Dorcan - I sent you the link even though you hadn't yet asked! And now you ask! Convenient

I sent out the links (via PM) to those chosen to BETA test!

As soon as I get feed back (and effect any changes requested/required) I'll post up in the Completed Games board.

If you didn't get a PM for beta-testing I'm sorry, I only wanted so many and didn't expect to get so many requests!

I'm putting together a website for the game (including a walk-through). As soon as it's ready I'll post the link in here!

Thanks so much for the interest!

~ d

Dorcan · Thu 19/02/2004 01:00:03

There really should be a sound playing when you get a new PM
In fact it took me about 30 min to post the previous message as I was chatting on MSN at the same time.
Yup, convenient as you say ! Now I'm excited like a little girl

Edit :

Hehe I really enjoyed what I've seen so far, and as I'm stuck now, I think I will go to sleep... it's getting late.

Some bugs & remarks:

Spoiler

We can't skip the generic & the mouse cursor should be hidden

Save & Load buttons doesn't work

You can take the roll of paper by clicking on it with the interact mode, when it should be with the take cursor. Same thing for the whisky and other minor objects.

When the GUI containing the hotspot description pops up, we can't right-click to cycle cursor mode, as the cursor is OVER the GUI.

There are some region problems when walking toward the bathroom at the upper level, which make walls not dissapearing sometimes.

You can take as many empty jar you want from the shelve at the basement

Instead of interacting with the mop bucket when clicking on it, the cursor interact with the shelves

The "Golf Club" description GUI stays until we look at something else. I think you should change the way the description GUI works, making it dissapearing when the mouse cursor moves for exemple

[close]

Darth Mandarb · Thu 19/02/2004 02:32:34

Dorcan - Thanks! I have added all items to my to-do list! Oddly enough I realized some of them awhile ago, but had forgotten because there's so much else involved!

I have created a small, silly little webpage for the game (with 1 new screen shot!)

The Adventures of JP & Cosmo - A Friend Indeed ...

Feel free to check it out!

~ d

Squinky · Thu 19/02/2004 02:35:28

Rock on Darth! I have played and sent you a pm. It's looking really great...

piraatlife4me · Thu 19/02/2004 03:12:09

Exactly what I expected it be.
Absolutely fabulous!
I sent you a pm.
Daniel
Winebarger

Darth Mandarb · Thu 19/02/2004 07:59:07

Thanks to all who have BETA tested so far! I've made LOTS of fixes/changes/etc.

With your help, we're making this game even better!

To those who have DLed the game, there are two MIDI files in the zip file. Those are needed in the game, so make sure you get them unzipped into the right spot (I'm not exactly sure where that is? In the compiled folder I would guess.)

~ d

Inkoddi · Thu 19/02/2004 16:26:39

Geh... I played it just an hour ago... you got a PM

edit-> oops... i forgot to mention: you spelt refrigerator wrong (in the game it's refridgerator)

Darth Mandarb · Thu 19/02/2004 19:18:14

The Adventures of JP & Cosmo - A Friend Indeed ...

I have added (to the main page) a list of all the changes/fixes/bugs that have been reported so far (as a result of the beta-testing) and most have been dealt with!

I've also added a little development page which is the background story on the development of the project. Just in case anybody was interested.

Thanks for all the help so far!

~ d

Nine Toes · Fri 20/02/2004 04:35:32

I'm really looking forward to this one, Darth. Hurry it up!... those eyecandy screenshots are so sweet it's giving me a cavity on my retina!

Nacho · Wed 25/02/2004 00:04:33

I just post this to make JP and Cosmo come back to the top of the threads, cos I've played it and I really loved it!

And to apologize to Jeremy (Darth...) because I am an awful beta tester! I've been playing and I haven't seen all that bugs! I just played and played, sorry Jeremy ^_^

Congratulations Dorcan... It seems you're a great beta tester, thing we must add to the fact that you're a great artist!

Darth Mandarb · Tue 09/03/2004 07:00:17

THE GAME IS RELEASED!!

See the thread in the Completed Games section!!

Thanks to all those who helped me out!

**sniff**

I couldn't have done it without ya!

~ d

JP and Cosmo :: Soon to be released ...

Mr Mushrooms

Lauzzy