Messages

the "Revival of MI project" needs a few more artists to fill in the gaps. (one artist too many quit on account of having too little free time for the project)

background artists (coloring/fixing/improving pre-made sketches) are especially welcome.

sprite artists (walk/talk/... cycles, starting from a character sketch) and detail artists (inventory items) are welcome too.

contact me for more info.

thanks, the Storyteller.

I would certainly like to be included among those beta testers. So be free to PM me.

I'll let you know when the time comes.


For now, we've had a setback.  yet another artist quit on account of having too little spare time for us, which means we're now down to only 1 person who's coloring the pre-made background sketches. (and she hasn't exactly got tons of spare time either)

As a result, things have slowed down immensely.

If anyone feels interested helping out, contact me.

[current status and plans:]

UPDATE:

whoa... forgot about this place for a while.

time for an update:

you're probably wondering: why isn't there a demo yet?

well, the reason is the project got bigger, better and more ambitious.

that and the fact a few of us (me for one) had exams.


current status and plans:

sometime in March/April the first part + full intro (with avi movie bit) will be finished.

We'll then seek out a few select betatesters to give us feedback on it.

We won't release it public after that, though. This is not an episodic game, so that would be pointless.

The testing is only to see if we're on the right track and to correct it early on should it prove necessary.

Then we'll continue with the next part, once that's ready, another round of testing (and a new betatesting group), then the next, etc. upto part 7.

Then finally we'll release the whole thing when it's finished.

So stay tuned, check up on us once in a while, and who knows? Maybe you'll be on time for the betatesting of one of the parts. Maybe not.

Once we're ready I'll let you know when the first round of testing will begin and what kind of people we'll be looking for.

note: if you want this game to be finished sooner, we could still use a hand or 2 with the artwork... see the first post here or the website.

and to conclude, here's an appetizer:



see the website for more.

Hi there. Project looks good - I'm probably being thick but is there a demo? If so where is it?

There WAS a demo once... it featured not-so original graphics (though some were original), and was made for the sole purpose of showing the potential of the project. (aka recruitment)

UPDATE:

Right now the game development is improving and speeding up, with plans for an actual decent design document  :o   
We tried that earlier, but it never really took off... mainly 'cause we were still 'inventing' the project... untill now, that is.

Now the stage is basically set, and concept art, finished (!) art and more are starting to take off, thanks to the welcome addon of two new teammembers.

While I'm (sad to say) not gonna be available for quite some time (exams), the development will continue under the care of Captain Raptor untill I'm back.

as for the new demo, featuring wonderfull and exciting stuff, it won't be finished 'till sometime in february, at least.

That reminds me, I still have to update the first page to current status!

HEY!!!!! (this is ace_monkey btw) you never said you were posting these here

I need to know what others think of these, see what could be improved. I'm not exactly the best background artist around, so I'd really appreciate some input from more experienced artists.

.maybe you should post the complete *spoiler* island (second smallest in the carrabian)

*spoiler* island wasn't drawn by me, and besides, that background is +- a finished piece

a few sketches I've drawn myself (please comment):

(note they're not full size (original size is 1024x480, which wouldn't fit here)

I need help with puzzles and dialog if you would like to help let me know.

Don't know if you still need any help, but I'll give it a shot if you like. I send you a mail (got the adress through the AD Forums)

EDIT:

Flashlight plugin 1.2 works just fine with ags 2.70

Thanks. I'm gonna experiment a bit more with it.

I've been trying something here:

I want to have a dark overlay of my background (pitch-black), with one area (an object or something) which can move over it in any direction, which makes the background under it visible again.

like so:



currently, I have 'solved' this, by creating an object twice the size of the background, with a transparent circle cut out in the center. By moving this object, I get the desired effect.

(this has limitations for the movement of the circle, but by increasing sprite dimensions, file size is also increased)

Unfortunately, this object's sprite takes up about 2 Mb. Is there any way I can get the same effect without having to create such a large sprite?

Hi there.

I'm working on exactly the same problem.

I've managed get some stuff running properly. (you can get the template I made here)

but not everything works quite right.

Check it out, maybe you can use some of the code. If I manage to fix all my problems, I'll update the template.

For the changes (white cursor to red): in the cursor panel: animate only when over hotspot or object (with as animation the red version)

Does nothing for the inventory issue, though.

EDIT:

if (gGui4.Visible == true){
  if (mouse.Mode != eModeUseinv){
      if (InventoryItem.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y) != null)
         mouse.UseModeGraphic(eModeUsermode2);
      else
         mouse.UseDefaultGraphic();
   }
}

(with usermode2 displaying the red version, and gui4 being my inventory)

POSSIBLE BUG: when selecting an inventory item, the cursor will turn into the inventory item's graphics instead of the red cursor

SOLUTION: use usermode2 (usermode1 apparently changes into item graphics)

[enhanced]

enhanced verbcoin gui (formerly know as enhanced CMI template)
get it here

For the latest updates, check here



*outdated*, is replaced by SCUMM VERBCOIN GUI v1.5 (for AGS 3.0), see http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=32745.0

[Aside]

Anyway at the moment I'm still more interested in playing good point and click adventures than writing them. Not that I can draw anyway. An engine is usless without an artist.

Drawing ain't the only thing that's necessary: you need a good story, puzzles, music/sound, scripting, ...

If you can't do all these things yourself, you need to recruit folks, get a team together.

About fangames:

Aside from copyright issues which you would obviously get it you claim you're making THE sequel, most project leaders find out they don't have the time to put into such an undertaking. You need to motivate everyone, be there if they have questions (and in which time zones is your team), make important decisions (though setting up a poll or two just for the team helps with that), and tons of other stuff.

That being said, I just LOVE doing this stuff, 'cause in the end, it can really pay off. If you don't claim you're game as THE sequel, create your own original art (including music 'n stuff) and add a lot of parody stuff in there (which we at RMI are doing, I swear, sometimes I can't stop laughing), promote the original games and respect the copyright holders' wishes (should they make note of you), you're making a much better name for yourself then if you just rip off the old games's graphics, reposition some stuff and call it your own.

short version:[/i] Parodies, original art, don't call it a sequel, get a good team together (if you need help) and prepare to have a lot of work.

Making your own original game of course would be FAR more interesting, since you don't have to give a damn about expectations, copyright issues and other stuff.

(note: I've got plans like that myself for after RMI is finished, got a few half-written stories ready, but that's beside the point)

Not really a criticism, but personally, i wouldnt leave it to an audience to decide on design issues. If you're the designer you should make the decisions yourself, the people who vote may not know what will look good at all from a design point of view. It is after all your game, and it should look how you want it to.

Yeah, good point, but the changes I'm allowing are minor work.

The audience needs to love the main character, so how he looks is quite important...

EDIT: some updates: GB front view 'ready', and a surprise visit... (see my avatar on our forums)

I like the guybrush, the jacket suites well, but id really conider keeping the CMI style of feet, they just suit the style so much better.

EDIT: poll's been updated, check it out, and cast yer vote (or just place a new comment here)

[Latest news:]

please post all further artwork discussions on this game here

Did you ask Paco Vink if you could use his Crackers and Guybrush images on your website?

See the same link.

(short version: no, I made a rookie mistake when building and publishing the website)

Latest news:

In order to prevent further mistakes such as this, everything is now under wraps 'till we're further along with the production. The current working title is no longer Return To Monkey Island (again), but RMI untill further notice.

We want to be able to finish our game, so we're considering major changes (maybe even altering everything and turning it into a new game)

We're currently having a poll about the look of our main character. Have a look.

more artwork is found at this spot

note: the website won't be updated 'till we're further along, artwork is currently going extremely slow 'cause our lead artist got a real life (go figure)

Feel free to post any comments here about anything you see.

[fullscreen]

Yes, a mac version!

Thank you! Now I can convince one of my developers to stick around. (he's working on a mac, so)

ehum, for the testing:

a G4 notebook Mac OSX 10.3.9

I ran part of the game I'm producing (RMI project) resolution 640x480, which uses no plugins (so far), but has a fully customized GUI system.

It ran like a charm in fullscreen, with one exception:

- the rawdrawimage command gives me a crappy screen.

No other problems found so far. You're doing a hell of a job!

[MAJOR]

Well, the feet looks not so small as in MI3 but maybe slightly bigger would be better. If you ask me I think that he should have a different outfit and get rid of the beard. One of the things I didn't like about MI2 was that he has a beard because it doesn't suit him. Maybe if you would remake MI2 you could have that sprite but not in a fansequel.

A slightly bigger version of the boots is already in the make (as that comment has been made more then once), but as for the outfit change and beard removal: It was hard enough to get him into that outfit in the first place, and so far everybody seems to like the new look. If you want further changes, you'll have to convince the majority (here) and either sign up as a developer and remake the +- 120 Guybrush frames yourself or find someone else to do so. (Hey, be my guest!)

And about LeChuck... We already had similar plans... (If you check out the progress status you'll note that the story is the one thing that's developing fastest)

*WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER*

Spoiler

In part 2, Guybrush and LeChuck get both tricked into a voodoo-curse, which binds them together for (almost) the entire game. Part 3 ain't called 'Brotherly Love' for nothing...

[close]

[in enhanced CMI style]

note: we might change his look a bit as to make him look a little less skinny.

I hope that will make him also having bigger feet since Guybrush has redicoulusly small feet in MI3 compaired with the other three games where he had "normal" feet.

We're currently deciding on the new look (do we want him smaller, less skinny, ...)

check out the first post here and tell me if his feet are big enough for you. (he's wearing boots)

and I'll take whatever you think on that into consideration

if you want to have a vote: the poll (it'll be closed after a month)

as for the hidden request:

Spoiler

LeChuck will be in ALL forms he's ever been in (though not switching like in EMI, in enhanced CMI style, with the addition of his human form...
Oh, and he won't be the evil running the show... that's someone else's job. LC's lost most of his powers...

[close]

Storyteller,

Thank you for your reassurance.

Cheers

Sure, no problem.

by the way, I uploaded something new today: our very own redone Guybrush look. You can check it out at the website, or at the screenshots in the first post here.

note: we might change his look a bit as to make him look a little less skinny.