Messages

I'm not sure yet, but ghetto will be only angled one. It just looks much more ghettoish with angled and a bit cartoony way, using blocks won't make it. I drew many version before I ended with the one I have right now.

I'm not following the sketch much, it just shows what is where.

I've been drawing this screen for 3 days straight and this is where I'm currently:



I haven't decided on background yet, but buildings seem to look better against dark background.

Well, that's what I did mean: other buildings look flat.
But will angled ones stick out too much?

I'm afraid I have a problem.

Here...


The upper-rightmost building (ghetto) differs in style I kept with other buildings.

Now I want your opinion:

* Doesn't that matter much?
* Or should I redraw ghetto into boring geometrical style?
* Or even worse - redraw other buildings in same, relaxed style?

(Don't pay attention to sketch below)
You think... what?

* A taxi ride to work (= 15 minutes of more sleep!)
OR
* 2 lunch breaks at work (or one with energy drinks and chocolate)
OR
* 3-BIG-packs-of-Lay's-chips-and-2x2L-Coke-night (plus FREE stomach ache)
OR
* a bottle of nice, strong Estonian vodka
OR
* cellphone credit for a month or two (depends on how much i call out)
OR
* 1/2 of monthly internet payment
OR
* 5 bottles of extremely cheap wine (plus FREE poisoning, puking and blackout)
OR
* 4 months of server payment
OR
* 40 packs of cigarettes (pirates, with russian tax marks)
OR
* 7 packs of legal cigarettes (never buy them)
OR
* 9 litres of gas (though I don't have a car yet)
....huh

Interesting that beta 5 had some weird bug that caused game to crash when testing. Immediately after the game loads, without even starting screen coming up, AGS crashed back to editor and gave a message about engine "shut down improperly" with no clearer text of error.

Tested both with my old game (I made no changes from beta4, and it ran well with that one) and also a default game template, with only room1.crm added (just a random BG) so it could be tested.

When my project crashed, I quite started to panic, since CJ always warns about backing up the game... But then noticed that next version is out, updated - and no problem anymore.

Can't figure out from bugfixes list neither, I don't have anything listed that could cause the crash.

But my guess is that it's something about palette.

Well, nevermind anymore.

"large" "global" changes like adding a sprite or changing the global script (since global script was compiled into the game's main chunk) may require a complete change though.

What about a small recompiler? Like, you distribute fixed resource and small EXE file, which integrates the resource into game? Nowadays, many games have patching utilities, while updating, there's always updated resources AND a little program that applies them? Something like mini-AGS, without user interaction or GUIs, just a compiler. It would be smaller indeed.

I like the resource upgrade idea and I think it would be useful.
Full support here.

Why are we downloading versions of games *just released* again and again? Most of games are released untested (or poorly tested, to be correct), and bugs will be noticed very quickly. But for a 40+ MB game, well... That's a pain to download whole thing again just to prevent some stupid lockup bug in second room.

Bugfixes would be much easier to make this way. Not sure how difficult would it be to implement this, though...

Smaller (by disk size) disks tend to work faster and better. So why so large disk space? It's not like DVD burners weren't invented yet...

As a fearless pirate, we've had all-night-long battles, StarForce and I.

It's quite solid and indestructible piece of copy protection nightmare with only one weakness: CD/DVD drive(s) with IDE cable(s) removed. Then StarForce collapses and lets virtual drive emulation programs run wild. And pirates too.

Games protected with SF have often - if not always - SF injected directly into EXE files, so removing SF drivers is quite pointless - you'll get it back as soon as you play any SF game.

But there's no need to fear StarForce. There's lot simpler ways to get something that opens ports for hackers. Or ruins HDD. And SF won't ruin your hard disk, though, newer versions (SF4+) will ruin emulation programs, like Daemon Tools and Alchohol. Ruin so bad that you can't make them run NOR uninstall them. Never again.

Yes, it acts like a virus. But I'm sure that it's in my machine even now, and won't care much. It doesn't do anything unless irritated.

The NES game by same name rocked hardcore.

Even if it should feel spooky, correct perspective should stay correct:



I'd pick random 3D modelling software (or level editor for some FPS game) and try a bit before drawing first pixels. You get correct porportions and perspective (not to mention neat traceable material! Also, you can always move things around and scale them until you get perfect base for your 2D bg, with correct character scaling, perfect composition of stuff, etc) in only 2-3 minutes! Can't say this about photo tracing...

It doesn't need almost any knowlegde of a 3D modeller to use it as a drawing aid... at maximum, an evening of learning.

* Made some color adjustments:
a) The floor is empty and boring. Why drag players attention to that with so strong and irritating color?
b) The ship felt a bit too bright, and somewhat removing effect from other nice things on the shelves
c) Door blended into floor. Fixed, though could do better job at that

* Drew few shadows on door.
Use more strong shadows, they'll improve everything alot!

* Removed that -errrg!- black-thing from upper left. Even starting edit on this bg without removing it was quite impossible!
Why?
Because sharp, sticking-out things in foreground heavily irritate my nerve system - this thing just waited to stick into my eye. Or so it felt. It's impossible to observe the window-shelf area without >this thing< dragging my eye muscles...

Really dude, remove the bottom-center wires too. And add something less eye/nerve-aggressive. Atleast on foreground.

* What's those gray lines yelling for attention on the ceiling? I'd remove them if I'd knew what are they meant for. You should do it.

Overall, I like the bg. It's feels little and comfortable.
Just be more careful with strong and irritating colors, like red and yellow - and don't overdo noise filter.

I use realalternative and quicktime alternative, hooray for not having to use the slowest loading program ever which is quicktime!

...And let's not forget how nicely Quicktime rapes the system tray & browser. And how useful the Realplayer "message center" is, with nice ads coming up all the time. Unexpected and wrong time. Like when I play a racing game and this sucker pulls me to desktop just when I'm winning...

** cries unstoppably

* Make shadow on house wall stronger: I mean - the pavement gets alot darker in shadow area than the house wall. That looks wrong.

eck... what I just said was - darken the wall with window more.

I never would have dared to give the detective a purple-ish desk myself

You're not getting the point!
See, going for realism is one thing. Drawing a pleasant BG is way another.

With 2D art, realism is somewhat pointless to chase - It would still look 100% more real with photo composition or 3D.
All you can do is try to keep overall style realistic. But because it's simply not enough, you have to seduce the viewer (player, in this case), but leading his attention to more detailed and better-turned-out things. I mean - think more about someone looking at the bg and not the amount of realism or saturation! Make people like the bg.

This means that you - in most cases - must try to draw attention to well-detailed parts and away from large plain areas.

And this - can be done most easily by playing with colors and contrast. Try to add things to room that SHOULD have different colors apart from those you already have. For a mostly bluish or reddish room, a green plant is a welcome relief... You get the idea.

That's why I use lot's of very differently colored and very carefully crafted tiny details - people look at them and like them. And no one would say stuff like that

the outline of your room is very, very basic.

anymore.

it just takes 10% of creativity, 20% of psychology and 70% of work!

But well, you already hit the nail. Now just brighten up rightmost box, separate pot color from plant and get over from fearing contrasty (saturated) tones. A little bright book cover, piece of cloth or a bright blue pencil on the table won't spoil your overall low-saturated bg. It will just lighten some places up. Well, as long as the thing's small enough.

Black outlines for scissors and marker need some tiny pixel work, because they make edges too blocky. Apart from that, nice work.

...To modify feelings of random person(s). It would look like a computer program through my eyes: I would see "love", "care", "hate", etc indicators above everyone's head and modify them at will. Towards other people too.

O that would rock indeed... I would walk to a bank manager, ask for some cash and make him love me enough so he gives everything they've got. And later seduce court so they'll release me. And then walk over to some female movie star, make her totally hate her boyfriend... well. Enough of this.

Looking good!

But you're using too much DARK green in your palettes, it feels a bit too aggressive. I'd go with more blue and yellow tones. And brighter colors.

According to my style...

* Softened some edges by brighter lines
* Removed green from desk and ceiling (try to get ceiling a better color)
* Brightened a bit and increased contrast on rightmost drawers

But there's enough to do yet. Like applying carefully noise to most of plain areas to fake some detail...

And add lots and lots of tiny well-detailed thingies, like phone, pencil box, portraits on wall, lamps, door handle, papers around everywhere...

You can't. Meeting yourself in same room and time will make it all collapse thus you stop to exist. Man, never seen those movies?

So... who volunteers to go back in time and stop Afflict making this confusing thread?

About 2 years after you break up, you're STILL crying, and then all of a sudden, it's like "Hey... wait a minute! I have a LIFE now! Yay!" xD

...assuming that your male friends have forgiven you by that time for dumping THEM while you dated this girl...

Duh!