Messages

Tried adding some highlights:




By the way, there are literally black edges on the outside of each square, they're not just there for outlining purposes.

So I was bored the other day and I realized I never have tried to attempt an isometric drawing. There also happened to be a rubix cube lying next to me, so after a short period of time:



Yes, the reflection is a lame idea for a trick.

The only rules of ISO that I've heard is that you must use a 2x1 brush (or is that 1x2?) and keep the right angle for objects.

I originally planned to make one side darker but then I thought that would increase the color count by double (side-nooby question: why does color count even matter? Yes, old systems were limited to less number of colors, but I don't really care about the number of colors in my drawings).

I tried to add details (smudges, the tape falling off [it is on mine]) but they all turned out ugly. I also wasn't sure how to shade the black edges in between colors and sides, so there's probably a better way I could do that.

Crits, comments, paintovers, etc are all appreciated.

The comedic spin-off of the Half-Life series:
Half-Life: Adventures (1992)



13 Colors + Transparency

Reference: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/w/images/thumb/f/f8/300px-Gordon_Freeman.jpg

Yay, I loved the first one and I'm glad to see a sequel.

Comments:
- I don't know if I'm the only one, but I would prefer a better setup of the keys, like in super smash bros, where it's easy to remember what each move does, and you don't have to guess. Right now I just press two punch buttons and randomly tap the arrow keys hoping something good will happen. If you have all those extra moves in the game, why not make it easier to access them?
- It would be nice if the damage indicator went off in a way where I know I got hurt without having to stare upwards. Yes there's blood, but when I jump on the enemy, it doesn't show and I don't know who's getting hurt without looking away from my fighter.

Good job on it.

Thanks for playing and commenting everybody.

Hahah, I love this stuff. I literally laughed out loud alot.

It just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when my name was mentioned.

By the way, you spelled my game wrong. It's "A Cranial Pox."

At the end:

Spoiler

How do you defeat the sorcerer?

[close]

TheJBurger -

Spoiler

You should be able to create a distraction someplace else, even if you don't have the flute.

[close]

Leonard -

What exactly do I need to do?

[Light beams]

I have some technical/artistical questions about certain aspects of drawing, and if anyone has the answers for me, that'd be great.

Lighting:
Light beams - When to, and when not to use them.

I've frequently been experimenting in lighting in a lot of the backgrounds I draw, and particularly with concentrated light sources. Sometimes I use "light beams" that come from an opening to create a dramatic effect, but I really have no idea about the technical aspect of when they really exist, and when to use them.

E.g.
Case 1:
This one was made for the background blitz awhile ago. I'd seen similiar pictures with light beams in a similiar enviroment, so I just copied the idea. I don't know if this really exists in nature though.

Case 2:
This was a sketch I made a little while back. It's supposed to be a run down room on a second story with one window on the side. I originally used a very strong beam of light coming from the window but I toned it down so now you can't tell too much that the beam exists, or if it's just lighting on the walls.

So my question is, when is it ok to use strong light beams? Or should you even use them at all?

Bounce light
So I've been reading about this thing called bounce light that causes the opposite side of an object to illuminate with another color. I guess this would generally be the color of the opposing light source. In outdoor scenes, should there always be a bounce light then? And would this be a blue bounce light?
Most backgrounds in A Tale of Two Kingdoms have blue bounce light on outdoor objects like trees (sorry, I couldn't find a good screenshot at the moment). Is this correct to do from an technical perspective?

General lighting
(Without having any professional knowledge) My guess is to light all objects with a hue of color from the light sources and a lesser hue from the bounce light. Would that always be a brightish yellow white for the front lighting and a blueish bounce light for outdoor scenes?

[should]

I really don't think I'll be going back to my old game. It's too much of a pain to even look at anymore.

That's the case with most old games.  I can't stand looking at my old stuff,  even though people liked them when they were released.  All I see are the flaws.

Well, at least you managed to finish all your old games. 

Well honestly, if you seriously think no one will want to play the game you should wonder why you think that.  Is it just because you don't want to work on it at that point or is there some validity?  Not all games should be made, nor are all games good.  This isn't meant to discourage you but rather to help you put in perspective where these feelings come from.  When I don't want to work on a game it's never about the idea or that people won't like it but rather my frustration with background layouts or just general boredom over having to do everything myself. 

When I made the unconcious choice to abandon my super project, it was because I realized that the game was awful and beyond repair. It would take months and months of work just to salvage the game to a point where I thought it would be playable to my current standards. And even then, there would still be some elements of the game that I couldn't change without totally rebuilding the game. It just wouldn't be worth the time and effort to me. I thought it would be better to take what I've learned and apply it on smaller more managable projects, and that's what I did.

Dave is right in that once you start abandoning projects it becomes easier but I wouldn't say it's any better to complete a game you suddenly realize isn't very good or worth all your effort.  The main reason I switched to Boyd Quest for awhile is because the quirky story and situations make me laugh (I enjoy making funny death animations for instance) so I keep amused by the different things I can make happen.  Silly/funny games remind me that game design can be fun and not just work.

Are you saying once you start abandoning projects it becomes easier to abandon more projects?

You really don't want to know how long I worked on t3h best g4me ever, or how many rooms I actually managed to put in it.

I started AGS with the intention of all fanboys to make the game of my dreams, and I actually didn't quit on it as the years went by. Then came a point where I actually realized that my game was terrible, and I had to revamp it. I did that, and then I learned more, and I tried to revamp it again. That process kept repeating itself over and over. Eventually it got to a point where I told myself, I either am going to keep revamping this game forever, or I'll get to a section that will stay sucky no matter how much I try to save it.

I took a break from that game because I actually wanted to finish a real game, and that happened to be La Croix Pan. So that's my story. I really don't think I'll be going back to my old game. It's too much of a pain to even look at anymore.

Hello again (3rd time). Seems like nobody knows how to answer my question, but I'll ask it one last time anyway.

Spoiler

I'm at the end/staircase/princess bedroom and I DO NOT have the flute. What can I still do to win? I gave the flute away to the pookie.

[close]

I think the developers said there weren't any walking deads that they knew of, and if this is one, I really, really don't wanna go back and replay the game. Somebody please tell me I can still win.

I still haven't beat it (stuck in chapter 8 ), but no one is helping me in the hints & tips thread, or they don't know how.

Spoiler

I'm stuck on the staircase in the castle after defeating the monster in the bedroom. I don't know how to wake the princess up or open the gate. And I don't have the flute, so am I in a walking dead?

[close]

I'd also like to report some more bugs. Apologies if these have already been said:

Spoiler

- When being taken into the castle by the guards after revealing your identity, the walkbehind on the right of the castle wall is incomplete.

- In the later chapters, sometimes the man in the camp tells you the wrong thing when you ask him what to do. I found one cause of this; (CHAPTER 6) if you give back the goblin crown to the goblins, then the man tells you to go back to the forest village and look for something the goblins left.

- When transformed into a rabbit, I proceeded to cross the stone bridge and while there, the fox disappeared from my trail. I went back to the scarecrow and the "Uh oh! A fox!" message popped up again. A fox was nowhere to be seen but it ate me anyway after 5 seconds.

- When going into the goblin camp as a rabbit, the goblins still act is if you were a human by greeting you.

- As a rabbit, going south from the goblin camp turns you into a human before the hill, and then back into a rabbit at the top of the hill.

- Talking to the rope ladder gives the response, "Strangely enough, the  does not respond."

- Talking to the statue on the castle stairs gives the response, "Strangely enough, the  does not respond."

[close]

Still stuck in chapter 8:

Spoiler

I killed the beast by the princess and I've tried to wake her up but I can't. I don't know how to open the gate without getting spot, and people are saying use my flute, but I don't have it with me anymore. Where do I go from here?

[close]

Radiant, can you help me?

Stuck in Chapter 8 or 7, I can't remember.

Spoiler

I'm in the castle at night with my female companion and I've made it through the kitchen and up to the second floor hallway. I don't know what to do here. I've tried pulling the cord, and pushing over the statue on the stairs, but those just get me captured. Help.

And I don't have the flute.

[close]

Stuck in Chapter 8 or 7, I can't remember.

Spoiler

I'm in the castle at night with my female companion and I've made it through the kitchen and up to the second floor hallway. I don't know what to do here. I've tried pulling the cord, and pushing over the statue on the stairs, but those just get me captured. Help.

[close]

Arcaninex:

Spoiler

You're at the right spot. I went around the circle 3 times clockwise, while stepping on the mushrooms the whole time, and it worked for me on the first try.

[close]

Thank you very much.

[really]

Warning: Very long post.

Congratulations on finishing the game. You've really managed to create a King's Quest--Quest For Glory hybrid, and pulled it off very nicely. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that you succeeded in creating a living, breathing world, with characters, animals, a long history, and managed to pull it around a well-told story with very enjoyable open-ended gameplay. I noticed for the first time in a long time that I was having fun just exploring in an adventure game, and just doing random things. When I got stuck, I moved on to another problem; there was always so much to do.

Most of the puzzles seemed very logical, and in different varieties. However one puzzle seemed kind of illogical to me:

Spoiler

I couldn't even find the hole containing the comb, and even if I did find it (without help) why would I be looking for the comb there?

[close]

I just finished the game on a lesser ending and I'm going to try and get a better ending. However, I thought I'd post my comments now.

I have a really long list of critique, comments, and suggestions. Most of these are VERY minor, such as a walkbehind that is off by 5-10 pixels, but I thought I'd list them anyway since it would help perfect the game, even in the tiniest manor.

Please note, the game is amazing and these are all minor details, only offered as constructive criticism.

Here it goes:
(Spoilers below)

Spoiler

- The intro, though necessary to explain the story and set up a premise, felt too long with too much dialogue.

- The autosaves were well implemented and I appreciated them.

- When trying to escape from the castle at the beginning, I found it kind of annoying that when clicking on certain hotspots you would get spotted by the guard instantly. While on the other hand, waiting 5 seconds would not get you spotted.

- In the castle bedroom (when you are a prisoner) the guard  walks in front of the stone wall on the right. The walkbehind is incomplete.

- When you talk to the guard in basement next to the general when sneaking, the general still says the castle guards are not to talk to you.

- Interacting with doors gives messages that you tried to open them while not even walking to them. This isn't a bad design element; it's nice to not have to wait for the character to walk, except it makes no sense especially when you're sneaking around the castle and outside of town.

- At the pier, the ocean stops animating sometimes and it looks awkward.

- The music in the camp abruptly stops (intentionally I presume) and in my opinion, it gets a little irritating.

- Sometimes swimming upwards/downwards will break a walkbehind area in front of a rock. The character will be drawn in front of the rock.

- In the scene with the shipwrecked boat you can walk directly on what appears to be a cliff from the beach. Intentional?

- When controling other characters, they say "You cannot use the INVENTORY ITEM on itself." But I think this should be first person because you have switched characters.

- When going down in the inventory, the UP button appears. But when you go UP again, it stays there even when you can't go up. Clicking UP again will cause the button to disappear.

- After the storm outside the Jeweler's, I could walk up and down the cliff and never fall off.

- I could talk to the cider woman about the girl in robes before I ever even saw the girl.

- When having the druid "touch" the stone, he says a message that is hidden behind the GUI, then he says he cannot use the item on itself.

- When showing the sword to the blacksmith, he says "Seeing the quality of the blade, the blacksmith nods appreciatively." The narrarator should be saying this instead.

- After getting the Dark Lord's help, you can ask for it again and repeat the same conversation to no avail.

- When using items on the mouse (animal), the mouse's name does not exist, for example "There is no need to slash the  with your sword."

- When givng the wool cloak to the goblin (and perhaps other chars?) they say, "I'm sorry sir, but I cannot take back used clothing." This is the tailor's line. Intentional?

- When giving gold to the prisoned tailor, he still acts as if he was in the shop.

[close]

In no way really did any of those detract from the overall experience. I haven't had this much fun in an adventure game in a long time.

Thanks for making it.

[I can't figure out how to get past the goblins in the forest village]

Stuck in chapter 5:

Spoiler

Just finished talking with the fairies and I walked around and did random stuff (saved princess in the woods). I gave the scarecrow the brain, I defeated the giant, I have the obsidian form the dark lord, I have a blue orb from the monastery, I don't have my girdle (have no clue how to get it back), I helped out the apprentice with grass, I stole a snake statue thing from the black tower, and I can't figure out how to get past the goblins in the forest village. Please help.

[close]

So my impression after reading your post and re-reading the manual entry is that custom properties are basically structs for hotspots/objects/characters.

Is this correct?