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After a lot of hard work I got him to walk sideways also. What do you people think, is it nice enough to look at while playing a game?

I thought you did a great job with the legs. I just put in a bounce and added a bit to the moving arm.

Can a lazy bum use your version in the game? This looks great! Your version is the kind of stuff I see in my head when I start working, but I'm not that crazed about animating, so I end up with what you saw in my earlier post.

Also: thanks for the positive comment! Feels nice to hear that I got something right.

You should add a pixel or two of bounce to his upper body (down when his legs are furthest apart). This should help it look a bit more natural.. and perhaps a bit more movements in the arms (even his left arm should be moving a bit).
Apart from that the animation looks quite solid. You could even keep the walk at that speed if you smoothed it out with a few 'tween' frames.

I'm not much of an animator, so I try to keep things simple, thus the lack of bouncing and 'tween frames. I'll try adding the bounce and see what it ends up looking like. I've got a deadline: the character must be animated by the end of the month! Let's see how this goes...

Didn't wanna bother installing Gimp just to make a gif out of these (long day behind me) so here's a downward walkcycle for my guy.



EDIT: Found a website that makes a gif easily, though the result runs a bit slow. Oh well:

Le whoops on the mirroring thing! Fixed that one.

Probably the last version until I start animating him. What do you people think? I basically just ripped Brentimous' nice looking sprite, made the sprite a few pixels taller and gave the side views a shot (I think they're mediocre at best, but heck!).

Pics are in 2x original size:


-WHAM

[UPDATE 22.02.2011]

We have over 300 downloads for the demo! Thanks to all who tried the demo, and please post more feedback in this thread, telling me if you liked or disliked something in the demo!

The demo is still available! Click image below to download yours!




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UPDATE 22.02.2011

A little status update now:

As I've worked for the last month on a game for the february MAGS, I've noticed first-hand how having poor design documentation makes creating a good game a LOT harder (oh the horror of re-writing the same script ten times because you realize you misused a function and / or variable several times).
For this reason I am putting this project on a (hopefully) short hold, as I'm going to re-write most of the design documents, write a proper script and puzzle design documentation (that I've not had outside of my head so far) and probably re-write most of the existing code for the game, to better implement some of the newfangled tricks I've leadned while working on the MAGS project (There is a Game.DoOnceOnly -script!? WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED!?).

I'm also planning to chop the project into pieces and set actual deadlines for each section, to better motivate myself to keep the project properly going. There is also a chance I will try to hire outside help to create parts of the game with me at some point, to ease off the workload of creating a massive over 100 room game with randomly generated content and action sequences, as well as minigames.

As a result I'm hoping to be able to speed up the process so that the game will have a chance to see a late 2011 or early 2012 release, instead of "Maybe some day when its done I guess" -release date.

Let's get this show on the road, people!

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Some of you might still remember the Infection (the original release thread and still-working download links here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=34490.0). Well, I promised it would not end there, and I like to think I'm a man of my word.

Infection - Episode 2 - The station has been in the works for a good long time now, amassing dozens of pages of text and hundreds of images on my computer, and I thought this to be a good time to start talking about it.

GOAL OF THE PROJECT

The goal of Infection 2 is to create a full length game (over 5 hours of gameplay), with several ways for the player to change the course of the game, affecting the final outcome dramatically. For example, you will be given two separate objectives at one point in the game, and you can only accomplish one of these objectives. Choices and actions have consequences that actually matter.
The game will sport full voice acting (IF I can raise the needed 15 or-so volunteers to do all the character’s voices in the game), an all-original soundtrack by Tony “Ferrara” Caven (who got quite a bit of praise for his creepy ambient soundtrack in Infection 1), and a massive map to explore at your whim.

STORY

The second episode of the Infection trilogy continues from where the first episode ended. Michael Owen, an out-of-luck spaceship mechanic slumbers in hypersleep as the only survivor of the cargo transport ship "Pelican", after a crazed stowaway was accidentally let loose on the corridors of the ship. Unknown to our hero, however, the hypersleep chamber he sleeps in is not quite right, and Mike ends up in a deep coma. And to top it all off, he is not actually the only thing alive on the Pelican.

The second game (as well as the demo) starts with our hero awakening in an ICU room, aboard an unknown space station, alone. It will be up to him to find out where he is, what dangers face him this time and to overcome the obstacles the cruel world has to throw between him and survival of the survivors of the space station. It will take all of his (and the player's) cunning, bravery and outright insanity to survive the odds Mike must face this time. And, as always, everything might not just be what it seems like at first.

WHATS NEW?

In its second episode, the Infection will learn quite a few new tricks, as well as receive greatly improved visuals, which I hope will make it a much more enjoyable experience than the first one was. The game will feature several paths for the player to choose from, quick-time-events that can decide the fates of many more characters than the player's own, a space shuttle you can fly and some strange things called the "True Time System" and the "Stress System" here at WHAMGAMES HQ. You'll see then...

Infection 1 got some gripe because it had action sequences, which required quick reflexes and mastering of a less-than-ideal control scheme. The action is still around, and it will actually play an even more prominent role in the second episode, but the way the action plays out will be smoothened quite a bit by the all-original GUI.

The action will also form dynamically, as well some of the side missions the player can undertake during the course of the game, making the game play out slightly differently each time you play it. You will NEVER know if you are walking into an empty room with free goodies (such as ammo and supplies), or a potential deathtrap full of hiding enemies. You WILL have to fight for your life, you WILL have to run away like a scared little girl and you WILL be eviscerated if you draw attention to yourself in the hostile environments you will have to navigate in order to survive the game.

In the first game, I tried to create an enemy that followed you, gave chase and ambushed you if you didn’t make sure he was knocked out before you entered a room or used an elevator. This time the enemies will work even harder to do the same, and every second you spend in an area will increase the odds, that the sounds of your footsteps, of doors opening and closing, and of gunshots, will attract a lot of unwanted attention. Keep moving, or be tracked down and killed by the murderous AI!

Oh, and I remade the doors so that they actually work now, though now they are not nearly as cool as they used to be in the first game. Oh well…

STATUS of the game

> The combat system WAS nearly done, but I decided to overhaul it a bit later: 50%
> The map skeleton is complete, new rooms are added as backgrounds are finished: 25%
> Main character's animations are around 80% finished
> Other NPC's animations and graphics are about 10% done
> Music seems to be coming along nicely, sounds awesome so far!

(Note: In the images below the main character is represented by a placeholder graphic, which will be replaced with another before the actual demo is released)
Screenshots below:




Here's a new screenshot, with the final character graphic in the demo visible.


And this lovely toilet background, added in December 2010!


EDIT (24.04.2010): Here are two near-final character models I'm currently adding to the game


EDIT (02.02.2011): Long breaks, but there is some progress still. Here's a new finished background for you to enjoy! (Just a link as it's pretty big)
http://www.whamgames.com/images/Forumsht/finalhydroponics.png

Am I the only one who thinks it would be great if the pop-up GUI has a setting for "when active, change cursor to default? -> true/false

The obvious use for it, in my opinion, is to use it as an inventory script and using inventory items themselves as cursor graphics in combination with this = confusion.

I just noticed that the Scripting Tutorial still uses GetGlobalInt, which is probably what is confusing some people into thinking they need to use it. I've now changed the tutorial so it doesn't do that any more.

That and obeying the forum rules. As I searched the forum for tips on how to use global variables, I seem to have forgotten to check the dates on the posts. Trying to use old style script and new style script together results in... well, this!

Thank god I didn't have more than 1000 lines of script. I've now adopted the new global variables and removed all of the GetGlobalInts and SetGlobalInts.

Thanks for the quick answers again, people!

So the only way to get an integer in room 1, alter it there, use it again in another room and then check the new value in the first room is still the global integers.

And when I create a global integer in the global variables menu, instead of giving it an "Initial value" of "0" i give it an index number of "0".

Is this somewhat correct?

[int demostatus;]

Since you're still using the (obsolete by some people's standard) Global Ints, note that they're numbered. So, if demostatus and democomputer are two integer variables having the value, GlobalInt(demostatus) and GlobalInt(democomputer) refer to the same entry.
Make sure you know that GlobalInts take on an integer index.
My bet is that you just declared int demostatus; and int democomputer; for the scripts to compare, which prompted that these two variables were both initialised as zero and thus, GlobalInt(demostatus) and GlobalInt(democomputer) both point to the same entry, GlobalInt(0).

I now see your second post, so I'll elaborate more on this. Here, GlobalInt(blah) refers to a variable entry with index blah. It is NOT the variable blah. A more "modern" way to use global variables is to first do this in the global script:

Code: ags

int blah;
export blah;

and then in the script header:

Code: ags

import int blah;

Then you can access the variable blah directly by doing stuff like blah=4 and if (blah ==3) {... like NsMn mentioned. There is no need to use the lagacy GlobalInt() unless you really need them for some reasons.

So if I do this:

Code: ags

int blah = 0;
export blah;

In the global script and then do this:

Code: ags

import int blah;
blah = 5;

in the script for room 1, it will work just fine and dandy? If I now do the import int blah in room 5 (for example) will it be 1 or 5 in that room (will the value carry from room to room without any further work)

Before I run the script, both global variables: "demostatus" and "democomputer" are zero.
As the script is run, it checks if "demostatus" is 1. If it is, cEgo says that "this is not a good idea at the moment". If it is zero, then the rest of the script runs normally. As it is run, if the "democomputer" global variable is zero, it is set to 1 (via the line: SetGlobalInt(democomputer, 1).

For some reason, when I first run the script, it runs normally, but when I try to run it again later, when the "demostatus" should still be zero, it has changed to 1 and it is done by the line commented in the code to be the cause of the problem.

I cannot understand why.

Below is a code

Code: ags

function oChair_Interact()
{
  
 if (GetGlobalInt(demostatus) == 1) { 
   cEgo.Say("I don't think that's a good idea at the moment");
 } 
 
 if (GetGlobalInt(demostatus) >= 2 || GetGlobalInt(demostatus) == 0) { 
    cEgo.Walk(390, 313, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
    cEgo.FaceLocation(cEgo.x, cEgo.y - 10, eBlock);
    cEgo.Transparency = 100;
    oChair.SetView(CHAIRS, 0, 3);
    oChair.Move(274, 331, 1, eBlock, eAnywhere); // End of animation
    
if (GetGlobalInt(democomputer) >= 2) {
    SetGlobalInt(democomputer, 3);
    cEgo.ChangeRoom(275);
} else if (GetGlobalInt(democomputer) <= 1) {
    oObject7.SetView(MONITORS, 0, 1);
    cEgo.Say("It needs a password!                    ");
    SetGlobalInt(democomputer, 1); // THIS LINE CAUSES THE PROBLEM
    Wait(40);
    oObject7.SetView(MONITORS, 0, 0);
    Wait(15);
    oChair.Move(364, 331, 1, eBlock, eAnywhere);
    oChair.SetView(CHAIRS, 0, 2);
    cEgo.Transparency = 0;
}
}
}

When I execute the script, the global variable "demostatus" is 0. When the script finishes, it has become 1.

WHY!? Is it that I cannot use global variables like this or what?

Shortened him up, tuned the colors a little, and gave his shoulders a nice shave.

Looks quite nice, actually. I'll do a recheck on the colours (again) and try to fit your version to the original scale with minor modification, so it doesn't look too short when compared against a different view I have of the character (wearing a space suit). I'll try to get something done soon, and post up.

Ahahahaha! I spotted this about an hour ago, just looked at the other posts, got an idea and decided to post.
After drawing the pic and writing this, I realized that today is the October 6:th and that I'm two days late already!

Heck! Here is the sprite I made, anyway. I was supposed to write a better story, but seeing as I'm already late, I'll pass. Next time I'll try to be on time. =)



The Jawadouines travel in groups, scavenging the desert for what is left of the many caravans that the ever-shifting sands have swallowed in the centuries. Not much is known of this short and strange men, as they are hardly ever seen by anyone else than the few traders that aquire trinkets and jewels in exchange for water and supplies.

EDIT: Oh! I forgot to mention: I used a pic of a Jawa from star wars as reference, so I guess I also cheated, as the sprite is anything but original! Sorry!

Here's a new version of the front view, god it took long to get it up!
I'll fix the side and rear views' colours and postures to better match this one and then see how they all look.

3x

Main changes:
> Moved the arms around to better match old side views and to get him to look more natural.
> Darkened the robe by a few shades
> Added shading (I'll hate myself for it when I get to making him walk, but oh well...)

Mordalles' walkcycle is really nice, but it has one tiny detail, which I believe might poke the player in the eye if left untouched:
Look at his pants, just above his crotch. When his right hand moves forward, there appears a dark spot on the pants, which then disappears without a trace. Same for the left side.

it might be some kind of shadow of something on his clothes, but I think it looks a bit strange.

Great sprites overall, both the original standing ones and all of the animated attempts, very detailed and nice!

The only surroundings in the game this character is used in, are brightly lit and therefore I saw no reason to have heavy shadows on the character. When I get home from work, I'll try darkening him up a bit and post that version for you to see as well.

EDIT: I also just realized (proving, at the same time, that the artist is blind when his own work is involved) that in the left and right views, compared to front and back views, the left arm is way off and not even close to symmetrical! The front and back views will be corrected ASAP as well.

Oh! And on other note: "Wake me up, before you go-go, Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo!"

Do you have a custom script for the normal mouse clicks?
If so, maybe there's something there that's the problem.

And you could try setting the ActivInventory manually and see what happens.

*Smacks self in the face*

I've set the mouse mode manually every time the player left-clicks (BUT I FORGOT I DID THAT!) to avoid other issues. Thanks for the tip, Mazoliin! Now the only big thing I need to do is rewrite the mouse-click script and this time: COMMENT IT PROPERLY!