Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length

 
Advanced search

1411279 Posts in 69323 Topics- by 58380 Members - Latest Member: bob1029

March 28, 2024, 02:46:47 PM

Need hosting? Check out Digital Ocean
(more details in this thread)
TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsDungeon Dashers - Fast Paced Turn Based Dungeon Crawling [GREENLIT]
Pages: 1 ... 13 14 [15] 16 17 ... 34
Print
Author Topic: Dungeon Dashers - Fast Paced Turn Based Dungeon Crawling [GREENLIT]  (Read 146233 times)
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #280 on: September 23, 2012, 07:40:35 AM »

I'm really love watching this game progress. Super inspirational stuff here guys!

I'm loving your game so far, it has that great old-school DnD/Warhammer Quest feel. I look forward to playing it in the future! Keep up the good work.
 Toast Left

Thank you! That's very motivating.

@Bandreus Procedurally generate content is definitely worth exploring, and I can see that if it was done well it could be a fun feature. But tweaking it so that it generates interesting and balanced levels would be a task in itself and so that and a map editor are things I'd look into releasing as post-version-one content.

Day 266
I didn't do any development today either as it was the last day of Freeplay. Tomorrow I intend to make levels.

Philip did some more Ancient Egyptian tomb tile modifications and skills HUD layout.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2012, 08:01:08 AM by JigxorAndy » Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #281 on: September 24, 2012, 08:01:31 AM »

Day 267
* Changed skills system so that it is variable for 3 or 4 skills
* Elf now always has shoot arrow skill, it does not have to be chosen in addition
* Skills are now implemented as hotkeys. To use a skill you press its corresponding slot, i.e. 1,2,3 or 4.
* New level - lots of traps and switches and a big battle too. Quite difficult.

I'm pretty happy with what I achieved today. I worked pretty hard and I got a lot done. I started off the day changing around the skills system and how it worked. I scrapped the "current skill" and "change skill" button in favour of simply pressing 1/2/3/4 to use a skill. I also did lots of UI fixes and minor changes. I ran into a few problems implementing some of the new skill UI art so I'll need to modify how that works.

I spent a large part of the day after that working on a new level which should be a lot closer to the levels I've had in mind all along. It's more intricate than what has been showcased before and has many alternate routes to complete it, depending on how you want to do it. It is a bit more difficult but I think it makes it more interesting. It needs more playtesting.

Here is a screenshot with a small section of the level. The Knight also has 3 newly drawn skills by Chris. I think they are spectacular, especially the detail on the arms and hand.


Tomorrow I'd like to make another level and then it should be pretty close to a new build for release.

If you haven't already, please Vote for Dungeon Dashers on Greenlight.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
Frank Lioty
Level 0
*


View Profile
« Reply #282 on: September 24, 2012, 02:06:31 PM »

Quote
The Knight also has 3 newly drawn skills by Chris. I think they are spectacular, especially the detail on the arms and hand.

You are right, they are awesome!
Logged

Francesco Liotta

Fan page: The Wardrobe
Twitter: FrankLioty
Blog: AdventureDev

Currently working on "The Wardrobe"
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #283 on: September 25, 2012, 08:51:01 AM »

Day 268
* Implemented Skill UI
* Fixed bug in new level
* Fixed bugs with blinking onto objects

I play tested the new level that I'd created with two friends today. It seemed too hard, brutal and unfair.

The game overall isn't feeling as fun as I want it to. It's a good game, but it's not GREAT yet. There isn't a lot of stuff that jumps out and makes you really excited or say "wow". Little bit disheartened, but I will press on until it is more fun.

I'm thinking I might recruit some help for the level development so that I can focus on improving the game features itself.

New Skills UI (works for any number of skills):
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #284 on: September 25, 2012, 08:52:35 AM »

Quote
The Knight also has 3 newly drawn skills by Chris. I think they are spectacular, especially the detail on the arms and hand.

You are right, they are awesome!

Chris reads the blog too and I'm sure he appreciates comments like this Smiley (Philip reads it too!)
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #285 on: September 26, 2012, 06:28:01 AM »

Dungeon Dashers Build 271 Is Ready!





Quote from: Alastair John Jack
"game feels 100% somethinger"

Main Changes:
* Loads of bugfixes and polish tweaks
* User Interface Artwork
* Different weapons, armour and equipment with unique stats
* Craftable equipment
* Loads of new skills
* New turn system based on a "speed" attribute
* New levels
* Global Quests System (one quest right now to kill 3 enemies)
* Critical hits (extra damage for attacks in the back)
* Health bars displayed for all enemies and players (Press and hold Tab)

Everyone who has purchased the game so far has access to this in development build.

Steam Greenlight Page: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92990904
Purchase Link: http://www.dungeondashers.com

If anyone has a YouTube account and would like to record a Let's Play or create a trailer of of this new version then I'll send you a free copy of the game to do so.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
Chezzo
Level 0
*


View Profile
« Reply #286 on: September 26, 2012, 02:43:55 PM »

Hey, that's where you are wrong. This game IS fun to play. It's got every turn based action point game on the market beat so far. Steam Marines http://www.steammarines.com/ is much further along in development, but it isn't nearly as fun as Dungeon Dashers. Guts http://www.bigmengames.com/alpha.html shows promise but it doesn't use more than one character, a must for action point tactical roguelikes in my opinion.

I'm not sure why Dungeon Dashers is so good, either. I'm trying to figure that out for my game. Anyone care to guess?

Can't wait to play this build, man!
Logged
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #287 on: September 26, 2012, 05:07:41 PM »

Hey, that's where you are wrong. This game IS fun to play. It's got every turn based action point game on the market beat so far. Steam Marines http://www.steammarines.com/ is much further along in development, but it isn't nearly as fun as Dungeon Dashers. Guts http://www.bigmengames.com/alpha.html shows promise but it doesn't use more than one character, a must for action point tactical roguelikes in my opinion.

I'm not sure why Dungeon Dashers is so good, either. I'm trying to figure that out for my game. Anyone care to guess?

Can't wait to play this build, man!

Thank you for the feedback and kind words. I feel better about the game now that I've released this build. I polished a fair few small things (such as displaying when you don't have enough AP left or no targets in range) which seemed to make a lot of difference. I'm confident about the game and I'm still working on it everyday to make it better and better. It was just a temporary lack in motivation after working on it pretty hard for many days in a row.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #288 on: September 28, 2012, 08:32:06 AM »

Day 272
* Fixed bug which caused game to become unresponsive when gates that were already unlocked attempted to be unlocked (on Splinter level)
* Changed map format (refactoring)
* Fixed bugs in maps where enemies were invisible sometimes (that were from an older map format)
* Added pause screen when you press ESC. Pressing ESC will also cancel a skill (you can still press CTRL to cancel).
* Added gold counter in the corner (temp art)
* Added better global quests system, added new quests for killing different types of enemies (temp art)

Tomorrow I'm doing a Pomodoro jam with some gamedev friends. Hoping to be very productive!



Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #289 on: September 29, 2012, 08:38:02 AM »

Day 273
* Changed quest system to be more dynamic and have smoother transitions for the popup box
* Added a bunch of different quests, most of which require killing monsters
* Added pause menu which is keyboard controlled and also displays current quests
* Tweaked End of Level screen to have one button and have a cleaner UI

I had a few game developer friends over today and we all used the Pomodoro technique to manage our time. It worked fairly well. I use the Pomodoro technique on a daily basis to manage my time and I think it's a great way to work. I had some good conversations with a few other people today on the game's progress and some upcoming issues. One thing I'm looking into is the way skill cooldowns will work. The current build lets the players have pretty much free reign, but future builds will have cooldowns or extra costs associated with using each skill so that you won't be able to spam them as hard to win.

Here's a screenshot of the (WIP/programmer art) pause menu, displaying a couple of the current quests that are in progress:
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #290 on: September 30, 2012, 08:03:24 AM »

Day 274
* Fixed AI bug where they weren't processing tiles that could be shot over properly. This makes the AI seem much smarter (since they work more properly now) and they will do less dancing on the spot and walking aimlessly between tiles.
* Fixed bug with Goblin AI's direction after they fire an arrow (which meant you wouldn't always get a crit when you hit them in the back)
* Removed bad sounds when skills wear off.
* Changed Knight guard skill to end turn
* Designed cooldown systems

Mostly did bugfixing today and looked into some systems for the skills cooldown. I think I will primarily go with a cooldown system that is "turn" based. Meaning that once you cast a powerful spell you have to wait until you gain control for the same hero once again. This will stop the player from being able to spam high damage skills such as nukes. I looked into some other system such as increasing the AP cost every time you use a skill which ticks back down as you do other actions, as well as needing to kill a certain amount of enemies to recharge a skill, but these other systems had too many cons. I can post my analysis of why I think a turn-based skill cooldown is the best if people are interested.

There's a problem with the turn order if you open multiple doors in a row which I need to fix before I can effectively implement cooldowns. Basically, the issue is some characters end up having two turns before other characters get to have their first turn. It's to do with merging the list of new enemies when you open a door with the current list of characters who are active.

Dungeon Dashers is also falling back in the top 100 on Steam Greenlight against all of the other great games on there, so if you haven't voted it up yet, please do so! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92990904
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #291 on: October 01, 2012, 07:16:53 AM »

Day 275
* Fixed turn order problem when opening new doors
* Added AP cost display on each skill
* Added Total AP and Total HP numbers
* Added skill cooldowns based on turns
* Changed AP costs and cooldown times for many skills (WIP tweaking)
* Added teleport shrine which is a single use "checkpoint" that teleports all players to it on use (will replace teleporting to doors)

I went with the turn-based cooldown that I described yesterday. Seems to work well and I'm happy with it. Chris has started drawing portraits for all of the enemies. He did an Orc today and I really like it a lot!

This screenshot shows most of the new features including a skill which is on cooldown (the last skill).



New Orc portrait by Chris (no total HP since it's an older screenshot):



Also: If anyone is interested in developing some levels for Dungeon Dashers in exchange for credit in the game and a couple of free copies, shoot me an email: [email protected]. I want to get more content into this game but I can't develop fast enough by myself.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
Uykered
Guest
« Reply #292 on: October 01, 2012, 02:48:17 PM »

Teleport shrine is a cool idea, much fancier than just a tile you step on.
Logged
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #293 on: October 01, 2012, 06:00:38 PM »

Teleport shrine is a cool idea, much fancier than just a tile you step on.

It was Philip's idea! As we already have the "hex" styled tile for the level exit. I'll take out the door teleporting today and add more shrines.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #294 on: October 02, 2012, 07:23:13 AM »

Day 276
* Added new portraits for Skeleton, Minotaur and Spiders by Chris.
* Added blue lighting effect to shrine fire
* Removed door teleporting

After I removed the teleporting on a door and left it only to the shrines, I found that it does change the game a bit. It means that more shrines need to be placed in order to make up for the instant teleporting on every door, which will eventually clutter a map. It's a hard balance to strike, as the teleporting on every door is great for linear maps, but doesn't work well if the characters are split up and you need to make a strategic decision about their placement. Perhaps the solution is to have a door which teleports you, and a door which does not? That way, a combination of normal doors, teleport doors and shrines could be used in order to achieve the right level of jumping around.

Looking to do this stuff soon:
* chain lightning / heal / more skills
* new enemies - spider web slow attack, witch, etc. (AP Reducing debuffs)
* Proper sound/music/ambient engine
* New sound effects (need to buy some libraries to mix together)
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
Zimonak
Level 0
*


Zimonak Wyros


View Profile
« Reply #295 on: October 02, 2012, 07:51:19 AM »

First of all, i wanted to say how amazing this looks. The graphics, the idea, the updates... everything.

Secondly, your DevLog is my savior. Literally. I have a few projects to finish with a very close deadline and until today I couldn't quite pull myself together. Then I stumbled across this. I skimmed through all this topic, feeling more and more motivated as I read what you have achieved and accomplished every day. Now I'm seriously pumped and ready to finish my stuff.

Just wanted to say-
thank you.

 
Logged
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #296 on: October 02, 2012, 07:57:26 AM »

First of all, i wanted to say how amazing this looks. The graphics, the idea, the updates... everything.

Secondly, your DevLog is my savior. Literally. I have a few projects to finish with a very close deadline and until today I couldn't quite pull myself together. Then I stumbled across this. I skimmed through all this topic, feeling more and more motivated as I read what you have achieved and accomplished every day. Now I'm seriously pumped and ready to finish my stuff.

Just wanted to say-
thank you.

Thank you very much! I'm glad that I was able to motivate you on your own projects, and your comment has motivated me just as much! If you need some more help with knuckling down and getting stuff done, try using the Pomodoro technique. It's something that helped me improve how much I do each day.

Get going and finish your stuff!
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #297 on: October 03, 2012, 09:45:57 AM »

Day 277
* Changed shrines to floor teleport tiles
* Added new portraits for a handful of enemies (created by Chris)
* Fixed bug with lighting around player characters not appearing sometimes
* Added big spiders (oversized monster)
* Added little spiders
* Added fire elemental
* Added scarab



I had a backlog of enemies that Chris had created but I hadn't implemented, so I put them in today. I quite like the big spider, who upon dying, spawns a bunch of little spiders near its body which get to move straight after the current player ends their turn. Other enemy types implemented just have normal boring attacks. I also plan to add some kind of slowing web attack by the big spider.

Not sure what to do with the Fire elemental to make him interesting. Perhaps a burning debuff that damages the player over time.

I decided to change the shrines which teleport the player to floor tiles. Even though the shrines look awesome, there were two reasons for this. One is that the shrines take up a lot of space. They have to be placed frequently, and everywhere they're placed requires a tile, making square rooms smaller. They're also "active" triggers now, whereas a door was more of a passive trigger - you're walking through a door and your party happens to teleport with you, you didn't ask them to. Shrines required thinking about to actively go and use them.

In contrast floor teleport tiles (as displayed in the placeholder art in today's screenshot) are passive. They can be placed just before a door to give a door the same effect it had in previous builds, where opening one teleports your party. However they do not require additional thought from a player. A player doesn't have to consciously go out of their way to activate them like they do with a shrine. Secondly they don't take up any space like a shrine does, and can be placed anywhere.

If you're unsure why I didn't want door teleporting all the time - it's for map layout and strategic reasons. Some levels designs are more interesting if the player is forced to split up their party and take different routes. And there may be times when you want to open a door but don't want everyone to go there, such as deliberately taking two paths to flank an enemy for example.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
Bandreus
Level 3
***


View Profile WWW
« Reply #298 on: October 03, 2012, 10:46:48 AM »

The game is looking good so far!

Definitely try giving each enemy a trick or two, as foes which just walk up to you and swing their blade/whatever hardly make for memorable opponents.

The "trick" might be anything from a special ability, a passive buff (to self or other kinds of monsters), a gimmick, a mechanic, anything interesting really.

The fir elemental, for instance, might leave a trail of fire tiles behind when moving, which harm players (or other non fire-aligned creatures) if stepped upon.

Trolls are naturally gifted with natural regeneration in many fantasy settings.

A Cockatrice/Medusa or similar creature might petrify (stun) any player who directly face her at the end of a turn.

Poisonous creatures (or opponents wielding poisoned weapons) could ofc inflict DoT effects with standard attacks.

You can get incredibly creative with this sort of stuff for very good results.

At times though, you just want plain basic enemies which don't do much. Even at those times, try to give 'hem some character.

Weaker/easier enemies might use to come in big packs, to sort of make up for their individual frailty.

Say, for example, Goblins are coward creatures, they try to overwhelm the player with sheer number, but every time one of their kin is killed they get scared and run away from the players, not even fighting back for a turn or two. BUT, if a Goblin commander is nearby, they are immune to that auto-frightening status.
Logged

JigxorAndy
Level 6
*


Working on Dungeon Dashers


View Profile WWW
« Reply #299 on: October 03, 2012, 07:09:57 PM »

The game is looking good so far!

Definitely try giving each enemy a trick or two, as foes which just walk up to you and swing their blade/whatever hardly make for memorable opponents.

The "trick" might be anything from a special ability, a passive buff (to self or other kinds of monsters), a gimmick, a mechanic, anything interesting really.

The fir elemental, for instance, might leave a trail of fire tiles behind when moving, which harm players (or other non fire-aligned creatures) if stepped upon.

Trolls are naturally gifted with natural regeneration in many fantasy settings.

A Cockatrice/Medusa or similar creature might petrify (stun) any player who directly face her at the end of a turn.

Poisonous creatures (or opponents wielding poisoned weapons) could ofc inflict DoT effects with standard attacks.

You can get incredibly creative with this sort of stuff for very good results.

At times though, you just want plain basic enemies which don't do much. Even at those times, try to give 'hem some character.

Weaker/easier enemies might use to come in big packs, to sort of make up for their individual frailty.

Say, for example, Goblins are coward creatures, they try to overwhelm the player with sheer number, but every time one of their kin is killed they get scared and run away from the players, not even fighting back for a turn or two. BUT, if a Goblin commander is nearby, they are immune to that auto-frightening status.

Thanks!

I do need to vary the enemies' behaviour since there isn't much difference at the moment. Most enemies walk at you and attack, but there are a couple of interesting ones. The spider for example is more interesting now.

I really like your idea for the fire elemental leaving a trail of fire. I may implement that, as it creates a more dynamic battlefield.

Also I just had an idea for an enemy that reflect damage to the player if they melee, so you'd have to take them out with range.

I might spend some time on AI/behaviour today and see how it goes.
Logged

Twitter / Dungeon Dashers: Website / Steam Store
Pages: 1 ... 13 14 [15] 16 17 ... 34
Print
Jump to:  

Theme orange-lt created by panic