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[Noogai03]

This looks stupidly good, if for no other reason than it's like Dwarf Fortress but more accessible. It looks like a ridiculously good game, but the impossible controls, ASCII graphics and insane learning curve make it virtually impossible to start without an obsessive urge to make you persevere..

LOTS OF STUPID ADVJECTIVES 

[sublinimal]

Still going smoothly I see, keep it up.

[BleakProspects]

I've been collecting footage for the kickstarter:

EDIT: I MESSED UP

[Kurt]

My favorite part is 1:38 - 2:21.

[BleakProspects]

You're right...uploading a new one, it will be here soon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAPPrH2nhSQ&feature=youtu.be

[SkillageFTW]

This game looks.... B-b-beautiful!!!  Minecraftish, Dwarf Fortressish, and when you bring your own element into it (as every person does when they bring two worlds together) = me wanting to follow this project and see what becomes of it.

Keep up the good work!

[Swaggermuffin]

You're right...uploading a new one, it will be here soon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAPPrH2nhSQ&feature=youtu.be

Who's doing the music? I like what I hear.
Also, the ambient-lighting effects are pretty great.

I love all of this.

[eobet]

The whole first 25 seconds makes the game look like a Minecraft clone. That's quite a long time to either create interest or make someone move on.

Why not throw one of your charming dwarves on the screen immediately?

Also, a minute into the video, you suddenly show world editing without the need for dwarves. So dwarves tunnel, but they don't build? Then a lot of boring menus which are hard to read in a video.

So, in total, for a game called DwarfCorp, the actual thing which is most unique to your game, is only shown for 35 seconds in the middle of the video.

I know the game from this thread and it looks cool, but man... the only people who will pledge are people who like Minecraft and want dwarves in it, but perhaps that is enough?

[BleakProspects]

This is not the kickstarter video, but. Just some footage that's randomly thrown together so I could get the hang of video editing. Stilll trying to decide what I should say/show in the kickstarter. You make a good point.

[Seiseki]

I think the game would look a lot better if you tried to distance it from the minecraft estethics and moved more towards old rpg tileset style.
Even if it's based on blocks, the map generation can make the terrain more sloped and randomize the angles.

Also, the pixel art is wonderful, if you want to set the game apart from other games try to focus more on the pixel art and 2d sprites. Add bushes, more trees, grass, flowers, stones to try and hide the block based terrain but also make the world seem more detailed.

(here's what I mean by old rpg tileset style, but in 3D, Breath of Fire 3)

[zalzane]

if I was doing a promotional video for this game, I'd start by drawing parallels between it and dwarf fortress to catch the viewer's attention. Once it's established to the viewer that the game draws from DF, I'd have it start showcasing all the stuff you cant do in dwarf fortress, ideally stuff people have always wanted in DF but likely will never be implemented. Everything else is just polish.

[eobet]

This is not the kickstarter video, but. Just some footage that's randomly thrown together so I could get the hang of video editing. Stilll trying to decide what I should say/show in the kickstarter. You make a good point.

That's cool. I think, every single second in a Kickstarter video has to be super carefully planned.

Also, I saw dwarves digging a canal in your video. Water physics is cool and all, but I think you have an opportunity here to implement a feature that I believe gained a lot of attention when Minecraft was in its early days, but never really materialized:



Now, if you convert that idea to a water mill instead, dwarves will have a reason to dig those canals.

[Seiseki]

The water mill is a nice idea, I'd love to see more structures and I definitely think you should include some for the kickstarter.
Like guard towers, huts, cabins, taverns etc.
And it would be pretty neat if there were npc buildings in the game world with whom you could gain quests and trade wares.

Yeah, I'm pretty much wishlisting here, but I get the feel you've been spending lots of time on the technical side as opposed to filling the game with content. And you'll definitely want more content for the kickstarter.

[BleakProspects]

You're right about that. Just takes a looong time to make content!

[Plasticware]

Also, to answer someone's question above, Bleak made the music himself. A man of many talents.

...

Hello all, artist here. I haven't really had time to work on this project in a while... kinda shows, huh? At any rate, there are a lot of good suggestions here, but I'm sure no one will mind if I spend a little time replacing placeholders once work on the game starts up again...

[BleakProspects]

Since I keep getting complaints about it looking too much like Minecraft, I've been playing with different smoothing algorithms. Here's a preview (with broken lighting). Basically all I do is average out all the vertices on the top faces of blocks.



Right now I'm trying different variations/levels of smoothing. Unfortunately, this causes a lot of graphical bugs with channels, tunnels, water, lighting, and overhangs. I think the problem will be minimized by only allowing blocks to deform by a "small" amount, and considering how much each block has deformed when determining which faces are visible. What I *dont* want to do is just make generic "ramp" type blocks. I want to keep the smoothing as a graphical effect.

[Netsu]

As long as the dwarf tunnels and rooms are going to be sweet and blocky I will love this.

[BleakProspects]

I think only certain blocks will be smoothed (dirt, sand, snow, grass). So underground, things will still be blocky.

[Ant]

I rather liked how Dungeon Keeper warped underground walls so they appeared less blocky. I'd probably prefer that except in areas where you've built rooms. The outside did look awfully like Minecraft so I like the warping approach, though it seems a tad too much looking at that screenie, though I guess it's hard to make out due to the weird lighting right now.

[Seiseki]

That looks awesome! (ignoring the bugged lighting)
It's like a completely different game now..

Tunnels and such make more sense to be blocky and the contrast between man made and natural terrain will be more apparent, which I think is a good thing.