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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsAfter the Comet
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deddhogg
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« Reply #80 on: March 10, 2013, 02:02:01 AM »

I think they probably feel fixed to the ground because of the large amounts of air above their heads. Jumping isn't bad per say, as long as it doesn't feel out of place in the levels. I like it though, and if there's going to be character reactions similar to the one in the gif it's brilliant!

Keep wörkin'   Kiss
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Panurge
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« Reply #81 on: March 10, 2013, 02:10:24 AM »

Jumping is a funny mechanism. I guess we just expect it in games. I read a comment the other day saying an fps wasn't realistic because it didn't have a jump option. The word choice seemed odd - I don't know about anyone else but I regularly go weeks without jumping. It just isn't something you need to do much in real life...

So I agree with both points of view - it would definitely spoil the atmosphere for players to bounce everywhere but it also feels kind of natural in a side-scroller and could be fun if I tie it in to the gameplay somehow. I think what I'll try is to add one or two platform areas (there are a couple of locations which lend themselves to this) but at the same time I'll reduce the height to smaller hops and maybe have a few places where jumping is outlawed, just to mess with those itchy fingers!

For example, jump up on the stage here and expect the management to return your ass in a champagne bucket:

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FawfulBeans
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« Reply #82 on: March 10, 2013, 09:11:05 AM »

there's the option of adding a delay to the jump of somekind, so that it's faster to walk places.
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Panurge
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« Reply #83 on: March 10, 2013, 09:23:41 AM »

there's the option of adding a delay to the jump of somekind, so that it's faster to walk places.

Yes, that's a good idea. Perhaps a Prince of Persia style jump which needs a slight build-up beforehand - I think that could fit really well. Thanks!
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cplhasse
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« Reply #84 on: March 10, 2013, 10:12:50 AM »

Those sprites are very expressive for how small they are. Good job!
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DustyDrake
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« Reply #85 on: March 10, 2013, 10:16:43 AM »


Gah! The player goes behind the bartender!
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deddhogg
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« Reply #86 on: March 10, 2013, 10:29:53 AM »

Gah! The player goes behind the bartender!

There, there friend. I'm sure it'll be fine.
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Panurge
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« Reply #87 on: March 10, 2013, 10:52:33 AM »

Those sprites are very expressive for how small they are. Good job!

Thanks!

Gah! The player goes behind the bartender!

Hmmm. Would you believe me if I said the player character is employing a special ability known as a 'Martian torso meld'? Thought not... I'll sort it out straight away - thanks for the spot!
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jO
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« Reply #88 on: March 12, 2013, 12:38:51 AM »



That is the best low-res stripper bar I have ever seen.
One thing that bugs me about it is that the upper part of the screen feels so empty - which gives the whole scene a slightly wrong feeling. Usually those places (I heard from friends  Cool ) are kinda cozy and smaller - have you tried adding something like a roof that hangs really low? I'm thinking thick, long red curtains, maybe a little Twin-Peaks-esque?

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Panurge
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« Reply #89 on: March 12, 2013, 05:42:30 AM »


That is the best low-res stripper bar I have ever seen.
One thing that bugs me about it is that the upper part of the screen feels so empty - which gives the whole scene a slightly wrong feeling. Usually those places (I heard from friends  Cool ) are kinda cozy and smaller - have you tried adding something like a roof that hangs really low? I'm thinking thick, long red curtains, maybe a little Twin-Peaks-esque?


That has been bugging me too and I love your curtain suggestion - I'll definitely try that out. Another alternative might be to double the size of all the sprites? That's something I've been considering doing anyway.

The inspiration for the club comes mostly from this, by the way:



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nikki
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« Reply #90 on: March 12, 2013, 07:15:26 AM »

I wouldn't double the sprites to solve a high ceiling..

I remember beeing in an airport bar once then looking up and thinking :"Huh that's pretty rare for a ceiling to be so high" so unless that bar is at an airport it's not normal -if you care for that- for ceilings to be so high .
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Panurge
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« Reply #91 on: March 12, 2013, 08:31:15 AM »

Yes, I think it certainly does look too high at the moment. I'm going to mock up a few alternative approaches and post them to see which people prefer.
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deddhogg
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« Reply #92 on: March 17, 2013, 05:30:27 AM »

Looking forward to those mock ups.

I really like the look of the game thus far, and it looks brilliant in motion. The vast amount of space above the characters heads is an easy fix though, especially in Game Maker. Keep going! I really want to see this thing finished.
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Panurge
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« Reply #93 on: March 17, 2013, 09:56:56 AM »

Well, the first batch of mock-ups were discarded in a sort of tantrum at my inability to draw a decent set of drapes! I'm going to try again when I have the time, one day this week for certain.

In the meantime, I've been prototyping the conversation system with a little one-screen game, hoping to iron out any fundamental flaws before I try to put it into After the Comet (the whole game really hinges on it working the way I've envisaged but I'm already encountering some unexpected problems). Anyway, if the test game is any good I'll release it here for anyone interested. It looks like this:

« Last Edit: April 05, 2013, 10:51:59 PM by Panurge » Logged

deddhogg
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« Reply #94 on: March 29, 2013, 03:29:32 PM »

This isn't forgotten. Any update?
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Panurge
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« Reply #95 on: March 29, 2013, 11:18:05 PM »

No update yet, but there should soon be a whole glut of them - starting from yesterday, I have two full weeks of clear blue holiday! I'll finish up the writing for a couple of other games I've been collaborating on first, then I'll crack on with this one.

Thanks for keeping me in mind! It's greatly appreciated.
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Panurge
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« Reply #96 on: April 05, 2013, 02:42:14 PM »

Okay, one big update:

I've been working on the game flat out over the past few days and have made a fair bit of progress. The conversation system is all in place and the conversations themselves are mostly mapped out and ready to be put in. They'll be text to start with but ultimately I'd love to be able to have them recorded as I think they work better that way and I like the purity of keeping the screen free from distractions.

To give an idea of how the conversations will work, here's an html5 version of the little test game I knocked up (using some of my old 'art' and dialogue from an abandoned project):



Please forgive the crappy voice acting and rough edges. It's not meant to be a game of any sort but should give some idea of how the conversations will work. In 'After the Comet', however, they will be a little more complex, each one branching heavily and leading to more outcomes than just the three possibilities in the test. Also, npcs will react to more than just the standard responses of yes, no and silence - they can also be shown items from the inventory (eg. your badge, a piece of evidence)and will sometimes respond to certain actions in the environment (drawing your gun or closing a door, for example).

I've also been working a lot on the AI (I use this term pretty loosely!) of your alien partner and I'm making a virtue of his unpredictability by tying it to his character. He's not quite used to human ways and will sometimes misinterpret your intentions - for example, by disintegrating someone you were interrogating. He can never be under your direct control but to help you manage him he can be told to stay in the 'car' or to put his ray-gun on a low setting. If he does the latter, it will only disintegrate the target's clothing, some examples of which are shown below (NSFW links in case anyone might be offended by pixellated junk and square nipples!):


Main Character

Undercover Agent

Quarterback

Senator's Mistress

Martian Warlord

You'll notice that some of them get more upset about it than others. It's never something that you can do intentionally but it's something that your partner might do now and then according to an alien whim, and it can affect the way your investigation proceeds!

Finally, I've been redecorating the club again. It's a lot better than before but I'm still not sure that I'm happy with it. Here's the latest version:



That's all for now. Hopefully another big update next week and then it will likely slow down again for a while once I return to the day job...
« Last Edit: April 05, 2013, 11:54:05 PM by Panurge » Logged

jO
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« Reply #97 on: April 05, 2013, 02:54:49 PM »

That conversation prototype is a thing. I love the scene!
God he moves so slow - is the master supposed to talk to me? All I could do was say yes or no, but he did not reply.
I'm really curious on how you are planning to apply this to the game.

The quarterback cracks me up, perfectly timed.
Also, I think those red curtains add a lot to the nightclub  Gentleman
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Panurge
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« Reply #98 on: April 05, 2013, 10:51:35 PM »

That conversation prototype is a thing. I love the scene!
God he moves so slow - is the master supposed to talk to me? All I could do was say yes or no, but he did not reply.
I'm really curious on how you are planning to apply this to the game.

The quarterback cracks me up, perfectly timed.
Also, I think those red curtains add a lot to the nightclub  Gentleman

The slow movement is intended and is just decorative really - it won't affect anything but it's there to show how the conversations are designed not to interrupt the action but rather to take place while you're still doing other things.

Yes, the master is supposed to talk to you. There is a slight loading time at the beginning so please wait until 'Press Space Bar To Start' pops up and then you should be able to begin. The reason for this is that some of the sounds lagged really badly the first time I tried it in html5 so I had them all preload right at the start.

Having said this, I've just tried it out myself again and it seems there are still quite a few unexpected problems with sounds playing at the wrong time. It works perfectly in Construct 2 so this is a bit irritating... Anyway, it's only a very quick and rough prototype and it should at least give an idea of how the basic conversation system will work. If anything really confusing occurs, please take it as unintended!

 Gentleman I tip my hat right back at you re: red curtains, sir! They were your idea and I think they work perfectly. The old version looks very cold and bare by comparison.
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dukope
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« Reply #99 on: April 06, 2013, 12:04:15 AM »

Nice. I like the idea of your partner being a loose cannon outside your direct control.

Curtains look good but I wonder if you can't also find a meaningful use for that space. Say, with a balcony or window revealing an important goal character/thing that you're trying to reach. Maybe not for this screen, but just as a way to keep the small characters and use the extra vertical space without hanging curtains everywhere or putting a full second platform level up there.

I tried the dialog test in Safari and Chrome (OSX), but it never finished loading the audio to display "Press space...". Works ok in Firefox though. Really, really nice system. Fully voiced dialog contrasts well with the pixel graphics. I played enough to get all three outcomes. Not seeing a visual dialog tree feels very natural and in-the-moment. Nice writing too Smiley
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