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[vitorlanna]

Hmm I'm not too sure on this one. Thinking of screen space, the impression I get is that the largest area of the screen is the one which seems to be occupied by what I assume will be static images of the characters backs? And then the enemy is off to a corner, and the character information really small on bottom left. That's what I get from the screenshot at least.

That window in the top left - I assume it will be used to select other things as well? Maybe if it was on the bottom somehow, it'd free up some space so the top of the screen could be more focused on the enemy.

[Stricle]

Hmm I'm not too sure on this one. Thinking of screen space, the impression I get is that the largest area of the screen is the one which seems to be occupied by what I assume will be static images of the characters backs? And then the enemy is off to a corner, and the character information really small on bottom left. That's what I get from the screenshot at least.

That window in the top left - I assume it will be used to select other things as well? Maybe if it was on the bottom somehow, it'd free up some space so the top of the screen could be more focused on the enemy.

Yeah, what you said is exactly my concern: too little space for the enemy. I tried scaling down the main characters but it didn't look very nice.

But I think you gave me a solution: I'll try to merge the two boxes into one and put it on the bottom.
I hope it works.

Thanks, btw!!

[Stricle]

I made another version, just rearranged some boxes and made the main characters a little transparent (except when you're choosing them).



This one is better, right?

Now I just need to rework the sprites and...

...

Oh! I almost forgot, private party is being developed for one year now! Yay!!

Sadly, I am super behind the original schedule, even though I made the schedule being pessimistic.

At least, I'm still in love with my game and I'm giving my best to make people fall in love with it too.

Thanks everybody for you support and help! Each comment on this devlog gives me an extra strength to keep going!

[breakfastbat]

I still feel like there's problems with this UI. The names are drawn twice which bothers me. It seems like you could develop a UI where you only needed the names to appear once, and use that UI element to select a character to do an action. Look at old party-based games like Breath of Fire or Final Fantasy.

[Stricle]

I still feel like there's problems with this UI. The names are drawn twice which bothers me. It seems like you could develop a UI where you only needed the names to appear once, and use that UI element to select a character to do an action. Look at old party-based games like Breath of Fire or Final Fantasy.

Hmm I haven't thought about that, but it makes sense.
Luckily, it's something super easy to change.
Thanks for the help!

[Stricle]

Just updated the first post.


Yeah... I'll make a cooler image later...


I've been away from the game for some days, but now I'm on my vacations! So, I hope I can finish the battle system before the next month.

[breakfastbat]

I love how different all your characters are! I have to work on doing new things with character design myself.

[Stricle]

Thanks !!
I don't know about you, but for me, doing the characters design is both the funniest and the most time consuming task.

(also, I'm looking forward to see your battle system, or anything about your game)

[breakfastbat]

SORRY >o<

I'm so happy with it but I feel like first impressions are everything and I'd rather not show anything until I have a scene finished and polished. Which I'm aiming for early September for that!

[Stricle]

hahaha, kind of the opposite of what I'm doing.

But yeah, I totally understand your point. Just remember I'm watching you and you game

Cheers!

[breakfastbat]

Someone said something hurtful to me today so I'm doubling down on development. Time to put my best foot forward.

I wish I was more like you, I think you've got the right idea in creating a game. Just do it and then fix things. Can't spend forever fixing things before doing anything like me...

[Stricle]

Personal problems can affect deeply the game development, I know that.
A little advice I can give you is to give yourself a time, if you can. Don't let people put you down, you're a great and sincere person and I'm sure your game will be too!

Back to game design, I try to share everything gameplay-wise, because I kind of have a bad filter for bad decisions. I used to worry a lot about sharing unfinished stuff, but now... I kind of don't care anymore. XD
I'll try to make the game polished, but not perfect (of the sprites I've shown, I'm not completely satisfied with 80% them).

I do this because:
People talking about my game gives me much more motivation;
I'm trying to grab the most attention I can (Kind of failing at this);
You guys usually gives me great feedback;
I fear this game development will take forever;

This is how I do things. I can't say it's right (maybe I'm completely wrong XD). But it might give you some insights.

[breakfastbat]

Well I'm going to try to get to the point over the course of the next month where the foundation of the game is there, and all I have to do is add scenes and dialogue one by one. I think at that point, development will really start to take off since it'll be so much more manageable. Then I'll be able to adopt your sort of approach which is put something out there, test it, and get feedback and hopefully motivation.

I'm looking forward to future builds of your game, hopefully we can be there for each other through our game development struggles lol.  

[Stricle]

Yeah! It feels great when we finish the basic engine. (even though... I didn't actually finished it, since I'm back working on the battle scene and I'll add some things in the dialog. I think I should've planned this more)

My next build will be just about the battle scene. I hope I can finish it this month.

[Stricle]

I'm working on the battle system and jeez, the work never ends.

It's funny that exactly one year ago, I was working on the battle system. I thought I had it 90% done, but it was like only 40%.

Although I'm looking for a pretty simple and ordinary battle system, the codes are quite big. (I'm actually having fun with it)

I basically finished the 3-characters support today.

Now I need to make:

The normal skills.
The dialogues.
The delayed/counter attacks.
The death system. (I'm still not sure how it'll be)

The first two will be pretty easy to make, because they're basically done. However, the last two can consume me quite some time.

I'd post an image of it, but it would look almost the same as the last screenshot.

[DuskedSky]

Wow, I'm in the same EXACT situation. I created an engine (battle system and all) and I was certain I was about 90% finished with the battle system when in actuality I only had about 30% of it done. It's a LOT of work but it definitely can be fun!

Can't wait to see what the finish version of yours looks like.

[breakfastbat]

Feeling like I'm going to be in the same boat lol...

I have a battle system that's more complex than yours I think and I keep putting off coding it <_<

[Stricle]

Wow, I'm in the same EXACT situation. I created an engine (battle system and all) and I was certain I was about 90% finished with the battle system when in actuality I only had about 30% of it done. It's a LOT of work but it definitely can be fun!

Can't wait to see what the finish version of yours looks like.

Good to know I'm the only one. hahaha
It's funny (and a bit sad) that I'm feeling just like last year about the progress of the battle system... Hopefully next year I'll have the DEMO done.

I hope it turn out fun, in spite of its simplicity. Once it's done (or like, 90% done), I'll gladly share it with you guys!

Feeling like I'm going to be in the same boat lol...

I have a battle system that's more complex than yours I think and I keep putting off coding it <_<

I kind of put of the battle system for 10 months hahahaha, I can't say I regret it, but I can't say it was good to my game either. It was kind of neutral... on the bright side, working on the visual assets of my game gave me an extra determination.

[vitorlanna]

Yeah, battle systems are deceptively difficult. Glad it's coming along! Looking foward to playing! =)

About the character sprites, I've noticed that some have black outlines, some have an outline with a single color and another has a colored outline that has different colors according to what is being outlined. Is that a conscious design decision?

[Stricle]

Yeah, battle systems are deceptively difficult. Glad it's coming along! Looking foward to playing! =)

About the character sprites, I've noticed that some have black outlines, some have an outline with a single color and another has a colored outline that has different colors according to what is being outlined. Is that a conscious design decision?

Nope! Glad you bring that up!

I'm definitely getting rid of the black outlines for characters. (probably objects with collision will have them, though)

However, I still haven't figured it out if I'll make the outlines to be a single color or not. My original idea was to make single colored outlines, but some details got really tricky to make (like the beaks).

I think I'll stick with the multi-color outlines. What do you think?