next »

[Batowski]

@huZba: Very good advice, thank you! It is one of the hardest things I find, to communicate what we think is so cool about our own game. For us it's obviously a given and we tend to think that subtlety such as a logotype with medieval form language mixed with modern integrated circuitry is enough to portray the coolness factor that comes from 'medieval knights in space'. But you're probably right, it's far from enough, so thanks for reinforcing that feeling.

Maybe in your topic, you could write about what you want to communicate with the logo or brand of your game and I could be of help.

[Luxorix]

Looks very intriguing) Good luck!

[Batowski]

Just a quick update before something more serious. This week we've been finalizing some of the Automaton designs.

Automatons are human-built multi-functional machines with the ability to take on different shapes and behaviors depending on the situation. They can be launched from inside the spacecraft and each use requires an automaton resource to be spent. Each type of automaton transforms into it's required form from a default unit during a short activation phase. A player who uses lots of automatons is similar to an arche-typical summoner character often seen in fantasy action RPGs.

So far the Repulse-O-Maton and Mine-O-Maton versions made it into the game.

The Mine-O-Maton takes a short time to activate, than sits in place and scans the area for hostiles. When an enemy enters it's proximity the little fella starts to hunt the target down, sticks to it with its magnetic legs, then overloads it's systems and self destructs dealing substantial amount of damage in a small area.

Mine-O-Matons launching:

Mines destroying an unsuscpecting Marauder Archer in the asteroid field:

The Repulse-O-Maton has a longer activation, after which it projects a defensive dome that repulses projectiles coming from plasma weapons. The player can stand inside the dome and will be protected from all plasma based attacks.

Repulse-O-Maton launching and retreating:

Repulse dome deflecting missiles:

[JobLeonard]

This kind of reminds me of the Ludum Dare Jam game my friends and I made:

http://blindedcyclops.neocities.org/ld34/index.html

... except with decent graphics

... and probably better balancing

... and less floppy nonsense

[Batowski]

This kind of reminds me of the Ludum Dare Jam game my friends and I made:

http://blindedcyclops.neocities.org/ld34/index.html

Hehe, stunning similarities, I hope you won't sue us for plagiarism.

Seriously tho, cool concept. Wanted to try it, but the keys always scroll the browser window around... any tips for that?

[JobLeonard]

I'll just file this under "great minds think alike"

Oh right, we should have added that to the text  

You have to click on the game view so it has focus, then it should capture the key input

[Batowski]

You have to click on the game view so it has focus, then it should capture the key input

Tried that, but to no avail... anyway, will take another look maybe in another browser.

[JobLeonard]

Oh, that is odd. Which browser are you using?

[Batowski]

Oh, that is odd. Which browser are you using?

Chrome, but tried it in Firefox and it was working properly. Gets hectic pretty soon, but fun!

[Batowski]

Hey all!

This week we've implemented the first version of the Starmap into the game. It still has a long way to go, but it's semi-decent looking and most importantly: it works.

Design-wise it follows our usual trend of medieval form-language realized in a futuristic manner. The final plan is that the whole map will scroll under the 'compass' in the middle of the screen while traveling from node-to-node. The little baroque sea map-like illustrations indicate the possible danger or point of interest in the vicinity.

Upon arriving at a new node, a text-based random even occurs in true FTL fashion. There it is decided if it boils down to the action combat phase, or if there is a solution without a fight.




We've also been working on a magical item and it's skill effect: the Pocket Wormhole. When used in combat, it creates a miniature wormhole that teleports the player over a short distance. It can be used to avoid obstacles and projectiles or to close the gap on an escaping enemy.






We've also had the good fortune of being featured on several illustrious blogs and websites, such as:

Destructoid.com
Screenshotdaily.com
Pixelartus.com

Also, Pixel Prospector tweeted about us!

Exciting times to be an indiedev.

[MekaSkull]

The first version of the starmap looks final quality 

How does that wormhole work? Is the distance fixed, or does it move to a hotspot? Would be nice to see the destination before engaging if it's fixed. Also needs an appear animation, with a bit more poof and sparkle :D. Maybe you're already working on that 
In some anime or something, can't remember which, ships would catch light particles on their surface that slowly come off once they exit hyperspace or a wormhole or whatevs. Could be a nice touch for your ships too.

The other game concept I had on my table before I settled on what I do now was a top-down space exploration game like yours. I'm interested in seeing/trying how you made the physics. I had some trouble with making the ships feel heavy enough, but also responsive.

I like everything so far, except for the explosion animation 
Looking forward to updates.

[Batowski]

@huZba: Thank you for your kind words and constructive criticism. I really welcome the latter, because we mostly get 'OMG!!' or 'NO WAI!!4', but nothing much in-between. 

About the wormhole

The wormhole is fixed distance, and my intention it that the players have to keep that in mind to give each tele-jump some tension. 'Will I make it between the rocks or will I bounce back off them? Can I reach the escaping enemy in melee range or will I waste my jump?' Something like that. If the game would telegraph each jump than the skill's execution would be a much colder and calculated action and less exciting in my opinion.

Right now each jump checks if there is enough space to come out of the wormhole at the fixed distance, and if there is not, then the player will appear closer towards the starting position, but as close to the original target as possible. This way if you aim wrong or you execute at the wrong time, you may barely gain any distance with the jump, thus wasting a cooldown and valuable capacity (mana-like regenerating resource) in the process.

That appear effect is a pretty good idea, will surely think about that this week!

About momentum and physics

Ships feeling heavy vs. responsive is a thing to constantly balance for sure. But my original idea was to implement a control system that is based on physics and the player would feel the momentum and inertia of the ship and would have to constantly calculate with that besides aiming and executing skills. Sort of Diablo combined with Asteroids or Lunar Lander. So that's why in my case I don't really fell the need for the player's ship to be that responsive, because being sluggish is part of the challenge.

Also, if balanced well, this momentum-based control system can provide moments of intense fun. When you play a rogue-lite game where every bit of HP is a valuable resource, and you have a sluggish ship on a map full of frantically hurling asteroids coupled with enemies that can charge, disable and knock you back, than you have to be on the edge.

About the explosion effect

That explosion effect has been in the game from the very first prototype, and I just can't get myself to redo it because I'm so pathetic at explosions. Thanks for the push tho, I know I have to get it done sooner than later...

If anyone could provide me with references or examples of an explosion type that would look great in this art style, that would be lovely, cause I'm at a loss at the moment... 

[Interactionman]

It all looks so nice! I really like the combination of medieval and spaceships, don't think I've seen that before. Some of the ships make me think of that TV show Robot Wars, when little axes and whatnot flip out take a swing at something

I wonder about the title though. Fabular? It doesn't conjure up an image of the game at all to me, I'm not sure where that comes from? The sub-title really does - "Once Upon a Spacetime", that seems like it would be a better title IMO.

[Music Vortex]

Looking great, I really like the wormhole idea

[SuperHatchGames]

This has has a lovely had crafted look to it, and it's certainly got an original spin on combat. Looks very promising. It'll be great to see more of the perils you come up against in the adventure. Nice work! 

[Batowski]

@Interactionman: Thanks! That Robot Wars stuff is hilarious. :D Never knew it existed.

About the name Fabular
It comes from the latin word Fabula which means story or folktale. We also use it in Hungarian as an archaic expression for folktale. So for us it's perfectly fine, but I can understand that in some languages it might be strange or meaningless. By the way fabular in English is also the same as fabulous, just seldom used.

Since we have a strong folktale and fairytale vibe going on in the game, we thought that the name wast apt, memorable and somewhat unique (good for a google search:).

About the handcrafted look
@SuperHatchGames: Thanks, handcrafted is a word that comes up a lot during our internal meetings (I hope you meant to write that ). That is both a look that we are going for consciously and the result of our art director being very traditional (old-school, hehe). He is a classically trained artist with mostly pencil on paper skills, and he makes concepts that way for a pixelart game, which might sound strange at first. Even more so when you consider the fact that we are a 3 man team and 1/3 of the team is an art director and world builder. Not your average indie setup. But we hope this way we'll make a non-average indiegame as well, and it will give us an opportunity to shine through...

@Music Vortex: thank you!

[FRACTURES]

Oh god...this looks stunning. 

[MekaSkull]

Again giving advice that I should be listening myself, but anyhow...
About the explosions. They can be a tool to tell a story. Your ships are really small on screen, so the amount of things you can tell becomes limited. The way they function tells something about them as well as the illustrations in menus and such.
The explosions can be treated the same way. If a ship explodes and is ripped to different parts, it can tell about the ship being rigid in some sections and weak in others. The explosion can contain smoke that can tell you about what kind of fuel they use. Maybe there's some kind of reactors or engines that are left behind that cause additional explosions.

As it stands, the current explosion actually takes away from what the ships are by making them feel more 2-dimensional. It reveals the curtains on the sides of the stage and takes you out of the makeshift world you're building, if that makes sense.

I hope that gives some inspiration on how to approach them. I think I got some ideas for myself at least 

I have an explosion reference folder sitting.. somewhere... I'll post samples here if I find it 

[hexdie]

This looks great! I don't ever play space shooters but one thing I've noticed about a lot of them is they tend to look very similar to each other. However, the art and style of the ships definitely seem different enough for it to really stand out. Keep up the good work!

[BeardTopher]

Tasty tasty art and design