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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsCrimson Keep - First Person ARPG - Released!
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« Reply #120 on: December 13, 2016, 03:22:33 PM »

Yeah, we're actually planning right now to switch wands over to charges/ammo. So the idea of a sword that's overpowered but has limited use would jive with that!

Excellent! ^_^

I like the wand models posted above. (And I like that they seem to start off with a simple stick!)
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« Reply #121 on: December 13, 2016, 06:43:48 PM »

Thanks, yeah not sure what the order will be with all the weapon tiers, I'm not posting any of these in order of what I think should be the most powerful.

two handed swords:

« Last Edit: December 15, 2016, 05:41:10 PM by CrimsonKeep » Logged

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« Reply #122 on: December 14, 2016, 09:56:00 AM »

Thanks, yeah not sure what the order will be with all the weapon tiers, I'm not posting any of these in order of what I think should be the most powerful.

Heh, I recall you saying as much--but it does nevertheless seem likely that the stick is the weakest of the wands. Tongue

Aah, a serpentine sword--I've long been fond of those, I believe. ^_^
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« Reply #123 on: December 15, 2016, 05:40:18 PM »

Yeah, that twig will be the weakest I think. Squiggly sword yeah, love 'em.

2h maces and we've hit 35 or so weapon graphics (and that's before texture alternates, glowing fx, particles etc), so weapon crunch over for now.

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« Reply #124 on: December 20, 2016, 02:03:07 PM »





Hey everyone, Ian here, artist and game designer on Crimson Keep. Over the last several weeks we've made some good progress, some 'must-have' features have made it into the game, such as pathfinding and perks. And some other new systems have made the game more approachable and less punishing (until I re-balance the game to fix that)



Pathfinding and navmesh generation has been on the to-do list for awhile, I've always been a bit afraid that it would grind the project to a halt with all the possible issues of generating a navmesh at runtime. But it really only took Ben a week or so to get everything hooked up and working. Unity at this time doesn't have built-in support for navmesh generation at runtime (a necessity for randomly generated levels). But I heard they will be supporting it in the near future. With Ben's work, enemies are now able to walk around obstacles, up stairs, to find the player or another target. We'd also like to use this system to facilitate enemies that run away from the player, whether they're being feared or as a special combat tactic.



Another must-have feature that Ben recently implemented are Perks. Every time the player gains enough experience to level up they are faced with a decision, either a new activated ability to pick from, or a Perk, which is a passive upgrade that affects stats or modifies abilities.



These are some examples of perks we have planned for the Berserker class. When the player reaches an xp level that offers perks, 3 perks will be randomly selected out of a pool of 30ish, the player will then choose 1 of the 3 to permanently change their build. Around level 5 or 6 the player will also have a choice between 3 non-random perks which decide the player's subclass. These perks are especially powerful and game-changing, offering abilities like dual wield, or permanent lifesteal.



After seeing players repeatedly angered by dying unexpectedly (and experiencing it myself recently in games like Spacehulk: Deathwing) it occurred to me that could use a system to alert the player to when they are about to die and give them an opportunity to react. So now, when a player reaches 0 hp, blood splashes up on the screen, and they are made invulnerable for several seconds giving them a chance to drink a potion or run away. If the player is at 5% health or lower there is a heartbeat sound and red vignette to make it clear you are close to death. We have some more balancing to do with this, but so far it feels like a good addition to a game that was maybe a little too difficult.

The last big addition over the last several weeks is 30 ish new weapon graphics!! (check the image gallery to see them) These will be given further diversity with re-skins and embellishments like glow textures, but was a good chunk of content that feels good to get out of the way.

That's all for now, thanks for reading, and look forward to a big announcement soon Smiley

Also, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays!

-Ian
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« Reply #125 on: December 21, 2016, 10:00:16 AM »

Those low-health- and death- mechanics seem interesting; intuitively, I like the idea of having a moment to pull my character back from the brink if I act quickly.

I hope that you enjoy the holidays, and whatever you celebrate or observe during this time, if anything. ^_^
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« Reply #126 on: December 21, 2016, 01:11:32 PM »

Thanks, happy holidays to you and everyone reading this as well  Wink
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« Reply #127 on: December 31, 2016, 06:27:16 PM »

I find that a lot of first person rpg games don't offer enough visual feedback when it comes to doing things/using items. So I think I'll be doing this for all items...

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« Reply #128 on: January 02, 2017, 11:44:49 AM »

I like that! ^_^

I do have two points of critique, if I may: I think that to my eye it might be improved if the scroll didn't simply vanish at the end of the animation, and if there was more of a connection between the scroll and the resultant fireball.

Combining the two, a suggestion: perhaps have the scroll disintegrate into flames that then become the fireball.

On a relatively minor note, it feels a little odd to me that the fireball appears to come from the player-character's face--but that does at least make aiming that much easier, I imagine.
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« Reply #129 on: January 03, 2017, 12:32:49 PM »

I like that! ^_^

I do have two points of critique, if I may: I think that to my eye it might be improved if the scroll didn't simply vanish at the end of the animation, and if there was more of a connection between the scroll and the resultant fireball.

Combining the two, a suggestion: perhaps have the scroll disintegrate into flames that then become the fireball.

On a relatively minor note, it feels a little odd to me that the fireball appears to come from the player-character's face--but that does at least make aiming that much easier, I imagine.

Good points. Yeah, I wanted to make the scroll disintegrate in some way, might need to do some shader magic for it, and also have to decide whether we need to make a different effect for each scroll type... Stretch goals Wink
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« Reply #130 on: January 03, 2017, 12:37:35 PM »

I really like the concept of this game!
*following* Beer!
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« Reply #131 on: January 03, 2017, 05:38:52 PM »

Yeah, I wanted to make the scroll disintegrate in some way, might need to do some shader magic for it, and also have to decide whether we need to make a different effect for each scroll type... Stretch goals Wink

Hah, fair enough!

Hmm... It should be fairly straightforward to implement it such that you can start off with a single, universally-applied effect, but later swap in individuated effects if you so desire.
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« Reply #132 on: January 04, 2017, 07:48:47 AM »

Thanks glitch!

Blood decals on enemies!

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« Reply #133 on: January 05, 2017, 12:31:17 PM »



Blood decals on the ground too!!
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« Reply #134 on: January 21, 2017, 06:54:21 PM »

Wow, you guys have accomplished a lot, very fast!

I checked out the video on your website, and one of the earlier dev blog vids in this thread.  Figured I'd give some feedback.

I like roguelikes/lites.  Lots of people like roguelikes.  This had an instant appeal to me, so that's good.

It was super clear what the game is.  I feel like I'd clearly know what I'm getting, if I bought it.  With lots of games, that's not always the case.  You guys have done a good job focusing on and presenting the action roguelike dungeon crawl.  It presents well.

The art is stylin'.  Lots of character.  Good atmosphere.  I dig it.

Procedurally generated levels is a great idea for a game like this.  Provided they have enough variation to actually change up the experience from one run to another.  It seems to me one recipe for success for small indies in today's market is to keep players engaged for a longer period of time.  That helps grow a community, and word of mouth.  So if you can accomplish making the game replayable for a long period of time, that would help with the game's sales I think.

If I were checking out this game on steam, my only reservation (based on some of the earlier videos I watched) would be the combat mechanics.  I'll discuss this in a little more detail than the stuff I liked (which there was lots of), only because critique usually involves a little more explaining.

I did like that there was movement (forward/backward, or circle strafing) to avoid hits.  I didn't like that there wasn't much going on outside of that, as far as I could see.  Particularly when you were fighting a single creature, it seemed like one simple technique (e.g. circle strafe and attack) meant win.  I did see a group of creatures attack you, and things got more interesting as they got more chaotic.  But you ran past them rather than fighting them so I didn't get to see that play out.  

Quickly browsing the rest of this thread, it seems like you may be adding new stuff that would sell me on the combat mechanics.  But I didn't watch all the new dev blogs.  I understand that this is a work in progress (and it looks great!)  Just wanted to give my take, if I were looking at it today to buy it, say in early access or something.

Thanks for sharing.
And for what it's worth, I wouldn't have bothered to post any feedback unless I thought your stuff was really cool.  Which I do!  Smiley

« Last Edit: January 21, 2017, 07:07:31 PM by Jabberwocky » Logged
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« Reply #135 on: January 25, 2017, 05:50:04 PM »

Hey Jabberwocky!!

Thanks a ton for your thoughts on the game as a whole. Combat boils down to the basics like you said, attack and dodge for the most part. We are trying to create different enemy types that will change up exactly how you address them. Some enemies have weak points (A Rock Golem we have resists all melee attacks by 90% unless attacked in its head (which is colored gold)). Enemies like the Skeletal Swordsman quickly counter attack into your face if you attack them from the front. Most enemy attacks can be parried if you initiate an attack at the moment it is about to hit you, which results in different effects depending on the type of weapon you are using to parry (though right now it's just a stun across the board). Some attacks now require certain positioning (The dagger weapon ability is backstab, which requires you to be behind the target for the damage bonus). Plus each class get to choose 3 activated abilities out of a pool of around 20 when they play. So it's been getting progressively more complicated, though the foundation of attack and dodge, is always there.

The next thing we're working on adding is shields/blocking as well as reforming magic staves so they have charges (very strong but limited use).

Thanks again  Screamy Screamy Screamy
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« Reply #136 on: January 25, 2017, 06:51:28 PM »

For sure, parrying and blocking helps a lot.  As do different enemy types with varied behaviour.  

For me, a big part of good action combat (especially melee) is how much I have to respond to my enemy (or enemies) while in combat.  If I have to watch out for their attacks, and react (dodge/block/parry), that's great.  If I have to adjust my own attacks based on the number or type of creatures around me, and what they're doing, that's great too.  The enemy animation and timing has to be just right so that I can anticipate their move, have time to respond (either to attack, move, or defend), but I have to do it quickly.  That's what engages me.

Alternatively, if I can just ignore what the enemy(s) are doing and beat them using the same repeatable tactic to win, that's boring to me.

I like it when each combat scenario, even against the same creature type, has the possibility to play out a little differently.  Against single enemies, they may have a toolbox of moves that they pick from, with a bit of randomization.  Or even just changing up their timing (e.g. the delay between their attacks).  Against crowds, the combat AI can be much simpler, as I don't have time to watch a single enemy closely anyway.  As long as the enemy swarm keeps me focused on moving away from harm, while getting in my own attacks.  And perhaps the occasional "holy crap" moment where I use up one of those magic staff charges.  Wink

I hope you don't mind the wall of text.  Or me chiming in with my general combat design thoughts.  You guys really seem to know what you're doing, so I'm sure it'll all work out great!

« Last Edit: January 25, 2017, 07:02:33 PM by Jabberwocky » Logged
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« Reply #137 on: February 10, 2017, 01:38:21 AM »

Been working on shield graphics and implementation, as well as a new monster!







Note that most of these will have different emblems on the front when you find them in game Wink





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« Reply #138 on: February 10, 2017, 05:03:08 AM »

For sure, parrying and blocking helps a lot.  As do different enemy types with varied behaviour.  

For me, a big part of good action combat (especially melee) is how much I have to respond to my enemy (or enemies) while in combat.  If I have to watch out for their attacks, and react (dodge/block/parry), that's great.  If I have to adjust my own attacks based on the number or type of creatures around me, and what they're doing, that's great too.  The enemy animation and timing has to be just right so that I can anticipate their move, have time to respond (either to attack, move, or defend), but I have to do it quickly.  That's what engages me.

Alternatively, if I can just ignore what the enemy(s) are doing and beat them using the same repeatable tactic to win, that's boring to me.

I like it when each combat scenario, even against the same creature type, has the possibility to play out a little differently.  Against single enemies, they may have a toolbox of moves that they pick from, with a bit of randomization.  Or even just changing up their timing (e.g. the delay between their attacks).  Against crowds, the combat AI can be much simpler, as I don't have time to watch a single enemy closely anyway.  As long as the enemy swarm keeps me focused on moving away from harm, while getting in my own attacks.  And perhaps the occasional "holy crap" moment where I use up one of those magic staff charges.  Wink

I hope you don't mind the wall of text.  Or me chiming in with my general combat design thoughts.  You guys really seem to know what you're doing, so I'm sure it'll all work out great!




All good points. Our enemies have several different attack animations, and each attack can have its speed, damage, knockback, reach, and other stats throttled to make some interesting combinations. Each enemy randomly chooses its next attack, though eventually it might be cool if the combat situation had a little more impact on which they choose. ex. If among fellows, sit back and do a ranged attack as not to bunch up on the target.

Thanks for all the thoughts and wall of text. I love reading input from the community! And I'm definitely not an expert!
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« Reply #139 on: February 10, 2017, 10:39:40 AM »

I really like the new creature--I find it strange and interesting. ^_^

Looking at its attack animations, I'm guessing that it's a mêlée attacker with some sort of burst attack, likely radial--am I correct?
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