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Vapourware Notes about the next DG

zwanzig_zwoelf

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I've been thinking of making them feed off the internal battery of your suit. Something like 20 weak hits / 10 normal hits / 5 strong hits until it depletes and makes you run back to the workshop/waste turns on recharging using whatever batteries you found on the way.
Not saying they will be present in DG2, but I'll take that into consideration -- having a melee option can spice things up a little bit.
 

lightbane

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Of course! What kind of uncultured, uncivilized barbarian would have a giant robot WITHOUT the option of punching someone's face? A Tau player?
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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4kIZ4wr.jpg


While you were wondering about melee weapons, I added landmines that fill the adjacent tiles with acid gas that burns your armor/poison gas that hurts the pilot and takes a while to dissolve.

This can be a useful feature to get rid of weak riff-raff easily, but also a butthurt generator, especially if you step on one/mindlessly shoot one/fail to disarm one.:positive:
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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As means to get the remaining gameplay systems up and running, test the limitations of the current codebase and design methods and gather some feedback, I'm slowly rebuilding the intro area from DG1 in DG2.
This is mostly to demonstrate changes to graphics and gameplay without spoiling the main game -- DG2's game structure doesn't lend itself towards demo versions very well, so let's see how it pans out.

shot_2019-07-28_02-45-11.png
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Finished Phantom 3D, gon come out on August 26, which also means I can spend 100% of my work time on DG2. Although I may come back to P3D and release a map pack or two to become the evul corporate entity among indie devs, it's still refreshing to focus on one project at a time.

The progress has been uneven, as I am getting back on track after a rather fun vacation, but overall it's shaping up pretty well. Redoing the initial area from DG1 ended up being a good idea, since it's small enough to not require a lot of time and assets, while varied enough to check if the basics are done right and the core game is ready for proper DG2 content.

Progress since the last report:
  • Music sequencer is working as expected and supports variable BPM per track. It also allows minor randomization by picking random tracks from the pool of the same type. Can't say the DG1 music is well-suited for that, but it's a fun experiment and DG2 will benefit from it;
  • Basic UI elements are done, menu system, inventory and mapper interfaces are being worked on. There's more work to the UI left as well (e.g. workshop interface), but I believe once the menu basics are implemented, it's going to be a smooth ride;
  • Implemented a basic event scripting system to keep ingame events in separate script files and not 'one massive file with all scripted events thrown in' method that ended up in DG1 and was a nightmare to maintain and deal with;
  • Implemented ingame configuration and remappable controls. Now I need another interface for that...
Same area from DG1, but with more detail and UI stuff. A few things are still missing, but it's already an improvement.

shot_2019-08-22_19-28-52.png


inb4 fate decides that I'll have to remake DG1 ten times before I'm stable enough to make a bigger and more ambitious DG game
 

lightbane

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Soo much blue everywhere... Will the third game be colored green, following this trend?
As for Phantom 3D, I'll buy it since it's cheap enough and it's probably not as bad as the average pretentious/hipster pixel-art non-game that floods Steam's inventories lately.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Will the third game be colored green, following this trend?
Been thinking of black, white + other colors when it comes to details, but it's too early to tell -- I only have gameplay/scenario ideas noted down for potential 'future games'.

As for Phantom 3D, I'll buy it since it's cheap enough and it's probably not as bad as the average pretentious/hipster pixel-art non-game that floods Steam's inventories lately.
I hope you'll enjoy it -- it's a simple action game, but can work as a quick distraction/time killer during lunch/coffee breaks.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Menus work pretty well. Still need to add the rest of of the game functions to them, but they already feel like 'what DG1 should've had in the first place and then some'.
The way they're implemented allows cramming as many options as required for any current situation (while hiding irrelevant options in the process), which should work well with, say, game settings screen.

shot_2019-09-01_07-43-19.png


On the side note, I'll probably not implement a mapper tool in this entry. Despite having a working prototype, it requires more work to bring it to the usable state (and much more work to make it not a complete PITA to use), and with more important tasks at hand (getting the core game finished and getting ready to produce ingame content) and the requirement to meet internal deadlines, its priority is very low right now.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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zwanzig_zwoelf

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Building the dungeon while finishing the rest of the gameplay-related stuff.

Since the built-in mapper didn't make the cut, I decided to add the ability to place navigation markers to mark areas of interest/areas you visited before. They're only visible from the main view so trying to turn them into a self-made quest compass will have a very limited effect. Still, it might come in handy, especially if you're coming back to the game after a while and need a quick hint on where you've already been.

shot_2019-09-29_07-59-59.png
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Due to recent circumstances and slower sales in general I've decided to build a shorter and more streamlined scenario alongside DG2 and release it earler to give you guys a taste of things to come.

Say hello to Der Geisterturm, where you climb a large tower and navigate an interconnected clusterfuck to prove that you deserve another chance at life.

Also, I fixed an issue that bugged me during the entire development cycle of DG1 -- now I can have combat scenarios in non-corridor areas, which allows breaking the monotony of crawling through endless corridors every now and then.

shot_2019-10-05_17-29-41.png
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Encounters are working as expected. Working out AI quirks in open areas and finding a decent encounter rate that doesn't feel too frequent or too rare. The encounter rate also gets a slight bump every time you cause carnage around the level (e.g. destroy a door) to make things more interesting.

Fighting against several enemies at once feels better than I expected. Positioning yourself to avoid taking shots from other enemies, picking the right gun based on resistances/vulnerabilities already feels more interesting than what DG1 could offer.

Also, one ability from DG2 will make it into Der Geisterturm. You can use the booster to take two steps forward at a noticeable energy cost, which might help if you want to run away from someone/quickly catch that Schess and ram it to death/want to flank the enemy.

EHRP3PfW4AA1S_G
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Here's how it looks in action right now. Still need to make enemy graphics and the aiming reticle, but overall it's already playable and kinda fun. Just needs more work™. :positive:

This vid is mostly there to gather some feedback and show progress. Maybe I should make a public demo later down the line.

 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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6 levels of nested menus seem like a teensy weensy little bit of an overkill.
There are enough hotkeys to only go there if you're playing with one hand or checking the whole list of weapons or information on each weapon/fire mode. But I'll think about it, thanks.
 

V_K

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6 levels of nested menus seem like a teensy weensy little bit of an overkill.
There are enough hotkeys to only go there if you're playing with one hand or checking the whole list of weapons or information on each weapon/fire mode. But I'll think about it, thanks.
I almost never use hotkeys, beyond the usual "C" for character screen, "I" for inventory etc., too lazy to memorize them.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Darth Roxor's favorite trap type is back. :^)

EHmMLWPX0AAxcsk


6 levels of nested menus seem like a teensy weensy little bit of an overkill.
There are enough hotkeys to only go there if you're playing with one hand or checking the whole list of weapons or information on each weapon/fire mode. But I'll think about it, thanks.
I almost never use hotkeys, beyond the usual "C" for character screen, "I" for inventory etc., too lazy to memorize them.
Understandable. I'll see what can be done about it -- I also plan to keep the F1 key available at all times so the player can double-check the controls and shortcuts at any moment, just like in DG1.
 

Firesworn

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Not sure if it was intentional or a quirk of the engine but some of the props appear transparent and there's an overlap between them that gives the first game a more ethereal look in some places.

ss_8a2c192299dedb9c1c525a81d88af0f6d78d7bc8.jpg


Those new images suggest simple untextured polygons, without the transparency. I'm not sure what your intention between games was, insofar as rendering or aesthetics are concerned (and there are only 2 screenshots to compare between a handful of the first DG), but that's what I got at first impact. Ghosty/spectal/virtual vs. blocks. My 2 cents.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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Not sure if it was intentional or a quirk of the engine but some of the props appear transparent and there's an overlap between them that gives the first game a more ethereal look in some places.

ss_8a2c192299dedb9c1c525a81d88af0f6d78d7bc8.jpg


Those new images suggest simple untextured polygons, without the transparency. I'm not sure what your intention between games was, insofar as rendering or aesthetics are concerned (and there are only 2 screenshots to compare between a handful of the first DG), but that's what I got at first impact. Ghosty/spectal/virtual vs. blocks. My 2 cents.

The semi-transparent look of certain objects in DG1 was a shader quirk that I decided to keep to keep because it indeed looked 'dream-like'. Apart from that, both games use simple untextured polygons, but Der Geisterturm and DG2 use better fake light effects (gradients instead of one color), improved fake lighting (polygon color is based on the angle of the polygon instead of 3 separate materials with pre-set colors) and a subtle dithering pattern over solid polygons to add some grit to the environment without clashing with the minimal look. I'm still deciding on how enemies will look in this game.

According to my intentions, DG2 and Der Geisterturm are more 'grounded' compared to DG1.
 

lightbane

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*Checks new videos* Suicide option is visible at all times. I see you have the priorities of the player straight. Hopefully it requires a second key press to avoid accidentally killing yourself.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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*Checks new videos* Suicide option is visible at all times. I see you have the priorities of the player straight. Hopefully it requires a second key press to avoid accidentally killing yourself.
Yup, just like in the original. Although you've just given me an idea on how to increase the length of the game... :troll:
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

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zlI4oLb.png


Howdy folks.

The levels are coming along nicely. Once I'm done with the layout for all ingame areas, I'm planning to run a detail pass on all of them.

Apart from a few functions, the rest of the content, the enemy graphics and the main menu, what's already done feels like a complete game that requires a few layers of extra polish.
 

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