Indie Bogarash [Early Access]: RT medieval hack&slash RPG for Windows

[YanBG]

I liked Siege of Avadon a lot, maybe it was part of the ispiration too. Great example of Texas based devs(i'm fan of Age of Empires from ES too).

What do you think about the inventory items with black pixel outline? I looked into changing the lighting setup in Blender to be cartoon/drawn as well. My models/textures are not detailed enough for HD realistic renders so i like more this old-school feel.

The background doesn't fit right now, so i'll update that too.

Without Outline

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I like it. Have to say, the icons themselves look better too.

 

[Ranarama]

I liked Siege of Avadon a lot, maybe it was part of the ispiration too. Great example of Texas based devs(i'm fan of Age of Empires from ES too).

What do you think about the inventory items with black pixel outline? I looked into changing the lighting setup in Blender to be cartoon/drawn as well. My models/textures are not detailed enough for HD realistic renders so i like more this old-school feel.

Seems nice and subtle, I'd recommend against a pure black, especially if you go thicker.

What I really don't like is the shadow on the lines of text on the left panel. I'd also suggest grouping them logically. I assume you've noticed the text going past the window.

This is all the sort of thing you're probably best waiting to fix way later though.

 

[YanBG]

Seems nice and subtle, I'd recommend against a pure black, especially if you go thicker.

What I really don't like is the shadow on the lines of text on the left panel. I'd also suggest grouping them logically. I assume you've noticed the text going past the window.

This is all the sort of thing you're probably best waiting to fix way later though.

I don't plan thicker, it can be even without but still pixely at the edges/border of the images. I render in png with alpha transparency and antialiasing but there is a trick to make edges sharp(without halo or fading into the background).

That player window is the old version and was just for testing. Main stats like strength etc would've been on the left but i decided to use different layout because i might add resistances too and it will get even longer. Also it wasn't pretty enough, this is the new layout so far:

I want to make it like a tree. Six boxes, one for each main stat, then probalby smaller ones inside for the associated stats. On the right is the skills window, these arches might be too roman/greek and not medieval but they look good :D

 

[vazha]

Remembered another game it reminded me of style-wise - Rage of Mages (The Allods)

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

Are you using Gamemaker Studio 2.0 for this?

 

[YanBG]

Remembered another game it reminded me of style-wise - Rage of Mages (The Allods)

I plan to add more features and improve the graphics but thanks! Tbh i haven't played that game and didn't know about it when i was a kid. Too bad East Euro games lack coverage. I'll be contacting publishers as soon as i get something good to show.

Are you using Gamemaker Studio 2.0 for this?

GM 1.4, it got the last update few months back and is no longer supported but i got used to it.

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

Are you using Gamemaker Studio 2.0 for this?

GM 1.4, it got the last update few months back and is no longer supported but i got used to it.[/QUOTE]

I have GM 2.0. Isometric not supported, as such. Is there much support in 1.4?

 

[YanBG]

The room editor is not very good for placing/snapping isometric tiles by hand. But i stopped using it early on, because code-wise it's better to have the data in a 2d grid and then tile the world with isometric offsets.

For hand-crafted levels, you can use Tiled to make the maps and then import them in GM.

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

The room editor is not very good for placing/snapping isometric tiles by hand. But i stopped using it early on, because code-wise it's better to have the data in a 2d grid and then tile the world with isometric offsets.

For hand-crafted levels, you can use Tiled to make the maps and then import them in GM.

Do you mean isometric in Tiled, or just 2D? How do you import to GM?

 

[YanBG]

Yeah iso, i haven't used it but some other devs did.

Spoiler

There is this converter: http://www.gamephase.net/using-files-created-with-tiled-to-binary-converter-in-gamemaker-studio/

 

[YanBG]

I've worked on this cellular automata layout. Can be a cave or more like a pit used for slave/work/prison camp. If it's with open roof, i can even place the guards on the ledges. They can shoot, if you are planning the escape and not working.

 

[vazha]

Umm, not bad, looks like Avernum in some ways. Talk about damning with faint praise :D

 

[YanBG]

damning with faint praise

Hm as sole creator i'd be honored to have something like Arcanum(for starters).

 

[vazha]

Uhm, I said Avernum though.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Uhm, I said Avernum though.

And he'd be honoured to be compared to Alcatraz anyway.

 

[Cosmo]

I've worked on this cellular automata layout. Can be a cave or more like a pit used for slave/work/prison camp. If it's with open roof, i can even place the guards on the ledges. They can shoot, if you are planning the escape and not working.

You'd want to change your ground tiles to something less noisy : for now they distract from the actor and the landscape when they should be the unobtrusive canvas on which those elements can properly stand out.

 

[YanBG]

Uhm, I said Avernum though.

Oh lol, i should step up my game then

And he'd be honoured to be compared to Alcatraz anyway.

Never heard such game!

You'd want to change your ground tiles to something less noisy : for now they distract from the actor and the landscape when they should be the unobtrusive canvas on which those elements can peoperly stand out.

I'm trying different textures for the cave floor. Are the grass and cliff good?

 

[Cosmo]

I'm trying different textures for the cave floor. Are the grass and cliff good?

First things first, I understand that you're not an an artist so my goal is certainly not to sound like an asshole.
That said, if you want my ten cents, i'd say grass is too saturated : you could try and desaturate or change to a color more suitable to an underground landscape (dead of patchy grass, moss, you name it). Plus grass in nature (unless a thick prairy) is never purely green, it always blends with the soil beneath it.
The cliffs are what i like best, but on the models i'd put a texture that echoes the shapes of said model : as of now you've got transversal lines that muddy the visuals rather than reinforcing them.

All in all, the difficulty of tile-based graphics lies in finding a balance between two extremes : too much flatness (your grass is cohesive but suffers also a bit from that), and too many distracting details that create involuntary patterns...

 

[YanBG]

First things first, I understand that you're not an an artist so my goal is certainly not to sound like an asshole.

Don't worry, i want to know!

That said, if you want my ten cents, i'd say grass is too saturated : you could try and desaturate or change to a color more suitable to an underground landscape (dead of patchy grass, moss, you name it). Plus grass in nature (unless a thick prairy) is never purely green, it always blends with the soil beneath it.
The cliffs are what i like best, but on the models i'd put a texture that complements its own shapes : as of now you've got transversal lines that muddy the visuals rather than reinforcing them. And, just like the ground, you'd want to avoid too much "pattern effect" ...

That's the basic grass i use for the surface terrain, but i plan to add small bushes, flowers, dirt/craters is a good idea, just have to play with the fill amount(shouldn't be placed too close). Texture with both grass and mud/soil would probably look less seamless(like the cave floor right now), i'm doing it oldschool 2d without dirt layers...(although i could look into it).
Yeah i noticed that the cliff require more polys.

 

[Cosmo]

That's the basic grass i use for the surface terrain, but i plan to add small bushes, flowers, dirt/craters is a good idea, just have to play with the fill amount(shouldn't be placed too close). Texture with both grass and mud/soil would probably look less seamless(like the cave floor right now), i'm doing it oldschool 2d without dirt layers...(although i could look into it).
Yeah i noticed that the cliff require more polys.

If you're planning on adding details on the grass, then i'd say my first remark applies to that : i find your grass too aggressive on the eye (too saturated), and elements added onto it will have to compete with it for attention. Frankly I'd just make it drabber, or with a color that looks less artificial, no need for dirt layers (but maybe you should ask several people about it).