Development Info H-World revolves to 0.3.9

Tags: H-World

<A href="http://h-world.simugraph.com/">H-World</a>, that rogue-like engine with isometric graphics, has been updated to <A href="http://h-world.simugraph.com/data/h_world_demo-0_3_9.zip">version 0.3.9</a> - which includes a demo rogue-like entitled <i>The Jungle</i>, as always. As the author puts it, it's slowly getting a game. Here's the changes:
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<blockquote><b>New features
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- "book of memories" keeps track of quests and events (press M to open the book). This feature needs some finetuning, but works quite nicely already.
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- toggleable map grid (press # to toggle)
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- scripteable (stateful) AI: A monster can define Lua scripts to work as AI elements. An example for sleeping/waking up is included. Probaly it needs some finetuning.
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- first magic sound item
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<b>Improvements
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- adjusted gems trading values
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- Lua scripts (e.g. dialogs and usages) can write quest and events into the book of memories
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- containers generate contained items with the magic attribute settings of the level
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- room templates can now define placement of traps and triggers. No examples yet, will be added to documentation, soon.
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- room templates can now define the visual appearance of doors
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<b>Fixed problems
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- potion of blindness description fixed
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- emptying potions should work again, for all potion types
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- gems can only be dropped on socketed items now
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- closing the mini map window doesn't leave a screen area that is redrawn twice</blockquote>
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Get back to work on the <A href="http://h-world.simugraph.com/space/">SPACE GAME</a>, <b>Hajo</b>!
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It's not forgotten. Despite there are no releases, I've updated the module so that it works with recent H-World versions.

Earlier this year, I've been working on the technology/research topic a bit. I've got a nice list of technologies, 8 categories with each 5-8 levels. There is also a list of (alien) gadgets to find and research. I've been discussing the handling of research in the game with a few people. It ought to be more interesting than putting a gadget into an analyzer and a few hours later get all the results. I think we found some nice approaches, e.g. the player can decide to dissamble and probe and the gadget. Different ways of probing may have dangerous effects. Don't try to put a high-energey capacitator under pressure.

But "no risk no fun", you know

I think this part of the games design is ok.

Still a big missing point is space flight and combat. But that shoudl be rather easy because there are so many examples how to do it (or rather how not to do it).


Lately I'm focusing the AI part again. NPCs will get a simple (?) AI that determines what the NPC wants to do today and tries to achive this. This means things like finding a place to sleep, buying food, find a job, go to work etc. Of course the maps must provide locations for that, but I hope the AI will help to fill the locations with life.

A side effect is that smalltalk with a NPC becomes possible to some amount, becuase they do something, need something and know what they are doing. They can remember problems (e.g. no food available, no rooms to rent) and tell the player from their experiences.

Ok, 90% of that is still a dream. What I currently have is an AI that can define needs, and try to achieve them, basically by finding a location thatallows to do so. E.g. being hungry and have money? Look for a restaurant. Found one? Go there and order a meal.

This is primitive, but a PC watching the NPCs will see that they are doing sensible things and maybe think they are kind of intelligent

Don't get me wrong. I know many tried this and usually the results were pretty boring. I might as well run into the same trap. But still I have hope to get it running

Yesterday evening I had the code complete so far that the first NPCs made desicsions (hungry -> look for food) and actually got to the locations to get food. My PC stand nearby and watched them coming and going. It only such a small thing, but It felt like creating a whole new world

Yes, I am enthusiastic about this

Btw, there is an forum for reporting H-World bugs and filing enhncement requests:
http://www.simugraph.com/forum/index.php

It's right below the Simutrans forum.

 

Good luck with the game, looks and sounds cool.

 

Thank you for the good wishes!

Of course I'll try to make a success out of the project, but it'll definitely take some time

 

Sounds like I need to check out the system requirements and download time for H-World and give it a try if I can run it. That's a nice update on the "Space Game" Hajo, and you're right to start small and build up from there with regards to NPCs. When I'm looking for a believable gameworld the 'filler' NPCs (e.g. NPCs not important to gameplay except as window dressing) I'm not going to watching them for hours to see their whole daily life, I just like the impression that the world around my character isn't static. Keep up the good work!

-Reklar
(a Fallout/RPG fan)

 

Hi Reklar,

don't be disapointed. The Space module update wasn't released, and the AI is work in progress, also not part of the current 0.3.9 release. I was talking about my plans, rather than the current release.

H-World/The Jungle 0.3.9 is currently just another dungeon crawl. There are a few nice features in there, but nothing too exciting yet.

Well ... and there are tons of bugs. Yes, in the game and in the code

If you see a silver jelly, run. Run like the wind! They are nasty, sticky, blood hungry and unfortunately they can cause program crashes.

Maybe H-World is the first RPG where you can fight an enemy by putting it into a chest or another secure container

 

Hey, I like the idea of being able to "lock-up" the monsters as an alternative to letting them run all over me when the going gets tough. I don't mind a dungeon crawl too much (I've played through most of Icewind Dale afterall...I wondered if Dragon's Eye would ever end), so long as the setting is interesting and it's not impossibly hard. Mostly I'm just curious what H-World looks and plays like since I haven't played any freeware/shareware type games in years (Warpath was probably my favorite) and sometimes I wonder what I'm missing. (That reminds me, I need to see if Gobias has done any updates to his Zonetripper flash game.) Anyway, it's good to see you're still working on the games, Hajo. If RPGs continue to go down the Diablo/Dungeon Seige path I'll be playing olds games and independently made RPGs in the future.

-Reklar
(a Fallout/RPG fan)

 

GearHead (A freeware game which was announced here a few days ago) is much farther evolved than H-World.

If you like BattleTech or Mechwarrior, or anything that is about fighting with big iron war machines, then GearHead is worth a look.

I've made a few decision to ease and speed up development, e.g. a tiled world, static (non-animated) graphics, 2D display. This puts limitations on the playing experience, but without a group of graphic artists, this seems the only way to get the project started.

This means the small projects must focus on different areas to be competitive. GearHead has a big, semi-randomized, multi-branched background story. It's quite complex and it really sets the project apart from a lot of similar projects.

My late focus on AI is another try to find a niche that has less competitors. I'm not sure if it will succeed, but I have some hope.

 

Hmm, I guess I should check out GearHead then since I really enjoyed MechCommander even though the background and history are unfamiliar to me. I think you've pinpointed the main problem with developing anything nowdays though, and that's lack of time. People are simply too impatient to wait for a quality gaming experience anymore. Sure there should be limitations on how long a developer takes to make a game, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who misses the old days of PC gaming when there was no Internet to download patches and games were complete out of the box. I think the last game I played through that I didn't have to patch was The Longest Journey back in 1999. At least you have the advantage of no marketing department breathing down your neck, Hajo.

-Reklar
(a Fallout/RPG fan)

 

GearHead comes in two variants, one with graphics and one without (ASCII only display). I'm not sure which one is the standard today, it's been a while that I've tried GearHead by myself.

My other project, Simutrans ( http://www.simutrans.de ), was started in 1997. It's still not finished.One of the current problems is, that the used technology is very outdated nowadays.

I think for companies, this is also a reason to develop fairly quickly. They need the technology available when they start, and they need to finish the product before the technology is outdated. There are exceptions of course

Well, you see, I publish unfinished versions. Impatient players, inspired by the previews, wanting to get more, are the biggest drivers you can imagine

 

Yep, fans are the worst critics and the most impatient lot you'll ever meet, but at least you know they appreciate your work.

-Reklar
(a Fallout/RPG fan)