Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Theseus: Journey to Athens - C&C RPG made in GMS 2

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Update time. Here are some more screenshots from Troezen's overhaul; I've been putting a lot of hours into this game the last few days. It takes a surprisingly large amount of time to get all the variables lined up so that quests activate and events occur in the appropriate manner.

- I received Steam approval and now have an unpublished store page. I assume there's no harm in publishing the page pre-release with the "Coming Soon" listing. I will check to see whether I can offer a pre-release demo there, if so I'll upload a new demo build at some point.

- Dialogue system improved; you no longer have to bump into characters to initiate dialogue. Instead, right-clicking on them will initiate dialogue if you are close enough. I redid the movement system as well, but I still want to revisit it again closer to release. Portraits are now displayed in larger dimensions.

- Every location in Troezen has new graphics. Dialogues have been rewritten. Slide show graphics changed to be consistent.

- Assets are continuing to be developed for the later game content; most recently I implemented the background for the Asklepion and a whole slew of new portrait pictures for the various characters in Epidauros. Spent last night picking out 19th century sketches of Greece to use in every single slide show/CYOA event.

- simple website created: antiquitystudio.com


Click on the pics to make them larger:








EDIT: Here's a bonus portrait/character, Mortmal the Baker:

Mortmal-150x150.png

He lives in Epidauros and has a terrible attitude. He tries to convince Theseus to give up on his quest, and instead settle down and learn how to bake bread and make pies. A Thersites-like character. He comes in handy if you decide to make an offering to Zeus Lykaios.
 
Last edited:

Darth Canoli

Arcane
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
5,687
Location
Perched on a tree
Nice stuff so far, the combat seems to play like in the iceblink engine.

What about character creation and development ? Is it slightly customable ? Highly ?
Didn't see a lot of info in the first message, is there some spells too or something similar ? Skills ? Too soon ?
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Nice stuff so far, the combat seems to play like in the iceblink engine.

What about character creation and development ? Is it slightly customable ? Highly ?
Didn't see a lot of info in the first message, is there some spells too or something similar ? Skills ? Too soon ?

Funny you should mention the Iceblink engine; before starting to learn Gamemaker Studio 2, I was considering making the game in Iceblink.

Anyway, definitely not too soon to discuss specifics. A final demo of the first area will be released the week of December 17, and the full game will be available for purchase the week of January 14. I'll probably release on that Friday, the 18th, because I anticipate work being too busy to do it sooner.

Currently there is no character creation; you can only play as Theseus, and he always starts with the same stats (0 in every attribute) and items (a knife/dagger). Development occurs when you complete quests. Your stats go up, you can receive items and meet new party members, and you might be dramatically changed by a god's blessing or curse. A late game Theseus will have higher stats, special combat abilities and stat boosts from items, and he might have some physical transformation or deformity. He might have some party members accompanying him, who in turn might have their own special abilities (Perigune can heal you, for example). There aren't any XP points and Theseus doesn't level-up. The stat increases are just gradually sprinkled on the player as he completes tasks, and the particular stat is determined by context. If you don't smash Ardalos' instrument and he makes you dance all the way back to Troezen, you get a point of endurance (this quest is in the demo, but the stat increase doesn't occur in that version).

Here is an example of an item-based stat boost in the demo: go retrieve the gold necklace from the jeweller and you will receive a +1 to charisma, which in turn lets you persuade the bandits to leave the outskirts of Troezen. Or you can sacrifice the necklace to Poseidon; the priest will give you an icon, and Poseidon will help you with the bandits. If you somehow get the necklace without handing over the gold, then you can sacrifice the gold to Poseidon and have both the necklace and the icon. That might upset Connidas if he is with you, though (not in the old demo, but essentially he won't just stand by and let you commit crimes).

Here is an example of item-based combat abilities in the demo: go hunting with Connidas and hide when the boars attack. You will get his bow (embarrassingly I didn't include an asset for the bow), and in subsequent combat scenes you can perform a multi-shot ranged attack. I would say it's a vital item if you want to tackle the more difficult combat scenes. Off the top of my head, I have code for multi-shot, healing, a per-turn acid/poison/burn attack, an AoE cone attack, a snake summon, a stun attack, and blessing. The way to enable these spells/abilities is to get the item or relevant party member.




Reading the above, I feel like I should introduce a simple character creation system. What I could do is overhaul the opening scene; rather than have the player click through the first 3 or 4 slides, I could have them answer a couple of questions. Depending on their answers, they could get certain stat boosts, items, or maybe special conversation/quest options. That would be a very easy change, and I reckon it'd be a lot more engaging for the player. I wouldn't need much in the way of new art assets (if any at all), and the code is already there; it means a bit more writing.

Thoughts?
 

Darth Canoli

Arcane
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
5,687
Location
Perched on a tree
Thoughts?

About the character creation, yes, questions are alright if they're clear enough, otherwise, i'd rater pick the stats boost myself.

Otherwise, i don't recall playing any game with that kind of system (no level up and no "experience" to distribute to skills either) except maybe in some game books decades ago.

I hope someone else will have more insights about that and i'll try the demo, at the very least, seems promising.
 

AdolfSatan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
1,871
Thoughts?
Wouldn't it impact the result of those very first quests whose success depends entirely on the choices you've made before approaching them?
If you've planned the game for a character beginning from scratch at 0 points all the way through now, changing its starting stats might snowball into a complete mess.

About the character creation, yes, questions are alright if they're clear enough, otherwise, i'd rater pick the stats boost myself.

Otherwise, i don't recall playing any game with that kind of system (no level up and no "experience" to distribute to skills either) except maybe in some game books decades ago.
You haven't played AoD yet!?
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Thoughts?

About the character creation, yes, questions are alright if they're clear enough, otherwise, i'd rater pick the stats boost myself.

Otherwise, i don't recall playing any game with that kind of system (no level up and no "experience" to distribute to skills either) except maybe in some game books decades ago.

I hope someone else will have more insights about that and i'll try the demo, at the very least, seems promising.

Got it, make the consequences clear. If I do update the intro this way (and I think I will), I'll put a note at the end of each option that says something like "(+1 strength)".

My character system is definitely not the most complex. Comparing it to an old game book is fair, although I think it is also similar to some adventure games like Heroes Quest (QfG) where the player gets stat points that are determined by their repetitive actions or quest choices. In this game there is no skill-grinding, but just like those games if you talk your way out of every difficulty then your speech stat will go up (also makes me think of AoD, although AoD also gave free-spend skill points).

The old demo gives a good sense of what the game is; the fundamentals have not radically changed. The current build has better graphics, a better user interface and movement/dialogue mechanics, and a lot more content; the new demo would just be incorporating all these things (but still terminate once the player leaves Troezen, just like an old unregistered shareware game).


Thoughts?
Wouldn't it impact the result of those very first quests whose success depends entirely on the choices you've made before approaching them?
If you've planned the game for a character beginning from scratch at 0 points all the way through now, changing its starting stats might snowball into a complete mess.

About the character creation, yes, questions are alright if they're clear enough, otherwise, i'd rater pick the stats boost myself.

Otherwise, i don't recall playing any game with that kind of system (no level up and no "experience" to distribute to skills either) except maybe in some game books decades ago.
You haven't played AoD yet!?

It could, that's definitely something to watch out for. The honest reality is that the encounters/quests are not well balanced yet. In my current build, I have coded a cheat key that buffs all your stats and teleports you. It helps me run through the game when I'm play testing. When I forget to use it, I usually die doing something stupid like stepping on one of Sinis' snares.

AoD is a huge inspiration for this game, but it has free-spend skill points. It is sort of a split system; part of the skill increases are contextual (like my game), but then you get free-spend points that you can distribute to any skill you wanted regardless of your actual in-game behaviour.

I would definitely like to make a game with the combat and character development of AoD or Geneforge. Something for my next project, I hope; after I finish up this title, I have to start learning Articy and Unity.
 

Nutria

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
2,252
Location
한양
Strap Yourselves In
I think the people who will be into this game will be more into it for the historical side of it more than the RPG side, so they'll be a lot more willing to accept a pre-defined character. It's not like you're making a game about random John Doe in ancient Greece. At least that's how I feel personally.
 

Darth Canoli

Arcane
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
5,687
Location
Perched on a tree
You haven't played AoD yet!?

I tried once, spent 15 minutes trying to figure out where my character had disappear after moving the view out of focus to search my next goal, couldn't find either, uninstalled it.
Camera views are quite "original" ...

Well, i reinstalled it recently and thought it'd be smart to install mods, after downloading and dropping files, i realized i had to unpack some files to add some mods and then repack them.

First time i come across this "patching" method, so it seems the modders minds are as tortuous as the devs ...

Well, third time lucky, i guess ... rather i hope :P

I think the people who will be into this game will be more into it for the historical side of it more than the RPG side, so they'll be a lot more willing to accept a pre-defined character.

I don't know about that, of course, some people here are equipped with blinders when it comes to full party creation but not everyone is.
I like both systems, as long as it's well done, if you get an interesting background for your character and a good story, the trade is worth it (as long as a minority of games use that system )

My character system is definitely not the most complex. Comparing it to an old game book is fair

To be fair, i played a lot of different game books series, not in english so it's difficult to give some names outside of the obvious translations : dark eye, lone wolf, and many more.
A party based one (4 characters) as well, which was my favorite with mages being able to memorize spells to cast them faster, boom, dark bolt !
Some of those had a very interesting system.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Lots of new assets being implemented, here's a sneak peek at the new main menu:





You haven't played AoD yet!?
I tried once, spent 15 minutes trying to figure out where my character had disappear after moving the view out of focus to search my next goal, couldn't find either, uninstalled it.
Camera views are quite "original" ...

Well, i reinstalled it recently and thought it'd be smart to install mods, after downloading and dropping files, i realized i had to unpack some files to add some mods and then repack them.

First time i come across this "patching" method, so it seems the modders minds are as tortuous as the devs ...

Well, third time lucky, i guess ... rather i hope:P

AoD is one of the best RPGs of all time, so hopefully it works out. You probably figured it out, but the camera view-point can be changed using the mouse until you find a position that works for you. No need for mods, by the way (at least, I never used them and am not actually aware of any note-worthy ones; am I missing something big?).

If you don't like it or can't get it to work properly... well, maybe check out some other top RPG titles like Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome.
 
Last edited:

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Teudogar ?
Didn't find it on gog nor steam nor any abandonware website.
Even the official website seems down.

Any idea where i could find it ?

Hmm, this is unfortunate. It appears his websites have all gone down, and Teudogar is no longer available at any of the sites I found after a quick peek at google. I swear it was all there earlier this year.

I guess... maybe someone will hopefully upload it somewhere, or else perhaps there's a shareware/file sharing site that might have a live link to it. It's a real shame, it was a good Ultima 7 clone with a strong and interesting theme.
 

Darth Canoli

Arcane
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
5,687
Location
Perched on a tree
There is some shareware website but they offer an exe file and ask for 15 euros to unlock the full version, first, i don't trust them to give me a clean file and then, i'm not going to pay anyone but the original dev team for a game.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
There is some shareware website but they offer an exe file and ask for 15 euros to unlock the full version, first, i don't trust them to give me a clean file and then, i'm not going to pay anyone but the original dev team for a game.

15 dollars is the original price for the game (according to my years old email receipt), but yeah no idea who would get the money from some random site.

Didn't the creator post here a few months ago?

Maybe; I thought it was years since his last post, and his forum here is basically dead and just located in the archive section.
 
Last edited:

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I reinstalled OBS Studio and OpenShot today (never got around to it after I got my computer repaired). It was a struggle to get it all working properly, but afterwards I took the time to practice with the new versions and made a quick video.

Check it out, it has new graphic and audio assets. A couple of the locations are in Epidauros so they won't be in the demo. The music is an original composition.

 

J_C

One Bit Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Just wanted to chime in and send you a big Brofist, fellow GMS 2 user. The game looks better and better, definitely will keep my eye on it. :)
:bro:
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Just wanted to chime in and send you a big Brofist, fellow GMS 2 user. The game looks better and better, definitely will keep my eye on it. :)
:bro:

Thanks, hopefully I will get a developer tag once this thing is out the door. Did you move onto Unity or anything else after making A Long Road Home? I'm assuming it wasn't made in RPG Maker, although it has that style.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Just wanted to chime in and send you a big Brofist, fellow GMS 2 user. The game looks better and better, definitely will keep my eye on it. :)
:bro:

Thanks, hopefully I will get a developer tag once this thing is out the door. Did you move onto Unity or anything else after making A Long Road Home? I'm assuming it wasn't made in RPG Maker, although it has that style.
Actually A Long Road Home was made in RPG Maker. Now I'm working with GMS2 as well, working on my next project for a while now. I'm loving the engine, and I don't think I will switch to another one as long as I'm doing 2D games.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Just wanted to chime in and send you a big Brofist, fellow GMS 2 user. The game looks better and better, definitely will keep my eye on it. :)
:bro:

Thanks, hopefully I will get a developer tag once this thing is out the door. Did you move onto Unity or anything else after making A Long Road Home? I'm assuming it wasn't made in RPG Maker, although it has that style.
Actually A Long Road Home was made in RPG Maker. Now I'm working with GMS2 as well, working on my next project for a while now. I'm loving the engine, and I don't think I will switch to another one as long as I'm doing 2D games.

Cool, I never tried using RPG Maker, but I think we can all spot the style a mile away. GMS 2 has treated me well and has been relatively easy to work with, but everywhere I hear "unity unity unity, c sharp c sharp c sharp" so I decided to take the plunge. I also really like the look of Articy 3, which apparently is designed to smoothly plug in to unity.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Just wanted to chime in and send you a big Brofist, fellow GMS 2 user. The game looks better and better, definitely will keep my eye on it. :)
:bro:

Thanks, hopefully I will get a developer tag once this thing is out the door. Did you move onto Unity or anything else after making A Long Road Home? I'm assuming it wasn't made in RPG Maker, although it has that style.
Actually A Long Road Home was made in RPG Maker. Now I'm working with GMS2 as well, working on my next project for a while now. I'm loving the engine, and I don't think I will switch to another one as long as I'm doing 2D games.

Cool, I never tried using RPG Maker, but I think we can all spot the style a mile away. GMS 2 has treated me well and has been relatively easy to work with, but everywhere I hear "unity unity unity, c sharp c sharp c sharp" so I decided to take the plunge. I also really like the look of Articy 3, which apparently is designed to smoothly plug in to unity.
I haven't seen too much of unity in action to be honest. Maybe I will try it out someday, but currently I'm fairly satisfied with GMS2. I don't really see any limitation on it for the simple games I'm doing now.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
New demo released!

Too many improvements and additions to mention. New artwork. New music. New mechanics. Demo still terminates once you leave Troezen (full game is approximately 3 times longer).

It's two something in the morning and I have to fly out tomorrow, so I'm going to bed. Just wanted to get this released before I leave. At this point I plan to make a thread in the regular part of the forum; release date is mid-late January and everything seems to be right on track.

Goodnight/morning


D1YQde.jpg


link to the itch site (still filling out the steam page): https://antiquity-games.itch.io/theseus-journey-to-athens
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom