Legends of Amberland - oldschool open world blobber

[Infinitron]

http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/05/18/legends-of-amberland-version-1-15/

Legends of Amberland version 1.15
Version 1.15 released

This version is the first attempt on localization. Switching languages is very limited (only two languages for now, more to come) and is considered an experimental feature. It also contains fixes and small rebalance.

– [misc] Experimental option: localization (partially working, possible missing untranslated texts, possibly not fitting on the screen, etc, etc). For now only PL and FR.

– [balance] Spells minor rebalance. Cure Petrification MP cost reduced (it’s still a very expensive one as it’s supposed to be).

– [interface] Wider Options screen and caching selected changed (some localized text would not fit otherwise).
– [interface] Added quest names to the quest tooltip (above the quest description).

– [fix] All shop prices were from Insane difficulty, regardless of selected difficulty (ouch!) This fix affects both new and in progress games (it auto updates shop prices, your saves are not affected).
– [fix] Encumbrance being calculated incorectly if playing for very long without changing equipment.
– [fix] Default animation speed not showing properly on Options screen until you change it the first time.

 

[Chris Koźmik]

I have a question regarding how to represent "Miss" icon:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/miss-icon-in-an-rpg.133079/
If you have some ideas, please reply!

 

[Chris Koźmik]

I have a question regarding how to represent "Miss" icon:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/miss-icon-in-an-rpg.133079/
If you have some ideas, please reply!

All right, I have this covered. Thanks all who provided ideas!

I think in the upcoming v1.16 there will be a complete or near complete translation. Plus subtle interface changes (basically some text buttons changed to icons, nothing extreme, things that fit with the feel & mood). And some other stuff.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/06/17/legends-of-amberland-version-1-16/

Legends of Amberland version 1.16

Version 1.16 released

This version introduces a proper localization to 7 languages! It’s still a bit flawed but 99.5% of the game should be translated. In addition there are tons of small interface improvements. Some of those were inspired by the localization needs (like change of some text to icons, which BTW looks cuter) and some for the plans of full keyboard support (we are not here yet, but if possible I would like to make the game 100% playable by keyboard alone). Note that keybindings will revert to default one upon first launching (you need to rebind those if you want custom ones).

– [misc] Localization to DE, FR, ES, PT, RU, PL (language can be changed via Options). Note that it is still considered an experimental feature and you might experience some parts of the game untranslated (but 99.5% of the game is translated so it’s about a few that are missing at most).
– [misc] Removed gold cost from Magic Shop, now only crystals are used (this is a funny change, I could not decide if to categorize it as a feature or a bug Initially I designed the Magic Shop to require mostly crystals but in some rare cases also gold as an additional cost for the item, but there was a bug and it never triggered and only crystals were used. The “bug” was fixed in the last version but then I noticed that actually it made more sense if there were crystals required only… So, in this version I decided to revert it and reintroduced the old bug as a feature. Basically, we are coming back the the way it worked in v1.00-v1.14 so most people will not notice any change anyway.

– [interface] Added Overencumbered markers (two grades of severity) on hero portrait, similar to monster caused penalties. Previously too many people overlooked encumbrance penalties and wondered why their Damage and Arcane suffered so badly, now it’s instantly clear.
– [interface] Bigger damage markers (on heroes and monsters).
– [interface] More distinctive miss icon (different shape and color).
– [interface] Changed “Buy” “Sell”, “Put”, “Take” text buttons to graphical ones (shop and deposit screens).
– [interface] Changed item filters text buttons (“Head”, “Body”, “Weapon”, etc) to graphical ones (inventory, shop and deposit screens).
– [interface] Added hotkeys for rest and info screens (note: all previously rebound keys reverted to default, you need to rebind them again).
– [interface] Default key for “Wait” action changed from “ENTER” to “h” (note: all previously rebound keys reverted to default, you need to rebind them again).
– [interface] “ENTER” key is used as “OK/Accept” button for magic selection, the usual “Cast spell” key works here as well (note: all previously rebound keys reverted to default, you need to rebind them again).
– [interface] Able to use 1-7 keys during “select friendly party member for a spell target” (so now you can select target without using the mouse, after the target is selected 1-7 keys revert to the usual role of selecting that character for interface/stats/etc purposes).
– [interface] Casting a spell removes notice from the previous spell (it makes it less confusing since older “unable to cast spell” notices will not be shown anymore).
– [interface] Added language selector (flags) on the main menu (in addition to language selector in options).

– [fix] A rare problem with blinking screen as if one key was pressed constantly (the one where restarting the game fixed the problem, now it always works properly).

 

[Chris Koźmik]

So, I would like to add a full keyboard (and gamepad) support at some point (so it can be played fully without a mouse if one desires), and I would like to discuss how to do it the best way.

The biggest dilemma I have is how to arrange the inventory managment screen (equipping/removing items). Also multi scrollers parts like Deposit Items screen in the inn or Buy/Sell in shop. If you have some ideas, please post.

Preferably, if you think simultaneously about keyboard and gamepad control scheme.

 

[newtmonkey]

What about adding numbers next to each item in inventory and assigning each character to F1-F7, similar to M&M3?
Honestly, I think even hardcore kb-only people would not mind (or even prefer) to do inventory stuff with a mouse. The important thing imo is to allow for spells/abilities and targets to be selected via keyboard (I haven't played the game in some time, so if you've already implemented this never mind!).

 

[Chris Koźmik]

What about adding numbers next to each item in inventory and assigning each character to F1-F7, similar to M&M3?
Honestly, I think even hardcore kb-only people would not mind (or even prefer) to do inventory stuff with a mouse. The important thing imo is to allow for spells/abilities and targets to be selected via keyboard (I haven't played the game in some time, so if you've already implemented this never mind!).

The interface might not look like it, but it's fully responsive (it adjusts to almost any screen resolution), therefore there can be more than 1234567890 items in a list so key shortcuts like that would not work.

 

[Chris Koźmik]

All right, I managed to design a very decent (I think so) inventory keyboard support system (it was the hardest part of the full keyboard support plan). In the next version there should be around 80% of keyboard support implemented (so with a few exceptions of low priority stuff you should be able to play via keyboard alone in the next version).

Next probably there will be a partial gamepad support. Most likely as a separate mode (activated by plugging in the controller).

 

[Filthy Sauce]

Hey I bought your game during the steam summer sale and like it a lot. Just a minor question- At random times I get a "TRACKING MODE:" text on the screen. It moves round and even changes font size depending what I'm doing (opening inventory/looking at character stat screen). Game still runs fine, but the only way I can get rid of it is relaunching the game.

 

[Chris Koźmik]

Hey I bought your game during the steam summer sale and like it a lot. Just a minor question- At random times I get a "TRACKING MODE:" text on the screen. It moves round and even changes font size depending what I'm doing (opening inventory/looking at character stat screen). Game still runs fine, but the only way I can get rid of it is relaunching the game.

Press "l" key.

In v1.16 I added tracking code to find one bug and I forgot to remove it before release (it appears only in v1.16). You toggle it on/off by pressing "l" key (the key is not used by anything else). I will reshedule and release next version (where it's removed) earlier.

Glad you liked it Thanks for your support!

 

[Chris Koźmik]

Finished full keyboard support (except Options and entering new characters names, so it's fully playable by keyboard alone if you so desire) Will be in the next version :D

BTW, if you would like to help with testing (especially the recent interface changes could use some testing), drop by SilverLemurGames discord https://discord.gg/Xs6x7qj and ping me (say "I'm from RPGCodex and I want to be LoA tester").

 

[Chris Koźmik]

List of all spells:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1695495199

 

[Infinitron]

Legends of Amberland HD: http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/07/28/legends-of-amberland-version-1-20/

Legends of Amberland version 1.20

Version 1.20 released

A big update. First, the assets were changed from 32px to 64px. Basically, everything is more detailed now, which is especially handy if you play on a big screen. I was considering for a while the option to choose between 32/64px versions, but decided against it, since the overall look and feel was retained and on the mood & aesthetic level it still feels the same, just a bit less pixelated if you have a big screen. Second, there are 4 new hero portraits to choose from. Third, the game is now fully playable by keyboard only if one so desires (except options which still require mouse) or you can use both keyboard and mouse at the same time (I designed and tested it for mouse only, keyboard only and mouse+keyboard simultaneously).

– [misc] All 3D view graphics assets (monsters, landscape, dungeons, etc) changed from 32px to 64px!
– [misc] Additional heroes portraits to choose from (2 male and 2 female).
– [misc] Updated localization files.

– [interface] GUI buttons now show a reddish highlight depending on which button is selected by keyboard (if you play via mouse only you can ignore this).
– [interface] Added “[” / “]” keys to toggle between heroes (rebindable). Works also for selecting a friendly spell target.
– [interface] OK key (“Enter” by default) can be used to accept selected friendly spell target.
– [interface] Integrated mouse and keyboard character selection (now you can confirm the character selection by pressing OK key or mouse click regardless of you selection method, can it be it by mouse or by keyboard).
– [interface] ESC key in “select friendly party member for a spell target” mode will work as Cancel instead of opening a quick menu.
– [interface] Blocked movement & rotate in “select friendly party member for a spell target” mode (it made no sense and was confusing).
– [interface] Removed UP/DOWN keyboard toggling between Character screens (Stats/Inventory/Quests/Titles), those keys are now used for toggling between equipment/inventory boxes when using keyboard, besides you can access those via U/I/O/P hotkeys anyway.
– [interface] Keyboard support for Inventory screen (mouse and keyboard can be used simultaneously).
– [interface] Clicking on an empty equipment slot (mouse or keyboard) switches to an appropriate item filter.
– [interface] Keyboard support for Shop and Item Deposit screens.
– [interface] Added TOGGLE key (“TAB” and “y” by default) which can be used on Create Party screen and Shop screen (useful when using keyboard only).
– [interface] Shop improvement (shop and shop used buttons, both react to toggle hotkey; craftsmen count relocated).
– [interface] Keyboard support for Town (and all subscreens).
– [interface] Keyboard support for Main Menu and Quick Menu.
– [interface] Keyboard support for How To Play (only additional keys added since it was supported already but with the assumption that mouse is the primary controller, now it’s more intuitive to use by keyboard alone).
– [interface] Keyboard support for Change party member position (hotkey).
– [interface] Keyboard support for Create Party screen.
– [interface] Keyboard support for Load/Save screen (except Delete file which require mouse).
– [interface] Rest screen can be closed by ESC/BACKSPACE now.
– [interface] Confirmation box displays the filename of the file to be deleted/overwritten.
– [interface] Adjusted trainer screen description (added “Training for…”, consistent with Healer screen).
– [interface] Create Party screen added mini help section (keyboard hints).
– [interface] Hide save file version from the Load/Save screen unless in tester mode (this information is not needed for regular players since all saves are compatible anyway).
– [interface] Holding CTRL key show tooltip of the currently highlighted (selected) button. Useful if you play via keyboard alone.
– [interface] Clicking on the mini map opens/closes map screen.

– [fix] Calling a griffin while on Town screen made Town screen still open after transport. Now griffin use always trigger exit town.
– [fix] Removed debug tracking mode which was a leftover from me trying to track one bug in v1.16.
– [fix] Removed moving when in How To Play (not really harmful but it made no sense).

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

This update is really great! I absolutely love the higher resolution art, it now works perfectly with the portrait art and gives me an overall much better and more refined aesthetic impression. I have to confess that the somewhat raw pixels of the game screen - and their clash with the higher res portrait art and gui design - held me back to play the game up to now (I purchased it long ago on Steam). Yeah, I'm a graphic whore, but anyway: Tremendous job! I'll create a party this evening and finally start my adventure.

 

[Chris Koźmik]

Here I wrote more about the 64px upscaling decision and execution. It's related to the old discussion we had in the first two pages of this thread
http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/07/29/the-secret-story-behind-pixel-sizes/

The secret story behind pixel sizes

Yesterday, Legends of Amberland got an update upscaling all 3D view assets to 64px on all platforms (Steam, GOG, Nintendo Switch). Here is the full story behind the scenes of this interesting & important decision.

It goes like this. A long, long time ago I started the Legends of Amberland project with an assumption that all 3D view assets (landscape, monsters, map features, dungeons, etc) would be made as 16×16 pixels. It was consistent and it was looking unique in the artistic sense, I liked it. I posted some screenshots on a few forums (mostly RPG Codex) to get feedback, the response was rather positive with the exception of artistic style which was mixed. Still, I resisted for a while to adjust it, my main objection was that if I up it to 32×32 pixels then soon people will complain they want 64×64 and then 128×128 pixels. Then I went to Pixel Connect 2018 in Warsaw, it’s a very tiny but nice expo for industry members only, and exhibited the prototype of Legends of Amberland. I got a quite positive feedback but… the feedback regarding visuals was interesting. Some people hated it and some said “they don’t play such games for art”, in short people either disliked the art or were indifferent to it, no one, or very few have fallen in love with it. That’s when I decided to go for 32×32 pixel size.

So, the game was launched in Early Access with 32×32 pixels art assets. The reaction to the art style was much better than to 16×16, now some people loathed it, some didn’t care and some loved it. Which is a desired outcome for an indie developer who does not aim for mass market, you care about how many people love your work not how many hate it and definitely you don’t want to make it feel “average” or “compatible with tastes of the most people” as AAA companies are forced to do. Some people loved the art style which meant for me that it serves its purpose. Anyway, it was a good art style for the project and I thought it would be the end of the story.

As time went on and the game became more and more popular one thing occurred to me. There was a portion of potential players who would enjoy the game but the art style made them unable to play it and that there was some portion of the fan base who played the game despite the art style, they enjoyed the overall experience but they were suffering due to incompatible aesthetic. I don’t like when my loyal players suffer, so it made me sad. That’s when I started to think about the possibility of upscaling the graphics yet again. Maybe for a sequel as I thought at the time.

Then, one day, when I was on a walk with my wife and the small one, I got a call from Wojtek Kubiak (CEO of Pineapple Works, the company which made the port of Legends of Amberland for Nintendo Switch), he listed several well thought reasons why it would be great to upscale the art assets a bit. Great, I thought to myself, if he independently thought about the same thing I had, since I never mentioned it to him, it is a no brainer. I answered that I will look into the feasibility of doing it, agreed on the optimal deadline and then I hang up. Next I have chosen the number to Krzysztof “Pixel” Matys (my primary pixel artist for monsters and humanoids) and said to him “Do you remember when we talk about possible 64px upscaling? We are going to try it earlier. Can you redo all monsters in one month?” he sighted heavily and promised he will deliver it on time (that’s one advantage of having trusted long term contractors). This settled the hardest part of it since monsters were the most tricky and work intense of this upscaling. I continued to enjoy my evening walk with my family happy I managed to basically finish my part. The next day I looked through remaining assets (landscape, walls, doors, chests, objects, etc) and I contacted Maciej Mrowicki (my another pixel artist who so far did smaller assets) and asked if he can handle upscaling the rest, he said it’s no problem (he delivered it much earlier that I expected and without any fuss, which earned him +2 levels on my “artists’ spreadsheet”, so expect more art assets from him on my future projects). In short, I was on a walk, answered one call, made one call, sent one email and then got most of the glory & love from all this upscaling thing while others did 97% of the hard work.

In a few days they delivered me the example upscaled assets, now there was the critical part, do I go for it or not. I assembled it all in the game and… requested changes I got the revised assets, tried again and… yeah, it was looking good and it was consistent. I gave the green light to the new art style and started collecting incoming assets. Soon it was all done.

Overall, the tricky part was that a significant player base was already happy with the 32px assets version and the game was already released, so the upscaling to 64px was only an option if it was compatible in aesthetic sense with the existing look and feel. Fortunately, the 64px version was very similar regarding the feeling and the impression of pixelated graphics was not lost during upscaling, so it was not a problem. Another tricky part was the simultaneous update on all platforms (Steam, GOG, Nintendo Switch), not an easy task to synchronize it, but we managed to do it.

Oh yes, there was also another reason for the upscaling thing, a tiny little one I have not mentioned to anyone… It got under my skin that some unnice people were implying that the art style choice was just a result of my cheapness and lack of proper budget of my games not a conscious artistic decision. Now you can’t say so, you complainful personas! And I still manged to retain my artistic vision and aesthetics without bowing to your boring generic artistic taste!

In the end, my first suspicion that if I agree to upscale from 16px to 32px they will still want to go further was correct and indeed players wanted to do the thing *again*, so I ended up with a second upscaling from 32px to 64px. Now I wonder, will they try to persuade me to upscale it again to 128px, 256px and so on? Only time will tell…

Recommended if you are interested in game dev and how it works behind the scenes.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Here I wrote more about the 64px upscaling decision and execution. It's related to the old discussion we had in the first two pages of this thread
http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/07/29/the-secret-story-behind-pixel-sizes/

Recommended if you are interested in game dev and how it works behind the scenes.

Interesting read! I know it was your deliberate artistic vision to create the game in a (rather unique) very high pixelated style. Now it looks more like the good old VGA-style from back in the early 90ies, but it still stands its own ground in regard to design and aesthetics. It now truly shines like the gem it is. Great decision!

edit: The only thing I could imagine to even further enhance the overall graphical appeal and atmosphere of the game would be some simple sky details (stars in the night etc.).

 

[Bad Sector]

I have to say i really like the dithering in the 64x64 versions .

 

[ManaJunkie]

I continued to enjoy my evening walk with my family happy I managed to basically finish my part.

 

[Grauken]

Worldmap for the game (HQ PNG http://www.mediafire.com/view/knfig3mua9gw4cu/Legends_of_Amberland_-_Worldmap.png/file or as a GridCartographer map http://www.mediafire.com/file/31my173t57ipl35/Legends_of_Amberland_-_Worldmap_v2.gct/file)

Map behind the spoiler in case you wanted to play the game beforehand and experience exploring it on your own

Spoiler

 

[Butter]

Ah yes, Isles of Terra. I remember this game.

 

[Grauken]

Ah yes, Isles of Terra. I remember this game.

Yeah, the start of the game feels very reminiscent of IoT, though that's not a bad thing in my book

 

[Grauken]

Is there a dwarven king heir to be found in the game to kill the wizard in the lower twin tower?

 

[Chris Koźmik]

Q&A about Legends of Amberland, it has some interesting behind the scenes stuff:

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Woj..._Legends_of_Amberland_QA_With_Chris_Komik.php

Is there a dwarven king heir to be found in the game to kill the wizard in the lower twin tower?

Spoiler

Nope.

BTW, maybe add spoiler tag to the nice map you posted? Some players might prefer to explore it without knowing the ovarall shape beforehand.

 

[newtmonkey]

I completed this game just now. I enjoyed it and it was a great way to relax between playing more demanding games. I really liked the soundtrack—moody yet catchy and it provided the game with an atmosphere that the graphics couldn't quite provide (sorry). If I had one complaint about the music, it's that some tracks did not loop correctly... one of the dungeon themes starts out loud and ends suddenly, and the track itself is quite short, so the loop point is particularly noticeable.

I was surprised by how short it is, but it ended right when I was starting to get bored with it. I'd always rather have a short game that doesn't overstay its welcome than an overly long game that has you just going through the motions during the second half, so great job on the pacing!

I enjoyed exploring the world (great map) and some of the quests were very interesting—especially the quest where you have to track down three hints to find an ancient sword. Having said that, simply exploring the game as you go means you'll pretty much solve every quest sooner or later.

The only major complaint I had with the game is the overly simple dungeons. I was really hoping for some unique gimmicks or puzzles, but the most you get is some switches to flip. A secondary complaint is that spell casters seem very weak as even my most powerful spells were no more powerful than the frequent critical hits I was getting from my melee characters.

All in all, a fun 15 hours according to my Steam profile. I'd definitely purchase an Amberland 2 if it even came out, but please do include some nice dungeons next time!

 

[index.php]

Legends of Amberland version 1.21
Version 1.21 released

This version introduces what some of you waited for a very long time. Yes, the long promised Steam/GOG achievements have finally arrived! Total 13 of those. Also, I think that from now on all my games would come with online achievements implemented on day 1 (full release, not Early Access), not guaranteed by very likely.

– [misc] Added 13 online achievements. One can be unlocked on Hard or Insane difficulty only. Two are more hardcore and require more effort to unlock. The remaining ten are pretty casual. Note that some of the achievements can be unlocked retroactively using your old save (but not all of them), check the “Steam achievements” topic for fro more details.
– [misc] Updated localization files.

Oh, yes, one more thing. In the next month/s I should be ready to announce my next project! If you want to be notified click “Follow” button on the developer’s page https://store.steampowered.com/developer/SilverLemurGames (Steam should then send you an email on any of my upcoming games). Alternatively, you can join our Discord (the best place for the most hardcore fans to hang around).