Vapourware Codexian Game Development Thread

[Nathaniel3W]

Here's my first attempt at the Fog Of War shader. I think it looks alright as it is, but any criticism/suggestions is always welcome.

I would suggest darkening it further, maybe adding a transparent texture, like clouds or fog or something that you could give a subtle animation to.

Hey Prosper

So I've been meaning to ask. Who is Prosper? I get that it's kind of a Codex inside joke for bad artwork. So I guess Prosper must be famous for his bad art?

Edit: I literally just now noticed that Aiff((AimpliesA)ImpliesA) has the tag "Artist Formerly Known as Prosper." So, um, sorry about calling your art bad.

Edit #2: Is Prosper responsible for the "hopw roewur ne" rating you can give to a post? Is there a story behind that?

 

[Nathaniel3W]

OK, what I actually came to post about today is this:

I wasn't satisfied with the world map I had previously. It was too big, took too long to load, and it's the first world level the player encounters and it didn't have any direction or flow to it. It was a little too open for the first level. So I started working on a different level for the player to start in. It still needs trees, landmarks, baked lighting, and adjustments to the grid. But I think in the end this is going to be a much better map.

 

[Wayward Son]

This is me when I try to do game development:

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Here's my first attempt at the Fog Of War shader. I think it looks alright as it is, but any criticism/suggestions is always welcome.

I would suggest darkening it further, maybe adding a transparent texture, like clouds or fog or something that you could give a subtle animation to.

Hey Prosper

So I've been meaning to ask. Who is Prosper? I get that it's kind of a Codex inside joke for bad artwork. So I guess Prosper must be famous for his bad art?

Edit: I literally just now noticed that Aiff((AimpliesA)ImpliesA) has the tag "Artist Formerly Known as Prosper." So, um, sorry about calling your art bad.

Edit #2: Is Prosper responsible for the "hopw roewur ne" rating you can give to a post? Is there a story behind that?

All your questions are answered in prosperland.

 

[Wayward Son]

All your questions are answered in prosperland.

Are they?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

All your questions are answered in prosperland.

Are they?

If they should be answered at all.

 

[Wayward Son]

All your questions are answered in prosperland.

Are they?

If they should be answered at all.

I have taken this advice. I am now researching the Prosperian lore, tracing him all over not only the Dex, but teh intarwebz. Thank you ERYFKRAD for allowing this insane adventure to happen.

 

[barker_s]

Beware Wayward Son , for you might not like what you will find...

I would suggest darkening it further, maybe adding a transparent texture, like clouds or fog or something that you could give a subtle animation to.

The shader does support textures already (no animation though), although I thought it looks cleaner with a solid colour. I guess I'll put that somewhere in the config for the player to tweak.

And while we're at it, another screenie, this time it showcases the borders system.

 

[gaussgunner]

I have taken this advice. I am now researching the Prosperian lore, tracing him all over not only the Dex, but teh intarwebz. Thank you ERYFKRAD for allowing this insane adventure to happen.

Wayward Son was a true bro, soldier's soldier, and an aspiring developer as well. But in the crusade against evil, he made the ultimate sacrifice.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

ERYFKRAD I checked out the Prosper forum yesterday. I feel like a Cthulhu investigator, who is now compelled to pull on the thread that he knows will unravel his sanity.

barker_s Maybe that's too dark or maybe it's too contrasty next to the white clouds. Oh well. Just ignore me and do whatever you think looks good.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

Anyone else remember playing Final Fantasy Tactics, and either giving a ninja the equip guns skill or giving an orator the dual wield skill? I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't send my dudes to battle John-Woo style. I aim to correct that.

 

[Agesilaus]

This is me when I try to do game development:

RPGs seem pretty simple. It's all the writing that takes time, and then you have to implement it and juggle the variables so it all fits together.

 

[Agesilaus]

n... no... i'm not a retadr, you didn't own me

 

[Zep Zepo]

Men, BE CAREFUL with your GLOBAL VARIABLES.

I just spent several hours tracking down a logic bug because of one.

Used it as a temp variable in some sub-routine at first...unfortunately, I also used it in an event that was triggered by changes...

I'm dumb.

I've had my DAILY WTF moment for today and learned my lesson.

Zep--

 

[Davaris]

This is me when I try to do game development:

RPGs seem pretty simple. It's all the writing that takes time, and then you have to implement it and juggle the variables so it all fits together.

Simpler if you use RPGMaker, maybe...

 

[shihonage]

Men, BE CAREFUL with your GLOBAL VARIABLES.

I just spent several hours tracking down a logic bug because of one.

Used it as a temp variable in some sub-routine at first...unfortunately, I also used it in an event that was triggered by changes...

I'm dumb.

Yeah, BUT- coding "properly" is boring. This way is more fun, it's like having a bipolar girlfriend and spending half each day untangling her mood swiNO CARRIER

 

[Wayward Son]

This is me when I try to do game development:

RPGs seem pretty simple. It's all the writing that takes time, and then you have to implement it and juggle the variables so it all fits together.

Simpler if you use RPGMaker, maybe...

And that's only if you want a JRPG. Getting a CRPG in there, forget it. I never could even get party member switching mechanics into the game. Haven't used MV yet tho.

 

[Prehistorik]

Those houses look like they are straight from the old Carcassonne.

 

[Viata]

Hey guys, what is the name of the algorithm or method(so I can search) to make my characters do the "least" move to get from point A to point B? Also, during a battle turn, is there an algorithm to help me make the enemies move smart so they do go after my enemies in their turn?
I don't feel like reinvent the wheel so if anyone knows, thanks.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

Hey guys, what is the name of the algorithm or method(so I can search) to make my characters do the "least" move to get from point A to point B?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*_search_algorithm

 

[Viata]

Thanks.

 

[ragnor]

Here is an extensive amount of information about pathfinding http://theory.stanford.edu/~amitp/GameProgramming/

This webpage is a goldmine for crpg (especially for beginners) developers. There are lots of tutorials and articles on things like tilemaps and hexmaps, different pathfinding algortihms, line of sight algortihms and rpg damage probablilities etc.

Edit: i forgot to put its new main page link http://www.redblobgames.com/

 

[barker_s]

This webpage is a goldmine...

Totally agreed. I would even say that if you're into indie gamedev and haven't come across Amit Patel's website, you're doing something wrong. This guy is cited/linked pretty much everywhere.

Those houses look like they are straight from the old Carcassonne.

Yeah, these tiles certainly do have a bordgame'y feel. I bought them on the asset store basically for peanuts. I did link them a few pages back, but here it is again if anyone wants to check it out.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

I've learned a lot about color grading in the last few months. We're now able to change the color lookup table based on time of day, which gives us much better control over how the game looks at different times.

Here is a sample sunset screenshot. It has super fast preview lighting, which results in blobby shadows and artifacts, but the color is more or less correct.

Edit: Also, the more I look at that, the more certain I am that the player character is not picking up the world lighting settings. Her white shirt should be pink or purple here. I need to figure out what's going wrong.

 

[Zed]

Could it be that the character's contrast is too high to catch the colorization in the same way as the environment?