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Topic: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus (Read 146658 times) previous topic - next topic
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The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

So, I just realized that in these new forums I don't seem to have created a topic for Blockman. So, here it is.

Old Project Page: http://radnen.tengudev.com/blockman.html
Old RMN Page: http://rpgmaker.net/games/1629/

I have renewed my interest in game making and seeing the success of 2D pixel art games on steam and GOG (I'm looking at you stardew valley), I have decided that this project is still worth pursuing. In the coming weeks I'll update this page with anything new I'm doing. I really want to get a new demo out to you guys soon. There is an old demo on the rmn page.

My time is limited and made more so since I have many things I need to figre out in my personal life (like a new home, for instance), but whatever free time I do have, I'll spend it on tweaking some things here and there in this game.

I have already decided to overhaul many of the graphics, so stay tuned for some screenshots. BTW, I'm calling this game "Shadow of the Nexus" but I'm not committed to it. Basically it's a nod to a theme throughout the game: that some evil corporation is pulling all of the strings and so you are sort of playing in their shadow without knowing about it. It's a very square-like story type thing (I guess?).
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #1 –
Quote from: Radnen – on
I'm looking at you stardew valley


That's funny, because when I saw this game, I immediately thought it reminded me of your pixel-art style, Radnen!

It's great to hear that Blockman is still under development. Great work!

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #2 –
I should add that the RMN demo will very similar to the demo I'll give you guys in terms of story. But a lot of things were vastly improved, like the player graphics and some of the menus and enemies. So if you've played that game it will serve as a benchmark in how far I've come. Once I tidy up the demo, I'll be focusing on new content.

@Jest: aw thanks man, but the graphics in that game are killer. I've been observing them to see what I can do better in my game. I'm not bad at pixel art, but getting the right texturing down for trees, dirt and rocks can be a bit hard. Since there are a lot of material textures in that game, I'm looking at seeing how they do certain things (like tree bark).
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #3 –
I remember having discussions about Stardew Valley on these very forums (well... the previous one anyway)! I also think pixel art games have stayed around for all these years. Just look at the indie scene! But anyway, this thread is about your project, not those projects. :P

I'm personally very happy to know that Blockman is still in development, and can't wait to see/hear more about the new version! The plot sounds promising and the subtitle draws attention. :)

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #4 –
I'm going to write developer logs here, just so I can make progress every day. The log is dated the day the work was done, it might be the 15th today, but this is what I did yesterday. They will include what I did and what I'm planning on doing.

Log #1 - Mar. 14, 2016
I'm treating large sprites as Sphere Persons. In addition to z-index re-ordering (which you get for free in the map engine), I wrote a nice script that checks the bounds of all large sprites, and if the player is occluded by the large sprite, the sprite turns invisible. I've seen this in many games and it makes sense: in an action game, if you and the enemy are behind a large tree which hides everything, you may not know if you are getting attacked or not. Now you can at least see the action unfold. Smaller trees might stay as tiles, especially the repeated trees. However, I'm thinking of converting all small bushes into sprites so they can shake and react to combat.

No longer deal 0 damage. The smallest amount is now 1.

Added a new grass tileset. Spent time remapping areas to include the new grass tiles. This is just foot-tall grass, my next plan is to create very tall grass that hides people that wade through it, and updating the AI to not notice you while you are in tall grass.I'm investing in this game mechanic since it'll add a new dimension to the system, preventing it from being boring, and grassy areas will literally be used throughout the game, so it makes sense to develop this as early on as possible.

I'm also planning on creating more reactive sounds. Footsteps depending on ground type (water, grass, wood, dirt, marble, sand, and stone), and thud sounds against wood, metal, and rock.
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Radnen – on
[ ... ]if the player is occluded by the large sprite, the sprite turns invisible. I've seen this in many games and it makes sense: in an action game, if you and the enemy are behind a large tree which hides everything, you may not know if you are getting attacked or not. Now you can at least see the action unfold.


I like how games like Stardew Valley do it, rather than turning completely invisible simply make it semi-transparent. New Super Mario Bros. kind of does that with hidden rooms/alcoves too to reveal the players.

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #6 –
Log #2 - Mar. 15, 2016
Not a lot of progress today. I generalized the occlusion script so now it just runs in the background on any map rather than before in which I explicitly state which objects get the service. It only works on sufficiently large sprites, so NPC's, enemies and small stuff can remain opaque.

I mapped more grass and converted some trees. Here's a screenshot.
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #7 –
Nice work. I like the semitransparency.

About this:

Quote
No longer deal 0 damage. The smallest amount is now 1.

I guess that means you can't "miss"? That seems rather good to me! Some games make it really frustrating to hit your opponent at all.

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #8 –
Quote from: DaVince – on

Nice work. I like the semitransparency.

About this:

Quote
No longer deal 0 damage. The smallest amount is now 1.

I guess that means you can't "miss"? That seems rather good to me! Some games make it really frustrating to hit your opponent at all.


Yeah, in this game you missed because you missed. :P No dice rolling logic. And to prevent unnecessary invulnerability by building your character as a tank. I disliked seeing hundreds of 0's - it just wasn't going to cut it. I borrowed this idea from Pokémon, btw (A lvl 1 Rattata can always deal at least 1 damage to a lvl 100 Charizard. ;) )

I have plans of adding in crafting to this game. It sounds ambitious, but it's just UI. I can easily roll that into an item upgrade system. You can melt down items or find spare parts to make other items with. It's definitely not going to be like minecraft. Just armors and weapons for now. I think this is better than just static weapons with static damages. But I'll hold off on that until I populate the game with more items. The shops in this game only seems to have like 4 or 5 items to sell. So I got to start making more interesting random loot items, even if they are just "junk" items that can be sold to shopkeepers.
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #9 –
Yeah, I always hated games that allow zero damage.  I did the same in Specs--if an attack connects, damage is capped at the low end at 1, the only way to do zero damage is if you miss.  Of course that's a traditional turn-based system--in Blockman's actiony setup, you definitely don't want to be seeing zero damage hits! :P

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #10 –
Yep. Also in Blockman there's a stamina meter that fills up like in Secret of Mana. So you can't spam attacks at max damage either. If you make three quick attacks, they may deal 1 to 4 damage each. At full stamina an attack can deal like 12 to 16 damage. Better equipment means better damage and faster stamina recharge.

I should also add for ranged weapons, you can only fire them at full "capacity/stamina" it's a bit different than melee, but at least they always hit at full strength, it's just how often you can do it that gets affected.
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Radnen – on

Yep. Also in Blockman there's a stamina meter that fills up like in Secret of Mana. So you can't spam attacks at max damage either. If you make three quick attacks, they may deal 1 to 4 damage each. At full stamina an attack can deal like 12 to 16 damage. Better equipment means better damage and faster stamina recharge.

This also opens a path to having weapons that are specifically made for quick attacks. Less damage output, but more action for comparable damage with heavier weapons, for those who like this kind of play style. :)

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #12 –
Yep. And there's the weapon attack speed itself, as in the animation time. I might make it so a charged full attack can break certain enemies guard. I'm even toying with the idea of hard-shelled enemies that need a strong attack to break their shell before attacking the soft spot. If I can manage that early on, I can build a system for far more interesting gameplay opportunities.
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here
 

Re: The Legend of Blockman - Shadow of the Nexus

Reply #13 –
Log #3 - Mar. 16, 2016
Today I spent a lot of time redrawing many interior tiles of Aldat and mapped more tree sprites and grass tiles. I'll post a screenshot of the new interiors when I'm finished with them.
If you use code to help you code you can use less code to code. Also, I have approximate knowledge of many things.

Sphere-sfml here
Sphere Studio editor here