WaverBoy | 20 Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 On 11/2/2019 at 8:27 PM, gauauu said: Thanks for the positive comments, all! I just wrote up another long rambly blog post trying to describe some of my goals in what I want the game to be like, if anyone is interested. This game looks like it’s gonna be great, and I loved your detailed blog post on your game goals! Can’t wait to play the finished game! Will you be releasing a demo sometime soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu | 80 Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 12 hours ago, WaverBoy said: Will you be releasing a demo sometime soon? There's a very early demo on my Bite the Chili Sampler cartridge that I mostly just sell at conventions. Beyond that, I'm not opposed to releasing a demo, although I haven't figured out quite what to do with it. The game starts fairly slowly (with no weapons or vehicle, you have to explore to get them), so the demo would be more fun if it skipped some of that. But without the context of that initial section, I haven't figured out what would make a compelling demo. TL;DR: maybe, I just have to decide how a demo would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadeye | 1,595 Homebrew Team · Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 7 hours ago, gauauu said: There's a very early demo on my Bite the Chili Sampler cartridge that I mostly just sell at conventions. Beyond that, I'm not opposed to releasing a demo, although I haven't figured out quite what to do with it. The game starts fairly slowly (with no weapons or vehicle, you have to explore to get them), so the demo would be more fun if it skipped some of that. But without the context of that initial section, I haven't figured out what would make a compelling demo. TL;DR: maybe, I just have to decide how a demo would work. The Mad Wizard had a similar condition. I think Rob solved it well. Instead of the demo being a slice of the final game, he reconfigured the demo to be a smaller area where you explore, pick up all the abilities, and then fight a boss. I don't know if this would work for you or if you think it would be worth the investment to do though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu | 80 Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 That's a good idea. I'll put it into my brain and let it simmer a bit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewisp02 | 47 Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 This was super fun. Glad I was able to play it at MGC. Look forward to the finalized product!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu | 80 Posted November 15, 2019 Author Share Posted November 15, 2019 People have mentioned in that other thread that it's valuable to see what all tools were used in a game's creation. So here we go. Tools Code editing: gVim, Clion, Pycharm, IntellijIDEA Graphics editing: Frankengraphics has her own process which I'm not sure about, but definitely includes Screen Tool. I use GIMP and custom python scripts (we well as a modified pil2bmp by Tepples) Metatile editing: A custom tool that I built using java and javafx (protip: never use javafx. It was easy to write, but is ridiculously difficult to install correctly on newer systems). Metatiles are stored as json files. Map editing: A forked/modified version of Tiled (modified to make it easier to to support screens that are 7 and 1/2 metatiles tall). Maps are stored in Tiled's native json format and converted at build-time by a custom python script. Testing: Primarily Mesen. But also fceux, powerpak, and gtrom boards (flashed by either memblers' adapter or INL's board) Animated Gif recording: SimpleScreenRecorder Version control: git (hosted by bitbucket right now) Building: makefiles. cc65/ca65. Lots of python scripts. Audio editing: we're only using placeholder audio right now Misc: lots of linux built-in tools Mapper: GTROM and BNROM Libraries ggSound for audio used example code from Khan and Memblers for flash saving Resources/Assets Game engine is custom built in C and assembly. Graphics are original by Frankengraphics, or placeholders by surt or found on opengameart.com Audio is currently all placeholder audio made by GradualGames 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raftronaut | 99 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 @gauauu Are you planning to release this on GTROM boards as well? That seems like a natural fit for this project. I am still learning about this mapper, which features of the board did you find most appealing to your project? @FrankenGraphics Any chance we'll get an Audio teaser for this anytime in the near future? I've been dying to hear what this alien world sounds like Being myself both a fan of Alien worlds and ...well....Sound...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu | 80 Posted November 15, 2019 Author Share Posted November 15, 2019 1 minute ago, Raftronaut said: Are you planning to release this on GTROM boards as well? That seems like a natural fit for this project. I am still learning about this mapper, which features of the board did you find most appealing to your project? Yeah, the plan is for the US release (at least) to use GTROM. Board cost and flash saves were real selling points, but the large size and extra nametables were a plus. A BNROM build is mostly for support for older emulators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orab Games | 97 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 That's a lot of tools! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy | 20 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 18 minutes ago, gauauu said: People have mentioned in that other thread that it's valuable to see what all tools were used in a game's creation. So here we go. Tools Code editing: gVim, Clion, Pycharm, IntellijIDEA Graphics editing: Frankengraphics has her own process which I'm not sure about, but definitely includes Screen Tool. I use GIMP and custom python scripts (we well as a modified pil2bmp by Tepples) Metatile editing: A custom tool that I built using java and javafx (protip: never use javafx. It was easy to write, but is ridiculously difficult to install correctly on newer systems). Metatiles are stored as json files. Map editing: A forked/modified version of Tiled (modified to make it easier to to support screens that are 7 and 1/2 metatiles tall). Maps are stored in Tiled's native json format and converted at build-time by a custom python script. Testing: Primarily Mesen. But also fceux, powerpak, and gtrom boards (flashed by either memblers' adapter or INL's board) Animated Gif recording: SimpleScreenRecorder Version control: git (hosted by bitbucket right now) Building: makefiles. cc65/ca65. Lots of python scripts. Audio editing: we're only using placeholder audio right now Misc: lots of linux built-in tools Mapper: GTROM and BNROM Libraries ggSound for audio used example code from Khan and Memblers for flash saving Resources/Assets Game engine is custom built in C and assembly. Graphics are original by Frankengraphics, or placeholders by surt or found on opengameart.com Audio is currently all placeholder audio made by GradualGames Voluntary credit given where credit is due is awesome, thank you for listing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu | 80 Posted November 15, 2019 Author Share Posted November 15, 2019 5 minutes ago, Orab Games said: That's a lot of tools! This is true. But I've found that for a game with a lot of content, good tooling it important to keep yourself from going crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankenGraphics | 104 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 32 minutes ago, Raftronaut said: @FrankenGraphics Any chance we'll get an Audio teaser for this anytime in the near future? I've been dying to hear what this alien world sounds like Being myself both a fan of Alien worlds and ...well....Sound...lol Yes indeed! Part of the Project Blue stretch goal of including a NES music album from various projects was actually to put a bit of a fire under my own butt and finish some of my almost-done songs for HALCYON... so, they're coming soon! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raftronaut | 99 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 OK! looking forward to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankenGraphics | 104 Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 Demo splash screen! 75% done. I've got half a mind to move the copyright notice to pre-title card, which would free up some resources, but even here i've got 30 tiles and 1 colour to spare on the bg layer. The star field will be drawn on the sprite layer, which is currently only used for a few details on the logo 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raftronaut | 99 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 7 hours ago, FrankenGraphics said: Demo splash screen! 75% done. I've got half a mind to move the copyright notice to pre-title card, which would free up some resources, but even here i've got 30 tiles and 1 colour to spare on the bg layer. The star field will be drawn on the sprite layer, which is currently only used for a few details on the logo Care to detail how you’ll implement your star field? I assume most nes Star twinkles are simple palette swaps, but I’m curious how you’re planning on scattering the sprites in order to animate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankenGraphics | 104 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 (edited) I should be careful not spilling the beans on exactly what we hope to achieve with the stars for this particular screen just yet, but my general method for sprite placement on screens like this is this I usually to draw them free-hand in photoshop on top of the NESST-made background layer, then create so-called "slices" with the slice tool (it's originally an old web design tool meant to export assets to adobe dreamweaver); each 8x8 pixels, or 8x16 if we're in that ppu mode. The slices serve two purposes - i can stitch them together into a character table, and by examining their metadata i get their x & y positions and internal drawing priorities. I use these positions to type down a raw PPU OAM table, which is simply fed to the PPU and there you got it. There are usually some human errors on my end which i debug with mesen, which has a sophisticated sprite checker tool. Here's an example from a half baked tutorial i once typed up. Any pixels outside the slices get ignored. This way i can optimize sprite usage vs fluid free-hand drawing. Edited December 2, 2019 by FrankenGraphics 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dale_coop | 160 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Wow, the demo splash screen is beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,035 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Where do I send payment to for the physical release? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankenGraphics | 104 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 it's too early for that! we just started talking seriously about a commercial campaign, but there's a lot i feel we should do before getting there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy | 20 Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Any updates on progress? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu | 80 Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 6 hours ago, WaverBoy said: Any updates on progress? We're still chugging along. The engine is mostly finished other than any level-specific or enemy-specific features that come up. Rough maps have been made of a little more than half of the world. Now we need to go back and refine all the maps and finish the rest of the world, and fill out some boss fights. And then polish, polish, polish. That said, it's been slow this month. Hopefully we'll ramp things back up in the next few weeks. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugi | 83 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 20 minutes ago, gauauu said: That said, it's been slow this month. Hopefully we'll ramp things back up in the next few weeks. Propably been the same for the most of us due to the holidays etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetrorectionistRich | 5 Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Just seeing those for the first time. Loving the aesthetic, look forward to playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erockbrox | 33 Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Quote "And then polish, polish, polish." After created several games myself I cannot stress how important polish is. It separates amateur game designers from professional ones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankenGraphics | 104 Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 (edited) i'd say the professional ones are the ones skimping on polish nearly every single commercial entry into the nes library is a rushed job. it's in the space of post-market homebrews we sometimes have the luxury to spend as much time as we want. that is of course moderated by team sizes being smaller. on a related note, i'm resuming work on new enemy animations any day now. project blue is almost out, so that opens up a lot of time for me. Edited April 29, 2020 by FrankenGraphics 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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