Project status!

[dmpdesign]

***EDITED 3/4/2010***
I need some updates to put in here gang.
Asus, where are you at with your project? ‎  Lava? ‎  Verdite? ‎  JohnnyPark?

I will keep this top most up to date as possible.

Thanks!
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ArbalestX - Project "unknown" - status unknown.
AsusX2 - Project "King's Field V" - Demo available.
Darchangel - Project "Battle for the Verdite Inn" - Demo available.
DMPDesign - Project "Dark Destiny" - Game V1 available.
Hguols - Project "unknown" - I know hes working on one in secret!
HolyDiver - Project "DOM09" - In progress - status pending updates to SOMex.
HwitVlf - Project "unknown" - May not be working on this anymore.
JohnnyPark - Project "Wicklow" - Demo available.
KilroyFX - Project "Before Melanat" - status discontinued.
Lavaelf1024 - Project "unknown" - status unknown.
Madison Lastrega - Project "Fallen By The Way" - Demo soon.
Muffy - Project "unknown" - status unknown.



I would like to incorporate something on the main site about everyone's current SOM project they are actively working on (if you think youll finish that is).

I know we had several posters in the last month or two talk about making a game and had started using SOM and posted here and there, but we never hear back from these people. ‎ So either they have given up or they are entrenched in game design and cant take time to talk.

Either way, if I can get feedback from the several people i know are sticking with it and making a game to put some sort of progress section on the main site. ‎ (Holy I know you had talked about remaking the main site, and we will get to that soon I am sure).

I would like people that reach the main site to know its not just out of date and a dead link where no one visits. ‎ I would like them to see that there are SOM projects being created, to know the progress on those projects, and to create a web page for the individual projects so the creators can highlight their games, upload their demos etc.

I know darchangel is semi-actively working on his game, tom may have another in the works secretly ( i just know how you are!), i know holy has the DOM 09 project (which my guess will likely end up being DOM 2010 project). ‎ John probably has some work in progress stuff, and kilroyfx has a game thats partially completed too.

Anyone wanna post their status or want me to create a simple webpage for their game from the main site?

[Holy_Diver]

Well I'm sticking with just Maunstraut '09 as the project title. I'm not aiming for a specific game set in stone at this point. It's more of an open-ended opensource project. Hopefully playing the game will be very easy and finishing a play thru won't take long. I want it to feel like an arcade game you can play thru over and over versus a long-ass RPG you just play once in your life. So hopefully people will play one version, maybe play it a few times, and when a new version is made available for public consumption they will still feel like playing it again, and again, and again.

My only huge hurdle is I definitely want to extend the event system to really change up the gameplay. As soon as I get off my ass and do that (could happen before 2010) there could be a version up for play.

PS: It will be easy to play, but hopefully very challenging also... like all good arcade games. It's not going to be a casual RPG grind fest, because you're going to be up against the clock, and it will be game over when the clock chimes and the diadem cracks so to speak.

[dmpdesign]

I want it to feel like an arcade game you can play thru over and over versus a long-ass RPG you just play once in your life.

That right there is a different and appealing idea!

Hmm, I was going to work on shadow gate remix after DD, but I might make a semi-action, very little leveling type of straight forward game with little to no grind and or backstepping.

Very cool.

[Holy_Diver]

Speaking of redoing the front page (ie. the main website)

I got a reply email from the Askimet company about why it would block comments from registered users, and I was told I should upgrade Wordpress/Askimet... which is something I've been putting off (perhaps even indefinitely if possible) because I've customized Wordpress so.

So basically setting up Wordpress for this website would be an opportunity to try upgrading my Wordpress codebase without any risk involved. My plan was to copy over Wordpress from digitaldevildb.com and just delete all the the non-utility pages and posts, so I wouldn't have to reconfigure anything like I did when I copied over this forum (a much smaller job than Wordpress)

Anyway, point is, resolving this upgrade matter is probably a bigger priority than giving this website a makeover, so in the end it should be win/win and happen just as soon as I can schedule it in.

I also have a Google-free solution for site wide search since the other day (which I'm not sure if I've mentioned) in YaCy. I gotta set that up at digitaldevildb.com first before working on swordofmoonlight.com. I will setup a shadow website somehow until we decided to do the big switch. All the pages will want to be migrated into Wordpress. Unless you want to setup an archive of the website the way it was (we have something like that at digitaldevildb.com)

[lavaelf1024]

I am just starting my game and it is very "green" right now. ‎  I have an concept for it as I want to model it along the miles of Diablo 2. ‎  It is going to be a work in progress for some time as I don't have much time each day to dedicate to it. ‎  I've actualyl put my online poker playing ‎  (for real money) on hold and put that time towards working on the game. ‎  However, right now I'm stuck in front of my computer at work for 8 hours so sitting for another 4-8 hours each night is a killer. ‎ 

I'd like to try to get the first Act or two mapped out then I'll be asking a bunch of questions to put some finner touches on them so I can upload for review comment.

I plan on sticking with it. ‎  Don't have the working name yet but will let you know as soon as I have
one.

[dmpdesign]

I feel your pain, time itself is the enemy indeed.

I have been "one week away" from releasing my game for probably the past 3 months heheh. ‎  It will get there someday I am sure.

I am glad you have the "stick with it" attitude...its a necessity!

On the bright side I have play tested 12 maps of my game now which is up from the aforementioned 6 in my previous posts. ‎  So its coming along..only 8 more to go and get ironed out before I am done!

[lavaelf1024]

First full map which = level/act 1 of the game is complete. ‎  Not a ton of details added yet but the map is complete and I know what I want to happen in level 1. ‎  Working on figuring out the enemy creation for proper strength of the enemy/player. ‎  Have 90% of the weapons/armor complete for the first board as well (will have to tweak stats but it's all be loaded). ‎  I was hoping to complete the first full board 100% then let it out for demo to see what you guys think. ‎ 

I'd like the game to play sorta like a Diablo 2 with each map as an act/level/area of the "world". ‎  Each level would have different "types" of creatures which I think will play nice. ‎  Each map will have at least 1 town with NPC's to help you though your game and hopefully I can code it so they sorta hand out your quests like Diablo and Everquest (I think I can set the all up but haven't gotten there yet). ‎ 

Is there anyway to "release" a game than put a patch out to add on more content so you can keep your current character/lvl? ‎ 

Hopefully that gives you a little idea of what I'm trying to accomplish with my project.

[dmpdesign]

As far as I am aware lava...you could potentially patch in updates without destroying save games...I will have to check on this to be sure.

Things that will blow up a save game are when you remove information from a map.

For instance, if you had a tree object on your first map and in your revamp you deleted the tree, the game would crash once you loaded a save game and tried to reach that map.

Adding new information to existing maps is ok, however modifying certain things won't work either.

New information, such as adding new items or objects is fine, as long as you are not overwriting existing data.

Changing information that would be held in a save game won't work either, it will not crash the save game, but the changes will not all take affect.

For example, suppose you have a chest or a shop that has a certain item in it. ‎  Once a save game records that information (what is available in the shop and what is in the chests) then you cannot change this. ‎  It will hold the information that it finds when it firsts opens a map.

Now, as for additions, you should be fine...you would simply want to add new maps etc, then the save game should work because it hadnt written any information about the unvisited maps into the save game file.

The only thing you may need to watch out for if you are going to just add entirely new maps, is the warp player events to get your character there. ‎  You may have to account for future maps by at least putting up the warping object in the map you reach all the others from. ‎  For example, in your current game, if your final map was say map 5, and you wanted to have an expansion pack with 3 more maps, and you reach map 6 from map 5, you would likely want to add a dummy object where your warping event object will be placed to get the player to map 6 upon finishing up. ‎ 

I hope what I am saying isnt confusing hehe. ‎  And I hope its accurate!

[lavaelf1024]

Makes perfect sense. ‎  Basically, if I plan on having an expansion to the original to add game content, I should account for it in the original release so I'm only adding the new maps. ‎  Thus, have all the required objects, mosters, items ect in the game code with teh first release including warping from each level set as dummy objects! ‎  make sense. ‎  Hopefully once I get rolling I can blow through the whole thing at once and don't have to worry about it!

[Holy_Diver]

Releasing expansions is new territory afaik. Let us know how it works out

Extensions on the other hand (the kind I cook up) are no problem. They're basically just added value type stuff. I totally recommend people tweak their games with the extensions as they role out/release extension ini files regularly. In not long there will even be a remote configuration option so people can download a fresh uptodate config every time they play if they want (to be merged with their custom stuff) ...possibly including cosmetic downloads to the data directory.