The Field of Kings JOURNAL

[Guyra]

Oooh, this is a sweet map! Well done! :D

[Verdite]

Nicely made :)

[dmpdesign]

Very nice, I assume some of that was generated via SOM ? ‎  At least it sure looks like it.

Keep cranking Tom, looking forward to adding this to my psp collection!

[Hguols]

Yes, the map was made with SOM. ‎  I'm hoping to have this done in the next month or so Todd! ‎ 
Just bare with me! ‎  I'll get it done! ‎  ( ^ - ^)

Got sidetracked again a bit because I found a label to go through for my CD release, The Path Less Traveled Records.

CDs are in pre-press review right now. ‎  They'll probably start on them Monday. ‎  Made this nice little image that gives a slightly lo-fi tour of the actual CD, much like the one made for the debut.



Digital release is submitted. ‎  All that might take a couple weeks. ‎ 
I'm thinking it will be available where its supposed to by mid-March....
____________________

On that note, I have all the scenic images put together for the forest. ‎  Man that area's bigger than I thought. ‎  Next, enemy sprites/aGIFs, after that, putting them in the program...

For those of you who don't know, Wednesdays and Thursdays are my days off work, so the most time spent creating might be on those days. ‎  (at least for a few hours on those days)

[dmpdesign]

Your .gif work is phenomenal Tom ;)

[Hguols]

Thanks Todd!

I don't think I'll finish the programing side of the side today, but I completed all the images for the forest. ‎  Much like the last area, it was larger than I though.... ‎  much larger. ‎  Everything is uploaded in the adventuremaker program, I just need to edit each images hotboxes/commands.

Then again, the forest includes more area than just the green area on the map. ‎  It also includes a few paths in The Garden Labyrinth not associated with the direct maze, and the cave right by the forest entrance. ‎ 

The Courtyard includes 96 total images.
The Lower Courtyard includes 107 total images.
The Forest includes 259 total images.... ‎  just to give you an indicator of the area sizes.

I also added a few concepts. ‎  For one, there will be a "warp" area in the forest which leads to another area. ‎  (through a certain character) ‎  For two, there's an enemy which cannot be killed, only avoided. ‎  This enemy will be reoccurring encounter in The Garden Labyrinth along with enemies that can be killed... ‎  this will hopefully add a little more depth to the game besides wandering around and killing things.

Just from looking at The Field of Kings map, I'm thinking The Cavern and The Garden Labyrinth will be quicker to add in the game. ‎  They're more enclosed areas, and considering their area is more cut and dry than the forest (which also includes a cave and some labyrinth), production will go a little faster.

Also, I'd like to make a mention, since the game is almost 500 images so far, I made an internet backup of them as well as the monster sprites and slash images. ‎ 

Worse case scenario, if my computer were to explode into a million pieces, I'd just have to redo all the program commands and that would be it. ‎ 

I have made one change to the map. ‎  There is the possibility that a few other areas might change, so the map is just a general one. ‎  Just to let you guys know!

( ^ - ^)

[Hguols]

PHEW! 1035 .a files for the game now. I have all the coding complete for the forest area, and rigorously tested. Everything goes pretty smooth. I ran into a problem though regarding the timer.

The only way to "cancel" a timer is to replace it with another one. The combat works well this way, but in regards to an enemy that can't be defeated, one you can only run away from, I found myself back to the dying frame even after "running away".

The solution was duplicate frames in the surroundings with their own timers in effect loading the actual frame. Setup almost like a fake timer, it took care of the issue... if only with a slight delay in loading the both frames.

I believe I'll do the Garden Labyrinth next. It should be a smaller area, and quicker to complete.

I also posted in the Adventure Maker general forum in regards to donations. I'd like it to be an option for the download site I'll set up, as it adds to my own reward concept to receive nice gestures from strangers...

What's said regards to non-commercial versions of Adventure Maker (I just have the regular full version) is ""You are not allowed to make profits from your software - neither directly nor indirectly - unless you have purchased Adventure Maker Full Edition for Commercial Use". ‎ 

Profit implies a transaction of sorts, and that's not the case with donations. This game will be absolutely 100% free...

....I would just like the option to receive gifts, as nice gestures.

[Hguols]

Phew! ‎  Finally got all the images done for The Garden Labyrinth. ‎  I believe I miscalculated, because this area (for some reason) is the biggest area yet. ‎  Probably because there's a lot of confined spaces, and more "turns" than an open area. ‎ 

This section is almost 300 images.

I'm sure it will take a bit for me to put all the hotboxes in.... ‎  Although each area is getting bigger, I am getting faster at constructing.

I'm actually looking forward to the next area I'll be working on, The Valley. ‎  Its divided into two sections, and it will seem a little less work to complete one section, and then the other....

....then again, it will make the game seem like 10 areas rather than 9.... ‎ 
._.

[Hguols]

Finally got the hotboxes all sequenced for The Garden Labyrinth! ‎  PHEW!

Here's the lowdown of the game so far.
Its over 40MB in the setup file...
There are 1633 .a files
Created with 769 JPG images
Different types of enemies: 44

I haven't tested the area yet, but I imagine its pretty tight and won't have to make too many fixes. ‎  I've learned one thing, corners and hallways are a lot easier than open spaces. ‎  To easy to get lost in open areas.

4 out of 9 areas complete! ‎  (but as I mentioned with the valley, it might as well be 10 areas since the valley separates and I'm doing it in two chunks)

[Hguols]

I did an hour of testing in the Garden Labyrinth and only found a few mistakes, which were quickly fixed. ‎  ( ^ - ^)