The Project Evolves

As mentioned in my previous post, I had started working on a new project in December of 2015.  This new project (currently unnamed) uses many of the assets of "Lands of Adventure," and utilizes all the things I learned during the five different times I tried to build that game. 

After nearly a year of work, I am ready to start releasing screenshots and start talking about my intentions for the game.  Like LOA, I intend this to be a throwback old-school CRPG, reminiscent of the kind of games that were developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

This time around, I'm also providing a lot of my own artwork to the project (all walls, floors, grounds and skies were done by me).  This helps give the project a style that is consistent.

So, here are the screenshots.

First, the main town, shown here both in the daytime and at night:

When talking to an NPC in the game, players will see a screen like this:

Here's a look at one of the character screens:

Combat in the game is very similar to the way it appeared in the very early versions of LOA.  I choose that style because it was easier to deal with and it keeps everything in the same screen space.  I'm also including the victory page that is seen after the combat ends:

And finally, some random shots of the first dungeon in the game:

As always, any feedback is appreciated.

Event Text Boxes

One of the things I struggled with a lot while working on this game was how to present the event text to the player.  I tried a couple of different ways, including...

A) A style similar to the old Gold-Box games in an alternate version of the game:

Nice borders, though.

B) A "floating head style that made it seem like the NPCs were standing in the scene:

Cool head, lady.

C) A floating picture box that seemed disconnected from the text:

Weird.

I liked some of these approaches, but I started thinking of better ways to present the text to the player during the course of the game.  What I came up with won't necessarily please everyone (very few things do), but I like how everything is combined into one unit, making it easy to use and manipulate.  Here's what it looks like now:

Different.

I think it still needs some adjustment.  It isn't centered in the screen the way that I want.  Overall, though, I think it works.  Just like the bar at the bottom, it's functional rather than pretty.  It might be plain, but it works.  It offers me a way to present the player with text and images that move the story along, offer them choices and gives a sense that things are going on in the world.

Hopefully, once I've worked out the placement kinks, it will move this project one step closer to being completed.

Back From the Dead

I'm sure there were probably those out there who thought this project had died.  It's been quite some time since my last post...maybe five months or more.  And I've been really, really busy.

I decided to take a break from the project for a while.  People were giving me all sorts of "helpful" opinions on how the game should be made, and I decided it was for the best to just withdraw until that died down a bit.  Everyone thinks they know how the game should be made, but nobody is really standing in my shoes.  It gets to be kind of stressful after a while.

I had only intended to take a month or two, but with school, the holidays and a bunch of other things, I didn't return until this week.  But, the time away has given me some time to consider some changes.  When you come back after an extended leave, you tend to get a fresh perspective on your own projects.  This can help you realize what you like and what you don't like.

I decided I didn't like how cluttered the UI was.  I felt it needed some tweaking and should be made somewhat simpler.

For reference, here's what it looked like before:

Character info and buttons on the right.

It's not bad.  I wanted to squeeze a lot of information on the screen that the player could access easily.  But, as a CRPG player myself, I know that all that extra information isn't always necessary, and I can usually just access it from the character sheet. Some of it, I'm liable to remember anyway (like the character's class).

So, I went with a more common approach with the character portraits at the bottom, giving a wider angle of view at the top.  It's easier on the eyes.  In addition, I have changed the layout so that the buttons don't appear unless the player hits the ESC button.  And there are Health and Mana bars instead of numbers:

Everything at the bottom.

The UI is a bit plain at the moment, but it's also a work in progress.  I don't have any graphics to fill those spaces right now or any important information to toss in there.  So, judge it based on what it can be versus what it currently is.  Like all things in the project, it's likely to change.

Well, it's good to be back.  I look forward to sharing more updates soon.

Handling Events

Since I have had to return to the previous version of the game (see the post just before this one about that), I had to give some thought about how events were going to be handled.  My previous approach wasn't well liked by some folks, simply because they said the graphics were too realistic to suddenly include a picture of the environment with NPCs appearing in them.

Unfortunately, that isn't likely to change.  I still can't create a game with 3D models like an expensive RPG that actually has funding.  I wish I could, but that's just not a reality when you're developing an indie RPG on a budget somewhere around $1.25.

So, my solution was to have the NPCs appear in a box with a border, so it would be obvious that they are not part of the background.  Many, many, many, many RPGs over the years have handled NPC interactions the same way...so if anyone complains about this, they'll just have to learn to live with it. 

Here's a screenshot of what I'm talking about:

It is obvious that she is not part of the background.

This puts the project back into step with the idea that it is still modeled after old-school CRPGs in style, even if it is using a modern 3D engine.  Hopefully I won't hear a lot of complaints about it.

Fonts - A Return

After spending several weeks messing around with different fonts (and even settling on the Gold Box font for a while), I've come to the conclusion that the best font was the original one.  Some people don't like it, but they'll have to get over it.

Honestly, I've never passed on a good game because I didn't like the font (unless it was so ridiculously unreadable that it killed the experience).  In this case, the font isn't unreadable...it's just not "medieval" enough for some people.  I think it looks fine.

It's not like it's hard to read.

I'm not going to change it again.  Little things like this slow down my progress, and it got so bad when dealing with the whole font situation that I almost put the project aside to start working on something else.

I'm several years in on a project at this point, and it keeps getting knocked backwards by people complaining about the dumbest things.  So, I'll likely stop listening to those little complaints and keep going.  The best advice I got recently was to "build the game you want to play."  That's what I always did in the past with my other projects (in both Unlimited Adventures and Neverwinter Nights), and I'm going to do it here.  If people want to knock it because they don't like the font, that's up to them.  At least I'll have something finished.

Triggering Events

One of the benefits of building a game for the fourth of fifth time is that you can reuse some of the code that you had previously developed.  Luckily, I had already taken time to work out a decent event system all the way back in early 2012 when the first version of the game was in development.  Transporting that into Unity turned out to be fairly simple.

So, the game now has a method by which it can trigger events.  These events can include text messages to the player, encounters with hostile creatures, ways to do damage to the party, etc.  Here's an example picture of an encounter with an angry goblin:

He looks upset.

As you can see, the game is progressing in bits and pieces.  Now that I've gone back to the original vision I had for the game, I have a clear path to get the game back to where it should be.  Instead of needing to reinvent everything, I'm finding ways to improve what I already figured out several years ago.

Once I get a couple more systems in place, I'll probably be ready to tackle the combat system again.  I've already tried it twice, but can't get it the way that I want it.  I'm sure it's just a matter of time, really.

Fourth Time is a Charm

At this point in the project, I have rebuilt this game four times from scratch (not including the early versions I highlighted in the last post).  This will, I hope, be the last time.  It's no easy feat to scrap everything you've done and start over again...especially when you've done it multiple times.

This last time, it needed to be done.  And there were two reasons for that.

1)  REASON ONE: The Gold-Box Factor

The first reason was that the game had become something I didn't want to build.  While I appreciated the feedback I got from some folks on the Internet, their opinions swayed me away from the kind of game I wanted to build.  As I kept listening to them and doing what they suggested, I was getting pulled further and further away from my original vision.  After a while, I realized that I was an idiot to allow this, and I withdrew from the public for a while to quietly scrap everything and start over.

This game started as an homage to the SSI Gold-Box style games of the early 1990s.  Nobody is making games like that anymore.  You can find a ton of Bard's Tale and Wizardry knockoffs, but you don't find many games that try to copy the style of Pool of Radiance, and I think that's a shame.  That series of games was awesome.

So, I returned to that.  This screenshot (which is a work in progress, so keep that in mind) clearly shows a return to that form.  Anyone who has played those games will quickly see the same style and will notice that it also is closer to my original version of the game from two years ago (when this crazy ride started):

Work in progress screen.

The game now has step-based movement (free movement has been removed), allows for six characters (one thing that a lot of people have asked for) from a total of 12 classes and will hopefully have more tactical combat.


2) REASON TWO: Scaling Issues

The other reason why the project needed a reboot was that I had locked the game into one screen mode (1280x720) and had built around that.  Players would have no choice but to play in that screen mode.

After a while, I came to see how horrible an idea that was and realized that I was going to need to figure out how to scale things properly in order to allow players to play in any screen mode from 1024x768 (minimum) and up.   Now, the game should play in a variety of screen resolutions and scale properly.

For example, the above picture is in the 16:9 aspect ratio.  Here's the same screen in 4:3 at 1024x768 (the lowest possible resolution):

Same screen, different resolution.

You'll notice now that everything scales dynamically.  Folks playing in a 16:9 or 16:10 resolution will have more breathing space, but even folks playing at the lowest resolution will not feel cheated.  Fonts, buttons, etc...they all scale as required.  I test everything in multiple resolutions to insure that everything works.  It adds to the workload, but I think it's worth it.

Overall, I don't have a lot to show, since I'm rebuilding many of the things I've already shown off in the past.  But, I don't like to have nothing to show for my work, so here's a few more screenshots.

The first one shows how the game handles text and pictures when you encounter enemies or friendly folk.  As mentioned above, if you're familiar with the Gold-Box games, you won't see something here that you're not familiar with:

This is an old screenshot.  Notice how buttons aren't properly scaled yet (compared to the above screenshots).

Finally, I tend to always show how the character screens are evolving.  After attempting to use the Basic Fantasy RPG system and realizing that it wouldn't work out as I'd hoped (despite how close to the Gold-Box system it would be), I started working out the details on my own RPG system.  A lot of thought has gone into it.

This screen won't show you everything about it, but just know that I want it to be simple enough for anyone to play.  If you're looking for a game with deep character building options, you're not going to find it here.  This isn't that game.  This game will have tactical combat and exploration options, but characters will be pretty straightforward in the same way that they were in any of the Gold-Box titles this game is paying homage to.  That's just reality.

Anyway, here's a character screen:

This character screen isn't 100% working.  The scores aren't showing up right yet, and bonuses aren't calculated correctly either.

So, I hope some of you are still out there and haven't given up yet.  I don't plan on building this game for a fifth time.  This is it.  This is the final version.  I know what I want to build now, and I'm not going to let people steer me away from my goal.  If they don't like it, they are free not to play it.  It's not going to appeal to everyone, and I can live with that.  I'll just focus on making it the best game I can make, and I'll be happy if even one person likes it.

Until next time.

Work Continues

Things continue to progress in the game.  Sadly, I don't have any screenshots to show off; because, everything I've been doing has been code-based.  I'm nailing down the skill system, working on transferring the game from scene-to-scene so that the party can travel and explore areas and starting to put together skeletons that might become the combat engine.

Some things are still fluid.  For example, I'm still not sure what kind of combat engine that I want to pursue.  I could do one similar to the original version of the game, or I could go after something different (tactical like the Gold-Box games or blobber like the Might & Magic games).  Not really sure what's the best option.

But things are starting to come together.  Each system that ties in with another system is a step in the right direction toward getting something put together for a demo.  I get a little bit closer every day.

Basic Fantasy

Big changes are in store for Lands of Adventure, and those changes involve the RPG system that the game will be using.  Initially, the game was using a home brew system that I was developing.  However, thanks to Chris Gonnerman, I have been granted permission to use the Basic Fantasy RPG system in my game.

Basic Fantasy is an old-school style RPG that uses a lot of familiar rules and ideas from the Basic version of Dungeons & Dragons and mixes it with some updated rules from the 3.5 edition of the game.  So anyone who has played an older version of D&D will find some things they recognize.

Information about Basic Fantasy can be found here:
Basic Fantasy Homepage

Here's a screenshot of one of the splash pages in the game that provides information about the system:

Basic Fantasy is really a fantastic RPG system.  I've used it to run a few games.

In case you're wondering why there haven't been many updates to the blog recently, it's because I've been working to implement this system into the game.  I'm not done yet, but it's coming along nicely.  Since the system has changed, this means that some important parts of the game have changed as well.

For starters, there are different classes.  There are now only ten instead of twelve, but I think it's something that people could probably live with.

The new selection of classes.

Classes now include:  Fighter, Paladin, Barbarian, Thief, Ranger, Assassin, Druid, Cleric, Monk and Magic-User (all classic classes that most RPG fans will recognize).  Some of the classes in this screenshot are not available only because the character didn't meet the minimum requirements for those classes (Paladin, Ranger and Monk).

Other changes in the game include the addition of a Saving Throw system, Hit Points and the removal of Mana Points (since spellcasting works different in Basic Fantasy than it did in my home brew system).

Some players may be upset to learn that the skills and perks system has been completely removed from the game.  This is unavoidable, as they don't exist in the current system.  Instead, skill rolls will be handled by attributes and perks simply won't exist.  

Here's an updated screenshot showing the starting town with the new character information off to the side and how it will appear in the game.  Below the name is the class of the character, their number of hit point and their current status (which will show when a character is dead, diseased, poisoned, etc).

Wandering around town, Basic Fantasy style.

Finally, this character sheet will show many of the changes.  (Note:  Saving Throws aren't currently implemented, so they will show up as a static number in this screenshot because I haven't coded them yet.  Everything else is working):

The new and improved character sheet.

Big changes are coming.  I'm excited about it and I hope you are too.

Per the agreement I made with Chris Gonnerman (creator of Basic Fantasy), this game will be released as freeware upon completion (that was the original intention when I started this journey anyway).  However, I may still create a Kickstarter simply to purchase assets for the game (buildings, models, UI elements, etc).  Even free, I want this game to be the best that it can be.  I'll let you know when that happens.

Graphic Update

I got some feedback regarding the screenshots I uploaded last time.  A couple of people indicated that they didn't care for the way that the graphics were done.  I had a few days to think about it and decided to approach them a different way.

For comparison, here's what the NPC interaction looked like originally:

Also pay attention to the dialogue, which changes dramatically in the next screenshot as I tightened it up somewhat.

I liked it when I first worked with it.  But, after a while, I realized it didn't sit right with me.  So, thanks to RPG Watch forum user "Sacred_Path" and a few users on RPG Codex, I got pointed in a different direction.  This is where the graphics are headed now:

A lot easier on the eyes, I think.

Anyway, feel free to leave feedback about it.  Making mistakes is just a part of the process.

Quest Systems

I mentioned in my last blog post that I had started work on some of the exploration and quest systems in the game.  As I explained in that post, I have no idea of which systems I might need until I need them (aside from the combat system, naturally).  There's a lot of things that I can't work on until I see how they're all going to work together.

I suppose that means that I'm flying by the seat of my pants on the development of this game, but it's not much different than working on a piece of art anyway.

Since I'm working on the quest system, I figured it was time to go ahead and share some screenshots of what adventuring in "Lands of Adventure" might look like:

Interacting with someone in the town.

Obviously, a CRPG with story elements is going to need a way to talk to NPCs.  The above picture reflects what talking to an NPCs might look like.  Anyone who has played old-school CRPGs will recognize that this is pretty similar to how the Gold-Box games handled dialogue.

But, if I want the dialogue to be more than just straight narrative prose, I have to allow the player an option to roleplay and to make decisions.  So, enter the branching choices:

I'm picking the first answer, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to pick the third one.

CRPGs have evolved a lot over the past 25 or so years.  This game, I hope, will represent the best things about old-school adventuring while bringing in some of the modern ideas that make a game a little more interactive.  In older games, you didn't get as many branching options as you do in today's games.  I'd like to think that was due to limitations of memory and disk space, and less of a design decision.  It's my belief that the game can still be considered to follow the style of old-school and still include this kind of convenience.

Finally, plots aren't always advanced by talking to NPCs.  Sometimes, things happen, or the PCs see something.  Or, maybe they find important notes...like this one:

MMMmmmm....assassination....

There should be a lot of options for players to get involved in things, or to miss things completely.  For example, this note was found buried in the mud.  It's possible a player might miss it and never find out about it...or they might decide to do something besides get involved in whatever is going on.  And I think they should have that choice.

And who knows...maybe someone will ask them to clean some rats out of a basement somewhere...but at least it won't be their only choice.

Leaps and Bounds

With each passing day, the game becomes more of a reality.  Whether I spend a day knocking out a single complex system or find time to hammer out five or six different things, it all leads to one thing...progress.  I find that as long as I continually move forward on a project, I eventually get to the end.  It's the best advice I can give to someone who is working on anything.  Just keep working and you'll get to where you're going eventually.

As for this game, there are a lot of new things, but not all of them are things that allow me to show screenshots.  Still, there are a few things to show off since last time.

Even though I couldn't salvage the other version of the game due to some strange errors (and I never did figure that mess out), I was able to pull some of my work from that version.  That means that this version now has all 12 classes, skills, perks...etc.

Since I've already shown off the screens where you pick your skills and perks and I don't want to repeat myself, here's a screenshot that highlights what you would see if you examined a character's skills and perks during gameplay:

The "Back" and "Next" buttons allow you to look through the skills and perks of each character in your party with ease.

Of course, starting characters wouldn't normally have six different perks.  1st level characters only get three, but I threw a couple of extra ones onto my test characters just so I could see how they would display.   During the course of the game, a character can accumulate up to eight perks in total.

In addition to the skills and perks, a lot of work has been done with the inventory system.  I've shown the inventory screen previously, so I won't bore you with another shot of that.  Instead, we'll talk about the different things you can do with the inventory.

There are items that you can equip (like armor, swords, shields, boots, helmets, etc), and that functionality is fully in place.  Sometimes, you want to drop something, and you can accomplish that easily enough.  Or, trade it to someone else in the party...and even that can be done without issue.

The hard part was coding the things that can be used.  Things like bandages, which can be used to heal your party.  Or mana crystals, which can be used to recharge the mana of your spellcasters when they can't rest in a hostile environment.

Selecting a character to heal.

In order to assist the player, I have added pop-up windows.  These windows provide feedback or allow the player to make choices.  In the picture above, for example, the player can select which character should be healed with a bandage.

Of course, one thing I always disliked about old-school CRPGs is when you do something that you didn't need to do without realizing it.  For example, drinking a healing potion when you were already healed...or clicking on a character that was already healed and hitting them with a heal spell that they didn't need.

So, I have created safeguards.  If a character is already fully healed (or has full mana, or whatever), the game will actually let you know that you don't need to do that and won't expend whatever item you were trying to use.

This character tried to use a bandage on himself when he wasn't hurt.  What a doofus.

I wish all CRPGs did this, but they don't.  So, that's just the way it goes.  But, with this game I want to be sure that player's don't waste resources on accident.  It happens.  And it sucks when it does.  Hopefully, this will make it suck less.

Finally, after several different revisions, I have come up with a design that I like for the main screen.  Some people won't like it.  They have told me that games shouldn't have character GUIs and that they get in the way...but I think this is only a modern way of thinking.  Old-school CRPGs had character GUIs, so this game will have one as well.

Yes, I created a version at one point where the characters weren't seen and would show up when you pressed the "ESC" key...but if I wanted to build a modern style game, then I would build one.  That's not the kind of game I'm building...so people who don't like it can do something else.  There are plenty of games for them to play.

The text box is not always visible.  It does go away when there isn't text to be displayed.

This is the state of the game currently.  It's coming along well.  I haven't had a lot of time to post here recently.  But, that's probably because I'm spending my time programming instead.

Looking forward to your feedback...

Updated Character Screens

Even though the updates to this blog have become less frequent doesn't mean that progress on the game has stopped.  In fact, I've been working pretty hard.  The problem is that there is very little that can be shown.  Working with code and rebuilding systems from the original version of the game is an essential step...but leads to some very boring blog reading.  I'm sure you don't much care to hear how I revamped the item class objects or worked out the steps to make text print just the way that I want on the screen.  It's interesting to me, certainly, but I'm likely the only one who would find it so.

Still, some progress has been made.  I like to show off the progress to keep those who are interested up to date with how things are coming along.  This time around, I don't have a lot of visuals to show off, but at least I have something to prove that I haven't been sitting on my hands the last month and a half.

This time around, we'll look at the new version of the character screen.  But, before we do that, let's remind ourselves what the old version looked like:

The original character screen in all its glory.

The updated version includes all the same information, laid out in much the same way.  But, it looks a lot nicer.  A whole lot nicer.  Let's take a look:

Updated version.

There's still some work to be done.  The "Continue" button at the bottom shouldn't be showing.  When the character panel loads, it should be turned off.  It's not a broken function or anything, I just haven't coded it yet.  Some of the numbers need to be aligned correctly as well.  They look sort of crooked to me.

I'd like to think that the new, more colorful version of the character screen shows that the game is keeping its roots while updating it's look. 

But, there are many things that can't be seen from just this one screenshot.  Since the last posting, I have updated the number of classes available in the game.  We have gone from four to seven (Warrior, Knight, Scout, Ranger, Priest, Sorcerer, Battlemage). 

Decisions are being made about how to handle the combat in this game as well.  I want to increase the tactical options, but still keep it simple enough that anyone who has played games of this nature will be able to pick it up without a manual or a tutorial.  It's not easy, but ideas are starting to form about how it will all flesh out.

So, if you're following the development of the game, stay tuned.  There will be some exciting stuff coming.

Going Back to Square One

I spoke in another post about scope creep.  In the last few months, this project has started to succumb to that very issue.  The more new things I wanted to add to the game, the more overwhelming the project became.  While everything was looking great, in reality it was becoming a mess and I started to realize that I had gone far, far away from what I had originally intended for this game.

So, I have gone back to square one.  The beginning.  I have started over.  Using the Unity engine, I am going to rebuild the game in the same style as before.  I will save all the stuff I want to add like additional classes, skills and perks and other things for a sequel or an updated version.  Rather than make the game a complicated mess that might not get finished, I would rather build it the way that I want and see it completed.

And, you know what?  I'm fine with that.  I think the game will still be good and will showcase what I can do.  Everything else can come later when I have more help or funding or whatever.

There will still be some updates, though.  I'll be using the 3D engine in Unity to render dungeons and locations versus the hand-drawn style I used in Visual Studio.  And I am still considering trying to make the combat engine work more like a Gold-Box game (like "Pool of Radiance") versus something like Phantasie.

Anyway, here are some comparison screenshots of the way that the game looked originally and how it is shaping up in Unity (which is also allowing me to create the game so that it can be played in full screen versus a little window).  Let's start with the Title Screen:

The original title screen.

The new title screen.  Look familiar?

Here are the main menus:

The original Main Menu screen.

The Unity version of the Main Menu screen.

When generating a character, these are what the attribute screens look like:

The original screen used to generate attributes.

The Unity version of the screen used to generate attributes.

Obviously, the screens are all similar.  This was done purposely.  And it may not be obvious here, but the screens in Unity look nicer.  Not only are the graphics and fonts better, but it's also in widescreen format, giving more space to lay things out on the screen.  Clicking on the pictures might make it more clear.

The original game ran in a window that was 1000 x 700.  The Unity version runs full screen at 1280 x 720, giving far more real estate for items on the screen.  This is all a good thing and I can't see myself going back to doing things the hard way.

So, these last few months have been a learning experience about what I wanted to do with this game.  In the end, I still have a lot of things I'd like to do, but they really need to go on the back burner for the moment.  Let me get the new version of the game caught up to the old version first.  Then, I can enhance it a lot.  It's what I should have done from the beginning.

As always, I'll be glad to hear any feedback you want to offer.

Combat Screens

I've been thinking a lot about how I want to approach combat in this game.  There are a couple of different options.  The one I wanted to pursue was to do the combat in a manner similar to the old Gold-Box style games (Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, etc).  But, the amount of work involved might be more than I want to undertake at this point, since the project is already so large.

There's a term called "scope creep" that's appropriate here.  You start off with a project that is simple, but you continue to add new things to it and it gets larger and larger and takes longer to finish.  Eventually, you add so many new things that you just lose track of what you're doing and the whole thing sinks.

Let's take a look at the original way that combat was presented in the old version of the game:

Fairly simple

Some of the feedback I got was that this kind of combat wouldn't be as "tactical" as other combat options.  I took this to heart, but I'm starting to think that those people don't understand my vision for this game.  I wanted it to have combat similar to the SSI game "Phantasie," and that's exactly what I accomplished.

So, even though I haven't made up my mind 100% yet, I'm starting to work out how the same combat system would work in Unity.  So far, this is what I have come up with (this is a staged combat between a party of female adventurers and several goblins and giants in the forest):

Same simplicity

This is an early version screenshot that I created just for layout purposes.  It isn't a working system at this point (but that will come soon enough).

Perhaps, instead of trying to replicate what has already been done, I should just stick with the combat engine I already created and update it.  It's different from what you usually see in western style CRPGs.  And even though it is similar to combat systems you sometimes see in eastern JRPGs, it's not quite the same.

It's still a toss-up at this point.  I originally pursued the type of combat I did because it was better than the "text-only" style of combat that appeared in games like "The Bard's Tale," but still simple enough for someone to pick up pretty easily.  I think that combat like this can still be "tactical," even if you don't involve yourself in a lot of moving around.  You still have to know when to cast precious spells or hold on to them, when to heal members of your party, and which opponents to strike to do the most damage and bring them down before they can hurt you.

It's a tough call.

Building Characters

It's been a while since I've had time to update the blog.  Since my last writing, I have started school again to pursue a bachelor's degree in Software Development.  So, I've been quite busy with school work and prepping for certifications.

However, work has not stopped on the game.  In fact, I have increased the number of options available for characters.  In the old version of the game, you got four randomly rolled stats (Strength, Intellect, Agility and Willpower) and you got to choose your from four different classes.  And that was it...you were stuck with those choices.

The new version of the game is a whole different kind of beast.  I've already mentioned that the number of classes has gone from four to twelve.

Part 1: Selecting your character's class

In addition to changing the number of classes you get, I have also removed the random elements from the attributes.  You are no longer stuck with fickle dice routines to figure out how strong or smart your characters are.  Now, instead, you can use a point-buy system to decide that for yourself.

The numbers are much lower now, but the outcome is the same.  Having a 5 or 6 is a really good score to start with, and there will be opportunities to increase them as the character goes up in level.

Part 2:  Figuring out your attributes (is it just me or does this screen need work?)

But, I really wanted to make the game do a whole lot more than represent classes and numbers for the characters.  I wanted to find ways for the player to tailor their characters to be individuals and to have whatever strengths that the player wanted to build towards.

So, I devised a working skill system:

Part 3: Buying skills using skill points

Skills increase a characters chance to do something.  Obviously, having a "One-Handed Sword" skill of 3 will make this character hit more frequently and perhaps for slightly more damage when using that type of weapon than someone who has a 0. 

There are even skills for dealing with things outside of combat, like diplomacy, research and bluff.  And yes, I do intend for them to be used within the game.  Nothing represented in the skills will be unused.

But, the good news is that none of the skills require you to have points in them.  A score of 0 just means you don't have any kind of bonus...so your chance is just less good than another character that might have spent points to build the same score up to 5.  All skills can be used "untrained."

Of course, I didn't stop with skills.  I went the distance:

Part 4:  Selecting Character Perks

Characters can also select from a group of perks to help enhance their characters further and really give them some interesting choices.  They will get a couple to start with and will have opportunities to pick up a few more as they progress in levels.

All in all, I think this will help bring the characters in the game to a whole new level versus the way that they were handled in the original version of the game.  I'm pretty excited about the direction it's headed.

Combat Considerations

Since I am limited on my resources, I am currently pursuing a version of combat that is similar to what appeared in the original incarnation of the game.  I would love to have a bunch of 3D models available for the player to select, but at the moment, I'm stuck with images.

The original version of combat was inspired by the old SSI game, Phantasie.  To refresh your memory, it looked like this:

The way it used to be.

An early version of the new combat screen reveals that I'm doing something similar, but with a more 3D perspective.  I'm still using the same art assets, and they work better than I thought.  The direction of the combat has changed so that the monsters are no longer on top, so I hope that it still looks good.

Take a look and see what you think:

The new way.

I'm well aware that the combat icons are repeated (it was put together as a test).  The goblins in this picture also don't mesh as well as I'd like (something else I need to fix).  Also, there's no GUI in place yet either.

I may still change it.  I haven't decided.  But, this is where it stands right now.