Intersections! So, on a programming-side topic, there's a pretty important topic: Collision detection. This is a programming-side only topic, really; input, reccomendations, etc. are welcome from all of course, but as we're the ones who have to program it, that's who it's really meant for. ( Lines and intersectionsCollapse )
So- to summarize my proposal, we use lines and polygons to define the location of objects in relation to each other, for various technical reasons. I'll work on the actual details (like the line intersection, the poly classes, etc.) and get something a little more solid to work with.
Smirnoff + Smirnoff + Smirnoff + Code = ... So Jason and I got together last night and whipped some code together to make sure that we can, in fact, still write C++ when we have to (Jason has been doing a lot of Objective C and I've been doing a lot of Java lately).
What we ended up creating came about after a few Smirnoff Ice's on my part (and a few less on Jason's part :) ). At some point we were playing with SDL trying to get cursors to show up correctly in full-screen mode. Jason appeared to be getting a little bored so I muttered in my crappy russian-like accent "I give us assignment... make... Pong!" What we ended up making instead was called "Motherfucking Drunken Pong!"
Everybody remembers Pong... two paddles (white vertical rectangles) a ball (little square that moves) a line in the middle and some what to control all of it and keep score. Except, that's not quite what we created....
In Motherfucking Drunken Pong we have BRIGHT PINK paddles (0xff00ff) and a blue (0x0000ff) ball (which we named "Salty"). To update the scene every few milliseconds one might create a function call "UpdateScene." Nope, we created "BallBoingyBoingyBoing" which did all that for us.
Now, pong has a white border for some odd reason and we wanted to be true to the original so we included a grey (0xC0C0C0) background and a grey line down the center of the screen. One could probably accomplish this every few milliseconds by drawing thick white lines (rectangles) where you want your border. Nope, Jason and I are much to lazy to do that (especially while slightly wasted). Instead we paint the ENTIRE scene grey, then draw two black boxes just inside the scene. This is tantamount to putting white borders on a piece of black construction paper by hacking the black piece of paper up and pasting it on the white piece of paper -- sure it works, but you waste a lot of paper (or in our case, time :) ).
Game Information Update seorin and I got together a while ago to work on some stuff for the game and I didn't get to posting it. Sorry :P. Well, we have decided on a lot of game rules(ish) info and some preliminary plot. I don't have the binder with the plot with me here at work, but I'm going to post the rules and what I remember of the plot anyway.
Game Information
The overall look of the game will encompass two different, distinct feels. There will be a worldmap play style and a puzzlemap play style.
The worldmap will have a 3/4 topdown look. It will look simmilar to games like Breath of Fire 3's worldmap. It will allow movement in the horizontal and vertical planes, indicating north/south and east/west.
The puzzlemap will occur whenever the player attempts to 'enter' areas like buildings, dungeons, etc. This will be a Castlevania-like 2d side view. Horizontal indicates forward and back, where vertical would be jumping.
The game will allow a variety of effects in puzzlemap and worldmap views. First of all, this should include weather effects on a somewhat random basis - rain, sun, snow, sleet, fog, etc. Both map styles should allow for NPCs to join the party - allowing follow and AI effects for the character. Both views should include an event trigger system - at set triggers, plot events can occur. These should include as many situations as possible, including (but not limited to) Time, location, item use, and location based item use. The puzzlemap view should include active and changeable backgrounds - effects like armies, battles, fights, civilians, etc. Finally, the character representation should change what it looks like and fights like based on changes in character equipment.
The game will function on the following stats: Hit Points - Derived statistic from level and Stamina Energy Points - Derived statistic from level and Intelligence Stamina - Functions into Hit Points and Damage Taken Strength - Functions into Damage Dealt with fighting Intelligence - Functions into Spell Potency and Energy Points Agility - Functions into Technology Potency and Character Speed Luck - Functions into critical hit rate and item drop rate
The character in the game should have at least the following abilities: Slide (backward) Dash (forward) Press Switches Push objects Jump Double Jump Pickup items Drop/Throw items Variety of fighting styles w/different weapons Variety of tools - grappling hooks, whips, etc.
Powering up will be based on the following features: Levelling up based on XP to give flat stat bonuses Reputation/Favor - Favor with groups allows for gainin spells and gadgets Practice - Using weapons and weapon techniques makes them cost less by mastery
Plot
All right, I don't have this at work with me, but I think I remember most of it. Here goes.
Tentative working title: Twilight of Creation
General World information The world was a fine and pristene place, filled with magic and sorcery from many sources. About five years ago this changed abruptly. The Church which most people worshipped in and believed in as sacred was shattered by a Rapture-style event. In a sudden, all of the believers dissappeared from the planet. The church was left with almost no priests/clerics/monks, and many of the commonfolk disappeared as well.
In the five years since, the general theory that is believed is that for whatever reason, the experiment that the Gods believed in for this world has expired. He (or She) has finished with this world and has left it with all of the believers, leaving everyone else behind to fend for themselves.
In the wake of the Rapture, all other forces of the planet have begun to wane. The wind slows with each passing day. Water ceases to flow. Plants are unable to grow. The sun dims as the sky fills with more and more clouds. And people cling to the land with all of their might in order to survive.
Protagonist Our protagonist would be a man who worked with the church for many years before the rapture. For a yet-undecided reason, he was not taken up with the rest of the followers of the church. Very few people had this occur, and most who did were lynched. After all, one must be filled with sin in order to not ascend if one is a priest.
The protagonst doesn't let on that he was a practicioner of holy might, but still retains a few minor abilities from his time there. He has taken to working for a mercenary-like organization in order to make enough money to live. This organization treats him only mediocrely and will send him on two assignments over the course of the game.
Specific Plot The game begins with a small town in a valley that is still somewhat alive. A river runs through the valley and it has so far been enough to keep the people alive. They have hired the main character to help them dispatch a nuiscance that has taken up residence near their town. A former priest declared heretic has set up a small coven of people dedicated to an evil form of worship (perhaps devil worship). The main character shows some conflict about this because he was once a priest and realizes how hard it is to make it in this world.
As he goes to dispatch the priest, an antagonist is introduced. She is a woman who is in love with the Protagonist's target. She spends all of her time trying to conform him into a better person, and the game will hint that she has made some progress. This will culminate in her being unable to save the Target in time. The main character is successful and the Antagonist swears revenge out of love.
The main character leaves and is then hired again by the same town. Their water supply is dwindling. The spring north of them that supplies the river with water has been guarded by a group of nature-casters (I'm hesitant to use the overused term 'druid' but that may be best). These druids have always lived under the code that it is their right and duty to protect nature. The water from the river is finally beginning to fail and they have decided to not let any of it outside their haven for trees. Mankind is not a natural species to this world, as the trees and plants are. They believe that these trees must be preserved for the good of all, despite the loss of life at the local villiage.
The main character is supposed to go and talk sense into them. And he heads out to do just that. He encounters along his way yet another faction involved in the politics of this land: the heretic druids. This one (or several) person(s) were exiled from the druid camp for their beliefs. They also believe that nature needs to be preserved. But their thought is that what is 'natural' for the world is the lack of life that is spreading like wildfire across the land. They believe that the river should be permitted to flow and should be permitted to stop. For in the end of the circle of life, all things die.
As the protagonist moves through the rest of the plot (still to be determined), the antagonst works with these three forces in an attempt to pull him down. The protagonist's goal is to make peace in this land, and the 'best' ending will be gained from making all three sides live in harmony together.
The main character's powers will be gained from several plot-driven means. If the player sides with one faction over another, he will gain the abilities of that faction quickly while gaining the abilities of the others slowly. If he tries to stay neutral, he will gain them all somewhat slowly. On the upside, staying neutral should be the only way to get the best ending *and* it's the only way to get all of the abilities in the game. Committing genocide against the druids, for example, prevents you from getting the best druidic abilities.
The main character will advance minorly in holy magic throughout his levels as a factor of his holy training. He will gain technologies and skills by siding with the human town, offensive spells by siding with the blighters/anti-druids and defensive/buff/healing spells by siding with the druids.
Other Characters
There are a few other characters that we have thought about as well. Here's a brief summary:
One character, a male human fighter (sword and board, probably) should be found in a remote graveyard-like area. He has diamond-shaped bruises over his temples. This indicates an incurable disease transmitted through contact with undead. This particular warrior stays in the graveyard area he is in and will not leave for any reason. He spends his days and nights fighting a group (probably undead, but one of the factions may serve better from a plot-perspective). This is all he ever does. The disease with which he is afflicted serves to remove lesser used memories from his head. Most people with this disease become depressed that they will forget everyone they know. By obsessing about their depression, they lose all of their memories but that depression and kill themselves. This particular fighter, by contrast, tries to remain happy. He can't remember well, but he does remember a woman with whom he is in love. He can't remember any of the details about her, but he believes that his love is the most beautiful thing in Creation. He plans to fight this group until he dies because as long as he fights he will continue to remember at least a little of what that love is like. The game will hint heavily that she is deceased, but he won't know for sure.
Other characters should hopefully involve additional social conflict. The antagonist will serve in many ways as a foil to the warrior listed above, fighting for revenge instead of love. Additional characters will hopefully include a mayor that mistreats his family and druids that fall in all ends of the spectrum from heretics to suicidal maniacs.
All right, if I think of anything else I'll let you know. Feedback appreciated.
Ideas Haven't seen much if any activity here, and I'm sure that we've all had our own things we've been doing.
I wanted to know what kind of progress is going on towards storyline and background information. As this will heavily affect the 'flavor' of the rest of the game, it's pretty important, and I haven't heard anything about it yet.
Also, something to ponder- I know there was some talk about making the storyline mess with the players heads, but not wanting to be so cliche'd as to just drag out the same old biblical imagery or whatever. To that end, I'd reccommend looking up some icelandic sagas or Herodotus' histories. There's kind of a nice combination of history and superstition to keep things interesting, and while it won't be the same strength as beating people over the head with biblical imagery (Halo, anyone?), it will produce a more subtle interconnection of references. Essentially, I'd get along a lot better with someone who recognized a reference to one of the sagas than someone who put together "Halo! Flood! Ark!" and thought he was clever. (Frickin fanboys.)
But just a thought. If you're looking for material, try looking at those.
tired