[poll] What type of connection do you have ?

[luxregina]

Hey ! it's been quite a while !
I'm extra busy, but still using the few free time i have to shape up Two Kingdoms ...
The cut scenes are back, i'm re-animating most of them ...




there will be 6 in the demo, and before considering how to (re)do the voice-over, i would like to know what is your connection speed : i will assume that you are representative of the Flash-gamer community, so if too many of you have slow connections, then i might not put any sound in the cut-scenes, just text ... (they are "in-game" cut scenes, so i want them to download quick ... )

Thanks for the input !
Lux

[luxregina]

Just because i like screenshots, here two of the last work in progress :





Hope to meet with Christmas deadline ...

[thecombat]

Hey,

I'm using a 56k modem and one of the biggest reasons I dont play flash RPGs is because of the file size... I think it would be great if you used text w/music in the BG... Kinda like gba games... Or maybe a standalone projector file...

[Ironclaw]

thecombat, if you use a 56k modem, why dont you vote on that then?


6
0
0

[marmotte]

why not a configuration screen when we boot the game? with the ability to choose between connection low or high?
then:

code:

---

if ("connection" == "high"){

// add the voices with an additional loading bar

_root.xxxMC.loadMovie("voice_cutscene01.swf")

}

---

or something like that...

I'm using a 56k modem and one of the biggest reasons I dont play flash RPGs is because of the file size

hopefully flash RPGs are generally broken into several files (external .swfs for example), so the game is not completely loaded first. but yes, the wating time is often very long with a 56K modem... hopefully i installed DSL

[thecombat]

Opps... added my vote

[mbenney_jesus]

2mbps Lan here

[marmotte]

Originally posted by mbenney_jesus
2mbps Lan here

pffffffffff

but only 8 posts

[mbenney_jesus]

Originally posted by marmotte
pffffffffff

but only 8 posts

the power of christ repels you!

[tonypa]

Most "representatives of the Flash-gamer community" have better connection then average players. Unless you plan your game to be played only by other Flash game makers, you should have several options for cutting down loading time (no cut scenes, cut scenes without sound, full power).

Wonderful job so far

[luxregina]

Marmotte : i know what you mean, but i'm to a point where i want to cut devloppment time - i just want to finish it, and i've been delayed by so many 'little' details that i'm not feeling like adding one more - separating sound of cutscene would certainly create a syncronization problem, and remebering connections for each player would have me change the registration system ... all the next improvements will come with the 'complete' Two kingdoms game, if this one is successfull over the net ...

thecombat : i will certainly create a downloadable standalone version, but the priority is to put the real thing online before Christmas, so don't expect any standalone before january ...

Tonypa : a compliment ? whaou ! this is a perfect motivation for that time : i struggle at work, i struggle on 2K, so i'm feeling a bit down at the moment ... Thanks !

Not having to do the voice-over would be easier for me, and save me a lot of time ( of course ) but i also care a lot about the gaming experience, so i'm still hesitating ... hopefully, that poll, and reactions to the topic will show me the way

[leight]

lux, ull feel absolutly AWESOME when u finish this rpg! it will be arguably the best iso rpg made in flash!!! u can do it pal, comon

btw: im on 56k modem - wont play it till im with dad whos got broadband!!!

[Son of Bryce]

Just do the voice over to get it out of the way. Include it at first to force people to play it the way you meant it to be played. Then later on include the option to have voices or not. But I suppose it really depends on how much memory you're talking about with the voice overs.

[SaphuA]

Originally posted by luxregina
Hope to meet with Christmas deadline ... [/B]

With the x-mas 'special' ?

But why don't you let people choose to use cutscenes or not? I think that´s the best solution...

[lapo73]

Luxregina you're doing a very nice job!
keep up with it !

About connection speed ... Wow ! I didn't expect these results: it looks like almost everyone is running a cable/dsl connection... but the number of voters is not high enough and maybe as their number will grow, the cable/dsl will decrease

personally I run a 256kb/s dsl at home and a 640kb/s at work.

[luxregina]

cut scenes without sound will reasonnably go around 400-500 K, and more around 900-1MB with sound ...

When you arrive in a area with a cut scene, the cutscene window/interface pop-up ( though, this might change, since playing the cutscene over the regular game seem to slow down a lot ...still working on that ) - obviously, you will be able to close the cutscene interface if you don't want to see it/wait for it ... but then, you might loose precious information, or details about the storyline...

The storyline quite neeeds cutscenes as it is a bit complex, with betrayals and cliffhangers, so i need something more than just the game to explain it, and build a certain tension that motivates the player to carry on and explore ...

So people have the choice, but i want to give them a reasonnable choice - i do think i might head for no voice-over, which will save you from hearing my awfull french accent anyway and cut me a lot of working time ... i just don't want people to say : "i see their lips moving but hear no sound, that game just sucks !"

Actually, i can't remember having seen that type of thread here, and the poll could be interesting for everyone else, since the Flashkit fellows tend to be the first personns to see the in-dev games we all make ...

[marmotte]

which will save you from hearing my awfull french accent anyway

it's well known, english people love to hear french accent...
c'est un peu ça aussi, la magie de la french touch

[thehumanchimp]

well if people choose not to have cut scenes, then they should get the little book thingy that u have at the beginning of the game summarizing what happens in the cut scenes, then they wont miss out on all the important stuff.

[strille]

Great looking screen shots Lux!

(Right now I've got 2.5 Mbit, but that's actually a step down. Before that I had 10 Mbit lan, which I got in 1998.)

[luxregina]

marmotte -> hummm ..being married to an american wife and having lived in USA for a couple of years, i get quite ashame with my english accent on the cutscenes - the weird thing is that it's not like that in 'real' discussion ...i guess being in front of a microphone makes me lose my means ... and seriously, how could you trust a fierce knight with a so heavy french accent : it's just like in SHRECK !

thehumanchimp -> totally agree !!! it's planned : in case you choose skip, then, a summarized text appears ...

strille -> Man, that's still quite fast ! i guess any solution i pick, you won't be in too much trouble (though, wait, my server could also be freakin'slow ! ) ... BTW, we are getting closer to the time when we can have a serious discussion together