Taking the example that Bret has provided the grid can easily be applied to not only top-down, iso (which is just a different view of the top-down) and even a 2D level platform game.
For a game based on tiles there'll need to be a minimum of 4 grids. One for the terrain, walls etc., one for the player and AI positions and one for the items/weapons. The 4th grid is used to determine which directions a player can move to.
I had to look at the isometric info more closely but I believe that is how it's done.
Ed, Do we really need the 4th array? The way I suggest is to limit walkable tiles to a certain numerical range and just check that a direction going is within that range.
It would help having it. The 4th array would be required to simplify the process of determining valid directions to move. eg. let's say the game consists of various types of paths (ie. rock, grass, tiled, etc.) using a 4th array would mean using the same range of numbers regardless of the graphic tile being displayed for the path. eg. a walkable path might start out to be a room which leads to a grass path which leads to a rocky path/road.
It's also handy to have when you want a 'one-way' direction. eg. sliding down a steep hill but not being able to climb back up. This is useful to prevent the hero from going outside of the bounds of the game. Using the 4th array will allow us to control the direction of movement. It can also be used to include other physics effects like gravity, wind, resistance etc. All of these can be programmed for by setting/resetting a bit (eg. 32, 64, 128 etc.) Using this technique lends itself to multiple effects without the game engine having to do too much work.
I'm probably going way out of scope here for the project...if so then someone please slap me with a wet fish (you'll have to be a Monty Python fan to appreciate that one )
Say you're in a room, and want to investigate items, you hit the 'L' key which toggles into the 'look view', which brings up the items that are able to be investigated(basically buttons within the game), clicking on an item would call up a script to determine how many tiles and in which direction you are from the item, set up a series of animations to get you to the item (straight line, 45 degree angle, forward backward, knights move/2 up 1 over, etc.), animate the character to the item, open a pop-up with information on the item/items.
For instance if there was a book shelf in a room you could hit 'L' which brings up a series of buttons(one of which is the book shelf), you can then click on the book shelf, walk over to it, and when you get there a popup appears with all the books that are on that shelf( another could also appear with what you are currently carrying allowing you to drag and drop items into your possesion).................
Likewise 'M' could be toggled for movement, which would bring up a series of buttons on the floor(highlighted on mouseover?) by clicking one of these it would set up a series of animations to move the character from the current point to the clicked point. If you are unable to move to that point then no button will be there.
Battles could be turn based, with each character getting a set number of action points to be used for weapon firing, movement etc..........
Say a gun uses 6 action points and you have 10, it's range is 10 grid spots, and you are 14 grid spots from the enemy. You would then have to move 4 grid spots(1 spot for each action point) and fire, then your turn would be over, the enemy ai would have a turn based on its number of action points, and then it would be your turn again. Additionaly for ranged weapons you could add a script that would determine range and base accuracy off of that. The 10 grid spot range on the gun at 10 would be 50% accurate, at 5 it would be 75%, and at 1 it would be 90%. Doing something like this as turn based removes any need for colliosion detection, and puts the battle into a roll of dice(think D&D) type of ordeal.................
I'm not a coder/scripter/programmer by any means, so ignore me if I'm way off base here.
Here's a generic toga wearing guy that can be used with either a platform or iso game. If anyone want the an8 file, or a 3ds let me know and I'll get it to you:
This is what I would consider a basic sketch. I wanted to post it, and see what everyone thought before I went much further. I don't want to get too detailed with him because the final renders for him won't be too large(I'm thinking 64 tall, maybe 128).
Is he chubby enough, too chubby? I'm thinking of giving him some sandals, and a laurel wreath for his head, and yes I am aware he has no eyes. Thoughts please............
-J
Last edited by zoranvedek; 01-29-2005 at 05:07 AM.
Have you been reading my original notes??? I had the character down as bald, chubby and wearing that wreath on his head and also wearing sandles...too wierd! The only difference is the style of the toga/clothing.
I'm not how complex we want to make this game. I think to start off with it should be kept as simple as possible but not too simple. ie. turned based would be IMHO a little difficult on the gameplay and might also make the game less enjoyable.
It might be simpler to have the character move about using the arrow keys and allowing the player to determine the path to get somewhere.
The size/height of the characters shouldn't be more than two tiles high otherwise the screen space will become premium ie. less of it to use for viewing as everything needs to be scaled appropriately.
I'm now also assuming that the game is leaning toward Isometric?
Can I suggest that the game be done in small steps? This might help with the process of making it into a tutorial and will help a lot with getting the basics done first without having to worry about all of the details upfront.
The only thing I can see wrong with using the keys as controllers is that it limits the movement to up/down/left/right with no 45 degree angles. On the other hand that can be a good thing as well. It will immediately cut the amount of animations per character down to 4(instead of eight) for every possible action. This would seriously save on file size, as well as work load.........
Small steps is good. I've never done anything close to iso(game wise), but I've put a lot of thought into it. Let me know what you need to get started with, and I'll see what I can come up with. If nothing else I can come up with some filler tiles for the floors walls etc, and some basic walk cycles rendered in 4 directions of some characters I already have.
At this pont it would be good to come up with a list of all possible actions for the main character:
Walk/run
punch
swing sword/breadstick
pick up item
etc.........
What about facial animations? Will he need to talk(smile/frown, etc)? If so we'll need to list them as well, but that might be difficult to accomplish at 32x64(actually the process in 3d would be the same, seeing it clearly would be difficult).
This all actually sounds very exciting to me. The only problem is that I started my career as a Programmer but wound up IT. I haven't done serious programming for years . Over the years I've dabbled here and there but nothing fruitful. I actually like trying to create sound effects but nothing really exciting. As shown in "Sticky: Site Check ", that is about my extent of 3DFA/Flash knowledge . I'm a quick catch on things and if I had a few good tutorals on Scripting I might be able to help. Though my programming "style" is stuck on Pascal32. I have a good sense of seeing solutions for areas some people get stuck. Any ways - if I can ever be of help to this, I'll definately try. Good Luck!!!!
Like the Toga idea for the character. Should be based on something like Rome and the "gods" of that period, and then using the more recent term "When Hell Freezes Over". Brings all together to present days with a twist . I also like the "humor" of it. Don't have many games like that out there so this is perfect in my opinion . What file format were you all thinking for sound?
Originally posted by MoonRise Like the Toga idea for the character. Should be based on something like Rome and the "gods" of that period, and then using the more recent term "When Hell Freezes Over". Brings all together to present days with a twist . I also like the "humor" of it. Don't have many games like that out there so this is perfect in my opinion . What file format were you all thinking for sound?
MoonRise
I agree totally, I was thinking that maybe he could start out in one town and then venture to several others, one of which would have the entrance to hell, but he would have to find out where in another town(add a little mystery to the game). Another thought I had, was sending him to the oracle of delphi( http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...phioracle.html ) where he would fall into a trance and sleep off a portion of his avaible time for the quest, in that trance he be could given information that may or may not help in his quest.
I would assume sound would be done in mp3, but I'm definitely not going to be the one handling that aspect so I'll let someone else answer that.
We could also use some more people doing animations and graphics (hint hint<-- I know some of you are pretty good in this area), Speaking of which, Animated bats attached....
Word of caution on the guy graphics. Don't paint youerself into a corner making him too complex. If you want him to be able to carry stuff it just makes it more diffcult.
Originally posted by blanius Word of caution on the guy graphics. Don't paint youerself into a corner making him too complex. If you want him to be able to carry stuff it just makes it more diffcult.
Honestly he's really not that complex, it's just when rendered at 32x64 everything gets squeezed down and looks that way, but I haven't tried my hand at a breadstick or a sword yet.
In fact doing him anim8or, seems much simpler, because he can be animated once then simply rendered from different camera angles with only minor adjustments, and if things need changed later on it's simply a matter of re-rendering from the original file, and overwriting what's already there.
I'll see what I can get done using 3dfa for animating a walkcycle and post that.
I'm pretty versatile, and can go in whatever direction is needed. What's everyone elses thoughts at this point? If I'm going out on a limb here say so............
BTW, I've been playing a lot of 'Kid Chameleon' lately, and have been seriously thinking platform might be a REAL good way to go.
-J
Last edited by zoranvedek; 02-03-2005 at 06:59 PM.
Originally posted by kusco Well, I've had an idea for a game that I've wanted to get going for quite some time so I'll share the idea with the forum and see what people think.
Concept:
Our hero lives in a town that is normally warm, bright, sunny and well, a paradise.
One day our hero wakes up to find the entire land frozen over and it's snowing!!
Our hero then has to find out what has happened and begins to explore the town for answers. Eventually, it's discovered that it's because Hell has frozen over. Satan, it seems, has gone on holiday and the fires of Hell have died out. This is why it's suddenly become so cold.
Our hero now needs to find the cave entrance that leads to the caverns which eventually lead to Hell so that the fires can be rekindled.
Along the way our hero encounters all manner of obsticles ranging from bad guys blocking the path or first having to find objects to unlock doors or to even solve a riddle or puzzle. There can be comedy built into the game as well...like a note being left on Satan's fridge with intructions on how to feed the cat while he's gone.
.....just a thought, not sure if there's anything here that could be considered too negative but it is afterall, a game.
hey i just thought of something, is there going to be voices? like say diablo, all of the characters talk. I could be a voice if you wanted...i don't know if you wat a 12 yr old voice...)
tell me your thoughts
Last edited by daredevil911; 02-06-2005 at 01:52 PM.
do you rember the good old Zelda from Nintendo? I spend so much time and played all zelda versions on NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Advanced, N64, Gamecube. What a great game!
why don't make it simple and choose a top view like this?
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Thoughts please............
Zoranvedek that's cool!
. Over the years I've dabbled here and there but nothing fruitful. I actually like trying to create sound effects but nothing really exciting. As shown in "Sticky: Site Check ", that is about my extent of 3DFA/Flash knowledge
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