Godsoul - Insane Dungeon Crawler.

[JohnPony]


[Dark Crusade]

> I don't know. To be honest, after seeing the dungeons that Kreator posted, I didn't really like them too much.

Really? Your current algorith is a complete mess. The walls are clunky and have no structure. The area is completely opened in the strangest shapes, and littered with random tiles of unconnected walls. Dungeons are man/creature-made, so they should at least look more accomodating and interesting. I hate to say it but I can't imagine anybody enjoying exploring and questing in the current maps.

[Murdoc]

We're still working on the algorithm, to make maps more appealing. Currently, some areas are actually quite interesting as far as layout. We would go with the room algorithm except were aiming more at "this dungeon is very old and worn" with missing walls and such. And, a cavernous approach feels too perfect for the vision we have. Here is an example of a less boring dungeon layout. Keep in mind this does not show any mobs, lighting (which is in the works), or decorations like torch-stands:


[JohnPony]

> Really? Your current algorith is a complete mess. The walls are clunky and have no structure. The area is completely opened in the strangest shapes, and littered with random tiles of unconnected walls. Dungeons are man/creature-made, so they should at least look more accomodating and interesting. I hate to say it but I can't imagine anybody enjoying exploring and questing in the current maps.

~~Don't worry, due to the split that people are having over the two styles (some like the current as they claim it's unique and fun),  I'll implement a secondary algorithm that will generate room based maps with connecting hallways. The dungeon generator will select between these two styles during each level for increased variety.~~

Edit:

Okay, so here's how it's going to work. You guys are going to have two different game modes. All progress will be seamless between the two game modes, which means that you'll keep the items, stats, and everything else you find in both modes.

The first game mode will be the Classic Mode. In Classic Mode, the dungeons will be room based with connecting hallways

The second game mode will be Insane Mode. In Insane Mode, the dungeons will be more focused on the random aspect. There will be crazy layouts, crazy music, and crazy monsters.

I hope this will allow people from both sides of the fence to better enjoy the game!

[Dark Crusade]

I played a game called 'Shoot First' which had more messy dungeon rooms. The rooms were less squared, there were remnant walls in between rooms, and the corridors were more windy. Perhaps it hits a good 'in between'?



[Link]

I like the concept of the simplicity but when I look at these dungeons so far I feel as though they're missing something. I hope to see much more detail with these dungeons and a further developed concept with this game.

[jcsnider]

He said he was going to add torches and other details soon. It is missing monsters obviously but they are WIP.

Having multiple dungeon algorithms sounds best to me, that way people can choose to be more confused or if they want to spend more time fighting. Either way John knows what he is doing when it comes to that ;)

[Link]

The reason I say a more developed concept is because what will make people want to play this dungeon crawler more than the other ones that already exist? I want to see something unique, don't get me wrong while your programming is good and it seems you're headed in the right direction I still don't see that "boom" that would make this project grow in popularity, it could have a bit to due with the lack of detail released in the main post. I just personally want to know more about GodSoul as a game and why I would choose to play this over other games like it that may already exist and may already be more popular and even further developed, not just a few engine mechanics. Get where I'm going?

Unlike House, no offense, I'll actually back up the reasoning behind my own critique. Though if you were not prepared for such questions you probably shouldn't have posted this early. There's one solid thing that all game developers should know and it's patience is a must. I personally would have told you to wait until there was a bit of further development or at-least more of a solid concept with even more in depth mechanics before releasing it for a bit of showing.  Because in the end if you were to run into any negative comments about it being boring, in the future, you cannot simply blame it on it's a WIP.

Also one more thing I wanted to mention, do you have any real plans behind this game? Is it a test project? Are you putting your all into it as far as programming? If I were you before jumping head in I'd go with a method of prototyping first, create something simple that revolves around the concept, release it and see if players would latch on to it. It's the fastest way to know if what you're working on is even worth the time. Then again I'm black, 18 and only a hobbyist programmer in vb6, what do I know xD

[Richy420Rich]

> what will make people want to play this dungeon crawler more than the other ones that already exist?

Then again, what would make players play this game instead of WoW, ESO, RS, Skyrim, etc etc? Nothing… Such is the same for all projects on this board. "If you build it, they will come." - They may not like it, or stay around for it, but they WILL try it. I know John isn't really the "game maker".  He focuses on programming mostly, and that's mainly what he was showing off here, besides Murdoc's kick ass graphics. :P

Popularity comes from advertising, if he pushes the link and game out to social networks, it could very well grow...

You are right on one thing, patience is needed. Alot of people have a hard time going the distance and actually get something out of the proghetto, (programming ghetto). ;)

[Link]

It's true they might try it, that's logical to say. But if he's building this game I assume he wants a fan base that will stick, the question is what will he do with the concept to make it juicy and ensure that those players who try it want to come back for more?

You're right, he's showing off his programming, but what really is there to show besides main mechanics of movement, a chat box, and the algorithm which isn't complete? My point there was he can't blame anyone for saying it's boring if they do, because he decided to show something he himself knows isn't much to show off. If he wanted to show off programming he should have waited until he had some editors, more content UI wise and so on.

In relevance to my patience comment that was also pertaining to him posting what he had so early on which in all truthfulness isn't much. Don't get me wrong, I said it was good thus far because as ANOTHER PROGRAMMER what caught my attention right away was the algorithm, but not everyone who looks at this will be a programmer like the few of us on the topic who said they liked the progress mostly because they're speaking from a programmer's perspective.

[Murdoc]

> It's true they might try it, that's logical to say. But if he's building this game I assume he wants a fan base that will stick, the question is what will he do with the concept to make it juicy and ensure that those players who try it want to come back for more?
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> You're right, he's showing off his programming, but what really is there to show besides main mechanics of movement, a chat box, and the algorithm which isn't complete? My point there was he can't blame anyone for saying it's boring if they do, because he decided to show something he himself knows isn't much to show off. If he wanted to show off programming he should have waited until he had some editors, more content UI wise and so on.
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> In relevance to my patience comment that was also pertaining to him posting what he had so early on which in all truthfulness isn't much. Don't get me wrong, I said it was good thus far because as ANOTHER PROGRAMMER what caught my attention right away was the algorithm, but not everyone who looks at this will be a programmer like the few of us on the topic who said they liked the progress mostly because they're speaking from a programmer's perspective.

If this "work in progress" was simply to show off John's programming skills, then yes it would make sense to show more aspects of programming. But, the point of this thread is to show the progress of the game itself. It is a prototype, nothing more nothing less. We understand why some don't like it, and others do as far as mechanics and visual appeal (This will all change in time). Now as far as patience is concerned, I don't think we're being impatient by showing a game prototype in it's very early stages. And, isn't it fair to say that if we really were impatient we would've skipped the prototype phase, rushed programming and development and released a buggy game? Needless to say, we have no intention of developing this way. I hope that clears things up as far as "Why game no look like game yet?" Keyword: Prototype.  ;)

[JohnPony]


Finished some basic lighting.

I'm going to work on this a bit more when I learn some better lighting techniques.

[Dark Crusade]

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> Finished some basic lighting.
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> I'm going to work on this a bit more when I learn some better lighting techniques.

Lighting haha? That's just a mask

[JohnPony]

> Lighting haha? That's just a mask

Actually, I'm currently drawing primitive lines and slowly bending their x/y coordinates using trig functions to create an arc. I'm setting the spread angle to 360 degrees so that they create that circle effect. I am then rendering the resultant pieces onto a black texture using multiplicative blending. After that, I finally render the texture onto the screen to get the desired effect.

Please don't jump to conclusions next time.

Thanks,

John

[Dark Crusade]

> Actually, I'm currently drawing primitive lines and slowly bending their x/y coordinates using trig functions to create an arc. I'm setting the spread angle to 360 degrees so that they create that circle effect. I am then rendering the resultant pieces onto a black texture using multiplicative blending. After that, I finally render the texture onto the screen to get the desired effect.
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> Please don't jump to conclusions next time.
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> Thanks,
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> John

Sorry if I upset you, but why all the effort? An overlaying mask would have achieved the same effect, would have been more optimised (no pointless calculations), and would have not wasted your time. Your 'spotlight' isn't even lighting. Lighting is a blend of different values. Your mask is obstructing the view and allowing the player to see through a small hole, which in my opinion is quite unaesthetic.

[Dark Crusade]

Something like this is lighting and would look good if applied to your dungeon.


[JohnPony]

> Sorry if I upset you, but why all the effort? An overlaying mask would have achieved the same effect, would have been more optimised (no pointless calculations), and would have not wasted your time. Your 'spotlight' isn't even lighting. Lighting is a blend of different values. Your mask is obstructing the view and allowing the player to see through a small hole, which in my opinion is quite unaesthetic.

Because your method doesn't allow for dynamic lighting, which is something that I'm working on as we speak.

Also, considering the fact that I can change the color to pretty much anything that I want to, your statement about the hole being ugly is completely invalid. I just need to find a nice color to use and throw in the ability for it to slowly blend out as it approaches its circumference.

[Dark Crusade]

> Because your method doesn't allow for dynamic lighting, which is something that I'm working on as we speak.

What exactly are your plans to make what you've currently got dynamic? You were never clear. All I saw in the original image was a mask with a hole in it. I saw no variety, flexibility or customisation so please don't get upset when I give you a better way to do it when you never said it was unfinished. Dynamic lighting usually refers to interactive real-time light that changes according to weather, time, multiple light sources, and adapts to walls and other block objects, and casts shadows and so forth.

[BeNjO]

No credit? Thanks…

This engine/game is going to be awesome. Played it and seen it. It has come along way.

[JohnPony]


Just a small update regarding interfaces.

[JohnPony]

For the more tech savvy users:


[JohnPony]

-snip- trying to get better image quality.

[JohnPony]


[aaaron]

Lots of classes lol

[JohnPony]


Not a very large update, just a small death screen that I implemented.

Not sure if anyone will get the reference.

I have monsters pretty much implemented, but I'm just waiting on Murdoc before I show any additional screenshots.