[WIP] Life Forge

[Zetasis]


     Life forge is an ORPG designed to be what you make of it. The story is simple, you are found unconscious along a shore line by an elderly man who leads you to his home for shelter. There, the player soon realizes they have no memories, of course, and the world of Mythra is all new to them. From here, the players life is whatever they make it. A Life Forge, if you will.

     In the world of Mythra there is lots to do and be a part of. Players can become great and powerful hero's or, if they wish, villains and take part in quest's, explore dungeons, and have pvp battles in arenas. If a player decides they don't want to run around and take part adventurous deeds then they won't have to. Most of the items in Life Forge will either have to be crafted or used for crafting. If a player wishes then they can harvest all sorts of goods and create a variety of items. All of which they can either use for them selves or sell to other players. Guild  and Player housing are also planned features for the game, giving players another little slice of variety and choices which will make their game play unique.

Features. Not all are implemented and/or still in planning:
Quests
Dungeons
Crafting, Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Projectile Weapons
Blinding Spells
Invisibility Spells
Spell Casting and Projectile Enemies
Custom Graphics(mostly)
Paperdolled Items
Zelda-Like Puzzle Systems
Guilds and Guild Housing
Player Housing

      I haven't started too much work on maps at the moment, mostly graphics, but here are some pics to give an idea of how the game will look. The tiles used in the pics are a very small portion of what I have created thus far. I have tiles for many types if scenarios and settings and I can't wait to put them to use and get creative.




     I'm not sure when a release will be but I will keep everyone updated on the progress. More updates and pic's to come. Any feedback is welcome and thanks for the interest.

[Xam]

Story: really interested in the ability of becoming a villain , how do you plan on doing that ? will the quest change base on good and evil ?

Graphics: The GUI, MAPS, and Character sprites look amazing. i like the 8 bit style art

[Zetasis]

I plan on doing the hero/villain through events and quests, unless I can find a programmer to add a real system. Basically the idea is there will be quests and areas that players will only be able to access based on their good and evil points. I have also thought about doing something like instead of a class a player can choose between hero or villain, which would make quests and items etc.. only available to each 'class'. Although, I'm not too fond of the hero/villain class idea so I most likely won't be going that route.

[James]

The art looks good but the UI and mapping need some work

[BeNjO]

@'Zetasis':

> Features. Not all are implemented and/or still in planning:
> Quests
> Dungeons
> Crafting, Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
> Projectile Weapons
> Blinding Spells
> Invisibility Spells
> Spell Casting and Projectile Enemies
> Custom Graphics(mostly)
> Paperdolled Items
> Zelda-Like Puzzle Systems
> Guilds and Guild Housing
> Player Housing

Good to see different types of games hitting eclipse recently. The game looks cool but I would like to nitpick and say a feature list should not include standard features* like blinding, paperdoll, guilds, projectiles, quests, spell casting and projectile npc's etc. Wish you look with the project and hope to see it go live when its ready!

*That are included in default Eclipse

[coffeeraptor]

Looking really great - I like your custom tiles, and overall think the graphics look awesome. Very interested in the hero/villain thing as well. Keep up the good work!

[Zetasis]

James, thanks for the feedback. I was aiming for a retro looking GUI, I didn't think it looked to bad myself, but I was wondering how others might feel about it so that helps. I will try to do some editing and see what I can come up with. As for the maps, I know they're not great. The maps are only intended to show off the tiles and sprites and are not part of the actual game. I didn't spend a whole lot of time on them since they are for example purposes but, be assured, the in game maps will look much better.

Benjo, thanks for your feedback also. I don't have too much to go on as of right now so I thought including the default features in the engine might help bring in players and hype as well as letting people know what can be expected to some point. As Life Forge is developed I will update the feature list to include new and, hopefully, unique features.

Coffeeraptor, because I have seen the art work for your game, your complements mean alot. Thanks man.

Thanks for all the feedback and support guys. It is definitely motivating to say the least. Stay tuned for more updates.

[SkywardRiver]

Holy! I've been waiting forever to see a project from you man, and I think it was worth the wait! I had no clue that you were such a great artist! Why have I not stolen you as an artist yet loool.

Project looks unique and structured and I CANNOT wait to try it out. Best of luck, man. I'll be checking in to every dev log, so keep em coming :D

[TheExtin]

Looks great! The mapping and the art style is fantastic. I'm excited to try it out!

[Zetasis]

Thanks Sky! I think one reason you haven't stolen me is because it would require a complete re-work of all your current maps. ;). Maybe sometime we can chat about working on something. I am in need of a programmer and you an artist, so yeah, I guess we will see. The reason I have waited so long to make a WIP thread is because I know how important first impressions are and I wanted it to be taken seriously. Anyways, thanks for the complements it really means alot, coming from you especially.

TheExitin, thanks and I am also very excited.

[Xenofalcon420]

I like these Graphics are they hard to make? 12 Bit?

[Zetasis]

I don't know about hard but they are time consuming and require practice. I couldn't tell you how many times I have remade my tiles. I know I'm not the best artist but I am learning, and the best way to learn is to start doing it… right? :)

[Xenofalcon420]

this is 8 bit graphics yes?

[Zetasis]

Small Update:

I started work on the first map of Life Forge and, sadly, had to edit my tiles. The current autotile/animated system in Skywyre is huge FPS eater so I had to convert some of my autotiles to normal tiles. I'm not a fan of having to do this because without animated tiles I feel like the maps a dull and boring but I gotta do what I gotta do to get this game made and playable. Hopefully in a day or two I'll have some updates with actual pics to show off.

On a side note, I am currently in talks with a programmer. Nothing is set in stone as of now so I am not going to say their name but if they do decide to program for Life Forge I will be sure to update everyone on the plans we come up with.

[Zetasis]

Alright, so work on the first actual map in Life Forge has begun. It's not very large and its meant to be that way, there really won't be any reason to come back to this map once a player starts playing. In case you didn't notice, the plan is anyways, the player will actually start out with an unconscious sprite until the old man comes and wakes the player. Just thought that would be a nice little graphical addition. Anyways, here is the map:


What do you think? All right for a starting location?

[Conker]

Nice :)

[Zetasis]

Alright so a small update. There were a few people who didn't like the tree tiles that are used in the back part of the map so I edited them a little b
it. I still have the originals so I can use them as well. Anyways, here is the map:


[Xam]

Game is looking great i just cant get enoufh of your graphics

[Zetasis]

Well thanks Xam. Anyways, It has been over a day since I have heard back from the possible programmer, who reached out to me, so I am guessing its a no go. :( Oh well, progress will continue and maybe someday I will have either the funds to hire a programmer or get a dedicated one.

[Dash]

Cool stuff Zetasis, keep on trucking along hopefully you'll find a programmer.

[Zetasis]

Thanks Dash. Your sprites are still awesome btw, thanks again! :D

Also, I have been working on the starting system and so far have gotten it setup so almost just how I want it. I'm having to relearn the event system, its been awhile since I have used it, and have also ran into some issues that I think might be code related. Anyways, once I have something to show off I'll be sure to post it.

[Kazako]

@'James':

> The art looks good but the UI and mapping need some work

Really? I like the UI.

[Zetasis]

Update! I have gotten the event issues worked out and now the beginning process of actual game play has begun. Here is the shot of the first village, Gandor! In Gandor players will learn the basics of how to play and what there is to do in the land of Mythra. By speaking with the villagers the player will learn things like combat and how to collect and use resources to craft new items.

Anyways, to the pic:


[Mohenjo Daro]

Here's a tip on mapping: roads don't break up in blocks, these are perfect rectangles. Try making them more of odd shapes rather than rectangles, keep them going straight, but make the corners come in or go a bit further.
So like… (the o's being the path and -s being grass/breakage)
ooooo-----------oooooooo----ooooooooo
oooooooo--------oooo-----------ooooo
ooooooo--------------oooo---ooooooo

[Zetasis]

I know the road could be better but I'm trying to avoid using autotiles, since Skywyre can't handle them very well, and its difficult to achieve that realistic look without the use of autotiles. Each corner of the road is 32x32 where with autotiles both corners will fit into a 32x32 area. Hmm, I may use autotiles, in a small amount, just give maps that added natural effect. Thanks for the feedback.