My own RPG: The Stories Of Planet Umara - Age of Mythology Heaven Forums

Topic Subject: My own RPG: The Stories Of Planet Umara

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Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 28 April 2010 10:01 AM EDT (US)

Hello.

I'm a regular 26 male, usually trolling around in GD forums and is also making a project in Visual Basic. VB is a programming language much like C++ is a programming language, difference being that VB is much more simple to work with. It is, not, however some Click&Play or RPG maker app that has restrictions. I can do pretty much anything I want, still.

Anyway, the thread title is the current name of the game I'm currently making, and have been making for about a year or so back and forth. It's a 2D RPG quite similar to the older Final Fantasy titles, and also it also contains some quite innovative angles that I have come up with myself, and also some inspired stuff from World Of Warcraft, one could say. Visually I guess the closest similarity would be something like FF3/FF4. The game is played on a PC in Windows using your keyboard (so far), with music and sound effects being included.

Since this is something I do with my free time and only for fun, I don't have the same problems as every other gaming company in the world does: Having to make money, ie having to cater to a wide variety of people. This game is for the RPG vets and pros, period. Unless you're someone who's deeply interested in RPG gaming and can spend considerable time to find sidequest items and configure your optimal setup for the various encounters, this game is not for you. The regular gamer might get past the first boss, but unless he really knows what he's doing, definatly not the second. And it actually gets harder.

So why am I posting this here?
Making a game by yourself is no easy business, mind you. It's _alot_ of work. For every half hour you play in the game, there's likely atleast 50-100 hours of development time invested into that. And that's not even considering the balancing issues, which has proven more difficult than I initially thought.

Making it solo can also make you very tunnelvisioned. Right now I feel a bit stuck, not sure how to proceed with the story or if even some parts are "quite there yet". Also I'd like to hear comments on all aspects of the game; Difficulty, menu system, originality, story etc. I'd love to receive critisism, both good and bad.
So what I'd really like is to find some people who can play the game for me. I could upload the beta for some people here to play, and then hopefully comment on it. I'd guess the game is about 25% done so far, timewise.

Download instructions:

Visit
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6KDSVG9N
and type in the controlnumber and click 'download' in the upper right area of the screen.

or:
Download TSoPU.zip
Should be quicker/more reliable

You might, depending on your system, also need the VB6 runtime files. You'll know if you need them or not when you actually start the game. If you get an error message mentioning something about a .dll file, download and install this:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=7B9BA261-7A9C-43E7-9117-F673077FFB3C&displaylang=en

Installation instructions:

Simply unzip the folder wherever you want and run 'TSoPU.exe'

Screenshots:

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/cave.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/combat.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/enchant.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/frost.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/introscreen.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/menu1.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/menu2.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/mountain.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/town.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/worldmap1.jpg

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab350/NirwandaX/worldmap2.jpg

Tell me if you're interested to test it.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

[This message has been edited by Nirwanda (edited 05-09-2010 @ 04:01 AM).]

Author

Replies:

THYMOLE
Mortal

posted 28 April 2010 10:20 AM EDT (US) 1 / 52

How long is the game in it's current version, assuming you move along at a reasonable pace?

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Peter Fallon
Mortal
(id: Xzyiothe)

posted 28 April 2010 10:29 AM EDT (US) 2 / 52

Well sure. So long as it doesn't require obscene amounts of grinding. I can understand a bit of grinding to get that one skill which would be necessary to live, but if it's like that for the whole game or hits a cycle of grinding that's not my taste.

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Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 28 April 2010 10:55 AM EDT (US) 3 / 52

How long is the game in it's current version, assuming you move along at a reasonable pace?

I'm not sure how long the game would be for the average gamer. I think I usually end the game clock at around 2.5 hours currently, but that's excluding wipes (since they don't record on the clock when you re-load) and the fact that I know everything about the game. I'm guessing 3.5 - 4 hours for the average gamer, but I'm not sure.

Well sure. So long as it doesn't require obscene amounts of grinding. I can understand a bit of grinding to get that one skill which would be necessary to live, but if it's like that for the whole game or hits a cycle of grinding that's not my taste.

It's not grindy at all (and no plans to be either). It's only the intro of the game so far really, to get to know the basics and get familiar with the story and purpose. You don't start out with alot of skills and stuff, so I think it's pretty straight forward for the average gamer early on.
Grinding/farming is something I've mainly decided to not have in my game. The strength of your group will instead consist of what characters you use in your 4-man squad, and how you choose to specialize them for the encounter at hand. Also, a big part (there are some already) and will be tons of sidequests. On these you can find perhaps some remote cave or area to explore and hopefully aquire some treasure. This treasure might contain equipment that will make you stronger and help you progress. But it certainly won't be bashing the same monster over to aquire levels.

Happy to see some interest, I'll see if I can upload it in the near few days.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

[This message has been edited by Nirwanda (edited 04-28-2010 @ 11:03 AM).]

Ruairidh888
Mortal

posted 28 April 2010 12:28 PM EDT (US) 4 / 52

http://i439.photobucket.com/albums/qq112/ruairidh888/Skillz.jpg

Ruairidh888, bringing unknown idiocy to HoV since January 2009.

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Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 28 April 2010 12:42 PM EDT (US) 5 / 52

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

The Legacy
Mortal
(id: Ienzo)

posted 28 April 2010 04:56 PM EDT (US) 6 / 52

My own RPG: The Stories Of Planet Umara

Umara

umad

Oh and RPG Maker VX/XP is probably the best way to make rpg's.

�And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.�
― Friedrich Nietzsche

[This message has been edited by Ienzo (edited 04-28-2010 @ 05:01 PM).]

DragonQ
SC2H Seraph

posted 28 April 2010 05:09 PM EDT (US) 7 / 52

Would it not have been better to use XNA? It's based on .NET but designed specifically for computer games.

Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand.
I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me.
Take me out to the black, tell them I ain't comin' back.
Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me.
There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity.
But you can't take the sky from me...

buppy
Mortal
(id: pubby8)

posted 28 April 2010 06:01 PM EDT (US) 8 / 52

I'll playtest it. Shoot me a link!

Game sounds interesting - nice job making it 3 hours!
Are the graphics placeholders? Mish-mashing ripped sprites looks god-awful and you obviously can't sell anything with those!

Also, Words of Advice: Because you are one man, you can't create what a team could. I suggest you program the game elements, and try to avoid spending time on level design (randomly generated dungeons/levels are a major plus!)

Anyways, done a fair bit of programming myself, C++, java, some GWbasic and shit, mainly for applications. Most of the games I've made have been in stuff like gamemaker - I recently entered a game into the ludum dare comp which you can find here.

[This message has been edited by pubby8 (edited 04-28-2010 @ 06:07 PM).]

MrEmjeR
Mortal
(id: EmjeR)

posted 29 April 2010 02:10 AM EDT (US) 9 / 52

it looks great man, but why don't you just use gamemaker?? it would have spared you half of the time..

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Troy_Im_No_Noob
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 04:06 AM EDT (US) 10 / 52

Use Delphi.

1. Perfection is impossible.
2. Nothing is impossible.
3. There are always exceptions.

Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 07:09 AM EDT (US) 11 / 52

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll upload in in the weekend.

it looks great man, but why don't you just use gamemaker?? it would have spared you half of the time..

A gamemaker would leave me with too many restrictions I'm afraid, and I've already made alot of stuff I'm pretty sure wouldn't have been able to do there.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 07:12 AM EDT (US) 12 / 52

Are the graphics placeholders? Mish-mashing ripped sprites looks god-awful and you obviously can't sell anything with those!

Some of it is, but not any of the stuff you've seen on the screenies I'm afraid.

Making my own graphic would simply take me too much time, and I suck at drawing on top of that. I do edit 95% of the images I rip quite a bit though, so it's usually quite a bit of my own touch.

Oh, and I'm not going to profit on this (economically).
However, the greatest profit would be to have people enjoy the game I'm making with such loooove.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

[This message has been edited by Nirwanda (edited 04-29-2010 @ 07:13 AM).]

Elrich
Hero

posted 29 April 2010 09:50 AM EDT (US) 13 / 52

Which version of VB are you using?
I'd be willing to help you on the project.

btw, what is your avatar from? it's ringing a faint memory in my head.

In all your science of the mind, seeking blind through flesh and bone
Find the blood inside this stone
Well, I know I've never shown what I feel, I've always known
I plan my vengeance on my own - and I was always alone

NomadicNoodle
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 10:20 AM EDT (US) 14 / 52

8-bit theatre, I believe.

PLA

WinstonShnozwick
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 08:29 PM EDT (US) 15 / 52

Nirwanda: Very good job. It doesnt matter what the quality is, (I think it does look quite good), but its just really great that you are trying to do this and succeeding. I am getting into programming, and want to do stuff like this, so it interests me alot. Great job, and that battle screen reminds me of Heroes of Might and Magic Three. On the programming; how difficult is it? I mean how hard to understand and then create stuff? I would personally be hung up on the ideas the most, I would have to think of how everything works and how to make it have a perfect difficulty setting.

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Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 09:54 PM EDT (US) 16 / 52

Nirwanda: Very good job. It doesnt matter what the quality is, (I think it does look quite good), but its just really great that you are trying to do this and succeeding. I am getting into programming, and want to do stuff like this, so it interests me alot. Great job, and that battle screen reminds me of Heroes of Might and Magic Three. On the programming; how difficult is it? I mean how hard to understand and then create stuff? I would personally be hung up on the ideas the most, I would have to think of how everything works and how to make it have a perfect difficulty setting.

Well, even though VB is one of the easier languages to learn, it's still not that easy. If you're learning from someone experienced it's quite pleasant, but if you're trying to find stuff out for yourself I reckon it'd be alot of work.

I am by no means good in VB. I am a novice. Something that might require 20 lines of code takes perhaps 200 in my project, because I don't know all the commands and words.

If use alot of IF and THEN to get stuff done, which is usually not the quickest or best way.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

buppy
Mortal
(id: pubby8)

posted 29 April 2010 10:10 PM EDT (US) 17 / 52

You shouldn't worry about ideas and difficulty, as 90% of those come from in-between designing.

Hammerhands
Mortal

posted 29 April 2010 11:38 PM EDT (US) 18 / 52

Interesting... if it's not to big I'll do some testing for you. I'm on dial up, so if it's much more than five meg I may not be able to download it for many days.

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Spudders
Mortal
(id: Shraze)

posted 30 April 2010 01:07 AM EDT (US) 19 / 52

One question: Is this featuring a leveling system a la Final Fantasy, or is it more like Legend of Zelda, with new gear to find every mission?

btw, what is your avatar from? it's ringing a faint memory in my head.

If you play the early Final Fantasy games, Dark Mage. If you played Kingdom Hearts II, Vivi.

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MrEmjeR
Mortal
(id: EmjeR)

posted 30 April 2010 04:35 AM EDT (US) 20 / 52

A gamemaker would leave me with too many restrictions I'm afraid, and I've already made alot of stuff I'm pretty sure wouldn't have been able to do there.

can you give an example??
i'm sure i can make every 2d game with it..

btw i'm not talking about A gamemaker but about THE gamemaker
it's the best 2d game engine i know... (it's even possible to make 3d games)

[This message has been edited by EmjeR (edited 04-30-2010 @ 04:39 AM).]

Troy_Im_No_Noob
Mortal

posted 30 April 2010 06:06 AM EDT (US) 21 / 52

Trust me, Delphi.

1. Perfection is impossible.
2. Nothing is impossible.
3. There are always exceptions.

Nirwanda
Mortal

posted 30 April 2010 06:31 AM EDT (US) 22 / 52

One question: Is this featuring a leveling system a la Final Fantasy, or is it more like Legend of Zelda, with new gear to find every mission?

It's a la FF, but the level cap will be really low (like lv20 or something) and about ten of those levels will aquire you new skills and talent points (a la WoW), the rest of them to simply enhance the characters stats.
But these levels will only be a smaller part of the game, after that it'll be about collecting that gear.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Gandalf - JRR Tolkein. The Fellowship of the Ring

[This message has been edited by Nirwanda (edited 04-30-2010 @ 06:31 AM).]

THYMOLE
Mortal

posted 30 April 2010 07:20 AM EDT (US) 23 / 52

There was a class in my school that taught VB. But it was valued too low so I just taught myself it to take the AP course (which did java I think). Of course now that I've finished the stupid 1300 page book they cancled the AP class due to not enough students taking it.

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gamerrici
Mortal

posted 30 April 2010 11:13 AM EDT (US) 24 / 52

atleast dont make gear as annoying as it is in wow, I fkin dont understand a fkin shit of the gear in wow

fight_to_plight
Mortal

posted 30 April 2010 12:12 PM EDT (US) 25 / 52

When you complete it, you should submit it to somewhere that sells indie games.

Meh

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