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Topics - Zera
46
« on: February 21, 2010, 03:45:56 pm »
 Like, I know a lot of webmasters would prefer their sites be indexed by search engines, but doesn't having web crawlers around give anyone else the creeps? I'm always worried about what personally-identifiable information they may be collecting, or the possibility that they're harvesting e-mails for spam-lists. I don't like the idea of advertising agencies collecting information to profile my browsing habits with. Maybe I'm just paranoid. Of course, if they're not actually wanted and they're just wasting the site's bandwidth with their requests, Kevin could always consider a crawler trap to throw them off. It's something like a fake page that the bot would get "stuck" in.
47
« on: February 19, 2010, 07:56:40 pm »
スペース・ファイター斬剣 (for those curious, "Zanken" roughly translates to "cutting sword") I had this random idea earlier for a top-down shoot-'em-up. I doubt I would ever have the coding abilities to pull it off, but I enjoy coming up with random ideas, no less. I have a folder full of projects and assets that never get developed.  The game centers around Zanken: An advanced military spacecraft tasked with navigating through hoardes of hostile invasion forces and ultimately destroying the central core of the enemy operation. Each level consists of an area of space swarming with enemy formations. Zanken must defeat each formation in order to progress to the next level. Zanken is equipped with a wide arsenal of weapons -- each useful in a variety of situations. By defeating enemies and collecting power-ups, Zanken may switch between the various options available. Space Fighter Shield - Each shield upgrade (S) covers Zanken from a single hit. Zanken's shield will increase or decrease in size to indicate the shield's strength. Power Cells - When a power cell (P) is collected, Zanken switches between the weapons in its arsenal: L-0: Twin-Shot (default) - Fires two shots directly ahead. The weapon can be fired successively without much cool-down between shots. L-1: Pulse Emitter - Fires a pulse laser straight ahead. The laser penetrates multiple enemies, but has a longer cool-down period. L-2: Wave Beam - Fires a wave beam that covers a radius of three tiles, but has a slight cool-down period. L-3: Diffusion Missile - Fires a missile with a destructive yield. The missile appears in front of Zanken and flickers for a brief moment before launching itself ahead. When the missile explodes, it damages all targets within surrounding tiles. Has the longest cool-down period.         To the bottom of the play area are Zanken's score, and the number of players (lives) available. By accumulating points, Zanken can earn additional players. To the right is the display for the current level, and Zanken's shield (S) and weapon (P) power meters. Each meter indicates the current / max number of upgrades. ------------------------------ I was kind of curious how feasible such a project might be if written in BASIC. I can say a few things about it: - There wouldn't be any masking, because it's strictly monochromatic; and each sprite generally covers the entire tile, anyway. - I'm not sure if scrolling is feasible, but it's probably not necessary. One idea was that the graphics used in backgrounds could appear and disappear in patterns, giving the illusion of having a dynamic environment. (i.e., stars appearing and vanishing) - I'm not sure how the sprite routine would work yet. I think maybe movement would occur 8 px at a time. (so a sprite would "jump" from tile to tile, as it would in one of those old Tiger Electronics LCD games) - There aren't any graphics larger than 8x8 pixels. Bosses are sort of comprised of multiple, arranged tiles, but the actual target (such as the core, or a weapon) would only be 8x8 px.
48
« on: February 18, 2010, 11:45:06 am »
As the question states: What's your opinion on gameplay difficulty? Too little; too much? Is there a right balance for you?
Feel free to elaborate on your thoughts!
49
« on: February 14, 2010, 02:55:38 pm »
I am trying to find the proper way to word a particular phrase. I am not clear on possessive forms of words, and whether or not normal sentence order can be arranged to sound more... poetic. Some poetic works in English will liberally arrange words in the sentence order, but English syntax is already flexible enough that the reader can understand the meaning without much hassle. I'm not sure how and if this can be done in French. What I am trying to translate is something like, "Coda: With Memoria's Dream Eternal," or, "Coda: With Memoria's Dreaming Eternal." What I've come up with so far is, "Coda: Au Memoria du Rêve Èternel." (that *should* mean, "With the Dreaming of Memoria Eternal") It probably sounds awkward. I may have arranged the syntax badly, as well. There are also a couple of other strings. I feel pretty confident I may already have these correctly written, but they are: Prologue: La Roman de Chevalerie de Mâyâ ("Prolog: The [Romance (legend; poetic epic)] of Maya") Seconde Mouvement: Vérité Réprimée ("Second Movement: Repressed [Truth / Verity]") - I wanted this to say "A Repressed Truth," but I'm not sure what the proper article is for "A." (if there is any distinction at all) I'm also curious if there might be a more poetic way of ordering chapters or events in a story, aside from calling them "chapters." I know we have some resident native speakers of French here. Would appreciate any help.  To throw in a bit of clarification, here are the four chapters of the story as they might appear in English: First Chapter / Prolog: The Romance / Legend of Maya Second Chapter: A Repressed Truth / Verity Third / Final Chapter: With Memoria's Dream Eternal (Optional / Additional) Chapter: All'inizio è la Morte (which is the only Italian string, as opposed to the other chapters; roughly meaning, "It Begins with Death") I don't know a good way to translate something like, "Appended Chapter," or "Extra Chapter."
50
« on: February 12, 2010, 04:49:30 pm »
First and foremost, this is something of a rant. When you're playing computerized versions of tabletop games or puzzles, you usually have the option of playing against a computer opponent. Admittedly, some A.I. will have the advantage of knowing the most underhanded strategies to win; but as long as these strategies are legitimate plays, I wouldn't necessarily complain about the difficulty. When the A.I. blatantly cheats or breaks the fundamental mechanics of the game, then I have an issue with the game itself. I recently downloaded a computerized version of Hnefatafl. Since I doubt many people are familiar with the game, the objective and play is fairly simple: You begin by playing either the attacking or defending side of two armies. If you're playing the defending side, then your objective is to move your king to any of the four corners to safely escape to board. If you're playing the attacking side, your objective is to capture the other army's king. Pieces can move any number of spaces in a straight line, provided their path is not obstructed. An enemy piece is captured by sandwiching it between two of your own pieces, but the king may only be captured by surrounding it from all ends. At the end of the first match, you switch sides and play the opposing army. The outcome is determined by who won both matches, or if there's a draw, who made the most captures overall. Now, in this version, you sometimes have to play multiple games against the same NPC. In particular, there is one NPC who requires you to play three whole games. (six matches total) Should you lose even one of these games, the NPC automatically wins. Even if you have two flawless victories and lose the third game, the NPC still wins. The first two games are fairly simple. After that, the NPC blatantly breaks the game mechanics by "summoning the power of the Norse gods." This effect *destroys* a piece from your army -- usually a piece that you've strategically placed to prevent the NPC from winning. Right at the end of the match, he will successfully destroy any piece you use in attempt to obstruct the escape route of his king; thus, even if you won the last two games, you lose the entire campaign. These kind of abilities were never present in the actual Hnefatafl board game. They, infact, undermine the entire element of strategy. No matter how you arrange your pieces, the NPC can destroy them at its own discretion. It's like if you were playing a board game with someone in-person, and they just started removing your pieces from the board because they wanted to. Would you even bother to play against them? No. I don't think so. So why do some game developers think that this kind of slap-in-the-face approach to implementing difficulty is going to work in a computerized version of the game? For reference, this is a Hnefatafl setup: 
51
« on: January 20, 2010, 08:14:57 pm »
I started working on a few ideas for a new project, but I have since lost interest / dedication toward seeing it finished. I don't necessarily want all the assets to go to waste, so I'm going to share them with the community. In any event that someone wants to pick-up on this and develop it -- or use / modify the assets for their own projects -- that's fine by me. Maybe something here can be useful to someone.
52
« on: January 15, 2010, 05:49:22 pm »
I decided I wanted to give BASIC a shot. I figured I should go ahead and arrange some assets and details for a personal project that could help me test and develop my coding skills along the way; so I've been working on this little gem. The game takes place in a medieval setting, within a world known as Sanctum. The story focuses on a region ruled by Lord Calendae -- a powerful monarch, and a just ruler. The region is protected from evil by a relic known as the Holy Grail, ensuring the peace and prosperity of all denizens therein. Although the relic is only used to guard the region from the monstrosities that plague the rest of the world, it's power is malleable to the will of anyone who comes into its possession. One day, monsters began to surface within the region, and Lord Calendae found that the Holy Grail had been removed. An age of darkness and chaos ensued as people were forced to take up arms and defend their land against destruction. Lord Calendae summons a hero to seek-out the Holy Grail and return it to its place. This is where the player comes in...    First, the player is tasked with creating his or her own character from a selection of character races. Each race has its own unique strengths and weaknesses: Human - Humans belong to the most common race in Sanctum. They're fairly balanced and proficient in a wide array of armaments and spellcraft. They have no clear advantages over other races, however.
Hit Points 13
Vigor 3 +0
Dexterity 3 +0
Fortitude 3 +0
Wisdom 3 +0
Charisma 3 +0
Regeneration: 1/48 steps
receive 50% more XP per kill / quest
only race that can use Clarent Blade
+ to diplomatic negotiations
Dvergar - Short and stout humanoids with a strong sense of vitality. Dvergar are mostly economically-oriented, and produce some of the finest weapons and wares in the entire region. They live by a strict ethos, "Steel is stronger than magic" which forbids them from using spellcraft. Many Dvergar feel that spellcraft is a cheap and dishonorable way of defeating an opponent.
Hit Points 15
Vigor 3 +1
Dexterity 3 -1
Fortitude 3 +2
Wisdom 3 +0
Charisma 3 +0
Regeneration: 1/24 steps
+1 hit with axes
immune to disease
half damage from poison
additional chance of finding GP
can't use missile weapons (except throwing axes)
can't use non-priest spells, or magical items
Mitra - Strange and magicakal humanoids that hail from the woodlands. Mitra have very slender and beautiful features, and a strong affinity for spellcraft. Their weaker frames afford them less strength with which to carry heavy armaments, however.
Hit Points 12
Vigor 3 -1
Dexterity 3 +1
Fortitude 3 -1
Wisdom 3 +2
Charisma 3 +1
Regeneration: 1/40 steps
+1 hit with bows
+1 resist magic
nightvision
can't wear scale, cuirass or plate armor
Saurian - Fearsome lizardmen that reside within the swampy regions of Sanctum. Saurians are mostly secluded from other races, prefering to remain within their own societies. Their non-humanoid design makes it impossible for them to wear any type of armor designed by man. On the other hand, their natural scales afford them protection against the elements, as well as many types of weapons.
Hit Points 14
Vigor 3 +1
Dexterity 3 +0
Fortitude 3 +1
Wisdom 3 +0
Charisma 3 -1
Regeneration: 1/32 steps
+1 hit with spear / halberd
water-breathing
+1 resist fire
can't wear armor (has natural armor class)
Half-Troll - Gruesome creatures that are mostly regarded as outcasts by other races. Half-Trolls live within chaotic societies driven by survival of the fittest. It is common knowledge that trolls can regenerate any kind of damage. The only way to kill them is with fire. Half-Trolls have less regenerative abilities, but also a less lethal weakness to fire.
Hit Points 14
Vigor 3 +2
Dexterity 3 -1
Fortitude 3 +1
Wisdom 3 -1
Charisma 3 -1
Regeneration: 1/16 steps
evil-aligned; can't wear Elfin Chain or use good-aligned spells
+1 hit with two-handed weapons
-1 resist to fire
immune to poison The player may also allocate points in various skills: Hunting - affects how much food is gained by killing animals and fishing, and also whether or not you gain the animal's pelt, which can be sold
Harvesting - affects how many turns it take to harvest lumber, and what it sells for
Alchemy - affects which potions can brewed from reagents and other items, and how effective healing potions are
Lore - automatically identifies some items, depending on lore level; increases chance of rare treasures or more gold / gems appearing
Survival - affects some resistance to poison and disease, and affects how quickly food is consumed; affects natural regeneration rate Characters with magical aptness can learn a variety of spells by scribing magic words found on cavern walls, or from the tutelage of various priests and mages scattered across the region. Some spells allow the player to uniquely interact with the environment:
______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Level 1 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Continual Light | remove fog-of-war for 2h |
| Bless | AR and AC +1 for 2h |
| Create Food | add food [WIS*2(+8)] |
| Locate Traps | flash any trapped objects on-screen |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Level 2 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Neutralize Poison | cure poison |
| Heal Infirmity | heal HP [WIS*4] |
| Cure Disease | cure disease |
| Remove Curse | remove cursed items or curses on character |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Level 3 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Water-Walk | move across water tiles until reaching land |
| Animate Dead | summons a random, undead minion [undead lvl WIS/2] |
| Lightning Bolt | (pending)
| Flame Blade | enchant weapon with fire-elem. power for 2h |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Level 4 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Earthquake | too verbose to fit here! |
| Chain Lightning | (pending)
| Restoration | heal HP; [WIS*8] reverse energy-drain; incur fatigue|
| Dispel Evil | kill lvl7<= demon/undead within 1sq; no save |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Level 1 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Unlock | removes locks; lock-level based on [WIS*1] |
| Repulsion | morale failure in lvl2<= creatures for 2h |
| Burning Hands | (pending)
| Magick Missile | straight missile; damage [WIS*1] |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Level 2 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Invisibility | incur invisibility for 2h |
| Shield | AC and DR +1 for 2h |
| Sleep | hold all on-screen creatures 2h; save vs. charm |
| Flaming Sphere | (pending)
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Level 3 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| True Vision | expose all traps, secret passages and invisibility |
| Malison | summons up to 4 random lvl1 monsters [WIS*1(-1)] |
| Haste | double movement for 2h |
| Vampiric Touch | damage within 1sq; [WIS*1] restore that much own HP |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Level 4 | Effect |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Dimensional Door | create gate to Calendae Castle; incur fatigue |
| Disintegrate | kill lvl6<= creature within 1sq; save vs. death |
| Incindiery Cloud | (pending)
| Time Stop | hault game ticks for 32 movements |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
The game is very rogue-like, with emphasis on exploration, personal survival, (managing food and resources) gathering information, etc. Large sections of the region are randomly generated each time a new game is started. This is achieved by a seed that arranges certain paths and objects, and generates treasures and monster encounters based on the relative difficulty of that area. Towns and dungeons will mostly be static maps. The player will be given a difficulty option that can affect the size of the world generated, as well as how easy it is to come across treasures and resources. A character progresses by gaining XP points. (from quests, or defeating enemies) This accumulates into a large XP pool. The player then has to visit various shrines located across the region. Each shrine corresponds to a specific attribute; such as dexterity or hit points. By praying at the shrine, XP is deducted, and an attribute is permenantly increased. In essence, there are no experience-levels. A player can improve any attribute by accumulating XP and then spending it to have specific attributes increased. There's a large selection of weapons and armory that can be found and equipped. Aside from normal equipment, there is also "masterwork" equipment, which has slightly improved statistics. Rarely, you may find magical equipment with special abilities. In some cases, it's necessary to have magical items in order to defeat a certain type of enemy. For instance, you need a weapon enchanted with fire if you wish to defeat a troll. _____________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | |
| Normal Melee Weapons | AR | Dm | Wt.| Special Attack |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Dagger | | -- | 00 | |
| Mace | | +1 | 08 | |
| Sword | | +1 | 05 | |
| Hatchet | | +1 | 03 | |
| Spear | | +2 | 06 | |
| Two-Handed Sword | | +2 | 10 | |
| Broadaxe | | +2 | 08 | |
| Halberd | | +3 | 12 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Masterwork Melee Weap. | AR | Dm | Wt.| Special Attack |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Dagger +1 | | +1 | 00 | |
| Mace +1 | | +2 | 08 | |
| Sword +1 | | +2 | 05 | |
| Sword +2 | | +3 | 05 | |
| Spear +1 | | +2 | 06 | |
| Two-Handed Sword +1 | | +3 | 10 | |
| Halberd +1 | | +4 | 12 | |
| Dagger of the Snake | | -- | 00 | incur poison |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Magickal Melee Weapons | AR | Dm | Wt.| Special Attack |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Firetooth Dagger | | -- | 00 | fire-elem. |
| Marrowedge | -1 | -1 | 01 | cursed; heal 1 HP per successful hit |
| Trollbane Sword | | +1 | 05 | +1 vs. troll; fire-elem. |
| Vorpal Sword | | +1 | 05 | incur death |
| Sword of Achilles | | +1 | 05 | ignore AC |
| Clarent Blade | | +2 | 05 | +2 vs. undead; +1 WIS; REG |
| Sword of Mastery | | +1 | 05 | projectile attack * |
| Stonecutter Axe | | +4 | 08 | ignore Dr |
| Runcible Spoon | | -- | 00 | hunt; (+fishing) harvest |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Normal Missile Weapons | AR | Dm | Wt.| Special Attack |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Sling | | | 01 | |
| Boomerang | | | 01 | |
| Bow | | | 04 | |
| Crossbow | | | 06 | |
| Throwing Axe | | | 05 | |
| Hackbut | | | 05 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Masterwork Missile Wp. | AR | Dm | Wt.| Special Attack |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Sling +1 | | | 01 | |
| Bow +1 | | | 04 | |
| Crossbow +1 | | | 06 | |
| Elfin Bow | | | 03 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Magickal Missile Weap. | AR | Dm | Wt.| Special Attack |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| The Hammer | | | 04 | |
| Caldera's Flight | | | 04 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Normal Armour | AC | DR | Wt.| Special Defences |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Clothes | | | 00 | |
| Brigandine | | | 10 | |
| Hauberk | | | 16 | |
| Scale Armour | | | 24 | |
| Cuirass | | | 40 | |
| Plate Armour | | | 60 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Masterwork Armour | AC | DR | Wt.| Special Defences |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Highland Tunic | -- | -- | 00 | +1 Dr vs. magick |
| Scale Armour +1 | | | 24 | |
| Plate Armour +1 | | | 60 | |
| Spiderweave Armour | | | 10 | |
| Thieves' Leather | | | 10 | |
| Elfin Chain | | | 08 | |
| Dragon Scale | | | 28 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Magickal Armour | AC | DR | Wt.| Special Defences |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Armour of the Serpent | | | 24 | |
| Armour of Remuneration | | | 24 | |
| Styptic Flesh | | | 10 | |
| Spiritual Armour | | | 40 | |
|________________________|____|____|____|______________________________________|
______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Accessory | Special Properties |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Tarnhelm | permenant invisibility |
| Adder Stone | +1 resist disease and charm |
| Circle of Stars | max resist death |
| Andvarinaut | +2 Lore skill |
| Draupnir | half-price on all wares |
| Seven-League Boots | permenant haste |
| Necklace of Harmonia | max resist poison, disease and charm; seal magick |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Alchemy | Effects |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Love-Philtre | max CHA for 8 hours |
| Elixir of Health | permenant +1 mHP |
| Elixir of Vigour | permenant +1 VIG |
| Elixir of Dexterity | permenant +1 DEX |
| Elixir of Fortitude | permenant +1 FOR |
| Elixir of Wisdom | permenant +1 WIS |
| Elixir of Charisma | permenant +1 CHA |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Items | Effects |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Torch | illumination; single use |
| Wraith's Lantern | illumination; unlimited use |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Magickal Relics | Effects |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | |
| Cup of Jamshid | |
| Gem of True-Seeing | |
| Dragon's Teeth | |
| Mundane Egg | |
| Vajra | |
|________________________|_____________________________________________________| The world is fairly "smart," and remembers how you interact with people or the trouble you might cause along the way. If you break the laws of a village, then the guards will hunt you down relentlessly. Returning to that village at a later point in the game wouldn't be a good idea. If you wanted to, you could choose a completely evil path; such as overthrowing Lord Calendae and becoming the feudal lord of the entire region. How you play the game is entirely your choice. I want to implement a feature that would allow you to invest in your own shops that could export services and provide your character with a constant income, or even allow your character to invest in something as large as a stronghold that could be used to train your own soldiers, or eventually be surrounded by a settlement of NPCs under your rule. It depends on how the logistics and structure work, and what I can actually do.
53
« on: May 26, 2009, 10:01:39 pm »
EDIT: project discussion relocated
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