Try a different tool?
Build on a previous chapter/mini game
As for the ideas of how to structure the game I'm against having multiple games in one folder because I don't think people will play them all - the single game concept makes the whole experience less daunting and more interactive.
If it's possible to have that first person view above (it looks amazing by the way), for instance, presented in a way that we know how to change the textures and add objects and stuff ourselves
(or in any other non rpg style like dread the rabbit etc etc).
I'm honestly into doing any of these, but probably leaning more towards the open world or episodic as well. I mean, Heart of Gold worked out fine when we added to the game in the bugfixing round with more content into the world so an open world game shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
I'd be down for Open World. I had a stupid thought and maybe it's not doable at all. But what if we did one map that is 500x500. Then in a corner we put a city/village that act as the game hub. Or if that would take up too much space on the map we could have like an elevator access point and the hub could be underground. All around the hub is just wilderness and over the course of the game you have to move deeper and deeper into it. The further away from the hub it is the harder the enemies will be.
So the first person does not complete the whole 500x500 map, just do the parts on it required for their chapter. Then the next person fill out the wild with what they need and so on. If there is any gaps left in the end we just fill it out during the bug fixing round.
We could also easily add side dungeons and areas that takes to other parts to explore. But I like the idea of the main part of the game is this huge hostile wilderness map.
Yeah theme wise I'm a big fan of scifi and our Juno chain game definitely caught my imagination.
Yeah 100%, a sequel would make people feel like they had to play the previous one and put them off.Good point, didn't think about that.
Yes that's sounding good. So 'episodic' meaning kind of like megaman where you can do all the bits in any order but you get a reward from each part that makes the other parts easier, maybe.
Yes that's sounding good. So 'episodic' meaning kind of like megaman where you can do all the bits in any order but you get a reward from each part that makes the other parts easier, maybe.If we do an episodic approach akin to "Everyone does a part 2" then yes. It would be a good middle ground between true open world and completely episodic.
You want to start it Purple? I don't think you started one yet.I could start if we feel ready to begin but it's probably gonna take me a while to put together a start and such, as always will take any sort of assistance with music and artwork if you guys feel like helping out.
Random idea, instead of having level ups we instead have a "Level Up Shop". Where you can buy stat increases, so you pick characters to level up and maybe it cost different items to level up certain stats. The more you level up a character the more expensive it will be. Would give the player more freedom how they want to build their party. Who should be fighter and mage etc.
Don't think it would be too complicated to set up.
It's not what I thought of. But I kinda like it. Would work well with some sort of hub area. And would probably take some planning, like maybe we should figure out the themes and weaknesses before hand. Instead of picking a chapter maybe you pick a theme. Like I want to do the Fire Dungeon etc.If we want open world elements to the game as well as episodes then I suppose this could be a good way. Likewise, if a person wants to do something entirely different from the party itself it can be a story told, or a log found which at the conclusion rewards the party with the "thing".
Also I have what might be an unpopular opinion. Could we keep the number of characters down? Like keeping it to only a full party. I really dislike the party switching system and really don't think they are that fun. Like I don't mind having a bunch of npc character around the party that can jump into cutscenes, but not everyone has to be playable. If you guys like it we can keep it, it's just something I never really been that into.If we can add variety with the characters we create for the game then I agree that the party system could be moot. We could also make it so that the main cast is 3 people and our different chapters can offer a guest character present in that chapter alone, or switch out the main cast during the chapter for those who want that kind of system. Maybe without a leveling up system we can explore other ways to make combat interesting and therefore not needing the multitude of characters and instead focus on bringing depth to the ones we do have. Let let rest travel along and be important but not available everywhere.
If we do want to do another sci-fi perhaps not a pure planet hopper like Juno's was, after all one day I hope you'll all join me in making a sequel to that one day soon enough, but something exotic and not a total Star Wars parody. I mean if you want since it's open ended we could add planet-to-planet travel but I would like to see something unique and new for a world that only loosely resembles what we've done before and pushes the boundries we've not tested before. After all that is what this Untitled Chain Game is about right?
I personally love party switching in rpgs momeka, part of the fun is choosing my party : ) Having said that for this sort of game where we're buying level ups using rewards we've found in the various sections, I reckon a single, unchangable party sounds perfect. We can go back to party changing next time.We can try it of course, just need to figure out the system and all.
However, that does mean that the person who does the first part will likely have to design the whole party, unless we come together beforehand and design a character eachThat could be a way to do things in the future.
We don't do it much, but what I also dislike is when you're forced to play with some characters. Cause I tend to just pick my party and ignore the rest. So on those sections they are just horrible under leveled.Oops.
I was thinking of a premise that might work for an open world game. People that get stranded on a planet. And it’s basically survival, you need to gather supplies, build up a camp, maybe an early goal could be to scavenge a distress beacon from your ship. And as you find more materials your camp grows. Like we switch out the map and add more structures and features to it. Could maybe be fun.
Oops.No offense : P We're not the only game that's done that
The planet designated Sanco Avasara.
- Worldbuilding -
Also, I just had this crazy idea that I don't know if it will be viable. But what if we let the player decide where different installments are placed in the settlement, kinda like in Dark Cloud. If the buildings are pictures we can give them more character, and also easily give them different "tiers" depending on if they are upgraded and how well the colony is doing.
If he have 4 choices from the start and the player wants to place the Medical Center they get a choice to build it on plot 1,2,3 or 4. Then the Foundry, Bazaar and Forge can't be placed there, but instead need to go on the other plots. We save that for later, display the picture of the building there, place the 3 NPCs related to it in that place etc. If the establishments do their business up front instead of entering it would also be easier to manage the teleporting.
(Scrap that, just remembered that pictures on the map is such a hassle unless they are as big as the map.)
Also another random idea I'm just gonna throw out there. Depends on how much we want to tell a story though a party of characters or if we more want to tell a story with the cast of npc in the base. But we could only have one "main" character. That character is like any other game, you equip them and level them etc. Then in the base you could recruit a bunch of no name npc to join you for expedition. So their gear is set and they can't level up. So if you're going into say the poison area you might want to bring Chuck cause he is a medic and can remove poison statuses etc. Making switching out party members something you do a lot and we could have a lot of variation allowing the player to put together a party that fits their playstyle.
Then as you upgrade the base and add more buildings to it you unlock more characters you can bring with you.
We need to sneak some scifi owl merchants in there. Personally I liked how they were in in Mystery. Acting like a secret shop. Maybe it's overkill, but we could do a custom shop for them where you can buy stuff for Owl-Tokens you find in the map.
Let me know if you want me to do some art or something. I'm down for whatever. Might not have that much time this week, but can probably get started at least.
Yeah, if we go with many party members then the portrait and caterpillar system may be a bit bothersome.
Although I personally feel that portraits are good at emphasizing the character's importance.
How well off do we want the colony to be? Are we talking more punk in this scifi or more high end scifi? I'm thinking that the new arrivals should be cleaner and have cooler gear but the overall state of the existing things are kinda worn down. But do we want like shelters or complete buildings and such that are in disrepair?
I plan to make my own part like an episode of a TV show, not just a questgiver that leads to things but entering a place which triggers a cutscene and then at the end of the cutscene you have something to resolve. Kinda like a Simpsons/Star Gate episode or something. The relevant characters will be part of it, others may make short appearances but it's an episode with its own cohesive dramatical curve. It shouldn't be much different from what we've done so far though in terms of content.
How well off do we want the colony to be? Are we talking more punk in this scifi or more high end scifi? I'm thinking that the new arrivals should be cleaner and have cooler gear but the overall state of the existing things are kinda worn down. But do we want like shelters or complete buildings and such that are in disrepair?
(https://i.imgur.com/C51GXBv.png)Nice! Will expand on that to make a squad.
Turned a bit Halo-ish but might work.
I'll try to do some more generic npcs this weekend. Maybe I can whip up a chipset as well.
How should the base chipset be like? Is it actually outdoor buildings on the planet? Or is it an orbital or underground base?
Do we want fancier coded skills? I assume we want to get those into the project as soon as possible then.
Didn't you say we should avoid the big villain showdown earlier in this thread?
3. He was supposed to take care of the goats, however, all the goats have fled and mutated so there is no need to take care of any goats. Except for... taking care of them *wink*.
It feels like soldier might be TOO much of an all rounder if they can deal lots of damage and also heal? I like the fact they can protect non fighters and healing themself with a medpac is quite cool but maybe healing other party members would make them too useful and make people not think of using support members? Other than that, looks very cool : )
So in summary, I am procrastinating which means the project is going nowhere.
Right now I feel like sending it to someone else who can start it seems like a better idea than me holding onto it.
I've slowly started by doing some art and maps. Thinking of having the winning condition of the game to max upgrade the base and having progress locked behind the base upgrades. So upgrading the base unlocks items and equipment you need to access new areas in the world. That way we can easily split the game among us with base upgrades.
So the next person would take Base Level 2 - 3, add a new area and whatever comes with that base upgrade etc. What do you think?
Henderson - governmental official, knows most things about what's going on, both in the colony and the powers beyond, keeping tabs on the people there.
Davidson - Henderson's bodyguard, Spectre. Doesn't speak, just intimidates.
Captain B. Fletcher - military official in charge from first ship. Will not admit that anything is going awry. Keeping things away from the population is the best for the colony. The best for humanity as a whole.
Sergeant Cochrane - second in command from first ship, went from a hopeful military man to a nihilist opportunist while stuck on the planet. Agrees with most of the captains decisions but is known to meet other parties of power in the colony. While the colony is the most important thing, its people aren't.
Captain J. Dionys - military official from latest ship, wants to work towards solutions instead of retaining a meaningless status quo. Is pushing for more corps recruitment and activity.
Ethel Damina - Part of a dynastic corporate family who have participated in all of Sol's terraforming projects over the generations. Has contacts in high places within the colony. Believes birthright is the most important factor in life. Social darwinism at its extreme. With the colony breaking down, and she having the knowledge of it she has set up an enterprise to give loans to the citizens which will eventually end with them in debt to her, and not being able to pay back, be forced into servitude as per the contract.
Suzette Damina - Ethel's younger sister. Fully and completely trusts in Ethel's decisions, but has far more humanity and empathy. More of the official face of the family in the colony while Ethel is working behind her back. Is not aware of the loaning plot.
Chuck Stegaare - The current highest ranking board member of Planitas Defensive Equipment of Sol on the planet. Is aware that they have a monopoly on a lot of equipment that people need. Is not interested in giving it away. Business is business. PDES as a company has a long standing feud with the Daminas.
Stavros Lambert - Previous highest ranking employee of PDES on the planet, while hard to begin with, softened with the years on the planet and contributed a lot to the colony's continued survival. One of the original supporters of the XX corps. Is no longer in charge because of Stegaare's arrival, not happy with the new direction.
Diane Megaddo - One of the renowned scientists in the colony, everything found and encountered should be studied and tested to its limit. Breakthroughs are waiting around the corner. It is their duty to try everything. Costs and casualties does not matter if it could potentially lead to a better future.
Elmo Carius - Science is made for the people, therefore nothing should be hidden. Every new piece of information should be shared with the community. Only the individuals themselves are responsible for how they use this information, or how they choose to react to the discoveries made.
Varina Rodonovich - discoveries made can improve the human genome, for humanity to survive they must evolve further with scientific aid. Mechanical or biological does not matter as long as progress is made. No act is too evil if the end gives results.
Ayrian Venotny - leading scientist from first ship, is not happy that new scientists have come to take over his work. His biggest breakthrough has been hidden from the public, and most of his other theories have either already been established or disproved by the scientific advancements during his years away.
Survival - values her own survival over the lives of the squad, at the end of the day you need to look out for number one. Working with other people is a means for their continued survival.
Failure - his inaction during a mission lead to the rest of the squad getting hurt and the objective was lost. Will do anything to avoid future failures. Including avoiding any challenges and harder missions.
Peer pressure - is often pulled along for the ride because the people she grew up with are doing things. Joining the corps was such a thing, but she is determined to live up to the expectations set by her peers.
Curiosity - is curious about the mysteries on the planet and has let other social relations gone to dirt to feed that itch. Childhood friend with, sister of
Guilt - Guilty that her squad mate was sent on a mission instead of her in which the friend died. Now suffers survivor's guilt and blames herself.
Desire - is determined to turn a bad situation around to fulfill their dreams and come home
Instability - has suffered by the loss of squad mates over the years and reacts in-proportionally emotional to everything that happens.
Widower - lost the mother of his child and is trying to be a good father while also doing his duty. Has a hard time finding that balance and instead creates conflicts.
Love - Joined the colony defense to protect his family and the woman he loves. Childhood friend with
Loyalty - Family woman with grown kids who dotes on her squad members and makes sure that everyone is doing well. Will put herself in harms way.
Honor - is stuck in a relationship with a person they no longer love, however, their families are keeping them together because of status and standing. The honor of the family is more important than individual honor, everything can work out if you just change yourself enough.
Obedience - An old soldier who've been at it for some time. Doing his part is all that he knows, he does not consider himself to know better than the leaders, and neither should anyone else. They've made it this far right?
Vengeance - lost his brother to a specific type of monster and is determined to kill every last one of them. Convinced that they are all the same and in some way connected to some sort of plot to rid the planet of humans.
Inequality - was dismissed for a promotion and his rival was chosen instead because of the families they were from. Has given up on that promotion, is not interested in doing anything about it. But is determined to prevent any other inequality from affecting the colony.
Unfulfilled - life just isn't what it was supposed to be. He got the promotion he wanted and the relationship he wanted. But he is still not happy. Pushes himself too hard to find that happiness.
Perfection - strives to perfect every skill there is to be the best at, try everything and elevate the field to new heights. ¨
New chances - lived a bad life where her skills and education was being wasted, left all the trouble behind to start life anew and make something meaningful out of it.
Egoist - since realizing the dream was not possible has left his duties more and more to search for personal achievements and fulfillment.
Virtuous - a bit of a recluse to the other squad mates but is actually just a good person who doesn't know how to make things better which brings him down. Wants to do a big gesture to make everyone, both old and new believe in the colony once again.
Freedom - believes that the colony should belong to its people and not Sol, especially since being stranded on the planet. Tried to perform a coup but failed.
Hatred - Decided to join the corps to vent all her anger at the situation they are in. All the broken promises and unfulfilled expectations has left her loathing the planet and wishing nothing less than to destroy and mold it into what it should have been.
Dishonor - Considers himself to have been dishonored by the old colonists when he arrived, even when explaining the rules and laws and how things are supposed to be people aren't respecting his opinion or experience.
Pride - is fueled by the pride of doing and important part to the colony and takes pride in the work, but is also unable to step down.
Greed - is only in it for the paycheck, status and safety of being armed with high tech gear. Is not willing to share any of that with anyone else.
Revenge - lost her position when the new ship arrived, when confronting the authority about it was dismissed. Is now determined to get her revenge by rising in rank and earn more status to make their lives a hell.
Lust - Is a married man but is infatuated with poster woman of the corps, dislikes when people criticize her choices and actions. Feels a new to protect her
Jealousy - is unhappy that her crush is dating someone who isn't good enough for him and is determined to do anything to screw that up, is now joining to be close to the guy and taking loans to impress outside as well.
Overworker - works long hours and puts all energy into the work, has neglected her relationship with her husband the last couple of months which is one the verge of a divorce. She believes the good her work does should trump her husbands desires.
Power - manipulates and scams people to achieve his goals, using other people without regret such as winning in gambling or collecting debts.
Anxious - former scientist, now collector who is determined to save everything from being forgotten, both people, the things they brought and the things they are adapting to.
Death - lost most of family in an accident caused by the terraforming, is determined to make their death's count, to make sense if the injustice of it all.
Humiliation - he was made fun of and berated during training because of his issues, blames himself and is determined that if he only works harder he can make up for it. And not be the brunt of the joke again.
Pain - was not made for the soldier life but is not smart or ambitious enough for science either. Tries their best to avoid missions as they know they will end up in trouble.
Rejection - he was dismissed as being nothing but a loaf and golddigger by his crush's siblings and deemed unworthy to get close to her. Is determined to prove everyone wrong.
Loss - Her only son was lost during a mission, didn't return.. Wants to find his remains to give a proper burial. To know what happened.
Regret - did not do enough for his sister when she still lived and is now disappointed with himself for not being a better brother and being unable to help her. Does not believe things can change and is therefore broken by this.
Shame - made a mistake and is now convinced that he is not worthy of the people in his life, has trouble loving himself and therefore a hard time understanding that other people are there for him and not just for obligations.
Old scars - used to be close friends with one of the leaders, but had a fallout because of different values on a topic. Has now realized that the whole thing was petty, hopes to heal those wounds.
Tsundere - Totally doesn't have a crush on the captain, and totally doesn't consider the player to be a friend.
The goatherd - was sent to the planet to tend to the goat population, but the goats were changed by the planet because the terraforming failed and he is now waiting for a solution to arrive. Carries a tube with a goat fetus.
The golden ticket - she and her family won a competition which allowed them to travel to the planet. Some people dislike this as they aren't overly useful for the colony, others because they worked hard to secure their place.
Role model - veteran of the corps and presented as the epitome of the corps, both a skilled soldier and an empathetic individual who is a good model for the youngsters and new recruits. Can't step out of line or risk taking the faith in the corps down with her.
Hero - veteran of the corps and been at it since the first ship. All the old colonists look up to him and his opinion matters more than the authority to the common people. After all, he's actually done something.
The doppelganger - is trying to win the same kind of respect that other people in the colony receive by doing the same as them. But kinda suck at most things.
New blood - leader of the first kids born on the planet, not old enough to do anything for the colony yet but is determined to have their voices heard.
Thanks Fish.
I think that as long as there is an incitement to explore open world will be fine.
We could add collectibles of different kind, such as the birds in Heart of Gold. Or place resources of different kinds that are needed in difficult to reach places.
Or just take the metroid route and place stat upgrades and unique weapons and upgrades out there.
Regardless, gotta make it feel alive somehow.
Also, realized that I had removed the npc map with character notes. So here they are instead. Feel free to use or dismiss, didn't come up with names for them all.
Awesome, with the characters, prpl. My intention is to use the story/lore you posted before. Not sure how much of the politics and characters will be in the start, writing and story isn't my strongest side. But feel free to go back into my part and flesh it out.
Here's how I'm thinking about the open world: You can't leave the main base to go directly into the wilderness. Instead you take a shuttle. When you take the shuttle you see a world map and get to pick a zone to be dropped of in. Each zone is a larger area to explore and they are tied to the base level. So upgrading the base level also adds a new zone to the map.
Thinking there can be barricades between the zones as well, so you can buy items from the base to destroy them and interconnect all the zones into a larger open world (like Pokémon HM)
Also thinking of having a special resource, a crystal or something. Each zone only have one of them and one is always required to upgrade the base to the next level. So if we have main story events we want to happen in a zone we can gate the crystal behind those events. Think it will be a pretty effective way of making the player experience what we want and forcing them to explore each part of the world.
Also not sure what you guys think about it. But I was thinking of removing gold and experience from fights. So instead you just get items from defeating monsters. Some of these items can be sold for gold and other can be traded in for Research Points (RP). And these RP can be used for various things in the base, one being leveling up your character. Thinking you could also put in RP to research new gear and such in the base, that gets added to a shop. But I'm not sure yet, depends a bit how long everything else takes to make.
So much useful stuff
There is no advance system to swap heads in game : P You'll have to add your head to the image and save it as a battle character!
Hey bud! Sorry it took so long, I've been working on a text adventure style game in C#
That piece of music, can I use the themes of it for my own music to tie things in or should I stay away from that for plagiarism reasons?
Nice! Sounds fun, I'm working on a C# game as well whenever I have some free time over.
I think it should be fine, and if it isn't I doubt anyone would really notice or care. We used resources from other video games and such in the past. Feel free to switch it out as well if you rather do your own theme for the game.
I must admit I'm finding it quite hard to get into this properly - I feel like I'm trying to realise you guys' vision when I'm not 100% sure what it is! Is that 'new arrivals' charset supposed to be other people who've arrived with the hero?
I have some idea that it'll be more of a puzzle game where you have to use your party members to the best of your ability, utilising their special skills. You can only select one party a day but each day you can go out with a party and get as much done as you can.
Nah it's not a day and night system, more like an element of the puzzle where each party member has a certain amount of energy and you use that to achieve things before returning to base. Overnight your characters each recover just 1 energy, then you pick your new party, so that encourages you to use more than just one party and plan your day around certain specialists. In the initial section I'm doing you would have a limited number of days of life support and you have to try and get everything done as efficiently as you can. I'm not 100% on everything yet haha. I've used momeka's party selection screen which works nicely.
Well, I'd say depends on how Moosetroop is doing or thinking. But I've been toying with the idea of making like a Final Fantasy 1-esc thing, where you create a party at the start and set out on some adventure. Maybe it would work well for a chain game? Would be more straight forward to make and maybe a little different from the rest.
Yes that sounds great : ) I never particularly fancied taking 'Beyond the Dome' on and only did it after you and prpl tapped out so I'm very happy for you guys to start a regular FF1 style one, and I'll happily do my part when it comes to it : )
As for Beyond the Dome, I went insane and created a CBS with tonnes of graphics and a completely separate system for everything, in order to fit with the vibe we were going for. Battles became more a part of puzzles. However I haven't worked on it for a bit because of the crazy amount of work and the fact that there's not much interest ; p So let's put that to one side, maybe one day I'll have it finished enough to show you guys a demo.
You're overreacting, Fish. It's not that hard to do.
I haven't started on the Final Fantasy styled one. But I'll try to do it this weekend if I have time. I'm in the process of moving so might not be that quick.
The only issue I see with the 'everyone has the same start but each does a version' is the joy of doing the chain game is (unless you're the last person) knowing the others will play your bit, and really grow to understand it in order to do their own bit. If we all make little games we could certainly promise each other we'd play all the versions but it doesn't really have the same feel.
BTW, Wrath of Gaia was made 10 years ago lads.Time has no meaning to me nowadays lol, I've been in the software job I'm in for 10 years too : p Back when I started it 10 years sounded like a lifelong career
Is it time?
I'll get started on a pretty standard high fantasy one
I was about to say that completing tasks could unlock additonal classes, but I have no idea how to do that aside from doing it like the old NES password loads.
If we want character personality we'll have to do it through NPCs, that's fine : )
It's not really got anything I can contribute to with my limited skill set
I'm sure you can. It's just rpg maker stuff as always. All the systems are set up and stuff and will require minimum interacting with if you don't want to. Other than that you can do all the standard stuff, it's the regular battle system and all that. Yeah, it might be a bit hard to put personality to the heroes as it's set up now, but you can move that to npc talking to or around the player instead. Tell the story from that perspective.
For art and stuff I'm willing to do stuff if you don't want to try it yourself.