Primus - Nemaria Universe

[xist]

Sounds like the split in the GBA Golden Sun games. They were a continuing story across the two carts although marketed as separate games. Perhaps eliminating the numeric aspect of the title and just going with an extended name might be better?

[nemarious]

Sounds like the split in the GBA Golden Sun games. They were a continuing story across the two carts although marketed as separate games. Perhaps eliminating the numeric aspect of the title and just going with an extended name might be better?

That is certainly a viable idea, the only problem I have with it being the potential then, when they're both released, for someone to start the second game first and see how the first ends by accident. I'll finish the title screens and then do a poll in the facebook page most likely.

[nemarious]

I know I haven't been around a lot lately, but I haven't forgotten about the thread. For once, I've actually been working on the game. There's plenty of stuff in the works, even if I go dark for a while.

[nemarious]

For those that didn't see it before the servers messed up again I hope to have a variety of stuff up by the end of the month. First and foremost of these is the tutorial demo I mentioned I was working on all those posts ago.

Additionally, I hope to have finished the character profiles in the first post, have some more concept art on the Facebook page, have refined the skill system in game and a few other things.

I begin work on the tutorial demo properly on Tuesday. A fair bit to do on it. The mapping isn't hard because it's not a key part of the game (although that doesn't mean it'll be crap) it's more the eventing that'll take time. Then there's images I'm going to have to make for it blah, blah, blah...

[nemarious]

I've been put on a course to improve my employability for the next month so I won't be able to spend as much time on Primus as I have been doing. It's Monday to Friday 10am til 4:30pm so, including travel time and stuff, I'll have around 40 hours a week less free time.

As for the good news, mapping of the tutorial demo is going well and about 75% of the actual maps you'll see are done. I'm still eventing some of the rest of them and the others need additional images to be made.

Because of the lack of time due to this course I'm going to have to push the date for the tutorial demo back. I originallly said I'd get it out by the end of the month but it'll probably be the end of next month now if you add the month on. It's probably won't be quite that long but it's hard to tell at this stage.

[Mujklob]

Great to see someone building a nice RPG! I've spent my fair share of time fooling around in RPG Makers (2000-VX Ace) over the last decade, and I've taken on quite a few ambitious projects. The longest game of mine only made it to about three to four hours, as I have a tendancy to keep remaking games from the start, slightly more perfect each time--resulting in basically zero productivity.

But it's been a long time since I've worked on a creative project like that. I never did like the changes from XP to VX, but VX Ace (other than the tile art style) seems very sleek. Since then, I've moved towards actually coding a game engine from scratch with a few friends in the hopes of developing an awesome RPG. It'll definitely be a lot more versatile than Ruby/RGSS, but it's going to be a lot of work to get it as easy to work and build with as RGSS.

But I admire you for keeping true to your projects for so long, and hope you build a great game for us to enjoy.

[nemarious]

Great to see someone building a nice RPG! I've spent my fair share of time fooling around in RPG Makers (2000-VX Ace) over the last decade, and I've taken on quite a few ambitious projects. The longest game of mine only made it to about three to four hours, as I have a tendancy to keep remaking games from the start, slightly more perfect each time--resulting in basically zero productivity.

But it's been a long time since I've worked on a creative project like that. I never did like the changes from XP to VX, but VX Ace (other than the tile art style) seems very sleek. Since then, I've moved towards actually coding a game engine from scratch with a few friends in the hopes of developing an awesome RPG. It'll definitely be a lot more versatile than Ruby/RGSS, but it's going to be a lot of work to get it as easy to work and build with as RGSS.

But I admire you for keeping true to your projects for so long, and hope you build a great game for us to enjoy.

Many thanks for your kind words. Originally, I wanted to be a game programmer and even went to University for a year to study it. Ultimately, though, I found the higher-level (OOP stuff) a bit to complicated for my brain. That and the more logical approach took a lot of the fun out of it.

Uni did help me however, it gave me great experience in planning a game from the ground up - albeit one far, far smaller than Primus - with projects before hand often having their story written as I went along, which wasn't all too cohesive for the players.

Like you, I've played with a lot of the different versions and would agree that XP certainly had some better options than VX, particularly when it comes to mapping, but I found VX to be friendlier and have stuff with that one for all my projects. I suppose because I don't know any better I don't see it as a problem.

As for my own projects, I generally tend to have grand ideas of what I want to do with them then end up going off track and doing something else for a bit. At the moment that is a combination of trying to finish Lost Odyssey for the first time (I know, right) and learning some 3D Modelling using Blender. I do still come back to Primus every day and add a little bit to the story and plan a new quest though. I suppose that because I don't have anyone else bugging me to get on with it or anyone else working on it with me, there's nothing that reminds me that I started doing this a year ago and don't really have anything to show for it...

Having said that, I wish you all the luck in the world for your own projects. I have friends who succeeded where I failed at University that are making games for the Android operating system now and as I'm supposed to be testing their stuff I know (well, through second-hand experience) how difficult it can be.

I hope you enjoy your stay in Nemaria.

Edited August 13, 2012 by nemarious

[Mujklob]

You're welcome. I find almost everyone entering into a computer science degree (including myself) never actually end up staying on that path. But education is never in vain, as you (and me) have found out. I didn't mind the software engineering aspect, or circuitry, or programming. For me, the incredibly dull parts were compiler design, algorithm analysis, theoretical math, assembly code, and anything else of low-level abstraction. I justify this as okay to myself as one of my passions is the lowest of low in abstraction--physics.

But there is definitely a difference between having to come up with a project in a group with a timeline and letting the creativity come out at your own pace. The former is one of the reasons why I decided not to finish. That and the fact of being trapped in a cubicle writing code for something I care nothing about sounds absolutely abyssmal. I like to actually work.

Lost Odyssey is one of the few great modern RPGs out there. I thoroughly enjoyed the game (sans the annoying children). The DLC is actually pretty challenging as well.

Android and mobile development in general is something we really want to look into as the market is quite large and fairly simple to develop for. But, I absolutely detest the abomination is Apple. Sure, they develop great (but nice-looking terribly underpowered notebooks) products that provide great functionality... if everything else you own is iJunk. But their philosphy can't stand up to the direction open source software and intellectual property is headed, IMO. Also the open source Android console seems like it could either flop or could be revolutionary to the industry. But we aren't really doing this for profit (although some of us would like to quit our day jobs to do this), rather than the fun of crafting a world that is your own and having others enjoy it... but we may end up charging a small amount anyway, if only to cover costs.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Mujklob

[nemarious]

Okay, folks. It's been about eight months since I came onto this thread... I spent most of that time being unemployed and, consequently, fucked around the Job Centre Plus. As such most of my time was spent looking for a job. 

 

Eight months down the line, I remain unemployed. Additionally, I was recently sanctioned (again) so I've kind of had it with them to be honest. 

 

I know that this all sounds extremely negative, but, it actually works out well. Now, I will be doing the minimum I can to please the arseholes which means I have more time to myself.

 

As such, I've restarted work again. I'm working on a new battle system so some of the scripts I used before aren't compatible. The positives are that it'll look nicer than the one I have now and has a few added functions I'm not entirely sure I'm going to use or not yet; mostly graphical touches and stuff for linked/combo skills etc.

 

I hope to have a little demo out by the end of June, so about ten weeks. This should have a stabilized engine without bugs, a complete tutorial section - which will explain all aspects of the game - as well as working skills (which will probably take the longest).

 

Once all that is set up, it should be smoother progress. After all, the initial stages are always the longest. Think about it, after the initial stages I don't need to set up the alchemy or quest systems, don't need to set up the background database for items/weapons/enemies/all the rest. 

 

So yeah. Be thankful no one wants to employ me. It means we're back in business, baby!

[lemmingllama]

Excited that its back on, we are still interested in a version coming out. Pity about not getting a job, but this could be a good demonstration of your skills and could be used as a portfolio. Either way, I plan on downloading this when the demo is out.

[nemarious]

Excited that its back on, we are still interested in a version coming out. Pity about not getting a job, but this could be a good demonstration of your skills and could be used as a portfolio. Either way, I plan on downloading this when the demo is out.

 

This is life I suppose. I still want a job and this could certainly help me, when it's completed, for things like "What's your greatest achievement" and crap like that.

 

All that's really changed is I'm allotting more time to the game. I still added things to the GDD or find a couple of monster battlers that I like even over the last eight months.

 

The difference now is I'll manage my time more evenly between reading,anime, RuneScape, and Primus rather than just focusing on one. I plan to spend around two hours a day working solidly on the game. I'll take a break at weekends so I don't burn myself out, creatively speaking, but that means at least 100 hours over the next few weeks will be spent on the game.

 

Just as a note, I'm not sure how much this demo will actually contain. It might be nothing more than the foundations, showcasing the different features of the game. Hopefully, I'll get some actual gameplay in there too but I don't how long the initial setup will take.

 

This is the plan:

 

Week 1 & 2: Fully finish GDD. That means story layout, item lists, quest lists, alchemy lists. A finished GDD should give all the information that someone else would need to make the same game.

 

Week 3 & 4: Engine setup. Working through scripts basically. With the new battle system in place, I'll find out what works with it (compatibility wise) and what doesn't. Hopefully nothing major will have to be taken out. Probably the longest step, combined with Database Setup.

 

Week 5: Skill script creation. I'm going to eventing procedures for the three skills in game (fishing, mining, woodcutting) which will involve a lot of testing and adjustment

 

Week 6: Map Setup. Setting up of map folders. Shouldn't take a week to be honest.

 

Week 7 & 8: Database setup. Setting up of initial values for the entire database. This will involve a LOT of work. I'll be making sure every item, enemy, troops etc has a value in game so I don't have to add shit later on. Fortunately, my work on the GDD should make this a lot easier.

 

Week 9: Tutorial Setup. This means mapping and eventing the whole tutorial. I've got a list of things I want to cover in a Notepad file. Granted, this will be marginally out of date considering I'm using different core scripts so some things (like the Aggro script) won't be compatible anymore.

 

Week 10: Testing & Contingency. Fairly self-explanatory really.

 

After that the initial demo should be released. This will contain all the main features of the game for you to try out (battles, skills, alchemy, quests, customisation) but probably not any real gameplay. Of course, if things go smoother than the above outline it is possible I could add something else in.

 

After that I have a three stage plan. Stage one is the release of a demo covering up to the end of the first continent. Step two is the release of a demo covering up the end of the second continent. By that point you have access to all party members. Step three is the final, fully finished release at which point those who have put themselves forward to help me test the game (Caeldoriv, Renzourin, Stuy and yourself Lemmingllama) will be given access to the alpha of the game. After a month or so testing that'll be that for part one.

 

Work will then begin on part two to finish the story off. 

Edited April 14, 2013 by nemarious

[nemarious]

Just to reiterate, as looking back over the thread there was some confusion about this,  Primus 2 - The Eternal Man, is not a sequel. Well, it is really, but you need to have played part one. Originally, it was planned as part of the original game but I feel that, where I split them, is an ideal point as it gives me more flexibility over the second part.

 

As an example, those that have seen Doctor Who will know the show discusses 'Fixed Points' in time. The first game is a fixed point. As part of the lore of the series, Leni, Takero, Alsyha and Dakin MUST go on their journey. It is one of the most fundamental part of the history of the Nemaria Universe. Contrary to that, part two just requires a hero, so not a fixed point meaning you will be able to fully customise the main character.

 

That is just the most basic example, but hopefully it shows why I chose to split the game into two seperate parts.

Another quick note. For those that have tried, there is no longer a Facebook page for the series. The reason is simple: I no longer have Facebook. I have a Twitter account but I haven't set up a page for the series there yet. I probably will when it's closer to completion.

[nemarious]

I'm probably going to have to change the story a bit... Working on the GDD still, just can't find any decent mechanical/steampunk tiles so I'll have to change the reason the group go to Ehatia.

 

Nothing big, just trying to keep you more informed.

[nemarious]

So, I was going through directories on my old (I'm talking when Windows XP was new hardware wise) and found a folder called "RRG Maker Resources".

 

Looked inside and I found a load of goodies I can recycle. Audio from the first two games I made (not the games themselves sadly), tilesets, scripts I used before. 

 

The most useful of these is the audio files to be honest, I use different (aka better) tilesets and scripts now but there are some great battle themes in there. Nice, punchy guitar riffs as well as some other stuff I can use for themes for certain zones. 

 

Good times. Now, if only I could shift this ear infection so I could concentrate properly. Why do these things always happen when I start Primus again, lol?

 

Computer failures didn't stop me, so I won't let some little germs do it either. 

 

The only thing I can foresee stopping me working on the game, other than actually managing to get a job - which would bring it's own benefits for the game - would be my now traditional coverage of E3. I've done it since the 2011 show and will be doing it again this year. That's not until June 11th though so ages.

 

I'll keep you posted.

[Koby]

How much of the game would you say is done so far (in percentage)?

[nemarious]

It's hard to say really. The stuff I've done is groundwork, things like rough maps for cities, setting up parts of the database. I should be able to use most of the stuff from the previous work (back when I was using Ziifee's battles system) so that should save me some time. 

 

To put it simply, the game as is still in pre-development really. I'm sure you'll all know that all retail games (aside from licensed ones, they work somewhat differently) usually go through 12-18 months of planning before they start work on actually building alphas for them. That's the point where they do feasiblity studies (is the idea financially/technically viable etc) as well as working on concept/character/script design. 

 

That is still where I am really. The demo I released all those months ago was about as far as I'd planned at that stage. Now, there are two approaches. First, I could carry on in that vein and event the game out as I plan where I'm going with it. Or, I could continue the way I'm doing now, by planning everything about the game first so I know exactly what I'm doing and where the game is going. Personally, I think the latter is better as I've found, with both my own and other projects, it's fairly obvious - particularly script wise - when someone has made it up as I go along. I don't think I'd have that issue as I'm sure of where I'm going in my head. 

 

Suffice it to say the game is 100% finished in my head, about 40% finished on paper. If you'd prefer more rapid demo development I could revert back to the former development method and should be able to release them a bit quicker because it would spread out the planning throughout development rather than bulking it up at the beginning. 

 

This is probably the best way to explain it:

 

Characters: 100%

Story: 100% (in my head)

Engine: 20% (rebuilding with new battle system)

Mapping: 5% (Old tutorial maps - recyclable) 

Eventing: 0%

Side Quests: 25%

Enemies: 25%

Items: 100%

Skills: 100%

Weapons: 25%

Armour: 0%

Alchemy: 10%

Fishing: 0% (see below post)

W.Cutting: 0% (see below post)

Mining: 0% (see below post)

 

It's a lot of work for one man. It'll happen though. I'll try my damnedest to get some gameplay out with the demo I've scheduled for the end of June. Probably won't be any areas you haven't already seen. Some with have new layouts though and all will have a new, prettier tileset.

Edited April 17, 2013 by nemarious

[nemarious]

As for the skills, I came on the forum to ask what you guys would prefer. As you'll know, if you've been following me from the start at least, the skills are there to help you gather raw materials for the Alchemy system in the game should you want to.

 

What I want to ask you about was how you'd want them implemented. Do you just want simple click based things (see a choppable tree, press z, get materials) or would you rather have something more skill based. These are what I thought of doing.

 

Fishing: With fishing there are two easy options. 1) Bait. You buy certain bait to catch fish from certain pools. 2) a less limited system that requires more skill. I'd event a system similar to Pokemon where you have press z at a certain time to catch a fish. 

 

Mining: Mining is more difficult to think of something to do. In real life we just smack away at a rock until gems come out (paraphrasing a bit there lol). So do I do a system where you have to rapidly tap z to get a bar to fill up?

 

Woodcutting: With woodcutting I was thinking of doing a rhythm based system. You have to chop three times in a zone that gets smaller with each successful chop. I know that doesn't sound that interesting...

 

So, yeah. Would you guys prefer something like that or would you rather just have click 'n' collect systems. I'm in two minds myself as alchemy is a side system to help you progress in the game. I'm worried that overburdening it with other stuff would put people off using it.

 

Let me know what you think.

[lemmingllama]

Personally I would prefer just click and collect. Would be easier to program and require less programming. Skill could be in how much you work on the skill. Collecting stuff raises level, rarer stuff needs skill level of a certain amount to collect.

 

If you really did want to do the minigames, then I would suggest something like DDR or Guitar Hero. You could even just do the same code and change how the sprite moves for each skill.

[nemarious]

Personally I would prefer just click and collect. Would be easier to program and require less programming. Skill could be in how much you work on the skill. Collecting stuff raises level, rarer stuff needs skill level of a certain amount to collect.

 

If you really did want to do the minigames, then I would suggest something like DDR or Guitar Hero. You could even just do the same code and change how the sprite moves for each skill.

 Hmm, thanks for the info. I was planning on doing a levelling system regardless (with each level tier containing stronger monsters) and unlocking more reagents so that you couldn't grind your way to highest level reagents from when Lamplight becomes available - at the beginning or end of the Malmascan (2nd) continent depending on side-quest completion.

 

The point I was getting at was more of a do you just want easy collecting (which makes the levelling system somewhat pointless) or something that takes a fraction of skill and makes it (sllighty) more realistic. I'm inclined to go with easy option as, like you say, it would take less programming but I also feel that would be a little too cheap. Perhaps you're right though, I could make the interaction the same for all three skills and just change the outcome. I could probably do it in one big common event then. 

 

Thanks for the input. 

Edited April 17, 2013 by nemarious

[nemarious]

Got myself an interview on Monday.

 

That means game development will be put on the back seat a little while I prepare. 

 

Primus is now planned up to the end of the 3rd Continent.