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Firecat1311
0 post(s)- 01/28/2022 09:27 PM
- 281 views
Progress Report
Still not dead!
- Firecat1311
- 0 post(s)
- 01/20/2022 04:31 AM
- 356 views
I get the feeling that seeing a page with no updates in ages might give off the impression that stuff isn't being worked on anymore, but it's totally still happening. Here's a bit of a review on just a few things that have been finished since the last blog post:
Lots more battle animations! There are still a few skills to animate, but otherwise every character has all their sprites drawn, and such.
A big upgrade to the small, static dialog portraits. Every character is much more expressive now, party members as well as many NPCs.
Custom menus galore! I've learned a bit more about coding in RPG maker, so I've been able to make a lot more stuff work (not just limited to menus, in fact) that I wouldn't have been able to do with plugins alone. As you may notice, some of these do use another plugin as a base, but a bunch of 'em of them are 100% me.
And finally... fully playable demo of the first 2-3 hours of gameplay, coming soon! I promise! ...I hope...
Lots more battle animations! There are still a few skills to animate, but otherwise every character has all their sprites drawn, and such.
A big upgrade to the small, static dialog portraits. Every character is much more expressive now, party members as well as many NPCs.
Custom menus galore! I've learned a bit more about coding in RPG maker, so I've been able to make a lot more stuff work (not just limited to menus, in fact) that I wouldn't have been able to do with plugins alone. As you may notice, some of these do use another plugin as a base, but a bunch of 'em of them are 100% me.
And finally... fully playable demo of the first 2-3 hours of gameplay, coming soon! I promise! ...I hope...
Miscellaneous
Discord server (Playtest demos here!)
- Firecat1311
- 0 post(s)
- 12/12/2020 10:36 PM
- 540 views
I don't always have time to gather material, write posts, and come up with detailed and interesting updates for the project; however, I am very active in my personal gamedev Discord server. Invite link here!
Yeah, yeah, I can guess what you're probably thinking. If joining yet another Discord isn't your thing, don't worry about it. Regardless, it's probably the best place to follow this game's development, and also to take part in it by offering feedback and playing the demo versions I occasionally release.
If you're interested in trying out the latest demo, check the pinned messages in the #steq-discussion channel. It covers the first five hours or so of the game (a little bit more than halfway through, I think). I would very much appreciate if you could give me your thoughts and criticisms if you play it, but you're also welcome to lurk or leave whenever you want.
Anyway, how about some pictures? People like pictures, right? What about moving ones? Here are a couple of dioramas I put together to show off some of the tilesets and monster sprites I've drawn for the game so far.
These were fun to make, so maybe I'll do more of them as I go.
Yeah, yeah, I can guess what you're probably thinking. If joining yet another Discord isn't your thing, don't worry about it. Regardless, it's probably the best place to follow this game's development, and also to take part in it by offering feedback and playing the demo versions I occasionally release.
If you're interested in trying out the latest demo, check the pinned messages in the #steq-discussion channel. It covers the first five hours or so of the game (a little bit more than halfway through, I think). I would very much appreciate if you could give me your thoughts and criticisms if you play it, but you're also welcome to lurk or leave whenever you want.
Anyway, how about some pictures? People like pictures, right? What about moving ones? Here are a couple of dioramas I put together to show off some of the tilesets and monster sprites I've drawn for the game so far.
These were fun to make, so maybe I'll do more of them as I go.
Progress Report
Status Update & Character Info
- Firecat1311
- 0 post(s)
- 11/21/2020 09:08 PM
- 373 views
Pretty soon after those previous blog posts I made, in which I mentioned wanting to start doing weekly progress updates and stuff... I realized that there's not really a whole lot I can show that I haven't already? So, yeah, no weekly updates, just whenever I feel like it.
I don't mean to say that the game has no content or that work isn't getting done, it's just, as an RPG, the gameplay stays the same throughout. Everyone here already knows how RPG Maker games play, soooo... the most I can really show is some visuals.
Anyway, before I start rambling again, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this post.
Currently, out of the 12 "dungeons" in the main story (loosely referring to any distinct area that contains stuff you fight) all but the final one is mapped, populated with enemies and items, and playtested. The final dungeon is more than halfway done, with a few more maps, bosses, enemies, and dramatic scripted scenes to go.
However, as I'm a very strictly "gameplay first" sort of developer, tilesets, sprites, animations, polish, and other such things are only finished for about half of those dungeons.
After that, there's a bunch of optional areas to flesh out the world. I always find it disappointing how in most RPGs, when you get the airship and can explore the whole world, it ends up being mostly just full of places you've already been, places required for story progression, or tiny places with nothing much to do. So, with that in mind, there'll be a few full optional dungeons, secret bosses, and entire story events scattered about just for the exploration-minded players.
Next, I'll take a moment to briefly introduce the characters here so as not to clutter up the main game page (maybe I'll consider adding another game page for this, if I feel like it).
Roxy
The closest thing the game has to a protagonist. She's a rough and tough but cheerful tomboy who's always eager to solve problems with her bat, but isn't good at taking serious situations seriously.
Possesses a balance of healing magic and physical attacks, leaning more towards the latter. Her ability to buff the attack and magic power of her teammates is quite valuable.
Julia
Roxy's childhood friend, though not by choice. Would rather stay home than go out on adventures, but has more or less accepted her destiny of being dragged around by Roxy at this point. Somewhat antisocial and doesn't take kindly to strangers.
With their similar skillset, she and Roxy might be mostly interchangeable in your 4-person party setup, but the two of them together can be a surprisingly potent combo.
Kuro
A ninja fresh out of training who is serious almost to a fault, stubbornly insists on using big words and refuses to use contractions. However, she has a fondness for literature and studying monsters, and will talk for hours if you get her started.
With her speed stat, she will pretty much always go first in every situation. Starts weak, but her ability to deal damage grows significantly with her high critical hit chance.
Lyndsey
A level-headed, kind, and supportive knight. If anyone is hurting, physically or emotionally, she will always do her best to help. Used to be dating Kuro, but they broke up. Will teaming up again allow them to repair their relationship, or will they just end up fighting again?
Has high HP and physical defense, her skills are well-suited to minimizing the damage everyone takes. With a little bit of support, she can become very difficult to take down.
Helena
An endlessly optimistic Magical Girl who some might say is past her prime, but she herself would heartily disagree. She's apparently saved the world several times before, and has become a bit of a celebrity. She and her girlfriend Raven are completely inseparable.
The best in the team at using elemental magic attacks. Under the right conditions and while exploiting elemental weaknesses, she can do some big damage with plenty of MP to spare.
Raven
The daughter of the titular Dark Evil Queen, she was swayed by Helena's charms at the end of one of her past adventures. Hopelessly attached to Helena and doesn't think very highly of any other lowly mortals, but maybe someday she'll change her tune.
With a little bit of setup, she can deal devastating damage to single targets. However, she's not much use against undead or anything else that can resist her curses.
I don't mean to say that the game has no content or that work isn't getting done, it's just, as an RPG, the gameplay stays the same throughout. Everyone here already knows how RPG Maker games play, soooo... the most I can really show is some visuals.
Anyway, before I start rambling again, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this post.
Currently, out of the 12 "dungeons" in the main story (loosely referring to any distinct area that contains stuff you fight) all but the final one is mapped, populated with enemies and items, and playtested. The final dungeon is more than halfway done, with a few more maps, bosses, enemies, and dramatic scripted scenes to go.
However, as I'm a very strictly "gameplay first" sort of developer, tilesets, sprites, animations, polish, and other such things are only finished for about half of those dungeons.
After that, there's a bunch of optional areas to flesh out the world. I always find it disappointing how in most RPGs, when you get the airship and can explore the whole world, it ends up being mostly just full of places you've already been, places required for story progression, or tiny places with nothing much to do. So, with that in mind, there'll be a few full optional dungeons, secret bosses, and entire story events scattered about just for the exploration-minded players.
Next, I'll take a moment to briefly introduce the characters here so as not to clutter up the main game page (maybe I'll consider adding another game page for this, if I feel like it).
Roxy
The closest thing the game has to a protagonist. She's a rough and tough but cheerful tomboy who's always eager to solve problems with her bat, but isn't good at taking serious situations seriously.
Possesses a balance of healing magic and physical attacks, leaning more towards the latter. Her ability to buff the attack and magic power of her teammates is quite valuable.
Julia
Roxy's childhood friend, though not by choice. Would rather stay home than go out on adventures, but has more or less accepted her destiny of being dragged around by Roxy at this point. Somewhat antisocial and doesn't take kindly to strangers.
With their similar skillset, she and Roxy might be mostly interchangeable in your 4-person party setup, but the two of them together can be a surprisingly potent combo.
Kuro
A ninja fresh out of training who is serious almost to a fault, stubbornly insists on using big words and refuses to use contractions. However, she has a fondness for literature and studying monsters, and will talk for hours if you get her started.
With her speed stat, she will pretty much always go first in every situation. Starts weak, but her ability to deal damage grows significantly with her high critical hit chance.
Lyndsey
A level-headed, kind, and supportive knight. If anyone is hurting, physically or emotionally, she will always do her best to help. Used to be dating Kuro, but they broke up. Will teaming up again allow them to repair their relationship, or will they just end up fighting again?
Has high HP and physical defense, her skills are well-suited to minimizing the damage everyone takes. With a little bit of support, she can become very difficult to take down.
Helena
An endlessly optimistic Magical Girl who some might say is past her prime, but she herself would heartily disagree. She's apparently saved the world several times before, and has become a bit of a celebrity. She and her girlfriend Raven are completely inseparable.
The best in the team at using elemental magic attacks. Under the right conditions and while exploiting elemental weaknesses, she can do some big damage with plenty of MP to spare.
Raven
The daughter of the titular Dark Evil Queen, she was swayed by Helena's charms at the end of one of her past adventures. Hopelessly attached to Helena and doesn't think very highly of any other lowly mortals, but maybe someday she'll change her tune.
With a little bit of setup, she can deal devastating damage to single targets. However, she's not much use against undead or anything else that can resist her curses.
Game Design
Cutting useless battle animation length
- Firecat1311
- 1 post(s)
- 10/17/2020 07:02 PM
- 1107 views
As I said last week, I want to start catching up on the kinds of posts I should've been making all along during this game's development. For that purpose, the most interesting thing to show off that I haven't yet would be... battle animations!
Rather than just showing a few samples, I want to go into some stuff: specifically, where I feel like RPG Maker's animation systems are lacking, and some things that can be done to work around its flaws.
First of all: RTP animations are slow as heck! Way too many frames.
But that's not all, they also have so many built-in awkward pauses. Even if your custom animation is really quick, it will always be slower than it should be.
It's also just really difficult to make nice-looking, fluid, and polished animations (The best I can do with RPGM still looks pretty stuff, despite the fact that my other games look like this).
Watch this:
Lyndsey swings her sword -> wait -> slash animation -> wait -> damage numbers pop up -> WAIT -> she moves back into her original position.
Lame! Slow! Tedious! Here's what I did. Using Yanfly's Action Sequences plugin, I was able to remove some of those unnecessary pauses. There's a bunch of detail for individual skill animations, but the gist of it:
This is all the Setup and Target Action sections really need for a standard skill, with N replaced with the number of frames until the impact happens in the animation. You'll probably want to add a motion or two and maybe adjust the "move user" bit depending on what you're doing, and whether it's a player or enemy animation. Anyway, how about I show rather than tell?
I've added a bit more flair to this animation, but the basic bits are there: quick step in, quick animation, quick transition to the next actor's turn.
Admittedly there's definitely still some awkwardness here (3 frames is really not enough for a good sword swing, but it's the most I can spare if I wanna ever finish this game) but it's notably faster, and a bit cooler, than the default.
But, that speed increase isn't too much of a big deal, right? Well... it adds up. Four player characters and 2-4 enemy characters performing actions, several wasted seconds each action, for hundreds if not thousands of actions throughout the game...
After streamlining all player and enemy skills, the total playtime for a "developer who knows everything hurrying through the game" playthrough of my game decreased from 10 hours to 6 hours. That's a huge chunk of time saved, and it would be even bigger for the average player! I hate wasting the player's time, and the default RPG Maker animation systems were definitely doing exactly that.
Design talk out of the way, here's a brief showcase of some of my skill animations, from simple to fancy (don't mind the occasional unfinished/placeholder sprites):
Rather than just showing a few samples, I want to go into some stuff: specifically, where I feel like RPG Maker's animation systems are lacking, and some things that can be done to work around its flaws.
First of all: RTP animations are slow as heck! Way too many frames.
But that's not all, they also have so many built-in awkward pauses. Even if your custom animation is really quick, it will always be slower than it should be.
It's also just really difficult to make nice-looking, fluid, and polished animations (The best I can do with RPGM still looks pretty stuff, despite the fact that my other games look like this).
Watch this:
Lyndsey swings her sword -> wait -> slash animation -> wait -> damage numbers pop up -> WAIT -> she moves back into her original position.
Lame! Slow! Tedious! Here's what I did. Using Yanfly's Action Sequences plugin, I was able to remove some of those unnecessary pauses. There's a bunch of detail for individual skill animations, but the gist of it:
<setup action>
clear battle log
display action
immortal: targets, true
move user: forward, 60, 5
</setup action>
<target action>
action animation
animation wait: N
action effect
</target action>]
This is all the Setup and Target Action sections really need for a standard skill, with N replaced with the number of frames until the impact happens in the animation. You'll probably want to add a motion or two and maybe adjust the "move user" bit depending on what you're doing, and whether it's a player or enemy animation. Anyway, how about I show rather than tell?
I've added a bit more flair to this animation, but the basic bits are there: quick step in, quick animation, quick transition to the next actor's turn.
Admittedly there's definitely still some awkwardness here (3 frames is really not enough for a good sword swing, but it's the most I can spare if I wanna ever finish this game) but it's notably faster, and a bit cooler, than the default.
But, that speed increase isn't too much of a big deal, right? Well... it adds up. Four player characters and 2-4 enemy characters performing actions, several wasted seconds each action, for hundreds if not thousands of actions throughout the game...
After streamlining all player and enemy skills, the total playtime for a "developer who knows everything hurrying through the game" playthrough of my game decreased from 10 hours to 6 hours. That's a huge chunk of time saved, and it would be even bigger for the average player! I hate wasting the player's time, and the default RPG Maker animation systems were definitely doing exactly that.
Design talk out of the way, here's a brief showcase of some of my skill animations, from simple to fancy (don't mind the occasional unfinished/placeholder sprites):
Progress Report
Greetings!
- Firecat1311
- 0 post(s)
- 10/10/2020 07:58 PM
- 321 views
Now that I've finally made a page for this game, I feel like I may as well use it to start posting public updates and stuff from time to time. The loose plan is to post on Saturdays whenever I've got stuff to show off, but no promises I'll be keeping to that schedule.
Anyway! Hello, I'm Fiore. I've been working on Slay the Dark Evil Queen on and off (mostly off, to be honest) for about three years now. From its humble beginnings as an RTP-only fangame of another series to being my own original IP with original assets, it's been going for a while, but now the end is in sight... probably.
Doing all the maps, graphics, animations, writing, scripting, blah blah blah all by my self for a full-length (for indie standards, anyway) RPG is a pretty big task, as many users on this site probably already know. Currently, the game is about 10-14 or so hours long, and of that a pretty significant chunk is fully playable, but there's lots of missing assets.
In these next few months I'll be making an effort to finish up the final dungeon and ending, plus a bunch of optional side-areas scattered around the world map, and a couple big custom systems that I've been putting off.
Then I'll be going back to finish up all the graphics I haven't done yet, and trying convince my audio designer to grace this mess with sound effects and an OST.
But that's all boring stuff, right? Here's the stuff people actually want to see: pictures!
I'm still working on the title screen. I had a big fancy one all drawn and everything, but it had to be tossed in the switch from fangame to originalgame. I'm not really an artist, so hopefully it turns out okay!
A map of the world. Pretty tough to read, huh? Well, don't worry, it's not really that big, so you'll get a feel for it pretty easily just by exploring a bit.
As in most RPGs, the starting section is linear, but then things open up and you're (mostly) free to go anywhere. At this point, there're actually three different paths to go down, and you can tackle them in any order you want (with the exception of one path, which only opens when you finish either of the others).
A few scenes will change depending on which order you pick; nothing drastic enough that you'd need to replay the game to get the full experience, but enough to give a little bit of flavor to your own personal playthrough.
These two screenshots come directly from my twitter.
See the dollar sign in the upper left corner of the map? If you ever find yourself low on money because you, say, threw a bunch into a certain well thinking it would give you good luck, paid a certain shady nun because you believed her when she said that with enough donations something good would happen, or just got intentionally mugged by a couple of dead fish in an alleyway (all of these are things that can actually happen in this game), the Goddess of Wasted Cash can help you get some of it back.
For those who are especially wasteful with their money, greater rewards may await... (and no, this one isn't a religious scam, believe it or not)
There's a lot of older news to get this blog caught up with, thanks to me going for so long without posting hardly anything about this game as I worked on it, but I'll get to that in a later post.
Until then, see you next Saturday (maybe)!
Anyway! Hello, I'm Fiore. I've been working on Slay the Dark Evil Queen on and off (mostly off, to be honest) for about three years now. From its humble beginnings as an RTP-only fangame of another series to being my own original IP with original assets, it's been going for a while, but now the end is in sight... probably.
Doing all the maps, graphics, animations, writing, scripting, blah blah blah all by my self for a full-length (for indie standards, anyway) RPG is a pretty big task, as many users on this site probably already know. Currently, the game is about 10-14 or so hours long, and of that a pretty significant chunk is fully playable, but there's lots of missing assets.
In these next few months I'll be making an effort to finish up the final dungeon and ending, plus a bunch of optional side-areas scattered around the world map, and a couple big custom systems that I've been putting off.
Then I'll be going back to finish up all the graphics I haven't done yet, and trying convince my audio designer to grace this mess with sound effects and an OST.
But that's all boring stuff, right? Here's the stuff people actually want to see: pictures!
I'm still working on the title screen. I had a big fancy one all drawn and everything, but it had to be tossed in the switch from fangame to originalgame. I'm not really an artist, so hopefully it turns out okay!
A map of the world. Pretty tough to read, huh? Well, don't worry, it's not really that big, so you'll get a feel for it pretty easily just by exploring a bit.
As in most RPGs, the starting section is linear, but then things open up and you're (mostly) free to go anywhere. At this point, there're actually three different paths to go down, and you can tackle them in any order you want (with the exception of one path, which only opens when you finish either of the others).
A few scenes will change depending on which order you pick; nothing drastic enough that you'd need to replay the game to get the full experience, but enough to give a little bit of flavor to your own personal playthrough.
These two screenshots come directly from my twitter.
See the dollar sign in the upper left corner of the map? If you ever find yourself low on money because you, say, threw a bunch into a certain well thinking it would give you good luck, paid a certain shady nun because you believed her when she said that with enough donations something good would happen, or just got intentionally mugged by a couple of dead fish in an alleyway (all of these are things that can actually happen in this game), the Goddess of Wasted Cash can help you get some of it back.
For those who are especially wasteful with their money, greater rewards may await... (and no, this one isn't a religious scam, believe it or not)
There's a lot of older news to get this blog caught up with, thanks to me going for so long without posting hardly anything about this game as I worked on it, but I'll get to that in a later post.
Until then, see you next Saturday (maybe)!
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