ANARYU'S PROFILE

I managed to post, but it was a miracle. Had it all done with 4 hours left, was just going to polish some things, then when I made the Windows export it's physics engine with DX9 would somehow end up with NaN and infinity during collisions when attacking.

Fixed and barely managed to get it up in time (5 min left.)

I don't remember much of the next few days after. : )

author=Craze
well so much for my input of "go 2d even though your 3d stuff looks better than persona q"

Okay, first off, Persona Q is the greatest.

Second, yeah, we still like the 3D route better (it actually looks great!) it's just that the effort involved is too much more; doing an enemy image might take 2-5 hours for 2D, but a 3D model takes 10+ for the model, and then another 5-10 minimum to rig and animate. That wouldn't be bad if it was just enemies we needed to make, but there's the players and the environment.

If it was a full time job it wouldn't be bad, but time as we get older becomes more and more limited. We could finish this in another 2-3 years in 3D, or a lot sooner in 2D. (Besides, with Krisanna got a job, so her time to work on the 3D was reduced greatly.)

I still wish I could make better environments though; our tileset building skills are lacking at best. : (

author=LouisCyphre
Go with 3D for your characters, certainly.

Beyond that, iterate with things! Consider 3D backdrops, 2D fields, and everything in between. Make trash throwaway projects like "Extreme Fishing" just to test your animation and scenebuilding capabilities. Make absolutely stupid shit every time an idea strikes you. The models' style puts me in mind of Bravely Default, which staged its models on beautiful 2.5D hand-painted backgrounds, which are certainly possible from you too! Explore the realm of royalty-free open-source background images and see if you can find something to your liking. Just... Don't close any doors prematurely, or you're doing your games a disservice.

I think, by the way you're framing your questions, that you know what answers you want to hear.

Yeah, I was really leaning towards 3D, but after nearly a year of working on the engine and resources, the scale of it is measurable and we find our time lacking compared to desire to actually finish this project. : )

We did finish several 3D projects (including a prototype system for this!) to get the hang of it, and have learned a lot, along with how much is left to learn. And the amount of "stupid crap" I've done that isn't released is massive. : )

A 3D RPG isn't outside our range, but the next one we do in it will have that mindset from the start. For Aetherion we just want to actually work on and finish it. : )


NOTE: This actual blog entry was made almost a year ago, I was just replying to open questions now; new blog entry coming soon.

Depends on what part of the beginning? Right at the start it should give direction, but I'd talk to the characters if you're not sure.

The section after that just explore and you'll find where to go (aren't many directions to go.)

Gosh, it has been a while.

We tested the base engine out on a different project 'In Arcem Miseria' - the combat system wouldn't be like that of course, but the mapping tools and event editor and database, etc, are all working pretty well.

We moved recently again so it's been a bit of hiatus while the artist finishes some commission work. I'm pretty set on the tools, so not we're waiting on some resources and working on a test environment for a demo.

@Hanako-chan: Hm, I couldn't get this to repeat, can you send me the save file so I can try?

@shayoko: This was intended to be a really long game, we're looking at maybe doing it in a newer editor again, sorry this one isn't complete, but the puzzles are worth a play-through if you're interested! Sorry you didn't like Boutalles, it has a really steep learning curve that isn't much fun to overcome; definitely a lesson learned.