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Hyamlan's secrets
@ Mental-X: Okay, okay! Calm down, I played your demo and decided to write up some quick feedback. It's gonna be succinct and truthful, all right?
Graphics: Too many different resources. Find a style and choose a few choice rips/whatever that mesh well. Your mapping ranges from bad to average. Try varying elevation and don't leave so much empty space in natural settings. Also, your perspective can be wonky, especially Artrona(sp?). Master each chipset so you can use multiple floor tiles to your advantage, making it easier to determine elevation and perspective. Get new panoramas.
Story and Characters:Yeah...work on it. It's not even the ESL grammatical and spelling mistakes that really detract, it's the lack of coherence. There's very little story, and what you have doesn't make much sense and is made of wildly generic cliches. It seems like you jump from one Deus ex Machina to the next just to move the game along. The interaction between the sailors and Alex(lol) is pretty contrived. WHY is there a Zorro looking Dark-Elf(Tomek) "with a mysterious past" working with a ship of Pirates? Also, the dialogue is pretty damn bad. Everyone seems to say "AWESOME!" and other weird colloquialisms. Characters in general are flat and boring, develop them and make the story your own. (I actually like archetypes and classic stories, just not tired cliches presented in the same way with no further development)
Gameplay:First off: The nights of the "Day/Night" system are WAY TOO DARK! I had to pump my gamma to 100% just to see what the hell was going on. Maybe it's my monitor, but I couldn't see shit until Nvidia Control Panel came to the rescue! As for the ABS, see what Max said. I don't really like ABS' in RM2K(3) unless they're a miraculous feat of coding. Basically your ABS is Collision with Hero Event=Player Takes Damage, Action Key Event= Player Kills Enemy. Your CMS is full of bugs and the "I" in Mining is misplaced. I do like the way skills such as "Security" etc. go up as you lock pick and how if you equip different gear it displays on your sprite. The Day and Night system doesn't serve much purpose unless you're being railroaded to do something. There are multiple cases where you are given choices, but are forced to choose one, or your choice doesn't matter. If you're going to give choices, actually make them mean something! Due to all of the above, gameplay is pretty boring as are the battles. Seriously work on it, please.
Presentation/Summary:Hey, this section isn't that bad! I can see you spent a lot of time on events and tried to create some neat effects through use of panoramas and charsets. It's just that the actual execution when combined with the poor story, mishmoshy graphics and contrived gameplay drags it way down.
I wouldn't say Hyamlan's Secrets is a terrible game, it's simply a very mediocre attempt at something that doesn't usually work well on the RM2K platform. If this is your first try at a serious project, then there's a good future for you! Just try to work off of the feedback I (and I'm sure others will) tell you and you'll do great!
PS: That's succinct for me.
Graphics: Too many different resources. Find a style and choose a few choice rips/whatever that mesh well. Your mapping ranges from bad to average. Try varying elevation and don't leave so much empty space in natural settings. Also, your perspective can be wonky, especially Artrona(sp?). Master each chipset so you can use multiple floor tiles to your advantage, making it easier to determine elevation and perspective. Get new panoramas.
Story and Characters:Yeah...work on it. It's not even the ESL grammatical and spelling mistakes that really detract, it's the lack of coherence. There's very little story, and what you have doesn't make much sense and is made of wildly generic cliches. It seems like you jump from one Deus ex Machina to the next just to move the game along. The interaction between the sailors and Alex(lol) is pretty contrived. WHY is there a Zorro looking Dark-Elf(Tomek) "with a mysterious past" working with a ship of Pirates? Also, the dialogue is pretty damn bad. Everyone seems to say "AWESOME!" and other weird colloquialisms. Characters in general are flat and boring, develop them and make the story your own. (I actually like archetypes and classic stories, just not tired cliches presented in the same way with no further development)
Gameplay:First off: The nights of the "Day/Night" system are WAY TOO DARK! I had to pump my gamma to 100% just to see what the hell was going on. Maybe it's my monitor, but I couldn't see shit until Nvidia Control Panel came to the rescue! As for the ABS, see what Max said. I don't really like ABS' in RM2K(3) unless they're a miraculous feat of coding. Basically your ABS is Collision with Hero Event=Player Takes Damage, Action Key Event= Player Kills Enemy. Your CMS is full of bugs and the "I" in Mining is misplaced. I do like the way skills such as "Security" etc. go up as you lock pick and how if you equip different gear it displays on your sprite. The Day and Night system doesn't serve much purpose unless you're being railroaded to do something. There are multiple cases where you are given choices, but are forced to choose one, or your choice doesn't matter. If you're going to give choices, actually make them mean something! Due to all of the above, gameplay is pretty boring as are the battles. Seriously work on it, please.
Presentation/Summary:Hey, this section isn't that bad! I can see you spent a lot of time on events and tried to create some neat effects through use of panoramas and charsets. It's just that the actual execution when combined with the poor story, mishmoshy graphics and contrived gameplay drags it way down.
I wouldn't say Hyamlan's Secrets is a terrible game, it's simply a very mediocre attempt at something that doesn't usually work well on the RM2K platform. If this is your first try at a serious project, then there's a good future for you! Just try to work off of the feedback I (and I'm sure others will) tell you and you'll do great!
PS: That's succinct for me.
Gas Prices
Woah man, where do you live and how can I move there?
North Eastern 'Joisey! The only prerequisite to moving here is being able to bear outrageous auto-insurance, high property taxes and the ability to adapt to pollution! I kid you not when I visit rural places out of state, I find it harder to breathe, air is too damn clean hahaha!
Code Monkeys Ride Again! Podcast
author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=2548.msg47015#msg47015 date=1227640074Nope, no echoes here, especially not GIANT FUCKING one's. Maybe a little reverb, it sounds like any Ventrilo session.
But am I the only one who hears a GIANT FUCKING ECHO!? Did you guys record this in the Grand Canyon?
As for the Code Monkeys team: great job! I like how you don't pull any punches, no sugar coating and pussyfooting around. The reviews were fair, constructive and mostly logical. My only suggestion goes out to Nick, SPEAK UP MAN! If you have something to say assert yourself! Don't just quietly mumble something in the background, make yourself heard. Other then that you guys have good chemistry and distinctive/clear voices, which is important on audio only entertainment.
Thumbs up!
Gas Prices
About the same for me, $1.75 at most major brand gases (Exxon, BP, Shell). Hell if it drops another 30 cents it'll be down to the same price it was 6 years ago! =D
New blood?
After a little sabbatical I'm really glad to see a buncha new active faces, possibility of regular podcasts, continuation of Play Something! and overall interaction the community has developed!
I agree, organized Feedback Teams are a good idea, as is drawing people from other areas related to game development. I run in some of the spriting circles, I'll test the waters with some of my friends and see how that goes. =D
I agree, organized Feedback Teams are a good idea, as is drawing people from other areas related to game development. I run in some of the spriting circles, I'll test the waters with some of my friends and see how that goes. =D
Top Ten Topic 54: Why Are You Guys so Mean Edition: Favorite Beverages
5.) Fresca Peach Citrus
You'd be hard pressed to realize it's a diet drink. I like it simply because it's a really refreshing soda that actually quenches thirst.
4.) Kombucha Green Tea
Drink it straight up, sweet, slightly sour and awesomely healthy.
3.) Smithwicks
If Harp and Guiness had a bastard child, it would be named Smithwicks.
2.) Scoth (Glenlivet 18) <3
Complex notes, utterly smooth, easily accessible. Drink this neat or you get a boot to the head.
1.) Water
What can I say, I drink tons of water, it is the quintessential drink.
You'd be hard pressed to realize it's a diet drink. I like it simply because it's a really refreshing soda that actually quenches thirst.
4.) Kombucha Green Tea
Drink it straight up, sweet, slightly sour and awesomely healthy.
3.) Smithwicks
If Harp and Guiness had a bastard child, it would be named Smithwicks.
2.) Scoth (Glenlivet 18) <3
Complex notes, utterly smooth, easily accessible. Drink this neat or you get a boot to the head.
1.) Water
What can I say, I drink tons of water, it is the quintessential drink.
Remarkable lines of some video games.
"Welcome to Tangares base. You're just in time for the dance party. I've arranged a dancing partner for you. DANCE TO THE DEATH!" -Time Crisis PSX Version
“I'm getting very bad sensations from this...as if a cat had just licked my heart.†- Martian Gothic Unification
(Yeaaah...)
"It will be engraved upon your soul! Divine Assault! Niebelung Valesti!" - Valkyrie Profile
“I'm getting very bad sensations from this...as if a cat had just licked my heart.†- Martian Gothic Unification
(Yeaaah...)
"It will be engraved upon your soul! Divine Assault! Niebelung Valesti!" - Valkyrie Profile
Storytelling/retelling
I'd have to agree with Asa and Clest. For me it depends on presentation; it's all about how each person ultimately shapes and changes the archetype due to their own personal experiences. I find it interesting how you can tell a little bit about the person(s) just from the way they relate it. Basically, if one gives a tried and true story their own twist and makes the characters (archetypes or not) interesting and entertaining I'm happy. Maybe I'm nostalgic, but I like the classics!
TL:DR: Make it your own.
Edit: Oh hai, I'm back!
TL:DR: Make it your own.
Edit: Oh hai, I'm back!
Desktop Screenshop
Bwa ha! I change my desktop bi-weekly, unless I really like it.
It's fun to see desktops! One can learn a lot about people's personality through them.
Games - Tester
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