9/30/96Man, I just keep falling behind, don't I! I once again fell behind a few days in my weekly update. This weekend I went to the Texas State Fair with my girlfriend so it was worth falling behind ;)
Anyway, I am finished with the map editor and I have started work on the first map. I still have to add some things to the editor, but I need to build some maps so I have them to use while I generate the code that will be in the game so that I can adjust my data structures as I go because I donno for sure how I am going to do everything because..... sorry, I digress.
The image on the right is a sample of a battle scene. There are several such samples around the page, but this one is pretty current. All the character sprites for the battle scene are being done by Brian Crews. The fellow on the left is Gerwin, the elf on the right is Staulker, and the knight in the middle is Drudwyn. Actually, you'll never see these three guys together in the game, but thats not what is important here. The monster was also done by Brian, but I donno if this particular sprite will ever make it into the final game.
I have decided to put together another demo, but one that is slightly different. I guess it would be more of a slide show than anything else. I will probably be much larger than the last one as I plan to include sound as well. Keep an eye out for it, although it will probably be a few weeks before I get it together.
9/23/96Ok, ok.. so I'm pretty late this time around. I was suppose to make this update on the 21st, but hey, I've been busy. Everything from mowing for 7 hours to shopping with my girlfriend.
The image on the right is from the ever changing map editor. It is really moving right along. It won't be long until I will start making some maps. I am sure that I will be adding many features to it as I discover what I need. The image shown here is of the default map that is distributed with the demo. Each pixel represents a 20x20 tile on the map. I want to add a couple of functions on this screen such as a fill option and a copy/paste option. Once I've done that, I think I will be ready to start editing some trial maps. As I create new maps, I will start generating the code for the overworld to allow me to move in and out of towns and in and out of buildings. I also want to get town people and other characters on the map ASAP. Oh yeah... I almost forgot, I have to add starting points for various characters to the map editor.
I am thinking of creating a new demo, this one will not be interactive. It will go though a few pictures and some text kinda like a slide show. It should have some music and sound effects as well. Although I am sure it will be rough, it should give an idea of what people can expect from the story scenes.
9/14/96Great news! I've been getting alot of e-mail about the help I need in the art department, but no one has been sending me any samples. I finally got a sample from someone and I was really impressed. This screen shot can give you an idea of what battle scenes will look like. The background image can be found in my screen shots section, its is by Wesley Miaw. The image that this new fellow did is of Staulker. I bet you are thinking, "does this new person have a name?" Well, as a matter of fact he does, its Brian Crews. He had alot of trouble getting samples to me at first and things looked grim, but what I have gotten has impressed me.
I've done just a little coding on the editor, but I've slowed way down. I need to stop and think a few things out. I have to have warps from one part of the map to another, other characters moving around on the map, monster zoning, and all sorts of good stuff and I'm still not sure what the best way to set up my data structures is...
The new artwork I revieved has really given me a boost, but I donno if its enough to keep me up all night tonight as I've been lacking alot of sleep lately.. if only I had some good techno.....
9/7/96I have been working hard on the map editor for TLOT. So far it will load the default map and tile set.(same as the ones distributed with the demo), allow you to edit tiles on the map in 1x1, 3x3 and 5x5 sized blocks. It will also allow you to zoom in and out to 1x, 2x and 4x. I still have to add a few functions here and there to the basic edititing interface. I also have to set it up to allow me to edit the definition of each block (monster zoning, specific treasure chests, links from one map to another such as overworld to towns). I also have to write all the file IO code so that I can easily load and edit different maps. All in all, I'd say its about 60% done as the scaling was some of the hardest stuff to do.
I wrote my first editor in 320x200x256 with no mouse support and I soon discovered that I couldn't see enough of the map and that using the keyboard really took way to long. I then tried to make a 640x480x16 color editor but it was very slow. I picked 640x480x16 because 640x480x256 didn't seem to want to work with my mouse units. It was nice, but the lack of color made it too difficult to get everything just right. So then I had the idea of a zooming function and I tried it out and it worked pretty good. Thats pretty much how I got to where I am now......
Theresa Dudley's hand has been hurting her alot recently and she hasn't been able to do much work on the art. I don't know if she will be able to finish the artwork she was doing for the project or not. If you would take the time to e-mail her at theresa@nortexinfo.net and let her know how much you like her work, perhaps it will make her feel a little better. If I could get all of the artwork in the game up to par with the previous work she has done for me.... this would be one fantastic game.....
