kurtkz
Member
@crow_riot: Crud, thanks for bursting my bubble. OK, back on topic guys! Art...
Minigolf Game - Devlog
- Thread starter traylorpark
- Start date
b1ueskycomp1ex
Open Sauce Fanatic & AMD Fanboy
crow_riot said:
Ah. Well then, perhaps in the future?
Anyway, getting closer to being back on topic, will you have Human 3D models at all, or will this be a sort of disembodied, floating arrow thing?
Edit: Also, in making a minigolf game you're also essentially setting things up to make a billiards game
)
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kurtkz
Member
@b1ueskycomp1ex: We've decided on a putter and an arrow to guide the player. This also means that there won't be a power bar; instead, the putter will indicate the power of the shot...
And, yes, I have an idea for a billiards game. I'm not too keen on just rushing a plain version out of the door though. I'm planning on doing something similar to Pool Hustler (is that what it was called?) for the PSX with career and story modes.
And, yes, I have an idea for a billiards game. I'm not too keen on just rushing a plain version out of the door though. I'm planning on doing something similar to Pool Hustler (is that what it was called?) for the PSX with career and story modes.
b1ueskycomp1ex
Open Sauce Fanatic & AMD Fanboy
kurtkz said:
And if we're lucky, even live action pre-recorded FMV sequences dithered down to 256 colors ALA sega CD!
AND THEN A SIDE SCROLLING BEAT-EM-UP MODE!
Or not. Carry on.
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traylorpark
Very Active Member
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b1ueskycomp1ex said:
Weren't there fewer colors then that on the Sega CD/Megadrive? I remember videos looked awful ... dithered out of like, 2 colors or something.
Good lord, a side scrolling beat-em-up mode ... may I label you as genius sir?
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b1ueskycomp1ex
Open Sauce Fanatic & AMD Fanboy
traylorpark said:
I mean come on, picture it. You're playing pool, suddenly you're challenged! The boss challenges you in a 16-bit super-dithered Sega CD-esque FMV, followed by a short scrolling beat-em-up level where your only weapon is a pool cue.
It could work.
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kurtkz
Member
Haha, it's crazy enough that it might just work
b1ueskycomp1ex
Open Sauce Fanatic & AMD Fanboy
I will pay you 6 billion invisible worthless dollars to write this game!
Edit: also, the sega CD had a maximum of 64 out of 512 colors available to draw on screen at one time.
Edit: also, the sega CD had a maximum of 64 out of 512 colors available to draw on screen at one time.
kurtkz
Member
Make it 12 billion and we have a deal Seriously though, let's get this thread back on track. I'll make a video of the current gameplay later tonight (I've been promising Peter a new video since the weekend) and post it here tomorrow morning.
Seriously though, let's get this thread back on track. I'll make a video of the current gameplay later tonight (I've been promising Peter a new video since the weekend) and post it here tomorrow morning.kurtkz
Member
Alrighty, as promised here's an in-game image and an animated GIF:
Cheers
Kurt
PS Please ignore the frame rate - grabbing and saving the images kills it. I'll add functionality to downsample so that the frame rate is preserved.
Cheers
Kurt
PS Please ignore the frame rate - grabbing and saving the images kills it. I'll add functionality to downsample so that the frame rate is preserved.
torpor
hack hack hack, the little machines fight back
Cannot wait to play this!
traylorpark
Very Active Member
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kurtkz said:
It's so good to see this in motion! Question now ... those texture colors ... :rolleyes: are they a source of frustration still, or is that just the nature of your image exporter?
Looks like we need to do something about those alphas though, for example, I should make the edge hard and not aliased.
Thanks so much for putting up a video!
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kurtkz
Member
Hey Peter,
looks like I need to convert the textures to 16bit (5-5-5-1) instead of (8-8-8-8). 32bit textures are converted to 4-4-4-4 automatically which causes the banding you see in the screenshots. Converting to 5-5-5-1 will give 32 different colours instead of 16. Combine that with dithering and it should look a lot better. You could create separate materials for the transparent polygons though, so that the course itself would look better. There will still be banding on the transparent polygons though. We can discuss it over email though
Cheers
Kurt
PS I'll put up a longer GIF tomorrow.
looks like I need to convert the textures to 16bit (5-5-5-1) instead of (8-8-8-8). 32bit textures are converted to 4-4-4-4 automatically which causes the banding you see in the screenshots. Converting to 5-5-5-1 will give 32 different colours instead of 16. Combine that with dithering and it should look a lot better. You could create separate materials for the transparent polygons though, so that the course itself would look better. There will still be banding on the transparent polygons though. We can discuss it over email though
Cheers
Kurt
PS I'll put up a longer GIF tomorrow.
traylorpark
Very Active Member
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I like updates! Who likes updates?
First .. I made a golf club. you know, that thing that you play golf with. Maybe the most crucial element of the game ... yet, I've probably spent the least amount of time with it. I will without a doubt revisit it in the future.
But first, some quick words on concept. This is a golf game ... a club is the player's primary method of interacting with the world ... thus, aesthetically it should be designed in a way that make players want to actually do something with it. So it's a bit more stout than a normal club, and the head (?) is fatter. I think, this will help.
The combination of pleasing colors and slightly exaggerated design should make it an inviting tool for the player to interact with the world through. That's the hope, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
What it might look like ingame *note, not in engine screen shot.
Second ... sound. Maybe one of the most rushed and least thought about parts of game design. But I consider it to be a crucial element. Reflecting on some of my favorite games in the past, I realized that most had very good sound design. I believe that such a feature really helps the immerse the player in the game world ... even if the visuals are abstracted. I would even put out a theory that abstracted, vague visuals combined with a super rich sonic palette immerses the player more than the inverse situation.
So I trekked out into the world around me, with my computer (it's the only recording device I have... imagine a Pandora or Caanoo as a DAT recorder :rolleyes: ) and recorded audio from small shrines and parks like these.
Then I edited them together into a very stereo sound scape that I hope will help define the environment for the player more than just the visuals can.
*an MP3 is directly link to the image ... so click it to listen
And that's it for now on the art and design side! Any crits or comments are very welcome.
Next up ... gooey!
First .. I made a golf club. you know, that thing that you play golf with. Maybe the most crucial element of the game ... yet, I've probably spent the least amount of time with it. I will without a doubt revisit it in the future.
But first, some quick words on concept. This is a golf game ... a club is the player's primary method of interacting with the world ... thus, aesthetically it should be designed in a way that make players want to actually do something with it. So it's a bit more stout than a normal club, and the head (?) is fatter. I think, this will help.
The combination of pleasing colors and slightly exaggerated design should make it an inviting tool for the player to interact with the world through. That's the hope, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
What it might look like ingame *note, not in engine screen shot.
Second ... sound. Maybe one of the most rushed and least thought about parts of game design. But I consider it to be a crucial element. Reflecting on some of my favorite games in the past, I realized that most had very good sound design. I believe that such a feature really helps the immerse the player in the game world ... even if the visuals are abstracted. I would even put out a theory that abstracted, vague visuals combined with a super rich sonic palette immerses the player more than the inverse situation.
So I trekked out into the world around me, with my computer (it's the only recording device I have... imagine a Pandora or Caanoo as a DAT recorder :rolleyes: ) and recorded audio from small shrines and parks like these.
Then I edited them together into a very stereo sound scape that I hope will help define the environment for the player more than just the visuals can.
*an MP3 is directly link to the image ... so click it to listen
And that's it for now on the art and design side! Any crits or comments are very welcome.
Next up ... gooey!
kurtkz
Member
@traylorpark: That's exactly what the club looks like in the engine I like the view orientation you have going there; I'll change it in the game to match the render. I'll try to post new screenshots later tonight - the club is fully integrated and the game is fully playable. I've also implemented a radial menu and an ordinary vertical menu - not sure which would suit the game...
I like the view orientation you have going there; I'll change it in the game to match the render. I'll try to post new screenshots later tonight - the club is fully integrated and the game is fully playable. I've also implemented a radial menu and an ordinary vertical menu - not sure which would suit the game...
forces
Member
Will there be a possibility to change the location of the club? (like when you are left handed, so it doesn't look strange to you.)
And to add a way to make simple levels(minigolf like), just you have a tileset of block and then you place them on a map (like in the great racing game Stunts). I know that the level editor is a really hard thing, but with it, it would be a really great game.
And to add a way to make simple levels(minigolf like), just you have a tileset of block and then you place them on a map (like in the great racing game Stunts). I know that the level editor is a really hard thing, but with it, it would be a really great game.
kurtkz
Member
@forces: There won't be a level editor - the levels are all created free-form in Blender at the moment. It's still possible to add your own levels to our current game, it just takes a lot more work.
kurtkz
Member
Hey all, as promised here's an ingame screenshot showing off the new putter that Peter made. Enjoy
traylorpark
Very Active Member
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Kurt and I are having a great time figuring out how to make textures display "just as the artist would want them."
This little tool here has suddenly become indispensable. The Power VR Tex Tool.
Input a PNG or TARGA or some other basic image format and you encode it into any variety of bit rates such as 5-6-5 (no alpha, better colors), 5-5-5-1 (1 bit hard edge alpha, slightly poorer colors) and 4-4-4-4 (nice soft alpha, crappy colors).
From here I export a PNG so I can load it back into Blender and see if the color banding or dithering is passable. If I don't hate it, I'll export the file again, this time as a .ktx file (Kurt built in support for that format in his engine (can't be viewed within Blender)) and with any luck, it will drop right into the engine and the results displayed are the same as what I previewed in Blender.
Pipelines are fun! :lol:
This little tool here has suddenly become indispensable. The Power VR Tex Tool.
Input a PNG or TARGA or some other basic image format and you encode it into any variety of bit rates such as 5-6-5 (no alpha, better colors), 5-5-5-1 (1 bit hard edge alpha, slightly poorer colors) and 4-4-4-4 (nice soft alpha, crappy colors).
From here I export a PNG so I can load it back into Blender and see if the color banding or dithering is passable. If I don't hate it, I'll export the file again, this time as a .ktx file (Kurt built in support for that format in his engine (can't be viewed within Blender)) and with any luck, it will drop right into the engine and the results displayed are the same as what I previewed in Blender.
Pipelines are fun! :lol:
kurtkz
Member
Alrighty, update time!
Peter's been working hard on getting the textures to look just right and I think we've finally cracked it:
Those are ingame screenshots and I think they look awesome On an unrelated note, Peter and I both ordered Caanoos this weekend, so I'll be porting (re: recompiling) the engine and game for the Caanoo soon.
Cheers
Kurt
Uhm...can anyone see those images?
Peter's been working hard on getting the textures to look just right and I think we've finally cracked it:
Those are ingame screenshots and I think they look awesome
On an unrelated note, Peter and I both ordered Caanoos this weekend, so I'll be porting (re: recompiling) the engine and game for the Caanoo soon. Cheers
Kurt
Uhm...can anyone see those images?
