Panjoust - A New Simple Platformer

[Trip]

New vid and background look great. This has definitely got to be one of the first games I play when my Pandora arrives

 

[fusion_power]

Looks very nice and the Colours fit together.

Will there be all levels with this "height" setting over the ground the BG shows us, or are there also Plans for a setting near the Ground - Lava, Water,...whatever? Does this BG uses 8 Bit or 16+ Bit Colours in the final game?

AND: Idea for the Title Background with the nice Mountains and the Water: little animated "sparkles" for the Water would make the moot of the scene much more interesting I think.

 

[Masterfurbix]

Well, I believe Marko wants to implement vertical scrolling as well as horizontal scrolling.

This would definitely make it easier to have something to 'fall into' and have it look believable.



as for the colors, I have NO IDEA. I'm just an artist, I'm new to this whole business.

 

[fusion_power]

Well, I believe Marko wants to implement vertical scrolling as well as horizontal scrolling.

This would definitely make it easier to have something to 'fall into' and have it look believable.

as for the colors, I have NO IDEA. I'm just an artist, I'm new to this whole business.

Vertical Scrolling makes sense, maybe not in every Level but we will see.

And I just asked for the Colours because of the graphic file size. 8-Bit Colour Palette (indexed colours) does need much less file size than 16 or 24 or 32 Bit Colur depth. MarkoeZ knows more.
8-Bit PNG's only have a simple Alpha Channel and no "gradients" or semi transparent areas. But I think for your graphics 8-Bit could be enough, but it depends i.e. smooth colour gradients may look wrong with to less colours.

 

[MarkoeZ]

The majority of the levels will be horizontal scrolling only. But some secial levels will scroll vertical as well.

And send the zip anytime, backgrounds are easy to implement now.

New vid and background look great. This has definitely got to be one of the first games I play when my Pandora arrives

Thanks, and that will depend on how soon the pandora arrives

Will there be all levels with this "height" setting over the ground the BG shows us, or are there also Plans for a setting near the Ground - Lava, Water,...whatever?

Probably, in the later levels.

Does this BG uses 8 Bit or 16+ Bit Colours in the final game?

"This bg" are actually at least 4 layers of different graphics that will have parralax scrolling. And i usually just check the lowest value that still looks good and use that.

 

[MarkoeZ]

Well internet was down yesterday, so i could not communicate with anyone. But that did made me focus on the game, some updates.

* Graphics set based sprite loading is now working for all items and obstacles. Platforms, spikes, etc.
* Latest mountain backgrounds and other level graphics added
* Added signs with danger,direction,exit,etc sybols. And helisigns, the same, but flying.
* Made a tutorial level
* bugfixing
* made a start with different leveltypes (level with timelimit, collectible target, kill target, a combination, and more)
* probably some other stuff i forgot

New graphics by Amigo Bandito. Thanks!

Cheers!!

 

[nickmaymusic]

Wow the new backgrounds are looking really good! Very inspiring for new music!
I really like the idea of the different level types too!

 

[Masterfurbix]

Spoiler

Well, if we can have a nighttime level in the snow, we can have a sunrise in the rockies.
For efficiency's sake as well, I don't think its a bad thing to get two levels with the graphics of one. All I have to do is tweak and recolor

ALSO

It is Carnival in The Netherlands, so Marko is taking a 4-day vacation (much drinking will undoubtedly occur)

expect an update later this week, not before then.


FURTHER NOTES

Nick is on top of things in the music department, turning out more great tracks every time I turn around.

 

[Trip]

Loving the way this project is heading. Wish I had some skills to contribute.
Thanks for all the hard work guys

 

[bzar]

This is all just gorgeous. Loving this project

 

[fusion_power]

I like the different colour alternations of the Background, fits very well.

Is it possible for the game-engine to save space with "palettized" graphics, so we have actualy one (or more)BG Sets but each can be alternated in the colour palette to have different "moots" at the end (day, dusk, Night...)? like the old Console games did.

There also could be a different Graphic Set, not mountains but a (ancient) City in the BG or Jungle, Desert or whatever.

Just some Ideas.

 

[Masterfurbix]

If you place each level where it's average color palette sits, they're right along the standard complimentary shift. That is why they all fit so well.

Currently the biggest jump is from nighttime (2) to sunrise (3). To offset this, I think a vibrant yellow (desert) level would be pretty cool. Problem is, because the mountains without snow already have some green in the palette, an only-yellow level would be a step backwards along the color 'average'

So, adding a bluer sky to the desert (Ideal conditions at mid-day) would bring my average into the green area, right where the color progression tells us we should be.

A jungle would also be an excellent solid-green palette, and would fit the progression slightly better. (all the other levels are monochromatic, with no need to take an average color approximation)

The problem with both options is that they wouldn't have any HEIGHT. Sand dunes and trees are significantly shorter than the mountains we have used for backgrounding thus far. Using these levels would portend to a change in altitude, which would make clouds and most of our parallax effects seem out of place.

The parallax effect is heavily dependent on perspective to look correct to the eye.

To give the correct illusion of depth, you would need several layers of parallax, 4 here, but it would vary based on the color of the sky.

To maintain the correct 'altitude' all you would see is the tops of the trees, and that would get booooring and look pretty bland.

I think the best palette match and the best altitude match would be a level of crumbling, overgrown ruins on low half-green mountains and tall full-green hills.

This, of course, could lead to a mountain cave, and give me a chance to work some low-white blues back into the palette (high-white blues already being used in the first level)

Then, around the color wheel again, we could make it to the orange and reds, and have a lava-filled underground cave, where we could end the game.

 

[fusion_power]

...advanced palette, Parallax and layer explanations...

Very good education lesson. ^^
Yes, I know a few things about palette, Level-Design and especialy Parallax-Layers (I'm THE Parallax-fetishist ya'know )

To maintain the correct 'altitude' all you would see is the tops of the trees, and that would get booooring and look pretty bland.

Exactly. I've suggested some different "altitudes" for more alternation in Level Design. Mountains only are also boring and if there will be some later water or Lava-ground Levels, you have to lower the altitude at all.
Desert and Jungle don't has to have a boring look, I'm sure you have the talent to make interesting jungle-BG's. Your Tree-Top-Sketch is a good example. There can be various layers of Trees, some ancient ruins in between (huge Maya Pyramides to "replace" mountains for example - I like ancient ruins ^_^ )
And the same for Desert Settings, not only dunes, but Pyramides, Temples...
maybe the Idea with "floating islands" can bring back the high altitude and more than Mountains into the BG.
And don't forget, the foreground is, where the game plays, THERE has to be alternation and I mean much more than flat platforms. BG is not nearly that important.

Here are some good Background Examples:
Mountains in BG but "ground-level" into foreground: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDQUQwrBTM4
Jungle in Sonic 3 marble garden, I love the gazillion Layers in the Background: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7NBPdmvzFM
Oh, and you can do quite interesting things with actual nothing much more than clouds in the Background:
Sonic & Knuckles Sky Sanctuary Zone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsfS1pp4MKE&feature=related

 

[Masterfurbix]

Thanks for the resources! I could tell you already knew most of this stuff, but it never hurts to lay out plans and show the community what I'm thinking.

Yes... I think a lower elevation would be a welcome change...

The only problem is that that would change a major factor of the gameplay: not falling to a horrible, painful death when you run out of flight energy. I'm hesitant to go any closer to the ground until we get some more enemy diversity.

And, to keep you guys up to date, we are planning some more challenges in the foreground, such as an important use for the rock.

This was the prelim sketch.
This will probably be the working in-game ice column

I haven't started on the catapult yet because I'm not quite sure how Marko will want to approach that and what exactly he will need.

 

[fusion_power]

The only problem is that that would change a major factor of the gameplay: not falling to a horrible, painful death when you run out of flight energy. I'm hesitant to go any closer to the ground until we get some more enemy diversity.

Thats not a problem in 2D games. You usualy fall to death when falling down out of the screen, even onto flat ground-layers, see Mario, Sonic or Gianas Sisters...
And I think even in "Jungle" Settings with Tree-Top height flying you are high enough to have a reason to die when going down out of the screen. maybe it is a Jungle with 100m high Trees? . Lava or water onto the ground would increse the "yes, here you die" effect (when you are really near the ground later).

I like your Idea with the huge Ice Pillars. I think they should appear in a later Level which is set into a giant (ice) cave (could be also Stone-Cave and stone pillars). Maybe you can draw a nice and dark Cave BG with such pillar-Structures in various layers? I think I can do a quick and ugly sketch: ^^"""

 

[Jourdy288]

That's pretty great, fusion! I think it needs to be tweaked a bit to fit in with the rest of the backgrounds, but excellent nonetheless.

 

[fusion_power]

That's pretty great, fusion! I think it needs to be tweaked a bit to fit in with the rest of the backgrounds, but excellent nonetheless.

Just a Sketch.
I think it could gain height by hiding the Ground elements a little bit more and raise the "Viewpoint":

Of Course, this Setting needs a matching foreground and more details in the BG.

 

[MarkoeZ]

Ok, Carnaval is over, wallet is empty, body is tired, pretty hungover, but it was great again

@fusion_power: I like your concept of the ice cave, and i think creating those graphics will be easy for Amigo, there are allready many spikes made.

I don't see height as a real problem either. In the ice levels for instance, if i put an inverted spike here and there in the bottom gaps, i think it would sort of imply that the whole ground is spikey like that. With a theoretical jungle level there could be thorny bushes or something. Not the whole floor has to be covered, you still fall through empty places, but i think it would work visually.

The catapult: I prefer an animation of a catapult without rocks. but a seperate static base, and an animated arm are good too (i could rotate a static image of the arm, but that is pretty resource heavy atm). I'll make the rest work, Let's break that pillar!

Cheers!
MarkoeZ

Edit:

also REALLY like the golden mountains

And indeed Nick May has made 2 more excellent tracks, you'll love them again...

 

[Masterfurbix]

FP, that makes me cold just LOOKING at it.

BRBRBRRRR
EDIT:

We have a working graphic for the catapult now, We'll see if the animation holds up on Marko's end.

If not, It's back to the drawing board for me >_<

 

[MarkoeZ]

Made a video of the raw catapult for Amigo Bandito, but thought i'd share it. Working on the movement of the rocks landing on the catapult right now, should be easy.
New sample of some music by Nick May there too (not intended for puzzly levels like this demo one, but nice for a vid ; )

Youtube Link

Cheers!

MarkoeZ

p.s. Longer video with clear music and high res level graphics will be coming, in about 2 weeks soon