Vapourware Codexian Game Development Thread

[shihonage]

Not even close. Out of all distribution services, Desura has the highest min. payment threshold - $500.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Here I am again.

I was bored as fuck (again), so I started to write down ideas concerning the graphics, specifically - creating gorgeous-looking things while minimizing the usage of textures, or not using them at all (this screenshot has 32 kbs of textures (21.4 mbs with lightmaps and lens flares). Kinda started to bite my mind after Unity crashed countless times, because I used tons of hi-res textures (up to 4096x4096) for prototyping, and 512 mbs of GPU memory weren't enough .

Anyhoo, here is a small result of prototyping. I use only cubes right now for geometry. Instead of textures I use normalmaps, mostly to show the 'shape' of the object (tile on the floor, bricks on the wall etc). The colors of the geometry are reduced to black and white right now, but I still need to overthink if any more colors are needed. To make the scene appear a little bit better I used colored lighting and lightmapping to add slight shadows and ambient occlusion. Plus wise usage of lens flares may improve the overall looks.

The goal is to make it look nice, at the same time allowing to use less video memory and have steady performance on older hardware.

Now I would like to know whether you like it or not.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

More:

 

[Kaucukovnik]

I like minimalism and applaud any movement against the hardware-eating trend of today.

It looks sort of cozy, which is an accomplishment, with cubes only.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

I like minimalism and applaud any movement against the hardware-eating trend of today.

It looks sort of cozy, which is an accomplishment, with cubes only.

Thanks, I am a fan of minimalism myself.
For now the only hardware-eating thing is the amount of dynamic lights, but I think of limiting them as much as possible and use complex lightmaps instead - while they will require additional video memory, they won't hit the performance that much.

Theoretically, used techniques can limit the usage of video memory up to 64-128 Mbs (with smart usage of lightmaps and lens flares) per scene, while keeping the graphic quality on a decent level and having a lot of nice little details (like those small candles). But without any lightmaps and flares it can theoretically take only up to 16 mbs or so.

 

[r3jonwah85]

Here I am again.

I was bored as fuck (again), so I started to write down ideas concerning the graphics, specifically - creating gorgeous-looking things while minimizing the usage of textures, or not using them at all (this screenshot has 32 kbs of textures (21.4 mbs with lightmaps and lens flares). Kinda started to bite my mind after Unity crashed countless times, because I used tons of hi-res textures (up to 4096x4096) for prototyping, and 512 mbs of GPU memory weren't enough .

Anyhoo, here is a small result of prototyping. I use only cubes right now for geometry. Instead of textures I use normalmaps, mostly to show the 'shape' of the object (tile on the floor, bricks on the wall etc). The colors of the geometry are reduced to black and white right now, but I still need to overthink if any more colors are needed. To make the scene appear a little bit better I used colored lighting and lightmapping to add slight shadows and ambient occlusion. Plus wise usage of lens flares may improve the overall looks.

The goal is to make it look nice, at the same time allowing to use less video memory and have steady performance on older hardware.

Now I would like to know whether you like it or not.

Looking good, zwanzig_zwoelf! We should have teamed up on my last (abandoned for now) game, I tried using minimalism there to. Used right (like in your case) it can look better than a game using "real" textures.

And some more pictures if anybody is interested:

Spoiler

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Here I am again.

I was bored as fuck (again), so I started to write down ideas concerning the graphics, specifically - creating gorgeous-looking things while minimizing the usage of textures, or not using them at all (this screenshot has 32 kbs of textures (21.4 mbs with lightmaps and lens flares). Kinda started to bite my mind after Unity crashed countless times, because I used tons of hi-res textures (up to 4096x4096) for prototyping, and 512 mbs of GPU memory weren't enough .

Anyhoo, here is a small result of prototyping. I use only cubes right now for geometry. Instead of textures I use normalmaps, mostly to show the 'shape' of the object (tile on the floor, bricks on the wall etc). The colors of the geometry are reduced to black and white right now, but I still need to overthink if any more colors are needed. To make the scene appear a little bit better I used colored lighting and lightmapping to add slight shadows and ambient occlusion. Plus wise usage of lens flares may improve the overall looks.

The goal is to make it look nice, at the same time allowing to use less video memory and have steady performance on older hardware.

Now I would like to know whether you like it or not.

Looking good, zwanzig_zwoelf! We should have teamed up on my last (abandoned for now) game, I tried using minimalism there to. Used right (like in your case) it can look better than a game using "real" textures.

Looks like it needs a touch. Bite me if you'll continue working on it. I feel like doing some graphics stuff, but not games, unfortunately.
Also, I will PM you later a small bit of sound I'm building right now, maybe you'd want to use it in Crypts of Avaritia.

 

[r3jonwah85]

Looks like it needs a touch. Bite me if you'll continue working on it. I feel like doing some graphics stuff, but not games, unfortunately.
Also, I will PM you later a small bit of sound I'm building right now, maybe you'd want to use it in Crypts of Avaritia.

For sure, that was a quick prototype made in a couple of days when I was just starting out, abandoned it since I got frustrated by my lack of programming skills at the time... (they are still crappy, just not that crappy)
Will probably pick it up in the future, stylized cyberpunk rpg with stealth elements and a open world with flying cars and hacking stations that will take you inside peoples heads and transport your virtual body to secure facilities is where my true heart is

Thanks man, will check it out!

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Looks like it needs a touch. Bite me if you'll continue working on it. I feel like doing some graphics stuff, but not games, unfortunately.
Also, I will PM you later a small bit of sound I'm building right now, maybe you'd want to use it in Crypts of Avaritia.

For sure, that was a quick prototype made in a couple of days when I was just starting out, abandoned it since I got frustrated by my lack of programming skills at the time... (they are still crappy, just not that crappy)
Will probably pick it up in the future, stylized cyberpunk rpg with stealth elements and a open world with flying cars and hacking stations that will take you inside peoples heads and transport your virtual body to secure facilities is where my true heart is

Thanks man, will check it out!

Cyberpunk? Bro, come here.


I have a sketch of a plot for a cyberpunk game. I just lack proper skills (and money (and motivation)) to turn it into a proper game (for now).

 

[Kaucukovnik]

Shihonage said I'd better be the one to post this, so here whe go: a new Compound update. If nothing goes horribly wrong I'll be doing the static art and it will look like this:

What do you guys think?

 

[tuluse]

zwanzig_zwoelf the pictures look fine, but it's hard to tell if it looks good without more context. What kind of game is going to be? What point of view will the player have?

Kaucukovnik that looks great. I can already picture checking the boxes for loot, and using science on the computers.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

zwanzig_zwoelf the pictures look fine, but it's hard to tell if it looks good without more context. What kind of game is going to be? What point of view will the player have?

Nothing for now - I'm just playing around.

 

[Mastermind]

Well, it's only been half a day but Greenlight's a bust. I figured more people would download the demo and actually give it a try but most just take a look at the shitty screenshots and vote no or leave. To make matters worse my youtube playthrough doesn't even work in the steam client and I doubt any non-devs are using the steam web site on a regular browser. So I get no feedback on gameplay and there's virtually no chance of getting greenlit, which kinda puts a damper on my willingness to even bother with a kickstarter to improve said graphics. Maybe I should just find a shitty full time job then crank out iphone shovel-ware for the next few years. *sigh*

 

[Midair]

What do you guys think?

I'm noticing the perspective is different than Fallout. Does Compound have a hexagonal grid, or any combat grid?

 

[shihonage]

Well, it's only been half a day but Greenlight's a bust. I figured more people would download the demo and actually give it a try but most just take a look at the shitty screenshots and vote no or leave. To make matters worse my youtube playthrough doesn't even work in the steam client and I doubt any non-devs are using the steam web site on a regular browser. So I get no feedback on gameplay and there's virtually no chance of getting greenlit, which kinda puts a damper on my willingness to even bother with a kickstarter to improve said graphics. Maybe I should just find a shitty full time job then crank out iphone shovel-ware for the next few years. *sigh*

If your game consists of 2 good screenshots that switch back and forth, preferably with boobs and lasers, it has more chance of being greenlit than something ugly and with gameplay.

What do you guys think?

I'm noticing the perspective is different than Fallout. Does Compound have a hexagonal grid, or any combat grid?

It has a rectangular grid (classic 2:1 isometric diamonds). Fallout: Tactics, whose assets it was initially built to load, used the same perspective.

I'm not making a carbon copy of Fallout, but a game influenced by Fallout design principles I consider to be important.

 

[r3jonwah85]

Update from Crypts of Avaritia:



See more here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/crypts-of-avaritia

And Comment here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...a-design-discussion-and-feedback.86069/page-3

 

[Zed]

Shihonage said I'd better be the one to post this, so here whe go: a new Compound update. If nothing goes horribly wrong I'll be doing the static art and it will look like this:

What do you guys think?

ground texture just outside the building looks a bit off - not exactly sure what it is?, grass is too contrasted, walls have a repeating pattern (although less noticeable than the ground textures).
that's everything I can fault with it. I think it looks good.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

 

[Kaucukovnik]

Matrix: Noir?

 

[Raapys]

My abandoned attempt at making an OpenGL graphics engine. Actually thought it looked rather good(looks better in action), but got bored. Code's a mess too, which certainly doesn't encourage me to go on. Ended up with just diffuse/specular/normal mapping, next on the list was parallax. Models/textures are just random free interweb stuff, the Hitler model has the UV's messed up for the head portion, since the importer I wrote is kinda funky and unfinished.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Something was snipped...

Prosper..quit hacking into other peoples accounts!

Zep--

 

[shihonage]

Zoomy effect from my law enforcement game-to-be, CTU. It will be renamed later, though. This is done by moving mouse around and using mousewheel to zoom in and out the "city".

Hopefully during this month I'll have actual gameplay.

 

[tuluse]

That looks cool shihonage . Looks like you might have a better simulation going than Simcity 5.

 

[shihonage]

Thank you.

I plan to shift this from trying to have textured buildings to more "simulationist" view. Colors instead of textures, circles instead of people. There may be a need to display textual information ON zoomed-in buildings, and plain colors work best for that. I also detest having to write another animation system, so an abstracted view is preferred.

 

[Kaucukovnik]

Simple, symbolic graphics can be very apropriate. For example I often find Supreme Commander gameplay a bit silly, with all those fancy units and effects, and you spend most of the time zoomed out, staring at plain, clearly readable symbols.