The Darkness Below: a retro CRPG in the making - now available on Early Access

[Lagi]

This is one of best graphics and UI I see in long time. Easly readable, not harmful for eyes. Pretty ornamented, like old game- the stone nicks on blue arrows. Not all buttons, but I focus on good stuff.
Cant await for inventory etc.

The rules looks solid (no HP bloat, yay). Its already very good forecast that your rules are design to support your game. Not other way around - pseudo DnD squeezed to fit for cRPG.
Efficiency system looks promising - i think it suits computer game very well.
I will write some feedback tomorrow.

 

[vlzvl]

This is one of best graphics and UI I see in long time. Easly readable, not harmful for eyes. Pretty ornamented, like old game- the stone nicks on blue arrows. Not all buttons, but I focus on good stuff.
Cant await for inventory etc.

Thanx man for your efforts & inspiring words!
It's not easy to make something that fits entirely or at least a good percent with the big picture & this is what i wanted and it seems i did a good job. I still have a preference to faster pacing & light controls, like i did in the golden era back in the time.

Inventory is already done, i think you can find some graphics of it on my videos (check my signature) or some video i posted a year ago. The items have been revamped with shadows & better looks, but the style is the same.

Efficiency was an invention of the moment, trying to escape from the, bit complex, D&D attack rolls mechanism and such. Never liked, for some reason, virtual dices on CRPGs, therefore i had to insert something easier & faster to calculate, something that can apply, universally, to any item that have improved versions.
Thanx for taking a look into my rulebook, it involves a lot of work and another set of eyes will certainly shed more light.

 

[Lagi]

Inventory look better like this:

1. put slots on silhouette.
2. make weapons and armor icons scale 2x when equipped
3. cut off the legs of silhouette (not on mock up). Do it like inventory in Diablo 1, not like inventory in Heroes MM 3. This legs are taking space.

the inventory backpack - on the left. Could be share pool of each party members items. This negligible amount of abstraction, really reduce tedious searching for items in every party member.

-----
After watching video. I hope the game would be fully playable with keyboard?
Also I hope the combat would be faster, or add option for instant animation (so 99% of users can switch it on).

 

[Lagi]

I printed and read your rules. I'm not amazed.

It has very generic, cryptic description, kinda like Wizardry 6 or 7 manual. You explain basic stuff that everyone know, different alignment types, language, currency etc. that do not affect gameplay.
Players usually read manuals because they want to know what stuff means.

Abilities:

Power POW The amount of force that muscles can exert against a target
Technique TEC The ability of handling difficult or highly sensitive tasks, by hand

?? Im not any smarter after reading that. I would have to look in the wiki for the answer I need. That would look like this:

power - melee damage
intelligence - spell slots, drop stat for Knight
personality - drop stat
toughness - hp
technique - range damage
quickness - initiative
perception - drop stat

But that's rules. Its your game and its ok, if you want to write "heartbreaker".

suggestion:
intelligence - increase speed of gaining Efficiency with weapons (so its somewhat useful for Knight).
perception - (make separate roll for each party member) Trap, hidden monsters (invisible) detection;you cannot attack not detected monster. Take total value of each 4 member; distance for marking on the map, monsters, secret passages.

0 hp = dead.
Did you considered some unconscious state? or wounded? Its not very funny to reload the game when 1 member accidentally dead (nobody have time & money for going back to temple for resurrection).

Quickness -

About the speed modifier, i never really thought about. You see, the combat is turn based & the player chooses which of his active character's hands will be used first. After that hand is used, it becomes disabled (or used) and the player has the option to use the other hand or move to the next character in combat order. I did not considered the item's speed since it doesn't matter i think. A character can only act 2 times at most in his turn and that's it. A real-time based RPG obviously will make heavy use of item's speed of use.

its one of 8x core ability. Heavy items should give penalty to quickness, to give second factor to provide variety for the items. Otherwise f.ex. morning star is always better than the flail.


the efficiency system is very good. As I understand the more you use weapon the better you are with it? So the +2 weapon is still the same item?

compare Club with Flail. Flail is always better than Club, and You getting faster better with Flail than with Club.
it should be like that:
club better damage at +0 than flail, but Flail better damage than club at level +3. Also Club should be faster than Flail - bonus to Quickness (or penalty for Flail).
hand axe vs long sword - axe should deal more damage esp. on low Efficiency. Sword could has more efficiency levels, because there is more technique you could utilize with them.

Same with armors. F.ex. shields : buckler -2 quickness / shield -5 quickness / kite shield -10 quickness. So maybe its a factor to not take shield at all, so your mage can cast spells faster.
Apropo shields. You have very linear approach here. While in history, different shield has different functions. Could be something like that: round shield - protect also members of party. Kite shield - allow to attack with (you can click it like sword). Buckler - just lowest penalty to Quickness would be good.

Weapons exclusiveness:
as always Knight can use everything. You could make Scythe and Quarterstaff exclusive for priest (and Sickle). Why would knight waste they time to learn fighting with agricultural tools? Priest as explanation, could use them to collect herbs.

Spell list
I'm really astonish by the amount of spells for priest. I not sure if giving Priest access to light minor would not make him overpower.

 

[Matty77]

This looks very nice. I will keep an eye on it.

 

[Dorateen]

The inventory screen looks like a combination of Grimoire's paper doll for equipping items, and the full inventory management screen. I approve.

Anyway, looking forward to this project, I really do like the art style and direction.

 

[vlzvl]

1. put slots on silhouette.
2. make weapons and armor icons scale 2x when equipped
3. cut off the legs of silhouette (not on mock up). Do it like inventory in Diablo 1, not like inventory in Heroes MM 3. This legs are taking space.

the inventory backpack - on the left. Could be share pool of each party members items. This negligible amount of abstraction, really reduce tedious searching for items in every party member.

Thanx friend for the feedback, and what a feedback this is!

First, an image from current inventory looks:

My first impression is that i want to change the human model to something more RPGish, less anatomic / vitruvian man. Lets discuss the other stuff:

• put slots on silhouette & cut off the legs of silhouette...
  I am not really a fan of this. I want to keep separated the items & where they belong. I don't think there's need for space. This would also mess with my intention to change the human model with a better one, graphically. Then i would have to mess with transparency to show the hidden stuff...
  
  
• make weapons and armor icons scale 2x when equipped
  I thought of this, being a fan of Mount & Blade. However, there's a great number of equipped items (with perhaps some added items later, belt etc.). Imagine all these scaled up to 64x64. Considering they're fixed items of 32x32 & the game has been developed in a 800x600 resolution, this would produce a very jaggy result, which filtering would only make it look funny.
  
  
• Keyboard
  The game can already be played by keyboard, although only navigation. I am not sure how it would work with just keyboard, though. Collecting multiple items from the ground? Selecting spells? Moving items on inventory & equip stuff? Not that it isn't feasible, but it would require some mad genious to assemble all this & his assistant to try it. But you have me intrigued. I will try it, see what happens. Did EOB or any other game was fully playable by keyboard? just curious how they did managed it.

About the current state of rulebook, well i mostly agree with you. Lets discuss this one:

• It has very generic, cryptic description...
  Indeed. One thing i don't like about D&D and stuff it's the amount of fluff. I tried my best to avoid all that but as you proved, it needs more tuning. I will start by describing those abilities a bit more mechanically & giving exact pointers to what they do, even straight #inpage links. Well, that i would like reading other's manual! That Power & all similar staff will link directly to all the places they get referenced, in the text.
  
  
• Intelligence & Knights
  All stats may prove useful to all professions. I do plan to implement multi-classing for that matter, although other stuff matter first. In addition, efficiency is not what you think it is It is a shallow & fixed mechanic, only aiming to provide variant items of improved strength. It is used in combination with evolving values i.e. +1, +2 etc. used on D&D for attack rolls, and basically have the same functionality. An item can't get improved through constant use. That will only happen on character that yields it.
  
  
• Perception
  I like your idea of combining perception & cartography skills and i will consider it further. The other stuff you're referring too, yes, they're the basic stuff Perception is going to be used for. Secret walls, buttons, well hidden items, noises etc. Even things that can't be otherwise revealing (no pixel difference for that), will require a certain Perception value. Great stuff. Although, for the moment, i am not using the average of all alive members, merely the highest skill of them all. After all, the dumbest character in the party should not have a say when some diplomacy matters.
  
  
• Did you considered some unconscious state? or wounded?
  In fact, i had a condition (now removed), where the character has his soul destroyed (something like Disintegrated from D&D, if i recall correctly). Not that related with the question, but i removed that condition to simplify the game first. Actually, i didn't do my research about those semi-dead conditions & don't know how i should handle them in current state. This would require changes in mechanics i.e. critical hits, blows, evil spells & traps or stuff like that i need to implement them first. It certainly sounds realistic, though. I will give it a serious thinking, checking other games as well (M&M).
  
  
• Quickness & items
  This sounds like a good idea. Heavier items should affect quickness, which in turn affects the combat order. Perhaps adding some stats requirements here & there for even use them. I will research more on that topic.
  
  
• As I understand the more you use weapon the better you are with it...
  As said previously, sadly no. To get better at something, you have to increase the craft level on a craft, say, Long blade. After some time, you will be ready to increase the expertise level based on the required craft level. Although this is a job for a master NPC you should find by exploration & take him with the party. An item +2 is always better than item +1, if they're exactly the same (besides evolved value). A Long Sword +1 of Power may prove a better damage dealer than a Long Sword +3. Although, the item itself is not better, it makes you better at it.
  
  
• Apropo shields. You have very linear approach here...
  You've right. Shields, gauntlets & stuff are just there to increase your Protection. But never thought about attacking with them. I will consider it.
  
  
• You could make Scythe and Quarterstaff exclusive for priest...
  Same. I will read item requirements again & decide... It sounds logical.
  
  
• I'm really astonish by the amount of spells for priest...
  Do not This spell list has been composed long time ago, when the system was too simplistic. I am planning to re-create spells as well & sorting them by expertise, not by element type. In fact, there's no element type in my book. A spell that causes physical as well fire damage where it should go? In fact, i am going to sort the new spells into their respective expertise levels. Lots of thinking here...

I hope all this answers some of the questions. Keep in mind that i still don't have the answrs, the work is in progress. But thank you for giving me some needed directions & things to consider. Please, keep it up!

The inventory screen looks like a combination of Grimoire's paper doll for equipping items, and the the full inventory management screen. I approve.

Anyway, looking forward to this project, I really do like the art style and direction.

Thank you, my friend.
I will try to improve it more graphically & perhaps adding some indications about where an item belongs to, when have it on the mouse. I have invested too much time on the style while the content department still awaits. I am glad that i am closing in.

 

[Lagi]

• efficiency is not what you think it is It is a shallow & fixed mechanic, only aiming to provide variant items of improved strength. It is used in combination with evolving values i.e. +1, +2 etc. used on D&D for attack rolls, and basically have the same functionality. An item can't get improved through constant use. That will only happen on character that yields it.

• To get better at something, you have to increase the craft level on a craft, say, Long blade. After some time, you will be ready to increase the expertise level based on the required craft level. Although this is a job for a master NPC you should find by exploration & take him with the party.
  
  An item +2 is always better than item +1, if they're exactly the same (besides evolved value). A Long Sword +1 of Power may prove a better damage dealer than a Long Sword +3. Although, the item itself is not better, it makes you better at it.

I dont understand Efficiency, please elaborate.

there is no "to hit" system in your game. There is attacks queue, and amount of deal damage.

sword +1 (evolving value = 1) is separate item than sword +3 (evolving value = 3)

There are Crafts (skills), divided into 5x Expertise levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 max (initiate > Apprentice >..>Grandmaster).
------

Efficiency is a counter ( you call it "craft level"), that you need to increase by using skill ?

If efficiency is high enough, you can join Companion, who will increase your Expertise to next level ?

So if my Efficiency is not high enough, I will be using sword +3, like sword +1 - correct ?

What benefit give Expertise level, if only efficiency is required to wield better sword?

i am not using the average of all alive members, merely the highest skill of them all. After all, the dumbest character in the party should not have a say when some diplomacy matters.

Use of single highest skill is bad, because it doesn't matter what other (weaker) party members stats are == its then a drop stat for them.

Did you considered some unconscious state? or wounded?

In fact, i had a condition (now removed), where the character has his soul destroyed (something like Disintegrated from D&D, if i recall correctly). Not that related with the question, but i removed that condition to simplify the game first. Actually, i didn't do my research about those semi-dead conditions & don't know how i should handle them in current state. This would require changes in mechanics i.e. critical hits, blows, evil spells & traps or stuff like that i need to implement them first. It certainly sounds realistic, though. I will give it a serious thinking, checking other games as well (M&M).

Unconscious (code wise) could be exactly the same like death. Just you can wake up after Rest with 1 hp. Death would be only if 4x members are dead (or paralyzed ...) = game over (reload). *

what im saying here: "dead", "unconscious" are just names, for the same behavior. Old school "death" means go back to temple and pay 10k gold for review (which suck!! no-one, except autistic LARP'ers do it and it means in fact LOAD GAME), unless your priest is high level and can cast Resurrection.

I'm saying forget about that annoyance, call "Dead" a "Wounded" and let him wake up. It make more sense. You could even give priest new spell (at lower levels), that cure "wounds" so he faster go back to play (or maybe even during the same combat - in every game I play, Resurrection spell is doing exactly the same).

Death in a sense, its the end of party member doesnt matter, unless you could replace dead members with fresh one (I doubt you gonna add this functionality). But I dont grind my characters for days, just to generate new random one, after he die from wolf bite.

Or if you want to keep old school vibe, then grant abundance (it mean monster drop % occur as often as healing potions) of resurrection potion, scrolls, herbs. So I can resurrect my mates in dungeon.

*

Spoiler

here is some day-dreaming idea:
if all party members are "killed" by some civilized enemies (town guards, underground elves, slave hunters). The game dont end. Because your heroes are merely capture and put into prison - all their stuff is taken away. This could be access to some hidden locations.

 

[vlzvl]

I dont understand Efficiency, please elaborate.

there is no "to hit" system in your game. There is attacks queue, and amount of deal damage.

sword +1 (evolving value = 1) is separate item than sword +3 (evolving value = 3)

There are Crafts (skills), divided into 5x Expertise levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 max (initiate > Apprentice >..>Grandmaster).
------

Efficiency is a counter ( you call it "craft level"), that you need to increase by using skill ?

If efficiency is high enough, you can join Companion, who will increase your Expertise to next level ?

So if my Efficiency is not high enough, I will be using sword +3, like sword +1 - correct ?

What benefit give Expertise level, if only efficiency is required to wield better sword?

The game has lots of items. Some (most) of them uses evolved versions.
In that context, there are evolved items, such a Long Sword +1 or Halberd +2 or Plate Mail +3. If an item doesn't show any evolving counter, doesn't mean it isn't an evolved item, it just uses +0 (check rulebook).
Now, for every item type that has evolved versions, there's always an efficiency array (list of values), set internally for it & shown on rulebook as well, its size of which is the maximum number of evolved variants the item type has.
The game has a fixed size of maximum four (4) evolved variants, that is, +0 +1 +2 and +3.
If an item type has evolved variants, it will always supports 4 variants of that item.

From the rulebook, the Long Sword seems like an evolved item (in the list of items, there are 4 variants of it with +number).
On this very list of items, next to Name, there's a column Efficiency. Gathering the efficiency values of Long Sword,
you make an array of [0,4,8,10] for 4 variants of Long Sword.
Those efficiency values are context based and their meaning changes by the item type;
on weapons, they mean damage, on armor they mean protection, on potion of healing they might mean HP healed etc.

Armed with all that:
Lets say that Long Sword does 4-12 damage as a base item (the first non-evolved item in list)
Let's say the array of efficiencies for Long Sword is eff = [0,4,8,10]
Let's also say that eff[0] is the first efficiency, eff[1] the second etc.
Then,

the formula to calculate the damage of Long Sword is:
Long Sword = 4 + eff[0] - 12 + eff[0] = 4+0 - 12+0 = 4-12
the formula to calculate the damage of Long Sword +1 is:
Long Sword = 4 + eff[1] - 12 + eff[1] = 4+4 - 12+4 = 8-16

Efficiency is really a picked value from an internal array, set specifically for each item type & it shows how efficient an item becomes per evolving value.
Another example, a different array of efficiencies for another item [0,2,8,12] shows that this item starts slow but becomes stronger than a Long Sword on their peak evolved version.

 

[Lagi]

aaa... its clear now. Its +X Efficiency to the damage. thanks.

so how does the Expertise level affect combat? What is the benefit of being an Adept or Master in Long Axe's ?

 

[vlzvl]

aaa... its clear now. Its +X Efficiency to the damage. thanks.

Well, it becomes more complex than that if you start digging it & apply named enchantments.
All this talk was just for the base features of some items, that is, damage & protection.

There's an arsenal of item enchantments out there that can use efficiencies;
about 30 affections on their own such Power, Lighting power, double damage vs whatever etc., plus
about 51 enchantments such as of Protection (page 26) that uses those affections in combination.
Some enchantments are not even using efficiencies at all. Some work on percentage of some total statistic of yours.
There are different modes of calculating the enchantment result (page 25) and efficiency is but one of them.

For example, a Wooden Ring of Power (page 36, which is secretly a +0 item, although it doesn't show it because it's self descriptive) will give a lesser boost to Power versus an Iron Ring of Power (which is secretly a +1 item).

About what the expertise does? For now, it does few things. It restrictics Professions to learn some crafts (page 16),
it sorts out the spells into the different expertise levels and that's about it.
If you see the rulebook, the Craftmanship i(page 15) s just 2 pages (yet) It just describes what i said.
Since the number of all crafts is not yet finished (there are no misc crafts yet like diplomacy etc.), i did nothing on this department.
But you can expect the kind of result one might read on D&D or M&M, plus some kind of perks i managed to gather and they
usually act passively, improving permanently some related stat without the need of items or enchantments.

One example would be that:
"Duelist (Master of Long Blade): You've mastered fighting with a single hand weapon. +50% damage if you have an additional free hand."
"Fortress (Grandmaster of Long Axe): You have a towering presence. 25% chance of reducing 50% of physical damage"

And a whole lot of that. Obviously, this is also context based. A Master of Long Blade will need to keep a Long blade equipped in his hand
for those perks to be active. All those are just ideas in-making.

 

[Lagi]

Idea for the the expertise with weapons:

initiate - nomination, can use the item/ spell
apprentice - can use the weapon ability *
adept - can benefit from +1 version
master - can benefit from +2 version
grand master - can benefit from +3 version

f.ex. +2 long sword is used by the Adept swordsman only as +1 version (enchantments can be used despite expertise level).
this way if beginner party find too soon to powerful weapon they will not be able to use it, to it full potential.

additionally on each Expertise level starting from Adept you will choose 1 of 4 perk, that would grant or increase the weapon ability. As grandmaster you will have 3 out of 4 perks.

f.ex.
Long Sword perks:
1. +X % for bleeding (-2 Hp each turn)
2. +X % for disarm. Pernament -X damage (only enemies that carry weapons). Dont worry about graphic representation, just make hovering icon above enemy.
3. +X % for double strike (you attack twice)
4. +X % for parry. Chance for increase protection.

Light armor perks:
1. +X resistance for ice
2. +X resistance for bleeding
3. +X resistance for stun
4. reduce light armors quickness penalty by 50%

====================

crafts available for everyone (all class start with initiate expertise level, and can go up to class limit):
Pole
short blade
light armor (leather armor)
bludgeon
throwing (it not exist in doc)

craft exclusive (you need to select this craft at character generation, or buy it from guild, if your class allowed it) - you cannot use this items without having this skill
shield
heavy armor (or you can split it into multiple, but imo it create too many armor that no-one in 4 member party can use)
long blade
bow
poleblade
axe (splint into short and long axes make no sense, it would be annoyance)

========================

* weapon ability (must be min. Apprentice to use it):

shields -

• round shield, provide protection also for neighbor
• kite shield, you can attack with shield
• buckler , bonus to Quickness (instead penalty like most armors)

example of abilities for weapons:

• stun (lose 1 or more turn doing nothing),
  
• push back (push tanky 1st line monster back),
  
• ignore X of protection (make sense if Protection is working different than linear reducing damage - otherwise its the same as +X dmg),
  
• double strike (% - sabre can have 40% chance, while long sword 20%),
  
• bleeding (monster losing hp over time),
  
• "open" (mark monster, next attack against him would deal more dmg),
  
• reach (you can attack with spear monster before they come close, or reach 2nd row of enemies to take down enemy wizards)

 

[vlzvl]

Idea for the the expertise with weapons:

Nice ideas to consider, thanx.
I like the idea of combining the evolved value with character's expertise.
However, i find it better to just restrict the item's use to a character if he doesn't
have the required expertise by telling "item is too advanced" or
"you don't have the required expertise" etc. which sounds logical.
There are some restriction messages in the game, so that one too can fit as well and
it doesn't make the game complex.

About the perks, i am more into designing ~4 perks per craft and give them to
characters, one by one per expertise advancement and without selection.
Selection would make sense if there were a lot of perks per craft type.
There are already 20 crafts at the moment, with the certainty that more will come, filling
the gap of Misc crafts.
There's also another factor; you are not trained alone. A NPC teacher teaches you for
a period & after a while you're advanced to next expertise. So the teaching should, realistically
be the same for everyone.
I can't see a Grandmaster of Long Blade be different from another Grandmaster of Long Blade;
they should possess the same knowledge, given there's no difference in quality of teachers.

I am not quite sure about abilities* though... They sound a little complex.
Although, i will certainly consider damaging with shields, using quickness to them etc.

 

[vlzvl]

I've worked the last ~10 days on implementing, both graphically & mechanically, an appropriate world map to the game.
A good thing indeed, because it opens the way for content.
Check the images:

Here's the usual game window, without an opened map (just for comparison)

Here's the newly world map, which shows up when you click the globe symbol below.
In my mind, this will slowly opens diagonally like a scroll, along with the unfolding sound effect.
I decided to remove the other things the dungeon map has, like compass, legend and stuff, to make
way for more world stuff to show & i think it works the best this way.
I will follow the generation style from the excellent world generator of donjon to build the world map.
This is the first step before the actual content addition. Although, the one you see is only for testing.

And here how the dungeon map appears in the game. There's a little change here that doesn't show;
the completion percentage is now merged with title (like in globe map) and be conventionally correct.
This will also allows for more legend to add, later, which will make heavy use of Perception (niches, holes, traps, events etc.)

Any comment or three will be appreciated,
thanx.

 

[Dorateen]

Overworld exploration is one of the aspects of games like Might & Magic that I enjoyed most. The inclusion of completion percentage on the map is great, very satisfying.

 

[vlzvl]

Overworld exploration is one of the aspects of games like Might & Magic that I enjoyed most. The inclusion of completion percentage on the map is great, very satisfying.

Thanx Dorateen.
I also find it pretty satisfying as well.
I don't know if it's my RPG instict to see more & get a numeric prize for that or the developer in me requires everything to be calculable.
The way the world percentage works is by suming all the completion percentages of the visited areas and simply dividing by the number of all areas.
It is a joy to insert content & see that counter getting more & more difficult to increase, as it works automatically.
Come to think of it, it can also be used to, roughly, calculate the game's duration.

 

[Dysterkvist]

This looks nice! I'll be following with interest.

 

[tiagocc0]

Those last screenshots look sweet!

 

[Snorkack]

Looks fantastic!
Two things:
-The origin of fonts on the map and the location indicator is pretty obvious. Are you 100% sure you're free to use them? Would be a shame if Ubisoft nuked this project.
-Please consider dropping the movement arrows. Yes, they are a genre staple. No, noone is ever going to use them. A scrollable combat/event log would be an infinite times better use of screen real estate.

 

[vlzvl]

Those last screenshots look sweet!

Thanx my friend, i am doing my best.
Considering i am not an artist, those comments are among the best

Looks fantastic!
Two things:
-The origin of fonts on the map and the location indicator is pretty obvious. Are you 100% sure you're free to use them? Would be a shame if Ubisoft nuked this project.
-Please consider dropping the movement arrows. Yes, they are a genre staple. No, noone is ever going to use them. A scrollable combat/event log would be an infinite times better use of screen real estate.

Thanx man, i appreciate that!
Actually, the font i am using on the world map (morris roman) belongs to the german expert, Dieter Steffmann, which is licensed as FFC (free for commercial).
The location indicator is a pixabay graphic, whose licenses are free as air.

Here are the links, just in case:
https://www.1001fonts.com/morris-roman-font.html#license
https://pixabay.com/vectors/map-pin-poi-pushpin-push-pin-red-153939

I do not know about Ubisoft, but if they use some of the graphics that shows in my game, they are likely using the same license as i do.
I am taking licenses very seriously & i have already a huge 'Credits & Attributions' section in the game.

About the navigation pad.. well, i have a deep love to M&M 3-5 navigation pad which shares the same functionality as well (pushing).
Yes, it is very likely that noone is going to use it, especially if i add a ton of keyboard shortcuts which will make the game fast as hell.
However, it combines pretty well to the GUI and completes the proper blobber look.

Personally, i never used, liked or read scrollable logs. I never read those complicated calculations on the screen, the time they happen.
I find it too revealing & not too realistic. I belong to those guys that prefer to see huge blood clots on the screen, indicating
big damage and just some text indication of what happened, rather a bloat of numbers, which i find tiring and too damn analytical for no reason.
If something requires a block of text, i turn it into an event.
My personal taste, really.
Obviously, those are things that will be answered after the release of a proper demo. I am open to anything, unless it changes the general feel
of the game, that is, a mix of M&M 3-5 and Eye of the Beholder.

 

[Bad Sector]

FWIW typefaces are not copyrightable in most jurisdictions (e.g. US and Japan) and in those that they are (e.g. Germany) they are only for a very brief amount on time (in Germany is 25 years max, depending on if the author paid for it, or 10 if they haven't) and the protection only covers the shapes (so a font designed in 19th century wouldn't apply).

*However* this is only about the typefaces and shapes themselves and copyright *does* apply in font files that work as computer programs - this includes TTF/OTF files that contain code describing how the letters should be drawn. So such a file is copyrightable.

When it comes to bitmap fonts on the other hand, copyrights apply only on the file itself. If you create your own bitmap file (using e.g. a vector-to-raster font conversion tool or a texture font atlas generator) then you own the copyright for the file.

Of course in all cases you also need to take into account trademark laws, so while you can print out and digitize your own copy of Helvetica, you cannot call it Helvetica as this is a trademark owned by Monotype (AFAIK).

 

[vlzvl]

Of course in all cases you also need to take into account trademark laws, so while you can print out and digitize your own copy of Helvetica, you cannot call it Helvetica as this is a trademark owned by Monotype (AFAIK).

Indeed. One of the reason that i changed some of my fonts in the past (that is, an Arial Black) was because they were trademarked by Microsoft or such. Finding equivalents fonts, with proper license, that look like the ones that you can't use is what i did.

 

[vlzvl]

Finally completed my M.Sc., i can now focus to the game.
I have worked mostly on NPC portraits & shaders to fix two (2) important issues of the game, realism & content/quests.
NPC Portraits will unlock the quest department & will spice up the world.
Those NPCs will play the role of skill trainers, as well as hired mercenaries, providing additional boosts and/or moves (probably) or whatever a NPC could offer.
I only had party portraits & decided it was not a good thing to use them as NPC portraits as well.
You can check all the following images for different combinations of male, female & monster NPCs.

Transparency by distance
I also worked on my OpenGL shader, providing model transparency by the distance.
The problem was mostly shown on outdoor areas, where the horizon merges with terrain.
The different ending colors of them caused a very sharp result, not really desirable as made horizon looking really 2D and not really attached to the world.
To understand the change, look those two (2) images; first one doesn't use transparency distance (old), the second one (new) use it:

Ignore the ugly ass low-res spiders
The horizon is simply a parallax 2D set of textures, but they're blending nicely with 3D geometry where the terrain & horizon ends, along with lighting, fog, night etc.
You can see that effect in the following images as well.

Compass
Another change was the replacement of compass graphic. You can check my previous posts to compare, but i find it more elegant & more fit for those graphics.

NPC Portraits
Before creating content, i wanted to complete a good list of NPC portraits & i think i did. There are currently 30 NPC portraits, including male, female & monsters! You can different combinations of all of them, for test purposes. All of them could be your henchmen, trainers or just troubled NPCs asking for help. Some images showing some NPC portraits follows:

Day & Night cycle
Most of the parallax horizons i am using, have two (2) versions of day & night. Based on current time of the day, they're toggling automatically (for example from 20:00 to 06:00 is considered night). When you walk or rest, time is updated appropriately.

Rulebook
Finally, i updated the rulebook that will be used for the game. I added many references in all of its content, explaining to the best of my abilities the current mechanics of the game. This is an ongoing work; expect many changes as the game develops. You can download the current state of rulebook here.

Well, that's all for now!

 

[Dorateen]

Those two snails look surprised to run into the party. Great work, and thanks for the update.

 

[vlzvl]

Those two snails look surprised to run into the party. Great work, and thanks for the update.

hey, thanx man!
In fact they're slugs, but equally disgusting
They will probably win the prize of the weakest monster of the game.
Come to think of it, they should be reduced in size, whose size was probably inspired by Grimrock