[Sanek]

One of the serious issues I've questioned myself lately is whether my game looks good or not.
I'm looking for the minimalistic approach to the visual style, but at the same time I want the maps to look detailed and professional, so it will look like a "good indie game" instead of a "crap indie game".
Below you can see the screenshots from the latest map I'm working on ("Dreampipes") and I want to question you - does it look quality for the kind of game I make, or not?

[OpenMaw]

That's a tricky style to get right. I think you have a pretty good look going there. I think it could use a little more variation in contrast. Some border work around the doors? I'm not entirely sure. It's a tricky balance to strike.



What if Duke Nukem was a black guy? I remember when I posted an image of my holiday stripper edits years ago, some made the remark that "black people don't exist" in BUILD games, mostly due to the palettes not supporting the colors. I thought i'd give it a try and see what would happen. I don't know I think it works okay enough.

[Fantinaikos]

Commando Nukem, on 04 March 2018 - 12:56 PM, said:

What if Duke Nukem was a black guy?

He would have founded Duke Life Matter.

[quakis]

Sanek, on 04 March 2018 - 09:51 AM, said:

One of the serious issues I've questioned myself lately is whether my game looks good or not.
I'm looking for the minimalistic approach to the visual style, but at the same time I want the maps to look detailed and professional, so it will look like a "good indie game" instead of a "crap indie game".
Below you can see the screenshots from the latest map I'm working on ("Dreampipes") and I want to question you - does it look quality for the kind of game I make, or not?

Stop worrying about it looking good or professional at this particular stage, that can come at a much later stage when its actually important when the groundwork is complete.

Focus on making sure your levels play well foremost. This is the backbone of any level. It doesn't matter how pretty (regardless of its minimalistic style) the levels look if they've got boring layouts consisting of boxy rooms connected to corridors. Even worse yet if the gameplay elements don't hold up either.

Make sure your game mechanics are solid and levels have an interesting flow and gameplay suited to these mechanics before caring about the visual aspects. Have levels that loop into each other, expand the playing field as players progress, reuse existing areas later to access new places once certain goals are achieved, change familiar elements in later levels, create clear contrasts between space, size and height where suitable, allow players to see into previously explored areas and/or tease upcoming locations. There's plenty to consider that helps make a level interesting from a gameplay perspective. Try experimenting by mapping without ever thinking about doors or doorways allowing areas to feel interconnected and fluid. Place doors/doorways later where absolutely neccessary afterwards.

Think about the level as a whole - not as separated areas. Think about where and how players move through each area. Avoid padding out a level by having a solid start and end in mind, then fill up the middle segments with interesting gameplay elements that complement that level's particular theme, gameplay mechanic or gimmick in mind. Don't be alarmed about redoing portions several times until it feels right. If you can't think of anything between one idea and another, stick a placeholder there until something comes to mind or approach it from a different angle.

Once you've achieved a solid level you can then consider how it should look. The overall form and layout of the level could be the driving force in how everything looks. Create distinctive textures and consider unique visual elements suited only to that level. And don't neglect the lighting. Try a stronger, higher contrast lighting. It'll suit your minimalistic style considerably. See here.

Just my two pence.

[Sanek]

Thank you for your post, Quakis!
I knew about these things all the time...sometimes it's very useful to be reminded of what's really important.

[MC84]

Sanek, on 04 March 2018 - 09:51 AM, said:

One of the serious issues I've questioned myself lately is whether my game looks good or not.
I'm looking for the minimalistic approach to the visual style, but at the same time I want the maps to look detailed and professional, so it will look like a "good indie game" instead of a "crap indie game".
Below you can see the screenshots from the latest map I'm working on ("Dreampipes") and I want to question you - does it look quality for the kind of game I make, or not?

Here's a quick mock-up I did quickly in GIMP; to be honest it just depends on how much time you wanna spend. But some bolder palette choices and more contrast would definitely help IMHO.

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[Sanek]

conoklast, on 05 March 2018 - 02:05 AM, said:

Here's a quick mock-up I did quickly in GIMP; to be honest it just depends on how much time you wanna spend. But some bolder palette choices and more contrast would definitely help IMHO.

Now this pic makes me feel that I don't spend much time on this thing.
Anyway...here's another shot of the same room, with the new spotlight sprite...and more shadows

[Bumm1987]

Currently have a few ideas bouncing around the old noggin for a Duke 3d Mod I'd like to call Planet of the Pigs(obviously a terrible and tentative title that is subject to change). The story premise I am currently working with is that Dr Proton has sent Duke into an alternate Timeline where anthropomorphized Pigs are the ruling species. This of course includes them having a Pig version of Duke himself. The whole story is supposed to technically be a huge misunderstanding as Duke thinks his world has been overrun by mutants and he slaughters his way through the pig folk. Originally I was thinking of making 4 episodes with the first 3 being based on the holy build trinity. Episode 1 would have Duke land smack dab in the middle of China town and have influences from Shadow Warrior with pig samurai, pig ninjas, pig sumo, pig demons and of course a boss fight at the end against Pig Lo Wang. The second episode would have Duke going through an abandoned area which is the most destitute and run down part of the city starting in a graveyard then moving through a cathedral, an asylum, and maybe an abandoned park or something similar with pig versions of the zombies, cultists and gargoyles ending in a boss fight with Pig Caleb. The last 2 episodes would be normal Duke levels with the city street and high tech facility designs which would have enemies like LARD officers, the PDF (Pig Defense Force), and other pig cop variations with higher tech gear. Episode 3 would end in a fight with Pig Duke whose defeat would end the confusion and Duke would get back home to take the fight to Proton in Episode 4. Of course movie references and babes would be included (although they would be Pig babes for the first 3 episodes). Unfortunately my build knowledge is practically nil, my level design is uninspired, my sprite work is atrocious and I suck heavily at coding. I am slowly trying to build my skill in all these areas and will work on this as much as possible even if it takes me 10 plus years to finish.

[Micky C]

It sounds extremely ambitious. That would take a lot of art, coding, some new sounds, and of course a lot, and I mean a LOT of levels. For many veteran mappers, it can take many years for even a single episode to be produced (maps only, not a mod).

Given your lack of experience, I would suggest first trying to make a much smaller project from start to finish. Maybe a one or three-level mod, and see how you go with that. It’ll probably be a good learning experience for before you start a deeper project.

Otherwise the premise of the project sounds quite interesting with regards to the world of pigs. Of course, with regards to having themes based on other build games, there are several of those already, including (unsurprisingly) the AMC TC. I’d suggest having a careful look at those to ensure you’re not retreading ground.

[OpenMaw]

Yeah, I like the premise. But I would really suggest starting with one map, then work on a multi-level map pack. Certainly,experiment while you're working on the smaller projects. Going through the whole process can be very educational.

[Sanek]

I'm working on a first-person platformer, a standalone indie game. Build Engine of course. It's very minimalistic, yet it will be easier to work on it, since I know that I can achieve these things. I don't know programming, yet the majority of the code was already wirttien for the previous game of mine. I know how the gameplay works and extremely familiar with the map editor. The only trouble is to find the right people and keep the game interesting for a large number of levels (although it wouldn't be a problem if you play it piece by picece, not in one sitting). Do you think I can pull it off?

P.S. I think I will make a proper announcement theard very soon if everything works out.

[Perro Seco]

Sanek, on 05 March 2018 - 03:20 AM, said:

Now this pic makes me feel that I don't spend much time on this thing.
Anyway...here's another shot of the same room, with the new spotlight sprite...and more shadows

Looks cool, but the spotlight would look better if you make the bottom a bit darker than the top.

By the way, will the mod have weapons?

[Sanek]

Perro Seco, on 06 March 2018 - 02:40 PM, said:

By the way, will the mod have weapons?

Nope. It terms of gameplay, it will be identical to CandyMania, with a minor new features.

[Seb Luca]

For my part, I guess the spotlight sprites are not a good idea It does not combine well with pixelart architecture ...
Splendid room, Sanek ^^

[Mark]

Try adjust shade and transparency so they stand out less. Also try semitransparent white sprites on the floor below them.

[Micky C]

Seb Luca, on 06 March 2018 - 05:38 PM, said:

For my part, I guess the spotlight sprites are not a good idea It does not combine well with pixelart architecture ...
Splendid room, Sanek ^^

I think the ones in conoklast's screenshot look a lot better.

The triangles are too sharp (for a lack of better word) to suit the visuals.

[Seb Luca]

Micky C, on 06 March 2018 - 07:30 PM, said:

I think the ones in conoklast's screenshot look a lot better.

It's smells like Photoshop result such a gradient is not reproducible in Build

[Micky C]

Seb Luca, on 06 March 2018 - 11:56 PM, said:

It's smells like Photoshop result such a gradient is not reproducible in Build

Yes it is, just use alpha blending. The effect is used in the AMC TC, Ion Maiden, and I assume the Total Meltdown mod.

[Sanek]

Micky C, on 07 March 2018 - 12:19 AM, said:

Yes it is, just use alpha blending. The effect is used in the AMC TC, Ion Maiden, and I assume the Total Meltdown mod.

Speaking of AMC TC, here's a spotlight I found in the mod. The black background is present in the file already. Somehow, in AMC TC you can hide that black thing by making it transparent (T). However, it's impossible to do so in vanilla Duke.

[Micky C]

Yeah you need to do a little something extra, I'm the wrong person to ask. But additive blending means that the darker something is, the more transparent it is, so you can appreciate how the black background disappears, and the sprite smoothly becomes more transparent from top to bottom.

[Sanek]

I PM'ed James about it. He seems to know more about AMC's inner workings than anybody else.


(asking for help on every step of the way - game development at it's best!)

[Zaxtor]

Worked on some cool lighting effects in the caves of the floating island I'm currently workin on.
Video to show

[MusicallyInspired]

Nice. I noticed those platforms against the wall and it occurred to me that hiding platforms on the walls like that with moody lighting would be a neat effect to hide secrets. Not something that's as easily camouflaged with sector-based lighting.

[Zaxtor]

Fun thing about Polymer you can submerge sprites partially into wall and it doesn't "continue trailing inside wall" like 8bit mode"
Same as for polymost mode.

In polymer mode you can do freaken cool effects.
Also you save sectors for lighting effects.
is like the room has more sectors than shown in mapster

PS
Is cool that sprites acts like real walls and shadow casts on em too, so as mobs etc

[Mike Norvak]

@Zaxtor The architecture looks awesome and the use of light is nice, not the color though, using absolute RGB values without mixing channels makes illumination look amateur imo, you can achieve some cyanish hues by increasing the blue field a bit or yellowish with red. Same with red, a bit of yellow and you get a warmer red, a bit of blue and you get a colder color...

[Zaxtor]

I know,there will be other places that uses cyan and other colors.


Lots of caves will be inside that floating island

[Zaxtor]

PS
Colors aren't 100% red.

Some has example

217 22 7 (settings on SE)

[Seb Luca]

[Zaxtor]

Worked on a "Tormented Pigcop" for the Floating I'm working on.

Pretty interesting monster.

I heavily altered a pigcop.
I changed color, made the burn marks and the glowing ember effects,

Turned into those nasty charred pigs known as Tormented pigs.
They're pigcops from hell, kinda.
They're eyeless (they're eyes are plucked out of their head).

These pigs spreads fire randomly when walking around.
Their shotgun attack is pretty same as normal pigcop except they have more health.

When they get hit they kinda dematerialize and rematerialize.

Creature effects is kinda inspired on the sci-fi horror movie Event Horizon, Hellraiser and Silent Hill (film).

The video

Spoiler

[Perro Seco]

Zaxtor, on 14 March 2018 - 01:29 AM, said:

Looks very good, but I would erase the LARD sign from it, since I assume the action doesn't take place in LA. Also, very cool lighting.

By the way, sorry for saying this, but player's shotgun fire animation looks very bad. I appreciate the work on the HRP, but I think it should be fixed, along with a better hand models. I remember the HRP from 2006, when I first played Duke 3D, and it was way better.