My RPG work in progress, first ever pics - [Strategic combat progress update]

Well. I like the concept art, any chance to see actual 3D models derived from it soon? And what tools are you using for outdoor environments?
Is your game working? As in, something playable that you are attaching effects and art to?

 

Unfortunately the focus right now is making the combat and gameplay fun, so the reveal of more graphics and creatures (that i leave last to perfect) will take a while.

I can confirm though that some of these creatures will not be made from scratch, but will be altered from bought ones, others will be in 2D and others will be made from scratch, so it will be a mix.

All outdoors are hand crafted, i plan to use some tools for ground, but other than that nothing will be mass placed. I will probably use INfiniDy system i am working on for some stuff, but mostly i will place everything one thing at a time. The maps are not endless open ones, so that helps and was one of the goals from the very start.

The game is working great, much of the core of the RPG system is already in place due to ORK, the demo already has a draft of all cut scenes running and needs polish in dialogs, portraits etc and the combat is the current WIP, though there has been leaps in spell system, mass spells, taregting, cool effects and the unique system that will be used along with sll the rest.

Now i am heavilly working on the strategic aspect, refining the relationships of enemies/allies and the command list to control allies and their behavior based on the map arrangement, the next step is to create some cool combo moves etc, this will be one of the top priorities for a while, since it is the most important thing in the game.

The combat in one to one arrangement is very much playable, creatures are killed, react, cast, hurt the heroes, do all sort of cool stuff based on the unique secret power i use etc and there are already cool addictive aspects in place (like critical hit timing, status effects that affect creature abilities and motion etc) . But since the game vision as much on addictive strategy as on the action, the combat will be revealed only after all systems are in place.

 

UPDATE:

The strategic aspect is going forward very well, i have managed to script ORK and integrate with my scripts and create most of the base for the strategic behaviour and commands response. Now i am refining and adding functionality on that base and coming up with ideas of more scenarios that will keep combat interesting as creatures get stronger and change in types.

Four games are always in my mind while doing this crucial phase, Lord of the Realms 2, Heroes of M&M 3, Plants vs Zombies and Legend of Mana. Maybe a few more as well

On the graphics side, i will now insert the new polished Sky Master tool back in the game and start working the day/night cycles and weather. This will also be very interesting, since it will give another more dynamic dimension to the graphics.

 

UPDATE:

A few pics from the integration of the new day cycle and weather systems in the game, now i will start working that on all levels and update depending on the mood of each area. Global variables in ORK Framework will keep the time flow proper between areas.

One of the major considerations is that i like all possible sun positions and the plan is to have a rotation such that will cover a wide range of sun orientations on each level, i am not sure yet if these will be in a day span or a longer period of time (but certainly wont be in a year span )

Another idea is to let some volumetric clouds touch on the higher peaks and towers, i think i will be using splines to direct the clouds for that, should be rather easy since all the systems are already there i will only need to come up with a script that will pass the spline interpolation to the specificed clouds motion. Some interfacing will be needed also on the cloud script.

Now i will resume focus on the strategic gameplay systems.

 

UPDATE:

Phase 2 of the strategic combat is done and the complicated dynamics to backup the system are now working great.

The possibilities now have expanded a lot and new gameplay elements are introduced, which will make the signature unique system in the game a whole lot cooler.

I cant say more on this, so forgive the rather abstract description above

Also i posted another pic from the game, this is coming out of the thick forest towards the clif edge.

 

UPDATE:

Some of the work for enemy effects. The little details like the turbulence in feathers and fire emitting from the eyes make all the difference. The goal is to have as many enemies with such cool effects, bosses will be the priority of course.

Only two things missing to finilize the feather effect. I need to have feathers vary in size closer to the hands (will be doing it with mask opacity control) and to lerp between the wind and the skin's normal direction, so feathers seem like stuck in the body and then have the wind as an extra layer of force.

BTW, is there an easy way to grab a video directly from Unity ?

The most important thing with the effects is optimization, so they can run when the battle has lots of enemies and effects around. The feathers are taking only one draw call in this implementation, the turbulence is also applied locally for each system and has various optimization techniques (like calculation of each system per frame, based on hero distance etc)

EDIT:
A closer to final look for the fire.

 

Quick update:

The game is now working in Unity 5 !!!!! All the major gameplay components have been succesfully updated and only a few things are missing, none of which is major.

I cannot describe the cool factor the new effects add, it is out of this world , i have been staring at my screen for hours and just moving through the levels to admire the new scenery enchancements.

I will implement the effects in every level and start showing some really cool pics soon

A simple thanks for Unity 5 is not enough.

On the gameplay side, i have started implementing A* pathfinding, with a mix of my own scripting and raycasting ideas from Breadcrumb AI, plus RAIN and i am on a good road for having a custom AI solution that will behave well in the real time needs of the game.

The next step after i have AI down is to start implementing the waves and full combat procedure, that will test and refine the strategic part of the game.

 

Dude the game looks fantastic now!

 

Thanks

The posted pics are really early and show little of the full graphics splendor, plus now the amazing factor has increased exponentially since i can use all kind of image effects to enchance the look.

I will be showing some proper stuff hopefully soon, after i have sorted some Skyshop issues out and put Sky Master v1.6 in, with the image effect use which makes it so much cooler.

 

haha awesome! do u have any idea when the game will be release?

 

That is the million dollar question i guess.

Since it is a rather big project, i suspect it will take a while to perfect and maybe some form of financing will also be required to finish, so i will try a kickstarter when all the gameplay elements are in.

The goal is to have it in a good form this year, with all major gameplay ideas realized, some battles ready and working with all elements, basic story/cut scenes in place and many of the adventure stages filled with items etc

and then take another 1-1.5 years to perfect, add the NPCs and dialogs/schedules, complete all combats and leveling up/powers and other details, plus polish everything to the max.

 

Fantasy Forest WIP for my fairy tale RPG

I am using my InfiniGRASS system (http://u3d.as/jiM) for the grass and Sky Master ULTIMATE v3.0 (http://u3d.as/agN) for the mood (both WIP). InfiniTREE implementation for a few super detailed trees at key locations is the next step to finilize the look.

This map is from the initial region the hero will start in. Also it does not have the filler background artwork yet.

My next packs, PANDORA and InfiniCASTLE will also be vital parts of the game and augment the current gameplay ideas and implementation.

I have decided to take every single step of the game creation through making Unity Store assets so i can perfect each aspect to the max and polish to a super professional level, plus have full control as they are my own creations.

I feel that making assets for the store from my RPG creation ideas and needs, benefits the game much more than something i would make just for the specific use i had in mind and besides the extra polish level that goes in, it also opens the door to many new ideas and makes developerment a lot more versatile.

It may delay the game a bit (in indie this could means years ), but in the end the title will be vastly better and this was my initial goal, not just making a game, but making my dream game. And the more i work on assets, the closer i come to that and it comes natually than feel like a struggle.

A huge thanks to the amazing Unity developer community that uses and values my systems and provide invaluable help to my path to perfection for all my creations .

 

Your game is coming out to be seriously impressive dude keep it up haha! will there me mounts or any such rideable animals?

 

River lands, the entrance to the forest area posted above.

I have not decided on mounts yet, it was an idea but the very large maps are few as the game is mostly left to right or front to back ortiented, with few large hubs, so it may be unessesary to have such. I may have some tricks in combat with a mount though, one that is part of the hero team.

 

how is one capable of making such awesome things xDDD

 

Thanks . There is a lot yet to be revealed when i enchance my stages with InfiniGRASS, the world has many regions that vary radically.

 

this is enough for me to be satisfied lol