The Field of Kings Journal

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Postby Hguols » Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:42 am

Got sidetracked again a bit because I found a label to go through for my CD release, The Path Less Traveled Records.

CDs are in pre-press review right now. They'll probably start on them Monday. Made this nice little image that gives a slightly lo-fi tour of the actual CD, much like the one made for the debut.

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Digital release is submitted. All that might take a couple weeks.
I'm thinking it will be available where its supposed to by mid-March....
____________________

On that note, I have all the scenic images put together for the forest. Man that area's bigger than I thought. Next, enemy sprites/aGIFs, after that, putting them in Adventure maker...

For those of you who don't know, Wednesdays and Thursdays are my days off work, so the most time spent creating might be on those days. (at least for a few hours on those days)
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Postby reneuend » Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:13 pm

Nice combination: gifted with music and building games! 8)

This has to be one of the most, if not the most, ambitious games for PSP using AM ever! :)
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Postby Hguols » Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:08 am

Thanks! I appreciate that comment! ....and as for that title, I'm shooting for it!

My immediate goal is to have the forest complete by Thursday. 3 areas down, 6 to go.
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Postby Gumbro » Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:37 pm

Keep us posted with the progress, this is definitely a game I want to see finished!
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Postby Hguols » Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:17 am

Absolutely!

I don't think I'll finish the programing side of the side today, but I completed all the images for the forest. Much like the last area, it was larger than I though.... much larger. Everything is uploaded in the adventuremaker program, I just need to edit each images hotboxes/commands.

Then again, the forest includes more area than just the green area on the map. It also includes a few paths in The Garden Labyrinth not associated with the direct maze, and the cave right by the forest entrance.

The Courtyard includes 96 total images.
The Lower Courtyard includes 107 total images.
The Forest includes 259 total images.... just to give you an indicator of the area sizes.

I also added a few concepts. For one, there will be a "warp" area in the forest which leads to another area. (through a certain character) For two, there's an enemy which cannot be killed, only avoided. This enemy will be reoccurring encounter in The Garden Labyrinth along with enemies that can be killed... this will hopefully add a little more depth to the game besides wandering around and killing things.

Just from looking at The Field of Kings map, I'm thinking The Cavern and The Garden Labyrinth will be quicker to add in the game. They're more enclosed areas, and considering their area is more cut and dry than the forest (which also includes a cave and some labyrinth), production will go a little faster.

Also, I'd like to make a mention, since the game is almost 500 images so far, I made an internet backup of them as well as the monster sprites and slash images.

Worse case scenario, if my computer were to explode into a million pieces, I'd just have to redo all the program commands and that would be it.

I have made one change to the map. There is the possibility that a few other areas might change, so the map is just a general one. Just to let you guys know!

( ^ - ^)
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Postby reneuend » Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:56 am

That's quite large! I can't imagine how long it would take to play the game. Nice work!
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Postby Hguols » Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:35 am

That's the kicker. Someone could probably go through the entire game in a couple, 3 hours if they knew what they were doing.

Just testing the first two areas together, I cleared them in probably 20-30 minutes. Of course, I know every intimate details of the game since I put it together; me playing it is going to be different than you guys playing it.

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to throw some testers into the mix. I'd hate to ruin someone's gaming experience, but I'd also hate to release 1.0 and have to make new versions for mess-ups I missed, that everyone would have had the chance to see.

Luckily the program is simple, but then again, in excessive tedium, I could make errors creating on autopilot. Errors would include forgetting to designate arrows to directions... maybe coding a death event wrong.

What do you guys think? Should I have a few testers try out the first 3 areas?

I completed all the hotboxes/events for the enemies in the forest. (speaking of enemies, so far there are 29 different ones encountered in the 3 areas, there will be a lot more to be encountered too)
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Postby Hguols » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:39 am

Ok. No takers on testing. I don't blame you.

PHEW! 1035 .a files for the game now. I have all the coding complete for the forest area, and rigorously tested. Everything goes pretty smooth. I ran into a problem though regarding the timer.

The only way to "cancel" a timer is to replace it with another one. The combat works well this way, but in regards to an enemy that can't be defeated, one you can only run away from, I found myself back to the dying frame even after "running away".

The solution was duplicate frames in the surroundings with their own timers in effect loading the actual frame. Setup almost like a fake timer, it took care of the issue... if only with a slight delay in loading the both frames.

I believe I'll do the Garden Labyrinth next. It should be a smaller area, and quicker to complete.

I also posted in the general forum in regards to donations. I'd like it to be an option for the download site I'll set up, as it adds to my own reward concept to receive nice gestures from strangers...

I'm well aware of what's said regarding non-commercial versions of Adventure Maker (I just have the regular full version) and not using the software for profit, but once again, profit implies a transaction, and that's not the case. This game will be absolutely 100% free...

....I would just like the option to receive gifts, as nice gestures.
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Postby reneuend » Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:48 am

Unfortunately, I'm all booked up. I wouldn't be a good tester right now because I'm already committed to testing KGS for Shadowhunter.

Anyway, it looks like a nice game, and I can't wait to try it out.
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Postby Hguols » Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:25 am

Phew! Finally got all the images done for The Garden Labyrinth. I believe I miscalculated, because this area (for some reason) is the biggest area yet. Probably because there's a lot of confined spaces, and more "turns" than an open area.

This section is almost 300 images.

I'm sure it will take a bit for me to put all the hotboxes in.... Although each area is getting bigger, I am getting faster at constructing.

I'm actually looking forward to the next area I'll be working on, The Valley. Its divided into two sections, and it will seem a little less work to complete one section, and then the other....

....then again, it will make the game seem like 10 areas rather than 9....
._.
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Postby reneuend » Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:26 am

Simply amazing!
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Postby Hguols » Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:30 am

Finally got the hotboxes all sequenced for The Garden Labyrinth! PHEW!

Here's the lowdown of the game so far.
Its over 40MB in the setup file...
There are 1633 .a files
Created with 769 JPG images
Different types of enemies: 44

I haven't tested the area yet, but I imagine its pretty tight and won't have to make too many fixes. I've learned one thing, corners and hallways are a lot easier than open spaces. To easy to get lost in open areas.

4 out of 9 areas complete! (but as I mentioned with the valley, it might as well be 10 areas since the valley separates and I'm doing it in two chunks)
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Postby Hguols » Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:53 am

I did an hour of testing in the Garden Labyrinth and only found a few mistakes, which were quickly fixed. ( ^ - ^)
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Postby reneuend » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:17 pm

how far did you get in an hour? :wink:
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Postby Hguols » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:54 am

That hour was just in the garden labyrinth. :P

I wasn't necessarily playing it, as I was exploring every nook and cranny, making sure I had everything right. I did die a few times, so that's a good thing. ( ^ - ^)

If anyone is reading this, you probably saw the post I made here regarding having music with the game. It is a wonderful discovery!

Since the setup.exe file doesn't allow for additional files, looks like it will be a manual install. ....which actually allows for more possibilities. Custom location for the software!

For the time being, I have it set up that when I go to:
file:/thefield/ofkings.htm
...it pulls up the beginning page with the link to load the music and game.

That's easy enough, isn't it?
I'll have to change the credits too.... to include music. :) ♪♫
_____________

Random thought here.... Does anyone have a Vita? I'd like to know if these games would work on the new PSP.

I honestly don't see why not... they would probably just be loaded with the Vita browser. I don't know if the screen size would be different or not.
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Postby Hguols » Mon Apr 02, 2012 1:46 am

Well, I'm trying to track down someone who has a Vita to see how playable this game would be on that system.... I'm hoping it works relatively well, but until then, I'm still trying to find someone that has one, and see if they're willing to test the game...

I'm hoping to get my foot in the door in what could be the first Vita homebrew game!

I have the 2nd part of the Valley done. It was pretty small, just 67 images, but then again, it is half of a total area. I have a few images taken for the first part of The Valley - I'm hoping to be done with this area, maybe by this weekend.

Its official, I'm more than half of the game completed. About time! ...since I started working on this late January. ( ? - ?)

I went ahead and setup the web domain for the game. There's not much there, but then again, the site will just feature the game download... Maps, FAQs.... a few other things if I can think of them.

http://www.thefieldofkings.com
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Postby Gumbro » Sat Apr 07, 2012 1:25 pm

Is there a major difference in the Vita browser? The game is essentially javascript and it's syntax is prior to html5, so it should run fine in most browsers. Have you tried running the game on a pc browser? And don't forget all those iPhones and Pads, if the game runs from a server you suddenly have a huge audience for your game, although I think the battle mechanic currently needs the mouse rollover which is not possible on a touch device.
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Postby Hguols » Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:25 pm

Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing at this time the level of compatibility with the Vita and this game. The 7-10 people I've contacted that have Vita's, who agreed to test the game's level of compatibility, turned out to be almost completely worthless.

Half of them downloaded the game and disappeared. The rest corresponded for a while, to report the problem with "installing the game", then disappeared when I presented a non-download online version of the game. Had one poor fellow, apparently confused... I asked him to help me test the game on the Vita, and he wrote back telling me how compatible the game is with Firefox.

I have a friend with an android, and my brother has an iphone4.... So far, the compatibility isn't there. (it just loads a black screen) I'll probably have to export the game as a landscape iphone game to get results, but I won't mess with that until I finish the game.

I'm not going to stop progress just to mess around with getting the game on iphone as well, which may or may not even be playable.

The Valley images are complete and put together - now I just have to apply them and the hotboxes in the Adventure Maker program...

That leaves 4 areas left to complete. Moving on up!
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Postby Gumbro » Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:46 pm

Yeah, it's probably a good idea to complete the game for PSP first. Once the game is out for PSP, you'll no doubt get plenty of visibility and testers for Vita, even without asking for it :)
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Postby Hguols » Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:23 pm

I did get some answers regarding the Vita. I posted them on another thread though.

Well, progress is coming along on the game. I still haven't coded all of The Valley yet, but that should be done today. I have my first NPC type character with conversations. (the two other NPCs only say one thing which is easy)

Its through text displaying at the bottom and layer after layer of hitboxes that have variables. (like hotbox1 only displays when x=0, but when its clicked it changes to x=1, hotbox2 only displays when x2=0, but when its clicked it changes to x2=1, etc. 12 of them stacked like hotcakes with the last hotbox enabling all the others to 0 for repeated conversation.

More specifically, Magi Magus in the tower says which enemies need to be defeated to reach the last boss who is The Ineffable King Edward.

"The Dread Knight of Earth in the Courtyard
The Hidden War Demon in the Lower Courtyard
The Damned Angel twins in the Forest
The Widowess in the Garden Labyrinth
The Arachness and Cerberus in the Valley
The Ebony Knight of Flame in the Cavern
The Hallow Mage in the Dungeon Temple
and Lord Necron in the Blood Palace."
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Postby Hguols » Thu Apr 19, 2012 6:42 pm

I have The Cavern area complete. I just have to add in all the hotspots. 3 areas left to go after that!

I couldn't help but notice how the Adventure Maker program runs whenever it has to load a different area folder. Its seriously like the hour glass show for a good 30+ seconds, and my computer, while not cutting edge, never has to wait 30+ seconds for anything....

Something very good that I got working last night. The game works on my Android mobile phone! My mom confirmed that the game works on her iphone4 as well!

While the game works on the iphone 4 native browser, the soundtrack does not. Neither the game or soundtrack work on the Android native browser, but using the Opera app, both work extremely well. I'm hoping that the Firefox app for the iphone 4 works just like Opera does for the android.

Thanks to an Android file manager app, it is possible to play the game from the memory/SD card. I'm hoping there's a similar option on the iphone4.

Oh, and if anyone here has an iphone (1-4) and is willing to test the game, please e-mail me:
thomas@thefieldofkings.com

I'd love to hear from you!

I also made an entire project backup. I've backuped (and am still backing up) the images, but now that I'm backing up the entire project as well, I won't have to worry about losing all my hotspots work should something terrible happen.

( ^ - ^)
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Postby Hguols » Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:46 am

Finished the cavern! 61.5mb is the total game size now. 2608 is the number of files for the game now.

Three areas left! The Dungeon Temple, The Blood Palace and The King's Castle.

Those who have seen the map, I might make one change to the temple area. One area will be a bit too roomy and nonsensical for the point and click genre.

I might start to work a little on the website too. I'll have to have that running for anyone who wants to play a game. Based on the fact that the game isn't self explanatory, I think introducing playing instructions on the website might be good.

I might have a brief period of inactivity. I just bought a house and moving will happen probably next week. I shouldn't be slowed down too much, but I'll never know until I actually do it...
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Postby Hguols » Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:02 am

I did a lot today!

Well, I did an odd job and made some decent pocket money. I also got probably half the area done for the dungeon temple, and also.... got the website up and live.

Its still technically under construction. None of the download links work, but that's really all the site is missing. There's a scrolling marquee with a lot of new screenshots.

The website should answer any questions you may have about the game.

Also made a really nice banner for the game/website as well!

What do you think?
( ^ - ^)

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Postby mercedes » Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:43 am

Nice...Did it take you long to make..?

Btw..are you using a template for website..or..builder..?..
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Postby Hguols » Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:21 pm

I have and always will code webpages from scratch.
Good old copy and paste with notepad and I'm set!

I think I got everything put together for the site (including artwork), one full day. My wife had to go into training and that left me and the computer alone for quite a few hours... ( ^ - ^)
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Postby reneuend » Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:21 am

:lol: :lol: I'm sure you told her you missed her when she returned, but you can't tell me you didn't enjoy alone time with your computer! :wink:
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Postby Hguols » Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:46 am

I did and I did!!! ( ^ - ^)

In my spare time tonight, I put together a video preview of the game.

This is a video sample of The Field of Kings game, touchscreen/smartphone/vita version. This is the same game resolution and audio sound quality as what's available for smart phones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgAk6Y_Cj5M

Recorded in the PC firefox browser, hence the mouse. (it would have been a lot harder to follow what was going on if recorded on a touchscreen)

Youtube did blow up the resolution a bit, but it doesn't look too bad.
It certainly gives the right idea.
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Postby reneuend » Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:25 am

It's impressive the amount of work you've put into this!
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Postby Hguols » Wed May 02, 2012 10:43 pm

Thanks!

Well, I'm almost done with The Dungeon Temple images. I still have yet to put them into the application and code the hotspots...

I'm mentally and physically exhausted because I'll be packing and moving throughout the next several days. I've had a little time to work on the game, but not a whole lot.

My internet will probably be down for a few days until I can get it setup. Its not real loss in progress because I can work on this project offline, and post here from my phone.

Still, I'm getting there!
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Postby Hguols » Sat May 12, 2012 12:16 am

FINALLY... I got the images done for The Dungeon Temple. I must admit, even with work and moving, I honestly have been slacking a little bit as well. (sometimes only putting in 15 minutes of work in a day)

This area is by far the biggest, with 349 images.

...anyway, I got the images done, now its a matter of coding everything in the adventure maker program.
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