Topic: Pike & Shot (Read 12975 times)

Mothra · « **Reply #40 on:** February 23, 2010, 09:56:16 PM »

Quote from: Kabbage on February 23, 2010, 09:47:39 PM

Now featuring PANTS

Alright, I'm gonna take a cyclonestab at slashed doublet

Messing around with colors. Gonna start adding a black layer too, on account of the forum background being pretty close to skin color.

Thinking I might do something with hard angles on the face shapes. Kinda like how that looks.

Classic · « **Reply #41 on:** February 24, 2010, 12:49:05 PM »

Umm... how much is this game going to be like darklands 2?

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #42 on:** February 24, 2010, 08:22:11 PM »

Well... ummm... Let me see.... hmmm. Darklands is a turn-based strategy game with a four character party system and Pike & Shot is a whimsical mutation of the side-scrolling shmup genre.

So...

Yeah...

I dunno, It's not going to be like it AT ALL I guess is where I would rate the relation.

Catloaf · « **Reply #43 on:** February 24, 2010, 09:09:37 PM »

So will there be a General sprite/hitbox for the troops to form around? If so, only one, or multiple options with varied characteristics?

Also, please have some sort of powerup/special attack of a cannon strike or catapult barrage.

NexAdruin · « **Reply #44 on:** February 24, 2010, 09:39:15 PM »

I really want to play this game a lot except as soon as I open it it crashes.

Is it not made to play well with 64-bit operating systems? Or is it my AMD processor?

Defenestration · « **Reply #45 on:** February 24, 2010, 10:10:41 PM »

Quote from: Kabbage on February 23, 2010, 09:47:39 PM

Now featuring PANTS

Alright, I'm gonna take a cyclonestab at slashed doublet

I'm confused why some pixels are larger than others.

Mothra · « **Reply #46 on:** February 24, 2010, 10:30:49 PM »

I dunno, it's a style I'm messing around with. Doing the basics at half that size, then doubling it and adding in detail.

Does it look like poopgame

Detonator · « **Reply #47 on:** February 24, 2010, 10:38:53 PM »

I have to say yeah, the inconsistency does make it look a little "off". Try keeping the detail level the same throughout the whole sprite.

Detonator · « **Reply #48 on:** February 24, 2010, 10:57:46 PM »

I gave it a quick hack-job in Paint, tell me what you think.

Defenestration · « **Reply #49 on:** February 24, 2010, 11:07:45 PM »

Honestly, Det's is better. Shave that one column off the unarmed arm so he doesn't look like he has a really fat elbow and it would be perfect.

I know I'm kind of talking out my ass here, but if you're going to do old school low rez sprites consistency is the name of the game. If you switch the resolution like that in the same sprite, it looks pretty awful.

Mothra · « **Reply #50 on:** February 24, 2010, 11:10:04 PM »

AW FUCK THIS

WHY DON'T YOU GET DET TO DO YOUR FAGGING SPRITES

Mothra · « **Reply #51 on:** February 24, 2010, 11:11:24 PM »

Nah I agree - I'll see if I can pull off angular rather than retro and we should be the better for it.

Defenestration · « **Reply #52 on:** February 24, 2010, 11:13:05 PM »

Of course, all Det did was remove a few pixels off of an image that you created which is actually pretty awesome other than that small detail.

I actually really like the look of them honestly, but the sub-pixel thing really stuck out.

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #53 on:** February 25, 2010, 07:33:44 AM »

"Sir, we are getting too much distortion from the sub-pixels for the byte matrix to fully re-align!"

"Ensign Kim, Try refining the beam resolution."

"I'm trying... No effect Captain! 30 seconds until containment breach!"

About the Demo I uploaded:
It won't work for most people. It only works for Kazz because he has the exact version of XNA I am running and the same OS. I have to republish the game by creating an installer project for it like I did with my old stab at making Popegame a while back. When I did that it worked on almost everyone's computers. The problem with the quick and dirty publish I did for that demo download is that it doesn't have an MSI that actually makes sure you have the right version of XNA installed and there's about 3 different versions of the XNA frame work that people could have so it causes problems on most systems. Just wait until I have a REAL demo ready and then I'll make a REAL installer and then most people's problems should disappear.

To address the question about the Captain/General:
This isn't something I have been dwelling on lately as it isn't really important mechanically in the game, but it has always been the intent even when I made my lame version for a school project. The concept is to have one and for there to be multiple guys to choose from. It might become mechanically important if I make it so that depending on the guy you choose, your formation forms and behaves differently. For example Gustuvus uses a swedish formation that works like the one you see in my video, Gonzalo uses a spanish tercio formation and can't concentrate as much firepower forwards, but fires shots in all directions instead, etc.

Mothra · « **Reply #54 on:** February 25, 2010, 11:43:34 AM »

Alright well, the more I use Cube Kingdom, the more it seems like more work than it's worth.

It's way easier just to futz around in Photoshop than to get these damn dickhugging cubes to align right. I guess a big part of the problem is how limited the program is terms of not allowing me to select multiple blocks at once, or to copy and past sections. I can't even combine a sideview with the front view and intersect them - you have to do one at a time.

DAWW TA DICKS WITH IT

That said, I'm going to keep it around to make hats and helmets, on account of it giving me a decent idea of where there's depth. I can color farther-off blocks darker to give the sense of their position, which I'd have to say is easier here than in Photoshop.

I don't think I'm gonna keep using this, but it's a nice tool to have for the off item.

Mothra · « **Reply #55 on:** February 25, 2010, 10:15:30 PM »

Alright, this is my refined version of Red. Anything that looks even remotely off, lemme know:

Here's my new guy, The Beard:

Detonator · « **Reply #56 on:** February 25, 2010, 10:56:28 PM »

Beardly is the best

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #57 on:** February 26, 2010, 09:50:54 AM »

Yeah, when Kabbage showed me his original work in progress of the beard I thought it was pretty damn good. The thing is, originally I wanted almost all the guys in the game to have beards, but whenever I tried making a bearded sprite, it never looked right. The first sprite that I did that I really liked, the little armoured pikeman, wouldn't work with a beard and then all my sprites that I made from that base one never got to have beards.

But Jason's beard looks great, I really like the broadness of it and the sort of ragged quality it has without looking messy at all and being very identifiable as a beard. I think the shape of his visored kettle helmet could be improved a little though, like made a little flatter and wider in proportions, just a little. Otherwise I love him though. He might look better with a mustardy colour for his not red sleave and pant leg rather than white. Just a thought.

I like Red too, but I don't feel like his chain mail thing he's got going on there really equates to anything Landsknechty. My suggestion is just to either ditch it and just give him a slashed doublet or swiss looking clothes instead of any armour or to make it look more like a Bishop's mantle which was the sort of thing a less professional guy like that would have as his only armour along with some leather gloves maybe.

These woodcuts are overly foppish due to being drawn by gay men who were only inspired by how the landsknechts actually looked with their intentionally wild and garish clothing, but they at least give a good idea of the elements of their dress and armour.

Mothra · « **Reply #58 on:** February 26, 2010, 07:17:37 PM »

Yeah, that all sounds reasonable.

Also: I kind of really want to make an undead skeleton pike man guy, and potentially other demonic/angelic/monster creatures just for the sake of variety. If we're really not sure we're going to go with the fantasy thing just yet I could keep it to skull masks and bone armor and stuff - themed mercenary groups - but having them actually be monsters would be pretty sweet. Especially if the retreat mechanic allowed you to absorb them into your ranks.

Alternatively, I could just make all the human characters first and then we could figure it out later. I just think that it would be sweet to fight against skeleton men and bird shotguys and A Dude That Is Basically A Metalhead Version Of The Thing The Dark World Kid Kicks Around On Death Moutain In Link To The Past

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #59 on:** February 26, 2010, 08:59:10 PM »

Oh, by all means make skeleton guys if you like. One of the themes for the game that I am sort of tossing around is that modernization of warfare is leading to man over powering the old magical enemies he faced in the past with practical means like gunpowder, so blasting nercomantic hordes fits that well.

I think Skeletons would be unrecruitable as they always just disintegrate, but they could be just used as cannon fodder by a faction of necromancer and dark knight sort of guys and those guys could be recruitable and could perhaps spawn skeletons for you.

One of the main themes is that most of the people you face are by and large mercenaries. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, this is true to the time period where mercs were the most used and most capable infantry in the 1450-1600 era. Secondly, it nintendo-logic explains why you can recruit fleeing troops, they have no national loyalty to their side.

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Author Topic: Pike & Shot (Read 12975 times)