In response to NOVA Entertainment
NOVA Entertainment wrote:
yes the game is a fantasy/futuristic merge. and did you look at my updated pics? the character portrait section of the hud takes up much less screen space now. i get what you mean by it being big, but i honestly dont want my game to be just like any other. if i were to make the wireframe smaller it would blur and look terrible, and the character portrait is supposed to be that big so that i don't have to cram 96x96 pixels into a tiny little box :/ i want my game to have some flair and have stunning graphics. believe me when i say that there will be plenty of room on the screen for anything you want to do.

I'm not saying you should make it smaller, I'm saying it shouldn't be there at all unless it serves a purpose. If an element of your HUD is taking up space without doing anything or adding to the game, it's just going to get in the player's way.

I'm all for doing something different with your game, but there's a reason most games don't have giant obnoxious HUDs just to say they have fancy graphical flair. It's annoying to the player, it obscures their view of the game without adding anything, and in this case, is a completely static image that most players probably don't care about enough to have shoved in their face constantly.

Like I said before, a character portrait is something that should really go with your stats, not on the HUD. You don't NEED to see it all the time, it doesn't change, and it contains no information that the player might need to know at a moment's notice. I could see it being there to some extent if it displayed status effects or was used as a health meter of some sort, but otherwise there really is no reason for it to have a place besides allowing you to say "Look at me, I've got a fancy HUD!", and in my opinion detracts from an otherwise functional and attractive display.
In response to Robertbanks2
i see what you mean, but the health bars are attached to the portrait.

and i could use overlay-like icons for status effects on top of the face (which is a good idea, thanks)

but regardless, i will look into making it smaller (JUST the portait, because i love the wireframe
hmmm well i did like you asked and made a smaller version with the portrait 50% of normal... and i have to say that i just can't get past how small that is. i mean, that image takes up only about 10% of the screen, and to "MOST" people it will be a change of pace, and it most certainly won't be in their way. what you have to realize is that the view size for this game is bigger than most BYOND rpgs so even with that added image, you can still see MORE than the average game shows
alright everyone i just finished the female character base (took forever)

here's a sample of the standing directions:
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x461/indarknesswithout/ charsample.png

yes i know the side sprite is missing an ear. it has already been fixed.

i haven't included the walking frames due to the many icon thieves out there, sorry :(
I have to agree with Robertbanks2 that the portrait has no purpose being on the HUD. The only way I could see it being something worth having there is if it changed in some way... Like if it changed facial expressions under certain situations or looked fatigued or beaten up with low mana/health or status conditions.

Otherwise, I do feel it is sort of needlessly taking up space. If anything, at least give the player an option to remove it. I know if I was playing that, it would always bother me that I'd have to move a little to the northwest in order to see a part of the map that I should be able to see anyway.

Otherwise, I do like it. This whole HUD is pretty sweet. I like the broken-circles theme you've got going there.

Nice character base. It looks realistic to the point that it is kind of sexy, actually. On that note, I assume you'll have a male version as well?
Okay guys, after Complex Robot's post I have decided that in the "Options" HUD menu I will include the following settings:


Sound Effects (on/off/low volume)
Music (on/off/low volume)
Battle Effects (on/off)
Battle Damage Numbers (small/normal/none)
Refuse Party Requests? (yes/no)
Refuse Friend Requests? (yes/no)
Refuse Private Messages? (yes/no)
Refuse Guild Invitations? (yes/no)

HUD Options:

HUD size (small/normal)<<<< Here you go Complex Robot. <<<<<<<
Show Message Box (yes/no)
Show Skill Bar (yes/no)(recommended yes unless you know your skills very well)
Show Player Names (yes/no)
Show NPC Names (yes/no)
Show Enemy Names (yes/no)

And there will be a few more but i think that's most of them.
And thank you, that base took a long time to complete lol. like 5 hours XD

I currently don't have a male version pixeled out yet, but with the female done it's a simple conversion. Maybe 30 minutes

I'm trying to go for a different look from the bases you see on most byond games. its from a different angle, and I did my best to make it as original as possible. I'll be making awesome clothing and armors for it soon :P There will be two sides of gameplay. You pick from Futuristic or Fantasy, and you get to make your character in that time zone, and then once you do part of the main storyline the two time zones merge and you can play with everyone. You can be a Fantasy clothed woman with an energy sword, or a Heavily Tech-ed Out man with a Katana, it's your choice.

Hey, if you give me your email, I'll send you the Female base if you want. I can let SOME people have it, but I just don't want EVERYONE to have it, you know? You'd be free to do whatever you want with it
okay look at my original post for a pic with the HUD setting on "small" i can change it with the push of a button.
Pretty sweet I hope you finish it :)
I intend to ;) This is going to be my first and final major project so it's going to be a blast.
The player sprite is pretty good, but it's from a side perspective. I don't know what perspective you're using, but I can imagine it's either 3/4 or top down, in which case the sprite will look very out of place. Do you have any other art for the game done to show it with?
i'm going to do all of that later once the hud is done.

You DO realize i just started this game 2 days ago right? i want functionality, but i need the HUD first to tie it all in properly

just wait for updates and be patient. i'm doing this by myself after all
I asked a question about your game's perspective(the camera angle). This is something you should have decided on well before making any art for it, and probably before you even started doing any real work on the game.

I'm just trying to save you some time before you realize, 3 months from now, that you need to redo half of your art because it's all at different camera angles, and more immediately, before you spend half an hour adapting your character sprite so you have both genders only to decide that you need it to be in a different perspective and have to do it all again from scratch anyway.

If all you're looking for is functionality, use stick figures or free art until you're ready to do it properly, rather than wasting 5-6 hours doing it now and having to do it again later.
dude, I've got this. if i didn't plan on making my own original graphics then i wouldn't have made that base.

like i said, be PATIENT and watch for updates
This has nothing to do with whether or not you're making your own graphics. It has everything to do with whether or not those graphics will look like a steaming pile of dog feces because they don't fit the perspective you're using, and you still haven't answered my original question about what camera angle you're using for the game. Unless it's a purely side-scrolling game, the "base" won't fit the perspective, and you'll have to do it again in a way that does, along with any other art you make for the game until that point.

I couldn't care less about updates, I have no interest in playing this game. I'm giving my input because you asked for people's opinions. If you don't want input, or you're just going to ignore anything that isn't "Yea, this is awesome," don't ask for it.
You said in the original post there will be a trading system. In which both players agree upon a given trade. That is all good and fine. But what of the case that an experience player who has the good items, decides to trade them to another inexperienced player, their friend. Will there be a way to prevent this from happening?
Lol, why would you want to? That goes on in just about every MMORPG I've played. Higher levels help newbies. Enchant their gear, run them through dungeons, fly or teleport them to towns etc.
In response to EmpirezTeam
EmpirezTeam wrote:
Lol, why would you want to? That goes on in just about every MMORPG I've played. Higher levels help newbies. Enchant their gear, run them through dungeons, fly or teleport them to towns etc.

exactly my point :) i like free trade. and if people want to help others out then they should be able to.
In response to Robertbanks2
Robertbanks2 wrote:
This has nothing to do with whether or not you're making your own graphics. It has everything to do with whether or not those graphics will look like a steaming pile of dog feces because they don't fit the perspective you're using, and you still haven't answered my original question about what camera angle you're using for the game. Unless it's a purely side-scrolling game, the "base" won't fit the perspective, and you'll have to do it again in a way that does, along with any other art you make for the game until that point.

I couldn't care less about updates, I have no interest in playing this game. I'm giving my input because you asked for people's opinions. If you don't want input, or you're just going to ignore anything that isn't "Yea, this is awesome," don't ask for it.

*sigh*

dude i've been around long enough to know how to icon and map and code, i just want other people's input to influence the game, not badmouth on every feature i add because YOU haven't made a game like that before. i don't want to argue with you so if you are going to continue please just go away
Why is it that every F'ing time someone comes to BYOND with a great idea & great visions of their OWN DREAM the people here just put them down ...
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