Best game ever! XD

Neblim wrote:

I REALLY would like to know what those are, as I am a bit concerned with this also. Very very good point. Then the next question is, will Tom and Lummox eventually go further to get it out of "beta" sort of speak to provide the extra/same functionality? I wouldn't judge something too harshly in a beta state though.

Read Tom's posts in this thread:
http://www.byond.com/developer/forum/?id=764707&display=1

It outlines their goals for the initial release, as well as what they hope to eventually implement.

"The initial release will probably be something like 3.5, where we have limited UI support. The end goal is full 4.0 compatibility."

Where? Are there any games you would be willing to pay for? Or even any good enough that you would recommend/invite your friends to play? Any that could be published on a well known platform?

Adventure Quest Worlds is an extremely popular MMORPG made with flash.

Cody123100 wrote:

Actually I feel that casual quest could be published on Xbox live as a small party arcade game if Iain ported it over.

It doesn't even have sound...

C_Dawg_S wrote:

NEStalgia, Casual Quest, Teridal, Decadence, Regressia, Stolen Lands, Ultimatum, Plunder Gnome, Efencea, Proelium 1 and 2, Tomb Explorer, and also many of ACWraith's games, although not presented well, make great party games; just to name a few of my favorites.

- Efencea is really nice, probably the only game on BYOND that doesn't look or feel like it was made with BYOND, but its unfinished.
- Decadence and Ultimatum are both good games. However, their appeal comes almost entirely from visuals - both in-game graphics and the use of interfaces. Also, since these games don't have AI, they lose a ton of value, especially since they are almost always vacant.
- NEStalgia, Casual Quest, and Regressia are all designed to emulate games that have been outdated for decades...
- Tomb Explorer = a spin-off of minesweeper? Not to say that its bad, just not something I would be willing to invest any real time or money into.

Wait, are you saying you're disappointed that games on BYOND aren't on par with titles developed by professional teams backed by beaucoup bucks? This is a hobbyist developer community, they are trained professionals.

Also, I would like to point out that Flash Professional (which you would need to legally charge for your game) is $700. The BYOND software is free.

Honestly, I've never played a Flash game for more than an hour or two at best (Road of the Dead being one such example) before discarding it to never return again. They're easy to get in to, but they don't have much shelf life or replay value. That's where BYOND's networking gives it an edge.

Really, though, I think my greatest appeal to BYOND games when I first started out was that you could play a game, and run into its developer(s). Hell, you could suggest a feature and have it implemented thirty minutes later! It's a completely different kind of dynamic, almost a form of meta-gaming.

Falacy wrote:

That's not my point here, though that is a pretty blatant fact. Honestly though, that's much more of an engine limitation issue than it is anything to do with available manpower.
I'm only comparing them to Flash games, which they'll soon be mingling with. Flash games would fall under that same hobbyist category.

Most of the top-tier Flash games are produced by companies or have sponsors.

Unity is more impressive than Flash in just about every way, and its available for free. Its also quite easy to get a cracked version of Flash, and I think they even have a legit trial on their site, or at least they used to.

Well, part of my point was that if you wanted to make a game that people would (could) pay for, you would need a legal license of Flash Pro. As far as Unity goes, if it can't be embedded in a browser, it's in a whole different ballpark of expectations.

That's more or less how flash games are intentionally designed. Since almost all of them are single player, they offer a somewhat linear experience, like any single player game. There's a defined start and end point in most flash games, and its usually a very short trip between those points.

Well there you go, you just answered your own question. That's how BYOND games will compete: they won't be the short, linear experience people are used to.

Falacy wrote:

Decadence and Ultimatum are both good games. However, their appeal comes almost entirely from visuals - both in-game graphics and the use of interfaces. Also, since these games don't have AI, they lose a ton of value, especially since they are almost always vacant.

Is that so? I had always assumed people liked Decadence because of the tightly integrated gameplay mechanics. If you compare Decadence to other "similar" games the closest you could probably come up with is Counter-Strike 2D, the main difference being the art style.

What you may not understand is the art isn't just there for show. Cover, a key component in Decadence, wouldn't be possible with the bird's-eye perspective. The current perspective was carefully thought over and chosen because of the many advantages it provides, advantages such as being able to easily display elevation to the player. Having a unique art style is a by-product of that design choice.

Also, I'm still drawing ideas for bots. I've had several artists all fired up to draw a bunch of zombies but Every. Single. Time. they'll come back with a few sketches and drop off the face of the internet. Right now I've decided to devote my time to adding new maps and game modes then come back to bots later.