Jittai's site

Review of Naruto Twerkalution

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:46:32 +0000

10 Twerk out of 10 Twerks

When you're born into Rock village and all it has is two buildings you have to do what you have to do to survive.
Twerk is life.

Relevant Video

Some updates, slow progress.

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:35:59 +0000

The basics of the game are done- everything is programmed in a branching fashion so literally adding content via changing variables around is all I have to do. That and some art work and such.

I've sat down and really refined the basics of the interface and it's usability. The interface now has an options menu and a really responsive resolution and full-screen system. I saw responsive because it adjusts to the largest size according to the player's monitor but remains in ratio.

Just on the interface alone I'm rather proud, avoiding the interface at all costs, even the top bar was a fun challenge.

Other than the interface a friend suggested using a DnD manual to add some creatures to the game. So I been working with some art as reference.

Slow progress. If anyone wants to help out with the art or even just ideas feel free.

My goal for the game is to pretty much make a multiplayer ADOM or ELONA, which is pretty much a multiplayer roguelike. I wanted to simplify things though so anyone could get into it.

As for game mechanics I'm not really focusing on a main background story (there is one but it's kind of not that big of a deal) instead I'd rather let the player have adventures.

The players will be able to travel across a world map to the number of towns across the continent and new randomized dungeons will occasionally appear on the open world.

I'm back, again.

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:53:33 +0000

Same old same old, been busy but kept an eye out.

Someone actually managed to host the game long enough for me to hop on and I suddenly realized my code did not age well compared to my knowledge of DM. All my shoddy work stared back at me in the face.

Soooooo, with a few minutes of work I was able to correct some glaring issues:

- Optimized a lot of the code with new techniques and things I have learned. (note to self don't neglect a project for a long time...)
-- This should have fixed the weird glitch of clothes being invisible on your equipment screen.
-- This should have fixed the failing load save for players.

- Fixed an issue with the combining system being VERY finicky due to a major oversight I never saw back then but know now involving grids and their updates.

- Fixed Maps not loading properly due to a lighting issue while forming the map.

- Fixed NPCs's AI breaking down.

(All of these updates and fixes are recorded in the update and fixes post.)

I was hoping issues like this would be reported, but what ever they're fixed now.

Guide To Hosting Stranded

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:49:11 +0000

Besides the basics of byond hosting involving port forwarding and the like Stranded has a few things you should keep in mind.

1. The map generation takes a hefty toll, saving and loading these maps don't. Which is why you can download a default map! If you want a unique map just hang in there and the generation will finish. It's smart to back up this initial file in case you enjoy it.

Default Map Download: Here.

2. Killing the server during the generation causes major issues such as unfinished maps being saved. You will have to restart the generation process if this occurs.

Atmospheric/Gas Behavior

Sat, 04 May 2013 20:12:57 +0000

DEMO: Download Here

So basically I made a thread asking what I could do to fix the issue*- but I think the issue stems from me just not doing it right. SO basically how would you program this system? I want it to fill rooms evenly and be effected by vacuums.

*The issue is the gas keeps on cycling non-stop AND doesn't work correctly when it has to fill a room near by which is a vacuum.

turf
    /*Oxygen
    Nitrogen
    Hydrogen
    CarbonDioxide*/

    var
        O2 = 0//Only using O2 atm, upon getting proper dispersion I'll handle multiple gas types
        H2 = 0
        CO2 = 0


    proc/Disperse(var/mother=null)

        spawn(1)
            //if(O2<=0) return

            var/list/directions = list(NORTH,SOUTH,EAST,WEST)//,NORTHWEST,SOUTHWEST,NORTHEAST,SOUTHEAST)
            var/turf/LeastPressure = null
            var/turf/MostPressure = null
            //Initially I had it disperse into all 8 directions evenly but this causes alot of CPU ussage
            //Then I got the idea to limit that to just the 4 cardinal directions and then one tile at a time.



            while(directions.len)
                //this portion checks the 4 cardinal tiles and checks which has the lowest ammount of "pressure"/"O2"

                var/DIR = directions[rand(1,directions.len)]
                var/turf/Ta = get_step(src,DIR)
                directions -= DIR
                if(Ta)
                    var/dense=0
                    for(var/obj/A in locate(Ta.x,Ta.y,Ta.z)) if(A.density>0) dense++
                    if(Ta!=mother && dense<=0 && (Ta.O2>O2) && (abs(O2-Ta.O2)>=1) && !(MostPressure && MostPressure.O2 > Ta.O2)) MostPressure=Ta
                    if(Ta!=mother && dense<=0 && (Ta.O2<O2) && (abs(O2-Ta.O2)>=1) && !(LeastPressure && LeastPressure.O2 < Ta.O2)) LeastPressure=Ta

            if(LeastPressure)//handles the transfer and sets up both tiles involved to re_transfer
                var/O2transfer = round(((O2-LeastPressure.O2)/2)+0.5)
                LeastPressure.O2 += O2transfer
                O2 -= O2transfer
                IconDisperse()

                LeastPressure.IconDisperse()
                LeastPressure.Disperse(src)

            if(MostPressure)
                var/O2transfer = round(((MostPressure.O2-O2)/2)+0.5)
                MostPressure.O2 -= O2transfer
                O2 += O2transfer
                IconDisperse()

                MostPressure.IconDisperse()
                MostPressure.Disperse(src)

Review of Tales of Judgement

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:40:10 +0000

I had this review sitting on the back burner mostly cause the game went down pretty fast. I then thought even though players can't check the game out themselves maybe this review could still help the developer.

This game is still is the early alpha stages but there's some charming potential.

I like the combat system, so far as it feels really unfinished, but it feels odd. I'm not sure what is planned but even the archer has to be with-in punching distance to attack. I kind of wished they had mega-man-esque like projectiles and having players dodge it and such. The combat system is making use of walking around so I'm hoping projectiles and dodging and such are planned. One thing I don't really like is the need to defend/block in order to build up what are pretty much "action points". Kind of breaks the flow down to literally taking turns. Those kind of side-scrolling mechanics beg for a face paced beat-em-up feel.

Another thing that glares at me is the graphics, they're the same old RPG-Maker stuff. I understand not everyone can whip up some icons- but I still think, even crudely - unique icons have way more grace than just using open libraries.

At the moment it looks like all the "portals" lead to the same interior where you fight chickens. I'm guessing this is just the early stages but it's still worth trying out just to check out the battle system.

Some suggestions I would make is to move the chat box out of the map element, there's room for it I think. Some of the text is also a bit wonky.
Overall, while not a bad start to a game, I think they need to really work on that battle system as it could be a very fun experience.

Review of Zen

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:37:31 +0000

Dis gai Yatpat link me his gam he say he like me revews but 2 b honest the ding is BAD it look lik he make it thru a week or something but he say my revew gud so dis gam greet play now pls n gib monie to him but i wan 10% for be manager n if u r mad right now or have not stopped reading good job you have been on the internet before.

Yutput did really ask me to take a gander at Zen and I was humbled if you consider flailing my arms back and forth patting my cheeks making a noise like a dying rabbit "humbled". Joking, I would never make a noise like that. The game is sadly well made, I say sadly cause he made it in a week and he himself warns people about downloading it's open source as it is "bad programming". This is all very sad because it's designed, made, and looks better than I'd say over 60% of Byond's games. I don't want to go on a rant/tangent here but do people just not have standards?

Anyway, the game's art is simple but works as it's all made by the same person in the same style proving yet again uniform style is a big factor in making things look good. The interface is very bare-bones but it removes a lot of the ugliness of default byond, but I think the interface background color could be changed still.

In this game you never see a tabs area OR a pop up alert as everything is done with mouse drag/drop, clicks, the numerical keys, shift, and the movement keys. Overall good controls scheme, I never had to really shift where my hands were or let go of the mouse. I do wish you could scroll through your hot slot bar though.

Combining things to make other things, the core or key mechanic of the game itself you either have to "push" (shift + movement keys) dense blocks into each other or drag and drop items onto other items. I REALLY like the "push" system, it's fun and feels very "kinetic" and a creative way to do this. Besides the fact I accidentally made a few furnaces and didn't see any way to undo them it is a solid game mechanic.

The only issue comes from a common issue in combining systems, something even minecraft would have if their craft windows weren't a grid. In this game you can drag and drop items in order to combine, however the fact recipes were determined by which order you dragged things onto others and the ultimate limit of having two items per recipe is severely bad for future content and playing as is. This is not THAT big of a deal, but once you have A onto B makes C, but B onto A makes D it gets a bit odd. From that recipes can get a bit weird and convoluted, recipes should sort of make sense; like in minecraft all tools use wooden handles in the form of sticks. Speaking of minecraft and sticks, you can use sticks and any items to kill things or break blocks in minecraft, tools just do the same thing just better. This system works a lot smoother than one tool one use.

These type of games strive on experimentation and exploration, you want to initially survive to see what's around you but you can't right away cause for whatever reason mechanics makes exploration too difficult with no items, so you get items and make shelter; and at this point the player is introduced into the game's mechanics and feels like they accomplished a great thing. From that point the player enters a cycle of survive to explore and explore to survive which eats a massive amount of time and is hopefully enjoyable. Besides the first few things I made by experimentation I could not kill the bad guy who kept chasing me at night so I had to rely exclusively on the guide in order to figure out what things made what which kills a large portion of what makes the game fun.

The issue with the recipe and their mechanics is actually a really hard problem to figure a solution for and really is not that game breaking of an issue. Zen is still fun and you can easily pour hours of your time into it.

Kin I has GM? A review series!

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:24:29 +0000

Disclaimer: For those of you that have seen my experiment by using a hub to keep all my reviews in order (at least for my self)
I've decided that format wasn't really working so I'll just post the reviews on the game's respective hubs instead.

Anyway, I'll be reviewing games I feel like trying out- there is no real criteria for how I choose
what to review,anything that catches my eye or new games is pretty much it.

For the first few reviews I picked some games I found interesting
and some that I didn't think I'd enjoy and reviewed them, I think, fairly.

Reviews can be found Here.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Review of Land Of Legends

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:16:05 +0000

I will openly admit that I don't particularly enjoy role-play games. I find the idea of having to write out what a simple game mechanic/system can handle in a second using numbers/variables/parameters much more appealing. With that said land of legends at least looks decent and handles well enough. I even enjoined my short time alive as a drug addicted shitty thief wolfman.

Upon looking at the creation screen, although pretty barren looks nicer and more stylized than a multitude of buttons and arrows for what kind of spikey hair you want. However, upon trying to click the other races I found I was unable to. I had to click cancel after selecting a race to go ahead and select another race. To clarify, upon clicking a race on the top of the window, to view and potentially select another race you have to click cancel on the bottom of the screen then click the desired race. Seems a bit redundant/clucky when you could just click the other races outright.

I like the look of the GUi/HUD elements, it's a shame with the window minimized I didn't see them until I realized via text being cut off that there was a crap-ton of hud I was not seeing. Speaking of crap ton of HUD/GUI, each one sets the player into a specific "mode" for doing something, such as "pick-up mode" or "combat mode". Again, feels a bit clunky, there are corresponding keys on the keyboard for each HUD so you don't have to go around clicking but they seem to be all over the keyboard. The point of multiple forms of controls is to make it easier for anyone's preferred input; both ways seem "meh" at best.

I like the removal of the bar at the bottom of the window, it's always an eye-sore BUT there's a reason for it being on the bottom- or maybe I'm just used to the default bar, but I think the hover-over-name-bar (for a lack of a better name) would work better bellow the map element.

Now I tell you the story of Jittai Jackalsmasher the Wolfman. I spawned in naked, but furry, so I guess it's an even trade off. The game tells me my particular race is suggested for only experienced roleplayers as I can ruin other's experience. "Well shit... I wish the game warned me." I thought. I didn't read the entire race description but perhaps the game needs to have some red text in race selection to warn you.

Anyway, I seemed to have spawned in a snowy area next to a polar bear, so I proceeded to engage it in "role play combat" as it was a NPC I didn't see a point in calling it a son of a whore or anything trashy; I tried clicking it with combat mode on but from what I can tell once you click it once you just sit there as you both start to bleed mildly to higher levels of bleed'ness. This is extremely boring and not at all engaging, even for a roleplay game the bear doesn't "lunge at you with it's towering body" or anything it just "attacks" you.

I proceeded to run with my literal tail in between my legs, in to the jaggedly bordered forest nearby. I suggest the author find some tile-joining libraries to mellow out those harsh transitions. I forage for mushrooms and as it turns out some of them get you high. I kept eating them and was pleasantly surprised to find that my entire screen rotated ever so often causing me to stumble and even walk upon the same chest over and over. I decided to loot this chest and took all of whatever was inside. I stumbled on two more chests and looted them as well to pay for my expensive drug habits.

I wandered into what appeared to be a manmade road and home in search of adventure I only found one angry as fuck priest who attacked me right away, so I decided to put up my dukes. I proceeded to bleed horrifically and run like a wuss only to finish bleeding out a few tiles away from the church dropping all my drugs and gold and loot.

R.I.P.
Druggy Thief Wolfman.
R.I.P.

All jokes aside, the game looks decent enough. The art and pixel work could use a bit more work on them and the login message states the author is looking for artists. However, the controls are just "ugh" and other noises a dying man make.

The controls need a lot of streamlining in my opinion they are really clunky and annoying to use- especially when handling picking up items and eating them to get high, having to cycle though pick-up mode, inventory windows and eat mode.

Overall, I like the feel of the game and it has a decent enough style, but the interfacing issues and game controls really break the flow of the game. The mechanics and systems are there so they should be refined.

Review of Box Zombies

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:14:18 +0000

I'll keep this simple and awesome, like this particular game. The pixel-based mechanics are really smooth and shuts up people spewing the myth of "omg dat lag u". On top of it is myth shattering it is a fun time sink.

Clean. Simple. Fun. These are things you want when making a game, and Falacy, say what you will, always brings the polish (no that's not people from Poland).

It plays very similar to Realm of the Mad God and that is fine and dandy- as there's a few mechanics and stylistic differences to set them apart.

Even with it being pretty well polished there's "coming soon" and "in the works" notations but progress seems a little slow- and quick peak into the forums section reveals a 3D version on unity which looks appealing.

Personally I like the current 2D hectic feel. If you're ever bored at work making money or bored in school learning, just play this instead.