Java-Gaming.org Java4K winners: [ by our judges | by the community ]         
Featured games (67)
games approved by the League of Dukes
Games in Showcase (∞)
games submitted by our members



News: Read the Java Gaming Resources, or peek at the official Java tutorials
 
    Home     Help   Search   Login   Register   
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
  Crusaders of Yore  (Read 4655 times)
0 Members and 5 Guests are viewing this topic.
Offline kevglass
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 5214
Medals: 49


Mentally unstable, best avoided.


« on: 2012-02-01 04:26:00 »

Hey all,

I've written quite a few games in the past but I've always had to beg, borrow (never steal Smiley) art for them. I thought it was about time I learnt enough to be able to produce my own art. My programmer art has always been pretty bad but I'm trying really hard to get good enough now. With a view to that I've been producing sprites for my potential next project, Crusaders of Yore.

Here's what the game looks like at the moment,



Here's what I've got so far, animations are walk, attack and intermittent idle (will played now again just to give motion).

























You can play the prototype if that helps for background, it's a turn based roguelike side scrolling thingy..

Flash: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1668516/shots/Crusader/as3/index.html
HTML5: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1668516/shots/Crusader/www/index.html

It's a bit bugged here and there. Press I for inventory. Yes, it's deployed in flash and HTML5, yes it is written in Java.

Feedback and suggestions appreciated, especially from the arty types who know about this sort of thing.

Cheers,

Kev

Offline kappa
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 2358
Medals: 59


★★★★★


« Reply #1 on: 2012-02-01 05:23:56 »

oh nice, your pixel art has massively gotten better since I last saw it. Really good stuff especially the animations.

The flash version feels a lot faster than the HTML5 version, like as if the timer is borked on one of them or something.

As for the dungeons, it is pretty easy to get lost once you get further in since everything looks the same. Might be nice to have various marks, cracks, signs, skeletons, etc on the walls/background so as to differentiate and make it easier to recognise the different area's.

Nice work so far.
Offline princec
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 8076
Medals: 91


Eh? Who? What? ... Me?


« Reply #2 on: 2012-02-01 05:46:17 »

+1 for vote of support and confidence, your spriting is looking nice. Game looks cool too.

Cas Smiley

Games published by our own members! Go get 'em!
Offline BenniBanni

JGO n00b
*

Posts: 17



« Reply #3 on: 2012-02-01 06:44:08 »

i really like the glowing eyes of the golem-idle-animation   Cool

Offline lincore

JGO n00b
*

Posts: 6
Medals: 1



« Reply #4 on: 2012-02-01 06:54:12 »

Cool stuff! I like the animations, very cute and smart. I think orientation would be easier if the "back stage" of your dungeon used a different tileset.
Offline Orangy Tang

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 2960
Medals: 37


Monkey for a head


« Reply #5 on: 2012-02-01 06:54:58 »

Looking good kev!

If you're doing more animation then I really recommend you get 'The animator's survival kit' ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animators-Survival-Kit-Richard-Williams/dp/0571238343/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1 )

It's really well written and interesting even if you're doing simple animation, and starts from the basics. Particularly useful for games is the huge section on walk cycles and how to post them to get away with the minimum amount of frames.

The art in it really reminds me how much I suck at drawing characters though.  Shocked

[ TriangularPixels.com - Play Growth Spurt, Rescue Squad and Snowman Village ] [ Rebirth - game resource library ]
Offline Christopher

Full Member
**

Posts: 108
Medals: 2



« Reply #6 on: 2012-02-01 07:05:08 »

Nice work Kev!

The skeleton is the winner.

Offline fruitmaze

Full Member
**

Posts: 156
Medals: 3



« Reply #7 on: 2012-02-01 09:02:32 »

Looks really nice! I love your graphical style. The wolf is my favourite I think. Looking forward to see more of this.
Offline Apo

Full Member
**

Posts: 172
Medals: 1



« Reply #8 on: 2012-02-01 09:08:06 »

I love the graphical style too in particular the golem.
Offline Preston

Sr. Member
**

Posts: 346
Medals: 2



« Reply #9 on: 2012-02-01 14:39:02 »

The sprites look really well and I like them. I like retro things in general, and that's why I usually like all your work, Kev.

Keep up the good work!


P.S. The HTML5 version doesn't work with my Firefox10 at the moment, but probably
because I've set too many restrictions for it?

Memento mori.
Games published by our own members! Go get 'em!
Offline teletubo
« League of Dukes »

Sr. Member
*****

Posts: 463
Medals: 17



« Reply #10 on: 2012-02-01 14:41:48 »


As for the dungeons, it is pretty easy to get lost once you get further in since everything looks the same. Might be nice to have various marks, cracks, signs, skeletons, etc on the walls/background so as to differentiate and make it easier to recognise the different area's.

I agree with that. A minimap would also be welcome. After entering a few doors I already had no idea how to walk back.

The game is nice, I think this might evolve to something really cool.

Offline aazimon

Full Member
**

Posts: 208
Medals: 5



« Reply #11 on: 2012-02-01 14:59:15 »

That looks cool. I like the design of the dungeons. It's a step above the flat side scroller look. Smiley
Offline Preston

Sr. Member
**

Posts: 346
Medals: 2



« Reply #12 on: 2012-02-01 16:40:05 »

Quote from: Preston
P.S. The HTML5 version doesn't work with my Firefox10 at the moment, but probably because I've set too many restrictions for it?
Cookies! With disabled cookies (my default) it won't run. But with enabled cookies your game runs in Html5 mode. A little bit out of sync sometimes, but it runs. Nice.

What exactly do you mean with the following, by the way?
Quote from: Kev
Yes, it's deployed in flash and HTML5, yes it is written in Java.

Memento mori.
Offline kevglass
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 5214
Medals: 49


Mentally unstable, best avoided.


« Reply #13 on: 2012-02-01 17:18:08 »

Thanks for all the feedback guys, much appreciated!

Quote
If you're doing more animation then I really recommend you get 'The animator's survival kit' ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animators-Survival-Kit-Richard-Williams/dp/0571238343/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1 )

Actually I already have that book at your recommendation a while ago Smiley It's helped a great deal but killed any belief I had in my own ability to draw. Smiley

The primary thing thats going to help with navigation is doors being open after you've used them. I'll probably be adding decoration as well of course. Just takes me such a long time to do the graphics Wink

Quote
What exactly do you mean with the following, by the way?
Quote from: Kev
Yes, it's deployed in flash and HTML5, yes it is written in Java.

I write all my code in Java, and I convert it into AS3 (for flash) and JS (for HTML5) automatically. I just wanted to make sure people didn't think I was posting non Java games! Smiley

Cheers,

Kev


Offline kevglass
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 5214
Medals: 49


Mentally unstable, best avoided.


« Reply #14 on: 2012-02-01 18:04:58 »

A new character tonight, a dark mage:



Cheers,

Kev

Offline ReBirth

JGO Wizard
****

Posts: 1272
Medals: 19



« Reply #15 on: 2012-02-01 19:34:45 »

When I tried the HTML5 ver, I just keep bleeding to death at start.

Offline ra4king

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 3153
Medals: 196


I'm the King!


« Reply #16 on: 2012-02-01 21:01:13 »

It's a sad day when a Java developer writes a game in Java.....and only posts Flash and HTML5 links..... Cry

On the other hand, great game! It was quite fun for the first couple minutes but then it got too repetitive Tongue

Offline Nyhm

Full Member
**

Posts: 143


Island Forge


« Reply #17 on: 2012-02-01 22:06:20 »

I love the graphics and style. The control was jittery for me (step-pause-step-step-pause). I'm in Ubuntu, and I know key events are signaled differently than in Win/Mac.

Not sure if this is the issue at all, but here's what I've found in Linux. When the user holds down a key in Win/Mac, a single key down event is signaled until the single key up event. Linux implements key repeat by actually signaling multiple key up/down events, even when the user is just holding down the key. There are ways to compensate, but it's not a good situation.

Offline dishmoth

JGO Ninja
***

Posts: 517
Medals: 19



« Reply #18 on: 2012-02-02 02:33:02 »

Very nice!  If I didn't know otherwise I would've assumed you'd recruited a pixel artist.

In the demo (Flash; didn't try HTML5) the walking animation seems too fast for the character's movement (possibly the same thing kappa commented on earlier).

Random suggestion: torches on the dungeon walls that light up when you enter a room.  That way you'd be able to see where you'd been, and you wouldn't know what's in the rooms ahead of you.

Simon

Offline kevglass
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 5214
Medals: 49


Mentally unstable, best avoided.


« Reply #19 on: 2012-02-02 04:26:17 »

When I tried the HTML5 ver, I just keep bleeding to death at start.

I've not been able to reproduce this. Were you moving at the time or just standing still. A few people have reported it on both versions so I'd really like to get it nailed down before the next update.

It's a sad day when a Java developer writes a game in Java.....and only posts Flash and HTML5 links..... Cry

On the other hand, great game! It was quite fun for the first couple minutes but then it got too repetitive Tongue

I'll post the Apple shortly. I didn't want to jump at the Applet as I guessed everyone here would just hit that one up and I'm expected to deploy in one of these two rather than Java this time. Game wise, yeah, it's just a demo of rendering/logic at the moment to check everything is working. Long way to go before it's a playable game.

I love the graphics and style. The control was jittery for me (step-pause-step-step-pause). I'm in Ubuntu, and I know key events are signaled differently than in Win/Mac.

I suspect this is more likely because it's turn based. It's not a run and jump, it's turn based adventuring so step-pause-step-pause is sorta how it's meant to play really. Take the point though, see if I can develop some way of smoothing stuff out most of the time.

Very nice!  If I didn't know otherwise I would've assumed you'd recruited a pixel artist.

In the demo (Flash; didn't try HTML5) the walking animation seems too fast for the character's movement (possibly the same thing kappa commented on earlier).

Random suggestion: torches on the dungeon walls that light up when you enter a room.  That way you'd be able to see where you'd been, and you wouldn't know what's in the rooms ahead of you.

Cheers for that, really taking a lot of time/effort on the graphics so I'm glad you're thinking they're ok Smiley The animation speed is just the first value I came up with at the moment so I'll play with the values.

Thanks all for the feedback. I have 3 more characters to create before I start working on the game again (and I'll post the Applet link any time now).

Cheers,

Kev

Offline xsvenson

JGO n00b
*

Posts: 31



« Reply #20 on: 2012-02-02 04:49:14 »

Very cute graphics, I specially like the zomp.

“The First Rule of Program Optimization: Don't do it. The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): Don't do it yet.” - Michael A. Jackson
Offline arielsan

Full Member
**

Posts: 120
Medals: 4



« Reply #21 on: 2012-02-02 08:13:24 »

Great pixelart graphics and skill.

Offline Christopher

Full Member
**

Posts: 108
Medals: 2



« Reply #22 on: 2012-02-02 08:18:48 »

A new character tonight, a dark mage:



Cheers,

Kev

OMG! 8 bit Orko!


Offline kevglass
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 5214
Medals: 49


Mentally unstable, best avoided.


« Reply #23 on: 2012-02-02 08:19:49 »

Heh, hadn't actually based it on him but I remember him from He-Man - sooooooo cool! Smiley

Cheers,

Kev

Offline Nyhm

Full Member
**

Posts: 143


Island Forge


« Reply #24 on: 2012-02-02 09:42:43 »

To clarify my prior comment, step-pause-step-pause is absolutely acceptable - I love that in retro-style games. However, the timing was all off for me. The crusader would sprint a couple of blocks, then stall until I tapped the button a couple more times to get him going. That's what made me think it was key event handling issues.

I can also confirm (but not diagnose) the HTML5 life-drain bug. As soon as I start, I begin to take damage seemingly from invisible enemies at random.

That said -- this game is super nifty, all around!

Offline Orangy Tang

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 2960
Medals: 37


Monkey for a head


« Reply #25 on: 2012-02-02 16:53:23 »

Thanks for all the feedback guys, much appreciated!

Quote
If you're doing more animation then I really recommend you get 'The animator's survival kit' ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animators-Survival-Kit-Richard-Williams/dp/0571238343/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1 )

Actually I already have that book at your recommendation a while ago Smiley It's helped a great deal but killed any belief I had in my own ability to draw. Smiley
Heh, I'd forgotten I'd recommended that before.

Once of my vauge resolutions for 2012 is to try and draw and/or write more, I should probably make a start on that at some point. Smiley

[ TriangularPixels.com - Play Growth Spurt, Rescue Squad and Snowman Village ] [ Rebirth - game resource library ]
Offline kevglass
« League of Dukes »

JGO Kernel
*****

Posts: 5214
Medals: 49


Mentally unstable, best avoided.


« Reply #26 on: 2012-02-02 17:42:16 »

New one for tonight, the orc:



Cheers,

Kev

Offline ReBirth

JGO Wizard
****

Posts: 1272
Medals: 19



« Reply #27 on: 2012-02-02 21:50:24 »

When I tried the HTML5 ver, I just keep bleeding to death at start.

I've not been able to reproduce this. Were you moving at the time or just standing still. A few people have reported it on both versions so I'd really like to get it nailed down before the next update.
When moving, like this
Quote
I can also confirm (but not diagnose) the HTML5 life-drain bug. As soon as I start, I begin to take damage seemingly from invisible enemies at random.

The orc looks like Rome troop... after infected :O

Offline gimbal

Full Member
**

Posts: 183
Medals: 11



« Reply #28 on: 2012-02-03 10:52:31 »

I'm loving those graphics - they make it look like an actual *game* and really invite you to want to play this.
Offline EveningNewbs

JGO n00b
*

Posts: 10



« Reply #29 on: 2012-02-03 11:48:10 »


I suspect this is more likely because it's turn based. It's not a run and jump, it's turn based adventuring so step-pause-step-pause is sorta how it's meant to play really. Take the point though, see if I can develop some way of smoothing stuff out most of the time.

I noticed that too, but it only bothered me in the beginning when there weren't any monsters or anything on the screen. When there were guys attacking me, the turn-based feel was fine and didn't seem laggy. Maybe make the movement smooth when there's nothing else on the screen? Looks promising so far, though.
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
 
 
Jump to:  


Add your game by posting it in the showcase section.

The first screenshot will be displayed as a thumbnail.

obsidian_golem 2012-05-23 10:14:50

Danny02 2012-05-21 17:10:34

Danny02 2012-05-21 17:07:10

Danny02 2012-05-21 16:56:12

davedes 2012-05-21 13:59:23

obsidian_golem 2012-05-20 20:28:41

darkjava55 2012-05-12 16:14:40

Ultroman 2012-05-12 09:36:05

Ultroman 2012-05-11 22:49:53

Ultroman 2012-05-11 22:20:01
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.16 | SMF © 2011, Simple Machines Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
Page created in 0.241 seconds with 19 queries.