Quote:Originally posted by mcgrue

So how's the project going? :D

It's going slower than I would like. I am currently recruiting sprite artists, tile artists, and musicians.

The graphics above are woefully obsolete. So don't worry, guys, You won't be playing such an ugly game.

Here is the first playable version. I don't even want to call it a demo yet. Hell, I hate even calling this thing Alpha. But it is playable, so it is therefore alpha. Read DeveloperNotes.doc for more info. My plan from here is to finish the maps in Cynthia (and perhaps, the wider Eagle lunar colony). I'll also work on the menus and the battle system too.

KUOP v0.0.1

Quote: Originally posted by Syn

Quote:Originally posted by Interference22


A collaboration would be great, although I'm quick to point out that there are absolutely no similarities between Kardashev (yadda-yadda..) and Perceptions.

Visually speaking, it's the use of violet, right? That's what you thought was similar. However, violet is purely optional: there are about 10 alternative colour schemes for the GUI in Perceptions, or you can make your own. Besides: I'm 640x480, he's 320x240. I needed a resolution that gave scope for detail without being an absolute nightmare.

As for the subject matter: yes, space features. Space features a lot in sci-fi simply because it's in between all the interesting places in the Universe and you can't push it out the way. Beyond that, I am chalk to GuruOfReason's cheese. I don't believe we'll have fucked up the planet by the 22nd century and Perceptions takes place in the present, opposed to the future. The central premise of Perceptions is that there's a thriving Universe up there already, one that Earth only plays a very small part of (not being particularly space-faring as we are at the moment). My story is about humans thrown into this, how they cope and how they eventually end up saving the whole galaxy.

Lol, you seem to have put more thought into this then I expected. When are we gonna see a demo of Perceptions? The teaser pics are not enough to satisfy our hunger. :)

I am also looking forward to it. I am heavily biased towards RPGs in scifi/futuristic settings. I'm not just that excited about RPGs in Medieval/fantasy settings, unless the game is really good. And I'm glad that a lot of thought is being put into this game.

Quote: Originally posted by Syn

Did a quick check of it and I see you have made some real progress. How much of the art is your work though, the art style seems to change a lot. Love the stick figure npcs, very cute. The main character NPC looks cool too.

None of those new graphics are mine, except for the bland text box. Those are some free RM2K(3) graphics that I found that I could convert to use for the game.

Originally posted by Syn

Btw, don't be shy about starting your own thread about this release. It is very justified in this case.

I want to wait until I have at least a Teaser demo out, which will have the completed menus, Fab system, and battle system. That demo would only be about 10 - 20 minutes long or so, but you would much better get the idea of how the game is played.

Snrk? Did I get a mention again. I suppose that's what happens when you don't visit v-rpg.com for weeks at a time. I was learning how to use Blender (http://www.blender3d.org), ok? Well, that and attempting to type without looking at the keyboard and lazing around.

Myself aside, your project looks to be coming along nicely. Do aim to use all your own art by the time you get to the point where you're considering releasing a demo. Trust me, when I started out I was utterly dismal in the art department. Want to see one of my early sprites? Here we go..



Bloody awful. I couldn't even get my characters to walk properly. Some practice, some research and a few months of pixelling later and I finally started knocking out some work I considered usable, like this:



It helps if you develop a health interest in computer art in general. Fiddle around with 3D modeling, doodle in Paintshop Pro, try out some freeware art packages, get yourself a stylus and doodle with that, download a vector drawing package like Inkscape and give that a go.

Most importantly, buy at least one of those "How to Draw Cartoons" books and some graphic novels: they'll help you get the hang of drawing people and give you a better understanding of shape and form. I personally recommend Christopher Hart's How to Draw Cutting Edge Comics and the graphic novels Watchmen, The Ballad of Halo Jones and all of Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan books

Finally, pick one good art package from the ones you've tried that's good at pixel art and stick with it: learn all it's ins and outs, all it's shortcuts and features, everything. Once you no longer have to concentrate on HOW everything works you can focus on what you want it to do.

Put simply, all of this idle messing around will help build up useful skills that will go towards making you an all-round better artist.

Oh, and one more thing: carry a little sketch book and pencil. Always. Even if you don't sketch much - you can jot ideas down into it at the very least. You never know when a stroke of genius will hit you.

And before I forget: lose the cyan textbox! Cyan?! Are you MAD? A subtle orange, maybe? Or British Racing Green? Hell, grey never fails me.

I'm using mauve: that works a little better.

As a basic tip, try this: start up MS Paint. Double-click on any of the colour boxes near the bottom. In the window that pops up you'll see a list of basic colours: never EVER use these colours (except black 'n' white, of course). Mix 'em, lighten 'em, darken 'em but NEVER use them as-is: they're horrid.