Katuko's Blog

Shortening development time is good!

Those of you who have been following my work-in-progress fan game already know that programming games is a lot of work. It's insanely fun to piece together a game, but it's still work, and work takes time. Now, I've got a lot of time on hands, sure, but sometimes I wish I could spend more time on some things and then have someone else to do the rest. So far I've been working alone on my game, because I am quite frankly the only one with enough insight into my own head to know how things should end up.

Still, I can't do it all myself. I might be a jack-of-all-trades of game-making, but I am not perfect. I could use some help in several places. That's where you come in.

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DISCLAIMER: I will be asking for some creative input on things such as map design in the list below. A natural process of game design is to brainstorm ideas, and there is always A LOT of ideas. Tons of them. So many that they can't all be used, and some are flawed from the get-go due to game balance, technical feasibility, etc. You are all free to post comments, critique and ideas; but please remember that I am in charge of this project, and as such I have the final say in what goes in-game or not.

I can say right off the bat that I will be sticking to the main Matoran Universe (the setting of BIONICLE from 2000-2008) and thus not include any direct Bara Magna references, alternate dimensions, crossover content, and so on.

Also note: This is a completely free game. There is currently no development cost, and there will be no income from the game even after it is 100% done. Therefore, I can't offer any payment to those of you who wish to contribute, but you will have my gratitude, a spot on the credits list, and the knowledge that you helped develop an awesome BIONICLE fan game. I hope that's enough.
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Now, for the list of what I do need help with. I will keep the list updated and cross off items as they get done.

IMPORTANT: All sprites must be made in the same style as the Rayg 2.5 sprite kit. Size, proportions, the amount of color shades, etc. are all vital. Even if you're not able to make that perfect sprite, though, your half-finished sprites can also be useful as a starting point for some other spriter!

Characters and item sprites

• Animation: Toa "hurt" pose, falling forwards and getting back up.
• Animation: Rahkshi "hurt" pose, falling forwards/backwards and getting back up.
• Animation: Rahkshi walking/running. (Proper leg poses, more Mask of Light styled)
• Some Kanohi do not have rotated views.
  
  • Toa-sized Kanohi Felnas
  • Matoran-styled "adapted" Akaku (Solek's mask)
• Basic melee weapons such as swords, axes, and so on. Please, nothing extravagant here.
  Just basic equipment, such as this.
• Nuva armor fitted to Rahkshi poses. This will require some reshaping of the armor itself since Rahkshi have wider torsos.

Graphical effects

• All sorts of energy beams and spheres, for use as attack graphics.

Map graphics and map design
Map design should seek to allow a variety of different characters. (A sky-based map with no ground to stand normally on is a bit limited, for example.) Sketches work, but a Photoshop-file with a finished map would be crazy awesome.

• Karda Nui: Improved graphics (swamp water, vegetation, vast cavernous backdrop, etc.)
• Kini-Nui: Mountain background, fores background for parallax scrolling, trees and vegetation.
• A sketch for the interior of the missing Ta-Koro fortress.
• Map layout sketches for other, generic maps you might think of.

Sound
IMPORTANT: Sound effects must be free of noise and scratches!

• Any missing sound effects for powers being used.
• Consistent male/female vocalizations such as grunts and yelps. No words required, just noises.

It's already been a few years now since I started work on BIONICLE Fighter. I went in with confidence and pride, as my kinda limited platform engine began to evolve into a proper game, and I could stand and say "yes, people actually like my game". And indeed, the game is good. It's got a lot of stuff to play around with, but there is also a major problem that's stuck for a while: "Playing around" is pretty much all you can do.

Current status of the game (version 12):

You pick your character, either Toa or Rahkshi. Each has a lot of cool powers to choose from. You can customize your character's color, and you can choose what mask and weapon they wield. There are a few maps to play on, with computer-controlled players that attack you and each other. One map even has a few Rahi, Exo-Toa and a boss to fight.

At no point are you able to actually win. You play until you get bored, that's it. The online multiplayer that I work my game balance around has not yet been implemented, despite a few connection tests I've run. Many powers have not been programmed yet, basic game features such as blocking and scoring points are not there, and I am lacking quite important graphic assets.

This is not a post saying I'll be giving up so don't get your panties in a twist yet.

What's become apparent is that my current game system is rather severly limited when it comes to adding new mechanics, because I wrote what I knew first and then forgot to make room for what was to come. Adding new character animations gets wonky, adding new character abilities are a hack, and I copy-paste way too much code to be efficient. Some people have trouble running my game properly, and the ones that do run it are probably waiting for some nice, major addition that makes this game even more awesome already.

So, we're going with an ENGINE REWRITE. (Yay!)

Why? Three reasons.
1) What is already in place can be reused, but also made more efficient.
2) There will be room for basic features that should have been there already (and new stuff).
3) I can more freely experiment while building the new engine, without breaking anything in the old one.


I have compiled a list of things that will change or get added in this new engine. Some things (such as missing elemental powers) might pop up in the old engine, in the meantime.

= Menu =

• In-game saved character list (as opposed to the pop-up file browser).
• Animated character/power preview.
• More options for setting game resolution etc.

= Characters =

• Stat points replaced by more balanced perks. (Details here.)
• More options for game modes etc. as these get added.
• Weapons and armor no longer cost points, but have other ups-n-downs.
• If sprite availability permits: More playable characters. (YOU, yes YOU, can help!)

= Gameplay =

• Blocking available. (Details here.)
• Different types of melee attacks. Sword slashes, axe swings, etc.
• New status effects that are missing, such as being slowed down or silenced.
• Darkness in unlit areas. Night vision and similar powers have a reason for existing.
• Kanohi no longer drain the energy bar. Instead, they use their own, separate bar. Rahkshi will use this bar to limit their natural flight time.
• Levitation will allow long jumps and gliding, but not the current form of "slow flight".
• Proper flight powers will be available.
• Knockback effects will not be so annoying and/or spammable.
• When knocked down, you will be able to choose when to get back up (with a short animation).
• Armor will be using a threshold for blocking damage instead of being a percentage reduction. This means that you will get more consistent damage reduction (always -20 damage points per attack taken, for example) instead of the current form that is highly variable depending on the incoming attack.
• Support for game controller/gamepad input for those who might prefer that.
• Jump-through platforms, moving platforms, etc. will be programmed from scratch.
• Ice physics/sliding fixed.

= Powers =

• With the change of stats into perks, the formula for calculating elemental/power damage will be simplified. Upgrading the relevant perk(s) might add new abilities for your particular power.
• A regular fire spray will no longer ignite spontaneously, while ice sprays will not freeze at random. Instead, the application of heat/frost causes these effects after a short while.
• Some Kanohi powers reworked to "burst" on and then have a short cool-down after being shut off. The mask cool-down will (unlike present) be separate from other powers.
• Due to stats being reworked, Toa and Rahkshi will both use the same way (perks) of increasing power. This will also make eventual in-game power-ups like the boss-dropped Overcharge affect Rahkshi properly as well.
• Some powers will be able to be charged for extra damage/effects. Disintegration, for example, is currently a fire-and-forget 100 damage beam. For balance purposes, this might have the base damage reduced but then be able to be charged to max depending on the Rahkshi's level.
• Some attacks may change a bit depending on the directional key pressed at the same time. For example, Up+Fireball could make the fireball fly in a short arc instead of zooming straight forwards.

While I rebuild my game in the shadows, I can continue to release content updates for the old engine. In the game topic I will also release small test files for you to give me feedback on. I have already done this with the Kanohi Kadin, a mask I know you have been wanting for a while. It's probably not going in the old engine due to issues with the movement, but I will make sure that such features are already in place once the new engine rolls about.

I will soon make separate blog entries for specific mechanics such as stats turning into perks, the idea behind blocking, new power/Kanohi behavior, and how network programming is coming along.

So. New name, and a logo. Discuss. Feel free to post sketches or drafts or whatever so that I don't do all the design here.

Yep, things that irk me about the BZPRPG. It should probably be noted that right now the ILS is the only thing keeping me in the game, because it's simply too big of a deal to let die, and I still enjoy the RPG at its core despite all its shortcomings.

Still, here's a list of things that annoy me.


1) Lack of description. People moving back and forth between villages in the span of three sentences, people writing IC without specifying which of their 30 characters they are using, people doing something important to the action at hand but not explaining exactly how, where, with what, when and to who.

2) Multiple actions in an extremely short time, when such actions would either overlap or trigger a response in-between. This includes stating two attacks in the same post without letting the first one take effect.

3) People making a bunch of characters and making them form the majority of a group. This game is about interaction, really, so making a lot of characters just to have them stick together in some special co-operation seems more fit for Short Stories to me.

4) Introducing new (story) elements specifically to counter another. Examples could be a character having their backstory amended to include knowledge of something that just popped up; OOC knowledge being used to equip a character specifically to face a threat they know will be coming; introducing characters so they can join the enemy of whomever is being fought by the player at the moment; etc.

5) Importing stuff directly from real life or other fiction works to the RPG. I've tried to tune myself to accepting more human physiology, more human science and terms, more human ways of culture... but to me it's just intrusions on the lore. Things like whiskey, potassium, suddenly human biology like skin or inner organs... even getting drunk in the first place I find questionable within the bounds of what we know of BIONICLE. While abolishing the gender restriction on genders is one thing that breaks canon, I'm perfectly fine with that. New custom Vortixx tech, and some new elements/powers, OK, because they are still made to fit into the established lore somehow. But porting stuff 1:1 over, like obviously human habits, clone characters and stuff? That just doesn't sit well with me given the MNOG-esque setting this game was supposed to have.

6) I'm also worried about the supposed romance in this game apparently having taken a bad turn lately. There is a good version of romance, I think, when it touches on character relationships and how they actually care for each other. But over the past few days I've noticed what I can only believe to be thinly veiled sex scenes interspersed here and there in Le-Wahi, in a certain bar. Fade-to-black or not, such scenes breaks the little immersion that is left in this game for me, because it seems at odds with the setting I've come to expect from BIONICLE. BIONICLE has been a breath of fresh air in the middle of a plethora of other fantasy and sci-fi stories because the main characters work so differently from us. But when it gets to the point where I can't tell if this is BIONICLE characters or just humans with magic powers, I'm a bit annoyed.


I've managed to ignore most of these things, though, and I will continue to play along with them given their existence in this game. That leaves me wondering why I just wrote all this, but a rant's a rant.

Hello and welcome to the Quest Board for the Island Liberation Squad! For the squad itself, click here.

This is list of what tasks our stellar team has been given, and their current status. If you have a quest to give, either post it here or PM me with it. Now, why are we taking on quests, you may ask? Why, to gain publicity (and possibly rewards) of course! So if you find yourself in need of warriors to protect your caravan, or to clear out Rahi, or to escort someone to a village, or whatever, really... then look no further!

The Island Liberation Squad: Liberating the island and it's people, one step at a time.



Active quests:

<None in particular>



Completed quests:

Toppling the Hive

Objective: Destroy the Nui-Rama hive that has stood firm in Le-Wahi for many hundred years.

Details: It has been stated that the biggest symbol of Makuta's influence in Le-Wahi is the Rama hive, filled with infected insects. In order to make a definite statement, the ILS planned to destroy it. In order to do this, they gathered warriors from all across the island. After a long battle, the hive was breached and burnt to the ground.

Current status:
- The hive has been completely destroyed by fire, leaving only a large clearing covered in ash. In the middle of it stands an object the flames could not devour: a black rock bearing the inscription "HIDDEN LINES".
- The kidnapped Turaga were encountered at the hive, having Parakuka attached to their backs. After their berserker rage was subdued, their unconscious forms were brought back to Pala-Koro until the ILS could figure out what to do.


Ko-Koro in need!

Objective: Fend off attackers in Ko-Koro and aid the village in rebuilding, since the Turaga is gone and the local Guard has been crippled by the attack.

Details: An avalanche has hit Ko-Koro, along with one or more explosions caused by attackers. Killers and looters run loose in the village, and a single Toa made her way from there to Lake Pala in order to ask the ILS for help. With Ko-Koro thus becoming the natural new destination for the squad, we immediately set out.

Current status: The Koro was mostly secured before the team arrived, but the group known as the Shadow Hapaka had kidnapped eleven Matoran and held them hostage for ransom. After a lengthy discussion, the Matoran were let free and a slightly smaller ransom paid.

It's been too long since the last update, again. This is mostly due to me not having finished the whole "mirrored sprite" issue, though I have decided to ignore it for now and just push this update out.

- Added Toa of Stone secondary power: Fracture. It causes stone spikes to jut out of the ground, but it can also create a row of spikes in the air as long as you hit something with the power pulse first.
- Players will now do a small jump out of water and lava.

Here's the maps I have been working on lately.

Kini-Nui (On top of Mangaia.)
Unnamed ice map

I'm lacking proper trees to put at the edges of Kini-Nui, as well as a proper mountain background. I will have to make those later. The ice map will be in the next version, at least, as soon as I'm done making a few small graphics for it (like a lever to open the fortress gate).

Just thought I should tell you the current progress on my game.

- Bots now have the ability to use the power of masks other than the Miru. Be prepared to face Toa with functional Pakari, Huna, Kakama, etc. in the next version.

- I'm working on making the sprites I need for players actually using their shields. Even if I don't finish those, I'll try to at least have the "ambidextrous player" problem solved. (No longer simply mirroring the sprites when changing direction.)


- A certain someone may soon be making an appearance.

To avoid cramping my signature, this post will hold the links to my story topics.

"Spaced Out"
A story about being alone, confused and cold. In space.

"Serenity"
Anger management is not this Rahkshi's strong point.

"Makuta's Sing-Along Blog"
No kidding. Song parodies galore!

To avoid cramping my signature, this post will be used for listing my art topics.

Humanized Lehvak-Va
Humanized Gahlok-Va
Lithree, Toa of Lightning
Leah, a Toa/Rahkshi hybrid

Non-BIONICLE stuff