Bionicle Fighter: Broken Virtues

[Katuko]

I think the Rahi Tamers might be way more powerful than the other two. Also, if you ever make a Mahri Nui map, a water-based rahi mount would be great.

It may sound like that, but I think the Guard's squad ability can easily be just as powerful, especially if upgraded to have the max of 4 Matoran at 80% of your normal health each, with powered weapons in hand.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Katuko

[Shadowhawk]

Well, I just... had a bit of spare time on my hands, and thought I'd renounce my lurker ways with regard to this project, and come right out and publicly add my name to your fan list. Expect actual feedback from me in future; I've been following this game and its corresponding discussion thread since, oh, the 11.0 version or something like that. A long time.

I guess for starters, I'd just like to sincerely congratulate you on the positively splendid game you've got here, even though it's still very much in development. It's provided many enjoyable hours for me (and my younger siblings), and just keeps on getting better and better with each new update. I've dabbled in GameMaker myself (fun, but more than a bit of a headache), and so I really feel a lot of admiration for someone who not only has had the ambition and inspiration to start creation of a game of this caliber, but has had the skill and drive to keep going. Keep it up, man!

Two minor questions/comments/suggestions I've got concerning the most recent update...

• I've noticed that bot Toa of Plantlife and Psionics don't use their new secondary powers during gameplay. Is this something that just... somehow happens due to coding intricacies, or did you unintentionally forget to 'grant access' to said powers? Seems kinda unusual, because Toa of Iron use the new secondary quite often.
• Would it be possible to have bot fighters go stand on health pads when they're not actively engaged in combat? As it is, they just... stand there, even when a source of life is only a few steps away. Very unrealistic, and as it doesn't seem like it would be terribly hard or time-consuming to integrate a fix into the next update, I just thought I'd bring it up.

Also, for what it's worth, I might mention that, up until a few months ago, I was running BIONICLE Fighter on an old Windows XP (Service Pack 3) desktop. It did quite well, even with a reliable-but-hopelessly-elderly CPU and hard drive. A fairly significant bit of lag, and, on occasion, a few freeze-ups due to lots of particle explosions and stuff, but not at all unplayable or unenjoyable. Interestingly, the PC ran the game much better after each new game update; I suppose the glitch-ridden early code itself was a bigger problem for performance than the graphics?

 

Just thought you might be interested in knowing that, yes, your game could potentially function properly on Windows XP.

[Katuko]

I guess for starters, I'd just like to sincerely congratulate you on the positively splendid game you've got here, even though it's still very much in development. It's provided many enjoyable hours for me (and my younger siblings), and just keeps on getting better and better with each new update.

Thank you for the positive feedback. Always love getting that.

 

I've noticed that bot Toa of Plantlife and Psionics don't use their new secondary powers during gameplay. Is this something that just... somehow happens due to coding intricacies, or did you unintentionally forget to 'grant access' to said powers? Seems kinda unusual, because Toa of Iron use the new secondary quite often.

Ah, yes, that's an oversight. Toa of Plant Life were supposed to use their new power, but I keep powers restricted to players only while doing initial testing. That way, if there is an error that causes a game crash, I can be there to observe it rather than have the event happen off-screen and force me to guess at the exact time it occurred.

 

The Psionic shield is a bit iffy with the current AI, though, so I've kept that off deliberately.

 

Would it be possible to have bot fighters go stand on health pads when they're not actively engaged in combat? As it is, they just... stand there, even when a source of life is only a few steps away. Very unrealistic, and as it doesn't seem like it would be terribly hard or time-consuming to integrate a fix into the next update, I just thought I'd bring it up.

The current AI is marked in my game files as "obj_bot_mindless", as the only thing it really cares about is proximity to the player. I've been planning to replace the AI with a stack-based system, which would put "tasks" in a queue and lead to more realistic behavior. For example, I could make the AI enter "attack mode" based on proximity to the player, but if they have no target or if they're low on health they'd pop "find health" into the stack instead. I can technically do this without making such AI states, but it's hard to do when the AI is currently hardwired to actually "turn off" when no enemies are nearby. You can see this in the Toa Mata: Even though I've tried to force them to fly upwards when they drop below the main platform, they still sink and die in lava if they lose their line of sight to the nearest enemy.

 

Interestingly, the PC ran the game much better after each new game update; I suppose the glitch-ridden early code itself was a bigger problem for performance than the graphics?

The code is still incredibly unoptimized, but I suppose I have managed to do *some* improvements. AI, "heat-seeking" attacks and particle effects are currently the heaviest things to run in-game. I hope to optimize everything a lot more when I make the new game engine from scratch, as I've learned many things in the few years that have passed since I started this project.

 

...And before then, I tried and failed to make this game when I first found GameMaker. I'll show you guys, actually, if I still have the project files.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Katuko

[JacobLazer]

So do you plan on using different Matoran body types?

[Tattorack]

Xian Fe-Matoran/weapons engineer.

Can make basic weapons for himself.

Can upgrade equipted weapons.

Should take time to upgrade a weapon of course (longer depending on weapon power?)

[Toa Of Anarchy]

out of curiosity, when do you think the game would be finished?

I'm not impatient or anything, I just wonder when the servers will be online.

[Katuko]

So do you plan on using different Matoran body types?

Yes, so long as I have animations for them. Currently I only have proper animations for the original Matoran forms.

 

Xian Fe-Matoran/weapons engineer.

Can make basic weapons for himself.

Can upgrade equipted weapons.

Should take time to upgrade a weapon of course (longer depending on weapon power?)

Sounds a bit like what is planned for the current Worker/Craftsman repair power perks., but it could conceivably be made into a more specific ability if we figure out how to control it.

 

 

out of curiosity, when do you think the game would be finished?

I'm not impatient or anything, I just wonder when the servers will be online.

Honestly, I have no clue about development time. I work very sporadically and I am bad at networking. Edited March 25, 2014 by Katuko

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

When I download the zip, it unzips into a new zip file which then unzips into the original zip file, and so on and so forth. Is it because I am using a mac?

[Tattorack]

When I download the zip, it unzips into a new zip file which then unzips into the original zip file, and so on and so forth. Is it because I am using a mac?

You'll only find a windows executable in there.

Yes, sometimes Mac treats it like a compressed file (depending what unzipprogram you use).

If you want to play this game I suggest you get WineHelper from Darwine. Or get an app that can make bottles for windows programs.

Or even better; Parallels Desktop.

[Katuko]

Is it because I am using a mac?[/color]

The game only supports Windows, so I don't know how Mac would treat the executable. Tattorack's suggestion is probably right on.

[Tattorack]

Tattorack's suggestion is probably right on.

 

I had two Macs and tried all those solutions ^^

(Now I'm stuck on a Windows 8 I'm slowly more and more want to find some throat to squeez in its programming )

[Katuko]

The HUD is getting an upgrade.

 

 

Click here for more work-in-progress bars. I'm still not entirely set on how I want the HUD to look. I kinda want to integrate the actual HP numbers somewhere, rather than tacking them on to the end of the bar like it currently works. I could go the traditional RPG route and stick the number on top of the bar itself, in the center.

 

I'll be trying out some effects to make it more clear when you're taking damage, such as adding a flame overlay to the healthbar when you're on fire. It will show lost HP as a bright white or yellow segment on the bar, similar to many fighting games. I was thinking that when your HP is refilled or drained by something like the Kanohi Avsa, the bar would gain a small effect to show energy flowing into the end of it. When you get frozen in ice, the bar could show a frost overlay, which would then flash and spawn a few particles if you take critical damage from your ice cage being broken. These effects would be optional. The currently glossy overlay would also be optional, as well as the hatch marks, I imagine.

 

Note that I plan to make the hatch marks a bit dynamic, so that each represents maybe 20 HP and you'd therefore have more or less of them depending on your max HP. I can also have options for varying sizes, so that 10-20 HP marks are small and 50/100 marks are big. I've also made two sizes of the bar, for optional small/large HUD variants.

 

And of course, I've tested some looks for the energy bar where it changes color based on which element/power you wield. It works surpisingly well with a simple gradient.

 

The old engine will keep using its current HUD. The new engine will have the following elements ("optional" means it is not a big priority and that there'd be an option to turn it off):

 

TOP-LEFT:

Health bar

Main power bar (elemental energy)

Kanohi/special power bar

Optional: Player avatar, element logo, etc.

When needed: Air supply bar fades in near the healthbar.

Optional: Horizontal temperature bar (fades out when neutral)

 

Optional: Vertical temperature bar (fades out when neutral)

 

TOP-CENTER:

Time left of match and/or other objective info

 

TOP-RIGHT:

Objective items/icons (Keystone, overcharge, and so on)

Current score and position on the scoreboard

If active: Mini-map of sorts, such as for the Kanohi Arthron, Elda, etc.

 

BOTTOM-RIGHT:

Equipped weapon(s). Optional: Name and/or item icon. Durability, power active yes/no indicator, ammo/energy level (for weapons with ammo, weapons that can be charged, etc.)

Durability and potentially other minor info about weapon/armor/shield

 

CENTER-LEFT: Multiplayer chatbox and other such features.

 

CENTER-RIGHT: Optional: Current stat list and/or active effects

 

 

These are open for change and could potentially be modular or have multiple styles available.

 

 

Any thoughts about this stuff?

[TERIDAX941]

I like it. I'm really glad about the fact that the Kanohi won't drain your elemental energy anymore... especially when you're using a really power draining mask like the Kraahkan... but yeah, I'm all for it.

[JacobLazer]

seems pretty cool! I can't wait to see it in action!

You might want to create another icon to indicate gear for Skakdi or Vortixx.

[Katuko]

I'm thinking the bar for Kanohi/special power would have an icon that looks like the equipment using it. The Kanohi would just use the front angled Rayg sprite; maybe I'll use Chimoru or something for big versions. Chimoru could work rather well for a generated avatar of the player as well, in lieu of someone selecting their own.

Edited March 31, 2014 by Katuko

[Shadowhawk]

So much awesome; cannot even decide on my favorite health/energy bar style... although I do tend towards the more 'lean-and-mean' ones. I've never cared much for 'in-your-face' HUDs, as ironic as that may seem.

Other than that, I guess I really don't have any comment. It all looks great from a graphical standpoint, and from what you've outlined, should work pretty good in actual gameplay as well.

[JacobLazer]

I'm thinking the bar for Kanohi/special power would have an icon that looks like the equipment using it. The Kanohi would just use the front angled Rayg sprite; maybe I'll use Chimoru or something for big versions. Chimoru could work rather well for a generated avatar of the player as well, in lieu of someone selecting their own.

Chimoru would definitely be a good choice, particularly Chimoru R

[Tattorack]

Those health/energy bars certainly look good, but hmmm.... they don't look very Bionicle-ish...

[Katuko]

The shiny effect might be a bit out of place, but it'll be optional. Apart from that I tried making a slanted rectangle bar, but while it looked more "technical" it also looked kinda meh. I honestly just kinda threw together an updated version of the current bars (rounded rectangle tool, lol) and that's it. If anyone have suggestions for a better interface, I'm open for suggestions.

[Arzaki]

The shiny effect might be a bit out of place, but it'll be optional. Apart from that I tried making a slanted rectangle bar, but while it looked more "technical" it also looked kinda meh. I honestly just kinda threw together an updated version of the current bars (rounded rectangle tool, lol) and that's it. If anyone have suggestions for a better interface, I'm open for suggestions.

Maybe something like the HUD from Bionicle: The Game?

[Makuta Luroka]

Matoran text, perhaps? Or what Arzaki just said. I was about to say that anyway.

[Tattorack]

The shiny effect might be a bit out of place, but it'll be optional. Apart from that I tried making a slanted rectangle bar, but while it looked more "technical" it also looked kinda meh. I honestly just kinda threw together an updated version of the current bars (rounded rectangle tool, lol) and that's it. If anyone have suggestions for a better interface, I'm open for suggestions.

Hmmmm.... I'll think of something and post it up.

Not like the HUD is a big problem, don't get the wrong drift ^^

[Katuko]

Maybe something like the HUD from Bionicle: The Game?

It's been considered, but it requires a lot more drawing ability from my side to make special shapes etc. look good.

 

Matoran text, perhaps? Or what Arzaki just said. I was about to say that anyway.

Definite no to Matoran text.

[Jedi Knight Krazy]

Maybe something like the HUD from Bionicle: The Game?

Yeah, I think the best way to get a Bionicle-y looking HUD is to use Bionicle parts as HUD elements.

[Tattorack]

I got some designes, will post them later tonight (some based on hexagons).

Edited April 1, 2014 by Tattorack

[Arzaki]

 

Maybe something like the HUD from Bionicle: The Game?

It's been considered, but it requires a lot more drawing ability from my side to make special shapes etc. look good.

I might try a few designs. Paint.net is your friend.

[Tattorack]

I might try a few designs. Paint.net is your friend.

 

And what about Gimp???

 

Anyway, got some concepts jotted down.

Obviously too big, and things need changing should anyone be intrested, but like I said; concept.

 

 

 

 

[Arzaki]

 

I might try a few designs. Paint.net is your friend.

 

And what about Gimp???

 

Anyway, got some concepts jotted down.

Obviously too big, and things need changing should anyone be intrested, but like I said; concept.

 

 

 

 

 

That's actually really cool and probably better than my idea XD

I really like that third one.

 

Anyway, here's mine. I was planning on each bar having it's own tool, but I ended up just putting them all in Kpaka's sword. Also, sorry for messy writing. I forgot there was a text tool.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Flamewing Studios

[Katuko]

Obviously too big, and things need changing should anyone be intrested, but like I said; concept.

The zig-zag hexagon patterns may be a bit too much, but I like the style of that third one. Would it be possible to do something similar with the bars in a few different layouts?

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

 

Is it because I am using a mac?[/color]

The game only supports Windows, so I don't know how Mac would treat the executable. Tattorack's suggestion is probably right on.

 

Thank you, I'll just download it on my PC. (My school gives all students macs to do schoolwork, so I probably shouldn't be trying to download it onto it anyways...)

[Tattorack]

 

Obviously too big, and things need changing should anyone be intrested, but like I said; concept.

The zig-zag hexagon patterns may be a bit too much, but I like the style of that third one. Would it be possible to do something similar with the bars in a few different layouts?

 

Sure, no problem! I can also make a frozen version of it (for when the guy is frozen) but I'm not so sure about fire, do you need it animated?

Also, I need dimensions, how many pixels long and wide would be ideal for each bar? Should I make one empty version of the life bar along with a full version or is just an empty one good enough? How many pixels between the small dividers? (the ones that measure 20hp).

Edited April 2, 2014 by Tattorack

[Katuko]

Great, thanks.

 

I was thinking that the effects would be applied only to the bar itself, as a sort of texture. It's therefore not necessary to freeze the entire HUD over, and it does not need to be animated. I can just move the texture a bit with code if needed.

[Tattorack]

Great, thanks.

 

I was thinking that the effects would be applied only to the bar itself, as a sort of texture. It's therefore not necessary to freeze the entire HUD over, and it does not need to be animated. I can just move the texture a bit with code if needed.

Ok, so thats one healthbar, one elemantalbar, one maskbar, one weaponbar and one armourbar?

I also need to know the ideal dimensions.

[JacobLazer]

We all know that InnerRayG made the popular RayG Bionicle sprite kit. What many of might not know, however, is that he also made a Halo sprite kit, which is extremely similar to its Bionicle counterpart. I took a couple weaopns from this kit to maybe include in BF. Click here to see them!

[Katuko]

I've been thinking that the top-left corner of the screen will have the essential character health and energy levels:

- Health bar

- Main elemental energy bar

- Kanohi/special energy bar

 

The air and temperature bars would be separate. They could be either horizontal or vertical, I imagine, and fade in top-center or center-left when needed. Potentially I'd even just remove the temperature bar and use a small "it's getting hot/cold" type of icon instead.

 

The lower-left will have equipment stats. A somewhat slim frame containing space for a weapon icon plus its current stats (as in, durability and charge/ammo level) would work nicely. Armor would show durability plus maybe its damage threshold as a simple number. I'm not certain about Kanohi, but I'm thinking that while an icon might appear next to the energy bar, their durability etc. should be kept along with the other equipment boxes. Mockups:

 

Box testing

In an actual HUD setting

 

The resolution of each could probably be done in at least two sizes; one for smaller screens and one for bigger ones. The current health bar is roughly 200 pixels wide without the icon, while the larger bar is about 300. The weapon bars have been roughly 100 pixels. Still, if it looks good and is not too intrusive, it will probably work.

 

 

EDIT: I dunno about Halo weapons. I am stretching it a bit already by possibly including elemental blaster weapons, and I try to avoid using items from other games directly.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Katuko

[TERIDAX941]

I like it! Can't wait to see it all in action!

[JacobLazer]

I like how you used the Chimoru mask for the HUD, But that's going to be a problem for masks that haven't yet been made in Chimoru.

 

 

EDIT: I dunno about Halo weapons. I am stretching it a bit already by possibly including elemental blaster weapons, and I try to avoid using items from other games directly.

 

Granted, but I like the idea of a Gravity-based weapon. It might be fun if more elements could be used in weapons, given that the only elemental weapons so far are either Ice or Fire.

 

Edit: Just a couple comments on the AI...

• When they are in water and they aren't targeting anyone, they let themselves sink and eventually drown.
• They never use the Olmak power

... and a comment from my friend, who was watching me play for a couple minutes. "the healing pad is the same as a spawn point? That's just ASKING for spawn kills!"

I kinda agree with him on that. When he said it, I was playing as a Toa of Psionics and I had the emanate ability activated with a set of throwing knives and every time an enemy appeared, they were instantly taken out.

Edited April 3, 2014 by JacobLazer

[TERIDAX941]

 

... and a comment from my friend, who was watching me play for a couple minutes. "the healing pad is the same as a spawn point? That's just ASKING for spawn kills!"

I kinda agree with him on that. When he said it, I was playing as a Toa of Psionics and I had the emanate ability activated with a set of throwing knives and every time an enemy appeared, they were instantly taken out.

I confess I am guilty of such an actions while being a Toa of Psionics also haha

[Katuko]

I like how you used the Chimoru mask for the HUD, But that's going to be a problem for masks that haven't yet been made in Chimoru.

If we can make custom sprites in Rayg style, I am sure we can make custom sprites in Chimoru style as well. I've just never used the kit before, so I haven't had a reason to do so.

 

Granted, but I like the idea of a Gravity-based weapon. It might be fun if more elements could be used in weapons, given that the only elemental weapons so far are either Ice or Fire.

Well, as I've mentioned before, every element will be given a power related to itself that can be channeled through weapons that don't come with a specific power. There are shock and light weapons, by the way. The Rahkshi Staff also probably counts as elemental. But I hear you, more weapons with a specific element might be a thing.

 

Edit: Just a couple comments on the AI...

• When they are in water and they aren't targeting anyone, they let themselves sink and eventually drown.
• They never use the Olmak power

The whole deal with AI that shuts off the moment they lose their target is a major problem, but it will hopefully be improved by rewritten (state-based) AI sometime in the future. Same goes for the Olmak power, since I couldn't find a good way to have the AI use it without it seeming too overpowered. I wanted to have them spawn one portal in a relatively dangerous place, and another a short distance in front of you, but since they did this without having to stop and aim it ended up as way annoying. I'll play around with having them use a delay while placing portals, but then I'll also have them stop doing what they do with, well, drowning themselves or something because they stop doing whatever life-preserving activity they did before aiming.

 

... and a comment from my friend, who was watching me play for a couple minutes. "the healing pad is the same as a spawn point? That's just ASKING for spawn kills!"

I kinda agree with him on that. When he said it, I was playing as a Toa of Psionics and I had the emanate ability activated with a set of throwing knives and every time an enemy appeared, they were instantly taken out.

Spawn camps ahoy, yeah. The healing pads will be gone later in development, after I balance the amount of healing you get from killing enemies. It was supposed to spawn health based on how much damage you caused (so that killing an enemy from full health would yield you more healing than if you finished off someone who had 5 HP left) but right now it seems to just spawn a random amount anyways.

[Makuta Luroka]

 

I like how you used the Chimoru mask for the HUD, But that's going to be a problem for masks that haven't yet been made in Chimoru.

If we can make custom sprites in Rayg style, I am sure we can make custom sprites in Chimoru style as well. I've just never used the kit before, so I haven't had a reason to do so.

I have a Rode sprite in Chimoru R.

 

... and a comment from my friend, who was watching me play for a couple minutes. "the healing pad is the same as a spawn point? That's just ASKING for spawn kills!"

I kinda agree with him on that. When he said it, I was playing as a Toa of Psionics and I had the emanate ability activated with a set of throwing knives and every time an enemy appeared, they were instantly taken out.

Spawn camps ahoy, yeah. The healing pads will be gone later in development, after I balance the amount of healing you get from killing enemies. It was supposed to spawn health based on how much damage you caused (so that killing an enemy from full health would yield you more healing than if you finished off someone who had 5 HP left) but right now it seems to just spawn a random amount anyways.

Vorahk wrecks as a spawn camper. As do toa of air, fire, and some other elements.