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Update June 5th: Dego Demo released!
Download Here!

Demo info on bottom of 4th page.

Update: Dego Beta released!

Download now!

Bunch more info on the second page.

Enjoy!

--Original Post--
Dego comes from the fact that I've always wanted to make a cooperative action RPG for me and some friends to play. Dego will feature a menu interface similar to my 4 player spaceship shooter, where players can join the party, upgrade and customize their characters, and then select a dungeon to play.

Right now, I've been working on getting the basic feel of combat down. I've uploaded a basic combat test featuring two enemy types. The test is a simple arena style battle against five enemy spawns.

Screenshot:

The player surrounded by monsters

Download!
Controls and credits are included in the Read Me.
(Edit: Now works with Vista)
Try it out and give me some feedback:
-What FPS did you get?
-Was the combat fun?
-Find any bugs?

Some things to expect from the finished game:

Create a custom character - Choose your hair, clothing, accessories, and class. Battle monsters to earn stat points and find more clothes inside treasure chests.
Collectible equipment - Dego will feature three main types of weapons: melee, range, and magic. Each weapon will have different bonuses and special attack.
Dungeons - Dungeons will have multiple paths, hidden rooms, puzzles, and bosses.
Create and Share - The final game will have the dungeon editor built in, so players can create their own levels.

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Very nice looking i love the style you are going with

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Yes!!!! I have wanted a game like this for a while, Are there going to be spells you can get? It was fun I didn't remember fps though.

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Awsome game, this looks like a nice project to do myself.

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FPS: 450
COMBAT: Fun, but too few attack modes.
BUGS: You should make the player depth larger than all other objects infront of him too give the illusion of 3d.

And you like RPG Maker

It was fun but not coop?

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that's an understatement; i was able to squeeze out ~6 seconds of play in ~5 minutes of runtime. any idea as to why this runs so poorly under vista? i'm assuming it's the DLL's involved?

and, for the 2x 3-second play 'sessions', i had 940 FPS

don't worry, jimpo. i'm still a fan!

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Thanks for all the quick replies!

As far as spells and additional attacks: In the final version, each character will have four skills based on which class they choose during character creation. For example, a necromancer will summon an undead ally while a warrior will temporarily boost attack power. In order to use these skills, you have to charge the yellow bar past a certain point. The more full the bar is, the stronger the skill used.

I'm not sure what you mean, can you give me an example?

Yeah, this was a quick single player beta. I'm hoping to have multiplayer by the end of the week.

I was trying to hint that you shouldn't even try running it on Vista

And as for the poor Vista performance, you are right, it is caused by one of the DLLs. The problem is, I need the Enhanced Audio plugin to play the .ogg sound effects.

Anyone know a good .ogg to .wav converter?

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http://www.blazemp.com/convert_wav_to_ogg.htm



If the player walks behind an enemy he still renders infront of the enemy, you need to set his depth behind that enemy to fix that.

I am not good at 2d but you would want to check the y position of all objects that have a depth and then set their depth based on that.

Ok, so for example you have a few random 2d sprite zombies walking around in an area.

Then you would do something like this to render them behind eachother:

+ Code Snippet

for e = enemyStart to enemyEnd
    if sprite exist(e)
         set sprite priority e,sprite y(e)
    endif
next e

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Ok, now I understand! Thanks for pointing that out, I'll fix that up.

Small Update:
Attached is the Vista compatible version of the battle beta.

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that's a BIG update for some of us

FPS:
lotsa action (spawns, lots of heavy attacks, dash effects) : ~860 FPS
normal action/combat : ~910-960 FPS
no action/no enemies : ~1,000+ FPS

feedback:
repeated key-mashing = my left wrist was aching quick (i'm right handed). would like to see "attack while key is pressed" functionality and/or key-mapping ability (so i can use my right hand).

"dash" mode acts like more of a "lunge" or "dodge" mode since it rushes forward and stops (with a timer before you can move some more). i found myself dashing in, striking enemy, dashing out. i don't know your goals for the 'dash' function but if you plan on it being used to avoid/flee from enemies or, say, running away from a boulder rolling at the player, the timer/pause before you can move again negates the speed bonus.

no bugs found

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Hehe, i am lefty, lefty forever!!

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Glad to see no one is having lag problems! I can't seem to break 200 fps, and for some reason my new Vista laptop runs the game even slower then my old desktop

Key-mapping will definitely be added, but I will try setting attack to key held instead of key press. And you're right, I should call it "dodge" instead of "dash". I didn't want people to ignore walking in favor of dashing.

Update:

The player poorly aiming a bow

I've been working on support for more weapon types. As you can see in the screenshot, bows have a different special attack than swords. While swords perform a heavy knockback attack, bows shoot three arrows at once. Rarer bows might have even better specials like poison arrows or five-way shot.

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is eagerly awaiting the multiplayer feature to be added.

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you know how i like to "mod" your games, jimpo. i created a +20 Red Dragon Hide loin cloth (with matching contact lenses) and had Mighty Horns of the Minotaur afixed to my freshly shaved head. All shall fear me!

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Dude i so want this

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I am looking forward to the full game and it looks nice but you shouldnt use the RPG MAKER 2000 sprites tough XD

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This way I have all the media for the entire game and I can focus on the programming and testing, the parts I actually enjoy.

And Virtual Nomad, you inspired me to work on the character creation! You know, so the character can actual wear some clothes.

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kickazz!

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This is a bit of a technicality but... they're RPG Maker VX sprites.

<.<

That is all I have to say.

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I like the battle type, reminds me allot of secret of mana, loved that style

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Ok, I've been working on character creation and it's coming along quite well. The character creation process will probably go: gender>class>appearance>name. So far, I've got everything but class selection finished.

Screenshot:

Choose hairstyle, color, and a matching outfit

In the screenshot you can see how all four menus run separately from each other. While player 1 and 4 are creating their character, player 2 is struggling to make the all important gender choice, and player 3 is still deciding if he even wants to join the party!

After this, I'm going to continue working on the main menu for a while. From the menu, players will be able to upgrade stats, equip items, shop, change appearance, and choose a dungeon to play.

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very nice

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Oh and remember that newer keyboards have a maximum of 4 or 6 registrated keys at the same time so i would try and have support for controllers.

I think there is a plugin around here which supports 2 or 4 xbox 360 controllers to dark basic.

Should be in Program Announcements page 2 or something.

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I'll definitely check out that plugin! You can't really play a four player computer game without support for controllers. My friends have been using a program called GlovePIE to map controllers to the keyboard, but I will work on built-in support.

Update:
I was going to add in class skills, but I had to add in two other features first, item drops and status conditions. When monsters die, they have the chance of dropping gold or food. Eating a piece of bread will heal 10%, while eating a piece of meat will heal 25%. Equipment drops will come later.

Screenshot:

Shocked and confused, Baldman attempts to fight a frozen slime

There are 7 status conditions, and all are fully functioning on players and monsters. When players suffer from a status effect, an icon will show up under their health bar, and the player will flash a condition based color. The frozen condition stops a player from moving or attacking, but they can break free by shaking back and forth. Confusion will swap around your controls, and confused enemies will randomly run around. Watch out, who knows what disastrous effect will happen if you confuse an enemy, like a bee, who already moves randomly! Status conditions can also be applied by the environment. For example, you see a strange plant releasing a mysterious gas. Keep away while trying to knock enemies towards it!

Anyone else play the battle beta? I'm still looking for more feedback!

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Can you talk about how you thought of the name?

And the status effects are making me want to play more and more.

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I do like the status effect ideas, very cool.

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well done!

Although if you are looking for some different GFX, you might google, Mirage Source, or Xtreme Worlds. Both are 2D ORPG Engines made with VB6, and i know Xtreme Worlds has a great deal of gfx, however i dont remember bout Mirage...

anyway hope that helps!

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It's more of a personal name only a few of my friends would understand. Kinda like an inside joke.

Thanks! I'm hoping the status effects will add a little more thought to the battles.

I checked out both, and I don't really want to mix and match graphics too much. But I'm proud to announce Virtual Nomad has offered to make some custom graphics following the style of the existing sprites! So don't worry, Dego will include original media! Hopefully I'll have some screenshots very soon.

Also, Pbcrazy, did Xtreme Worlds used to be called Player Worlds? A long time ago, I made a little game in PW and the interface looked exactly like the Xtreme Worlds screenshots.


Update:
I've been doing a lot of work with the unique class skills. There are 7 classes with 4 skills each. They will have a large impact on the battles, so each character and party combination will have a different play style. Skills include placing traps, setting defensive barriers, and calling an AI controlled ally to fight by your side! There are also more passive skills, like long term defense buffs or increased gold drops. This has been the hardest part of the project so far, so I'm taking a break and going to finish up the skills later!

Working on something easier, I finished up character creation and saving/loading. Hopefully I can get a multiplayer beta uploaded soon!

Screenshot:

A poor slime surrounded by our daring heroes

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Very nice looking

I like the battle type




See you later

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It's probably about time I posted an update, right?

First off, I asked some friends to help me test out Dego with 4 player, and the multiplayer worked great! We could only play on the test level, same as the battle beta, but it kept us entertained until we were all level 4. The gameplay becomes a lot more hectic as not only are there more players, but more monsters spawn based on player count. I hope everyone who downloads the next Dego beta has a chance to play with a friend.

Update:
I've done a lot since last update, but the main thing I've been working on is the menu. The menu in Dego is the equivalent of "going back to town". From here, you do all your character upgrading and customizing.

Screenshot:


For the most part, everything but shopping works. Here's a rundown of what's going on:

Main Screen (Player 1) - Shows basic info, and an animated picture of your character.

Equip/Inventory (Player 2) - You browse your inventory one item at a time and decide what to equip. You can use more than just weapons! The number of * marks represents the items rarity (like Phantasy Star Online).

Appearance (Player 3) - You start out with only the hair and outfit you chose during character creation, but there are over 300 more options to find/buy! *The robe and headband pictured were custom made for Dego by Virtual Nomad*

Stats (Player 4) - Each level up, you earn 3 stat points to distribute however you want. The game will also track general statistics like kills, time played, and dungeons completed. Reaching certain goals will unlock new items to buy from the shop.

One thing I wanted to know, would anyone care for an ingame item database showing all the weapons you've collected and the percent left to find?

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nice progress, jimpo.

as far as the item database, i'd like to see it. these are the sorts of things that become games within games and opportunity for (additional) player reward and accomplishment.

thanks for the update!

btw, any chance of rumble pad support? yah, i bought one recently...

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Sorry for the late reply, I didn't realize there was a question! I don't have a rumble pad myself, so I would have no idea if the code actually worked. Maybe I can borrow one from a friend!

As for an update, progress is going very, very slooooowww. I'm working on putting together the dungeon editor, and it is incredibly boring! I can't stand working for more than an hour right now. Plus my friends and I are putting together a blog, which is taking up even more time.

Here's a little update for everyone:

Profit has drew a special, rare weapon for Dego! Apparently, he's a big fan of FLCL and based the weapon off the show. The screenshot also shows off a treasure chest, which pop open when you hit 'em!

I'm hoping to get back into Dego development, and I should have a series of screenshots showing off the kind of levels you can make with the editor.

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As a man with Italian blood in me, would you care to explain the title of the game to me?

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Multiplayer dungeon craweller aka Fun with friends.
(Crystal Chronicles was the best multiplayer dungeon craweller, sadly they made the multiplayering part hard..)

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@phaelax,

ouch. i didn't realize "Dego" was a variant of the slur until you mentioned it (i've been pronouncing it with a long "e" since the WIP came out, ie: "Dee-Go"). i won't speak for Jimpo, but i'm pretty sure the connection wasn't intentional :/

@ Jimpo,

i'm experimenting with a F-F Gamepad now and it's pretty simple to code some functionality. if you like, i can send some basic code you can insert and we/people with pads can test? right now it's 8 directions and 2 buttons, right? email me any specs/requirements (i'm in a holding pattern on the dvd project i mentioned before so i have some free time atm).

edit: just remembered the double-tap = dash/dodge, too. lemme know

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no offense was taken, just figured I'd point it out though.

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Guess I should do a quick Google search on my game titles from now on? It never even occurred to me that the name was actually a slang word, and one with a negative meaning at that!

Virtual Nomad, sure you can post some basic code. But can you explain more about how the force feedback would work? And yeah, you're right about the buttons. Four directional keys and two buttons, each with a flag for pressed, held, or double-tap.

I played CC with a friend, but we never played too far. It was just too much trouble to set up the GBAs! I'm personally a big fan of Phantasy Star Online, and I'm hoping to include some similar elements in my own game.

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ah, i didn't realize you had a gamepad at all until i saw the other thread. just no ff, right?

well, for the ff effects, i think it'd add to the submersion factor if the player feels various levels of impact (from taking & giving damage) alongside any moderate-to-major sound effects used.

ie, if the player is hit with a massive fireball, he/the party could feel it coming down the passageway (a rising/mounting force), feel it hit (massive rumble, short/medium duration), and feel the ground as the players are thrown, sliding backward down the passage (diminishing, intermittent forces).

i don't know if you're planning, say, larger bosses where we could feel the footsteps of a hill giant emerging from the forest, or maybe the many boulders crashing down the mountside from a well-planned ambush. but, you get the idea.

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I got an old Logitech gamepad that looks like a ps2 controller. No ff or anything cool like that.

But I'd definitely like to add in those kind of effects! Can you post up some already working example code? Let's see if I can include a feature I can't possibly test!

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well, i got a little carried away trying to learn all the sprite stuff so it was similar to Dego, but here's a couple basic ff effects. don't mind my attempt at recreating dego in a couple of hours... it's ugly, but effective enough for this.

by the way, i'll add some other ideas including the "rising (and falling) force", skipping, and whatever else i can think of later.

i just finished God of War II (and still have the ps2 i borrowed to play it) and the effects are great there so i'll get back into it and try to emulate what they've done