Alright! I have responses, as well as some new questions!
Quote: "It's probably just me, but every time I get near the end of the download it just stops downloading. "
Quote: "I'd love to try it but I'm getting the same download problem as Eek."
Hmm. I tried downloading on multiple computers and internet connections, and on some I found that near the end of the download it would pause for almost 30 seconds, but would then resume downloading. I think it must be a forum problem, as that download link is just a link to the file at the bottom of the post.
Quote: "When I ran it, it f****d up the position of the screen! My screen is now in the bottom right of my monitor, and some of it is off the bottom!!! "
Whoa! Very strange indeed. I think your computer must have problems running DBC games...
Quote: "Things I would improve/add:
Allow user to rotate camera manualy.
Animations of player.
Some dynamic shadows.
On raining levels have occasional lightning flash.
Will you be porting over to DB pro?"
1, See below
2, There are none in this because DBC can't handle bones, but once I go to DBpro, there should be an overflow on different animations.
3, I've considered this, but I don't think it will work with the art. I will of course try it, but it's unlikely.
4, That's a good idea... I'll look into it.
5, yes, that's the next step after the demo, but part of the point of the demo is that it's in DBC.
Quote: "Also, it takes too long to start moving after you press a key."
Quote: "also as diggsey said it takes to long to move after you hit the key... which i understand, because you need to allow the player to choose a direction to throw the block, but it still feels wrong. possibly try using different keys to throw the block in a direction? like "wasd" to throw the block, but arrow keys for movement... (just an idea, don't know if it'd work well)"
Do you mean the time it takes you to rotate? Because aside from that there should be almost no delay in movement. In fact, aside from that the movement is more fluid than Block Verse. I can of course make the rotation speed faster, but there turning will never be instantiations. If you mean how you can't move directly after you drop a block, that's to prevent you from walking under a falling block, which causes no end of problems. I won't add extra controls for dropping the block though... The controls here must be a simple as possible, and like a real person Kel would have a good deal of trouble trying to put set the block down behind him. Perhaps if I understood what the issue was more clearly, I'd be able to propose some better solutions.
Quote: "interesting. honestly although the camera system is pretty impressive, it can be very confusing. It was alright on the smaller level, but sometimes on the other level it was impossible to see where you're going... (for example the camera would be level with the player, and you couldn't know if there was a hole on the other side of the player or not...)"
Quote: "I´m afraid that I have to agree with the others on the camera system though. Even if it´s really cool, this isn´t the right game to use it in. It would be better if you added a manual control as default. The way the camera is now makes it very irritating to play the larger levels."
Heh heh. Prepare yourselves for a speech, my friends.
The Advanced Camera System, and why none of the complaints worry me.
First off, I know better than any how confusing the camera can be at times. This is quite simply, because only half the system is implemented right now. The real reason I chose the winter level for the demo is because it is one of the more difficult levels to camera properly. I was curious how problematic it would be for people. Right now, all the camera does is determine by the arrangement of the blocks, how many cameras to use, where to put them, the best fit type of camera, and the parameters for each camera. It's actually quite a lot it does, but none of it is real time, and to be honest the job it does is still fairly shoddy. I had to do alter the code a bit to make sure it portrayed these two levels correctly. The second half of the camera is the realtime aspect. Even though the cameras it uses are set up, as you've all found out, the transitions between them can be rough, and there are times when you have difficulty determining your depth. I've got some solutions drawn up now to deal with some of the issues people are mentioning, but I'd like to hear how other people think the realtime part of the camera should be handled before I mention any of them. So you see this, like the rest of the demo, is still a work in progress.
One thing I will not do, now or ever, is make the camera manual. Even if I lose the compo because I just can't make the camera completely useable in the more complex levels, I won’t give the player that control. I'm going to be very stuborn about this so please bare with me. Give me time, and I know I can make it perfect.
Two of the four most important things in Verse are art direction and control simplicity. As half the art direction comes from the camera, and much of the simplicity of the controls is the fact that only five key control the character. If the player has control over the camera that's one more control to play attention to, and I can no longer control what is seen to such the degree I want, which actualy changes the gameplay... The other two main things are gameplay and story telling. An early version of the camera as you have seen has the ability to hurt the gameplay, but what about if it worked completely? You would no longer need to worry about the camera, as you'd know everything you needed to see was visible, and would be able to better focus yourself. And the story; well, like any visual medium, the in-level story sequences will need to look interesting, and I'll already have the best fit camera working, and you will have a better sence that the game
is the story, and visa versa.
And so everyone understands, this camera system is not just for Verse; It will extend and evolve into all my games, though in each one it will improve and work differently to suit the specific game. If I am successful, I'll never use a player controlled camera again, except in cases where the art direction dictates I should do so.
Quote: "Downloading now. I'll take a listen to the intro music and see if I'm anywhere near as good before offering!
I'll have a go at some music but no promises it will be as good.[/Edit]"
Thanks! It's mostly the way the first half of the song works that I'm interested in for the levels.
Quote: "[Edit]Nice work! I love the camera thingy! Aside from the things you mentioned there isn't much wrong with it. The only thing was that I couldn't always tell which direction to push when the camera initially moved but it certainly added interest over the fixed position Block Verse camera. "
Glad you like it. I've had the same issue with disorientation, and I will try to deal with it. I'm of course open to suggestions that don't involve manually controlling the camera.
Oh yes! Anything between 20 and 30 fps should have looked smooth, and if you got lower, you should probably try on a lower res or color setting.
Now that my mammoth post is finished, I've got to be going. I'll be checking this daily for now though, to make sure I can answer questions and ask my own. I'll be converting to dbpro over vacation, and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to keep everything working.
