Messages

1

Early Dev / Re: Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: April 03, 2012, 02:59:13 AM »

Wanted to say that Clarion is being remade in C++! The graphics and performance will be much MUCH better, using isometric tiles, but the new engine is still in its infancy. Follow the blog to keep up to date with the progress.

And since I am now a part of a company (Perpetuo Studios LLC), I'll have artists to work on it and speed things up considerably. Clarion will be our first game. Wish us luck!

2

Early Dev / Re: Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: December 16, 2011, 03:38:09 AM »

Did you try updating your graphics drivers and directX?

3

Early Dev / Re: Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: December 14, 2011, 02:11:37 AM »

Thanks for those points! It helps me make the game better. Yes, there's a lot I have planned to fill the game with content, it's very bare right now, still getting some features in place that will make combat and exploration more interesting before I put in more content. And things like tutorials ,control options, balance adjustments, traps and other gimmicks to place in dungeons, random events and encounters etc. It's a lot to do, but I have the skill and content tools to put it together. I'm focusing on the journey rather than the destination to keep myself from burning out. Each fix, new feature, and piece of content I add keeps me motivated.

4

Early Dev / Re: Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: December 12, 2011, 08:09:09 PM »

Try updating your graphics drivers and/or directX. That seems to solve the division by zero error for some people.

I don't use arrays. I use the grid data structures built into GM. ds_grid_... etc. The data structure functions are precompiled like the A* ones I also use, so they're much faster than arrays.

As for implementing FOV...

I still have nightmares...

The LOS script traces a bresenham line from (x1,y1) to (x2,y2), checking tiles and objects that block visibility along the way, also checking for corners. If it makes it all the way to the end, it returns true, if it gets blocked on the way, it returns false. This makes it faster in tight places. This LOS script is inserted into the update_visibility() script for the player that lights up places you can see, and is also used for the A.I. to determine what they can see. update_visibility() calls LOS as many times as there are tiles within the player's view (only after he moves, thankfully), so it can get a bit slow once the player starts expanding their sight range too much. update_visibility() also determines which corner tiles are also highlighted depending on the edges of the tiles you can see.

I spared no expense in my attempts to optimize that set of algorithms. I probably wouldn't have needed to if I used Java or C++ instead, two languages I also use. GM is very slow.

5

Early Dev / Re: Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: December 09, 2011, 06:39:58 PM »

So, they'll let me just edit it after signing up? They put a lot of trust in people.
Do I have to delete the oldest entry or...

Ah, I see. You edit it, then they check it apparently.

No wait. I just forgot to type "duke nukem"!

6

Early Dev / Re: Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: December 08, 2011, 10:28:12 PM »

I'm sorry, but Windows will be the only supported platform unless a miracle occurs.

This is the kind of thing that happens when you sell your soul to the demons of programming and use Game Maker.
Although there IS an HTML5 version of GM. Maybe that'd be more portable. I don't have the cash to buy that license though, nor do I know if I can port Clarion to it.

I'll have to research that.

7

Early Dev / Clarion - The Open-World Graphical Roguelike

« on: December 08, 2011, 10:06:07 PM »

I'm new to the roguelike community, and I hope you'll have me. To enter with some pizazz, I present Clarion, a labor of love and months of hard work.

News, Info, and Download: http://clariongame.wordpress.com/

It still has a long way to go, but I've reached the point in development where I'm confident enough to start showing things off to a larger audience. Maybe I'll even gather a group of people who'll give good feedback. Clarion is still under heavy development, and not even 10% of the planned features are in yet, so keep up with the blog if this seems like your kind of game.

Here are the main features.
-Turn-based roguelike gameplay, with some quirky mechanics thrown in like "concentration" and "botch".
-Developed by an artist-and-programmer in one! The graphics serve the gameplay with an easily-readable cartoony presentation.
-Intuitive controls and UI. Forget that mess of hotkeys and endless menus.
-Large procedurally-generated world. Go dungeon diving, run along the coast, or explore a desert, and much more.
-Sound effects and voice acting. Catchy music by Blue Warrior: http://www.youtube.com/user/CobaltBW?feature=g-user#g/c/A1CFAF91C135D355
-A unique setting and story. Replace orcs, dwarves, and elves with screaming wurms, apes, and dinosaur men.
-Edible money!
-Emergent A.I. allows characters to get tired and go to sleep in beds, run away when injured, use doors, use any skill in the game, and do almost anything the player can.