Medieval RPG - Grail Quest

[Srlancelot39]

Hi, I'm back again with Grail Quest!
Now I have a download link posted on my own website due to it's size...
You can find my site at http://sites.google.com/site/seanscomputerscience/.
My e-mail address is posted there as well so that you may give me suggestions/comments/questions etc.
Grail Quest updated very frequently, my record being twice in 12 hours...so be sure to visit every so often to get the latest version.
I cannot give the source code, but I can give information on how certain parts of the game were made and maybe small pieces of code as examples, so, again, if you have any questions about the code feel free to ask =).

~Srlancelot39~

[Srlancelot39]

remember to post/e-mail me comments/questions/suggestions for Grail Quest!
my e-mail is sean.sciberras@sympatico.ca

[DanShadow]

If you upload in in a *.zip or *.rar format i'll try it out

[Srlancelot39]

i had a problem with that a year ago...the file is 39MB zipped....
heres the link to the page on my website that you can get it from:
http://sites.google.com/site/seanscomputerscience/games/grail-quest/

click the green link in the middle of the page.
Thx for your interest!!!

edit: the file is in .msi format so it will install itself when you download it =P your only job is to click 'Next' and 'Finish' lol

[DanShadow]

I'm not quite sure how you could have a problem zipping a file.. heh.

The reason I wont download your msi, is because a Turing project (that among other reasons is incomplete) does not need an installer, only a directory to be placed in.

When I check out people's development achievements, I typically delete them after testing them - thus why I prefer the convenience of a zip file .

Btw, rather than trying to translate your Turing code into C++, i'd recommend learning C++ (and probably OpenGL for the graphics API) instead.
Or better yet, learn Java. Its much easier to move on to once you've learned Turing (significantly easier for graphical games than C++), and you can host it as an applet on your website, which I guarantee will get a lot more people testing it out rather than having to download and trust your installer .

Gl with your project either way.

[Tony]

DanShadow @ Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:27 am wrote:

I'm not quite sure how you could have a problem zipping a file.. heh.

He probably meant that we had upload size limits.

[DanShadow]

I meant there are dozens of sites he could upload it to (his is on MediaFire.com), so he could still upload a zip file and link it, same way he already did, heh.

[Srlancelot39]

i intentionally stopped using zipped files because theyre a pain in the ass to work with when you get them. For someone who does not know anything about file types, it is much easier for a program to install itself and give them a button to click on to run it. As for deleting it....just go to add/remove programs. it will be in there, just click uninstall =P.
There is no other way i know of to have a program make a shortcut on someone else's computer without human intervention.

[DanShadow]

Actually, zip files are super easy .

You right click your game's folder, and click "Add to
Archive..."
Then you choose a filename, and thats it.

Either way, it's your choice. (You could include a shortcut in your game folder, and when you run the game it can move that file to the desktop, thus 'creating' a shortcut).

Btw, your msi file seems to stop downloading on my computer after 33 megs.. not sure why, but its happened twice now.

[DanShadow]

Hm, it finally downloaded.

Good game overall.

Could use some work on collision detection.

The enemy HP and enemy level seem to be tied together, so as you kill enemy his level gets lower.. not sure if that was intentional.

Losing everything permanently if you die is pretty annoying from a player perspective. I'd recommend programming in a "player corpse", which allows you to retrieve your equipment, and a possibly a portion of your lost gold. Most players wont want to restart an RPG if they die.

I'd increase the respawn time for enemies, and maybe make more in an area. I went afk in a respawn area and came back with high melee level and a ton of gold, lol.

I'd also increase the size around the zone borders which load the next map by a small amount, as in some areas its almost difficult to leave a zone.

Could also use a pathfinding algorithm to navigate around impassable objects.

I'd definitely make the rope under the cemetery easier to see, lol.

Also.. the dragon heads regenerating was kind of annoying, lol.

Id say if you added some new graphics, updated a few things, it'd be a pretty cool game

[Srlancelot39]

thx for your comments, and thank you very much for the bits! =D

the collison detection is in the process of being redesigned into whatdotcolour by SNIPERDUDE as is the art (cus i suck at art and he doesn't).

Everyone's lvl is intentionally influenced by their hitpoints; it helps the player to get an idea of who will win the fight.

As for losing everything if you die...yeah that's a pain but, you keep your experience and ur lucky to have been revived anyway lol. However, i do agree with your player corpse idea..i might do that.

I actually have dormant varibles ready for when i do have multiple enemies per scene. i need these variables for the height of the enemy hp bar.

I also agree that the exit zones should be wider - especially since if you click on the edge of the window when trying to leave, it makes the scroll bars activate >_> .

about the pathfinding, from what ive seen so far pathfinding code can be very slow as in taking 5 minutes to find a path. if you have found that it can be done rapidly, i'd love to learn about that!

Dragon heads regenerating is annoying, but if you bring healthpacks you wont need to stop to restore hp (also try attacking from left to right or vice versa for minimal time usage).

The graphics will eventually be updated as well. The game is also going to be recoded in C++ and may go semi-multiplayer (semi meaning that you will see other people who are playing, but what they do will not influence your game).

Again, thank you very much for your feedback, I always like to hear others' opinions on my work so that i can improve it further.

[DanShadow]

For your collision detection, I wouldnt use WhatDotColor, because it isnt a great practice once you move past Turing.
Id use "bounding boxes", which are invisible boxes that surround impassable objects (like rivers). When the player moves, you do a check to see whether that player has moved inside any of the bounding boxes - if he has, negate the movement.

As for pathfinding.. its a little harder because you dont use a tile-system, but you could make an array of line-paths, which adjust every time they hit a bounding box so that the line travels around the edge, and then continues towards the clicked location.

As for the dragon-heads, I had 10 health-packs, only clicked it 6 times and noticed on the 3rd head that all 10 had disappeared =/. Had to run back and buy more, lol.

[Srlancelot39]

i agree with your view on whatdotcolour. i didnt like it initially, but after talking to a few ppl it seemed like a good idea. however, the game currently does not use whatdotcolour collision detection, but rather bounding boxes; i've been using bounding boxes since grade 9 =P.

and what did you click 6 times? if it was the dragon, that makes no difference since attacking is immediate once you are in range. also, i do not have the healthpack use coded to wait for a button release; if you click/press h to use a healthpack it will keep using them until you release or until your health is above 90 at which point it will inform you that you do not need healing.

I usually bring at least 30 healthpacks to the dragon, and it is a fact that it cannot be killed without them no matter your level. =P

as well, im considering making it so that when you enter the dragon's lair, you get trapped inside until you are holding the holy grail.....so beware!....maybe.

anyway, thx for the feedback, and thx for playing!

[DanShadow]

I would make the bounding boxes a bit smaller on the river then .

I clicked the healthpack image 6 times, and it used it 10 times.
I brought 30 when I fought the dragon the second time, but only used 10, heh.

I wouldnt trap players in the dragons lair.. most people dont assume you have to kill 3 of the most powerful enemies at the game, and at the same time, and within a (respawn) time limit. That almost guarantees to kill 90% of players, and make them lose their equipment.
If you could collect your equipment from your corpse, then it might be a viable/interesting idea .

No problem, it was fun.

[Srlancelot39]

yeah i'll get right on that corpse thing...sounds awesome