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Messages - cbrooks

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1
Announcements / Re: Official updates and teasers
« on: June 19, 2016, 11:46:57 AM »
Yep, I remember you well :)

Yes, multiplayer maps(>2 players) would be larger and I am tossing around at least three different modes for maps...
1)  Classic Mode 
This is an homage to the original SW.  Playing in this mode will randomly choose one of the classic maps made by Randy. You would be able to gain and lose spirits and there would be fog of war.

2) Procedurally generated maps
This is the default mode. This mode creates random maps procedurally at run time.  You would be able to gain and lose spirits and there would be fog of war.

3) Player created maps.  I have reviewed Randy's old map editor and I think it would be cool for players to make their own maps as well. Players could invite other players to play on their maps however there would be no spirit gain or loss and no fog of war in this mode.  This mode could also include the ability for players to snap their maps together to create larger maps.

I have a very basic example of the procedural map generation without any rules and more tile types than the original had if you want to look at it...
http://rivstyx.com/spiritwars/sw.zip

Download the zip file to a pc and extract the contents to a folder. Then navigate to the folder and launch sw.exe.
You will be presented with the classic SW splash screen :)  Upon clicking it or hitting a key you will be presented with a map.
You can use the arrow keys to move around the map and the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
pressing "R" will generate a new map randomly. There are no rules in place so the tiles are completely random at this time.
pressing escape will exit the application.

Let me know what you think and I will occasionally be adding more to it as we go.

Thanks,
Chris







2
Announcements / Re: Official updates and teasers
« on: June 14, 2016, 04:16:09 PM »
I've played a few games similar to SpiritWars over the years and am currently playing one (a little bit) that is similar to SpiritWars in some ways.  It's a CCG with a Hexagonal Map in which your attempting to destroy your opponents Castle (or orb in this case).

The game is called Faeria and it's currently in Early Release on Steam.  The game has some great graphics and animations that are really nice that I think are worth looking at.

Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the game play at all for numerous reasons and think SpiritWars is superior in just about every way, but there are some nice elements to the game, particularly the graphics and animations.  I just wanted to share this with you, the developers, as it might give you some direction or ideas.  They use a similar camera angle to the teaser you posted above (maybe a little more overhead, but similar).

Here's some links to YouTube videos of Faeria...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THpoiHciAw8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaZBcXsIYuY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGcmdPVsPiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoiW7aBbNEk
This is a very good representation of the types of games we are up against.  On our part we will be modernizing SW and redesigning many of the aspects without hopefully taking away from the feel of the original. It will not be the exact same game you played in 1999 and may offer features the original never had such as procedurally generated maps and multiplayer(2+) game  modes.  We are trying to stay way from pay to win as well. 

Thanks,
Chris(rivstyx)

3
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: What you would like to see in a new SW
« on: September 03, 2014, 02:32:35 PM »
This sounds similar to Steam Badges.  Not a bad idea.

4
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: Progress
« on: September 03, 2014, 02:31:00 PM »
Yeah, it was nice.  I hiked the gorge trail up and the indian trail back.  Didn't do the south rim or the lovers lane trails.  Maybe next time :)  This is the first post I have seen in this forum since 8/17 :(  This fills me with a bit of apprehension about continuing.

5
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: Progress
« on: August 17, 2014, 01:48:53 PM »
This week I was able to create the initial splash screen in Unity complete with the screeching fanfare :)  I am now working on the initial landing/navigation screen.  It is from here that you will get to your Valhalla/Dungeon setup, the game lobby, credits etc. etc.

Unity can be a bit finicky at times and their homegrown flavor of C# leaves a lot to be desired.   I am currently using the free version which shows a unity splash screen when the game launches.  Once we get closer to a finished, polished game I'll move over to the pro version.  As far as sprites, materials, textures and meshes I am using placeholders on the most part.  I expect the finished artwork to be much more refined but it is a start.

There is much work left to do but it is coming along. Next week I will be hiking in Watkins Glen, Ny and will not be working on Spirit Wars but Ill work on it again after I get back.
http://nysparks.com/parks/142/details.aspx

Chris






6
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: What you would like to see in a new SW
« on: August 08, 2014, 10:46:54 AM »
I am planning on keeping all of the original maps and retro spirits but staying 100% to the original game probably won't yield a substantial player base.  There has to be new features, mechanics, modes and an updated GUI to make it desirable to new players. 

As far as the PTW model goes it can be done right if you allow a full path to success that a player could achieve without paying.  For example, you can earn gold or you can buy gold. Either way "Booster" packs cost gold.   The paying player does not gain anything over the nonpaying player other than time.
For example, I play Hearthstone and have never purchased a card yet consistently I am in the high rankings by the end of any season (a month).  The game stays balanced regardless of whether I purchased cards or earned them.  I just have to do my daily quests and grind a bit to get gold to buy packs.

Games that force you to pay to win or you have to beg your friends to win are definitely a blight on gamers everywhere :) but the free to play with minor perks for paying is fine as long as you provide a path to win for everyone. You should never penalize your players for not paying.

That said this will be a subscription model if it ever gets completed so it is a mute point :)

Targeting multiple platforms is definitely the way I plan on going.  Phased in approach but eventually we may support all browsers, pc, mac, ios, android, windows store, xbox and hopefully ps4.  No Wii U or 3DS. Sorry Nintendo :)  I have been working with Unity 3d a lot as of late and though this is a 2d game it will do nicely.

Thanks,
Chris

7
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: Progress
« on: August 01, 2014, 05:54:08 PM »
Of course you were an integral part and still are. 

I have started development of the game using the Unity game engine.  This is the same engine Blizzard uses for Hearthstone so it should be adequate to the task :)  It is an amazing tool and has its own homegrown flavor of c#.

Thanks,
Chris



 

8
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: Progress
« on: July 25, 2014, 02:56:10 PM »
That sounds great.  I won't be needing it soon but it immediately but it is good to know I can get some help.

I have posted a very rudimentary spirit viewing tool on my site.  If an image doesn't appear it means I don't have it. There are many more data points I can display but have chosen these for the first shot.  In the end I would like this site to be much prettier and informative for everything Spirit Wars past and present.

http://rivstyx.com/spiritwars/Home/

As far as the actual game I am still in the gathering requirements stage and thinking about the basic design.  Nothing coded yet.


9
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: What you would like to see in a new SW
« on: July 25, 2014, 02:48:35 PM »
Randomized maps will definitely be the default. I'll have to make sure the engine does not generate cursed/impassable terrain that makes it impossible to win. I am tossing around allowing players to choose from that large list of prebuilt maps if they want a nonranked challenge.  Unlike the original game, prebuilt maps would show the terrain all of the time. The fog of war would only obscure spirits.  This way players could agree to play on a map they like but it also allows all players to know where each others castles are the whole time.

I never memorized the maps. Probably why I always had to ask for repops :)

10
SpiritWars Discussion / Progress
« on: July 21, 2014, 05:38:48 AM »
Hello,
I have carved out some space on my web and database servers for spirit wars development.  The database schema currently contains a spirits table, map table and a few other tables I gleaned from the code and very helpful players. Though these tables will not be used directly in game they are very important as references to how the original game operated and the various abilities of the spirits. I am also creating a small MVC front end as well that will display the different spirits, maps etc. Essentially, a spirit wars encyclopedia for all to see.  The artwork is mostly comprised of bitmaps,gifs and jpegs.  In the end I will need to convert it to png.  Anyone who wants to help me with that would be welcome.  It can be done simply by opening the files in paint and saving them as .png but it can be very time consuming given the sheer amount of files.

Thanks,
Chris     

11
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: What you would like to see in a new SW
« on: July 18, 2014, 08:41:42 PM »
Yep.  I received it.  Thank you.  It looks like it is comprised of one de-normalized table.    Very easy port to SQL Server.  Brings back memories :)  The new design will not need to store nearly as much metadata in the database.

12
General Development Notes / Re: Looking for Beta Testers
« on: July 15, 2014, 03:41:19 AM »
I would be very afraid of a game beta test that could corrupt my operating system.  That wouldn't be a game...That would be malware.  Worse case scenario would be a memory leak which a simple reboot would rectify.   

13
SpiritWars Discussion / Re: What you would like to see in a new SW
« on: July 13, 2014, 06:48:18 PM »
Yeah I was thinking that instead of using the standard shield, horse and arrow icons to use a smaller thumbnail of the spirit artwork as well.  When you hover over the icon a bigger image and description would appear.

If you have some spreadsheets I would love to see them.  I have converted the access data into CSV's and am going to be porting that into SQL Server but mainly as a reference.  The new architecture will be nothing like the current system but I am trying to duplicate as many of the spirit abilities as I can.  I would be curious to see your MySQL version as well.






14
These are great suggestions.

15
SpiritWars Discussion / What you would like to see in a new SW
« on: July 13, 2014, 04:49:59 AM »
Hello,
My name is Chris Brooks and I am going to be working on a new version of Spirit Wars.  I am a former player as well so that helps.  I have analyzed as much of the code and data as I could up to now and have been able to reverse engineer the maps and some of the spirits.

I would like to know what some of your favorite spirits were and how they worked as some of that is not clear in what I have found in the code.  I was very much into blue and white when I played but I did not play as much green and yellow etc.

I would also be interested in knowing what you as former players would like to see in a new version.  Should we stick to the letter of the old version as much as possible or go in a different direction?  What is it you always wanted to see in SW?  For example, for me I always wanted to play against multiple opponents on a larger map.  Perhaps random maps etc. 

If you have any questions about me or my plans feel free to ask as well.

Thanks,
Chris Brooks (rivstyx)       

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