My Little Pony: The Game

[Rikifive 24,126]

Why thank you, that was very kind of you.

[EclipseNightshade 26]

Concerning cooperative mode, do you want the sounds each player is hearing to be speaker specific? Like all the noise near player one comes from the left speaker, and likewise for player 2 from the right? Can the players even get very far from each other? Because if they can't I could just set the listener to the point right in between them.

[Derpy Derper 87]

I'm wondering, is the game going to be based on the whole series, or just the first 2 episodes?

[EclipseNightshade 26]

Audio Engine

[Rikifive 24,126]

@@EclipseNightshade, I'm planning to disallow players getting very far from each other, because that just means going outside of the screen. I want players to cooperate, not move all over the place and simulate 'taxi' - by that I mean travelling through maps with one of the players being idle. That would look pretty weird.

So yeah, listener in between them (basically a camera object) would be best.

 

And thanks! I haven't toyed with the Audio that much, but I'll surely take a look on this when getting to that point. 

 

@@Dragonite Mlp Lover, It will be based on the whole series ~ focusing mostly on bigger events like season openings and finales. Game will include some events from normal episodes as well, but I think it will not cover all of them as it could get boring. I'd gladly recreate all episodes in game, but I'm pretty sure most of the players wouldn't like that. 

 

It will also cover Equestria Girls Movies - when the right time in the main story comes, that is.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Rikifive

[EclipseNightshade 26]

Well, to that end, two of the arguments I put in are named after the player. Instead of the player's position, you could just be all ninja-like and sneak the camera's position in.

[Rikifive 24,126]

Camera centers the view between players, so it will be enough for this. ^^

I'll take a look on this when getting to that point. Thanks, can't wait to start toying with things around. 

[HereComesTom 2,266]

 

 

But first, it would be best to come up with the general design - like making a WIP whole map of one location (with building and such), to establish the style and how colors work. Then, if everything would look nicely together, we could get into the details.

 

Hmm...interesting thought popped into my head for a pretty-easy-to-put-together background:  how does Sweet Apple Acres sound as a location to start drawing?

 

If that sounds good, I'll see what I can draw for you; I'm thinking I'll put together several screen-widths and screen-heights worth of stuff, including some repetitive orchard-land, the barn, and AJ's house---probably some random farm-stuff too, like a stack of hay bales or a bushel-basket or two.  I'd put each object, like each barn-graphic, house-graphic, tree-graphic, etc., in a separate file (is png a good format?), as well as showing you the full file with all the scenery put together, and then also something more skeletal, like a blank white image file the same size as the all-together file, but with different-colored X's or plus-signs to show you where everything is and how the trees and scenery all fit together...

 

Does the above paragraph sound like it'd be helpful in pulling things together and making a WIP that could get the project rolling?  I'm not sure how long it'd take, but if you'd like me to give it a try, please let me know.  Coding is more my forte than art, but if this helps get things started, even if it's just as a WIP with throwaway assets, I think it'll be worth it.

[Kaneki 1,073]

Curious, do you plan this for Windows only or for macOS/Linux also?

 

If Windows only, I could help compile it for Linux, if you want, assuming that's possible.

[Rikifive 24,126]

@@HereComesTom, Honestly it doesn't matter which location will be picked as the first one, what is more, Sweet Apple Acres will be easier to make than Ponyville, due to its smaller size, so I think it's even better location to start with.

 

How it sounds? Just perfectly.

Separate files for each object are necessary, because that way I can place them in game while being able to setup their collision hitboxes and more importantly - their depth/z position, which will allow ponies to get 'behind' that object, like in the example with grass. And yes, .png is the preferred and best format as .jpg decreases the quality by compression and does not support transparency. The rest formats are less-known.

Full scenery will come in extremely handy, even as a simple reference.

 

Even if things will not look perfectly fine then worry not - it will really help much. There always will be something to start working with, which will definitely make the process faster. Also there is always time for editing and futher improvements, so we'll be able to come up with something in the end.

References are extremely helpful as they give the general idea of how things look like as well as ideas for possible improvements or changes.

 

Oh, and this sprite may come in handy:

This is a sprite, that will be used in game. (I mean size-wise) ~ it might be useful when setting the scale/size of the objects. You can paste her and move around to check the sizing.  :-P

 

So no matter what, thank you very much for help - it is really appreciated. 

But please remember, that you're not obliged to do anything, so if that will become problematic, then feel free to stop. I know I'm repeating myself, but this should be fun and I don't want to put any responsibilities on anypony. 

 

@@Cloggedone, I've did some research and it seems, that the game will support only Windows, with small chances of Linux, but not sure.

 

I was talking with fellow developers and it seems, that Mac OS will not be supported as it requires an Apple Dev Licence, which costs $99/year. Unless I'm mistaking, that's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever encountered.  :diamondtiara:  :-P

As for Linux, I kinda don't understand the requirements, so I'll need to investigate that further.

 

I'll see what can be done though.

 

 

 

---

Also I'm really sorry, but the development is paused at the moment until further notice. 

 

Currently I'll be spending most of my free time to draw ponies on requests for a charity organized by Poniverse.

More information can be found on these threads:

Charity: https://mlpforums.com/topic/160012-making-christmas-merrier-v-charity-water/

Requests: https://mlpforums.com/topic/160104-rikifives-gift-to-our-donors/

 

I'm sorry, thank you for understanding. 

Edited November 30, 2016 by Rikifive

[Alphys Hedge 671]

 

 

Mac OS will not be supported as it requires an Apple Dev Licence, which costs $99/year

You're using GM:S 1.x, right?

In this case, it should be just a one-time payment of $99 for the Mac module, also $99 for the Ubuntu/Linux module.

 

If you're planning on using GMS2, the desktop license gives you access to Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu exports for $99.

However, if you're going to be working on this with GM:S 1.x until next year, I should tell you that once GMS2 releases they won't be selling the modules for GM:S 1.x anymore (which I've already wrote a rant about inside of my head).

 

I apologize if this sounded like an ad, just wanted to clear this up real quick.

[Rikifive 24,126]

@@Alphys Hedge, From what I see, GM:S 1.x's PRO licence allows you to compile the game for both, Lunux and Mac, though that requires external accounts/licences, where you need to pay.

 

People said, that I can't release games without that extra licence (beisdes GM one) on Mac, for example. Any application needs an Apple dev licence of some sort.

 

At least that's what they have said.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Rikifive

[Alphys Hedge 671]

@@Alphys Hedge, From what I see, GM:S 1.x's PRO licence allows you to compile the game for both, Lunux and Mac, though that requires external accounts/licences, where you need to pay.

 

People said, that I can't release games without that extra licence (beisdes GM one) on Mac, for example. Any application needs a dev licence.

 

At least that's what they have said.

Ah, my mistake.

 

I've never tried to export for anything but windows, so I didn't know you needed to buy a license for it.

[Rikifive 24,126]

@@Alphys Hedge, GM itself allows you to do so, but it asks for some external account / ID and passwords when trying to do so, unlike it goes with Windows, where it just compiles it without any issues.

I honestly don't know what to think about this, but it doesn't look so good. 

[HereComesTom 2,266]

I should probably show you what I've put together so far to see if I'm on the right track.

 

I watched Applebuck Season from s1 to get some references, and I discovered that apple trees tend to be around 3-to-5x the height of a pony.  The trees are drawn fairly minimalistically; they're basically a rounded green shape behind branches and a trunk---the trees and trunks don't really have blacklines, even.

 

I drew two versions of a tree like that this morning:  one with apples and one without.  Here's what I have so far, along with pic with your Twilight example reference:

 

 

Here's the tree without apples:

 

 

And the tree with apples:

 

 

Obviously, before I can create a Sweet Apple Acres environment that's several screens wide and several high, there'll need to be at least three or four tree-graphics to work with, each with slightly different colors and dimensions.  But am I on the right track so far?

Edited December 3, 2016 by HereComesTom

[Rikifive 24,126]

Oh, they're really good, nice work!

 

Yep, trees don't have outlines, so I think it's good to not have them here as well. ^^

 

Hmm.. I think you are on the right track, they look really good and accurate. Great work! :3

 

I found this on wikia, maybe that will be slightly helpful as a reference:

 

 

 

 

This image has ponies and few variations of trees. 

 

Thank you very much for help!   That's bad I'm busy with other things...  

[HereComesTom 2,266]

Cool!  I'll make some more trees and other scenery, and see if I can put together a layout for Sweet Apple Acres!

 

Before I forget:  in Game Maker, are there any rules about whether a door needs to be horizontal/vertical?  Or can doors open to the player diagonally?  One reason I ask:  in every shot I saw of Applejack's barn/house (she and her family appear to live in the barn) had the main house-door open diagonally to the left.  While I'm putting together the layout, I'll need to know whether it's possible to do diagonal doors.

 

 

 

That's bad I'm busy with other things...

 

Don't worry about that   Hopefully, this just means that, when you're ready to come back to this project, there'll be a lot of assets for you to work with to make a proof-of-concept.

[BloodDrops 762]

@@Rikifive,

 

Want to be trixie

 

and wipe out the world

 

 

is that possible?

 

also where the game prototype?

[EclipseNightshade 26]

@HereComesTom

That's entirely possible. It just boils down to which directions Rikifive wants the doors to face.

[HereComesTom 2,266]

That's entirely possible. It just boils down to which directions Rikifive wants the doors to face.

 

 

Thanks for the info on Game Maker; I've never used it before.

 

Hmm...well, the barn could look good from nearly any angle, so I'll try keeping it simple and make it aligned with the X- and Y-axes.  It'll require a little fudging of the layout of SAA, but it'll be quite doable and still, overall, fit with the show.

 

It's where the gazebo is that I'm having trouble with; the grass under the gazebo is very green, but most of the grass around SAA is pretty brownish wherever there's grass at all, and I don't see the gazebo in the standard shots of SAA like this one:

 

SAA show ref 12.bmp

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@@Rikifive,

 

I was meaning to post here, but never had the chance...that battle theme...to be honest...it doesn't sound like a battle theme...more like a bonus level song...I could whip up a backup battle theme if you'd like...

[KBz 499]

Oh yeah, I also need to make some quick melodies for the game as well but piled wih song contests and screenwriting is taking up some of my free time. I'll make the time somewhere around this month

[FezPatrickPony 1]

WHEN IS THIS COMING OUT O.O i really REALLY! wanna play it it looks insainly awesome !

[BlackLiquidSrw 15]

WHEN IS THIS COMING OUT O.O i really REALLY! wanna play it it looks insainly awesome !

 

Probably not for a while. 

[Rikifive 24,126]

@@HereComesTom, Yep yep, it's all possible. Maps can even use a mix of views - some buildings in typical RPG-view, some in isometric ~ it's all about how it all looks like together - it all can be scripted properly. There will be free movement (AKA Pixel movement), so moving diagonally etc. is allowed - no need to stick to any grid.

 

 

 

Don't worry about that   Hopefully, this just means that, when you're ready to come back to this project, there'll be a lot of assets for you to work with to make a proof-of-concept.

Having a nice map will allow me to test features more efficiently, which will help with scripting them as well as making previews look much better. 

 

@@BloodDrops, Uhh.. I'm not sure what you mean. I don't think so?

 

When the game will cover 1st and 2nd episode, which will basically contain all the basic features (some introduction, movement, battles, menus), then the game will be thrown into BETA tests and then, after some bughunting, it will be released publicly.

Then, the game will be developed further in the meanwhile, receiving updates with further episodes and such.

 

@@HereComesTom, Generally any angle will be okay except the ones, where the doors are facing upwards, because they will be simply not visible, but still, it is possible to make it all work (like making building semi-transparent when getting behind it to make the elements visible etc.)

 

As for the grass - we could make multiple tiles with grass, for example green, brownish and kinda-gradient-like-transition one with few directions. Well there are few possible ways to approach this, so generally no need to worry, multi-colored grass is definitely not a problem.

 

@@C. Thunder Dash, Hmmm yeah I see where you're going with this, because I'm not sure where could I use this yet. Anyway there's no need to worry, as there will be multiple battle themes dependable on location/situation, so there'll be need for tons of them. At the moment I don't know which specific ones I will need, so that's why I'm kinda quiet with this.

A game-dev forums non-brony member was offering his services for free, so I've made a request there, while not knowing what exactly I'll need besides 'battle theme' keyword. To be honest he did a great work, considering, that he totally didn't know the source-style. I'm pretty sure I'll find a nice usage for this song, but this is about to be found.

 

To avoid situations like this, I'll just wait until I'll bump into 'lack of a matching song' issue before requesting anything. That way, I'll also have an accurate description on what is needed, when I'll be able to give the description visually.

 

@@InklingBear, No worries, it's totally fine. I'm not even able to give an accurate description on what would be needed at the moment, so if there would be anything bad - then that would be my fault.

I'm sorry for being quiet, but being able to see the situation would probably give you some inspiration, rather than when I'd be randomly requesting.  

 

@@FezPatrickPony, Yup, as has been said, not anytime soon. There's so many things to be programmed and drawn, so it will definitely take some time. The progress should be getting faster with time - that hardest part is to 'begin'.

Blame everything on me.