Project Harmony

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

So, on with the updates!

 

I've been working on the combat system: It's simple and its far from finished but here is a sneak peek at how it's shaping up:

 

 

As you can see, there are only simple buttons. In the final version there will be options for magic use and you will see your foe in the open area at the top of the screen. (See if you can spot MeleeTestGuy loitering up there as a tiny, tiny placeholder!)

 

Oh, and yes, the background will change depending on the battle: thats just the first background I had listed so again, a placeholder.

 

Buck, Charge, Defend and Evade are all coded. MeleeTestGuy can Buck and Charge back and will decide when is the best time to do what. The health bars work too (Those are what I've been spending most of my time on),

 

On that note: When the battle system is complete I'm ready to implement the story! I know the story plan for the Mane plot and I have some great ideas for side / friendship / romance plots already (and coding them should be a breeze after doing this >.>), though again I'm still missing art so may have to work with placeholders for a while. 

 

Once I'm at that stage it really is a case of the game taking as long as I care to put into it: I could finish in a day and churn out a terrible but playable game, or go on forever making continuous additions and adjustments...

 

Anywho, once I'm at that stage, I'll probably be posting updates more based on gameplay and story teasers, if anypony is interested.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Doc Ginger 86]

I must say that once again, this project is shaping up to look much like something I will love and enjoy! Keep up the amazing work man!

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

I've overhauled the text with my own graphical buttons, which I think looks a lot nicer. Orange buttons are physical abilities (two are missing from the picture) and blue are magic. The button in the bottom right allows you switch between the two sets of buttons. It's not complete, but its well on its way. I'll try to get a screen of a battle in progress on the finished system tomorrow night.





Selecting an ability will give a description of what it does at the bottom of the screen: once you have decided then hit "Go! to use that ability.
 

Still tinkering with the battle system: Somehow I've managed to reduced it down to about 800 lines of code. Admittedly that is only a bare-bones version I've re-written, but it's still a massive improvement! Hopefully this will cut down on a lot of writing time in the long run.

DEMO VIDEO NOW UP!

 

Ok, before I post this, let me be frank (because I was tired of being Cinderscribe)...

 

FRAPS hates me. For some reason when I hit the 'record' button RenPy's frame rate drops right down to four frames per second. Without FRAPS recording it averages 200 frames, dropping to about 80 when it has to do certain calculations. 

 

In short: please excuse the terrible quality of the video: It isn't that sluggish in game. It isn't REMOVLY sluggish even.

 

Edited June 8, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Sky Warden 2,243]

@,

 

You know what makes me really interested in this project? The graphic, the simplicity, the consistency, and the fact that it's written in Python. I believe that you can publish this game. Visual novel is an easy to do project if you have the dedication, and you seem like you have it.

 

Now, if I may offer myself to help you in this game project as a programmer or a writer. Just PM me if you want me to help. I'm good at Python and you can see how's my reputation among writers in these forums (yes, more than one) by the link on my signature.

 

I can do my game server project in my spare time, since honestly I need to enchant the server design before coding it again. Maybe I will get some inspiration while helping you with this game.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Very much appreciate the offer of help.

 

I think I'm good for the time being but I may take you up on it if I hit any more brick walls when it comes to coding: the battle system was a pain and may still need to be rewritten - its not fully tested yet!

 

Still, things are trundling along nicely for the time being, I'm currently finishing adding all of the skills to the battle mechanics - physical stills are done but I still need to do magic stills. Telekinesis especially is hopefully going to have an interesting sub-mechanic that will take some time.

[Sky Warden 2,243]

 

 

Still tinkering with the battle system: Somehow I've managed to reduced it down to about 800 lines of code. Admittedly that is only a bare-bones version I've re-written, but it's still a massive improvement! Hopefully this will cut down on a lot of writing time in the long run.

 

I'm curious about your code. Even in my command-line game server, it only takes 189 lines total. It's just a simple communication system, so I won't compare it to your visual novel, but that "reduced it down to about 800 lines of code" really makes me curious. I bet you know that you can make your code reusable by using classes and functions. :/

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Heh, it's probably REALLY badly done - I'm trying to get it functional first, then I'll probably be able to cut it down a lot.

 

That said, yeah, I've probably taken the long way around in a lot of cases. The first version of the code had to be copied for every battle (not good) so this is already a big improvement already.

 

I can send you the code in a pm if you fancy taking a look and feeling pained at how long winded it is

[Sky Warden 2,243]

@, perhaps. I still think that more than 800 lines of code just for a simple battle system is unnecessary. Let me have it a look, if you don't mind. Don't worry, I'm not going to steal it.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Heh, no doubt i'll ping it over to you tonight.

 

Now, since I need to make up the minimum post length I'll give a little update:

 

Very little progress recently I'm afraid! I've been busy Tulpaforcing and wasting time playing State of decay these past few days, sorry folks!

 

On the other hand, I have discovered that the music I really wanted to use as a theme for the game was released under a Creative Commons licence, which is awesome! I'm still looking out for other stuff, but that kills the issue of the whole thing being silent for now at least.

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

Wow, this is an awesome project!  I hope it all works out the way you want it to!  I know zip about the legalities of making MLP games, but it seems to me that if Litany of Magic works as intended, it would probably go viral.  If/when Hasbro finds out, I hope they either show up with fistfuls of Benjamins and an employment contract, or leave you be, whichever you prefer.  It seems to me that your game would be a hit with both the brony and the target demographics.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Well as far as I am aware, the big problem with copyright and legality is that Hasbro have to have to protect their product: we might not always like it, but there have been cases in the past have led to company's loosing pieces of their ownership. You can't blame them for playing it safe with such a big IP.

 

Anything that threatens profits can, and unfortunately usually must, be stopped. That's what happened to fighting is magic: they didn't charge for it but the project became big enough to threaten the IP. It's sad what happened, but the legal system forces companies into these things sometimes.

 

Anyway, I'm just some guy - not a company or even a group. Litany of Magic is a hobby, a project, not a product. I am no threat whatsoever to Hasbro's copyright and have no intention of causing any risk to their profits, hay, I'd hope that they would make MORE money after I make this, if it was possible.

 

If they wanted me to stop, I would. I can't see why that would be though, I don't claim any ownership, I don't profit in any way (not even through ad's) and It's effectively free advertising.

 

Huh, working for Hasbro would be pretty sweet though

[Sky Warden 2,243]

@, it's just a visual novel after all. Just a simple story with images in it. It's just like an interactive comic. Also, if you want to make this a business product, you will violate RenPy's license.

 

I don't know about working for Hasbro. I doubt they're also playing in gaming industry. The only possible place for programmers there is just a web programmer, I suppose.

 

P.S. If you're replying my post, mention or quote me please. That way I will know when you call me.

[~Chaotic Eddie~ 479]

I must say, this looks like a very, very good idea! The sort of RPG/Visual novel crossover somewhat reminds me of games like Hyperdimension Neptunia (just with some differences).

 

I myself had an idea for an Equestria Girls-inspired visual novel, but with more focus on the story, like Katawa Shoujo.

[Dark Horn 430]

Looks like something with a lot of potential! I'm certainly looking forwards to seeing it. The pictures were great, and I didn't even have to finish watching the video to know that this will be an interesting project.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Looks like something with a lot of potential! I'm certainly looking forwards to seeing it. The pictures were great, and I didn't even have to finish watching the video to know that this will be an interesting project.

Thanks

 

I'm still working at it, a bit at a time. I've overhauled the battle script with the help of sky warden and now in working on the story - don't want to give too much away about that though!