Goodness, has it really been a week since my last post?
Since the last update, I've continued my overhaul of the weapon system, which has carried over into the item system. I'm on the verge of a very functional, modular, and intuitive system for me as the programmer, which will hopefully allow me a great deal of flexibility with defining and using new items and weapons. Baby steps . . .
Updating the blog with a post *shudder* can be intimidating. I worry about not having enough to say to warrant a new post. This has been a consistent problem with me and blogs, and rather than becoming discouraged and leaving those following the blog hanging for weeks on end, I've decided to explore other options. Don't get me wrong, I'm not abandoning the blog in any sense, but I am starting a Twitter! That way, I can post bite-sized updates to the Twitter as they happen, easing the wait in between posts here, which will be of the the larger, meatier serving size. Check it out (perhaps a follow as well?) over here: http://twitter.com/#!/TheCodePony
Likewise, I've been considering extending my testing base beyond my immediate friends and family. If you're interested, please send me an email at mylittleponyrpg@gmail.com or tweet me. I'll select three testers from the first ten to message me for this first trial run, and we'll see how it goes from there. (PLEASE NOTE: This game is in a pre-alpha state. It is essentially a collection of proof-of-concepts at the moment, requires the installation of the Visual C++ Redistributable, and needs to be broken repeatedly by a team of dedicated testers. If you're still interested, then let's talk. Have your people call my people, or something like that . . .)
Loving the cooler weather. Stay warm, everypony!
The Code Pony
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Weapons!
As I alluded to earlier, I've begun reworking my weapon system. Behind-the-scenes, it is now easier to create new weapons, and they're bundled with all their attributes (including price!) into nice little packages that can be passed around with ease! This will enable me to churn out new weapons quickly, as well as begin working on a weapon deterioration/repair system and enable the buying and selling of weapons at the store using bits you acquire in your travels.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Shops, and the Inventory
Fillies and Gentlecolts, the shops of Equestria are now open for business!
Buying a Muffin
The player's inventory remains one of my biggest obstacles, but having a functional proof-of-concept is quite satisfying. As you purchase items, the game checks your inventory to see whether you have an open slot. The player has a 10-slot inventory in this example. Every "NONE" signifies an empty slot; once they're all full, you're prevented from acquiring any more items.
Full Inventory
Naturally, there's still a lot of work to do on the interface. Everything is extremely WIP, and these are essentially screenshots of developer mode. The items don't have values or effects yet; that's very high up on my to-do list, along with the ability to sell item's back and jobs for the player!
Happy November!
The Code Pony
Buying a Muffin
The player's inventory remains one of my biggest obstacles, but having a functional proof-of-concept is quite satisfying. As you purchase items, the game checks your inventory to see whether you have an open slot. The player has a 10-slot inventory in this example. Every "NONE" signifies an empty slot; once they're all full, you're prevented from acquiring any more items.
Full Inventory
Naturally, there's still a lot of work to do on the interface. Everything is extremely WIP, and these are essentially screenshots of developer mode. The items don't have values or effects yet; that's very high up on my to-do list, along with the ability to sell item's back and jobs for the player!
Happy November!
The Code Pony
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Mysterious Disappearance of the Blog
Well, it just wouldn't be Halloween without some spooky goings-on.
Somehow, overnight, my blog mysteriously disappeared without a trace on my account. After a frantic message to Google, and a hour or so of waiting, it just as mysteriously reappeared.
I apologize for the down time. Hopefully there will be no further hijinks!
Somehow, overnight, my blog mysteriously disappeared without a trace on my account. After a frantic message to Google, and a hour or so of waiting, it just as mysteriously reappeared.
I apologize for the down time. Hopefully there will be no further hijinks!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Switching Weapons (or methods of attack)
This evening, I spent some time reworking my weapon system. Now, the player may have an alternate weapon. (or method of attack. It feels weird to me to call a Unicorn Horn or Hooves weapons, though it's easier to think of them as such in terms of game design,)
The player can switch weapons at any time during combat with the current system, though that may change later on. The weapons and all their stats, such as dice type and amount to roll, are currently stored in the Player Object*, though I want to move them to the Inventory Object* eventually. I'll discuss the inventory in detail later.
Here's a shot of it in action:
Until next time!
The Code Pony
*The C++ language is object-oriented, which means the programmer has the ability to define what are known as classes, and then declare objects of an established class. An easy way to think about it would be to consider a "drink" class. Both "water" and "tea" are objects of the "drink" class. Within the "drink" class, there are internal variables such as "color" and "taste". "Water" and "tea" may hold different values for "color" and "taste", but ultimately they shall remain "drinks".
The player can switch weapons at any time during combat with the current system, though that may change later on. The weapons and all their stats, such as dice type and amount to roll, are currently stored in the Player Object*, though I want to move them to the Inventory Object* eventually. I'll discuss the inventory in detail later.
Here's a shot of it in action:
Until next time!
The Code Pony
*The C++ language is object-oriented, which means the programmer has the ability to define what are known as classes, and then declare objects of an established class. An easy way to think about it would be to consider a "drink" class. Both "water" and "tea" are objects of the "drink" class. Within the "drink" class, there are internal variables such as "color" and "taste". "Water" and "tea" may hold different values for "color" and "taste", but ultimately they shall remain "drinks".
Behind-the-scenes: Combat, and just about everything else
For the MLP RPG, I use my own homebrew d20 based roleplaying system. If you're not familiar with that term, Wikipedia to the rescue! - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D20_System
Almost everything, from combat rolls to randomization rolls (used for randomizing the enemy encounters and the flavor text) is the result of either a pure d20 roll or a d20 roll added to some stat. For example, to determine whether an attack or block was successful, the game rolls 1d20 (1 20-sided die) and adds that to either the player or monster's Attack or Defense stat, respectively. (Attack and Defense are calculated by my own simple little formula using the player or monster's Might and Agility stats)
To determine the damage dealt once an attack is deemed successful, another roll is used. For instance, if the player is attacking with their Hooves, the game rolls 1d20, while for a Unicorn's Horn 1d12 is rolled.
The dice rolls use a randomization algorithm built into the C++ language, which is seeded with the current time. Seeding the algorithm with the current time allows for the random element of rolling a die, since all computers are basically just calculators at their core and can't produce truly random numbers without a little help.
Hopefully that sheds some light on the inner workings. Please feel free to ask questions, I'd be more than happy to answer!
The Code Pony
Almost everything, from combat rolls to randomization rolls (used for randomizing the enemy encounters and the flavor text) is the result of either a pure d20 roll or a d20 roll added to some stat. For example, to determine whether an attack or block was successful, the game rolls 1d20 (1 20-sided die) and adds that to either the player or monster's Attack or Defense stat, respectively. (Attack and Defense are calculated by my own simple little formula using the player or monster's Might and Agility stats)
To determine the damage dealt once an attack is deemed successful, another roll is used. For instance, if the player is attacking with their Hooves, the game rolls 1d20, while for a Unicorn's Horn 1d12 is rolled.
The dice rolls use a randomization algorithm built into the C++ language, which is seeded with the current time. Seeding the algorithm with the current time allows for the random element of rolling a die, since all computers are basically just calculators at their core and can't produce truly random numbers without a little help.
Hopefully that sheds some light on the inner workings. Please feel free to ask questions, I'd be more than happy to answer!
The Code Pony
Early Screenshots 10-29-11
Here's a couple really early WIP shots. Just showing the welcome screen (sans character creation. It's still tied into the other RPG) and some of the combat in action. Feel free to post questions in the comments; I'll be working on some posts explaining the mechanics and behind the scenes stuff soon!
Welcome to Equestria!
Combat in action
I'm a big fan of Derpy!
Welcome to Equestria!
Combat in action
I'm a big fan of Derpy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)