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-   -   Magic & Mercenaries: Curse of Eternal Darkness (https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39332)

ProphetSword March 25th, 2018 16:28

Magic & Mercenaries: Curse of Eternal Darkness
 
Just wanted to post a quick video of my in-development CRPG, based upon old-school games of the 1980s. If you liked the AD&D Gold-Box games, you'll probably find a lot to like in Magic & Mercenaries: Curse of Eternal Darkness.

This video mostly focuses on the combat engine, which is still in the early stages (no spells, only some of the functions work). The combat has a variable speed setting that the player can set, and this is in the middle (so it can run faster or slower, as the player desires).

Anyway, feel free to check it out and give feedback if you want. (Can't seem to get the YouTube video to embed in this thread for some reason…weird…)

https://youtu.be/a7kmrlTRC5U

loading…

Hastar March 25th, 2018 16:40

Looks interesting. I like it.

Carnifex March 25th, 2018 17:38

I like what I see!! Please keep up informed, this is something I truly look forward to playing at some point =)

Nephologist March 25th, 2018 19:15

Looks good. I'm actually digging the monochrome, CGAish look.

ProphetSword May 11th, 2018 20:57

Here's an updated video.

The spell system isn't functioning yet (that'll be coming up soon). There are many improvements to the system. Sadly some of them aren't in the video.

* PCs and Monsters can use the Guard feature (for those of you not familiar with the mechanic, Guarding allows someone to stand ready and attack the first time an enemy approaches within melee range).
* PCs and Monsters get free attacks whenever someone moves away from them (this is not shown in the video, though).
* Ranged attacks with animation are in the game.
* Monsters can surrender based upon individual morale, which is calculated given how many of their allies have died and how much damage they have taken (not shown in the video).
* Combat speed can be set on the fly from the menu, allowing a player to speed up or slow down combat on their turn to suit their tastes. Five settings in all (not show in the video).
* Aiming system that allows a player to look at each ally and each enemy and to target one with either melee or ranged attacks (and spells in the future).

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTJy…ature=youtu.be

Pongo May 11th, 2018 21:22

Looks great!

Carnifex May 11th, 2018 22:20

Lots of great improvements, I can see myself playing this for certain at some point in the future.

Ripper May 11th, 2018 22:31

Now that's authentically old-school! Gave me a little rush of childhood memories.

ProphetSword May 24th, 2018 01:25

I did a test build in color to see what it would look like. I don't know that I want to abandon the monochrome look, but I thought I'd throw it out there to get some feedback. You can check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_1DTIf4jV0

Ripper May 24th, 2018 01:31

Looks fine, but it doesn't give me the nostalgic feeling of the limited palette.

ProphetSword May 24th, 2018 02:11

That’s pretty much how i feel about it as well. It’s hard to know for sure when you’re really close to the project.

daveyd May 24th, 2018 02:49

Hmm, I think I like the color better. Monochrome is a tad too retro for me. My first gaming was done on a C64. I don't really have any special affinity for retro graphics though so maybe I'm not the target audience. But it's not a dealbreaker if I like the gameplay. And I did like the Gold Box games, minus the code wheels..

ProphetSword May 24th, 2018 03:51

Does the game look terrible in color? Because the monochrome style graphics kind of made everything look like it belonged together.

fadedc May 25th, 2018 19:46

Personally I like the color better, but it may be just because it makes it look more like the original gold box series.

Pongo May 25th, 2018 20:14

I think the monochrome version looks great, but I prefer it in colour. Like fadedc says, it's probably a gold box thing. The game looks fine either way though, so I'd be happy with whatever you decide.

Carnifex May 25th, 2018 22:45

Looks fine to me, I'd play it in a heart beat.

ProphetSword May 26th, 2018 03:37

Thanks for the awesome feedback. I'm going to go with the color version.

ProphetSword October 27th, 2018 18:30

As per the suggestions here, I have been slowly converting the game to color (using a limited palette) as well as working on many other game functions over the last few months (including spell casting).

Here's a GIF of a party walking around in a hallway. Not too exciting, but at least is shows what the game is looking like in color now…

https://i.imgur.com/xSTchgO.gif

Carnifex October 27th, 2018 21:31

Looks really nice to me, I get an older Might and Magic vibe from what I see, and I mean that as a high compliment. Please keep us up to date, as this looks like something I'd really like to try out.

HellRazor October 31st, 2018 10:59

Looks good! Definitely has that AD&D Gold Box vibe. I like it better in color. (Maybe you could provide the option to play in either monochrome or color?)

vidder October 31st, 2018 11:16

Goldbox definitely. Also the combat looks really nice!

crpgnut October 31st, 2018 15:11

Looks like the quest, but all dark.

ProphetSword November 13th, 2018 02:59

An updated GIF that showcases an early version of the weather system (this video shows rain and lightning).

https://media.giphy.com/media/wJP34k…jck3/giphy.gif

Carnifex November 13th, 2018 03:05

Maybe more of a Curse of the Azure Bonds flashback than I thought earlier. Man, I'd play this in a heartbeat!

ProphetSword November 13th, 2018 05:04

My goal is create games that feel like the Gold Box games (they clearly won't look 100% like them, as I don't want anyone thinking I took the easy way out and just copied everything). So, anytime someone compares my work to them, I am honored beyond belief and it lets me know I'm on the right track.

ProphetSword February 23rd, 2019 18:51

This game has been evolving over the last year and a half…

2017:
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PNugJdpSO…40/2017-05.png


2018:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uqZ7ABB1y…40/2019-07.png


2019:
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jqt1DA_7I…40/2019-09.png

ProphetSword February 26th, 2019 03:03

A few more development pictures…

Skill Screen:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0FpEZkBcB…00/2019-11.png

Inventory (with unidentified magical items):
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8SU54MXi1…40/2019-12.png

ProphetSword April 9th, 2019 01:10

I created a demo to show off the engine, and you can watch game play in this linked video. It's about an hour long. Sorry if I'm not the best narrator, but I do try to cover a lot of different things about the engine and the system.

You can check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a231U4B22HA

(The video is currently only 360p. I'm told it will eventually go to 1080p once YouTube stops processing it. Might take a while, though).

Pongo April 13th, 2019 22:30

That's a great video! The character creation section was a thing of beauty - so much choices, the way it should be. 12 classes! :) When do you think you will have something ready to release?

ProphetSword April 14th, 2019 02:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pongo (Post 1061564822)
That's a great video! The character creation section was a thing of beauty - so much choices, the way it should be. 12 classes! :) When do you think you will have something ready to release?

Hopefully in a year. Or two. Depends on if I run into any issues with the final bits of coding I have to do and how long it takes to put all the content together.

ProphetSword April 14th, 2019 03:00

In today's world, what would any of you reasonably pay for a game that emulates an old-school Gold-Box game with new content?

Cacheperl April 14th, 2019 14:40

Difficult question, of course, as it depends on many variables. Maybe between 10 and 25 euros?

Pongo April 14th, 2019 15:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cacheperl (Post 1061564883)
Difficult question, of course, as it depends on many variables. Maybe between 10 and 25 euros?

I'd say that's about right. I paid a lot more than that for Grimoire on release and didn't regret it, but most people thought it was overpriced and the price dropped eventually. 10 to 25 euros (depending on size and other variables etc) sounds about right.

ProphetSword April 30th, 2019 01:01

Considering going a bit more Gold-Box and using the OGL as the ruleset instead of the system I created. It would be a lot of work, so I'm weighing whether it's worth it in the end.

In the meantime, I did a mockup of what it might look like…

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ilyE-amZ…2526DStats.jpg

Carnifex April 30th, 2019 02:22

The more gold box the better, says I. Looking great to me!!

ProphetSword May 1st, 2019 00:30

Actually, now that I started toying around with changing the system, I realized what a massive undertaking it would be. Had I planned it from the start, it would have been fine, but I'm too far along now to start revamping the entire game. Should have known better, really. Doing this sort of change would be like starting over and rewriting the game from scratch. Not to mention it would likely remove the uniqueness of the system and pigeon-hole me into all the faults of the D&D system. Oh well…

ProphetSword June 7th, 2019 05:31

No new screenshots at the moment, but all the spells are finally done. There are 5 spellcasting classes implemented (Sorcerer, Priest, Shaman, Druid, and Battlemage) with a total of 75 different spells.

It’s a pretty big milestone for the game.

ProphetSword June 14th, 2019 23:33

Development continues. Monsters and enemies now have special abilities (example: spiders and scorpions can inflict poison, rats and bugs might inflict diseases, etc). Also, enemies are now capable of casting spells, making things interesting for an unprepared party of adventurers…

https://media.giphy.com/media/1jkSs8…u4li/giphy.gif

https://media.giphy.com/media/FPxHwA…sFjp/giphy.gif

ProphetSword June 15th, 2019 04:25

As an added bonus, I also spent some time tonight working out spells that could hit multiple PCs at a time.

https://media.giphy.com/media/fCTHCD…F2ch/giphy.gif


Note: The animations on this GIF apparently skips some frames and as a result does not show the icon flashing correctly. If you want to see the GIF at full frame rate, try this link: https://gph.is/g/EJlr0Re

Pongo June 15th, 2019 08:15

The animations are shaping up nicely! Congratulations on getting the magic classes and spells implemented. As a matter of interest, are you using a spell point system, or one that requires memorisation like in D&D?

Also, will there ultimately be environmental obstacles on the combat map? Eg, water tiles you can't move onto or wall tiles that block line of sight etc?


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