[Kharen]

Couple questions that I'd like to ask as well, if you don't mind me asking before the engine is actually released.

I was drawing some Sonic-styled graphics yesterday and came up with something that I was really happy with, designed as a sort of blend between Green Hill, Emerald Hill, and Great Turquoise Zones. However, I ended up using a lot more than a standard 16 color palette. Is the palette limitation a required limit, and my graphics won't work? If I can still use them, I can finish it as a complete tileset.

If I am able to finish them, what size tiles does the engine support? Do they have to be 16x16 or 32x32 per tile? I've been sorting them into standard-sized Genesis level chunks as if I were hacking a level together, for convenience as well as trying to be able to design an authentic-feeling Sonic level. If the graphics can be loaded as individual pre-drawn chunks rather than as tiles, I could cheat a bit and add extra detail to each chunk rather than building them out of individual tiles. Best case scenario, I could place the chunks to build the level, then fix art errors and cut-off parts with individual tiles. (not a feature request, just saying how I've been designing this so far.)

I had started working on graphics, figuring that it was something I could work on before getting a hold of an engine to build the game in. If there are limits to what I can make graphically, then I'll probably need to know what they are ahead of time, if it's not too much trouble.

[Mercury]

Kharen, on 03 January 2013 - 12:17 AM, said:

Couple questions that I'd like to ask as well, if you don't mind me asking before the engine is actually released.

I was drawing some Sonic-styled graphics yesterday and came up with something that I was really happy with, designed as a sort of blend between Green Hill, Emerald Hill, and Great Turquoise Zones. However, I ended up using a lot more than a standard 16 color palette. Is the palette limitation a required limit, and my graphics won't work? If I can still use them, I can finish it as a complete tileset.

If I am able to finish them, what size tiles does the engine support? Do they have to be 16x16 or 32x32 per tile? I've been sorting them into standard-sized Genesis level chunks as if I were hacking a level together, for convenience as well as trying to be able to design an authentic-feeling Sonic level. If the graphics can be loaded as individual pre-drawn chunks rather than as tiles, I could cheat a bit and add extra detail to each chunk rather than building them out of individual tiles. Best case scenario, I could place the chunks to build the level, then fix art errors and cut-off parts with individual tiles. (not a feature request, just saying how I've been designing this so far.)

I had started working on graphics, figuring that it was something I could work on before getting a hold of an engine to build the game in. If there are limits to what I can make graphically, then I'll probably need to know what they are ahead of time, if it's not too much trouble.

It's really very open ended. It's possible to mix both indexed and true colour graphics, so no worries about palette limitations - even indexed graphics can have up to 256*256 colours depending on how the user does things.

As for tiles, they are images that can be any size and placed at any position or depth.

[Tiller]

This is wonderful news. I'm currently shopping around to see what's possible with other engines for a small one zone project I want to build as an experiment. If this is as easy to understand as you are aiming for than I guess I'll keep my eyes peeled to see what comes of it.

Actually how accessible are you trying to make this? I've got a computer science background, but never actually applied to game design. That won't be a horrid problem if I'm willing to learn, right?

[Mercury]

Tiller, on 03 January 2013 - 02:06 AM, said:

Actually how accessible are you trying to make this? I've got a computer science background, but never actually applied to game design. That won't be a horrid problem if I'm willing to learn, right?

It's hard to say. The process of using AeStHete to make a Sonic game will entail equal parts using the interface and hacking the source. It will certainly require less knowledge than hacking a ROM, but you'll need to be fairly advanced to get the most out of it. It will definitely involve learning the basic of Game Maker.

I hope to take the sting out of this with as many tutorials as possible, but obviously I can't promise anything. When AeStHete is finally done I'll want to concentrate on using it to make my own game (which was the whole point from the beginning).

[Azukara]

Very interested in this, as I've said before. Considering I've always been more of a MMF kind of guy and don't know my way around GM too much, tutorials to get a grasp for this would be heaven. =)

Also, hearing about how the resolution is configurable to whatever you want/need is great. Definitely a big plus! As if having it feel like a proper 2D Sonic wasn't enough of course.

This post has been edited by Azukara: 03 January 2013 - 03:06 AM

[Lapper]

So glad I chose to learn GameMaker over MMF now.

So how much from the original games will be already there ready made? Things like badniks/gimmicks I mean. Will we have to add these all ourselves if we wanted them? (Obviously we would if we wanted new ones, I'm on about stuff from Sonic 1 etc)

I wouldn't mind either way, just wondering.

[Mercury]

Sonica, on 03 January 2013 - 06:23 PM, said:

So how much from the original games will be already there ready made? Things like badniks/gimmicks I mean. Will we have to add these all ourselves if we wanted them? (Obviously we would if we wanted new ones, I'm on about stuff from Sonic 1 etc)

Only the bare basics at first. There is the possibility I will add them later, though.

[Kharen]

When you're at the point where you're ready to add additional badniks and level gimmicks, would you take requests/suggestions? Not ridiculous ones (It needs to go full 3D and home in on Sonic from the background while raining objects from Blue Sphere and Sonic beats it by launching himself out of cannons into the background at it while Tails rams it with the Tornado and Knuckles picks up chunks of the level terrain and throws them at it so that Sonic can bounce between them a la Kingdom Hearts II via Reaction Command and...), but just simple things similar to what a Genesis could handle.

[jasonchrist]

Sonica, on 03 January 2013 - 06:23 PM, said:

So glad I chose to learn GameMaker over MMF now.

So how much from the original games will be already there ready made? Things like badniks/gimmicks I mean. Will we have to add these all ourselves if we wanted them? (Obviously we would if we wanted new ones, I'm on about stuff from Sonic 1 etc)

I wouldn't mind either way, just wondering.

You should do your "Sonic 1 on crack" idea you had a while ago.

[Mercury]

Kharen, on 03 January 2013 - 08:20 PM, said:

When you're at the point where you're ready to add additional badniks and level gimmicks, would you take requests/suggestions?

Like if someone said "please make me a Turtloid" or "please make me a Ballhog", etc? Yeah, that would be a distinct possibility.

[Lapper]

Mercury, on 03 January 2013 - 10:16 PM, said:

Kharen, on 03 January 2013 - 08:20 PM, said:

When you're at the point where you're ready to add additional badniks and level gimmicks, would you take requests/suggestions?

Like if someone said "please make me a Turtloid" or "please make me a Ballhog", etc? Yeah, that would be a distinct possibility.

Or perhaps tutorials/instructions/guides of how to add them ourselves? In case people don't want them. But I'm not sure how that works.

This post has been edited by Sonica: 04 January 2013 - 09:41 AM

[KingofHarts]

I'd be all for us doing it ourselves...

I'm with Sonica, A simple tutorial to steer us in the right direction would suffice. No need to have to do all the extra work for us.
BTW I love the ASM2GML thing going on, Hope to see more as it helps to explain some of the ASM functions like BCC and BCS. (I'm a hacking noob, F--- off.)... though I wouldn't even completely do it that way either... as like you pointed out on said guide, GML can't redirect to labels like ASM can... unless one used a script... which is rather slow.
Therein lies learning the ins and outs of GML.

[FeliciaVal]

Agreed there as well. I'm really interested on this. I'd really love to make a fangame of my own someday, but sadly the tools available are very complicated for me, also I lack programming skills, so something simple and user friendly would be best for me and everybody who is starting on this as well. That's what I think anyways...

[Techokami]

IMHO, it would be best to implement some gimmicks, enemies, and objects, but make sure the code is fully commented and explained. Make it not just a freebie, but a good working example for people to modify, experiment, and learn with, which will promote learning about how the engine works, how to program with GML, and how to create new objects from scratch. Then the end user will be able to implement anything else he or she needs.

I do recommend you create some sort of an example boss. Show the user how to restrict the camera, track object states, etc.

[Vincent]

Fabulous!

I'll be looking forward to it!