Oh wow, real time editing? This is new levels of awesome! Anyway. Really nice UI layout, looks easy to navigate.
OMG I shed a tear seeing that epic screen shot. It looks so easy to use that nobody could ever be held back from creating a classic Sonic game.
Yes and they would be truly as I imagined them. What would be great would be for Saxman's audio engine to work it's way into this. I can't think of a better combo to give everyone the tools to do classic Sonic game respectfully.
Gosh, I just looked through this whole topic and wow, you've really put some serious effort into this! That interface looks amazing; I could probably use it and I don't have a clue about programming...! This is an amazing idea and keep up the good work. Best of luck :>
Thanks for the positive words, everyone! Keep in mind, however, that AeStHete is not a total solution; knowledge of GML is still required to program your own gimmicks, enemies, and so on. It's not a total solution that allows one to drag and drop a Sonic game together! Think of it as a hackable game template with an extensive real-time level editor. As for Saxman's audio engine, that would indeed be epic! However, I haven't done anything regarding audio with AeStHete, and will leave choice of sound engine up to the user, at least for the first release.
THIS. Seriously, all. Once you grasp basic GML... its not too difficult to do. I've actually managed to code in quite a few enemies and gimmicks from scratch on my own. The only really difficult part is the movement engine of Sonic, and in relation, certain movements of some badniks... THAT's the real value of this engine for me.
well, as far as sound goes, if the program allows you to import .wav or .mp3 or whatever user friendly files, I'm ok with it :v: I don't know about the rest of people, probably they'll like their own sound drivers or whatever...
Standard Game Maker open source allows for mp3 or wav formats to be inserted, however midi is usually recommended. This is without the use of any .dll's or extensions, and for the kind of stuff we see on Retro, none of the above is really recommended... as A. Game Maker doesn't compress mp3 or wav very well at all, and B. midi sounds so second rate... AND Game Maker will only play one midi file at a single time. Here is a snippet from the Game Maker help file, describing advanced sound functions. This should give you a relative idea of how basic sound functions work in Game Maker Hope that gives any insight at all. Best bet is to browse the Game Maker forums for any music related extensions and whatnot.
Ah uh...that seems really complicated for me right now, but thanks for the information! I'll take it into consideration if I start making something once the engine is done. Thanks anyways!
Game Maker is pretty good with supporting basic sound files, you shouldn't have a problem. I can't wait for a video on this!
If you split "physics" into "movement" and "collision" I'd say movement is 100% spot on, but collision is significantly different - or should I say improved. The originals have a number of issues and inconsistencies that I wanted to address. So in the end, it won't be possible to e.g. record a joypad "movie" of a run through a classic level, import that level into AeStHete and have the same run work exactly. It would de-sync because of minor differences. However for normal play I would say no one will notice anything except for improvements. For example - play around on the curved edges in Spring Yard Zone. It's not pretty in the classics. In AeStHete, it will be. By the way, expect a bit of a delay on the video and next updates. Life has a way of inconveniencing me - this time my mum's in the hospital (she should be okay, BTW).
Ooh. Better collision? Exciting. How much does this affect Sonic's rolling physics and ability to gain momentum? I'm looking around for an engine to learn how to develop a game in. Maybe I should go back and download Game Maker and work with this. Maybe I should just start a topic on the project and ask what the best engines are in terms of programmer friendliness and capability of game genre development.
It won't. To put a finer point on it: Expect not to get embedded in loops when going really fast (as sometimes happens in Chemical Planet or Hydrocity). Expect not to fly off of curves Sonic should run down over (as sometimes happens in Starlight or Launch Base). Expect not to have Sonic do his balancing animation when on the "seam" between two blocks. Expect Sonic not to be able to be carried by a platform into the ground if he hits it from the corner (as the swinging platforms in Green Hill can do). Expect smoother handling of ground Sonic can jump up through, especially slanted or curved paths. Expect not to be "sucked down" curves that would normally launch Sonic into the air if he takes them from the wrong side (as happens in Green Hill and Emerald Hill). And above all, expect Sonic to take curves without jittering and jumping as he crosses the 45 degree mark between "floor mode" and "wall mode", something which is masked (kinda) in the originals when taken at high speeds but is otherwise painful to watch. Basically, expect a Sonic engine playtested by Adrian Monk. =P
Ah. Not even a little? Oh well. It's just good to not get caught on weird level geometry. That's all that matters in an otherwise perfect Sonic engine.
Am I missing something? This sounds a little disappointed. Isn't a good thing that Sonic's rolling physics won't be affected?
Not disappointed. I didn't mean to sound that way. If it's as 95% as you've shown to original Sonic plus improvement, that's excellent.
You deserve money for this, Mercury. Sure, you can say "Oh no, I couldn't possibly..." publicly if you want, but you're fucking getting some whether you like it or not!
