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The "Sonic: Edge Of Darkness" Thread

Discussion in 'Fangaming Discussion' started by Delta Hedgehog, Jul 20, 2012.

  1. This might seem like an odd request, but do you think you could have a download for the project file when you release the demo? Like I said earlier, I'm really wanting to try making a Sonic game through Game Maker, and it would be helpful to see how the process goes. (No, I wouldn't use any of the art, levels, enemies, etc. I just want to know things like collision, tile size, backgrounds (How on earth did you manage animated backgrounds?), and things like that are set up. The way I'm doing things now for a different game, the entire level and the backgrounds are all single massive images drawn up in Paint, layered for parallax in Game Maker, and invisible objects placed in front)
     
  2. winterhell

    winterhell

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    Kharen,
    Have you tried fiddling with the existing Game Maker Sonic engines, like Sonic Dash?

    http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=24554
     
  3. Oh, I've downloaded a couple different engines to look at, but I haven't had the time yet to go through them. I'm still learning, and I'm doing something a bit simpler than a Sonic game for a first project. I'm planning out a Sonic game for when I have a bit more experience and feel I'm ready to give it a try. Right now, I'm having trouble with basic collision. I'm doing a short MegaMan game to learn basic side-scrolling, instance creation via shooting, etc. and I keep having MegaMan occasionally "land" on the ground after a jump, but still floating about a pixel or so above the ground. It only happens sometimes, so I can't really figure out what I did wrong. I'm looking through a completed engine to see how they did it. (I have the Lite version of 8.1, so most engines don't work for me since they require Pro. I'm waiting on upgrading until I feel I'm skilled enough to warrant the purchase.)
     
  4. winterhell

    winterhell

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    You are probably only stopping the character when the ground gets within a given amount of pixels reach. Since the character can move at speeds well above 1 pixel/frame, its possible to overshoot the "ideal" distance. Then you have to adjust the character's Y position based on the measured floor distance. But lets not offtopic the thread.
     
  5. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    Level art in Sonic games is pretty simple - foreground colours are usually made different from background colours so that they "pop out". The reason your levels may look cluttered is because you're not doing that (also your lighting is all over the place in those deserty shots - the background is both lighter and darker than the foreground which doesn't make much sense... and it's also quite orange)
     
  6. Delta Hedgehog

    Delta Hedgehog

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    Sorry for taking forever and a day to reply. I will make changes to the graphics for the final release, and leave them the way they are for now.
    Besides that, we have a trailer for the demo! It will be at SAGE 2013 this year.
    My link
     
  7. SuperBliz

    SuperBliz

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    Hello there guys, first post here so take it easy on me. ^_^

    Recently I've started to work on Act 2 for Shimmering Shores Zone.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I've also tried adding a pipe system to Act 2 to act as some sort of gimmick to compliment the water features in this act.

    [​IMG]

    Any suggestions on the pipe? I know for a fact someone will say it's really out of place.
     
  8. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Working on my art!
    Back when Sonic XG was a thing they used a very similar kind of Lava Reef pipe in their GHZ level. I think if you edit the colors to match the foreground it may flow a bit more.

    Also it looks slightly out of place because it looks pasted on top of that wall. I know this description may be a bit poorly worded, but maybe you could remove that rectangle shape of wall directly behind the pipe's entrance.
     
  9. Lilly

    Lilly

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    The sprite work and music are clearly a huge work in progress, but I'm floored how much attention the level art got here. Very nice visuals, and the layout looked pretty fun.
     
  10. SuperBliz

    SuperBliz

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    I'll take that up with Delta on the issue of its color, I had a feeling the pipes didn't look right. Also, is that what you meant?

    [​IMG]

    Thank you very much! =) Just trying to make the level as non linear as possible. lol
     
  11. P3DR0

    P3DR0

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    The pipes look nice, a bit too bright (at a place flooded with lava it's understandable the brightness, but not at the surface, especially in a "closed" place).
    But they do look ok, just, ya know, change some colors around and you'll be fine.
     
  12. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Yep, that's exactly what I meant
     
  13. Falk

    Falk

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    I am going to be sorely disappointed if the final pipe graphics don't look like this:

    http://img.phodeos.com/2013/08/Trumpet-2.jpg
     
  14. SuperBliz

    SuperBliz

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    I see where you're getting at, I'll ask Delta about it.

    That just made my day. xD

    Don't worry, you won't be disappointed.
     
  15. Delta Hedgehog

    Delta Hedgehog

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    I have some very exciting news!
    After taking a very long break, this project has resumed and we will be releasing a demo at this year's Sonic Amateur Games Expo! Here the newest trailer for said demo!
    [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM_9FLZw9uA[/media]
     
  16. SuperBliz

    SuperBliz

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    Just thought I'd drop by and post what I posted on Sonic United earlier, since I haven't made a post here in a while:

    Progress on Shimmering Shores Act 2 has resumed, and to me, I think it has way better level design than the Acts present in the SAGE demo, with more routes and little secrets. It's a shame I couldn't complete it in time for SAGE. Anywho, here are some screens:

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Thoughts?
     
  17. Truner

    Truner

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    Absolutely lovely screens. One thing I would mention is that the Spiked Motobug looks a bit... weird. Like the spikes don't really blend in enough and are just basically behind it.

    The demo was outstanding, I really enjoyed it and it's probably my favorite thing from this year's SAGE.
     
  18. SuperBliz

    SuperBliz

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    Thanks for the playing the demo dude! I was kind of worried that the demo wasn't good or long enough before releasing it.

    And on the subject of the spikes on Motobug, the sprites are drawn right behind the Motobug. I'm not sure how to blend the spikes in, it's something in Delta's department.
     
  19. Falk

    Falk

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    After playing this a bit (still really short on time nowadays :/ ) I think I want to say that the background and foreground are a little too similar. A little more needs to be done to differenciate them. I thought this might have already been the case from just screenshots, but figured maybe it wasn't so bad with parallaxing/etc. in motion helping to sort out which is which. For platformers in general you want it to be very clear what's fore and what's background without having to divert too much conscious thought into it. Some retro games do it with a slightly different palette choice (simulating atmospheric conditions) and others do it with less per-pixel detail (simulating depth of field blurring, and also atmospheric conditioning) but any time the background gets in the way of the foreground's clarity you have potential problems.

    Something you might wanna give some thought to!

    edit: Don't get me wrong, the tilesets are gorgeous. They just need to function better.
     
  20. Violet CLM

    Violet CLM

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    I liked the SAGE demo, but one thing you might want to look into is Tails. I tried playing both levels as him, and in the first level I don't think I needed to descend from the very top of the level more than one time, outside of refueling. There was simply nothing keeping me from flying over every obstacle and other bit of level design without a care. The second level was better in that regard, but it was never really disincentivized.

    (And I've never liked a wall jump mechanic in any Sonic fangame, but that's just me.)