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Author Topic: Outer Colony  (Read 64478 times)

VoyagerGames

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #225 on: November 12, 2018, 03:05:48 pm »

Hey guys, thanks for the questions and posts - this is just a quick update here.

Torvus is correct that we took the existing beta release offline, since the isometric rendering overhaul is going to change the way that the game plays and feels. We're going to re-release the beta with the exact same gameplay features once the graphics overhaul is done, but we've still got a lot of sprite production left before that will happen.

Development is progressing on our end, although it's obviously at a lesser pace than in past years, since full-time+ consulting soaks up most of time. I'm constantly engaged in various programming tasks related to the rendering overhaul, but most of it isn't things that players would care much about. This weekend I adjusted how byte-matrix compression works to try to squeeze more performance out of the engine, and I finished updating the project to work with Java 11, since we don't want to fall behind the Java-release curve. That was actually quite a bit of work, since the jokers at Oracle decided to decouple JavaFX from the core JDK, but I managed to get the game running on the new JDK about an hour ago.

Sprite production is finally starting to progress at a good clip. I think we've got a fantastic pixel artist that's joined our team, and he's cranking out isometric assets that look sharp to me right on the schedule we've set up. We've got thousands and thousands of sprites to make, but it's only a matter of time.

I appreciate everyone's patience, and I'll post additional updates as soon as we have something cool to show. It'll probably be a while longer until we cross that threshold, but again, I'm really grateful to you guys for all the testing you've done and support you've shown for the project.
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Blood_Librarian

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #226 on: November 12, 2018, 04:25:23 pm »

Wonderful.

I eagerly wait for something to toy with.
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ollobrains

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #227 on: November 14, 2018, 08:59:29 pm »

also keeping an eye on things
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( Tchey )

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #228 on: November 15, 2018, 10:43:04 am »

Thanks for the status update.
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( Tchey )

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #229 on: March 22, 2019, 01:59:39 pm »

Hi !

Spring is a good time for some news, isn't it ?
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ollobrains

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #230 on: March 24, 2019, 07:01:43 am »

been a little light but things are still going
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Torvus

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #231 on: March 24, 2019, 09:28:50 pm »

Hi !

Spring is a good time for some news, isn't it ?

Hello! Sam could of course give a better update, but I can tell you that things are moving along. I have no background in coding, so some of what Sam says goes over my head, but basically, the systems are in place now to facilitate the isometric graphics and he's just been plugging them in as he gets them. A pixel artist has been found and has been producing the assets. To speed things up, Sam is looking to bring on another pixel artist. I believe Sam himself is currently implementing fixes and suggestions that he put on hold before beginning the graphics overhaul.
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Xantalos

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #232 on: March 26, 2019, 10:41:30 am »

I figure I'll keep an eye on this. Seems like a pretty interesting project.
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mazarus

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #233 on: April 21, 2019, 07:13:59 pm »

Hey, Just saw on their youtube page they posted a video demo of the Isometric overhaul, And it looks pretty awesome in my opinion.

here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9-I9Q3IOvg
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VoyagerGames

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #234 on: April 21, 2019, 09:10:09 pm »

Hey, Just saw on their youtube page they posted a video demo of the Isometric overhaul, And it looks pretty awesome in my opinion.

here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9-I9Q3IOvg

Hey Mazarus, thanks for the post, man! You beat me to it!

-----------------------

Spring is a good time for news, Tchey.

Sorry it's been a while since I posted, but Torvus is correct. Things have been progressing on my end, and most of the core code for the isometric rendering framework has been done for a while. There are still a bunch of details and peripheral features to be implemented in code, but it's getting there.

The biggest challenge has been getting all the necessary isometric sprites made. I think I'd mentioned it before, but we had some personnel issues on the art team that wound up causing the project a few months worth of delays. On the bright side, I think we've finally got a reliable team assembled, and sprite production has been proceeding steadily since about the midpoint of winter. Just last week, we brought an animation specialist onto the team, and the first animated, isometric assets should be making their way into the game shortly.

One of the difficulties we face in developing Outer Colony is that the sheer numbers of things to render is just staggering. When you factor in isometric angles, higher fidelity frame rates on the animations, and the system for procedural sprite generation we're using, the number of images is borderline astronomical. Thousands of individual images are needed, and it just takes a lot of time and money to produce them all.

With all that said, I think things are finally approaching a point where I can share some screenshots of how it's looking so far. Keep in mind, this is just a very early preview, and it's still very much a work in progress and subject to improvement and change. The focus in these screenshots will mostly be on environment visuals for the biomes (terrain, ground cover, and plant node sprites are all complete), with some concrete buildings (structure sprite production is underway) and basic items (also underway).

I'll start with screenshots, and video demos will appear toward the bottom.

Just as a reminder, this is a graphics / renderer-only overhaul. All the gameplay is identical to the alpha release from last year (although it's being gradually expanded, too). The only thing changing here is the visuals. I think, though, that the isometrics are already yielding gameplay benefits, as world-space feels much easier to navigate, and the 3D nature of Outer Colony's worlds is now much easier to comprehend.

Here's a screenshot showing the intersection of a few different biomes, badlands, desert, and xeric shrublands:


The same area, at a farther zoom level:


Here's an image a treeline, with a mountain sloping upward to the west:


A river running through tundra, with taiga to the south:


A temperate rain forest at night:


Coast line of a temperate rain forest:

A small stream, flowing down a mountainside:


More coastline, with badlands transitioning to prairie:


Here's a concrete cantina in a desert;


A glacier creeping into tundra:


A river bisecting arid terrain:


A view of a single Z-level slice, showing the inside of a concrete building with some dressers scattered about:


Here's a temperate forest in the summer:


And that same temperate forest in autumn:


Some conifer trees near a lake at nighttime:


Some concrete ruins, an abandoned outpost in a marshy jungle:


A canyon, winding through scorched lands:


And here's quick video showing some basics of world navigation, just going around to different parts of a small world, viewing different Z-levels, scouting different biomes and structures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9-I9Q3IOvg&feature=youtu.be

I'll be posting more about procedural item sprite generation (we're dynamically generating and shading item sprites to show the materials they're made of), procedural character sprite generation, and some early animations in the near future. I've got to be up early for my day job tomorrow, so I'll get some sleep for now, but I hope you guys like the look of this so far.

If you've got any questions, as always, feel free to ask!
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Knave

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #235 on: April 21, 2019, 09:25:40 pm »

Looks great!

I know it was a tough decision choosing between top down and isometric, but based off the screens it really looks to have paid off so far. :)

Keep em coming!
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se5a

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #236 on: April 21, 2019, 11:31:19 pm »

Niiiiice,
looking forward to trying it!
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Viken

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #237 on: April 22, 2019, 05:52:12 am »

@VoyagerGames - Think you could add in a wireframe/outline mode to the visuals?  I have a problem with my eyes where I cannot see in '3D', so judging angles and elevation are really hard for me, especially when the colors tend to blend into each other.  It's easier with the greens and darker colors, because you do have a spacing between the individual cells, but for the desert and other light-colored terrain it is nearly impossible for me to see the details.

You can consider it a request for thus of us who are visually impaired, or those of us who prefer to have visible grid-lines in games like Civilizations.  Lol.

Other than that it is looking really nice!
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VoyagerGames

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #238 on: April 22, 2019, 08:29:28 pm »

@VoyagerGames - Think you could add in a wireframe/outline mode to the visuals?  I have a problem with my eyes where I cannot see in '3D', so judging angles and elevation are really hard for me, especially when the colors tend to blend into each other.  It's easier with the greens and darker colors, because you do have a spacing between the individual cells, but for the desert and other light-colored terrain it is nearly impossible for me to see the details.

You can consider it a request for thus of us who are visually impaired, or those of us who prefer to have visible grid-lines in games like Civilizations.  Lol.

Absolutely, man! In the future, if we can, let's work together on getting this right! I actually care a lot about accessibility in games, and for a good while I was talking with a guy on Twitter about how to possibly make Outer Colony playable for people with severe visual impairments. It's a big challenge for a game like this, but in the long term, it's something I'd like to work towards.

I think there's some stuff I can do to at least improve the contrast on the grid lines, and as we get closer to the next beta release, I will see what I can do. Please remind me about this if I forget!
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stingpie

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Re: Outer Colony
« Reply #239 on: April 25, 2019, 09:46:33 am »

Hey, So @voyagergames , I'm really trying to download and play outer worlds, but I can't find the download. I've gone just about everywhere, but I can't find the download. I tried asking on your forums, but in order to register, I have to do a reCAPTCHA code, which has apparently been shut down. Because of that, This is the only way I can think of contacting you. I would really like to play your game, but currently, I think it's impossible for me to get it. Thank you for considering.
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