Tag: alternate reality

Alternate Reality X – Next Steps

Acrin1 3 Comments

Firstly I feel I should explain my long silence on these pages, the forums and the ARX facebook page. Since August 2013 I’ve been extremely busy at work and at home with some big work related projects and deadlines, changes within my family, some travelling away from home and then to top it all off various family illnesses (myself included). Nothing serious but something had to give and that was my game development interests. All of these have meant that I have had little or no time to spend on Alternate Reality X. Anyway I am back now and keen to get back to work on ARX. Thanks for your patience and continued support during this time. Sorry for not keeping you up to date. Whilst all the above has been going on I’ve been thinking about ARX and my next steps for when life became less frantic.

I’ve been struck recently by how buggy the current version is and how my code is now desperately in need of a major overhaul. It’s frustrating for players to put a lot of their valuable time into playing the game, only to come up against some serious bugs that I’m not aware of or have not had time to fix yet. I’m not beating myself up for this as I’ve effectively learnt everything I know about game programming through the course of developing ARX so it’s not surprising that a lot of what is there has not been implemented in the best possible way and is not very flexible. I’d like that to change and I have a few ideas how to go about it.
I’ve also a strong desire to make it much more accessible in terms of multiple platforms (Mac OS X, Android etc). I’ve just bought an Ouya and I’ve had a great time trying that out and would love to make a version of ARX available on it. For those of you not familiar with the Ouya it’s an Android based “micro-console” based around a Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset similar to a Nexus 7 tablet. It’s available with a controller for $99 in the US and £99 in the UK and all the games are free to try. It’s targeted very much at the small or independent developer and appears to be right up my street for the sort of the games and development I’m interested in. I was playing The Dungeon on it (under C64 emulation) on my living room TV yesterday which was pretty cool. As the Ouya is Android based, any games I develop for it would be easily ported to other Android devices. Windows will remain the primary platform for any development.
I’m not looking to change the basic presentation of the game much in terms of the current 3D engine and the 2D display for encounters and menus but I would like to bring it more up to date and make it easier for new players and players on other platforms to enjoy. There is Android and iOS support for SFML in progress and the new release of Unity 3D now provides functionality for making 2D game production easier (which ARX primarily is). Unity of course allows you to build different versions of your game across multiple platforms very easily. SilverAR has been working on his Unity AR so I wouldn’t want to tread on his toes but his project is very different to mine, being a modern, full 3D Alternate Reality.
Probably a bit premature just now but I’ve started looking at firms who can produce printed boxes – I would love to have real fold out boxes similar to the original ones that Alternate Reality shipped in and full printed manuals (on the green / yellow paper of course!). Everything would be rewritten to expand on the original City and Dungeon documents.
 
I’ve also got several pieces of great artwork from Ted which I want to get out to players as soon as possible as they will really enhance the game in my opinion.

Let me know your thoughts.

Alternate Reality X – The end is in sight!

Acrin1 1 Comment

Taking a break from enhancing the combat in Alternate Reality X I thought I would add some of the final elements of the game such as the Dungeon’s final level and the end game. It’s nice to get a change of focus and pace from time to time and helps to prevent me getting burnt out by working on the same thing for too long. Now that I have the final pieces of the game completed I will fill in the remaining gaps so that all the quests are complete and the game can be played through to completion. There isn’t much more to add to make that possible other than putting in a few special locations – most of which are simple coding wise as they are not very interactive.

Exploring a strange corridor in Alternate Reality X
 

I thought about posting some additional screenshots from this section but didn’t want to risk spoiling the ending of the game by posting the final screens and text for those who may not have seen them before. Hopefully these other screens will keep you going in the meantime.

Where will the elevator take you?

We just might have a completed Alternate Reality X by the end of 2013 which would make me very happy. Thanks for your continued support.

Donations & Update

Acrin1 2 Comments

As you are probably aware if you’re following my project updates I accept donations for my work on the Alternate Reality X project and set this up a while back after a few supporters of the project asked me how they could donate to support the future development of the project.

If you’ve not yet made a donation towards Alternate Reality X, value the work I’ve put into the project and would like to see it continue to develop further then please consider making a donation via PayPal. The links are available from the Facebook page, the website and this blog. Any amount, however small is always appreciated and I obviously realise that everyone’s means and situation is different. If you’ve already made a donation then I’m sincerely grateful and really appreciate the support you’ve provided for the project – thank you. It means a lot to me and helps me value and justify (to myself) my work on ARX and the time I put into it. It’s good to see that other people value the time that’s been invested.

I’ve mentioned before that it can sometimes be hard to justify the time that I’m spending working on Alternate Reality X to my family. As always there is never enough time to get everything done so I have to prioritise my time accordingly. Fit game development in with a full time job, household chores and admin and a young family and time is a valuable commodity. At least if I can occasionally say that all the hours I’m putting into the project has resulted in a little bit of money here and there then people are a bit more accommodating.

Reading some of the comments or requests on the forums I think it’s easy for people to underestimate just how much time it takes to add a new feature or fix an annoying bug within ARX. Often the seemingly trivial features are the ones that take the most work.

I think I’m doing well this year with 7 releases of Alternate Reality X during 2013 so far, averaging about one per month. This is already the same number as I created in 2012 so it’s looking fairly positive to date for 2013 🙂

My development machine decided to give up the ghost yesterday so my next step is to sort that out before I get going on release 0.65. After that the next area I’m planning to work on is to expand the whole encounter and combat part of ARX so that it includes surprises, waylay, blocks, dropping weapons etc. Basically working to complete the combat system so that it has all the features of the City and the Dungeon. I’ve also got a bit more work to do on potions (which also relate to combat). I also want to start adding the remaining Dungeon establishments now that the City ones are all in place.

Thanks for your support.

Alternate Reality X – Release 0.64 Now Available

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Release 0.64 of Alternate Reality X is now available from the download pages over at:

www.crpgdev.com.

I’ve added the final City establishment – the City Healers – to the game, City style potions, poison, diseases and a number of bug fixes. All 44 types of potion can be found in the game but several of them will need some work in the next release to be a 100% completed. Treasure Finding is working though and directly influences the probability of finding treasure after an encounter – something which people had mentioned in the last release. Potions are easier to find in this version than they will be in the final version to give players the chance to try them out.

The full list of changes include:

  • Added City Healers – Includes heal wounds, cure disease, remove alcohol and remove delusions
  • Added City style potions as treasure – Examine, Sip, Taste and Quaff
  • Added Treasure Finding stat
  • Added diseases and poisons and their effects
  • Updated the wandering healer for the above
  • Updated main menu with new image / layout
  • Updated “Active Magic” and “Known Diseases” displays
  • Added compass images from Jason and added background for use with large 3D window
  • Added new guard / warrior encounter image from Ted
  • Reduced encounter frequency
  • Fixed Bug #027: Game hangs on second play through when creating character
  • Fixed Bug #028: Compass images hard to see in full screen mode and needed position adjusting
  • Fixed Bug #029: Crash when pressing ESC from Use object menu
  • Fixed Bug #030: Shop stock items not saved as part of save game 
  • Fixed Bug #031: Tavern and shop stock items not refreshed each day
  • Fixed Bug #032: Guild lyrics display too quickly
  • Fixed Bug #033: Death lyrics display too quickly

If you would like to support the continued development of Alternate Reality X then please consider making a donation towards my time and web site costs via the PayPal link on the blog, ARX Facebook page or website.

Alternate Reality X – Release Roadmap – May 2013

Acrin1 1 Comment
Updated: 22nd May
2013
 
At the time of writing release 0.63 of Alternate Reality X is now available. Ths list below includes unimplemented and new features. Release 1.0 will include all the content and features of the original City and Dungeon scenarios. It will be fully playable with all the quests completed plus a few more extras which will be unique to ARX. I have not included dates at this point and intend to keep implementation flexible but have grouped features in the major release sections where I think it’s most likely they will be added to ARX. I would typically expect around 2-3 releases per group. New art, sound and music assets will be added to the game across multiple releases.
I’ll update this as I expand it and probably put it into a tabular format so I can tick off each item as work on it is completed. The list is likely to get longer initially as I add more items and expand some of the individual items into smaller pieces of work.
 
Comments as always welcomed.
—
Release 0 .6x
  • Major changes to the object and inventory system for dynamic object creation such as clothing and custom weapons
  • Further work on City Shops
  • Add City Healers
  • Add experience modifiers following successful encounter 
  • Display clean ups across resolutions and different display options
  • Add check for successful retreat from encounters
  • Adjust encounter frequency as currently seem too frequent in City
  • Potions – City Style – sip, taste, quaff etc
  • Merchant – trade for timepieces or compass (via menu)
  • Use crystal to charge guild ring
  • Thieves stealing items
  • Devourer “devouring” items
  • Add encounter treasure item – eyes
  • Add some of the remaining combat features (surprise, waylay, flee, summon spell cast, block, disarm etc)
 
Release 0.7x
  • Add duration based spells – Strength, Dexterity, Charisma, Fireblade
  • Add combat spells – Cold Blast
  • Spells (nearly all)
  • Add additional encounter tables for the Dungeon
  • Add Rathskeller Bar & Grille
  • Add all encounter weapons
  • Add encounter treasure items – scrolls, eyes, wands, horns, cards etc
  • Add Dungeon Level 4
  • Add effects of hunger, thirst and alcohol
  • Add “Examine Items or Spells” option – Low priority
  • Add Dungeon level 1 and 2 special locations and quests
Release 0.8x
  • Add Dungeon Smithy
  • Add Bank Vaults
  • Add Weapon Enchantress
  • Add Dungeon Chapel
  • Add Smithy animation
  • Add Dungeon level 3 and 4 special locations and quests
  • Add remaining unique treasure items
  • Weapon durability, breaks and repairs
  • Darkness – light spell, torch light, helm of light
Release 0.9x
  • Add Encounter animation scheme
  • Add City Rain and Storm effects
  • Add any remaining Dungeon quests & locations
  • Add Dungeon ending sequence
  • Add curses, diseases and poison
  • Turn point + sub square movement (possibly)
  • Delete saved game
  • More info on saved game – time and date, char level, location etc
Release 1.0
  • Add the AR introduction sequence
  • Produce the ARX manual and supporting documents
  • Add an ARX icon
  • Everything else I’ve forgotten!

Alternate Reality X – Release 0.63 Now Available

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Release 0.63 is now available for download from the downloads page at www.crpgdev.com. It includes the much requested City shops. I’ve started work on the City Healers but there is a bit more to do and there is still some furtehr work to do on the Shops to make them similar to the original City.  This release contains:

  • Added City shops – core functionality including randomised stock, viewing, buying and wearing
  • Trying to close program now brings up options screen for save & quit
  • Adjusted gate counter speed to make it closer to the original games
  • Code to adjust lyric speed against different processors by Scott
  • Improved timings for lyric files for City Smithy (both original and new music versions)
  • Fixed Tavern opening and closing times

If you like what I’m doing and wish to support the project’s future development please consider making a small donation from the blog, webpages or ARX facebook page link.

More updates coming soon!

Thanks,
Acrin1

Alternate Reality X – City Shops

Acrin1 2 Comments
I think I’m going to need more money!

I’ve been very busy working on various tweaks over the last few days for the next release of Alternate Reality X which is now coming up to 0.63. I hope to have this out today or tomorrow. Possibly the most visible change in 0.63 will be the addition of City Shops. This is the one feature that people repeatedly seem to ask about so I thought I would try and add it to this next release. I now have it working fairly well and just need to set up the code to vary the clothing stock at the 15 different shops in the City.

Exploring with my new outfit

 

I’ve still a few more details to add such as adjusting the clothing costs for each of the shops but hopefully you should be able to finally buy some clothing your City character after years of wandering!

Alternate Reality X – Release 0 .63 and Spreading the word

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Making the artwork and display more consistent for release 0.63

I’ve started work on release 0.63 and will be aiming to finish off any pieces of gameplay that are only partially completed (like the D & P Provisions in 0.62 for example) as well as adding some brand new parts to the game that people have been asking for. I’m also working on tidying up some of the display settings and making the old and new media and display more consistent.

If you get the chance please spread the word about Alternate Reality X through any forums or websites you use where you think there might be an interest in this type of project. Or alternatively drop me a note of any webpages or forums where you think I should post updates.

If you like the work I’ve done on Alternate Reality X so far then you might consider making a small donation from the blog page, via the webpages at www.crpgdev.com or using the link on the ARX facebook page.

Best wishes,
Acrin1