Messages

1

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: A Valley Without Wind 2 - a full sequel free for existing customers - is coming.

« on: October 01, 2012, 02:28:56 PM »

I've been an Arcen customer and fan for years and have really enjoyed the experience, especially in the masterfully crafted AI War universe which continues to thrive today. The immense programming skills of Chris and Keith combined are a force to be reckoned with, but there is just so much more that works properly to even list here. The work flow machine is well oiled and community input is paramount to the entire production and it creates an environment that is enjoyable to read and participate in, as well as admiring from the shadows. Given all this, I commend Arcen for the amazing display of independent game development done right.

With this important background primer out in full view first, I would also like to mention that I am completely confused about the direction the vehicle is traveling in and at the rate in which it travels. I've been a bit mind-boggled since development of Valley came out and continue to be out of the loop to this very day. I just collect my AI War expansions once a year and go on my way because I don't really understand or grasp the intended encapsulated experience that I am supposed to get overall. When you lose suspension of disbelief, or never achieved it within the game to begin with, one tends to gravitate to what they can understand - and this, for me, would be AI War within this special camp.

I'm not sure how one would arrive exactly at the decision to jump into a sequel of a game that was 1.) not well-received while generally misunderstood, and 2.) not entirely finished, either. Then with an adventure game in the wings and AI War splashing around, I have to wonder how all these resources will be allocated. Will this latest AI War expansion be it until 2014? Will Arcen choke on the mile-wide cookie on their plates? Will I even live to see all these games finished? And will I understand half of them when they are released?

I wonder what the future holds, but I have been wondering for some time now and I still can't really grasp any of it. Sorry for being stale cracker in the dip, but I just had to post my feelings about everything I suppose.

2

AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.052-5.057 "From The Shadows" Released!

« on: August 09, 2012, 07:02:36 PM »

I picked this badboy up this morning, but didn't have time to stop by and blurt out any random tidbits. Great job and congratulations on the new expansion and all the swell new toys we get to play with. I will prepare myself for the flood bank of patch releases then. Oops, there's one already! It's like a chicken from King Midas over here.

Thanks, guys!

3

AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.045 It's Full Of Something Other Than Stars!

« on: July 20, 2012, 12:31:43 PM »

Upon firing up the Kraken with the new v5.045 installed, I immediately noticed something very different before my eyes. I might be losing my mind, but it would appear that some gratuitous PI elements made it into the atmospheric mix.

[In best Borat form]

Very nice!!   

The visual improvements are quite a welcome addition thus far to aid in immersion. Not that I'm complaining about anything...don't get that idea.    I'm getting fired up about the release with great curiosity.

4

AI War / Re: AI War: Ancient Shadows Teaser / Q&A

« on: July 13, 2012, 04:14:56 PM »

Now we're talkin'! I've been waiting for this one, you bet! 

Now let's discuss those atmospheric and weather anomalies I brought up about a year ago...   

http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=1047

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A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: [FILLED] Looking for artist(s) to develop new style for A Valley Without Wind.

« on: July 07, 2012, 06:58:32 PM »

I'll have to chime in and cast my vote for G's environments overall. I believe that H's direction shares some of the very same problems the core game has...and even more so in some cases. It's not easy putting 8,000 elements together and try to make them work; this is just my little old opinion anyway, but the direction G is going in seems immediately recognizable at a glance without question as to what we are looking at on the screen.

I would rather see something semi-realistic that simply looks solid and believable as opposed to something artsy and abstract. I'm not real big on abstracts in any form, so I can see more than just a face lift happening with G's set (so far). It's also kind of soon to judge and perhaps both elements might work together somehow, too. But those are my two coins...

6

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: [FILLED] Looking for artist(s) to develop new style for A Valley Without Wind.

« on: June 26, 2012, 10:53:14 PM »

I think all this will work out as both a profitable and integral journey. From the sound of it, Chris has the game plan almost worked out to the last nickel as to the resources he'll need and has the path set on how to get there.  Let's not speculate on failure before we start because I think people might be surprised to learn something different in this case.

We already know that Arcen has the core brain power to program some relatively amazing software. We have already seen the superb support thus far for all their titles and they aren't a fly-by-night operation, by any means. It's been said by nearly everyone, myself included, that there is something to like about the project in one way or another. I really can't see this trek not being an option at this point now that the gears are in motion and the cat's out of the bag...doing cat stuff somewhere.

Most of us fans who have been around a few years love Arcen because they realize what their strengths and weaknesses are and don't mind discussing that with the community in a detailed constructive fashion. Then momentum is built up, resources are gathered, and big things start to happen. This is the way it's always gone and will go again this time around...albeit, with some extra help!

All we can do now is jump on the support wagon and see where that badboy takes us, but this is an answer to a plea sent by a large consensus that wanted change and they got it.  Pretty impressive stuff if you ask me.

 

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A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: [PAID] Looking for artist(s) to develop new style for A Valley Without Wind.

« on: June 23, 2012, 12:54:30 AM »

There's one game in particular from the deep past that stands out which offers some amazing fluid character animation; Abuse. It's circa 1996 by CrackDotCom and it's now open source.

It got great reviews when it came out simply due to the fluidity of the character controller and the interactivity of the game in general. It was the first "twin stick 2D platform game" that I can remember and it was fun just to move the dude around, even if you weren't all that good at the game. When I first saw the new Valley, the first thing I thought of was Abuse in context. Screenshots would look very similar in place actually, but getting that controller in your hand (especially a keyboard/trackball combo) was what it was all about.

Here's a gameplay video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFUOUz2TZw

And the Wiki Entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuse_%28video_game%29

It had WSAD for movement and the mouse for aiming, similar to Valley I suppose, but it just felt *right*. Kind of like the old Blizzard games that just felt solid. You felt like your character was part of your hand. I'm glad to see the decision has been made to look into the graphics portion of the game, but the character controller is what feels clunky and stiff to me. It really does jack up my wrists playing for any length of time 'cause I'm trying to make my dude move in ways he can't. It's like cramming toothpicks down Gumby's pants and having him do deep knee bends.

And you should be able to fire when you are ducking and all that, too. The range of movements the character offers and the combination in which he can actually maneuver and shoot is what is killing me. Perhaps some sort of skeletal/physics/procedural system for the character would overcome memory limitations and make it more life-like, and that would also have to tie in with the art direction somehow...

Which is exactly the entire point to this endeavor; more consistency with the visuals in a more aesthetic fashion. I do agree that some parts contrast nicely together and the colors are very vivid, but I'm seeing a ton of EyeCandy filters all over the place. I can spot the Alien Skin Fur filter a mile away and almost everything organic in Valley (grass, trees, dirt, rocks) has that signature filter run on it. I'm not saying it's wrong, but coming from a graphic dabbler who has been around, it's very blatant and distracting. You can still use those filters, but just layer them in with overlays subtly and tweak transparency to lend texture without dominating the base art.

I'm not bashing anything here, just making my personal observations that have kept me from getting into this project converting from AI War. I don't think anyone will disagree that this project will be a huge undertaking and shouldn't be taken lightly. Also, a nice stout community vote on finalists might be a *really dang good idea* to avoid ending up in the same scenario twice. I still hear people who prefer the old Valley with the perspective view and want to revisit that idea again.

It just never ends I guess, but I thought I would toss my opinions in there if anyone cares.

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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.035 "Teleport Battle Stations And The Return Of The Dyson Sphere"

« on: May 25, 2012, 02:14:44 AM »

Thanks, guys! It's most appreciated!

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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.021, "Hybrid Helper Pie," Released!

« on: January 25, 2012, 04:32:56 PM »

Keith travels up the middle with the secret cloaked slam dunk...and he scores!   

Thanks for the surprise update, always appreciated. And if you want to toss in some *optional* NetHack-ish random elements, events, and/or secret screwy stuff, then count me in for that, as well.   

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AI War / Re: Happy Holidays From Arcen Games!

« on: December 26, 2011, 07:30:11 PM »

Happy holidays to all and thanks for the case of awesomesauce, Arcen Games! I look forward to more awesomesauce next year to add to my growing collection!

May 2012 bring some wondrous and incredibly fun things for everyone!

11

AI War / Re: AI War: Children of Neinzul donations to Child's Play reach $30,741.89

« on: December 25, 2011, 01:59:46 AM »

That is just amazing and such great news to hear! And you can honestly say that you did it your way, too. I'm speechless about this news...except for the fact that Chillens was a no-brainer day-one purchase for me and I always want more. (Ok, ok, ok...I want MOAR!@!$). I hunger! 

How can you not love a great game by amazing developers that flies off the monitor and does so much good in real life. (<---notice the lack of a question mark there.) I don't post messages here often these days, but check the boards here daily for infotainment and I am delighted to see the same integral and intelligent community that I enjoyed here when I signed up years ago. Bravo and carry on!

Happy holidays Arcen Games and to all the community, as well!

12

AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.020, "Nanoswarm Fortress," Released!

« on: November 04, 2011, 12:07:54 PM »

Thanks for the update, it's always appreciated!   

13

AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.017, "Return of the Hunter/Killers," Released!

« on: September 13, 2011, 12:37:22 PM »

Thanks, Chris & Keith, for another recent update! Speaking of which, is it almost time for an outlandish expansion yet? Not that I'm anywhere near seeing everything there is to see completely, but I get greedy with my AI War content (understandably).   
Great work once again...oh, and I like your new avee, Chris.   

14

AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.014, "Bulk Rate Starships," Released!

« on: August 04, 2011, 04:03:23 PM »

Outstanding as always guys! It's always a pleasure to see a new update awaiting me when I fire up the Kraken for some real gaming, but it's rarely a surprise. 

15

Game Development / Unity upgrade from v3.1 to v3.3

« on: March 08, 2011, 08:40:22 PM »

Greetings all!

Since we just had the AI War v5.03 update and Chris mentioned this also updates us to the new v3.3 of Unity, I decided to ask a question before setting off a bomb that I can't fix. 

For Chris and/or Keith: Was your transition from v3.1 to v3.3 smooth without losing any previously installed packages? Is the process transparent, or does it attempt to uninstall the entire thing and reinstall - leaving me to break out my Backup.7z to manually restore my work files?

I read some posts at the Unity forums where some mentioned the fact that all of their previous assets had not made it over during the upgrade process. And are there any growing pains, hitches, anomalies, or other various sundry items of note before I make the move? Even though I have the entire root backed up, I am too far along on my game to chance a meltdown scenario.

Any advice or foresight would be greatly appreciated!   



Best regards,

Shardz