Beelzebub - my rpg game in development

[3D]

download here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AI61OYIS - playable up to the old ekron area (a few areas and items now)

Read more: http://csilk.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=beelzebug&thread=23&page=1#ixzz1BDbmTFg1

been awhile, still looking for anyone interested in designing the monster graphics.... and it may be set a bit easy right now, its a work in progress and the code is horrendous in places but shes my baby

let me know what you think, now i gotta browse the forums to check some other peoples rpgs

edit: added image so you can see something before deciding to try it

[Lachie Dazdarian]

In every first person RPG, I would love an automap.

Anyway, I would appreciate the info on controls, as I have to figure them out by myself. In general, they don't seem to be very responsive, but this might depends on the fact that I don't know how to use them. I don't mind the graphics, beside the fact that I would prefer not too see the lines around invisible walls, or the lines around the walls that should be hidden from me (behind another wall). Also, the interface needs some work on it...but this is WIP so I assume you already have this on your to do list.

Good work so far. Keep it up!

[3D]

yea sorry about that i forgot to mention the controls.

controls for:
adventure portion / battle scenes

W = step forward / select action in battle
A = turn left / select action in battle
S = turn right / select action in battle
D = turn around / select action in battle

1 = accept button / attack enemy position 1
2 = cancel button / attack enemy position 2
3 = talk to npc button or search / attack enemy position 3
4 = menu system / unused
5 = overhead view of nearby area / unused



all graphics can be considered placeholder for now, thats why some descriptions are uglier etc, all the UI will be redone eventually, the lines are strictly template lines that will eventually be removed. since i began the game i have redone the graphics for the viewport 3 times to get the still somewhat flawed but sufficient angles for now.. some incarnations i took out the lines but it is extra work if redoing them again in future, definitely not perfect and i would love to redo the entire drawing portion of the viewport. for now though i am just filling in the world with content, story and expanding on the battle system a lot more, not present in this version are enemy hits that can debuff various aspects of your party, encounters are still being tweaked for occurence, weapon and armor stats will most likley be modified to suit game balance, and the way that damage is calculated or interacts with player stats or level may also be added at some point. as is the items make your party not char levels, although i think the runestones that permamently effect player stats  i have added to the game add an element of character building and replayability, its just still to early to balance or place to many of them.

NPCedit is included and its my very crude way of adding and moving npcs as per the time of day txt files, its very rough at the moment, but its functionality makes it faster then editing by hand, i fully plan on building a map editor / item placement editor as well.

and because that directory is a mess the working npcedit is npceditb.bas, the controls are put on the screen, it basically allows me to add a number to the data statement while showing me the overhead of the entire map, allowing me to place an npc and then save, advance an hour and re-place the same npc a square from where s/he was... not much use to anyone but myself at the moment.

[3D]

Although i have been very quiet about my project it is still underway, i have added character classes, a skill system, experience and level up, a formation change command, debuffs and buffs, animated water, an exp bar for each character in the party, skill selection on levelup.

soon i will release a new version for testing and walking around... but i still have quite a bit of work to do to make it more feature rich versus the last time i showed it so i am just waiting for it to mature a bit more before i show my work.

[Lachie Dazdarian]

Nice to see this still being in the works. And sorry for me for bailing out on it. Life happens. Maybe I can return with the version to come in some capacity.

[3D]

i don't really consider that your bailing out on me the game is only hobby status and i work on it when i feel like it and it is unfair of me to expect art assets for something that is still not fully fleshed out, once it becomes more of a game i can see the pull of wanting to do art assets to be greater since the actual underlying code is in place and not something that is still stuck in my mind.

hopefully when i do show my work again it will have improved enough to spark some interest in you for new art, its getting closer to reveal time i am just in the process of making saving and loading work, which is a pretty important piece of the puzzle, and even once that is complete i may hold off a bit longer just to flesh it out a bit more.

its important to know that i work on it in spurts, once i "burn" out i put it on the backburner for some time until i feel inspired to work on it again, i find that the creative moments i get every so often are more productive then trying to force myself to code it days and weeks on end.... sometimes the spurts last a full month were i am actively fixing and adding things, other times it lasts for only a few hours or days.

as of lately i have been steam rolling new stuff in very quickly which is definitely a good sign for the health of my project, this will not be vaporware it will be finished one day and every minute i spend on it brings it that much closer!

[3D]

http://www.xfire.com/video/49ffd8/

video of close to the latest version i have been working on for those interested in seeing the progress, my latest finally get rids of all those nasty template lines and looks a lot better finally (but was done just after this video was taken, so the lines are still there for the video.)

I'd actually give you guys something to mess around with but i still feel as though there is more work to be done before its worthy of any play testing... its still far to close to looking like the  last time i released something to toy with, lots of new features but lots more features soon to be completed so better off to just wait.

[Lachie Dazdarian]

I like the look of this demo. It seems that the game is forming shape. Very cool. I quite liked the sound effects and the music track. It creates a very suitable atmosphere for the game's dark theme. The passing cloud are a clever effect.

Also, my sprite doesn't look so bad from the perspective of a video.

Keep us posted!

[3D]

* recently doubled the graphic assets to the maze view (9 new building blocks)
* my map editor is functional, so i should be able to finish the world in a much easier manner then editing text files by hand
* added coins (you get by turning in certain monster drops to different npcs)
* added functional shop screens (no selling of items yet but you can buy stuff)
* linked unique graphics for NPCS that are more then just normal townfolk.
* added (as of right now non-functional doors) that will open up new paths when opened
* added plenty of skill icons (still lots missing) done by friends that have agreed to do skill icons

[3D]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/818/mapeditv2.png/

map editor completed, also allows me to drop items onto squares now (still need to know what the item code is but nifty to be able to do without editing text files like i was)

world changes have to be hard coded with my current setup but that's not to big of a deal at least my doors are opening and closing now =D

[3D]

getting a ton of work done on the game lately and its almost ready for play testing and balancing stage

i have gotten 8 of 72 skills coded now, here's a teaser video of a skill i finished.

http://www.xfire.com/video/4a8528/

[Lachie Dazdarian]

Looking good! Waiting for demo.

[3D]

after a 6 month hiatus work has resumed on my game in the process of fixing many half finished systems.

plan to code for about 4 days straight, if i am satisfied with the progress i will release a demo afterward... if not, well i will keep at it.

[Lachie Dazdarian]

Awesome news!

Busy with my own projects as well and learning pixel art. Wish I was more available for collaboration.

[3D]

http://www.file-upload.net/download-4744619/Beelzebub-Release-10.rar.html

although i fell short on my goals as to what i wanted done this long weekend, i am somewhat pleased with the results... that finish line gets further and further away the more i code! controls and some information is in a readme file enclosed, please don't hurt your eyes looking at my source (or your brain)

EDIT: I played and noticed quite a few bugs that i missed, sorry about that... still somewhat playable to see whats going on if you don't pickup the 2nd character it may not bug dunno.
EDIT2: If no one has tried this demo out yet i would say DON'T! 2 reasons, see edit 1... and also because i have some new features being finished up.

well i guess i could just say what I'm working on....  which is  *drum roll* Diablo style loot drops and gear.

it should also be noted that the combat mechanics are not fleshed out fully even in my latest WIP and many of the skills that were recently coded have yet to be ported over to the new skill logic that i have just updated to... the good news is the priest skills i have completed as well as a major amount of scholar skills are on the new system already and its working 10 times better, goal is to have the skill system completley moddable, that sounds great and all but during a playtest it would not be hard to find some damage errors or formulas that just aren't working... not because its broken but just because i haven't had the time to go and fix up all these little things here and there.

look for a much better demo within 2-3 days. so don't check it out just wait instead!