GH2 Loading Screen Submissions

[Erathoniel]

GearHead 3. Talk to Bethesda. Morrowind rocked.

[Onisuzume]

Personally I wouldn't entrust Bethesda with it at all.
Besides; it'd probably mean the end of any GH-related stuff that exists/is-planned.

[SharkD]

Quoting: Lord Straylost

But Gearhead is THE absolute BEST roquelike ever made. Although as of now, I find the gameplay much better in ASCII, I can see this game going to the point of being found on shelves in the local game store. I can see Adam Sessler an Morgan Webb giving it a great review. I can see it as game of the month in GI magazine.

I don't think Gearhead is ready for prime-time just yet.

[Karoline Dianne]

I know not now. I meant later on... maybe in a few years. Once Gearhead gets up to it's true potential. when your 'concept art' becomes actual screenshots... or even better! I plan on seeing the final product of this game a few years from now fetured in GI or something. Maybe even by then I will have stopped playing. (Oh boy... college... I got two years until that...)
But when I do hear about it, read about it, or see it in stores, I'm going to smile. I'm going to smile and say to myself. "I was there. I was there when this game was in its early stages. I was there saying I saw the incredible potential. I was there." and I'll probably buy the game. I'll think to myself. "I told him he could do it. I knew it would be great. I always knew. I always believed in him."
And I'll proudly know that I helped, even if in a small way, develop what the game will have become. I'll proudly know that I was in these forums. I'll proudly know that I was here.

[SharkD]

As far as graphics are concerned, I think what we see now is about as good as it's ever going to get. Nobody is going to come along and rewrite Gearhead's graphics engine. Certainly, Joseph is not going to do it.

[Joseph Hewitt]

GH2 is not as good as it's going to get. There are a lot of improvements that can be made to the graphics engine, but for right now they're all low priority. The GH1 graphics engine is as good as it's going to get, at least as good as I'm going to take it, because of the feature lock.

I haven't actually tried to attract a graphics programmer to the project so I wouldn't be able to comment on the likelihood of finding one. I wouldn't write off the possibility of me redoing the graphics engine myself, either- GH1 went through 3 other graphics units before settling on the modern ASCII and SDL ones (GraphiX v1, original ASCII, GraphiX v2).

I know you're eager to see the graphics upgraded. Maybe I should start looking for a programmer to work with. Does anyone know a good place to start looking for one? I could post a message to the JEDI-SDL group, I suppose.

[Onisuzume]

The only graphics-related thing that I'd like to see improved is an easier way to make new (mecha) sprites.
That's it.

[Karoline Dianne]

right now, my main concern with graphics (as they are now) is that we need better animations. We need different hit animations for different guns. It's rather odd seeing a huge fireball fly across the screen and say 'HIT!' if you are using a light machine gun. I can make animations easily, I mean, I do make my own games... I just need a way to implement that. as of now, I think it's hard coded that everything shares that same animation. if there was a way to specify a certain animation like you specify the SDL sprite and portrait for mechs, that's all I'd need.

that's step one, as I see it. we are slowly progressing, so I don't want to bring up the huge graphic stuff yet. I just need something like...

Gun 5
Name <da gun>
Speed 2
Acc -1
Bv 2
Anim <atc_mg1.png>
sub
          Ammo 5
          etc
          etc


You get what I mean?

[Burzmali]

It wouldn't hurt to include "Directional True" as well for missiles and beams that have a direction associated to them.

[Karoline Dianne]

Yeah, but I don't want to ask for too much at once... <.<

[Joseph Hewitt]

Graphics for individual attacks is something that's on the to-do list; it was suggested by SharkD a while back, and he even rendered some sprites for it.

I have two options for how to do this: I could do it as LS suggests and assign a shot graphic to weapons individually. Alternatively, I could have a set number of attack graphics and choose them based on weapon type. The advantage of #1 is that I could have a large variety of custom shots for different weapons. The advantage of #2 is that it might be faster to implement and the shot graphic could be altered based on a number of factors. For instance, firing a single missile would use one graphic but firing a salvo would use a different one.

Since this seems to be a popular suggestion, I'll up its priority. Unfortunately I've been working mostly with the ASCII version these days, as my work computer can't run the graphical version.

[Karoline Dianne]

well, as of now I'm still using the ASCII version. mostly cuz the DSL version that works is old. The computer that can support it don't got internet yet, so I'm playing GH2 ASCII from I don't even know how long ago on there. and the GH2 DSL version is old as well. it doesn't even have Arena.

so until I get internet for my gaming computer, I'm stuck with older versions.

[Joseph Hewitt]

New loading screen, by Adam York Gregory of The Flowfield Unity:



For those who haven't encountered the Flowfield Unity before, it's a daily webcomic with a decidedly philosophical bent... and I mean "bent" in the best possible meaning of the word. I advise all science geeks on this board to go see the Babbage Indifference Engine, my favorite TFU strip. Adam also makes music videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ribR8jr1SAE

[JohnnyDmonic]

Not only do I love that, there's a good point there too.

Gearhead needs a seperate Stomp attack for attacks versus scale 1/Scale 0.  My suggestion is add both the legs DC together, and have both of them need recharging afterwards. (one was stomping, the other was busy balancing the whole unit).

And for some reason my mind blanked for a bit and ended up sequeing to an image of a Mecha trying to stomp a scale 1 groundhugger and ending up with it's foot stuck riding it like an runaway roller skate in a Dick Van Dyke style pratfall sequence.

Anyway, I like the picture. =)

[macksting]

I wonder if Charles Babbage would have liked that joke. Or Ada. I'm sure they'd have thought it amusing.