Sword of Moonlight Forum

Sword Of Moonlight Games => Complete Games => The Field of Kings => Topic started by: Hguols on January 17, 2012, 11:33:50 pm

Title: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on January 17, 2012, 11:33:50 pm
Ok, so maybe there are a few people here that are aware that I was making a 3rd SoM game.  Yes no? 
Anyway, that has sort of fizzled out at least for the time being.

I should have said something sooner, but I have new personal programs that I use regularly, and those new programs require the latest of graphics drivers.  For some odd reason, the latest graphics driver for the Intel G41 Express Chipset (cutting edge of graphics display I know) is not compatible with Sword of Moonlight.  Not only can I not see map pieces to place them in the map editor, but I can't see where to place objects in the piece setup.... 

....so for the time being, that project is on a hold until further notice.

However, as some of you may have seen in a recent post, (yes no?) I have taken a particular interest in handheld gaming creation.  Since converting the SoM program and/or games seems to be rather difficult, that's not a path I'm interested in taking, considering my coding skills are quite limited.  (though I will jump on the nearest chance if creating Diadem of Maunstraut or Trismegistus becomes a handheld reality)

The playing field has changed for me as of tonight.
I've stumbled upon a freeware program that has the ability to create point and click type games for the PSP. 
http://www.adventuremaker.com

After viewing a few demos, (and the program is extremely easy to use) I think I could pull off a King's Field Additional type game of sorts.  The good news is, is that I could basically take screenshots of what I've already created in this potential 3rd SoM game.  It would be tedious, but it wouldn't be too difficult for me.  Luckily the map preview works, and the map pieces have their own squares.

Since SoM objects, I could use whatever I pasted over the image.  This is point and click by the way.  I think the ability to use animated GIFs is an option as well, but I'd have to research the actual adventure maker program before I commit to too much.  I don't know if I would be able to create menus, stats or even random encounters.

As recycled as it may sound, I was actually planning on grabbing all the King's Field monster images Martin has over on his site, and using them.  Since the Additional series has motionless creatures, I'm not too bothered doing the same.  I think working out a character swipes and monster swipes would be sufficient animations I could get by with.

Worse case scenario, I believe I could get away with a puzzle type game that would look similar to the Additional games.

Currently though, I'm working on the 2nd Ankou Awaits album, so I probably won't devote much time to the game until the music for that album is done.  (unless I get a wild hair up my ass which might very well happen)  I'm 3 songs in, working on the 4th, so.... a few more weeks I could be done with it though.

My mind has been flooding with ideas since I found this program.  Its probably just a matter of following through and seeing what I can do.  I might do a little test tonight to see what I can come up with...
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 18, 2012, 01:19:41 am
Interesting.  The game creation isn't what I thought it was, but I'm actually quite intrigued as to what I can do with this.

I've compiled a setup file, a little test if you will.... for those of you who'd like to see what this is about.
For the record you DO NOT (I repeat DO NOT) have to have custom firmware to run this.  It runs with official firmware.

Just unzip the file, click setup to install the game to the PSP and follow the instructions.
I hope it was ok that I used the SOM site for this Todd.  Its only 276KBs in size...

http://www.swordofmoonlight.com/justatest.zip

Actually, the game is played in the PSP's browser....  which, I got to admit is a little strange, but the interface works well.  I do wish things moved at a little quicker pace though.  There's a little 2 second hour glass between each picture.

It doesn't look like sounds/music will be an option.  I'm both disappointed and relieved.  This makes things even simpler.
I'm pleased to see that images can be added as hotspots.  Looks like this is where enemies will come in.

There's variables that I can add and it looks like it works like the SOM counter system but much more primitive.  From just a glance, I have a limitless amount of "counters" (called variables) to work with - just name and assign a number.  0=off, 1=on.

I'm probably not going to be able to set up random enemy encounters this way, but I could at least offer some variety on where I place them. 

Attacking an enemy should be easy enough....  factoring them in for attacking me, that's another story.  Since on and off seem to be the only variables, its either unlimited life, or one hit kill....

I realize there's going to be a certain amount of compromise.  Text appears to be limited to one line so wordy NPC dialogues are out of the question.

Actually, I'm having a little difficulty seeing how I would even save the game....  if THAT isn't even possible, that would probably make a pretty major change to the game....


Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 18, 2012, 03:05:14 am
Well, saving is strangely out of the question.  There is a way to create "checkpoints" of sorts, though its more like a level select....which would look better just to code with images and hotspots.

I made a rather lo-fi "fight".  Sorry its not exactly intense.  Click on the demon, he disappears....  I think in lieu of making a slicing animation, I'll just create a special sword cursor in vain of the ones already available.

http://www.swordofmoonlight.com/testfighting.zip

This way, there's a fight and no respawn....

However, I think the only way I'll be able to make a character death is if I create a timing frame.  That would be the one hit death deal.....  sort of a "kill the monster in two seconds or he'll kill you".  That means no hotspot monster, and the monster is part of the image/background.  I guess I could make an animated GIF of a sword swing....

I'm thinking progressing to a new area would be triggered by defeating a boss monster.

I'll have to study more on this later....
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 18, 2012, 01:46:52 pm
Ok, animated GIFs look really good and are pretty small when they're only 480x272

Weird SoM problem though that I've never experienced before.  I output the map, right....  its saved, newest version and all that.  I create a runtime.  I copy over all the extra map pieces.  I run GAME.EXE and it loads something WAY earlier in the map development.  Like I start in a different place of the map and there are no trees, no custom pieces and still uncompleted areas.  (where as the actual output has all completed areas and custom map pieces)

The whole reason I wanted to create a runtime so I could actually view the game in 480x272.  (since I can't figure out a way for the project preview / test map to view at that resolution - though I would be glad to be wrong on that)

Any ideas?  It would save me a lot of work.

The alternative is resizing every single picture piece to 480x272 which could add HOURS to the project's creation time.  (and its really unnecessary to boot)
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: dmpdesign on January 18, 2012, 03:50:32 pm
Sweet cant wait to look into everything youve posted here when i get home tonight.

Very intriguing stuff Tom, sorry to hear about the postponement of your 3rd SOM installment though :(
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 19, 2012, 03:12:07 am
Well, it appears that the 3rd SoM installment is beginning to manifest itself on the PSP.  ( ^ - ^)
I know its not a SoM game, but the game materializing itself this way is better than not at all.

I've compiled a playable demo of a game I plan on following through with and I'll share that here for anyone with a PSP.

http://www.swordofmoonlight.com/tfok_demo2.zip

EDIT:  I've made a few changes, hence the "2" after the demo in the file name.  Made the battle look a little better.

The name of the project should appear quite the pun.  There is a working title screen, intro, death-endgame and about 20 images total, 5 of which are animated gifs.  You can wander around a small section of the courtyard.  There's one fight, which I've refined the fighting quite a bit since the last go around.  (and the hero is wielding the moonlight sword, I created a special cursor of it)  The combat is based on anatomy targeting.  Hitting an enemy anywhere won't do, you have to hit a certain area.  One hit kill.  However, you have a limited time to find the hit zone and hit it, or the enemy will hit you.  One hit kill, game over.  Outro and back to the title screen.

Since I'll be doing without save features, it shouldn't be a big deal to die.  I plan on having the area select up and running as soon as other areas can be added so if someone gets bored with one area, they'll be able to traverse another.  I plan on having a wide assortment of enemies being used so the eye candy should be suitable.

Enemies don't respawn until the game is loaded again.  I'm not certain, but I believe dying and then selecting new game again, the enemies will still be gone as the variable is still active.  Since the demo has one fight, and one chance to die, this is something I'll find out later.

If anyone has any questions/concerns/suggestions, I'm all ears.  This will be the last demo, as I'm not a demo guy.  The next posting including a file link will be a full version game...  ( ^ - ^)
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 20, 2012, 11:07:50 pm
I just totaled up the areas based on my Sword of Moonlight map and the areas will be:

The Courtyard
The Lower Courtyard
The Forest
The Caves
The Blood Palace
The Garden Labyrinth
The King's Court
The Valley
The Dungeon Temple

Some areas are very big, like The Dungeon Temple and Blood Palace. Others, small, like the Lower Courtyard and The Forest.

I'm going to take back one thing I said and post a more playable demo.  I'm more familiar with the interface and I want to share what I've got here.  I got the courtyard complete, including 12 enemy encounters between 8 different types of enemies. The fighting system works pretty well.

Enemies you kill DO NOT respawn if you die. Take some comfort in that if a couple of them get by you while you're searching for their weak spot. You won't have to re-fight anything.

This here is a playable demo, and a more suitable example of what the game is like. Once again, any questions/comments/complains/suggestions are welcome.

http://www.swordofmoonlight.com/tfok_demoplay.zip

Seriously, for real.  This is probably the last demo.
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 25, 2012, 01:14:19 am
Here's various screens from the playable demo.  ....for those of you who don't have a PSP or don't want to download anything.

(http://www.thefieldofkings.com/thefieldofkingsimages/6e.jpg)
(http://www.thefieldofkings.com/thefieldofkingsimages/14efightwin.jpg)
(http://www.thefieldofkings.com/thefieldofkingsimages/2wfightdeath1.jpg)
(http://www.thefieldofkings.com/thefieldofkingsimages/12e.jpg)



Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Verdite on January 25, 2012, 07:49:52 am
Dunno when i can try this, left my psp far away. Looks awesome.
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Guyra on January 25, 2012, 10:25:27 am
I really want to try this out once it's done. However, since this now consists of 2D images, why not take the graphics up a notch by editing in PS or similar? Just an idea.

Here's an example I did, took about 30 minutes:
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 25, 2012, 08:09:12 pm
Verdite (or anyone), you can actually play the game without a PSP.  Just load the .a files in your browser.  I know it works with Firefox.

Guyra, what you submitted is impressive.  Very impressive. 
However, I have to weigh in time put into the product vs. product quality.

To me it doesn't seem worth it to put 30 minutes of time on one picture, something that will realistically be looked at for not even 1/30th of that time, just for having better graphics, but delaying the completed project for an additional several months.  I'm guessing there will be 200+ images total when the game is all said and done.

Now, if what you did took 5 minutes, I would have a different tune.  I'd definitely go for that in a heartbeat.
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Verdite on January 26, 2012, 09:26:04 am
Thanks hgouls, ill try it out sometime.

Seeing the comparison in the pictures, i think that Guyra has a point, though if you can somehow template pieces, like that tree for example or a brick wall, you'l increase the quality nd speed while making good future templates for games. Thats one reason why i spend time on my custom work for SoM, because i've a keen interest in game making and i know ill be able to use my models for future work.
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Guyra on January 26, 2012, 05:05:45 pm
I definitely agree, Hguols, spending that much time on every image would take way too much time. But if one was to do this for the whole game, there are several things that would make the time spent on each picture decrease dramatically. :smile:

 - Verdite's point about template pieces. This would probably decrease the amount of time considerably, though exactly how much really depends on the number of times each template set could be used, and that's not something I know. :wink:
 - It would take less time for each pic. On the first ones you have to get into how you're doing it, like a learning process. After you'd get used to doing the work, the rest would go much faster than the first, say, ten images. A scene like the example I gave you would probably take between 5 and 10 minutes.
 - Work on nature scenes generally takes more time than work on things like for example rooms inside a castle or dungeon. If you've gotten used to the work, the most simple rooms would probably not take more time than a couple of minutes each.
 - When I created the example, I also had to create textures and elements from the original image and such. If one were to do this kind of work on several images(over 200 in this case), one would have all this ready for most of the images even before they'd be opened in PS. :smile:

So, five minutes on average isn't really that unlikely. For the example I had to figure out how to do things, where to get things, create and edit textures, and actually somewhat a template for the two trees up close - yes, they use the same "half-template", although it's not very visible. If I'd had these things ready for that pic, and knew from the start the general idea of how I would do this, it'd probably not have taken me more than a maximum of ten minutes.

And now I'm going to try and play that demo! :biggrin:


Edit: Having problems loading the game in FF. All I get is the following for the first .a file:
[1]
1=#`^Vdgj.xy$!&{ U5UT
2=f\CA6
3=mXq;
4='^0+
5=m%$m?/+L*6<9G`

Or random images for the rest. Do you need to install something else to load this, or am I just being plain stupid? ;D
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on January 26, 2012, 11:10:39 pm
Thanks Guyra.  I think I'll hold off on any image modification for the time being. 
My focus is more to get the game done....  Besides, there are people in the Adventure Maker community that are already saying its the best made-for-psp game demo.

Sorry!  I forgot to mention which .a to choose to make it run!

Pick 00124.a and run that in Firefox.

That will start the game off from the start.  The mouseovers don't stay long in Firefox for some reason.  It might ruin the gaming experience a little.
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Guyra on January 28, 2012, 04:05:05 pm
Alrighty! :smile:

Playing the demo now, I really like it! I want the full game on my PSP once it's done! :biggrin:
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: HwitVlf on January 31, 2012, 04:21:56 pm
Reminds me of Stonekeep!
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: dmpdesign on February 02, 2012, 12:55:22 am
Making a game of this sort is probably more up my alley for right now as 2d is something I can do all day.

Tom, you have intrigued me, i will be playing this one for sure when youre done and probably making my own.

Well done thus far!
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on February 10, 2012, 01:34:25 am
I haven't spent much time on this project lately because I've been SOOOOOOOOOO geeked on the new music I've put together.
...and updating my own site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8tlxBdGRi0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yOsCUTArM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3w7rsiKhKA

Once the dust settles from this, I'll be back on it.  Right now, I'm trying to get the attention of a few labels...
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on February 17, 2012, 04:52:52 pm
I got quite a bit done today.  I had the day off work, the wife was at work, so I decided to kill a few hours on making this game.

I have the Courtyard and Lower Courtyard completed.  102 images total.  The setup file is close to 12 megs and has 506a's.  (I'm guessing that's from the hotspots)  Two areas down, 7 to go.  Tried and tested, this is good to go.

I created the area select and credits section of the game as well.  As far as the game menus are concerned, they're done.  (I just have to add in link to the new areas when they're completed, which will be done in a few clicks.)

Each area will have a intro-gif.  For those of you who played the demo and it says "The Courtyard" in letters that fade out, each area will have that.  I also plan on making multiple "area intros" so you'll be reintroduced to each area as you leave one and enter the next.  The Courtyard leads to The Lower Courtyard, The Valley and The King's Castle, so naturally, there will be 4 letter animations total just for that area.  One for starting a new game, and the other three from returning from the aforementioned areas.

Encountered a minor problem that was easy to overcome.  The Adventure Maker program is sensitive to file names.  Trying to upload a different file from a different folder with the same name results in "uploading" the first image on file.

Since I'm separating each area into their own folder, I've just been adding a number in each file name so I won't run into that again.

Next area to work on, The Forest....
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on February 20, 2012, 09:51:02 pm
I did a little change of pace and created a map. 

The Field of Kings Map (http://www.hguols.com/stuff/fieldofkingsmap1.jpg)

This is of the entire layout of the game.  Naturally, The Courtyard and The Lower Courtyard are complete, and I'm working on the forest area right now. 

Its huge and there's a lot to look at.  I realized in creating this, it would be a spoiler for The Garden Labyrinth.  Cest la Vie.

I plan on including a map with the game install, when I'm completed with the game.
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Guyra on February 21, 2012, 02:10:51 am
Oooh, this is a sweet map! Well done! :D
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Verdite on February 21, 2012, 03:16:38 am
Nicely made :)
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: dmpdesign on February 21, 2012, 05:37:20 pm
Very nice, I assume some of that was generated via SOM ?  At least it sure looks like it.

Keep cranking Tom, looking forward to adding this to my psp collection!
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on February 27, 2012, 12:44:40 am
Yes, the map was made with SOM.  I'm hoping to have this done in the next month or so Todd! 
Just bare with me!  I'll get it done!  ( ^ - ^)

Got sidetracked again a bit because I found a label to go through for my CD release, The Path Less Traveled Records.

CDs are in pre-press review right now.  They'll probably start on them Monday.  Made this nice little image that gives a slightly lo-fi tour of the actual CD, much like the one made for the debut.

(http://ankouawaits.com/images/cb_cd.gif)

Digital release is submitted.  All that might take a couple weeks. 
I'm thinking it will be available where its supposed to by mid-March....
____________________

On that note, I have all the scenic images put together for the forest.   Man that area's bigger than I thought.  Next, enemy sprites/aGIFs, after that, putting them in the program...

For those of you who don't know, Wednesdays and Thursdays are my days off work, so the most time spent creating might be on those days.  (at least for a few hours on those days)
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: dmpdesign on February 27, 2012, 01:32:40 pm
Your .gif work is phenomenal Tom ;)
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on March 01, 2012, 06:18:34 pm
Thanks Todd!

I don't think I'll finish the programing side of the side today, but I completed all the images for the forest.  Much like the last area, it was larger than I though....  much larger.  Everything is uploaded in the adventuremaker program, I just need to edit each images hotboxes/commands.

Then again, the forest includes more area than just the green area on the map (http://www.hguols.com/stuff/fieldofkingsmap1.jpg).  It also includes a few paths in The Garden Labyrinth not associated with the direct maze, and the cave right by the forest entrance. 

The Courtyard includes 96 total images.
The Lower Courtyard includes 107 total images.
The Forest includes 259 total images....  just to give you an indicator of the area sizes.

I also added a few concepts.  For one, there will be a "warp" area in the forest which leads to another area.  (through a certain character)  For two, there's an enemy which cannot be killed, only avoided.  This enemy will be reoccurring encounter in The Garden Labyrinth along with enemies that can be killed...  this will hopefully add a little more depth to the game besides wandering around and killing things.

Just from looking at The Field of Kings map (http://www.hguols.com/stuff/fieldofkingsmap1.jpg), I'm thinking The Cavern and The Garden Labyrinth will be quicker to add in the game.  They're more enclosed areas, and considering their area is more cut and dry than the forest (which also includes a cave and some labyrinth), production will go a little faster.

Also, I'd like to make a mention, since the game is almost 500 images so far, I made an internet backup of them as well as the monster sprites and slash images. 

Worse case scenario, if my computer were to explode into a million pieces, I'd just have to redo all the program commands and that would be it. 

I have made one change to the map.  There is the possibility that a few other areas might change, so the map is just a general one.  Just to let you guys know!

( ^ - ^)
Title: Re: ....and now for something completely different...
Post by: Hguols on March 07, 2012, 01:48:15 am
PHEW! 1035 .a files for the game now. I have all the coding complete for the forest area, and rigorously tested. Everything goes pretty smooth. I ran into a problem though regarding the timer.

The only way to "cancel" a timer is to replace it with another one. The combat works well this way, but in regards to an enemy that can't be defeated, one you can only run away from, I found myself back to the dying frame even after "running away".

The solution was duplicate frames in the surroundings with their own timers in effect loading the actual frame. Setup almost like a fake timer, it took care of the issue... if only with a slight delay in loading the both frames.

I believe I'll do the Garden Labyrinth next. It should be a smaller area, and quicker to complete.

I also posted in the Adventure Maker general forum in regards to donations. I'd like it to be an option for the download site I'll set up, as it adds to my own reward concept to receive nice gestures from strangers...

What's said regards to non-commercial versions of Adventure Maker (I just have the regular full version) is ""You are not allowed to make profits from your software - neither directly nor indirectly - unless you have purchased Adventure Maker Full Edition for Commercial Use". 

Profit implies a transaction of sorts, and that's not the case with donations. This game will be absolutely 100% free...

....I would just like the option to receive gifts, as nice gestures.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 19, 2012, 07:26:29 pm
Phew!  Finally got all the images done for The Garden Labyrinth.  I believe I miscalculated, because this area (for some reason) is the biggest area yet.  Probably because there's a lot of confined spaces, and more "turns" than an open area. 

This section is almost 300 images.

I'm sure it will take a bit for me to put all the hotboxes in....  Although each area is getting bigger, I am getting faster at constructing.

I'm actually looking forward to the next area I'll be working on, The Valley.  Its divided into two sections, and it will seem a little less work to complete one section, and then the other....

....then again, it will make the game seem like 10 areas rather than 9.... 
._.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 26, 2012, 10:31:20 pm
Finally got the hotboxes all sequenced for The Garden Labyrinth!  PHEW!

Here's the lowdown of the game so far.
Its over 40MB in the setup file...
There are 1633 .a files
Created with 769 JPG images
Different types of enemies: 44

I haven't tested the area yet, but I imagine its pretty tight and won't have to make too many fixes.  I've learned one thing, corners and hallways are a lot easier than open spaces.  To easy to get lost in open areas.

4 out of 9 areas complete!  (but as I mentioned with the valley, it might as well be 10 areas since the valley separates and I'm doing it in two chunks)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 28, 2012, 01:54:22 am
I did an hour of testing in the Garden Labyrinth and only found a few mistakes, which were quickly fixed.  ( ^ - ^)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Verdite on March 28, 2012, 07:55:59 am
Can i ask, will there be any weapons and armour in the game and any plans for different damage types?
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 28, 2012, 12:51:28 pm
Unfortunately, no....

The software used is designed to create point-n-click games.  Exploration is the key, as there isn't really any way to customize or build your character.  There's no way to design character menus, and the game actually uses the PSPs browser engine to run, so there's not even the option to have sound or save the game. :(

The only benefit for killing an enemy is not dying yourself.  :P

There's a lot of variety, and the game is far from tedious to play....  however, it doesn't have the same reward system as games where you can level up, gain experience, use different weapons.  The sky's the limit as far as what I can display - I could display with an animated gif a level up, a score system, but there would be no internal clockwork to make it legitimate. 

Actually, I'm switching gears a little bit to see if I can find a way to at least play a song while the game is going.....  and try to do so without too much external software...
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 28, 2012, 03:34:30 pm
I just stumbled upon a great discovery! For clarification, I found a way to play music with your adventuremaker game WITHOUT USING CUSTOM PSP FIRMWARE!!!!

"The Field of Kings", the game I'm working on now, was originally supposed to be the 3rd game I created using the Sword of Moonlight software. I made a few songs for an original soundtrack, and now it looks like I'll get to use this original soundtrack with The Field of Kings adventure maker game!

The way the PSP works, you cannot utilize the system's music/MP3 player and the browser at the same time. It probably uses too many resources. However, the PSP browser does work with SWF files (SWF files, used for flash movies, do support sound.) Being that the PSP is capable of browsing with multiple tabs, all you'd have to do is open the music in one tab, and the game in the other.

I have tried and tested this and it works!

1] Download an MP3 to SWF converter. There's one at CNET.com by hootech for free download. The trial version only allows 60% of the MP3 to be converted, but if you have audio editing software (like I do) you can simply add 40% of the song time dead air to bypass the song cropping. Razz The SWF can be set to loop as well for a constant soundtrack!

You'll want to go with the lowest audio quality because anything more will be too much for the PSP cache, and the game won't load.

2] Put the freshly made .SWF on your PSP. I put it in INSTALLED_SOFTWARE with my game

3] Open PSP internet browser. Hit triangle to bring up the browser menu.

4] Type in the browser address bar the location of the SWF on you PSP's memory stick. file://INSTALLED_SOFTWARE/thefieldofkings.swf (or load a custom made bookmark, that'll be quicker)

5] Click "yes" to allow/run Embedded software.

6] When the music begins to play, you'll still be in the browser menu. Select "file" (far left button) and then select "Next Tab"

7] Open the bookmark of your PSP Adventure Maker Game and play it. The music will still be going!

8] ???????

9] PROFIT

( ^ - ^)♪♫♫♪♫♪♪♫
I'm so excited to have discovered this! The Field of Kings game will have the ability to have an original soundtrack - which is 16:08 in running time. A SWF file with that long of a song (at the lowest quality for the sake of memory) is still under 2MB....

...and still sounds pretty good mind you!

The only downfall is that its a bit on the tedious side to get everything up and running.

I'm currently looking to see how I can open multiple tabs in the PSP with one bookmark link... and also, how to edit the setup.exe to also include said music bookmark link...
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Guyra on March 28, 2012, 04:46:57 pm
That's a pretty nice discovery! :D

Makes me wonder, does the PSP support frames? If so, you could have the game in one frame and the music in another. No idea if this is doable, though, as I have no experience at all with the software you're using. ;)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: TheSpaceBetween on March 28, 2012, 06:46:16 pm
This would be neat,  I admit I never got the chance to actually try Kingsfield Additional on the PSP.  I just watched some of it on youtube, and it felt like an old game for the turbo duo.

I am surely interested ":}
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 28, 2012, 07:11:33 pm
@Guyra, the PSP does not support frames, but does have 3 tabs.

Thanks to a little bit of Javascript (and the PSP's compatibility with it), I can open the music in one tab and the game in another - in one click!

Unfortunately, this rules out using the game's setup EXE, but that's ok.  Now its just a matter of determining whether I want to include a custom bookmark HTML file, or instructions to put the URL in manually...

Realistically, I'll probably do both...
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on March 29, 2012, 12:22:18 am
Actually, now that I think of it, if I provide a bookmark, it will overwrite whatever bookmarks someone has on their PSP.
On a good note, its possible to have a easy to access custom folder.

For the time being, I have it set up that when I go to:
file:/thefield/ofkings.htm
...it pulls up the beginning page with the link to load the music and game.

That's easy enough, isn't it?
I'll have to change the credits too.... to include music. :) ♪♫
_____________

Random thought here.... Does anyone have a Vita? I'd like to know if these games would work on the new PSP.

I honestly don't see why not... they would probably just be loaded with the Vita browser.
I don't know if the screen size would be different or not or if the mouseovers still act the same.  :/
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 01, 2012, 08:47:44 pm
Well, I'm trying to track down someone who has a Vita to see how playable this game would be on that system....  I'm hoping it works relatively well, but until then, I'm still trying to find someone that has one, and see if they're willing to test the game... 

I'm hoping to get my foot in the door in what could be the first Vita homebrew game!

I have the 2nd part of the Valley done.  It was pretty small, just 67 images, but then again, it is half of a total area.  I have a few images taken for the first part of The Valley - I'm hoping to be done with this area, maybe by this weekend.

Its official, I'm more than half of the game completed.  About time!  ...since I started working on this late January.  ( ° - °)

I went ahead and setup the web domain for the game.  There's not much there, but then again, the site will just feature the game download... Maps, FAQs....  a few other things if I can think of them.

http://www.thefieldofkings.com

Hey Todd - any chance I could get my own forum section for this game please?  (and this thread moved there?)
It would definitely be more relevant, and I'd greatly appreciate it.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 07, 2012, 06:28:25 pm
Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing at this time the level of compatibility with the Vita and this game.  The 7-10 people I've contacted that have Vita's, who agreed to test the game's level of compatibility, turned out to be almost completely worthless.

Half of them downloaded the game and disappeared.  The rest corresponded for a while, to report the problem with "installing the game", then disappeared when I presented a non-download online version of the game.  Had one poor fellow, apparently confused...  I asked him to help me test the game on the Vita, and he wrote back telling me how compatible the game is with Firefox.

I have a friend with an android, and my brother has an iphone4....  So far, the compatibility isn't there.  (it just loads a black screen)  I'll probably have to export the game as a landscape iphone game to get results, but I won't mess with that until I finish the game.

I'm not going to stop progress just to mess around with getting the game on iphone as well, which may or may not even be playable.

The Valley images are complete and put together - now I just have to apply them and the hotboxes in the Adventure Maker program... 

That leaves 4 areas left to complete.  Moving on up!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 11, 2012, 05:00:31 pm
After weeding out quite a few prospects that were no help at all, I finally do have some results as far as this game on the Vita. Thanks to the hard work of a few gents, I've gotten some answers, but I'd still like to have a few more... I'm afraid their willingness to help me further has tapered off. I don't blame them - its tedious to test games.  :sadani:

Until we can find a way around the Vita's content manager only allowing certain file types (unless there's a folder like the PSP "COMMONS" on the Vita we don't know about) the game will have to be online.

Not a problem. That's what I have the thefieldofkings.com domain for.

Since the resolution is geared toward the PSP, when the game is loaded on the Vita, you have to do the screen stretch thing like you would on a smart phone, to view the game full screen.

None of the buttons work at all on the game, but its fine because EVERYTHING is touchscreen. Since this is a point and click game, no problems there.

Through a little research (I know I'm probably behind on this) but I figured out that the Vita does not use any Flash. That's a bummer because that's how I have the soundtrack setup on the PSP.

I know the Vita is compatible with some HTML5, so I made some changes on my end to the online Vita version of the game in hopes that I can get the game and soundtrack working simultaneously.

Worse case scenario, (if no one helps me further), Vita users will be playing a silent game. (or not playing it, depends on how you look at it)
_______________

Well, progress is coming along on the game. I still haven't coded all of The Valley yet, but that should be done today. I have my first NPC type character with conversations. (the two other NPCs only say one thing which is easy)

Its through text displaying at the bottom and layer after layer of hitboxes that have variables. (like hotbox1 only displays when x=0, but when its clicked it changes to x=1, hotbox2 only displays when x2=0, but when its clicked it changes to x2=1, etc. 12 of them stacked like hotcakes with the last hotbox enabling all the others to 0 for repeated conversation.

More specifically, Magi Magus in the tower says which enemies need to be defeated to reach the last boss who is The Ineffable King Edward.

"The Dread Knight of Earth in the Courtyard
The Hidden War Demon in the Lower Courtyard
The Damned Angel twins in the Forest
The Widowess in the Garden Labyrinth
The Arachness and Cerberus in the Valley
The Ebony Knight of Flame in the Cavern
The Hallow Mage in the Dungeon Temple
and Lord Necron in the Blood Palace."
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: dmpdesign on April 18, 2012, 07:19:30 pm
Sorry my appearances here are sparse as of late, but I am still anxiously following your game Tom.

I also am going ot look into installing that plugin this week for the forum and mobile posting ;)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 19, 2012, 01:45:06 pm
Sorry my appearances here are sparse as of late, but I am still anxiously following your game Tom.

I also am going ot look into installing that plugin this week for the forum and mobile posting ;)

Fantastic!  Sounds great Todd!

I have The Cavern area complete.  I just have to add in all the hotspots.  3 areas left to go after that!

I couldn't help but notice how the Adventure Maker program runs whenever it has to load a different area folder.  Its seriously like the hour glass show for a good 30+ seconds, and my computer, while not cutting edge, never has to wait 30+ seconds for anything....

Something very good that I got working last night.  The game works on my Android mobile phone!  My mom confirmed that the game works on her iphone4 as well!

While the game works on the iphone 4 native browser, the soundtrack does not.  Neither the game or soundtrack work on the Android native browser, but using the Opera app, both work extremely well.  I'm hoping that the Firefox app for the iphone 4 works just like Opera does for the android.

Thanks to an Android file manager app, it is possible to play the game from the memory/SD card.  I'm hoping there's a similar option on the iphone4.

Oh, and if anyone here has an iphone (1-4) and is willing to test the game, please e-mail me:
thomas@thefieldofkings.com

I'd love to hear from you!

I also made an entire project backup.  I've backuped (and am still backing up) the images, but now that I'm backing up the entire project as well, I won't have to worry about losing all my hotspots work should something terrible happen.

( ^ - ^)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 23, 2012, 08:47:16 pm
Finished the cavern!  61.5mb is the total game size now.  2608 is the number of files for the game now.

Three areas left!  The Dungeon Temple, The Blood Palace and The King's Castle.

Those who have seen the map, I might make one change to the temple area.  One area will be a bit too roomy and nonsensical for the point and click genre. 

I might start to work a little on the website too.  I'll have to have that running for anyone who wants to play a game.  Based on the fact that the game isn't self explanatory, I think introducing playing instructions on the website might be good.

I might have a brief period of inactivity.  I just bought a house and moving will happen probably next week.  I shouldn't be slowed down too much, but I'll never know until I actually do it...
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 25, 2012, 10:03:41 pm
I did a lot today!

Well, I did an odd job and made some decent pocket money.  I also got probably half the area done for the dungeon temple, and also....  got the website up and live.

Its still technically under construction.  None of the download links work, but that's really all the site is missing.  There's a scrolling marquee with a lot of new screenshots. 

The website should answer any questions you may have about the game.

Also made a really nice banner for the game/website as well!

What do you think?
( ^ - ^)

(http://www.thefieldofkings.com/tfokbanner.gif) (http://www.thefieldofkings.com)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on April 26, 2012, 09:49:57 pm
I did and I did!!! ( ^ - ^)

In my spare time tonight, I put together a video preview of the game.

This is a video sample of The Field of Kings game, touchscreen/smartphone/vita version.  This is the same game resolution and audio sound quality as what's available for smart phones. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgAk6Y_Cj5M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgAk6Y_Cj5M)

Recorded in the PC firefox browser, hence the mouse.  (it would have been a lot harder to follow what was going on if recorded on a touchscreen)

Youtube did blow up the resolution a bit, but it doesn't look too bad. 
It certainly gives the right idea.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on May 02, 2012, 05:44:17 pm
Well, I'm almost done with The Dungeon Temple images.  I still have yet to put them into the application and code the hotspots...

I'm mentally and physically exhausted because I'll be packing and moving throughout the next several days.  I've had a little time to work on the game, but not a whole lot.

My internet will probably be down for a few days until I can get it setup.  Its not real loss in progress because I can work on this project offline, and post here from my phone.

Still, I'm getting there!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: dmpdesign on May 02, 2012, 07:22:50 pm
Tom, everything is looking good, again Im sorry about the delays, life has been horrid busy with our big show coming up next week at work.

I PROMISE I will have a look at that addon by next week and get it implemented!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on May 11, 2012, 07:18:08 pm
I mentioned it in the FAQs thread, but thanks again Todd for setting this up!

FINALLY... I got the images done for The Dungeon Temple. I must admit, even with work and moving, I honestly have been slacking a little bit as well. (sometimes only putting in 15 minutes of work in a day)

This area is by far the biggest, with 349 images.

...anyway, I got the images done, now its a matter of coding everything in the adventure maker program....
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on May 21, 2012, 09:02:58 pm
FINALLY! I got the dungeon temple area DONE, as in put in the game and playable. Its tested as well, and only a few minor corrections I had to fix.

My apologies as I had a few delays with hampered game progress. My excuses?

For one, bought a house. Moved into that house. (I have plenty of room as its a 5 bedroom. My wife and I have to look for each other sometimes. That takes time.) For two, my wife just had surgery. Her gall bladder had to go. I neglected my computer to wait on her but she's recovered enough now to be pretty independent. I rekindled my passion for Dark Souls on the PS3. I got to admit - I devoted some time there rather than building this game....
A full time job and life on life's terms, 15 minutes here, 1 hour there, none here... time on the game has been sparse...

However, things should start picking up again.

Including this area the total PSP game size is 77.5mb,
3,312 .a files... 7 areas COMPLETE. 2 to go!

91 different enemies to encounter in the game so far. This counts bosses but does not count NPC or immortal enemies. Every non-boss enemy is encountered twice.

Once again, I have a FAQs section up on thefieldofkings.com website. If anyone has any questions about the game, please e-mail me or ask me here! If its not already featured, I'll mention it on the site! (though some of the questions, I won't know the answer to until the game is completed... like how long did it take to make the game and how many images are there.)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on May 26, 2012, 10:49:58 pm
Well, I have the scenic images done for the blood palace. There's a lot of them. (246) ....by the time I add the 3 images per enemy encounter (the fight, the win, the death) animated area gifs, etc. it will probably be pretty close to 400.

I think I might have to improvise just a little from my original plan, but I'm not really sure. I'm running out of enemy sprites so I'm trying to ration them without it appearing like I am.

I think I'll be ok. I've got a few ideas to spark things up a bit.
________________

My wife works this holiday Monday, but I have it off. Apart from doing some chores, I should be able to put in some quality work on the game.

Naturally, when my wife gets home, not so much. I want to try to spend time with her.
:P
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: dmpdesign on May 28, 2012, 10:07:42 am
I need to find my modded PSP - that is the only way to play this when youre finished right?
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on May 28, 2012, 10:23:23 am
No modded PSP required!  Whether its custom firmware or official firmware, it will play on both PSPs.
The game is played through the internet browser, not the > game > menu....
...this is why it works either way!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 01, 2012, 05:36:56 pm
Well, I'm taking a tiny step back from game development to try to address a port situation.  I tried to show the game to a friend, and it no longer worked on my phone.

I guess whatever update Opera did to their mobile web browser, its no longer compatible with the hotspots.  I figured this was bound to happen sooner or later.

....so, I'm looking into making apps.  That way, mobile browser updates in the future won't make or break me.

I'm really REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y trying to understand phonegap.com.  I'm struggling and just running in circles there.

Appsgeyser.com is a very nice idea.  It almost works.  Almost.  Music is out, and for some reason, after about 4 hotspots linked, it gets confused or something and you can't move any more.

If anyone has any input or ideas...  I'd love to hear it.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Guyra on June 02, 2012, 01:03:18 pm
Aw man, I just hate it when software updates fuck up stuff like that. :/ I hope you'll find a solution soon!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: HwitVlf on June 02, 2012, 04:03:27 pm
Kind of have to know what coding format Adventure Maker uses to run it's games. Since they're for browsers, I'd guess Java or HTML? Is it possible that the Opera update just changed some Java settings? You might ask on the Opera forums and find an easy fix.

The adventure maker site says the full version can make free-standing executables but it's not clear on whether that means for the mobile version or the Windows version- my guess is it's only for windows environments but if it is for phones, it might be what you're looking for.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 03, 2012, 12:17:46 pm
Thanks for the input John! That's a great idea! I'll look into this. I actually did a little experiment last night and got the PSP version of the game to work in the Opera mobile browser, and it is just .a files.

Something is getting lost in the iPhone export of the Adventure Maker game. You're right John, the games are made with HTML and Java. I do have the full version of the program. The free version of the game has a 150 image limit. That wouldn't work because I have almost 2,000 images and a section to go. .exe is for the non-moble games made. My cell phone's file tree is so alien. All the extentions are different than from working on a PC. Not an executable or DLL in sight.

I'll stop by an Opera forum to see if it is just a matter of settings...
( ^ - ^) ♪
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 03, 2012, 06:50:19 pm
Well, I've got some great news!  Right as I almost hit submit on this lengthy post on the MyOpera forum, I figured out that the problem with the android version of the game wasn't the Opera browser at all.  For some strange reason, the game played perfectly fine online....  I just tested it.

...the culprit appears to be the file explorer I'm using, and playing the game from my SD card.  It worked before, I wonder why not now?

I do remember an update from my file explorer.  Time to "explore" different options.  ...but not too much!

I've got a game to finish building!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 06, 2012, 04:00:54 pm
I figured out exactly why this game stopped working (while at my 2nd job of all places). It had to do with my error, not Opera, not my File Explorer, not my phone.

Included with the iPhone export of the game, there are 4 images. At some point in time, I deleted them from my gallery, not thinking anything of it. Deleting them from my gallery also deleted them off my phone. The game would not work without those files. Whenever I put them back in my thefieldofkings directory, the game worked perfectly fine on my phone, through Opera and my File Explorer program.

The images for the Blood Palace are DONE and I've coded all the deaths and wins for that area.

After that, enemy hit boxes, then hotspots to move around the area.

I'm not sure if I'll have this done this week, but after this area, just one area to go. The really good news is that the last area is pretty small, but I do have to make end-game images/scenes.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Guyra on June 06, 2012, 05:55:14 pm
I'm glad you found the problem, and that it wasn't harder to fix! :D
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 08, 2012, 11:15:18 pm
Me too!  Thanks Guyra!

Well I got some bad news and good news.  The good far outweighs the bad, at least as far as this game. 

First, the bad.  I woke up 2am calling dinosaurs until about 4am.  (calling dinosaurs meaning throwing up)  I blame the sausage burger I got from the local "Prairie Days" event as my wife ate the same things as me except that.  I called off work today.  That's bad because my next check will be one day short.
:(

The good, while I'm "recovering" at home, I plopped myself in front of my computer and got a lot of work done.  In between nursing food and bathroom breaks, it was building The Field of Kings all day.  My wife was at work so, might as well!

~ I completed The Blood Palace, tested it.  Its good to go. 
~ I re-sized some of the hotspots that I did very early in the game to match the more symmetrical ones I did later.  I'm having to quench some form of OCD that's welling up in me to make all hotspots all over the game the same sizes each frame.  That's just not realistic, so I'm letting that one go.
~ I've started the last area left to complete, The King's Castle and am 45 images into it.  I'm still guessing it will be approximately 100 images.  It really isn't a very big area.

I think if I play my cards right, I could have the game done by this time next week.

As always, I'll keep everyone here posted!
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Guyra on June 09, 2012, 03:14:37 am
I'm slightly happy you're ill. :rofl:
Looking forward to playing through this, so with that little left, I'm getting slightly excited up here in Norway. ;D

But seriously, I do hope you get better soon. :)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 09, 2012, 11:25:23 pm
I know I was too!!!  ( ^ - ^)

Well, I miscalculated a little bit.  I'm at 152 images and counting...  of course, some of that was some improvisation on my part.

No doubt, you will all hate the last boss.  There are 24 images associated to dying from him.  He's rather nasty. 

I should finish the rest of the images for the final area, credits and ending tomorrow...
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Guyra on June 10, 2012, 04:21:09 am
No doubt, you will all hate the last boss.  There are 24 images associated to dying from him.  He's rather nasty. 
Damn! Sounds like it, yeah! o.o

Then again, all the more fun when you kick his ass. ;)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 15, 2012, 02:52:20 pm
Well, the game has been released for a few days now.

I've been trying to advertise it in some of my spare time.  Because of this, the youtube video previewing the gameplay went from 40 to 700+ views overnight.  Its now over 900.

The Opera Mobile community is pleased.  They published a news article on how the game works in Opera Mobile.  I would also like to mention that out of all the other browsers available for the Android 2.2, Opera Mobile (not the mini version, the full one)

Here's the article!
http://my.opera.com/chooseopera/blog/2012/06/13/gaming-in-opera-mobile

Feedback overall has been positive, but I haven't heard much feedback about how enjoyable the game actually is.

I'll post more appropriate news later.
:)
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Verdite on June 20, 2012, 11:39:42 am
Congrats on completion, ill play this when i have my PSP again.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: HwitVlf on June 22, 2012, 12:16:02 am
I'm going to download this and give it a try tonight. I've got a lot going on right now so I'm running behind!!
About how long does it take to beat?
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 22, 2012, 07:25:07 pm
If you know where all the bosses are, I'd say less than an hour.

I hope you enjoy it!

I would recommend familiarizing yourself with each area, enemy and boss (location), THEN go for an endgame run.
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 22, 2012, 10:21:22 pm
I have an update.  There's good news and bad news.

First, the bad.  There was a mistake in my coding toward the end of the game.  Long story short, it was impossible to get to the last boss the legitimate "beat all the bosses" way.  (I tested more the "non-legitimate" way to beating the game.  Yes, there's a secret to getting to the last boss very quickly.)  The good of the bad news is that it was only accessing the last boss which was flawed.  Everything else was fine.

The good news is, I fixed the problem completely.  All the files/links/online-game on thefieldofkings.com website are fixed and updated.  None of the file sizes changed because it was a simple line of coding that got overlooked.  Its all good now. 

The bad of the good news is there's no patch so to speak.  It requires a re-download, and re-install.  My sincere apologies for the inconvenience.

Some more good news, I've had multiple people ask me... how long does it take to beat the game?  Well, I decided to find out... and document it.

Here's a video of a The Field of Kings speedrun so to speak.  How long it takes from the start of the game, to unlock the seal to The Ineffable King Edward (last boss).  Surprisingly, it was just a little over 12 minutes.  I'm guessing with beating the boss, assuming you knew exactly what you were doing (much like in this video) it would barely be more than 13-14 minutes to completely beat the game.  Be wary of spoilers.  This video reveals boss locations and quite a few enemy weak spots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlpJ4m5edw8
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: HwitVlf on June 24, 2012, 06:02:35 pm
I actually think watching this speedrun makes the game more enjoyable for me. I won't remember exactly where all the hit boxes are so there's still a challenge, but now I understand there's a logic behind where they're placed.  I enjoy the exploration aspect and dying often was interfering with that flow.  Do enemies respawn?
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: Hguols on June 24, 2012, 07:32:07 pm
Enemies do NOT respawn.  However, being that there's not a save function on the game, in effect, they all come back when you (re)start the game.  As long as you're in a game's session though, enemies do not come back.

Well, at least not the ones you can kill...
Title: Re: The Field of Kings JOURNAL
Post by: dmpdesign on July 31, 2012, 02:57:02 pm
I have yet to win this Tom, I am happily playing it on android now and can admit the game is far easier than it was on the psp.  I may beat it yet!