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Old 09-24-2011, 06:15 AM   #201
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Hello Pyke

I have been loosely following this thread and your game since the beginning. Loosely because I eagerly await Stasis and I didn't want to read and see too much as to spoil the game when it is released. Thank you for the video of the first 5 minutes of the game, it just adds to my excitement. I did notice that, to me, the voice of the computer is garbled just a bit too much and it is hard to understand what he is saying. Maybe its just me. And, although the captions at the bottom of the screen look fine in your screenshots they looked small in the gameplay video and hard to read, again maybe its just me. Can't wait to give your game a try. Hope it won't be too long until release and that it proves to be successful.

Cheers
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Old 09-24-2011, 12:59 PM   #202
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You've got to be kidding me. An indie game cannot have such insane production values - the visuals, the sound design...
Where's the "shut up and take my money!" picture when you need it?

I salute you. I'm serious. Phenomenal work!
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Old 09-24-2011, 10:58 PM   #203
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Thanks for taking the time to view the video guys.

GreyFuss, I will be implementing (animated) portraits for all the dialogue, even the computer voices-so even if the voice isn't to clear, you can read along with them! Im just trying to figure out the most unobtrusive way to get them into the interface!
With regards to the text descriptions, perhaps its a case of making the test brighter? Right now its pretty transparent (I think like 50%), so I can have a look at making it more readable.

Phaid. thanks so much for the compliments. It means to much to me that people can appreciate the stupid amount of work Im putting into this!
This is the first time I'm properly doing my own sound design, and its the first time I've ever created my own music (like EVER...I hadn't even touched a piano before 2 months ago)-so its cool to know that its paying off. Sound and music really is 50% of the game experience, so Im really focusing as much as possible on that!

This really is a labour of love! But an awesome learning experience.

-Chris
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Old 09-25-2011, 09:34 PM   #204
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Alright, I've just discovered this thread, and holy crap, how are you doing this?! The art, style, and pure atmosphere of these renders are AMAZING! Are you really just a one-man operation? This is seriously cool. Seriously.
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Old 09-26-2011, 07:41 AM   #205
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That video was amazing, but I'm slightly disturbed by the SFX at the end logo-screen, was that the sound of a fanboy orgasming from the visuals?

Not only was the graphics beatifull (which I've come to expect by now) but despite their pre-renderness I was suprised at the amount of animation, for example the part where the hologram lit up like that, I don't understand how you do that, if the pre-render is replaced by a AVI (that perfectly matches the look of the static stuff) or if you're just doing in-engine magic with static images.
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Old 09-27-2011, 05:40 AM   #206
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jfcwilson, thanks man. Yeah-Im the only one working on the game. Im learning as I go along!

Tommy, I never considered the visuals to be fap-worthy.
Essentially how you described it is exactly how it works.

The scene is animated, and rendered as a whole. Then I do an overlay of details like the smoke, sparks, dust falling, etc. The 2D elements and effects that are easier to do in a compositing program. This is also where I do things like flashing lights, computer screen readouts, etc.

Everything is colour corrected to make sure it all 'blends' together properly, then everything is rendered again. Each 'block' of animation is cut out of those renders, and placed inside the engine.

This is really what gives it the detail. Each and every item and area in the game is 100% unique. There are no tiled areas in the game (like many other isometric games). It makes it MUCH more time consuming to put together, but (I think) makes for a much more 'realistic' scene.

Each area of animation then has its triggers set up, and values applied that tell the engine when to play them. There are some cool details that aren't seen in the video, like when a door first opens, dust falls from it-but any time after that, the door will open without a dust cloud. Its a shitload of work for something that people may never notice, but it really helps sell the scene...

It gets tricky with some things, because you have to remember that the player wont do things in a prescribed order, so you have to ensure that the lights\effects in certain animated areas don't effect other parts of the scene that are also going to be animated. For example, the DOCMATE SCANNER DOOR has a yellowish light that spills from it. It is quite far from the lights above the hospital beds which are flickering. This means that if the DOCMATE door is open or closed, it doesn't effect the flickering lights.

There are some cool things to notice, like at 2:38, when the door opens, the door opening reflects in the shiny metal on top of the console next to it.

Then I take the animated areas into my NLE, and layer the sound effects to match up with the animation. So when the door slops and starts, it clunks in all the right places.

These 3 areas are quite basic in terms of rendering tricks...later on in the game I have an area where as you move through small sections, the lights automatically turn on and off depending on where you are-so each item has to be rendered with it looking like its in the light, and rendered like its in darkness. There are also some really cool effects in the engineering decks....and oh man, the medical labs are beyond awesome.

It can get quite tricky, with layering elements like holographic scanner-but the end results (I think) speak for themselves!

I know that the details in putting in are probably overkill, but I really want to make STASIS the best damned game I can. I've done quite a bit in terms of interface design and how you interact with the game world to make sure that the environment is the second character in the game.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

-Chris
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Old 09-27-2011, 06:37 AM   #207
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i wouldn't say they're overkill.....they just add to the realism of the world setting you are trying to project.i just saw the vid and it's awesome.i'm already psyched to play it.

PS:i replied to your pm.
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Old 09-27-2011, 08:25 PM   #208
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Pyke, check your PM.
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Old 09-28-2011, 06:22 AM   #209
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Replied and replied.
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Old 09-28-2011, 06:34 AM   #210
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Wow thanks Pyke for the detailed answer,
I was actually assuming you were using the other technique (i.e. static images that you then cleverly manipulate in the engine), for example that the sliding door was a static image of a door that you animate the coordinates of,

but indeed you would then not get the floor/console reflecting the change as a door opens, something which I didn't conciously notice (until now) but may indeed be why everything felt more real than a simple trick.

Sounds like a technical-art-nightmare and like all those video-files might make for a big download-file, but it sure does make it look pretty!
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Old 09-28-2011, 07:25 AM   #211
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I'm trying to keep it to 2-4 megs per scene, and making sure I use things like slightly compressed JPG's where no transparency is needed, and OGG as a sound format for things that don't need surround sound.

Im also being very careful with memory management, so that things are preloaded when needed, and unloaded when you leave the scene. But yeah-STASIS isn't going to be in the Ben Croshaw size of games that are a few megs at most.

Where I know the biggest hit is gonna be is with the cinematics...I really need to find a good codec!

For the downloads of the game, I'm thinking of splitting it up for different people on different connections. So having a mega download for those with a fast connection, and then having the game split into say...4 pieces for people with slower speeds. Each piece would be playable, so you would download the first piece, and when you finished it would 'patch up' to the second piece of the game. Its still quite a while away tho! But I am thinking about these things. Preplanning and all that.
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Old 10-05-2011, 08:19 AM   #212
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Like others I've been following development of Stasis and, like others, I'm impressed. Now for the constructive criticism

Having watched the video I'm with those that have commented on the readability of the text and also the clarity of the audio where spoken (did you know that the diagnostic speech in the first screen sounds remarkably like Aaron Connors in Overseer in the underground lab when giving the background to the Overseer project?). Plus, when the actual diagnostic is displayed (final screen), the text display is on screen for too short a period of time & I'm a fast reader. Also your descriptions are a dead ringer for those in Noctropolis (odd how both of those games are current threads here) but this is no criticism. As in Noctropolis it adds to the ambience.

Having said all that I then downloaded a copy of the video (hope you don't mind) to try natively. Downloaded as an MP4, 1280x720, 148KBPS (46MB if you're interested). Sound is slightly inproved if still somewhat indistinct but text is rather better but still not as clear so as to enable easy ready. I appreciate the problem here: too bright and it takes away/detracts from the atmosphere you are trying to generate - and as far as I'm concerned doing well at - but too vague and (particularly for people with vision problems) the player loses "connectivity" with the game experience by having to concentrate on the text.

Will I purchase a copy when it's available? Yes, and for 2 reasons.

1. Such enterprise and hard work deserves support and reward.
2. It looks a bloody good game!
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Old 10-05-2011, 02:26 PM   #213
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Looks amazing. Love the atmosphere.
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Old 10-10-2011, 04:50 PM   #214
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Pyke man, this is simply gorgeous.

you have the art direction just pitch-perfect, but PLEASE for my sanity's sake, make the puzzles CHALLENGING. so many adventures nowadays soft ball you and hold your hand so much there's no rewarding feeling like you used to get. i want to feel like friggin macguyver when i play an AG. i play for the GAME aspect, just as much or more than a great story, character, etc. all of the above is important, but i feel like there are lots of people who discount the role clever, challenging, even frustrating puzzles play.

i'm a musician and songwriter. i kinda feel like the music you made yourself is a bit underwhelming compared to the quality of everything else. i hope that doesn't offend you. your sound design is amazing. but if you want any help with some really creepy, tasteful stuff please contact me. i totally believe in this project just from this thread alone and would love to help.

also, just an idea. i know you're thinking about just little splashes of tension-building music and stuff. but for any really intense scenes, i think it could really suit it to have some Russian Circles, Pelican, This Will Destroy You kinda stuff throughout on certain scenes. If you want some really cinematic, intense post-rock music like that, or inversely some very melancholy film score stuff, or just basic sci-fi I'm your man.

just for reference, this kinda stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDdTp...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqvmC...eature=related
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:13 AM   #215
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Hey guys,

Appologies for taking so long to reply here. I have been recovering from surgery for the past few days.

First I wanna say thanks so much for all the support you guys have shown, esspecially in not only taking the time to view the videos and look at the screenshots, but also in writing up your opinions on whats been shown. Keeping momentum and keeping inspired is a major issue for many indie developers, esspecially those like me who only have our (limited) spare time to work on a project.

Jabod,

I have made the text slightly larger, and got rid of its transparency. You arent the first person to comment on it! I suppose its a fine line to tread between trying to keep the interface unobtrusive, and making things difficult to read!
I have also added in character portraits for dialog, and kept those in a locked off part of the screen (top right), so it should make the abililty to 'take in' the dialog a lot better.

For the descriptions, Im really trying to get a feel of old school 'pen and paper' RPG's, and text based Adventure Games, where descriptions were verbose and described more than just what an object was, but almost had a 'story' like feel to them. Its amazing how just adding a few words to describe a scene completely changes the feel of a place!

Download away! I have directories full of gameplay videos from other games...its a wierd sensation to think someone has one of my videos on their harddrive. Consider me humbled.

Im putting you down for a preorder!

inm8#2, thanks man. Im making a game I'd love to play, and for me atmosphere and immersion is EXTREMELY important in any game-so im glad that Im hitting the right marks!

RockNFknRoll, Ah-The constan battle of puzzles in Adventure Games! Its a really difficult one to get right, because everybody finds different things challenging. The way Im approaching puzzle design is in a 'environment determins the challenges' way. What I mean is that im coming up with logical obstacles, and then using the environment to determine the solutions, instead of going the way of 'I have an awesome puzzle...now how to fit it in the game...?'.
This way, the puzzle solutions are logical, but perhaps use a bit of creative thinking to get them to work.
Again, im making a game that I would love to play-so the solutions are things that I find 'cool'. I can only hope that my tastes line up with the players!

Regarding the music, I promise you that im not offended (*goes off into a dark room and cuts himself*....i kid. ). The music is the aspect of production that I have the least experience with (Ive been an artist for my entire life...I bought a midi keyboard about 2 months ago!), so i have no doubt that it is the weakest. With the game in its current state, it would be premature of me to start getting in professional music, as honestly im a tempremantal artist, and chop and change things often to make sure the 'flow' is correct.

Im really stil playing around with certain things musically, specifically how to treat certain thematic themes in the story. I have areas of the game that deal with things like family, loss, redemption-and very much like a film has cues for different emotions, I want to work those into the game. The biggest issue is really a technical one, in trying to figure out WHERE those themes will need to come into play, and how the make sure that they make sense in the context of the scene. I dont just want them to appear in cutscenes-but rather have those cues actually swell up AS you play the game.

Thanks very much for the offer tho-if I need some help there I will definately give you a shout!

----------

-Chris
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:21 PM   #216
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Please do, I promise you great results, and I know exactly what you're talking about. Thanks for responding!
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:30 PM   #217
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also, have you played the Deus Ex series? i think you could find a lot of guidance in how to approach the information gathering issues you're having. i personally love the idea of being left on my own as much as possible to figure out what information is important and what isn't. i despise almost any attempt by the game to put some kind of big flashing arrow right where i need to look. i think the main trick is just good old fashioned creative design. in other words, prep the gamer just enough beforehand throughout the game so that when the information comes at him he'll be ready to critically think through it on his own if he's just clever enough. i realize that's gotta be hard, but i just feel like it's a lost art in so many games today. the idea of really figuring shit out for yourself. even if, as a last resort you have to get hints somewhere, and the solution makes you go OOOOOOOHHH I always found some reward in that. Especially for replay value.
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Old 10-12-2011, 01:47 AM   #218
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I've implemented a difficulty scale in the game. Easy mode will give you more direct objectives, more descriptive and 'to the point' descriptions, hotspot locators, and timed puzzles will have longer time periods, and a 'Hardcore' mode for more experienced adventure gamers. I'm hoping that this will allow enough people to enjoy the game, and not either get to stuck, or find it to easy.
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Old 10-13-2011, 06:56 AM   #219
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pyke View Post
I've implemented a difficulty scale in the game. Easy mode will give you more direct objectives, more descriptive and 'to the point' descriptions, hotspot locators, and timed puzzles will have longer time periods, and a 'Hardcore' mode for more experienced adventure gamers. I'm hoping that this will allow enough people to enjoy the game, and not either get to stuck, or find it to easy.

Just wanted to say welcome back, glad to see you're recovering well!

Looking forward to more media and blog entries!
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Old 10-13-2011, 07:09 AM   #220
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And on that note...blog update:

http://www.stasisgame.com/corridors-and-cursors/

New Screen:



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