Feral Umbra

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McWolke

Guest
You're working on this all alone? I can't believe how polished your game looks. Wish i could do such awesome pixel art too. But not only your art is awesome.. I can only imagine how you did this bridge animation.. Maybe Paths.. ? you should write some tutorials for coding and Art :p
 

DesArts

Member
I'll chalk it up to people being more curious about gameplay.
Some things I can say regarding gameplay/story are as follows:
  • The story involves you overcoming the 'power' spread throughout the land the game is set in (note any bright yellow/green you see in the future). The same power that took you to where you are today, you now set out to destroy. Bit by bit.
  • The progression does not use lives. It's similar to Limbo, where each task/puzzle/fight you need to do has a 'checkpoint' before it, so you fail and you'll start right before it.
  • Enemies are assigned their own areas in any stage so you will encounter many many unique foes, and definitely no duplicated enemies between separate levels. I'm avoiding generic humanoid enemies however some will be because it comes with agility.
  • You will be able to find more friendly creatures/even people among the many hostile demons.
  • The player mask is now thicker. But of an abstract one but I had to mention it as the issue was brought up previously.
  • There's no complex levelling up or that sort of element. In that aspect it will be kept much more simple. However, it is unavoidable that as you progress throughout the game that you change in certain ways as you begin to destroy the 'power'.
  • There'll be a simple inventory, simple items. And yes, weapons.
 
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gamedev4life

Guest
regarding shadow of the beast, either make a new game or dont try and not be a sotb main character clone bc thats inevitable when you base it so much off the original;
regarding the jump animation, i think the problem is that the key frames dont have enough life or action in them. even in s mario when he jumps he has his arm and hand raised up to the sky, bringing him to life when you play as him;
regarding the collision design, i suggest making 2 different collision objects: one for ground/wall/ceiling collision, another for everything else (moving platforms, enemies, etc) so you can have appropriate slope and other collision for other purposes; or change your tile set to have a slight angle making the surface you walking on more visible like this


hope that helps
 

DesArts

Member
Hi gamedev4life,
I agree with it all! Except the first one - I actually very much want it to keep the same mood and (some of) the gameplay styles of the SOTB games. The only thing I'd like to avoid is people thinking it IS Shadow of the Beast. Of course, there'll still be some who think it but I believe I've reached a good medium with the visuals now. It takes some elements but has many new ideas.

SOTB1/2 give off a great mood and that is something I'm conveying somewhat in the context of this adventure. To be honest when you get down to specifics from an artistic standpoint, I really don't like a lot of what the games do visually - so by no means am I trying to emulate anything.
A side by side comparison would show how different they are basically. Gameplay wise, it's going to be very very different.

By the way you've only been seeing the base tiles and incomplete background of one level, while each level is going to have a completely unique style. One level even has it entirely in silhouette with a bright morning background, keeping a very strong mood behind it but with a splash of hope, later in the game. In this setting, puzzles involve deciphering the shapes around you and more. It's going to be great.

By the way I wont be changing the tiles, I have a system for correcting slope movement.
 
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RangerX

Member
The look makes me think of some old 16 bit games like Altered Beast. (this is more a compliment than anything else!)
I shall try this, if at all possible. Didn't click on the website yet.
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
I hope this will have a primal/tribal style soundtrack
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
Looking forward to these big updates, on a unrelated note, have some of you guys ever heard of or played Killing Time? Especially the 3DO version? if so, you guys might be excited (like me) to hear that Zoom Platform, the people who re-released the PC version is working on a PC port of the 3DO version along with a refined edition of the PC Version. I found about this on their Facebook page when I asked about it.
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
To be honest, I think the protagonist should go back to wearing a loincloth because his current attire look a little too much like the protagonist in Wonderboy Bobi's game EON, but I'm just saying, it's your project and you're trying to differentiate from SOTB. But I think your current design is still awesome though. :)
 

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DesArts

Member
On one had I really like the design, looks a bit bat-like which is cool. But I also really liked the old one, is that gone for good?
Yes it is.
To be honest, I think the protagonist should go back to wearing a loincloth because his current attire look a little too much like the protagonist in Wonderboy Bobi's game EON, but I'm just saying, it's your project and you're trying to differentiate from SOTB. But I think your current design is still awesome though. :)
I don't see the resemblance.
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
It's the cape, although he definitely looks more ferocious than the protagonist in EON.
 
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DesArts

Member
By the way guys, you are seeing the third level/stage/main area, out of many more. All with unique aesthetics. There's a lot you haven't yet seen ;)
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
I'll chalk it up to people being more curious about gameplay.
Some things I can say regarding gameplay/story are as follows:
  • The story involves you overcoming the 'power' spread throughout the land the game is set in (note any bright yellow/green you see in the future). The same power that took you to where you are today, you now set out to destroy. Bit by bit. Well there's a lot more to it but there's a taster ;)
  • The progression does not use lives. It's similar to Limbo I suppose, where each task/puzzle/fight you need to do has a 'checkpoint' before it, so you fail and you'll start right before it.
  • Enemies rarely repeat. They're assigned their own areas in any stage so you will encounter many many unique foes, and definitely no duplicated enemies between seperate levels. I'm avoiding generic humanoid enemies however some will be because it comes with agility.
  • Friends and foes! Yes, you will be able to find more friendly creatures/even people among the many hostile demons.
  • Puzzles are integrated into the environment. For example, there will be a reason a certain set of things are there rather than everything looking out of place.
  • Some enemies attack and are more sentient while others are much more abstract and don't move/attack so to speak, and are to be avoided.
  • The player mask is now thicker. But of an abstract one but I had to mention it as the issue was brought up previously.
  • There's no complex levelling up or that sort of element. In that aspect it will be kept much more simple. However, it is unavoidable that as you progress throughout the game that you change in certain ways as you begin to destroy the 'power'. ;)
  • There'll be a simple inventory, simple items. And yes, weapons.
Not sure if it seems like I've revealed a lot or not much, but it really isn't much compared to what's happening behind the scenes.

For those who love visuals, here are some interesting things about the visuals to come:
  • There are a lot more foreground (and even background) elements than you've seen so far, to really add context to areas and busy up the scenes as a whole. It wont look as open as it currently does, at least not everywhere.
  • There are differently dressed/decorated areas within each level (most of which are huge by the way).
  • Enemies have the same level of detail and animation as you do!
  • The main character has an upgrade! I'm dying to show you it, it will be when the first visual gameplay update and demo is released. He will carry over some similar elements but will look far less like a painted man in a mask, and far less like a SOTB knockoff. His animations are completely redone and are much more ferocious. He's a demon, he's a brute. I'm hoping this will also be the end to major SOTB comparisons. But it'll always be similar.
  • Many more effects! To name a couple: Waterfalls, rivers (danger!), dynamic trees/bushes. So much.
  • You can't tell by the latest gif, but the grass also squashes as you walk over it which is nice.
I still hope it will be longer than it's inspiration, like 10 to 20 hours. The PS4 reboot of SOTB was very short, leaving me a little disappointed. I like my games long.
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
I know this is a silly question, but will Feral Umbra allow you to save your game?
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest

Here's a small taste of the ancient statues found in this land.

(Yep, you're going to continue to be drip fed until this short demo is ready, sorry!)
The running animation looks like it needs to improved a little because his clothes look weird while he's running.
 
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Jeff the Gamer

Guest
b5vyNOH.png I think he still would look better with the loincloth so I think you should compensate by having a mixture of the cape and the loincloth. I know I said it looked similar to EON but like I said from what it looks like from the screenshots his caveman rags look weird while he's running. I think you should get rid of this part, look at the red circle. By the way, will this have a text adventure style interface to talk to npcs like SOTB 2?
 
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DesArts

Member
Looking awesome, Lewis! Very awesome.

Is the art 100% done by you? Or is there 'borrowed' items from the original? (Not judging, just curious)

Keep up the solid work, man!
There are no more borrowed items. I think if you take a look back at the original you'll notice how different it actually is. Thanks!

What else than a contrast boost?? I don't see it. (anyways it looks better and that's what counts)
As well as that, one thing to mention is that sprites have been given greater separation from other things using more unique colours.
Bad explanation there, nothings changed colour but it doesn't all approach the same grey, meaning each object can have it's own unique darkest colour. The ground is the main thing that will include any black.

It's subtle but its most noticeable in the health bottle if you compare.
 

GMWolf

aka fel666
Wow its lookimg much better! And thats quite a feat given how good it looked already! Very well done!
Did you use a LUT or something to do this?
 

DesArts

Member
First video in a while :)

Nothing too new being shown, simply allowing people to see things in action after a development period with mainly screen shots.

Still not 100% final graphics, layouts or animations. Some parts have been removed to avoid spoiling anything important. Yes there are empty spots, yes there are graphical errors or missing effects. These will be dealt with of course ;)
Music is not in-game music.

Compare to the last video, around 4 months ago:
 
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Looks good, and the music suits it well. That last drum note made me laugh though. What the hell was that?! Why the super fast fade out and cut off on the trailer? Did you really need it to be exactly 36 seconds long or something? X'D
But yeah, it's a huge improvement over the earlier versions. Looking really good. =)
 

DesArts

Member
It's what we in the field call a rushed edit ;) It's no official trailer so there's no need to apply too much glitter, however I guess you could say it leaves you wanting more.

Actually it's because I've had spotty internet and needed to upload before it went again. #truth

Glad you like it - and btw it's not the official music, but it's in the same vein as what is to come.
 
It's what we in the field call a rushed edit ;) It's no official trailer so there's no need to apply too much glitter.
Ah, okay. Thought it was music written for the trailer, so the fast cut off didn't make any sense to me. If it's music you got from somewhere else or something, that'd explain it. I thought it was midi, so I was like "why didn't he just let the note decay naturally?", heheh.
 
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Koohyar

Guest
Hi there

This looks really great. The only things I would like to mention is that the running speed of the players starts too slowly. I mean when you first hit the key to start running, it is too slow for a running cycle. I think it should have gained it's speed faster.

The music of the trailer has some background theme (cello like thing) which is pretty nice. But its bass amount is too high. If the bass of the cello thing is reduced it would be better.

I'm greatly looking for the demo of this. When is it going to come out?
 

DesArts

Member
Hi there

This looks really great. The only things I would like to mention is that the running speed of the players starts too slowly. I mean when you first hit the key to start running, it is too slow for a running cycle. I think it should have gained it's speed faster.

The music of the trailer has some background theme (cello like thing) which is pretty nice. But its bass amount is too high. If the bass of the cello thing is reduced it would be better.

I'm greatly looking for the demo of this. When is it going to come out?
The players acceleration. It's a good point - I noticed it myself. The player has a 'run/charge' feature for going faster/attacking in general, but I agree about the initial acceleration, I'll do my best to combat the issue.
Oh btw I mentioned it breifly a few times but the music is borrowed royalty free music, 2 actually layered together. It probably doesn't sound perfect. I'm actually still seeking a composer who can go for what I'm after for the real deal.

Really this is a great opportunity for people to comment on the Splash screen, title, and gameplay/visuals in motion (like you have)

The teaser it's self is just a flashy delivery method, nothing that needs to be picked on ;) So yes, I invite gameplay feedback!
 
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Koohyar

Guest
Yeah I noticed the music isn't what you are going to use. But I thought as you are going to make your tracks in the same style it is better to point out the problem with that track so maybe you won't recreate that high bass in your original work.

You didn't mention "when" the demo is going to be out... ;)
 
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