* Geti (~-@wpe-BE466EEE.jetstream.xtra.co.nz) has joined #metagame
<Geti> hey orange
<Orange> Hi.
<Geti> like youre concept, its cool
<Orange> Thanks.
<Geti> i like the character's heads, i think the arms could work a little diferently but they have inspired me for
something.
<Geti> i think if the jumper, instead of having the squares, had little bulbous lumps around the shoulders, that would be
cool, like just a lack of arms but a hint that something could be there. and if the runner had full length arms that
would be cool too.
<Orange> Yeah, the bodies I didn't really know how to draw. That's for the artists to decide.
<Orange> I like the heads though.
<Geti> yeah, same, insect-y
<Geti> are you coding or what? i didnt look you up.
<Orange> Level Design.
<Geti> ahkay. youd be good at that :P
<Geti> kk
<Geti> wants me to log in..
<Geti> ><
<Animator> http://www.assembla.com/wiki/show/cEiJykKO0r3zjsab7jnrAJ/IRC Done.
<Animator> If you want to comment or anything, just go ahead.
<Geti> kk
<Animator> It's all there.
<Geti> reading!
<Geti> hehe i get flamed within 12 lines. :P
<Animator> Never meant to be a flame.
<Geti> heheh. well constructively annoyed at.
<Geti> and yeah, there is quite a lack of connection between the forums and irc.
<Geti> i didnt know this topic existed for a while./
<Animator> It did.
<Orange> topic?
<Geti> *channel, so used to being on the forums.
<Orange> Ah.
<Orange> I didn't realise there was a topic, so used to being on the IRC.
<Geti> Q was really empty. and the assembla chat fell apart.
<Geti> heheh.
<Animator> This is the last stand.
<Orange> In a while, later today, I will draw an entire planet, and some of the stuff that may appear in a standard level.
<Geti> mmhmm.. i think we need to get a semi-concrete plan of this. im just an artist with some experience coding with a
lot of ideas..
<Animator> And we need everyone for it to be semi-concrete.
<Orange> Alas, one of the difficulties involved in running a project with 30 people involved.
<Geti> damn yes.
<Orange> I'm thinking menus, like the universe menu shows 5-10 clickable galaxy icons.
<Orange> It zooms in, and the star system spread apart.
<Geti> it would be handy if everything was put in the topic, the channel was for discussion, the design document held
through, and yes.
<Orange> systems*
<Geti> and that would be cool..
<Orange> Then you click a cluster, and all the planets in that cluster spread out
<Orange> You click on one, and it zooms into game level.
<Orange> However, this means there would need to be Spore-like transportation, rocketship or something.
<Orange> So it may be good to start on one planet, and collect pieces for your ship, instead of flying straight away.
<Orange> Of course, the land-bound stage wouldn't last very long.
<Geti> maybe the galaxy is inside a hexagon (tesselation) or square with the number on it, and the outlines of the systems
inside it.
* Zora_S_Kenneth (chatzilla@wpe-BEDEB187.dsl.pltn13.pacbell.net) has joined #metagame
<Geti> hey zora.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> Hello.
<Animator> Hm.
<Geti> hmn, maybe the first time you start the game you get a tutorial scene where you piece together your whatever
<Animator> You're not in this project.
<Orange> Geti: could work.
<Orange> But we want a feeling of growth, instead of being able to go anywhere straight away.
<Orange> The tutorial shows you the controls on a test planet, and there you get your ship.
<Geti> mmhm.
<Orange> But it can only manage interplanetary travel, and you have to upgrade it to go to other star systems.
<Orange> When you save (save-anywhere preferred) the menu at startup is the zoom level you currently have unlocked.
<Orange> For example, if you have the starter ship, you only see a planetoid cluster screen.
<Geti> maybe.. i do kind of like the pick up and play of N though. like you open it., there is no "press a key" or crap
like that, its just the menu. you just play it. unpretentious, clean, i like it.
<Orange> That's what this is like.
<Orange> Menu, you click planet, you play.
<Geti> ahahah at 2-53 (log section, line)
<Zora_S_Kenneth> I agree. That's a good option.
<Geti> #
<Geti> <%Animator> I blame Geti for that.
<Geti> #
<Geti> <%Animator> I'm all for enthusiam, but he's pushing for things way to complicated without addressing the minor (yet
important) details.
<Orange> Or something like the episodes menu, where the startup screen is a blank screen with stars slowly spiraling.
<Orange> You click play, the menu you've unlocked comes up.
<Animator> It's true.
<Geti> as i said, im just an artist with ideas. good to get ideas written somewhere while to coders work on the underlying
everything.
<Geti> i know.
<Orange> Hovering over icons shows you what they are, eg galaxy 6-y-z
<Orange> Then you click star system 6-3-z
<Orange> You go to cluster 6-3-1
<Orange> Then click Asteroid 6-3-1 Alpha, or something.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> That almost sounds like it's taken from Spore. Maybe an asteroid belt would be more subtle?
<Orange> Then you can play.
<Geti> put that in the misc thing.
<Orange> Yeah, that's all speculation right now.
<Orange> I've never played Spore, so I can't be biased :D
<Orange> The difference with N is that the levels rest on a deeper level than episodes.
<Orange> The actual level order can be worked out later.
<Orange> Do you guys agree with this structure?
<Geti> yes, that sounds like an easy to work with menu.
<Geti> animator, would you rather i toned down my ideas and kept with sketches?
<Orange> Before we get the art down, it can be a simple tree-menu, with no graphics.
<Orange> Just so we know how it works.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> The menu difficulty: Easy. Sure. I still think that some people might think about Spore when they see
this. We don't want that.
<Animator> No, no. Don't tone them down, just keep them organized.
<Animator> And with a limit.
<Geti> thats what im trying to do with that wiki page.
<Orange> I'll write up these notes in my sketchbook.
<Animator> Then go for it.
<Geti> and pff, the controls thing wasnt that out of control. it would be like wall jumping in n, just written out. that
would be a lot of keypresses.
<Geti> :P
<Animator> Wall-jumping in N is different to what you suggested.
<Animator> Why use back and frontflips? This isn't Ratchet and Clank.
<Animator> All we need is a gun, and jumping abilities. Maybe wall-jumping.
<Geti> no, i agree that was insane. but ducking is handy.
<Geti> if there is going to be shooting.
<Geti> which now i think about it, i like less. it would be cool for the runner to melee, the jumper to maybe have a beam,
and the floater to probably have nothing to attack with.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> Ducking, jumping, and movement in the air are all good, I think.
* Atilla (Atilla@wpe-E129D6E3.cust.wide.net.au) has joined #metagame
<Animator> Atilla!
<Geti> atilla. join the party. or, controlled musing.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> Atilla!
<Geti> wow, pile of alerts for him.
<Geti> anyway, id like this to be kinda physics heavy animator, but tying that in with particle physics from enemies and a
lot of jumping puzzles.
<Geti> yes?
<Animator> I still have old enemy concepts from previous plans.
<Animator> And a few bosses.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> Maybe fluid and heavy? That would make a very interesting combination.
<Animator> How does a Giant battleship sound for you?
<Animator> Remember, Geti. We can only go as far as what our coders can go.
<Geti> mmn, i know.
<Animator> I don't know if particle physics could be done, so it's best not to rely so much on it.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> And if they could be?
<Geti> really? its just applying the normal gravity to different bodies.
<Animator> Then we have partilce physics.
<Geti> that collide with things and cause events.
<Animator> Oh.
<Atilla> It should be possible to do particle physics.
<Orange> PLANETS SMASHING INTO EACH OTHER FUCK YEAH
<Orange> An asteroid orbiting your planets crash-lands.
<Atilla> Unless we're using Flash or something, in which case it might be too slow.
<Orange> You investigate, and an alien is in it.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> It's a simple matter of generating a sprite millions of times for a particle spray.
<Animator> Alright.
<Animator> What happened to the 3 robots? I liked the 3 robots.
<Geti> mmn.. flash is less than good.
<Geti> and yeah, theyre still in there.
<Geti> theyre even in oranges concept.
<Geti> and lol, ive liked the idea of planets colliding aswell..
<Geti> if we get the particles happening its plausible, though id hate to script the event..
<Geti> blah, in any case, i have to go, ill finish reading the logs etc another time.
<Geti> sorry for being ott sometimes :P
<Animator> Okay.
<Animator> We should start with the tutorial first.
<Geti> definitely.
<Geti> ill get to work on some art. back in a while-ish
<Geti> tata.
* Geti (~-@wpe-BE466EEE.jetstream.xtra.co.nz) Quit (Quit: Miranda IM! Smaller, Faster, Easier. http://miranda-im.org)
<Animator> It should be a white colorless planet, with objects and foriegn items that you'd find.
<Animator> It has all 3 robots.
<Animator> Once you're done with the tutorial, the planet explodes, seperating all three.
<Animator> You get to choose to play 1, and you experince what he experinces.
<Animator> And then it's 3 plots tied together at the end when they find each other, combine and fight the Final Boss.
<Zora_S_Kenneth> So we'd have three different story lines?
<Orange> FUCK YES ANIMATOR
<Orange> GOOD IDEA
<Orange> But how do you explain changing form?
<Animator> They're brothers.
<Animator> You're going to take on a Giant planet alone? I think not.
<Animator> GO GO POWER RANGERS. *combine*
<Orange> ok.
<Animator> And then they fight.